Death By Chocolate

My name is Megan Tyler, this is a written statement acknowledging my guilt. I am currently on the 8th day of a 20-year prison sentence which I am serving without the possibility of parole. I unintentionally killed Mr. Harold Devereaux on the night of January, 29th 2021.

It was my second month on the job. I was proud of myself; I had landed the position of Head Bakery Chef at the exquisite restaurant called Monroe's. The restaurant had been featured in culinary magazines and even television shows. It really meant something to land a job at Monroe's. Famous chefs from all over the world had worked in that kitchen.

The fine, very expensive establishment was located in downtown New York. Everybody who had money to flaunt came walking through the door. Famous celebrities frequented the establishment. I once had the honor of preparing a meal for the Vice President and his family. A photograph still hangs on the wall, in honor of that most special occasion.

We served everything from Lobster and Caviar to Matsutake Mushrooms and Truffles. One of the most popular dessert items on the menu was Swarovski Chocolate Cake. An entire cake cost $1,200.00 just one slice was $200.00. It was an exceptionally beautiful cake, more of a work of art to be honest. I really enjoyed making those cakes. I had just perfected my technique and could perfectly place the 14kt gold-covered chocolate beads without having them roll off into the floor. If one bead fell off, the customer was entitled to return the cake. Trust me, they looked at each bead carefully. Those rich people loved to cause misery where ever they could.

It was a particularly busy Friday night and I was being rushed to get the food prepared as quickly as possible. I was racing around the kitchen trying to finish two very important orders. One of the orders was for a slice of chocolate cake. Swarovski Chocolate Cake to be more specific. Mr. Devereaux had requested that ribbons of To’ak chocolate embellish the cake. To’ak is very expensive chocolate, it costs a whopping $260 per bar. The other order that I was working on involved truffles. These are also extremely expensive selling for $240 per pound.

As you can imagine, it can be quite hectic handling such high-end food items. One mistake meant that my paycheck would suffer the consequences. That night I made an unforgivable mistake. A mistake that cost Mr. Devereaux his life.

I had just finished slicing the Truffles and placed them on the counter. I then turned to the To’ak chocolate and began shredding it into perfect ribbons. A server came into the kitchen to inform me that Mr. Devereaux was growing very impatient while waiting for his cake. I quickly turned and began placing the delicate chocolate ribbons on the slice of chocolate cake and then rushed it to the server who then delivered it to Mr. Devereaux.

Within moments I heard a frantic commotion coming from the dining room. I stepped out of the kitchen to see what was going on. I saw several people surrounding Mr. Devereaux as someone yelled for an ambulance to be called. “What’s going on?” I anxiously asked the server. “I’m not entirely sure,” he replied. Together we stood there and watched as someone laid Mr. Devereaux on the floor and began CPR. “Is he choking?” I shouted. Nobody acknowledged me. I heard Mr. Devereaux's wife cry “He’s allergic to fungus.” I looked at the server with horror. “The truffles!” I screamed as I ran back into the kitchen. That’s when I discovered that I had mistakenly placed the truffles on Mr. Devereaux's slice of chocolate cake.

I rushed to the table where Mr. Devereaux and his wife had been sitting. I picked up the half-eaten slice of cake and observed that it did in fact have truffles on top. I immediately admitted my fault and tried to explain to the paramedics that I had made a horrendous mistake. My findings had come much too late, Mr. Devereaux was dead. I looked at his lifeless body lying on the floor. A thin trickle of blood gradually leaked from his nostril.

I was immediately fired from my position at Monroe's. I was horrified, the job did not matter; I had just killed a man. Although it was unintentional, it was still a matter-of-fact.

I plead guilty for the horrendous mishap and was sentenced to 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole. Although I deserve punishment, I cannot help but feel that the penalty is quite severe. I will be 57 years old when I next see freedom.

On the brighter side. Mrs. Devereaux was given a free Swarovski Chocolate Cake which I am told that she abruptly returned to the kitchen because one of the golden-covered chocolate beads rolled off onto the floor.