Mj the Destroyer

Remember Your Troops…

There are only select few that know this story. So I am debating even telling it. However, I feel like it would be a dishonor to our troops that are being brought home from the Middle East this holiday season…

During my time in Culinary School the administrators were very supported of the troops in the War. The made care packages during the fourth of July, sent cards in September… Well during Christmas, the school wanted to do something extra special. The sent out fliers to notify all the class and instructors. It was going to be awesome. 

I along with the other cool culinary kids, we didn’t get the notice. As we left class one afternoon, there was a group of other students making sugar cookies. Naturally we joined in. Since the cool culinary kids, are actually not culinary driven but management driven ( meaning we took all of two basic culinary classes), we have no shame in slopping some frosting on a cookie and stuffing our face with the cookie. 

During our cookie binge a few of the instructors, asked us to put a little more thought into how we decorate them.  We proclaimed that weren’t culinary driven and that we were just stopping by. As I took my third pipping bag of colored frosting, to add yet another M to my monogrammed star cookie, I began to look around… something wasn’t adding up. No one was eating cookies. Everyone was taking great care in each cookie they frosted. I then looked at the giant banner hanging behind me, “Cookies for Our Troops”. I nudge one of my cool friends, motioned to the banner…

Her terrified eyes met mine- this was the special thing! And we were ruining it. We couldn’t give our troops our ugly cookies! And we couldn’t show them to the chef that was walking towards us. My friend picked up her cookies and mouthed the word ” run” - so that is what we did… we took our cookies and booked it! 

Ok so at this point we are scum. There would be at least four troops that would not be given cookies - But we didn’t get caught, so it would be a super culinary secret, that we would take to our graves. 

The next day in class, our instructor began the class with telling how the special troop cookie extravaganza was super successful, and started passing around a few photographs. The photographs were of two students running down the hall while trying to eat over sized sugar cookies. Literally you could see the cookies in hand…

I think by far it was one of my proudest moments in my life. And now every time I eat sugar cookies, I have a patriotic moment and remember the troops and how much they sacrificed for our country…