Hattie seemed to agree. “Thank you, Chloe. But even if between us we could manage, there’s still the restaurant. I can’t run a restaurant without a head chef. And Chef Tucker is—was—a legend. People traveled from out of state to sample his tasting menu.”
“I never understood that,” Chloe said. “He cooked parts of the animal that should never have seen the light of day in my opinion. He would have had to pay me to eat that disgusting scrambled brain thing—” She shuddered and Hattie finally smiled.
“I knew there was a reason you’re not serving in the restaurant. Tonight on the menu we have a disgusting brain thing. Enjoy.”
“Legend or not, no one is indispensable.” Erica gently steered them back on topic. “There are other excellent chefs.” She looked at Claudia, who rolled her eyes and grinned.
“The answer is yes. I’ll do it if Hattie would like me to. I’m a chef,” she added. “I can help you out.”
Hattie glanced between her and Erica. “But you’re leaving.”
“Not tonight, and you need a chef for tonight. Those brains aren’t going to scramble themselves.”
Hattie looked a little dazed. “You’re really a chef?”
“Yes. A good one.” Claudia anchored a strand of hair behind her ear. “Don’t be fooled by my skinny frame. It’s not a reflection of my cooking ability. I’ve had a bad year.”
Hattie gave a faint smile. “I know the feeling. Where do you work?”
“I’ve been in California for a few years, but I was laid off from my job a few weeks ago. Don’t worry, I didn’t poison anyone or throw a knife at them. Shouting isn’t my style, although I’ve been on the receiving end of it. I’m a good chef. French trained. My grandmother was French and I can speak it fluently if needed. If we had more time I’d cook you something to prove it, but given that you don’t have a chef for this evening I suggest I prove myself on the job.”
“She is a brilliant chef,” Anna said warmly. “The best.”
Hattie let out a long breath. She looked exhausted. “We only have a couple of hours until the restaurant opens.”
“Then I probably shouldn’t waste time chatting,” Claudia said. “All I need is a set of whites and access to the kitchen. I assume the rest of the kitchen crew are already there?”
“Unless they all walked out with Chef Tucker.” Hattie rubbed her fingers over her forehead, trying to focus. “Our pastry chef, Shelley, is fantastic. She bakes the bread, does all the breakfast pastries, the cakes for afternoon tea and desserts, obviously. Maybe we can just serve dessert.”
Claudia flashed a smile. “I’m sure we can do better than that. Where’s the kitchen? Left or right?”
“Are you sure about this?” Hattie glanced at the three women. “You’re supposed to be guests. You probably planned to curl up with the book you’re reading and discuss it.”
“That can wait,” Anna said. “And we are guests, just the helpful type.”
“In that case, thank you. I’d be crazy to refuse.” Hattie seemed to pull herself together. “I’ll take you to the kitchen and talk to the staff. Hopefully, they haven’t all followed Chef Tucker. And I need to check on Helen.” Hattie looked at Delphi, who scrambled onto the deep, soft sofa with a book in her hands.
“I want you to read to me.”
“Could I read to you? I’d love that,” Anna said. “Reading aloud is my favorite thing and I don’t often have the chance because my children are older than you.”
Delphi shrank back against the sofa. “I want Mommy.”
“I’m a good reader,” Anna said. “I do voices and actions. I’m known for my tiger impressions.”
“I like dinosaurs.”
“I do a great dinosaur,” Anna assured her. “Can I read to you for a little while and see how you like it? You can choose the book. Any book.”
Delphi considered and then nodded and held out her book. Anna sat down next to her and Hattie gave a grateful smile.
“Thank you. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“While you’re doing that, I’ll get that final room ready,” Chloe said. “And then I’ll draw up a plan for tomorrow. I’ll check the bookings, look at everyone’s preferences and make sure every room is perfect. If I have a problem, I’ll let you know. Don’t worry.”
“How can I not worry? You can’t do the work of two people,” Hattie said and Chloe flexed her biceps.
“Watch me. At least half of Stephanie’s work was managing me, so I figure that if I manage myself that’s a big chunk of the job done.”
Erica laughed and even Hattie looked more hopeful.
FOURTEEN
Claudia
Claudia’s happiest memories involved food. Sometimes when she was lying awake at night stressed, she’d let her mind fill with the scents and sounds of the kitchen. She’d remember standing on a chair helping her grandmother sift flour. She’d think about punching her fist into dough. The scent of bread, freshly baked. The sweetness of peaches, the trickle of juice on her chin. The pungent aroma of a perfect espresso. To Claudia, food was a form of expression.
But right now she was all business.
She’d heard of Chef Tucker. Knew someone who knew someone who had worked with him. Rumor had it that his food was good but his personality was as appealing as burnt toast.
That had to give her an advantage, surely? Not that she didn’t have her own flaws, but she definitely wasn’t burnt toast.
She walked into the kitchen and took it all in at a glance.
The staff was frozen, panicked, talking to each other in low voices. As far as she could see, nothing was getting done.
Hattie cleared her throat. “As you probably all know by now, Chef Tucker has gone. So has Stephanie. Neither will be returning.”
Glances were exchanged. Judging from their expressions, this was the first they’d heard about Stephanie’s abrupt departure.
One of them spoke up. “But Chef is the most important thing about this place.”
“No. The most important person in the Maple Sugar Inn is the guest.” Hattie walked farther into the room. “When someone makes a reservation here, they do it because we’ve made them a promise. We’ve promised to serve them delicious food, in comfortable and welcoming surroundings. That’s what they expect when they book, and that’s what they’re going to get. Every person who works here is important, but no one person is more important than the other. We’re a team. Chef Tucker may have gone, but you’re still here and I know you’ll all do a brilliant job. And now I want to introduce you to Claudia. She’s a top chef from California, and it’s our good fortune that she’ll be working with us tonight.”
Top chef.
In other circumstances, modesty might have persuaded Claudia to argue with that description, but she decided modesty didn’t have a place in this kitchen.
One of the junior staff frowned. “Like a guest chef?”
“Yes. A guest chef. We’re lucky to have her.”
Claudia gave them a friendly nod. “We’ll do introductions later. The priority is to serve an excellent meal to the guests who are dining with us tonight. I’m going to change, and when I’m back we’ll discuss our strategy.”