I guess I have already established that my life’s most significant and interesting stories are intertwined with food. The story of my first co-op job is no different. When I received an interview call from Mercer through the Centre for Career Action of the university of Waterloo, I was nervous and thrilled.  An interview with a Fortune 500 was a big deal for me! They asked to bring in two writing samples to the interview. I spent two minutes on finding two samples and picked a press release sample and an ode I had written that summer. The position was for a technical writer but I had no previous experience specifically in technical writing. When the interviewer asked me why he should hire me over someone who has technical writing experience; I told him what I believed to be true.  I told him as a writing sample, I brought an ode on a meal that I had at a restaurant called L’Avenue in Montréal.  And I told him that if I can write an ode on steak and eggs, I believe I can write anything. I got the offer the next day. I miss that level of confidence. That type of confidence often comes from naivety but it’s much better than constant self-doubt.

I wrote that ode on my phone, while we were half way through the meal. And I almost stumbled on the busy sidewalks of Montréal completing it on our way back from the restaurant. I have been to L’Avenue several times after my first visit. And every single time I have ordered the exact same things: the steak and eggs. I am adventurous when it comes to food, but I also don’t let go off anything that I truly love. My love for L’avenue has remained intact since 2011 and it’s still going strong. Quoting Shania Twain, it’s “still the one” .

Ode to Steak and Eggs, L’avenue

Oh! The  Steak and Eggs of L’avenue
how profoundly I crave for you!
I heard and saw, but never comprehended the period of bliss you would bring to my life
But then you came, and the world was never the same!

You came to me with a pair of English muffins,
The  muffins , melted in you, drowned in the sheer love of hollandaise sauce ,
Softened my coarse heart.
Your trusted partner,
The potatoes with the perfect crust, burnt in passion
Accompanied the salacious steak,
You made me valiant enough to question the existence of duality,
To transcend the dichotomy of agony and comfort.

The double eggs, brightened up the day in a jiffy,
Like a bunch of sunflowers.
Those runny eggs, like a juvenile love
Swept me off my feet,
I followed,
Without wondering why or where am I losing myself,
I found my soul again, only after losing it to you!
You took me beyond music, beyond poetry, beyond any tactile experience
You thrilled me, from head to toe!
Oh come back to me, let me immerse in you again,
Without you, there is nothing left to lose or gain.

Day 24