Emma instantly went to her side. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘No, I’m afraid not,’ the woman said breathlessly. ‘It’s my granddaughter.’ She pointed out a teenage girl dressed like a goth. ‘Last week she was vegetarian, which is down on the menu choices, but in the last five minutes she’s told me that she’s now vegan, so what I’ve ordered for her isn’t suitable. I’m sorry it’s such short notice.’
‘Well, I’m sure we can accommodate that,’ Emma said. She hoped the kitchen could back her up. ‘Let me just go and have a word with Chef.’
As Emma was about to leave the room, Sally came over.
‘Is anything wrong?’ she asked.
‘Just a last-minute dietary requirement. I need to go and see Chef. Can you keep the drinks flowing in my absence?’
‘Will do.’ Sally smiled and Emma was amazed at the change in her from earlier that afternoon.
The heat from the kitchen hit her as she walked through the swing door, while a cacophony of busyness assaulted her ears.
Chef was standing in the middle of the kitchen directing operations. As Emma walked towards him, he turned round. He was a stickler for precision and ruled his kitchen with a rod of iron. He was also known for having a grudge against any front-of-house staff member who didn’t do exactly as he asked them, the moment he asked them to do it.
‘Ah, Miss Taylor, the afternoon-tea trays are just about ready to go. Do you want to send your staff in to collect them?’
‘Not quite,’ Emma said, her voice quavering. ‘I have a slight problem. I’ve just been told one of the vegetarian dishes now needs to be vegan. I know it’s last minute, but I’d really appreciate it if you could accommodate that.’
‘Right, well we do have vegan options on the restaurant menu, so we’ll just have to find something we can switch. ...’
‘If you could, I would really appreciate it. This is only the second function I’ve managed on my own and I need it to go well.’
‘Where’s Heather?’
‘Sick, apparently.’
‘And left you in the lurch?’
‘Something like that.’
‘Okay, so we’ve got vegan cheese tartlets on the menu and I could rustle up some bean wraps, and then there’s vegan chocolate cake. If you can give me ten minutes, I’ll have it sorted for you.’
‘That will be perfect. Thank you so much.’
‘My pleasure. Especially when you’ve asked so nicely, rather than come in here demanding.’
Emma rushed back to the function room with a sigh of relief, knowing that disaster had been averted. Sally looked up as shecame through the door and she nodded towards her with a smile before going to speak to the guest of honour.
‘Oh, thank you so much,’ the lady said, beaming at her, when Emma told her it had all been arranged. ‘I’ve been planning this party for months and want everyone to enjoy it. I’m very grateful.’
‘It’s our pleasure,’ Emma replied. ‘Give me five minutes, and I’ll start to ask everyone to find their seats.’
‘Excellent. Thank you again.’
Emma smiled. It was good to be appreciated.
* * *
‘Thank you again for a wonderful afternoon.’ The guest of honour came over to Emma as the last of the tea cups were being cleared away.
Emma sensed a presence by her side and turned to see that Faye Greenwood had entered the room.
‘I hope everything was to your satisfaction?’ Faye asked before Emma could reply.
‘It was far more than satisfactory. The food was excellent, the service ran like clockwork and this young lady went out of her way to make a last-minute adjustment. Carly loved her meal, by the way — she had everyone wanting to try her vegan cheese tartlets.’
