Collar the Wild

Chapter 27 - Furry

"Ember, get over here. Let's get you two properly introduced." Hess calls out as the Ember steps into the kitchen.

"No 'Mr Keystone', 'Mr Cord' stuff?" He asks with a grin.

Now in closer proximity, he's able to get a better look at the hired chef. She is a middle-aged woman who stands herself proudly upright, hair tied into a bun and netted and clothes very straightly ironed. She bears a welcoming smile, that reminds him of his mother when he'd return from playing the with other pups. He shoos away the memory before it latches and attempts a casual yet cordial temperament by dipping his chin to her.

"Tomorrow, yes, today, nah!" Hess dismisses with a flick of his hand. "This is Barbara. I've worked with her a bunch of times, and haven't one bad thing to say about her. Barbara, this is Ember, our newest wolf and keen, but inexperienced, sous-chef."

"How do you do," she says holding out a hand with short, unpolished nails and a slight blush in her cheeks at Hess's compliment.

"Nice to meet you."

"Now we have a shit-ton of prep to do for tomorrow, so I'm going to run through my meal plan. As always, Barb, you're welcome to butt-in and call me an idiot if you think I should make some changes."

"I'd call you an idiot anyway." She and the fat wolf laugh as a binder is produced from inside the island worktable.

Ember is startled by the sudden camaraderie, but soothed by it all the same. It gives him hope that come tomorrow, he'll not have to worry about any anxiety from this human, which gives his mind more freedom to fantasise about all the others in the next room.

"Alright, well I'm thinking sushi for hors d'oeuvres," Hess says, pointing at the top of the paper, "which gives us a lot of options for dietary requirements. We thankfully haven't got any guests with fish allergies, but there are two lactose intolerants, one gluten and one severe nut allergy. I've already made sure there are no nuts anywhere in the kitchen and all the food for tomorrow has no nuts in them. Gluten we don't need to be as strict about," he explains to the other wolf, "but all surfaces and cutting tools must be cleaned beforehand."

"Makes sense to me. As long as those uppity snobs will even eat Asian food," Barbara scoffs.

"They can eat it or starve for all I care. Sushi is amazing and I won't hear anything to the contrary!"

Barbara chuckles and looks through the rest of the meal plan, finding no issues.

"I love it, mackerel and dill pâté or cherry tomato and courgette on flatbread for the vegetarians is a good starter. Roasted salmon and buttered veg is a perfectly safe and delicious meal and fits the theme of fish. I love the idea of the crispy breaded tofu for meat-free too. I assume the gluten allergy is a meat-eater?"

"No he's a veggie. We'll be using corn flour and making our own breadcrumbs from a gluten-free loaf."

"See, you come up with stuff like this and I can't call you an idiot." Barbara praises backhandedly and Hess beams proudly. "Homemade ice cream and sorbet too. I've never made sorbet."

"Easiest thing in the world. It's only there because I wanted a cold dessert to mirror the starter and two of them can't have milk. We'll make a raspberry coulis as well to pour over."

"It sounds amazing."

"Right, we'll start with the desserts because they just go in the freezer and get forgotten about. Then we'll get to work preparing the veg for overnight storage, ready to be cooked tomorrow. We'll also make the breadcrumbs and pâté today and roll up all the sushi last so they can be left in the fridge for as little time as possible. I already cooked and seasoned the rice yesterday and I've got some carrots pickling."