the french laundry

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and from my mom I asked for a cookbook. Not any cookbook either. One called The French Laundry. Apparently its a famous restaurant in Southern California, but theres a story behind this book, so don't think I'm weird for asking for it.
This past summer I went to Costa Rica. In this little town called Santa Theresa, my best friend Eleanor and I spent about 5 weeks working at a resort, right on the beach. We lived about 1/4 mile away in a little beach hut with a tin roof. Each of us choose different jobs. Eleanor chose to work as a waitress while I choose to work as a pastry chef. Expected to stay until after 3pm, I would usually have to be in the kitchen at 5a.m. ready to help bake muffins and bread for breakfast. As a waitress, Eleanor usually chose to work the night shifts, when she would presumably make the most money. So separately we hiked the quarter mile to work each day. Within the 5 weeks spent in that kitchen, I met some of the most awesome people I have ever met. There was Estefano, a Tico from Costa Rica who worked in the kitchen mornings and afternoons. Gavin, a New Yorker drawn to the coast for the surf, but meanwhile working as a head chef. Laura, who I assisted day in and day out as a pastry chef. And finally Andres. Andres was the most intriguing of all the people i met and we became close. He was from Guatemala, but attended Culinary School in Spain, where he learned to prepare food like no one I have ever met. Because the hut El and I lived in was only a few houses down, occasionally I would stop by his house. He and Gavin lived together, so needless to say, since i knew so few people in the town, I would be over there a lot. In the time I spent with Andres though, I learned of his passion for cooking. He taught me new cooking techniques, and showed me machines I have never seen before doing things to food I didn't even know could be done. He showed me book after book of how to prepare different types of food, and present them in an artistic way at the same time. I learned cooking isn't just about making something taste good, but literally it is an art form as well. Cooks spend almost as long organizing food on a plate as they do making the food. Living in Santa Theresa, I gained a new appreciation for food and a new respect for cooks and chefs. Cooking bread and pastries is one thing, but preparing original, intricate meals and presenting them in an artistic manner is a completely different beast.