Wow, what a season.  December thur March, what madness, yet seriously pleasing all our guests with 5 Star private chef services.  A back surgery changed everything for me this past winter season.  The Laughing Pear Group, now into its 5th year of business and me Chef David Kratky as the business owner,  have developed a love for the culinary arts like never before.  To briefly tell the story of my back surgery, in May of last year I started feeling serious pain in my low back and right leg.  I have had back  pain my whole life, literally as a child I missed 30 days of school when I was in 5th grade.  My pain got worse and worse; June, July, etc.  I finally had a MRI and my neurosurgeon who removed my neck tumor in ”08 said he saw nothing.  I was in disarray.  The season so close!!!  By September I need pain pills just to work the long hours of a Chef.  Finally, in November a team of neurosurgeons out at the U of U called me and said they would see me, but I needed a lumbar x ray.  Got the x-ray and bamb!!!!  I had spondylolisthesis.  Hospital on October 27th.  Major surgery.  6 days in the hospital.  Worse pain I ever had in my life.  Woke up from surgery in disbelief at what they had done to me and the pain I had felt.  I cried out to my wife, “What did they do to me”?  Catheter in place, could not walk for a week, had to use a walker to start walking again.  Sheer agony.  But I cry not!  I share this story as a reflection of our ski season and what really was going on behind the scenes.  Our season started on December 1st.  I had no choice, with my team and I we made it through each and every event with perfect execution.  Life as a Chef can be tough in the face of real life.  After 25 years of being in the culinary business, I never had to face a challenge like this season.  I made it through with my team and the drive to be the best of the best at what we do as a team here at The Laughing Pear Group.