Leo The Chef

• Rebecca Chang, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2007

Once upon a time, in a small village called Curtainsville, there was a king by the name of Leonidus, who loved his food. He lived in a high castle overlooking the village, with his wife Leonie and his three beautiful children Stuart, Samantha and Sarah.
One evening, as King Leonidus was being served his dinner, he was furious when he saw his meal. His face turned purple with rage, as he yelled at the chef, “Why did you give me baked beans, I asked for baked Alaska?” He fired the chef immediately.
The next morning, the king asked all the chefs from around the country to cook him a special dish, so that he could choose the best chef to work for him. By the end of the week, after eating and tasting a mountain of delicious food, he decided to hire Leo the chef, who actually lived in Curtainsville.
The first day on the job, Leo was asked by the king to cook pepperoni pizza for lunch. Leo had a big secret. He couldn't cook. He had tricked the king about his cooking skills, because he had always wanted to live in the castle. In actual fact, he had been going to a little old woman in the village who cooked the food for him! He quickly ran down to the village to collect the food. This went on for a few months, until, one cold winters' day, the woman fell ill and was too sick to get out of bed to cook. “The king will have my head chopped off!” yelled Leo. “What shall I do?”
Leo thought for a long time, suddenly, he had a great idea. He ran back to the castle to find some cookbooks. He quickly started to follow the recipe in the cookbook, step by step. Some time later, he served the dinner to the king and his family. He thought that they would think that it tasted terrible, and he would be toss out of the castle. But to his amazement, they all though that it was scrumptious! The best meal they have ever tasted.
From that day on, Leo started to cook all the meals himself. Everyone was happy.