The Taste of Home

Chapter 34

"Last but not least, this is the prey room." Miguel led Rosa and José inside, glancing at the schedule posted by the door before showing them how to feed the grasshoppers without accidentally letting any escape. "We take turns caring for the animals. These days, I handle a lot of it so I can pull up a chair and rest my leg, but it's still something you'll all be asked to do at some point."

A warm sense of pride and nostalgia washed over Miguel as he gave the new chefs a tour of The Crimson Goat. In the months since he'd been in their position, he had grown from being a complete stranger to all things culinary to a seasoned chef. His heart fluttered as he remembered when Alejandro had given him the same tour he was leading now. So much had changed, yet his Moonbeam still lit up the entire kitchen with his smile.

"Can't say I ever imagined tending to prey," Rosa said. "When do we actually get to cook?"

"You'll be taking turns helping with prep work at the different stations for a while, followed by supervised cooking before we let you handle stuff on your own," Miguel explained. "Rosa, you'll be at the dessert station today. José, you'll be on appetizers."

With their tour complete, Miguel took the pair back to the main kitchen so they could get acquainted with their mentors for the evening. Luis was already out in the dining room setting out silverware under the watchful— and incredibly anxious— eye of one of the senior waitstaff.

And Miguel was in charge of making sure the three new employees behaved themselves and got along with everyone reasonably well.

"I'm starting to understand why Isabella is so stressed all the time," he said as he took his usual place beside Alejandro. He watched the new chefs out of the corner of his eye as he set to work grinding meat for the night's sausages.

"They'll be fine," Alejandro said gently. "First days are always hard, but they're almost never someone's last."

Miguel chuckled nervously. "Not sure if I would have made it through mine without you." Yolanda hadn't exactly been thrilled to have someone so inexperienced in the kitchen, and Ralph's hands-on teaching methods had left his wrists aching. As much as he viewed the kitchen as a second home now, Miguel still remembered how unfamiliar and overwhelming it felt at first.

Judging from José's dilated pupils and trembling hands, their youngest chef was dealing with much worse than first day jitters.

"I'll handle the rest of the prep." Alejandro's hand gave Miguel's a reassuring squeeze. "You've got this!"

Miguel took a deep breath, forcing his spines to lay flat. If he was truly going to lead a pack someday, he'd have to get used to taking charge. A pack's leader had to be as unshakeable as a tree's roots, providing constant support no matter the hardship they faced. Without it, they'd surely fall.

No pressure.

A familiar sight greeted Miguel at the appetizer station. Ralph had taken it upon himself to adjust José's sloppy grip on his knife by forcing his fingers into the correct position. The blade shook in José's hand as his breaths came fast and shallow.

"Is everything okay?" Miguel asked.

José's spines leaped to attention, only to relax slightly when his eyes found Miguel's. "Could you please tell your friend to take his hand off me?"

"Kid, you're going to mangle the meat or your fingers if you keep holding the damn knife like you were trying to," Ralph said, his brows knitted together in annoyance. "Just ask Miguel. He found out the hard way what happens when you let yourself get sloppy."