when it’s a blind taste test.” Hope joined in the banter. Her face beamed from the heat of the kitchen and the joy she always seemed to radiate. “I love cooking with you guys. It almost feels like I’m a part of the team.”
“You are a part of the team.” Nancy hugged her. “Now, let’s get cleaned up and go join the front of the house. I’ve got a date tonight with a bathtub and a bottle of wine. Man, my upper body takes a beating at the grocery store.”
Nancy worked a second job on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. With her shifts at the County Seat, Nancy was working every day of the week. Angie knew her prep cook/pastry chef needed the money, but she couldn’t move the team to a more full-time schedule until fall, although they were getting closer to running that as bookings were filling up quickly.
They left the dishes under the warming lights and went into the dining room where Felicia and her crew were just wrapping up their weekly meeting. At Felicia’s nod, two of the servers stood and headed back to the kitchen to bring out the food.
“Welcome to the party. We just finished going over this month’s menu and any changes in the service. Anything you want to add?” Felicia poured a glass of water as she sat at one end of the table. They called their meetings family meals, and as a tradition, Felicia, as head of the front of house, sat at one end of the table. Angie took the opposite end. Angie liked the family feel. For too many years after her parents had died, it had been just her and Nona at the table. She’d never had the big, gather-around-the-table kind of meals, so she’d made her own family. Her work family.
“I’m interested in any comments, good or bad, you may overhear from the guests. Just because they don’t tell you up front they don’t like something doesn’t mean everything is all right. Look for unfinished plates or unhappy looks on their faces. If they don’t like what they ordered, offer them something else to replace it. We want every guest to want to make the County Seat a regular in their dining-out schedule.” Angie glanced over the other notes and decided to leave them for the next meeting. She didn’t want her main message to be diluted. “We are playing with some interesting flavor combinations here in the kitchen. Not everyone is going to like what we serve. But we can find something on the menu they will like, or I’ll make them something off menu that they will like. No one goes home hungry.”
“You sound like a commercial,” Jeorge, the bartender, joked.
Angie shrugged. “There’s worse mottos for a restaurant. I want people to think of us first when they’re making plans. Or a dish we had that they can’t get out of their head.”
“That’s a tall order.” One of the servers set a plate of fried green tomatoes in front of her and then took his seat. “But with my off-the-chart serving skills, I’m sure everyone will be coming back, just to sit in my section.”
“Conceited much?” Nancy took the plate Angie offered her and put a slice on the tasting plate in front of her. Then she passed the platter on to Matt. “Servers come and go, but people come back to a restaurant because of the food.”
“Not always true.” Jeorge winked at Nancy as he poured himself a glass of water. “A lot of the time guests come back because of the people. Yes, you have to have good food, but you also have to have great people working. And Felicia and Angie have hired wisely. We’re all amazing at our jobs.”
“And I thought chefs were full of themselves.” Hope glanced at Estebe. “Present company excepted, of course.”
The people gathered around the table laughed at Hope’s attempt to back out of the insult she’d just thrown her idol. Estebe either hadn’t understood the jab or agreed with the description. Either way, Hope was in the clear.
As all three platters had been passed around the entire table, Angie held up a hand. “Let’s get this started. I’m looking for a fried green tomato recipe that will fit in with our August menu. The kitchen staff and I have made three different dishes, each highlighting a different Southern twist on the basic idea. When we’re done, we’ll vote on which one wowed your taste buds.”
The room grew quiet as the team dug into the three different appetizers. The sauce Estebe and Hope had made to go with their tomatoes made Angie think of a trip to New Orleans she’d made when she was still in culinary school. She hadn’t met Felicia yet so she took the trip solo, mostly just to eat as much Cajun food as possible in a weekend. Nancy and Matt’s offering brought back memories of a trip to the North Carolina shore where she’d eaten seafood every night for a week. And finally, her own offering tasted like home. Not quite the recipe Nona had made for her so many years ago, but close. Memories flooded through her as she finished the sampling.
When the vote tally was finally counted, all three dishes came in tied. Angie shook her head. Groans came from the kitchen staff. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m trying to make an informed decision here, and this is all I get?”
“The good news is any of them would be worthy of putting on the menu.” Felicia went back to her agenda, and within a few minutes she’d gone through the rest of the items. “Anyone got anything before we break?”
Estebe stood. With a nod toward Felicia, he started. “You all know that I won’t be here the last weekend of the month. I’m volunteering for the festival of San Ignazio held annually down at the Basque Cultural Center. I know you all can’t come and enjoy the festivities since you’ll be working, so I have two tickets for all of you to the volunteer breakfast next Thursday. It’s our annual dry run with food, dancing, and a maybe a few adult beverages. Please come as my guest and I’ll show you my heritage.”
He handed out the tickets, then sat down.
Angie glanced at Felicia, who seemed as overwhelmed by the offer as she felt. “That was very nice of you, Estebe. I’m sure a lot of us will take advantage of your lovely offer.”
“I can’t, I’m working.” Nancy held out her two tickets. “Someone want these? Someone who doesn’t work twenty-four-seven like this crazy girl?”
Hope held up her hand. “I’ll take them. That way I can take my mom, dad, and baby brother. This will be rad. Thanks, Estebe!”
Shock filled Estebe’s face as Hope jumped up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Angie stood at the end of the table and excused the group. “I want to thank Estebe for his kind invitation. I’ll see everyone Friday afternoon for prep. Let’s make this a great week, everyone.”
As the group dispersed, Estebe came over to her. “I have someone you need to meet.”
“If you want to bring family members to the restaurant, just let Felicia know and we’ll book the chef table for them.” Angie made some notes in her staff notebook for next week’s meeting. When she looked up, he was still standing, waiting for her to finish. She hadn’t personally thanked him. That was probably what he was waiting for. The man had his traditions. “Oh, and thank you for the invitations to the festival. I’m sure the team will enjoy it.”
Estebe’s cheeks turned red and he waved away her words with his hands. “That’s not what I’m talking about. Javier Easterly has a farm outside of River Vista. He’s been the produce supplier for the festival for years, and I think you’d like his product. Can you come with me to visit him tomorrow?”
Angie liked her current supplier, but it never hurt to make more connections in the area. Especially with produce. You never knew what would happen, so she needed options. She glanced down at the calendar where she kept all of her appointments.
