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67. To the Bone
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in With the Fire on High, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age and Teen Parenthood
Creativity vs. Professional Norms
Food and Connection
Caregiving, Independence, and Identity
Support, Community, and Mentorship
Summary
Analysis
On the afternoon of Monday, December 9, the only people left in the building are teachers, custodians, and the Culinary Arts class. The students are busy prepping, but they stop to listen to Chef Ayden’s speech. He directs students to bring menu questions to him or Emoni, and he says the recipes all call for the correct amount of salt. Emoni is nervous, and she even squeezes Malachi’s hand. He squeezes back, which just makes Emoni’s heart race faster.
Chef Ayden continues to boost Emoni’s confidence by making it clear to the rest of the class that she’s one of the people in charge of the food tonight. Noting that the recipes all call for just enough salt is another way that he subtly tells Emoni that he’s taking her and her concerns seriously: he is, perhaps, learning something too and is refining his recipes based on her instinct.
Themes
At Chef Ayden’s signal, Emoni joins Richard and Amanda at their station to prep the sweet potato casserole bites. As they assemble the bites, Emoni starts for the spice cabinet. Chili aioli would elevate this recipe—but she stops herself, because that’s not the recipe. Emoni works tirelessly the whole night until finally, she and her classmates leave to greet the guests. She feels naked: she’s responsible for whether people enjoy the meal.
Emoni’s first thought as she cooks is to doctor the recipe to make it even better. When she decides to temper her instinct to do that, it highlights that she’s now taking Chef Ayden seriously. She realizes that changing the recipe at this point might yield good food, but it’s not what she and the team decided on—and it would be disrespectful to Chef Ayden and her classmates to change the recipe.
Themes
