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The Menu · 2022 — Chapter 12 of 13 · 3'19" · B2

The Chef Confronts His Devoted Fan, Explained: swore you to secrecy

Everyone assumes the chef is about to name the guest who wronged him, and the finger lands on Tyler. The devoted fan who wrote to him for months is asked why he came, and the answer is ugly: he knew the whole menu. "So you hired her knowing she'd die," the chef says of Margot, and Tyler has no answer.

What happens

The chef halts the menu for an "unresolved matter" and singles out Tyler. Asked why he is there, Tyler says he wanted to experience the food. The chef reminds him of the truth: they corresponded for eight months, he was sworn to secrecy, and he knew everyone would die. Then the chef points out that Tyler brought Margot, his replacement date, knowing she would die too.

InterrogationsAccusationsConfrontingThreateningStaff & customerB2slowamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

killed itswore you to secrecyahead of timepick out

00:00 / 03:19
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  36. ❝ MonologueThe missing date4 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

swore you to secrecy

made you promise to keep a secret

主厨说，当年正是让他发誓绝不外传，才给了他进入这个世界的机会。

They swore her to secrecy about the recipe.

Also in this scene

  • killed it

    did something extremely well

  • ahead of time

    in advance

  • pick out

    to recognize or select something from among others

Everything marked in this scene

46 notes across 65 lines

Phrase · B1the party's overParty's over.
SoundParty's

liaison

Party's over.
Phrase · A2welcome backWelcome back. What did you get?
Phrase · B2allow meAllow me. No, it's fine. It's fine.
Phrase · A2it's fineAllow me. No, it's fine. It's fine.
Phrase · B1out thereHow'd you do out there?
Phrase · B2kill it

did something extremely well

I did great. I killed it.
Phrase · B2get awayI'm the only one who got away.
Phrase · C1a fucking failureI'm sorry. I'm a fuckin failure.
Slang · B2fuckinI'm sorry. I'm a fuckin failure.
Phrase · A2it's okayIt's okay.
Phrase · B2steal money from someoneI've been stealing money from you.
Phrase · C1a negative recommendationI wrote a negative recommendation to Sony.
Phrase · B2cc someoneI know. You cc'd me on it.
Phrase · B2cannot continueI'm afraid our menu cannot continue as planned.
Phrase · B1as plannedI'm afraid our menu cannot continue as planned.
Grammar · B2cannot continue as planned

as planned

I'm afraid our menu cannot continue as planned.
Phrase · B1deal with somethingUntil we deal with an unresolved matter.
Phrase · C1an unresolved matterUntil we deal with an unresolved matter.
Phrase · B1tell me why ...Tell me why you're here.
Phrase · B2want to experience somethingI wanted to experience your food, Chef.
Phrase · B2ahead of time

in advance

What were you told ahead of time?
Phrase · B2the greatest ... ever createdYou told me it'd be the greatest menu ever created.
Phrase · B1everyone would dieAnd that everyone would die.
Phrase · B1have a dateSLOWIK: You had a date.
Phrase · B2seem to rememberI seem to remember you had a date.
Phrase · B1what happened to someoneSo what happened to her? Your date.
Phrase · B2break up with someoneShe broke up with me, Chef. So you brought Margot.
Phrase · C1seatings for oneCause you don't offer seatings for one.
Phrase · B2knowing (that) ...So you hired her knowing she'd die.
Phrase · B1be gonna kill someoneI'm gonna kill you, Tyler.
Phrase · C1correspond with someoneFor the eight months I've corresponded with you, I gave you, Tyler, access to our world. Hmm.
Phrase · B2access to somethingFor the eight months I've corresponded with you, I gave you, Tyler, access to our world. Hmm.
Grammar · B2I've corresponded with you

present perfect for duration

For the eight months I've corresponded with you, I gave you, Tyler, access to our world. Hmm.
Phrase · C1swear someone to secrecy

made you promise to keep a secret

And I swore you to secrecy.
Grammar · C1swore you to secrecy

swear someone to secrecy

And I swore you to secrecy.
Phrase · B1why do you think ...Why do you think I'd do this?
Phrase · B1could taste somethingYeah, I could taste it. Yeah, you could. Yeah, I know, but you identified it.
Phrase · B2identify somethingYeah, I could taste it. Yeah, you could. Yeah, I know, but you identified it.
Phrase · B2pick something outPicked it out. Mmm hmm. Right. That impressed me.
Phrase · B2that impressed mePicked it out. Mmm hmm. Right. That impressed me.
Phrase · A2a cookI mean, you're a cook. Oh. Cooks belong in the kitchen.
Phrase · B2belong in a placeI mean, you're a cook. Oh. Cooks belong in the kitchen.
Soundbelong in

liaison

I mean, you're a cook. Oh. Cooks belong in the kitchen.
Phrase · A2come with someoneCome with me. TYLER: Really?
Soundwith me

liaison

Come with me. TYLER: Really?

The Chef Confronts His Devoted Fan, explained

What's really going on

Tyler has spent the evening performing expertise, and the chef dismantles it. The fan is not a fellow artist but a tourist: "I mean, you're a cook. Oh. Cooks belong in the kitchen." The cruelty is precise. For eight months Tyler was fed access and made to swear secrecy, and he treated the secret as a ticket — he even brought Margot so he would not have to dine alone, knowing what awaited her. "So you hired her knowing she'd die" is the line that turns admiration into complicity. Tyler's devotion was never about the food; it was about being close enough to watch.

Theme

IdentityTyler wanted to be an insider, not a fan, but the chef tells him he is only a cook who belongs in the kitchen.
BetrayalThe fan broke the secrecy he swore and brought a date to a dinner he knew was a death sentence.

What you'll learn

  • Notice how "great I" changes the exchange.
  • Listen for the attitude carried by "great I".
  • Try the phrase in a comparable conversation.

Listen for

  • Party's — liaison
  • belong in — liaison
  • with me — liaison
I'm the only one who got away.

Someone returning from a task brags about surviving it alone — treating the night like a game to win, before the joke turns.

I mean, you're a cook. Oh. Cooks belong in the kitchen.

The chef's verdict on Tyler: his food knowledge makes him staff, not a guest. It is both a compliment and a demotion.

So you hired her knowing she'd die.

The accusation that Tyler knowingly used Margot as a seat filler. It makes him an accomplice rather than just a fan.

I've been stealing money from you.

A confession offered as the men return, small next to the chef's larger crimes. It sets up how much these guests owed each other.

Questions about this scene

Why does the chef single out Tyler?

Tyler is the one guest who knew the entire plan in advance. He corresponded with the chef for eight months and was sworn to secrecy, yet he still came — and brought Margot as a stand-in date, knowing she would die.

Why did Tyler bring Margot?

Because the restaurant does not seat single diners. His original date broke up with him, so he brought Margot to fill the second seat, even though he knew what the menu had planned for her.

What does the chef mean by "cooks belong in the kitchen"?

He is putting Tyler in his place. Tyler may recognize a Pacojet and identify bergamot, but to the chef he is still just a cook — not an artist, and not really a guest.

Who was Tyler supposed to bring?

A real date. The chef says he remembers Tyler had one, and Tyler admits she broke up with him. Rather than come alone, or not at all, he recruited Margot as a replacement for the evening.

Did Tyler know what would happen to the guests?

Yes. The chef asks what he was told ahead of time, and the answer is that the menu would be the greatest ever created and that everyone would die. Tyler came anyway.

The Menu · 13 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 13bear witness toSlowik Makes the Foodie Cook
Chapter 1running interferenceGuests Board the Boat to HawthornChapter 2on the edge of the abyssTyler Explains Why Chefs Are ArtistsChapter 3not brain surgerySlowik Serves the Island CourseChapter 4pull this cardThe Guests Beg for BreadChapter 5on the mapThe Chef Recounts a Childhood MemoryChapter 6plausible deniabilityTortillas Expose EchoBrite's CrimesChapter 7aspires to greatnessSlowik Humiliates JeremyChapter 8name droppingA Staff Member Shoots Himself at DinnerChapter 9hard home truthsSlowik Serves Tea and TruthsChapter 10rattle youSlowik Sees Through MargotChapter 11refused his advancesThe Guest Reveals Her Real NameWatching · Chapter 12swore you to secrecyThe Chef Confronts His Devoted FanChapter 13bear witness toSlowik Makes the Foodie Cook
Chapter 12 of 13 · about 4 min to go