Great clouds of steam poured out of the kitchen window of a restaurant near the Hudson River. The vapor came from huge pots of boiling potatoes, broccoli, peas and carrots. There was so much steam in the kitchen you could hardly see José the chef, even though he was a really big guy; more like obese, really.

José was a great chef. He had studied the art of cooking and knew the secrets behind the ingredients, smells, flavors and combinations he could invent with them.

The restaurant's specialty was international cuisine, so José knew how to make French dishes, like delicious blue trout in butter sauce, and Italian food, like fettuccini in white wine sauce. Ah, but he was also great at American and Mexican cooking, like hamburgers and enchiladas. People from all over the world loved to go to the restaurant to enjoy their favorite foods, prepared with José's special touch.

Cooking clearly wasn't a problem for José. What did cramp his style was that day his assistants hadn't shown up for work that day. They're the ones who chopped, peeled and cooked the ingredients so he could prepare the food. It was incredible! Not one of them had come in! Nothing like this had ever happened. It was pure chaos in the kitchen. He had to do everything from cutting the onions (they sure made him cry) to placing delicate sugar flowers on the jelly fruitcakes.

"This stinks!" the poor chef groaned.

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