Love in the Shadows

Processed Secrets

by Laurie Esposito

He was a sham. A soon to be dark stain on the carpet that is the mainstream cooking industry. All of these years of hiding, and he hired people to go shopping for him, paid them off to keep quiet, all to hide his love for processed foods. Something that, if it were to get out, would surely kill his career on the spot.

Bruce Kaleb, Internet personality turned TV cooking show star, founded his reputation on homemade cooking, healthy eating and lifestyle, and absolutely no processed foods. He has been in health and food magazines a numerous amount of times, and has been on more daytime talk shows than he'd ever like to admit. His fanbase of teens and young adults looking to lose weight, as well as thirsty middle-aged housewives, followed his every move.

He got his start writing a blog with healthy recipes he came up with on a budget of a recent college graduate. Slowly but surely, he gained traction.

He was showcased in a magazine article titled, 'Young and Upcoming Chefs to Look Out For', which ultimately gave him a true lift up in the industry. His blog posts went from 1,000 hits to 100,000 over a four month period. He started to expand his content by creating instructional videos for the recipes and other cooking-related content. A year after the article premiered, he signed a cookbook deal, reaching the New York Times Best-Selling list.

One thing stayed consistent through his content: No processed foods. His recipes weren't all healthy, nor cheap to make, but, there was never a single processed item in his food. Understanding his audience, he gave cheaper and healthier alternatives. But, he strongly recommended using non-processed ingredients.

There were plenty of horror stories: A chef preaching veganism wearing leather, a TV personality known for trying outlandish foods faking eating the biggest burger, a puppet from a certain children's show attempting to switch from cookies to veggies. There was an abundance of hate toward all of them.

- - -

Bruce stood next to his kitchen island, resting on his elbows while reading the morning paper. A knock sounded at Bruce's back door, and he glanced up. He made his way over but stopped abruptly, hesitant to open it. Another knock came from the other side.

"Mr. Kaleb. I have your ingredients." Despite being slightly muffled by the door, it was unmistakably his young assistant of three years, Aronne Lazzaro. Bruce opened the door, ignoring Aronne and looked directly at the bag in his hands.

"Did you get everything on the list?" he asked the boy.

"Yes, I made sure of it."

Bruce eyed him up and down, then grabbed the bag out of Aronne's hands. He rushed into his house and sat the bag down on his island. Aronne followed, closing the door. Looking out the window, assuring that there was no chance of being caught, Bruce shut the blinds tight. The light of the room shifted, Bruce stood in front of the bag, staring at it. He glanced up to Aronne. They had been in this situation enough times that they communicated in a wordless agreement. Aronne nodded to him and went into the sitting room.

Bruce was alone. His shaking hands reached down to grab the zipper. He unzipped it slowly, pausing to breathe in the smell that flowed out of the bag. Standing there in ecstasy, he took it all in. Finally, he removed the contents of the bag.

First, fourteen cheese cracker packs.

A box of six snack cakes––chocolate, with vanilla icing.

A bag of gummy candies, shaped as fruits, but with a chemical smell that passed through its packaging.

A 16.9 oz. bottle of soda, vanilla flavored.