Page 7 of Things We Need to Say (Second Chance Love Stories #2)

Jay finished preparing the pigeon for the starter, then placed it on a baking sheet and slid it into the chiller.

The tables had already been set out in preparation for the small function that evening and, later on, two of Liz’s regular staff would come in to set everything up.

He thought fondly of the time when Emma had still been a student and had been one of them.

He remembered how excited he’d felt waiting for her to come into work.

But now that she was qualified, he understood her need to gain more experience.

He just wished she was working somewhere she was appreciated.

As tonight’s function was for twenty people, Jay would be cooking with another part-timer to help out.

Sometimes he missed the camaraderie of the restaurant kitchen and the thrill of a busy service.

On a whim he decided to go downstairs to seek some company.

Service would just about be over and, as some of the chefs had moved across from La Emporium when Diva’s had opened, there was bound to be someone he could have a chat with.

To his surprise, Roberto the owner-chef was in the kitchen.

It was rare to see him there these days — he usually left the day-to-day running to his new executive chef, Tom.

Life had changed for Roberto when he’d had his first child, who was now sixteen months old, and he’d become determined to create a better work-life balance so that he didn’t miss too much of his daughter growing up.

Jay was a little envious. He’d love to buy a house, set up home and have a family himself, but that was way in the future.

Right now, his career had to come first.

Roberto greeted him enthusiastically as he hovered by the entrance to the kitchen. ‘Jay, how are you? Long time no see.’ Roberto walked over and hugged him, giving him a hefty clap on the back.

‘I’m good. And how about you? Is that daughter of yours keeping you in line?’

Roberto laughed. ‘Oh, she certainly is. She definitely knows who’s boss and it’s not me or her mother.’ He paused and then added, ‘But I can scarcely remember a time when we didn’t have her. It feels like she’s been with us for ever.’

‘I’m so happy for you, for you both.’

Since Jay had left La Emporium, he’d formed a relationship with his former boss that he’d never had before.

When Jay had been Roberto’s employee, Louis had been in charge and hadn’t liked anyone other than himself getting too friendly with the chef.

But Jay respected Roberto both as a man and as a chef, and was always ready to take any advice he had to give.

‘And how are the functions going? I see you have a small party in tonight.’

‘Yes, they’re good. Steady. We’ve had a few big ones in recently.’

‘Not as big as the christening you did the other day, though?’

Jay laughed. ‘Nothing gets past you, does it, Roberto?’

‘I might not be around as much as I used to be, but I like to keep my fingers in the pies — just to check they are hot enough.’

‘You’re a wise man, although Tom seems to have things under control.’

‘Yes, he does.’ Roberto glanced towards his executive chef, who was supervising the clean-down after the lunchtime service.

Soon all the chefs would get something to eat, before starting on the prep for the evening service.

Life in the kitchen was certainly busy. ‘And La Emp is doing well too, so I’m a very happy man.

I do like to pop in when they’re least expecting it, just to keep them on their toes. ’

‘And I bet you send your spies in incognito from time to time too.’

Roberto chuckled. ‘Ah, you know me too well. Have you got time for a coffee?’

‘I do,’ Jay replied. ‘Everything is prepped for tonight and it would be good to have a catch-up.’

‘Let me get you one, then, and we can go through to the restaurant.’

When they were seated at one of the empty tables, Roberto turned to him. ‘So, are you still enjoying working with Liz?’

‘I am, yes. It’s different every day.’

‘Don’t miss the restaurant life, then?’

Jay decided to be honest. ‘I do a bit. I like having more creative control, but I’d still like to have my own restaurant one day.’

‘Most chefs do.’ Roberto nodded. ‘Sadly, most don’t make it or make a hash of it when they do. But you...’ Roberto narrowed his eyes as he scrutinised Jay’s face. ‘Yes, you, I can see making a success of it. I’ll have to watch my back.’

Jay laughed. ‘That’s a long way off yet.’

‘What’s stopping you? Money?’

Jay nodded.

‘Have you thought about getting yourself a financial backer?’

‘Thought about it, yes. But if I did, it would have to be a silent partner. There’s no point having your own restaurant if you’ve got someone interfering all the time.’

‘And if people invest in a restaurant, they usually have an ulterior motive,’ Roberto said. ‘Either they fancy having a go at it themselves, but don’t have the experience, or they want to show off to their friends.’

‘Exactly. So I was thinking that I could start small, maybe renting somewhere, and build it up. I need to save a lot more money before I can do that, though. No point doing it without having a financial buffer.’

‘Too true. And in the meantime, you’re using your creativity to develop a potential future menu?’

‘In some ways, yes. It’s not the same, though, creating individual dishes or ones for mass catering. I’d like to go a bit further than I’m doing at the moment.’

‘How so?’

‘I was thinking of trying my hand at competitions.’ Jay felt nervous — it was a big thing to admit it to a chef he looked up to and he hoped Roberto wouldn’t laugh at him.

But Roberto didn’t laugh. Instead he said, ‘And have you found any you want to enter?’

‘Not yet, no, I’ve only just started thinking about it.’

‘In that case, I might be able to help you.’ Roberto sipped his coffee.

‘Really?’

‘Yes, there’s a new competition being set up to celebrate the food of London and the south-east. Chefs will be selected to have their own dish on the menu at a banquet later in the year.’

‘What? You mean like Great British Menu ?’

‘Yes, but it’s only celebrating food from this region and it won’t be televised. It might be a good place to cut your teeth on competitions and at least it’s local.’

‘Sounds exciting.’ Jay took out his phone to find it online.

‘It does. You’ll have to get your skates on if you want to apply, though. The closing date isn’t far away.’

‘I’ll definitely look into it,’ Jay said. ‘How did you find out about it?’

‘They asked me to be a judge.’

‘You’re a judge?’ Jay asked, panicked that it would rule him out from entering.

‘No, I turned it down. I don’t have the time for anything like that at the moment, much as I would have enjoyed it.’

‘Well, it sounds perfect for me. Thank you, Roberto, you’ve made my day.’