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Trish turned her full attention to me. ‘So, I will warn you – this isn’t like most restaurants where you get occasionally quiet days. It is extremely fast-paced, and all the time.’
I nodded. ‘Patrick warned me.’
‘Good. Patrick informed me you’reveryexperienced in pizza and bread-making, which is exactly what we need.’ She placed her hat back onto her head.
‘Yes, my dad trained me, and I previously worked at Mon Amour, which was Moroccan-inspired, despite the name—’ I rolled my eyes slightly, hoping she wouldn’t be put off by me putting my former employer down, but I didn’t want her to think I thought Mon Amour was a good name for a Moroccan restaurant. ‘They do a lot of modern food, and I ran the pizza section.’
‘Oh, I know that place. Been there once. Is Paul still head chef?’ She rose a thin, sculptured brow.
‘Yes, he is.’
‘He’s a top bloke. I have known him for years.’
I relaxed a little at her casual language. ‘Oh, did you work together?’
‘We worked in the same restaurant in Melbourne.’
‘Patrick’s?’ My eyes widened.
‘No, one before that. So, anyway, back to this kitchen …’ She paused and chuckled. ‘See this section behind you?’ She pointed over my head. ‘That is the pizza section, and over there is the pizza oven you’ll be using.’
‘I have never used an oven like that before. What’s it made from? Brick?’ As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I wondered if I should have pretended to have cooked in something similar before. I swallowed hard, hoping I hadn’t blown it already.
‘Yes, it’s a brick oven. That’s how they traditionally cook pizza in Naples.’
Trish appeared unperturbed by my comment, and I relaxed. ‘Oh, wow. I can’t wait to try it.’
She walked me over to the dome-shaped oven, and I instantly felt its heat against my face. The outside tiles were glossy and red.
‘What is the surface inside made out of?’ I eyed the grey-speckled stone curiously.
‘It’s volcanic stone, and it only takes ninety seconds to cook a pizza in here. We set the temperature to four hundred degrees.’
‘Sounds like a superior pizza oven.’ I grinned, excited to try it out.
‘It sure is. So, Patrick will be in very soon. He’ll be working with you on the pizzas today.’
‘Oh.’ My eyes widened in surprise. ‘I thought he just took care of front-of-house?’
‘He usually does, but he said he wanted to train you today.’ She shrugged and half-smiled.
I frowned.If he thinks I need supervision, why give me this trial?‘Does he always train his pizza staff?’
‘No, never. I think you might be the first actually.’ She thought about it for a moment before continuing. ‘I usually get one of the kitchen crew to teach someone, but we don’t often getnew people in. We are all about quality here, and sadly, most hopefuls who come in for trials don’t make the cut.’
‘Oh, okay,’ I said, my voice going higher than I would have liked on the last syllable. I cleared my throat and nodded to show I understood what she was saying, but inside, my guts clenched tighter and tighter.
‘I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Naomi. Patrick has talked favourably of your pizzas.’ She gave me a gentle smile. ‘Keep your chin up, and don’t let nerves get in the way.’
‘Thanks.’ I smiled back, kicking myself at the realisation I mustn’t have hidden my nerves from her, after all. The pressure was on now.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw Patrick enter the kitchen in his relaxed way. His dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he had a white chef’s jacket on and black pants! Casa di Vitello was similar to Mon Amour in terms of the kitchen dress code, with just the head chef wearing black pants and the other chefs wearing checked, but today, there were two head chefs. Double authority. As he moved in further, one of his gold hoop earrings caught the fluorescent light.
‘Hello, Trish. Hello, Naomi.’ He nodded at both of us and stood next to me, setting off a distinct tingle all over my skin as my neck began to burn again. I frowned at the sensation and immediately swore to myself I would absolutely not develop a crush on this man.No way.
‘Morning, boss,’ Trish said, beaming. Her cheeks flushed and her blue eyes sparkled that extra bit brighter than they had while she was talking to me.
Patrick sure was dangerous to be around, I reflected. I bet most women he’s met have fantasised about him at least once in their lives. My God, even his jaw structure was ethereal, lethal even.
