Fresh from New Jersey's white tablecloth dining scene, nothing could have prepared me for my first step into Spice Market's kitchen. It was a beast that devoured new cooks daily, yet somehow produced some of the most memorable Asian-inspired dishes New York had ever tasted. Years later, one dish still lives rent-free in my mind: the Black Pepper Shrimp with Sun-Dried Pineapple. The sweet concentrated pineapple dancing with molasses-dark pepper sauce became my culinary awakening, teaching me that even in a kitchen serving thousands nightly, every single plate could tell a story. Here's mine, along with the recipe that changed how I think about cooking at scale.