Reviewed:
Matthew is an outsider: orphaned as a child and raised in group homes, which leaves him isolated from others. Now that he’s grown up, he must learn how to become a functional adult in society. The bridge that gets him there is, in this case, the art of cooking. Or rather cuisine, given he becomes a classically trained chef.
The author has, as of this review, posted three stories with very consistent structures and themes. Based on the internal evidence, I believe he wrote Matthew’s Story second. I could be wrong, but I’m reviewing his stories in this presumed order.
This is not a drama, but rather a character study. There is no central conflict, or much conflict at all. It is episodes in Matthew’s growth—told wonderfully. Seriously, the author is a master prosecrafter. He’s also very good at scaffolding his episodes into a story. What comes in between, the connections between scenes and arcs, is a big improvement over Jacob’s Story—a big reason why I believe this was written later. In particular, he has learned how to not over-explain the point of episodes. There’s still a little more telling than needed, but for the most part, he gets out of the way and lets the implications arise out of circumstances.
Not perfect, but a fine story, finely told. Recommended. (Just, ignore the bad story description. He really needs to come up with a better one.)