They had a few hiccups; one server spilled an entire tray of food.
The point of sale didn’t want to connect to the Wi-Fi.
And the dishwasher got behind, even with that smaller capacity test run.
Most importantly, though, the food and the atmosphere seemed on point.
Hope started them off with her version of the charcuterie board. She called it the Nosh Plate. She envisioned the items on the Nosh Plate, like the rest of the menu, would shift and change as the season moved from the late spring to the heat of summer to the burnished warmth of autumn.
Each table had water, and the staff suggested pairings of wine for the upcoming meal. Hope inspected the appetizers, about to go out, as the servers poured the wine.
“I still cannot believe we don’t have a soda fountain in here,” Camila said.
But instead of a soda fountain, they had hand-selected wines from Lenawee County and some from Leelanau, up north.
Beer? Well, they had that too, but not flights. Just seasonally appropriate microbrews. If Libby wanted a pub in Irish Hills, she’d have to figure that out. Food, not hops, was Hope’s passion.
This was the first time her guests would encounter the idea that they had no choice.
This limited selection was the risk. It wasn’t up to them what was on the plate. It was up to the chef.
Her diners would have to trust that she would find the best ingredients at the perfect time, prepared with love, and care every time. They were in her hands, and she would give them the best meal of their lives. She would chase that goal every service, and hopefully, her diners would trust her to do it.
Hope listened in as Lila explained the Nosh Plates.
“We start off today with local basil and herb cheese, stone-fired crackers created by Chef Venerable, a few pickles and peppers from Tony Packos of Toledo. Also, enjoy the bread, our sous chef, Braylon Brady, created especially for tonight. Feel free to eat it plain, or my favorite, with the dipping sauce on your table. It’s so good.”
Good, perfect, Hope thought and then turned her attention to the next step. She focused on each salad plate coming up to the counter as the guests oohed and aahed over the Nosh Plate. Meanwhile, Braylon supervised preparation of the lettuce wedges for today’s salad.
As the salads went out, Hope’s main course began to heat up. Braylon would handle the side dishes, but it was Hope who cooked twenty-five whitefish. Each would need to leave her skillet with consistent temperature and flavor. She needed to be fast, faster than if this was a beef dish. Fish didn’t take long. She did a dance between the range and the oven. She used her tongs to test, move the dishes around, and test again.
“Plating main.”
She called out, and her staff was there, ready with the dinnerware. She’d get the fish on the plate, and they’d arrange the sides and the garnishes.
Hope wanted each plate to not only taste delicious but look beautiful. Not fussy or overly done, but beautiful. They’d practiced several arrangements, but today, Queen Anne’s Lace garnished each plate.
Braylon showed her the first tray, filled with plates for their very first table.
Hope looked it over.
“Each one, like this one.” She pointed to the plate she liked the best: Zero mistakes, balanced, seasoned, and still hot.
The first plates went out, but Hope didn’t have time to revel in it or gauge the room. She was thinking of desserts. She was so in the zone that she almost forgot.
Luckily, Camila remembered.
“This would be a good time.”
“Yep, on it.”
Braylon took the tongs from her hand, and Lila handed her a glass of white wine. Braylon slid in behind the range and took over as Hope stepped from behind the counter and into the restaurant.
She took a deep breath. Her guests were smiling and laughing, and the sounds of happy surprise at the bites they were taking played like little piano keys.
For a second, she didn’t know if she could do it. She didn’t know if she could speak, share her feelings, or express the gratitude bubbling over like the saucepan on her range.
But she had to find the words. She had to find a way to let them know how special this was to her, how special they were.
