Page 61 of Knockin' Boats
I laughed. “Uh, yeah, he’s not much help there. Mostly he takes the orders and infuriates me with his opinions on what I should serve.”
She cocked an eyebrow as she plated up a beautiful surf-and-turf with melted blue cheese topping, a spicy sweet potato mash—inspired by my poor unloved sandwich, but at least all my work developing the flavor profile hadn’t gone to waste—and bright green asparagus.
“Sawyer has opinions on food? What’s he telling you to do, serve nachos?”
I chuckled. “Uh, no. He thinks my food sounds too fancy for people wanting a quick bite out on the lake.”
“Hmm.” She put the plate into the window and hit a bell that would alert the server it was ready. Then turned to me. “Is he right?”
That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?
“I don’t want him to be right. I poured my heart and soul into these things. This isn’t just cooking some quick burgers. It’s my creative outlet, you know?”
“I do know,” she said seriously. “This work takes a lot of passion, because it sure isn’t easy.”
“The boat gets so hot. It’s fucking miserable. Er…pardon my language.”
Her lips twitched. “I’m a chef. I’ve been cussing out my kitchen staff for years.” She checked the tickets. “I’ve got a few minutes. Come on, let’s go sit. I’m dead on my feet, and dinner service is only gonna get busier in the next hour.”
I followed Vera to a couple of stools by a back counter where she did a lot of her planning. She didn’t have an office, but onlybecause she didn’t want one. She kept a tablet that contained recipe notes, important dates, and more.
This wasn’t our first time meeting to chat about my menu. We regularly coordinated ingredients. But it was the first I felt out of my depth.
“Sawyer thinks I’m doing this all wrong. He says my menu is too big, and it’s too complicated, and what if he’s right? He did watch you run a restaurant. Maybe I should listen.”
Vera tilted her head, considering. “Sawyer has no passion for this. That’s all you, Ash. Only you can decide what’s right and wrong for your menu.”
“But?” I prompted, because I really wasn’t in a state of mind to figure this out on my own.
“But I can give you my advice, if you want.”
“Please,” I said quickly.
“Step 1: Take Sawyer out of the equation. He was your best friend for years, and he clearly still las a lot of influence over you.”
“I guess that’s true,” I said, thinking of the many times I’d let him kiss me out ofan argument.
Not that I wouldn’t fight for something important. And my foodwasimportant. I just wasn’t so sure Sawyer was wrong.
“Okay, so just the facts,” Vera said. “How are your gourmet menu items selling?”
I slumped. “Not nearly as well as the basics. I didn’t do anything too exciting the first week so I could ease into running the boat and adjust to the equipment.”
“A smart move.”
“I was so excited to start introducing new items, and then, they just didn’t sell as well. I blamed Sawyer because he wasn’t recommending them enough.”
She nodded, just waiting for me to continue.
“But even once I got him to try more, there’s no question they don’t go over as well.” My lip pushed out, and I was sure I looked like a sulky little boy. “I don’t want to serve only the basics.”
“So don’t,” she said. “Figure out a way to make peoplewantwhat you want to serve.”
“How do I do that?”
“Let’s pull up your menu,” she said, glancing over her shoulder to check the status of the kitchen. “Have you ever heard the expression,Too much jam?”
“I don’t think so. I’m not serving any jam.”
