On a visit to Chicago, Marco decided to dine at a restaurant. I was working as a pastry cook, and he spotted me in the kitchen. After his meal, he asked for a job and was hired. We worked closely for about a year and our friendship bloomed. We had little inside jokes and we supported each other through the chaos of the kitchen.He was offered a job back in Texas and accepted. During his last week in Chicago, he asked me out to dinner and confessed his crush on me. That became our first date.

There are so many treasured memories we have shared during our time together. One of the dearest to us is when we went to the Goodman Theater in downtown Chicago to watch “A Christmas Carol”. It was the beginning of our relationship and our feelings were quickly developing. That coupled with the holiday magic in the air made it such a special night. It felt like we were in a Hallmark movie and it was just us two lost in the moment.

Winning this contest would be a great help towards helping us reach our dreams. We both have a passion for the kitchen and hospitality and dream of opening a restaurant and hospitality group focused on providing for our community’s needs. We also have a range of individual goals we hope to accomplish and this money would definitely help!