She sat across from him and got out her notebook, where she’d written her questions. Then she got out her phone. “Mind if I record?”
“Not at all.”
“To be clear, I’m going to try to keep this on script. No personal stuff. We’re here to talk about food.”
“Sure. Let’s get right into it. Rip off the Band-Aid.”
She hit the Record button and looked at her notes. “So, you took the job because you wanted creative freedom. What new recipes have you tried here?”
He launched into a discussion of the breakfast pastries he’d been making for the café, including seasonal muffins and Danishes. According to Brad, the zucchini spice muffins had been particularly popular. Lindsay was hit with a wave of memory then, of them standing around a table as one of their culinary professors explained the two dozen spices she’d put in little dishes and invited each student to smell and taste each one. It was a lesson in being able to tell the difference between turmeric and cumin and saffron and anything else, and how each spice would affect a dish. Brad had stood next to her, tasting things and saying things like, “This would be good with citrus” or “This would pair well with vanilla in a cake,” and Lindsay had been in awe of his ability to create in that way.
Culinary school had woken up Lindsay’s palate. She’d grown up on her mom’s meat-and-potatoes cooking, which was fine but bland. If her mom had ever cooked with anything more exciting then oregano, Lindsay didn’t know about it. Being introduced to herbs and spices from around the world had been something of a revelation. She hadn’t thought she liked spicy food, but it turned out she did as long as it was flavorful and not just tongue-scorching. She’d learned about foreign cuisines and was particularly fond of Asian flavors, like Thai, Korean, and Vietnamese. And, because he’d been at her side for a lot of it, so many of those spice-related memories made her think of Brad.
And those zucchini spice muffins sounded delicious.
She wrote some notes and then asked, “What inspired you to try making cat treats?”
“You remember Bobby Benton from culinary school?”
Lindsay remembered Bobby as kind of a pretty boy from Brad’s pastry classes. “Sure.”
“He works at a pet bakery in Park Slope. They bake treats for cats and dogs in-house, and they also make dog birthday cakes, if you can believe it.”
“Is that a thing? Dog birthday parties?”
“Yeah. They’re very popular. But dogs are more omnivorous than cats. If you made a cat cake, it would be all meat-flavored. Although cats are so dainty, I don’t know if I see one going to town on a cake.”
Lindsay laughed despite herself. “You and I have not known the same cats.” She didn’t want to find him funny, so she tried to shake it off. He’d always made her laugh, but she didn’t want to be reminded of the good times. “So you make meat cookies for cats?”
“Yeah, pretty much. So far, the tuna and chicken ones have been big hits, but I want to try lamb and beef next.”
Lindsay noted that and tried not to revel too much in how silly the idea of meat cookies for cats was.
But this was going okay so far. She was sticking to the script. She could get through this.
“How do you like working at a cat café? Any of the cats stolen your heart yet?”
As if on cue, an orange cat hopped up on the table. He sized up Lindsay before walking closer to Brad.
“This one’s named Hamilton,” said Brad, petting the cat. “There’s also a Franklin, a Jefferson, and a Washington.”
“I sense a theme.”
“Apparently the real Alexander Hamilton was a ginger.”
“So the name fits.”
“This cat seems to think he’s my friend.”
“I don’t see you disputing that.”
Indeed, Brad was still petting the cat, and Hamilton was purring so hard it was making the table rumble a little. Brad seemed to notice he was doing it and jerked his hand away. “Anyway, yeah, it’s pretty fun here. Lauren is a great boss.”
“Yeah, I figured she would be.”
“There’s kind of an everyone-is-family vibe among the staff, but she’s also stern when she needs to be. Everyone comes in on time and does their job and seems to have fun doing it.”
“Yeah. I’ve always gotten that impression, too. Although Lauren and Paige had some drama last year.”
