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‘Claudia…’
‘Sorry, don’t mind me. I’m fine. Nothing a session in the kitchen won’t cure. Come on, let’s get cracking!’
Millie spent the next two hours responding to Claudia’s directions, and storing away every nugget of advice for future reference in case her dream of becoming a cookery course presenter came true. She chopped, sliced, peeled, and weighed out six separate sets of the ingredients they would need to prepare the Cotswolds Cookery School’s take on a festive High Tea. Bowls of sliced cucumber, egg mayonnaise with a generous sprinkle of paprika, thinly sliced roast beef and home-made horseradish sauce, and grated carrot and fresh hummus for the sandwich fillings. Orange and lemon zest pastry for the miniature St. Clements mince pies, ingredients for the cranberry-and-white chocolate cupcake recipe from Mrs Carter ready to be whisked up and baked in the tiny terracotta pots, and everything they needed to make a batch of Claudia’s famous date-and-walnut scones.
‘That didn’t take long!’ smiled Claudia, licking a splodge of whipped Irish whiskey cream from her finger. ‘So, what do you think about adding a French twist to the patisserie?’
‘I’d love to!’
A surge of delight rushed through Millie, excited to be given the opportunity to showcase her talents to Claudia. With practised ease, she rustled up a selection of apple and calvados profiteroles, fruit tarts with champagne jelly sprinkled with popping candy, and, as a tribute to St Lucia, a dozenMarquise au Chocolat– mini circular chocolate mousses covered in chocolate ganache and topped with hazelnuts and a dark chocolate leaf.
‘Wow! What a colourful array of desserts. I can’t wait to taste them all!’
‘There’s one more recipe I’d like to include. Do we have time?’
‘Of course! What do you have planned?’
‘Could I do a Provençale twist on theGallette des Rois?’
‘Ah, the Cake of the Three Kings.’
‘Actually, at home in the south of France we always celebrate the feast of Epiphany with aGateauorBrioche des Rois. Mum uses an old family recipe with candied orange peel, crushed pistachios and cinnamon. Jen and I loved them because instead of the standard broad bean hidden as a charm inside, Mum would hide a tiny porcelain fairy that belonged to her great-grandmother. Whoever finds it in their slice gets to wear the silver crownandcarry the fairy’s silver wand!’
‘That sounds like a lovely family tradition, Millie.’ Then Claudia chuckled. ‘Did you read about the Parisian baker whose twist on theGallette des Roiswas a little more risqué last year?’
‘I did,’ giggled Millie. ‘Not sure I’d rush to buy patisserie in the shape of a penis, though!’
When Millie finally paused to take stock of their labours she sighed with contentment at the cornucopia of culinary excellence. Suddenly, it was two o’clock and Gina and Marianne were tumbling into the kitchen, their hands full of Christmas goodies, chattering away about their morning of retail therapy in the designer boutiques of Cheltenham.
‘We had the most amazing time!’ declared Gina, her cheeks rosy with pleasure as she tied her apron strings around her slender waist and attached a set of cute reindeer antlers to her head. ‘I’ve even managed to get Leo a gift that I know he’s going to love. But best of all, I found a bottle of vintage port for his mother. Maybe a few generous glasses might smooth away the rough edges of her sarcasm, and I’m sure she’ll benefit from it too!’
Leo and Mike joined them, and the second day’s tutorial got underway. Millie was gratified at the way she and Claudia complemented each other, knowing instinctively when to give way to the other, or to step in to add a piece of advice or assist with a fiddlesome task.
Time flew by and before she knew it they were gathered around the table next to the French doors, clutching glasses of Champagne, staring at the assortment of sandwiches, freshly baked scones and the most dazzling array of patisserie. Everything looked wonderful showcased on the triple-tiered cake stands decorated with holly leaves and red berries, together with Claudia’s best china teacups, saucers and plates with cathedral candles in silver lanterns, as they lined up for a group photograph.
Laughter and merriment rolled around the kitchen as they dug in, welcoming Tim when he arrived in the kitchen in search of a coffee after scrubbing up and looking every inch the handsome City architect in a lavender cashmere sweater, the cuffs of his white Jermyn Street shirt poking out to reveal a pair of silver compass cufflinks. He exchanged a brief complicit smile with Millie. She hadn’t mentioned his accident the previous day to Claudia, and he was clearly sending her a silent thank you for her discretion.
‘This is the best cookery course I’ve been on!’ declared Marianne, tucking her curls behind her ears as she selected one of Millie’s exotic fruit tartlets. ‘And I am somewhat of an expert in that arena, aren’t I, Mike?’
‘You are, darling,’ he smirked, rolling his eyes at Leo. ‘What number are you up to now?’
‘Let me see. I’ve been on an Italian desserts course with Mario Bartelli in April, An Indian Odyssey with Rav Patel in May, then there was that vegetarian one in July at Hillard Castle which was amazing. Oh, and the Spanish tapas one in August. Claudia, we did try to book on your chocolate lover’s course in St Lucia and were so upset that it was fully booked that I had to make sure Mike reserved theFestive Feastcourse here in the Cotswolds immediately so we didn’t miss out. Will you be running another cocoa-themed course in the Caribbean next year?’
‘Absolutely! In fact, we’re already taking bookings for the end of January. Tim and I will be going out there after the new year celebrations to start getting the villa organised for guests who want to stay as well as attend the courses.’
‘And we’ll be adding tours of the cocoa planation, too, if you’re interested,’ continued Tim, smiling at his wife with such affection that Millie experienced a nip of envy. She wished she could meet someone who loved her as much as Tim loved Claudia.
‘A tour?’ asked Marianne, pausing in her attempt to devour a profiterole whole.
‘Yes. The villa used to be an old plantation house and is surrounded by cocoa palms that Tim and I and our estate manager over there have been nurturing back to health after years of neglect. The beans grown on the plantation are of exceptionally high quality. One day I hope to harvest them in sufficient quantities to make my own chocolate which I’ll use in the recipes I showcase at the Paradise Cookery School.’
‘The Paradise Cookery School? Ah, what a wonderful name!’ sighed Gina. ‘You can count Leo and I in too, Claudia – so that’s four bookings already!’
Claudia sent a smile across the table to Tim who nodded back as he sipped on his coffee. Perhaps their new venture would be just as successful as the Cotswolds Cookery School had been, with the added bonus of the sunshine and a spectacular view of the Caribbean Sea.
‘Of course,’ laughed Claudia and Millie was happy to see her friend’s features relax. ‘Okay now. If everyone’s had their fill, why don’t you leave the clearing up to Millie and I and retire with your drinks to the library.’
‘Leo has promised to take us for a few drinks at The Flying Fox pub in the village, haven’t you dear?’
