Page 38 of Cooking Up a Christmas Storm
Gemma would definitely step in and get things back on track now. ‘OK. Well no. This is for the cookery school social media. To promote the classes.’
Old Man Strachan nodded. ‘Makes sense. There’s probably not much call for old guys and potatoes.’ He looked up and grinned. ‘You take your pictures though, pet. Make sure you get my good side.’
The oldest Strachan was great fun. ‘Actually, can I ask a few questions? Like a student testimonial sort of thing.’
‘You can do what you like, love.’
‘Great.’ Jodie started by asking why he was taking the class.
He paused for a second. ‘Well, since my wife went, I’ve been at a bit of a loss. In my day lads weren’t expected to know their way around the kitchen. It’s not right though, is it? We’ve all got to eat.’
Jodie agreed, followed up with some questions about what they were making and then finished with, ‘And what would be your favourite thing to do with a sprout?’
Old Man Strachan winced. ‘Just stick it in the bin, love. Stick ’em all in the bin. Don’t even give ’em house space.’
Not exactly the ringing endorsement for sprouts she’d been searching for, but at least she had something. Jodie repositioned herself to video the next part of Bella’s demonstration. After parboiling the potatoes the plan was to deep-fat-fry them. ‘You can do oven chips though. For that you’d toss them in oil and spread them out on a baking tray with some salt. Or you can do other seasonings if you want fancy seasoned chips.’
The Strachans frowned as one. ‘Nobody wants fancy chips,’ Middle Strachan commented.
‘Aye,’ his son concurred. ‘Chips is chips.’
Jodie moved back over to Pavel’s station.
‘You never know.’ Bella smiled. ‘You might be entertaining someone with more adventurous tastes. Like I said, this is a great menu for a date night.’
A date night?Hey, Pavel, why don’t we try this together sometime?The thought popped unbidden into her head. No. No china-shop bull. Getting together with Pavel might be lots of fun, but she’d mess it up, and he was Bella and Adam’s friend so messing up with him would mean messing everything up. Classic Jodie, when she was supposed to be being more Gemma. It would just be one dinner though, her brain pointed out. One little dinner…
‘Gonna make this for the minister, ay, Pav?’
Pavel’s cheeks had turned slightly pink.
‘Maybe,’ he muttered.
‘So what’s going on there, lad? Gonna make an honest woman of her?’
‘What?’ Pavel’s face was static. Jodie scrutinised him for clues. He wasn’t giving her anything. ‘That’s jumping the gun a bit.’
The other men laughed. ‘Ah, you can’t be casual with a Reverend, lad,’ Oldest Strachan pointed out. ‘They operate on different rules.’
‘We’re just good friends.’
‘That’s not what your mam is saying.’
‘OK, everyone.’ Bella clapped her hands together for attention. ‘Shall we concentrate on the cookery and give Pavel a break?’
Oh, please, can we? Pavel sent up a silent prayer, and then caught himself. Should he be praying for the teasing about Jill to stop? She was the Big Guy’s representative around here after all. He might have His own thoughts on Pavel’s attitude to their relationship. Strachan was right about one thing. You couldn’t be casual with a minister of the church.
They ended the session by sharing a meal of the food they’d prepared, sitting together around the table in what Adam referred to as the small dining room.
‘We won’t do this every week,’ Bella explained. ‘Mostly we’ll make things for you to take home, but for this first session I thought it would be fun to eat together, because part of the joy of cooking is sharing the food with others. Food is a communal, a social experience.’
‘Oh sorry!’
Pavel started slightly as Gemma’s wine glass knocked against his shoulder and splashed a puddle of red wine onto his arm. She grabbed her napkin and started dabbing at the spreading red stain on his sleeve, pressing her hand against his arm.
‘Sorry. I’m so clumsy,’ she spluttered, and then seemed to pause. ‘I mean sometimes. It was an accident. Sorry.’
‘It’s fine. It’s just a spot.’ Most of Pavel’s clothes were covered in a layer of dust and grime from time on building sites. A spot of wine on his sleeve wasn’t going to trouble him.
