BENNY
"YES CHEF!"
The response is thunderous.
Well it has to be. Given that the dulcet tones of Billie Joe Armstrong and Greenday are thumping out of the speakers hanging above the dry storage room doors.
Today's choice of musical accompaniment came courtesy of Robina. My little pocket rocket who's just one of our merry band of kitchen porters.
Every working day, I let one of the team choose the mood music to take some of the monotony out of food prep time. Otherwise known as mise én placé.
I give a small chuckle and shake my head when my eyes sweep over a sea of caps. They're now all banging away in sync to the beat of 'American Idiot'. Except Enrique, who's frantically strumming an air guitar on his way to a walk-in freezer.
Jeez, I love my brigade 😁
Oh, so sorry....how downright rude of me. Maybe I should introduce myself?
Albany Cooper Tennyson is my name. And being one of the Head Chefs employed by the ???? Hotel in New York is my game.
I've been in the position for just over two years now. Heading the large-scale commercial kitchen that exclusively caters for the many functions the hotel hosts.
Two years of all the panic, frayed tempers, mishaps and last-minute pandemonium that goes on at the back of house. In order to make what happens in the front of house appear calm and effortless.
I'm twenty-eight years old and an Aussie hailing from Western Australia. Plus I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to the great love of my life....cooking that is.
Though my bestie Vala will tell you that the bit of a perfectionist is really a 'Beet of a frogging underwearing, Beeny'.
Yeah, yeah....whatever!
I love it and always have since I was a little tacker. When my mud pies mysteriously morphed into mud cakes.
Also Mum and Dad brought us kids up to always do the best we can, at whatever we put our minds to. So that's what I do.
Try to anyways....
Especially when it comes to feeding people. If they go home with full bellies, remember the taste of every single mouthful and how good it looked before they tucked in? Then I know that my team and I have done a good day's work.
Good day?
I've been here since three AM this morning. And it's not likely that my head hit the pillow until the same time tomorrow.
Still, it's par for the course in my game. Luckily, we only have about three major catering events a week. Otherwise, I'd be a zombie by now!
And the name probably doesn't give it away, but I'm a girl....woman....
....female anyway.
Why the '????' I hear you all ask? Are you actually refusing to disclose the name of the hotel?
Hell to the yes!
In this case, it's to protect the innocent. And that's exactly what they are....the hotel I mean. Totally blameless in the debacle that's about to unfold.
It's absolutely my fault. Usually is when the proverbial hits the industrial-sized, kitchen exhaust fan.
And this evening folks? Yours truly (or to put it more succinctly the temper of yours truly), is going to put me so deep in said 'proverbial'....that it'll be sticking for a long time to come.
YOU ARE READING
Cooking Up A Storm - A Norman Reedus Fanfic Romance
FanfictionSemi-mature. Completed. If you can't stand the heat? Then stay out of the kitchen! Norman just can't bring himself to heed that advice. When he and Greg hire a new chef for their restaurant. He already knows that Albany is more Flambé than Soufflé...
