When he cooked, the entire kitchen was galvanized by the strength he put into it; the dishes, pans, knives, everything bore the brunt of his strength, and everything was challenged, forced to cook, to boil. He was a beast of a man, unrefined. His fingers thick and dented from the way he conquered the vegetables with his sharp knife. His arm marked by red streaks from boiling water that raised up like hot lava as he tossed...