Beauty in Grey Skies

By Eric T. Smith

Beauty in Grey Skies is the story of a happily married, new father who just happened to be battling brain cancer--not a simple form of cancer, but grade-four glioblastoma. That is the worst grade when it's located inside your head. Unfortunately, this story is completely true, and it's about me. 2017 was honestly the best and worst year of my life. I promise you that I am not exaggerating at all with that statement. My wife gave birth to our daughter literally three days after the third attempt to surgically remove the devil from my head. As much as I wish this was fictional, it's truly not. This is our life. I'm still here, still working full-time, enjoying family activities, and watching our beautiful girl grow. I want to share my positivity with anybody dealing with similar health issues, whether it's your battle or someone that you care about. There can be a brighter side of a difficult life. I'm extremely lucky and want to share my story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639856046

Book preview

Prologue

Wow…I can’t believe this is our life. Where the heck do we go from here? my pregnant wife asked with her hand on her now expectant showing belly.

"I have no freakin’ clue. It’s like we are literally living in A Tale of Two Cities," I responded that created a slightly concerned look on her face.

Are you feeling okay? Are you confused? You have to tell me….

I’m fine. Stop it.

You know that I have to watch you extra carefully now, she quickly came back with.

"A Tale of Two Cities, the classic novel by Charles Dickens? You have to know where I’m going with this. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times…."

Yes, I’m quite familiar with Charles Dickens. You sure are correct; that really does hit the nail right on its head. Oh, Eric…now what do we do?

"You know what they say, go big or go home…."

And with that, you mean? she asked, waiting to scan my response for any negative signs shown.

Relax a little. I’m not going too crazy just yet. I’m saying that we should make two enormous posts on good old Facebook. You know, that simple connection to current family and friends plus many people from our past. Let’s put it all out there.

You’re not saying we should….

Yes, I am. Start with the good, then follow up with the bad.

Surprise! We’re having a baby! Oh yeah, and my husband is dying! Hashtag cancer sucks. Her tears were flowing, but there was also a small amount of laughter peeking through.

Come on. Don’t count me out just yet.

Chapter 1

Denial, Revisited

At age fourteen, I entered the restaurant industry and immediately fell in love with it. I started as a dishwasher, cleaning up after customers and the kitchen staff, as well as sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, and taking out the trash, all of the behind-the-scenes necessary activities. If you’ve worked in the foodservice industry, then you definitely smell what I am cooking here. If you haven’t encountered that side of this industry, you might not fully grasp the unique odor of food debris. The smell of home garbage does not even come close to the potential stench behind the scenes in this world. I know it sounds like a disgusting job, but it really got me hooked into this crazy, intense industry. I had the privilege of working with some awesome people who did not hesitate to teach me the tricks of the trade to make unbelievably tasty dishes. From twists on simple classics like individual chicken pot pies to high-end traditional masterpieces such as steak au poivre, I had the benefit of learning from local veterans in this realm. The job didn’t just get me into cooking; I became intrigued by the entire restaurant world.

Not very long after my launch into restaurant society, I climbed the internal ladder and became more than just a dishwasher. Soon I was bussing tables for hard-working front-of-the-house staff, then I catered many events as a food server, and on top of that, I was able to pick up some crucial industry knowledge, by doing prep work in the kitchen with a team of talented chefs. I got a literal taste of every aspect of the restaurant business.

I worked at Wild Apples Café all through high school, and I am extremely thankful to the owners, the waitstaff, the entire kitchen crew, and many of the most important people in this field, the customers and critics! I was truly hooked into the foodservice world very quickly. During my senior year in high school, I was able to do an externship working at Wild Apples for half of the scheduled day. I was a decent student all through high school, and I reached my last year there ahead of the game when it came to most of the actual requirements for graduation. I was sure that I wanted to become a successful chef, and the guidance counselor was able to help me take the next necessary step to actually make it happen. I started each day at school but headed off to the professional kitchen by lunchtime.

When you’re finished peeling those chef potatoes, I’ve got some onions I need you to dice.

Yes, chef!

Eric, you can call me Helmut. You’ve been a good employee in this kitchen for, what, close to three years? You plan on going to culinary school, right?

Yeah, definitely. I’m just trying to decide between two schools.

Let me guess, Johnson & Wales University or Culinary Institute of America. Am I right?

You really are, you nailed it. I’m having a tough time deciding, though. I’ve read a ton of good things about both.

Well, let me tell you… JWU is the one to choose!

I’m visiting them this weekend. What makes you say they’re the best choice?

They just happen to be my alma mater! I’ll tell you all about the beautiful city of Providence, Rhode Island, while you pick up the pace on those potatoes.

The fact that chef Helmut Marosits, a huge part of my culinary career getting started, graduated from that particular school was enough motivation to help me make an important choice for the next part of my life. While at that top-notch university, I quickly and efficiently learned the ups and downs of this entire field. It was an amazing campus full of hungry future chefs, first-class culinary equipment, an array of ingredients that most people only get to read about, and an extensive group of kitchen gurus to teach the prospect of this incredible industry. In addition to this remarkable campus, many outstanding restaurants were located in the quickly evolving city of Providence. I met so many amazing people on this journey. Some were culinary instructors, others were fellow students, and even more great people in the foodservice industry. It really is a fascinating lifestyle full of unique people. If I ever had the pleasure of being the president of our country, I would pass a law that all Americans have to work in this business for a minimum of three months of their lives. It would make everyone respect the hard-working folks that cooked, cleaned, served, worked during family holidays, gave up regular mealtime to make others happy, and attended more weddings or special events as an employee than as a guest; I think you get the idea. In addition to the intense labor of this field, it also brings a lot of pleasure to the participants. It is difficult, but yet also has a tremendously fun side as well.

Two years of study at Johnson & Wales University resulted in an associate’s degree in culinary arts. Heading into this school, I had every intention of going all the way for my bachelor’s, but an externship during my second year got me to promptly change my mind. Working at The Diamond Grille, under Chef Michael A. Beers and owner Jeffrey Watchmaker, taught me an extreme amount and inspired me to slightly change my planned path. I learned an unmeasurable amount from chef Beers; he truly took my culinary skills to the next level. This restaurant was a high-end steakhouse; I was practically a butcher by the end of my externship.

I was quickly upgraded to sous-chef and heavily inspired to officially kick off my career. Not long after this decision, Chef Michael moved on to his next gig, and I was promoted to executive chef. It did not take long for me to bring on board some of my culinary school buddies to fill our crew. My roommate and close friend, Chad Kasha, was quickly my sous-chef. This was an intense but great experience for both of us. Chad and I were a perfect team; we learned from each other thanks to our different backgrounds and strengths. Of course, we also learned an excessive amount from Jeff the restaurateur on many levels. He taught us how to make the ship actually sail; execution is the key to success, no matter what it takes.

Hey, Jeff, we’re trying to get our plan in place for this weekend’s event. What time do you want the food out?

So the guests should be arriving around six o’clock. Passed hors d’oeuvres and the cheese table should be ready when they arrive. Let’s have the main stations set to launch for six forty-five, okay?

Okay, I’m just trying to figure out the best way to have that steamship round ready to go on time. With the low temperature I prefer to cook those at, it’s gonna take quite a while to get fifty-five pounds of beef perfectly up to medium rare.

Why don’t you and Chad just crash here? Bring sleeping bags, sleep upstairs, and come down early to get it started. Then you could head back up and go back to sleep.

Yeah, that could actually work. And you’re sure it’s cool if we stay all night?

Definitely, as long as you promise not to hit up the bar or eat all of the filet mignons we have left from the night before.

Ha ha, sounds like a plan. Thanks!

It was definitely a challenge to actually get to sleep, but it sure was convenient when it came to getting the steamship round in the oven early enough to have it cooked perfectly for this wine and food pairing event.

Another memorable experience for both me and Chad was to actually have younger students executing their learning on-site situations under us. I can’t tell you how many arrived believing that they were just as well experienced as the two of us because of our close age. All it took was a busy Friday or Saturday night to demonstrate what it is actually like to correctly cook at such a fast pace while making sure everything was served exactly how the customer desired.

Chef Eric, I’ve got another customer sending their veal chop back. She said it’s way too dry, the waitress made the kitchen aware of.

Ryan, that’s three times already tonight! You’ve gotta focus on how you are finishing all of these proteins!

But it’s only three; most of my dishes have been good.

"Only?! That’s three more than it should be. You’re off the grill, now! You can make the salads for the rest of the night. Go wash your hands."

Yes, chef.

Chad, can you take over the grill?

I’m on it! Watch and learn, extern!

As great as that time and experience were, back in the days at Wild Apple’s Café, I was given some meaningful advice from a culinary veteran. Andrew Stratton shared with me that it can be construed as negative to stay with one restaurant for more than three years during one’s early time in the industry if you’re looking to continue your success. We quickly can get stuck in a rut and continuously repeat the same dishes. Learning in this industry is very important after school during the first few years of your career. Even if you haven’t worked in the foodservice world, I am sure you notice that popular dishes have their time to shine. Some signature centerpieces stay popular for many decades, but others have their moments in the sun and move on. For example, beef Wellington, shrimp scampi, coq au vin, beef carpaccio, steak Diane, oysters Rockefeller, Waldorf salad, and so forth are classic dishes that will always be around and a hit in many kitchens. Sous vide is a classic style of cooking developed in the 1970s that made an extremely popular comeback, even at places where you wouldn’t expect to see it.

Many current trends are dishes that include Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, oat milk, quinoa, and farro as well. These are all items that have existed for quite some time, but the wave of their popularity has grown in the modern era. A good way to stand out as a culinary warrior is coming up with your own dishes or twists on classics. Some of my personal favorites that I was proud to have been presenting at this time were Gorgonzola crusted filet mignon with port-wine glazed caramelized onions, seared sea scallops over lemon-caper risotto finished with an orange-basil beurre blanc, and goat cheese crowned airline chicken breast with raspberry coulis and aged balsamic reduction (this one was a classic Michael A. Beers signature that he passed on to me). Even though I am still proud of those memorable entrées, I needed some extra motivation to continue my creativity on a regular basis. Having a different group of customers forces us to push our level of creativeness, forcing us to come up with new concepts to execute in the kitchen. The culinary arts are called that for a reason. Being able to cook and serve large, memorable groups of people is an extremely important piece, but so is our artistic inventiveness when it comes to keeping the dining crowd interested in coming back again and again. This lesson I was taught by Andy truly became real for me. After almost exactly three years, I left the Diamond Grille and headed closer to home.

Wild Apple’s Café had closed up shop. The owner, Michael Desmarais, decided to move on from this chapter of his personal story. As soon as I heard this, I knew what I wanted my next move to be. I opened my own restaurant at the location of the job that got me on this path. At the age of twenty-three, I became the chef-owner of Simone’s. I picked the name based on my mother’s maiden name. I mean, Smith is a great last name and all, but there sure are a ton of businesses that already exist with that in the title. Chad, my sous-chef slash best bud, came along as well. He’s from southern California originally but was my right-hand man all the way out here on the east coast in a small town of Massachusetts. I’m sure he missed the area where he grew up out west, but there was definitely something about our New England lifestyle that kept him motivated to stay with me on this journey—from seeing historic parts of this country to launching a dream business with his former college roommate. It was enough to keep him around for this unforgettable time.

We had complete freedom to get as creative as we wanted when it came to producing all of our food. Unforgettable instants every step of the way. This goes way beyond the cooking as well. We painted the interior of the building, displayed pictures and paintings of local artists, and used a deli-style refrigerator to show off some of our salads and desserts; if we thought it was a good idea, we did not resist using it. We even displayed our culinary imagination when it came to naming the actual dishes. Nick’n Wellington was chicken Wellington named for my cook producing it, Duck Duck Goose after the classic childhood game was a crispy duck breast with duck leg confit and a seared piece of foie gras as the main units, or Bullseye featured a perfectly round filet mignon stuffed with a large seared sea scallop. We were having lots of fun even when it came to coming up with the titles of the unique dishes. Wild Apples was a little bit country, while we were a little bit rock and roll. Speaking of music, we used live acoustic performances from some of our favorite musicians as the background when dining at Simone’s. We started this endeavor full of enthusiasm and imagination.

So there it is; I owned my first restaurant when I was twenty-three years old. And it was literally the first restaurant I worked at when I was fourteen years old. I was an extremely motivated young adult, maybe a little too immature to be super successful. Things were going very well at Simone’s, but then I thought I had fallen in love with one of my young waitresses. Chad decided to move back to California, and that should have shown me that I was swerving off of the correct path.

I just can’t do this anymore, bud. I’m heading back to my family out west, Chad laid it on me.

What do you mean you can’t do this anymore?! Did I do something wrong? I responded defensively.

"I can just tell that you are much less focused on the actual restaurant and the food that we produce. She’s got all of your attention now."

Oh, come on. We are still putting out great dishes here every night!

"Seriously, Eric? Sure, the food is still coming out the