Part-time Chef

Chapter 1

           

My first attempt at writing a book! I try to catch grammar and spelling mistakes while I go but this is not edited in any way. I hope you enjoy!

Hill Street Bistro 3:49PM Tim's POV

"All stations need to be completely set up in 30 minutes! Anyone caught slacking will have the pleasure of spending their evening breaking down the whole pig that we got in this afternoon!!"

"Yes Chef!"

After I barked out the orders I could sense the high tension in the kitchen while my team rushed to complete their given tasks. I took a brief moment to shut my eyes and breathed in deeply. The familiar sounds and smells of a kitchen were some of the most soothing to me. I always got a rush of adrenalin while working in restaurants, but these were the places where I was the most relaxed.

I opened my eyes and crossed my arms, watching as prep for another dinner service was nearing completion.

Mason walked into the kitchen waving around a freshly printed menu, coming to a stop next to me while I continued to oversee the workings of sous chefs. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye while he glanced back and forth between the seemingly organized chaos of the kitchen and the slightly evil smirk on my face. "Hmmm. Seems like you threatened them with a good time again Chef."

I turned to Mason with a scowl. "How many times do I have to tell you to cut it out with the title?"

Mason gave me a wide-eyed innocent look. "You know I only do it out of the great respect I have for you, oh great master Tim."

"I know I deserve respect, especially in my own kitchen, but somehow coming from you it always has the faint odor of bullshit." I cracked a smile. "Is this the finalized menu for the night?"

Mason chuckled. "Yup! Hot off the press and in need of your final approval before I print them off for the dining room."

Quickly glancing through the menu I read everything briefly; focusing only on the dishes and their descriptions. I knew that Mason would've already taken my non-poetic words and turned them into tempting sounding descriptions for each dish while taking care of any possible spelling errors. Mason had a gift with the English language so I left most things like this in his capable hands. My final approval was just to make sure that nothing got lost in translation from the kitchen to the customer.

"Yeah....everything looks good to me. Only change is the side veg for the seared halibut. I found some beautiful green beans at the farmers market this morning so we'll sauté those up with some garlic and lemon."

"Got it. I'll make that change and get these printed and ready for service." Mason took the menu and started to walk back to the office. "Oh! Brogen's coming tonight right? Any idea what she's planning on making for the 'Chef's Dessert Special'?"

I sighed. "No clue. I can't ever pin her down ahead of time and you know how I've tried! I saw her in here yesterday doing some prep for it but I have no idea how her mind puts these desserts together."

"Well she definitely keeps us on our toes." Mason chuckled as he walked out of the room.

I shook my head and turned back to my kitchen crew. "JOHN!" I growled out, "You better pick up your pace or you'll be the one becoming friends with our newest pig!"

"Y-yes Chef!"

Hannah's Café and Bakery 3:49PM Brogen's POV

"Brogen get your butt out of here! I've got everything covered and tonight's the night you go the restaurant right?? I can handle closing by myself you know."