As is the case with many things, it all started so innocently.
A friend of mine volunteers as a chef's assistant at Whole Foods and helps to teach cooking classes. She is one of the store's top volunteers, working several sessions per month, sacrificing her personal time for the advancement of culinary science. One such class was held last night, in the waning hours of Valentine's Day. This class was attended by 13 couples who thought they might treat themselves to something a little different this year.
The intentions were good all the way around. The problem was that the chef conducting the class, although pleasant when interacting with the class participants, was quite rude to the staff of four volunteers assisting her. Throughout the evening, when asked this question or that, the chef would snap back a curt reply, often bordering on downright hostility. The class had started at 6:00, so by 10:30, when everything finally wrapped up for the evening, the prevailing atmosphere was one of relief that this dreadful thing had finally come to an end.
At 10:30, there were four volunteers left, and my friend, who incidentally is not much of a drinker, realized that consuming the leftover champagne by the glass was a much too slow road to true inebriation, and she opted instead to drink it straight from the bottle.
I think that next year, my friend will probably opt to make something special for Valentine's dinner, something a bit more predictable -- reservations, perhaps.