Page 18 of Slow Simmer

“I don’t see your dessert special for tonight on the board, what are you planning?”

“Mandarin chocolate bombe, which is a flourless chocolate sponge inside a spherical chocolate shell stuffed with dark chocolate mousse, finished with mandarin cream and slices of mandarin for garnish.”

“Very good.” She nodded approval and tried not to salivate, because it sounded absolutely fantastic. “I look forward to sampling it.”

“Should be ready shortly.” He cocked an eyebrow at her, silently asking if there was something else she needed.

“After lunch is finished, would you sit down with Julie and I in my office?” she requested, hoping he’d work out why without her needing to spell it out in front of the rest of the staff.

“Of course. I’m at your disposal, Chef.” His expression was calmly attentive, his tone respectful, but she could see the glint of amusement in his eyes.

She gave him a crisp nod and withdrew, returning to her own domain and Julie, who looked at her with anxious eyes.

“Is something wrong, Chef Monteil?”

“Not at all. I just want your input as we finalise the new menu.”

“You do?” Julie looked startled.

“Absolutely. You’ll be just as responsible for implementing it, after all. We’re not only changing the dessert menu; I have several ideas for the main menu and for some new specials I’d like to try, and I’ll need your help training the staff. Plus you’ll be in charge whenever I have a night off, of course! I want to make sure you’re comfortable with what we’re putting in place.”

Startled but obviously gratified to be consulted, Julie thanked her and returned to work with a smile on her face, long knife flashing as she expertly filleted and sliced a huge fish, a whole fresh barramundi, ready for char-grilling and serving over a sweet potato mash with a green curry coconut cream sauce.

Ordinarily, Suzannah would have picked up some utensils and set to work herself, but today she paused and looked around the kitchen, making herself slow down and take in everything, observing more than just the food preparation going on.

Her staff were cheerful, talking to each other as knives chopped, blenders whirred and pots were stirred. The occasional quiet laugh sounded out as they chatted, the atmosphere of the kitchen at a fairly low intensity in this brief lull before the first orders started coming in at noon.

What did Carlo see when he looked around? Nibbling on the edge of her lip, Suzannah let her gaze sweep over the staff again, this time looking at expressions, at body language.

There, by the big stainless steel sinks, Nita was washing broccoli and trading decidedly flirtatious glances with Ramon. Beyond them, Joel and Richard’s shoulders were touching as they peeled prawns, the two of them trading looks which were definitely more than fond. Suzannah hadn’t even realised the pair were gay, not that it made the slightest difference to her… except she should watch out for anyoneelsetreating them differently, it occurred to her.

Homophobia would definitely not be tolerated in her kitchen, any more than racism or sexism. Or any other -ism, including ableism; she paused to smile at Lydia, an Australian Army veteran who had lost her left arm below the elbow during overseas service. She had an advanced prosthesis but her dream of being a chef had taken quite a few hits before she applied for a job atLa Sirène. Right now, she was preparing scallops for appetisers, her prosthesis actually an advantage as she was less at risk of cuts from the sharp shell edges.

And Lydia was exchanging heated glances with Geordie, a burly Scotsman who was one of the most recently arrived staff members, as Geordie tossed a big skillet of mushrooms in hot butter.

Was everyone in her kitchen getting it on except her?Suzannah wondered. She glanced sideways at Julie, now working on a second barramundi. She’d been working with the other girl for eighteen months and knew almost nothing personal about her, she realised with a pang of guilt. Yes, getting overly friendly with your underlings wasn’t the best idea, but she should have made more of an effort. Maybe it wasn’t too late to start.

“You’re rostered off tomorrow. Got any plans?” she asked in a cheerful tone as she took her place beside Julie at the long stainless steel counter.

Julie looked around in surprise for a moment, obviously wondering if Suzannah was talking to someone else, before blushing slightly and returning to her work. “Going over to Airlie with my boyfriend,” she said. “I fancy doing a bit of shopping.”

“Didn’t know you were dating anyone,” Susannah kept her tone light as she deftly mixed flour, salt, sugar, ground chili and ground cumin in a bowl for her spicy tempura batter base. “Does he work here too?” Collecting the chilled sparkling water from a nearby refrigerator, she measured it and poured it carefully into the well she’d made in the dry mixture.

“He’s a landscape gardener,” Julie answered. “Though he’s technically employed by the resort, he spends most of his time working on the gardens at the private villas. They contract with the resort for services.”

“Sounds intriguing, if you like gardening!” Suzannah remarked. “Is he involved with our herb garden?” The resort actually grew a large amount of their own fresh herbs and had a small grove of tropical fruit trees as well, all of the produce supplied to the resort restaurants.

Julie’s blush deepened. “That’s how we met, actually. I went down to the fruit grove to see if we had any passionfruit coming ripe and Pete was up a coconut tree. He almost dropped a coconut on my head.”

Suzannah laughed delightedly. “But that’s adorable!”

Julie giggled too, her eyes shining as she looked up. “Pete says it’ll be a great story to tell our grandchildren. I keep saying he’s getting ahead of himself… but I really do think he’s the one.”

“How lovely, and I hope you’re right,” Suzannah said, and she meant it. Julie was a sweet girl with a bright future as a chef, and she deserved to find love and happiness.

“What about you, Chef?” Julie asked, her tone a little tentative. “Is there anyone special in your life?”

Slapping her down for being too familiar was absolutely the wrong thing to do at that moment, Suzannah knew it, despite it being her first instinct. Instead she pasted on a small smile and shook her head. “I’m married toLa Sirène,” she said in a teasing tone.

Julie smiled in response to the joke, but then she glanced around, as though checking nobody was close enough to overhear, before asking in a quiet voice “What about Carlo?”

Suzannah made herself stop whisking the tempura before she overdid it. “What about him?” Her voice had gone a bit squeaky, she registered too late.

“Well, he certainly looks at you as thoughhe’sinterested. And, I mean… he’s lovely, isn’t he? So handsome, and really nice with it. If I didn’t have Pete, I think I’d probably be totally losing my head over him, like a teenage fangirl!”

There was nothing to dispute about Julie’s statement, Suzannah thought a little dismally. Indeed, she’d once lost her head over Carlo entirely. Instinctively she glanced towards the pastry kitchen, but he wasn’t visible from where she stood at that moment.

Which was good. The last thing she needed was the opportunity to moon over his too-handsome face instead of focusing on her work.

---