Eyewitnesses said the unidentified crazed cook began her rampage at National Bookstore, disarranging hardcover tomes in the cooking section.
A source who declined to be identified said the woman, who was sweating profusely, could be heard mumbling, “Susur, where are you? I've been looking all over for you,” and appeared to be intently searching for something.
Authorities believe the woman was looking for the book Susur: A Culinary Life, a two-volume work chronicling the career of Hong Kong-born chef Susur Lee which also contains instructions on recreating 57 of his signature dishes.
Failing to find the title, the woman, who was allegedly suffering from mental instability, scurried out of National Bookstore and entered Books For Less, where she lectured the sales assistants for “failing to display the cookbooks prominently enough.” The staff were too stunned to stop her when she left the shop after pouring hot vegetable oil on the cashier's terminal.
Similar scenes of mayhem occurred at Fully Booked, where the deranged woman torched an entire display of Rachael Ray titles. One sales assistant who witnesses said was a little slow on the uptake – the woman was heard spelling out the title of the book to him – was stabbed in the eye with a steel skewer.
Police said the woman, by now in the middle of a complete psychotic breakdown, then barged into Powerbooks. Renovations to the facility – the food books were now at the back – somewhat slowed her down. Actually seeing the title she seemed to have long been coveting appeared to undermine her already fragile mental state.
Witnesses said the woman began trembling and making loud unintelligible noises. She then sprinted over to customer service, where she was heard ranting about the “damaged spine” of the book.
The customer service officer called for assistance on his walkie-talkie to ascertain if there was a more pristine copy of Susur: A Culinary Life in stock. The “damaged” copy was in fact the last one left not only in the MoA branch, but in the entire country, the man at the counter apologetically mumbled while offering her a 30 percent discount.
“Thirty percent?” the crazed cook was heard shrieking. “Do you even know who this kitchen god is? He has a soft spot in his heart for our very own kalamansi!” She then grabbed the man by the collar and held a rusty cleaver to his neck to make her point.
Police who belatedly arrived at the scene surrounded the establishment and evacuated the premises. After a five-hour stand-off during which police refused the woman's demand to be served foie gras terrine with black olive dust and cocoa nibs cooked by Susur Lee himself, snipers opened fire on and instantly killed the hostage-taker. Susur: A Culinary Life was mangled in the firefight.
Photo from sunday driver's photostream on Flickr
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