Jet Fuel Review
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  • Issue 23 Spring 2022
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      • Jonathan Kvassay Spring 2022
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    • Issue #23 Poetry Spring 2022 >
      • Robin Gow Spring 2022
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      • Phil Goldstein Spring 2022
      • Michael Mingo Spring 2022
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      • Vismai Rao Spring 2022
      • Anna Laura Reeve Spring 2022
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      • Callista Buchen Spring 2022
      • Issam Zineh Spring 2022
      • MICHAEL CHANG Spring 2022
      • henry 7. reneau, jr. Spring 2022
      • Leah Umansky Spring 2022
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      • Rachel DeWoskin Spring 2022
    • Issue #23 Fiction Spring 2022 >
      • Melissa Boberg Spring 2022
    • Issue #23 Nonfiction Spring 2022 >
      • Srinaath Perangur Spring 2022
      • Audrey T. Carroll Spring 2022
  • Issue #24 Fall 2022
    • Issue #24 Art Fall 2022 >
      • Marsha Solomon Fall 2022
      • Edward Lee Fall 2022
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    • Issue #24 Poetry Fall 2022 >
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      • e Fall 2022
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    • Issue #24 Fiction Fall 2022 >
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    • Issue #24 Nonfiction Fall 2022 >
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  • Issue #25 Spring 2023
    • Issue #25 Art Spring 2023 >
      • David Carter Spring 2023
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    • Issue #25 Poetry Spring 2023 >
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      • Lisa Higgs ​Spring 2023
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      • Mara Jebsen ​Spring 2023
      • Abriana Jetté ​Spring 2023
      • Letitia Jiju ​Spring 2023
      • E.W.I. Johnson ​Spring 2023
      • Ashley Kunsa ​Spring 2023
      • Susanna Lang ​Spring 2023
      • James Fujinami Moore Spring 2023
      • Matthew Murrey Spring 2023
      • Pablo Otavalo Spring 2023
      • Heather Qin ​Spring 2023
      • Wesley Sexton ​Spring 2023
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      • Sara Sowers-Wills ​Spring 2023
      • Sydney Vogl ​Spring 2023
      • Elinor Ann Walker Spring 2023
      • Andrew Wells Spring 2023
      • Erin Wilson Spring 2023
      • Marina Hope Wilson ​Spring 2023
      • David Wojciechowski Spring 2023
      • Jules Wood Spring 2023
      • Ellen Zhang Spring 2023
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      • Jane Zwart Spring 2023
    • Issue #25 Fiction Spring 2023 >
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      • Callie S. Blackstone Spring 2023
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      • CL Glanzing Spring 2023
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    • Issue #25 Nonfiction Spring 2023 >
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      • Amanda Roth Spring 2023

Douglas Sovern

Fully Committed

Let me see your knives. What? You didn’t bring your knives? You were told to bring your knives. Be sure to bring them tomorrow. You will not be provided with knives.
 
This is where we keep the whites. They do not have your name on them. If you graduate to your own station, you will be given whites with your name on them. You must wear clean, fresh whites every day. It is up to you to turn in your soiled whites each night to Cicely. Cicely has not left the laundry room since the late nineties. If you do not bring her your soiled whites, you will not be provided with clean ones the next day.
 
This is your locker. Keep it locked. You are in between Kevin and Rachel. Kevin may steal things from your locker if you leave it open. Rachel only steals food, but she keeps it in her locker. She may hide some of it in yours if you leave it open. What? You didn’t bring a lock? You were told to bring a small combination lock. Be sure to bring one tomorrow. You will not be provided with a lock.
 
Here is your recipe binder. You are expected to learn all of the recipes. They have been developed carefully over time. Each one is a precise work of beauty, involving many delicate ingredients. Do not deviate in any way from the recipes. No substitutions are allowed. The sauces have all been concocted by Emilio, the saucier. He and his dog, Popo, spent seven years rooting for truffles in Perugia before joining us. There are truffles in all of the sauces. Do not trip over Popo at the sauce station. Emilio does not speak English. You may only address him in Italian. What? You don’t speak Italian? You will be expected to learn. On your own time. You will not be provided with Italian lessons.
 
This is the organic garden. We grow all our own fruits and vegetables. No produce from outside the garden is allowed in the restaurant. The gardener is James Delacroix. He is a vegetarian and only eats what he grows himself. He fertilizes the garden with his own waste. No other fertilizers are allowed. You may see James sleeping in the garden. He often stays the night to massage the salad greens, especially the arugula and the kale. You will be expected to massage them on his nights off. What? You don’t know how to do that? You will be expected to learn. You will not be provided with kale-massage-therapy training.
 
This is the pastry-sculpting studio. Each dessert must be carefully constructed according to the strict specifications of Katarina, our pastry chef. She uses precise ratios derived from her experience as a Slovenian bridge architect. Be sure to cantilever the thin layers of phyllo dough, just so. No individual element of any dessert may be larger than a thimble. What? You were told to bring a thimble. It must be made of micro-filigreed gold mesh. Be sure to bring one tomorrow. You will not be provided with a thimble.
 
Here is where we make our honey. Actually, our bees make the honey, by regurgitating nectar. Schiffelbein is in charge of the bees. You will not be expected to make honey. Under no circumstances should you regurgitate anything while in the restaurant. You will, however, be expected to assist Schiffelbein in caring for the bees and collecting their vomit. Our bees only eat nectar from plants in James Delacroix’s garden. If they fly off the property to pollinate, they are not allowed to return, and their honey is discarded. Everything we serve is local. While you are in our employ, you should not eat any food that comes from more than thirty miles away. What? You’re allergic to bees? Schiffelbein says our honey can cure that. No, there has been no peer review. What? No, you will not be provided with a beekeeping suit.
 
You will also help prepare the savory foams and emulsions for our special tasting menu of sustainable pine bark salads. No, of course we provide the pine bark. It is harvested by our house forester, Fritz. You will be expected to assist him. What? You brought your own chain saw? Whatever would possess you to do such a thing? No one told you to do that. We have very strict standards here. You will be provided with an appropriate chain saw. What kind of place do you think this is?
 
 
 
--
Douglas Sovern wrote the groundbreaking Twitter novel TweetHeart. His short stories have appeared in Narrative, Sand Hill Review and other journals, and have been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes and Best of the West. Narrative named his story “Indira” one of its Top Five Stories of 2013-14. A graduate of Brown University, he is the Political Reporter at KCBS Radio in San Francisco and has won almost 200 journalism awards. He is a native of New York City and lives in Oakland with his wife and their twins.

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  • Home
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Masthead
  • Submit
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Submit Here
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Book Reviews
  • Previous Issues
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Issue 23 Spring 2022
    • Issue #23 Art Spring 2022 >
      • Jonathan Kvassay Spring 2022
      • Karyna McGlynn Spring 2022
      • Andrea Kowch Spring 2022
      • Layla Garcia-Torres Spring 2022
    • Issue #23 Poetry Spring 2022 >
      • Robin Gow Spring 2022
      • T.D. Walker Spring 2022
      • Jen Schalliol Huang Spring 2022
      • Yvonne Zipter Spring 2022
      • Carrie McGath Spring 2022
      • Lupita Eyde-Tucker Spring 2022
      • Susan L. Leary Spring 2022
      • Kate Sweeney Spring 2022
      • Rita Mookerjee Spring 2022
      • Erin Carlyle Spring 2022
      • Cori Bratty-Rudd Spring 2022
      • Jen Karetnick Spring 2022
      • Meghan Sterling Spring 2022
      • Lorelei Bacht Spring 2022
      • Michael Passafiume Spring 2022
      • Jeannine Hall Gailey Spring 2022
      • Phil Goldstein Spring 2022
      • Michael Mingo Spring 2022
      • Angie Macri Spring 2022
      • Martha Silano Spring 2022
      • Vismai Rao Spring 2022
      • Anna Laura Reeve Spring 2022
      • Jenny Irish Spring 2022
      • Marek Kulig Spring 2022
      • Jami Macarty Spring 2022
      • Sarah A. Rae Spring 2022
      • Brittney Corrigan Spring 2022
      • Callista Buchen Spring 2022
      • Issam Zineh Spring 2022
      • MICHAEL CHANG Spring 2022
      • henry 7. reneau, jr. Spring 2022
      • Leah Umansky Spring 2022
      • Cody Beck Spring 2022
      • Danyal Kim Spring 2022
      • Rachel DeWoskin Spring 2022
    • Issue #23 Fiction Spring 2022 >
      • Melissa Boberg Spring 2022
    • Issue #23 Nonfiction Spring 2022 >
      • Srinaath Perangur Spring 2022
      • Audrey T. Carroll Spring 2022
  • Issue #24 Fall 2022
    • Issue #24 Art Fall 2022 >
      • Marsha Solomon Fall 2022
      • Edward Lee Fall 2022
      • Harryette Mullen Fall 2022
      • Jezzelle Kellam Fall 2022
      • Irina Greciuhina Fall 2022
      • Natalie Christensen Fall 2022
      • Mark Yale Harris Fall 2022
      • Amy Nelder Fall 2022
      • Bette Ridgeway Fall 2022
      • Ursula Sokolowska Fall 2022
    • Issue #24 Poetry Fall 2022 >
      • William Stobb Fall 2022
      • e Fall 2022
      • Stefanie Kirby Fall 2022
      • Lisa Ampleman Fall 2022
      • Will Cordeiro Fall 2022
      • Jesica Davis Fall 2022
      • Peter O'Donovan Fall 2022
      • Mackenzie Carignan Fall 2022
      • Jason Fraley Fall 2022
      • Barbara Saunier Fall 2022
      • Chad Weeden Fall 2022
      • Nick Rattner Fall 2022
      • Cynthia Schwartzberg Edlow Fall 2022
      • Summer J. Hart Fall 2022
      • Daniel Suá​rez Fall 2022
      • Sara Kearns Fall 2022
      • Millicent Borges Accardi Fall 2022
      • Liz Robbins Fall 2022
      • john compton Fall 2022
      • Esther Sadoff Fall 2022
      • Whitney Koo Fall 2022
      • W. J. Lofton Fall 2022
      • Rachel Reynolds Fall 2022
      • Kimberly Ann Priest Fall 2022
      • Annie Przypyszny Fall 2022
      • Konstantin Kulakov Fall 2022
      • Nellie Cox Fall 2022
      • Jennifer Martelli Fall 2022
      • SM Stubbs Fall 2022
      • Joshua Bird Fall 2022
    • Issue #24 Fiction Fall 2022 >
      • Otis Fuqua Fall 2022
      • Hannah Harlow Fall 2022
      • Natalia Nebel Fall 2022
      • Kate Maxwell Fall 2022
      • Helena Pantsis Fall 2022
    • Issue #24 Nonfiction Fall 2022 >
      • Courtney Ludwick Fall 2022
      • Anna Oberg Fall 2022
      • Acadia Currah Fall 2022
  • Issue #25 Spring 2023
    • Issue #25 Art Spring 2023 >
      • David Carter Spring 2023
      • Annabel Jung Spring 2023
      • Ryota Matsumoto Spring 2023
      • Leah Oates Spring 2023
      • Eve Ozer Spring 2023
      • Emily Rankin Spring 2023
      • Esther Yeon Spring 2023
    • Issue #25 Poetry Spring 2023 >
      • Emma Bolden Spring 2023
      • Ronda Piszk Broatch Spring 2023
      • M. Cynthia Cheung Spring 2023
      • Flower Conroy Spring 2023
      • Jill Crammond Spring 2023
      • Sandra Crouch Spring 2023
      • Satya Dash Spring 2023
      • Rita Feinstein Spring 2023
      • Dan Fliegel Spring 2023
      • Lisa Higgs ​Spring 2023
      • Dennis Hinrichsen ​Spring 2023
      • Mara Jebsen ​Spring 2023
      • Abriana Jetté ​Spring 2023
      • Letitia Jiju ​Spring 2023
      • E.W.I. Johnson ​Spring 2023
      • Ashley Kunsa ​Spring 2023
      • Susanna Lang ​Spring 2023
      • James Fujinami Moore Spring 2023
      • Matthew Murrey Spring 2023
      • Pablo Otavalo Spring 2023
      • Heather Qin ​Spring 2023
      • Wesley Sexton ​Spring 2023
      • Ashish Singh ​Spring 2023
      • Sara Sowers-Wills ​Spring 2023
      • Sydney Vogl ​Spring 2023
      • Elinor Ann Walker Spring 2023
      • Andrew Wells Spring 2023
      • Erin Wilson Spring 2023
      • Marina Hope Wilson ​Spring 2023
      • David Wojciechowski Spring 2023
      • Jules Wood Spring 2023
      • Ellen Zhang Spring 2023
      • BJ Zhou Spring 2023
      • Jane Zwart Spring 2023
    • Issue #25 Fiction Spring 2023 >
      • Eleonora Balsano Spring 2023
      • Callie S. Blackstone Spring 2023
      • Daniel Deisinger Spring 2023
      • CL Glanzing Spring 2023
      • Janine Kovac Spring 2023
      • Jeremy T. Wilson Spring 2023
      • Richie Zaborowske Spring 2023
    • Issue #25 Nonfiction Spring 2023 >
      • Kalie Johnson Spring 2023
      • Amanda Roth Spring 2023