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hello everyone Karen Glasser here and
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welcome to life Uncorked today's segment
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is called Aging like a fine wine and I'm
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here with Sonia leco she's the owner of
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the West Los Angeles Chef's for seniors
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good afternoon Sonia how are you today I
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am great thank you for having me Karen
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this is lovely I am so thrilled to have
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this conversation and this is all about
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people ordinary people who do
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extraordinary things and you're one of
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them um let's talk a little bit about
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your story and then how you got to where
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you are today take us back just a little
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bit how did you get here well I would
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um start with then I came in the United
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1997 I am Italian and
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swiss um raised in Switzerland from
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Italian parents and uh when I came in
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1997 because I fell in love with
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husband we who I met in
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Switzerland and um so it was the um
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Valentine's Day 1997 when I came here
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and the first thing I learned and
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embraced and I was really happy about
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States for me has been very easy to
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reinvent myself ah reinvention I love
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that I love reinvented myself and I
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could have the opportunity to look into
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myself and see okay what do I want to do
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up I was in my 30s so and um and from
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then it's has been an exploration and uh
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I went to I started uh I continue
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actually my education special education
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here in the United States uh from where
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I left off in Switzerland
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and I signed up for classes then I went
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to Cate Northridge and I got my BA in
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development and at that time my son was
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four years old and I a couple of years
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later that I graduated I bought my son's
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preschool basically the preschool where
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my son used to go oh wow little
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California and uh I ran it for almost 10
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and uh then I sold in
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2018 and uh I decided again to look into
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myself say now I a little older but I'm
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still growing up what I wanted to yes
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and uh so I wanted to put together my
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passion for cooking because I was raised
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in a family where uh the Italian family
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when then the and the cooking it's
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important is that eating is important it
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brings the family together right yes and
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so I I wanted to I always like to cook
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and and uh love making pasta from
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scratch and so I wanted to do a business
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because now you know I once you have
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your own business start to go back
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working with someone else I wanted to
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continue working for myself be my own
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boss and maybe having people working
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with me and so when I was re searching
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um something to do in in with the
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cooking and I came across to Chef for
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seniors this uh FR and the franchise
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opportunity um I looked at I feel out
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those three lines of information I send
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it out and they call me within five
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minutes wow and I think they liked me
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and I liked them and their purpose and
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and chefer being founded by the father
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and the son in Madison Wisconsin I I
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love this and you and what my audience
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doesn't know is that I actually met you
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through chefs for seniors yes in
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researching how to make sure that my
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parents who are seniors get um healthy
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delicious meals in in you know at their
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home and a little bit about chefs for
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seniors this is not your traditional
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they send you food and it's in these
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little packages how does chefs senior's
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work Chef for Senor does um
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basically um when I received the phone
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call and I set up an appointment with
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the with the potential clients and I go
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to the home I sit down with them and I
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go through a questionnaire of likes and
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dislikes what they uh what their goal is
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what their needs are and uh and then we
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sent a a chef the chef in the also the
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seniors so that live independently and
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uh we have our own pots and pants but
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we're happy to use the client equipment
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for needed uh the chef buy the groceries
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that need to execute the meal so they
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don't have to worry that about about
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purchasing what they need so the chef
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Cooks uh put in containers that can be
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stored in the refrigerator in the
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uh cleans up which is very important
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always the client ask does she clean up
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after right yes uh yeah what I what I
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realize with my parents is first of all
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the food is delicious there's there's
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that companionship here's the chef that
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becomes your right almost like a family
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that comes in it's once a week every two
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weeks there she she or he are making
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food uh for the individuals in the
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household based upon their uh dietary
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issues you know low salt maybe it's
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kosher maybe it's vegetarian whatever it
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is and you provide that service and I am
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fascinated by this because I didn't even
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know this thing existed and I'm thrilled
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that you did the research and found them
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because this is literally a national
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company right this is
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not when I bought into shefford seniors
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2019 um I was number 41 in uh in as a
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franchisee and I was uh on only we were
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two in the in California that time now I
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think they uh closed the 20 23 years
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with 95 96 franchises right and uh we
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are 12 or 13 here in California so
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that's amazing that's an amazing growth
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obviously um so you know I have to
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really ask you what drives you now in
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this stage of your life I mean you're
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doing chefs for seniors you just you did
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your research you started in 2019 it's
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2023 you're growing what's what's
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actually driving you why do you keep it
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it is giving back a little bit you know
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giving back a little because it's it's a
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service it's something that I can help
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people can provide I've been very
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fortunate in my life and uh so I want to
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do something that's as a as a meaning as
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that it's helpful and when I purchasing
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franchise and talking with the
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franchisers with Nathan and Barrett anen
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all men sorry and they um I the first
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impression after hang up the phone with
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them said this is a business with a
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heart and that's really what I wanted oh
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that's that's wonderful so you know I
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always like to ask my guests this
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question that makes you think and that
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is how do you want to be remembered as
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we as we travel on this journey called
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life and we have kids you have you have
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you know kids how do you want to be
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remembered do you want your kids to
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remember you in a certain way maybe as
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they get older and they have kids
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themselves the grandkids remembering you
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how do you want to be remembered about
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the good smell in my kitchen oh what a
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wonderful answer that that that that's
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it if I because that's
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what I remember from my childhood images
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and this mess so that that to me when I
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think there are some moments that the
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hard in in life and that I do this and
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grandma's cooking oh I love that
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I so Sonia what's next for you I know
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you're going to continue doing this are
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do you have other aspirations as
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well well it's um I try to grow the
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business much as possible obviously and
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um I am part of this um organization
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called Senior Services Foundation SSP
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and we are uh trying to get more
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involved with them and what we do is
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also provide services in general for
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seniors and they have in California
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different chapters so I hope to be a
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voice in in that uh and what a great
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what a great um collaboration having you
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with the food and the the nurturing and
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this everything it's beautiful for those
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were watching right now we're going to
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show you how you can get in touch and
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learn more about chefs for seniors slw
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west-- Angeles Das area but if you don't
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happen to live in California live
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somewhere else all you have to do is go
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to chefs for seniors and put in your zip
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code and it will show you where there is
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one near you you can also follow Sonia
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on Instagram at for seniors West LA and
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then finally on Facebook at Chefs for
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seniors West Los Angeles any last minute
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um well the what uh the
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table it's um somehow it's connect
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people and so and that's what I really
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would like to do would like to continue
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to cook for the my H for the other
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people especially when those she just
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not for the people and with the hope
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that bring their family together sharing
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the meals we prepared and connect people
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to food that's that's wonderful Sonia
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thank you so much for sharing your
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journey your time your story thank you
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with all of us thank you and we will see
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everyone next time have a great day
