How a Master Chef Lost the Thanksgiving Turkey

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Find it at all major retailers. And we return to our American stories in our Thanksgiving special. Up next, a story from Steve Reed about an unforgettable experience with a turkey.

Take it away, Steve. My name is Steven Reed and I live here in Carlisle, Iowa. And I would like to share a story about how I lost a Thanksgiving turkey.

So just a little bit of a background. I am a chef and I have worked as a chef for over 30 years now. And back in 2006, I saw a job listing for a family that was looking to hire a private chef. Lo and behold, I was offered the position and I was just elated. Pretty much almost immediately, I bonded with this family.

And it was just a joy to show up to work every day. And in fact, the husband of the family, he gave me the name of MasterChef, which I had to laugh because I'm not a master chef at all. I mean, yes, I am a chef.

Yes, I am an excellent cook, but I am not a master chef, at least in the official sense. So I had been working for this family for two and a half years and Thanksgiving was coming up. And they were trying to figure out what they wanted to do for Thanksgiving dinner. This debate developed between the mother and the father of the family on what kind of turkey that they wanted to have. The husband who had done all of the cooking before I was hired really had this obsession with really large turkeys, but the mother of the house was really concerned about eating healthy. So she really preferred grass-fed organic turkey.

In 10 days, this whole argument went on. And so a week before Thanksgiving in 2008, the phone rings in the kitchen and it was the husband. And he said, MasterChef, don't worry about going to the grocery store at all. We're going to have two smaller grass-fed organic turkeys show up at the house. They're going to be delivered to the front door.

They're going to be all thought out and they're going to be all ready for you. And I'm thinking, oh, that is just incredible. I went through the weekend, just really didn't think anything about it. And so I came back in to work that Monday and everything was going normal and the phone rings and it is the husband of the family. And he says, MasterChef, we've changed our minds and I want you to just drop whatever you're doing and go to the store and I need you to find a turkey and make sure that it's around 20 pounds, please.

And I'm thinking, oh my gosh, are you kidding me? With it being the Monday before Thanksgiving, the parking lot was jam-packed full. There was one spot that I found and it was in the very corner of the parking lot, just about as far away from the grocery store as you could possibly be. And going to the grocery store, sure thing, you know, it was busy. It was loaded with people and not only did they need turkey, but they also needed some celery. So I walked into the store and immediately went over to the produce section, grabbed some celery and proceeded to the back of the store to where they kept all of the turkeys. And you know, way down in the bottom of this cooler, there's this huge turkey. And it was just like the heavens opened up and a chorus of angels were singing down upon me saying, yes, I have found a 22 pound turkey. And then I picked up the turkey. I'm walking, I'm walking towards the front of the store and I'm switching hands.

And obviously there's lines at every cashier station. So I'm having to hold the turkey because by now my arms are feeling, feeling like they're going to be pulled out from my shoulder. So I get to my truck and I was just so tired of carrying this turkey. And so for whatever reason, I just threw it in the back of my truck.

Now, something that I need to tell you about my truck at this point, it didn't have a tailgate. So anyway, I put the turkey into the back of the truck with a celery. And for a moment I thought, well, maybe I should take the turkey and I should put it into the cab of my truck. But then I thought, nah, I don't think that'll be, it'll be okay.

That thing weighs 23 pounds. That turkey isn't going to go anywhere. So I make it home and go to grab the turkey and the celery. And all I see is the celery. Oh, this horror, this, this, this, this terrible feeling just came over me. It's like, oh my gosh, I have lost the Thanksgiving turkey, but I had to go back and go find my turkey wherever it might be. So I only had to drive maybe three tenths of a mile.

Yeah. So there was my turkey and it was just sitting on the curb of the street. And when I pulled up, uh, there was this older gentleman and I just, I'll never forget this gentleman because he was just standing on the curb, just looking down at my turkey. He wasn't touching it. He wasn't trying to pick it up or do anything like that. He was just standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking at it. And this is it, I'll never forget him because he had on like these Docker slacks.

He had on this, uh, really nice tweed sports jacket and a Derby hat. And I obviously, I, I've never met this man before, but I have to go pick up my turkey. And I go and it was like, excuse me, sir, but, uh, this is my turkey. Uh, I accidentally lost it on the way home. And this gentleman says, well, I don't know anybody that's ever lost a turkey. And I just shook my head and said, well, until now, I don't know anyone that ever has either. And I put the turkey into the car seat that I had in my truck and drove home.

So then I had maybe 45 minutes and I would, I was just finished up the meal for the family when they came home. Of course, in this time, I'm thinking about everything that happened, that transpired. And I'm just laughing to myself.

It's like only you anyway. So the family comes in, you know, the kids come in and then, and then the father comes in. And obviously the first thing he says is master chef, did you find me a turkey? And I go, oh, I have a turkey. And he goes, oh, really?

I didn't know what I should tell him or not, but let's face it. It was a funny story. And they were just rolling. I mean, they could hardly eat their supper. They were laughing so hard. And a special thanks to master chef Steve Reed. How the master chef lost the Thanksgiving turkey.

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