Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 57- My Dinner Service Part 1/2

Wednesday, July 10th, 2013

In no time at all, the dining room fills to full capacity. A few of the patrons glance over at the kitchen then do a double take, surprised to see me in the head chef position. I take a deep breath to steady myself. Hopefully, I can prove to everyone– chef and diner alike– that I belong here.

Gordon stands beside me and I feel comforted knowing that I don't have to handle the head chef position entirely on my own. This will be a great trial for the big leagues later on.

John-Philippe approaches and leans over the pass, handing me the first ticket for the red kitchen. I take it and carefully read over the scribbled handwriting. I recall Gordon's advice from past seasons of Hell's Kitchen– one must always read the ticket before calling it out in case there's wrong information written on it. Double checking keeps me from looking like a fool in front of my brigade.

"Four covers, table twelve– three risotto and one cappellini. How long?" I shout into the red kitchen.

"Uhm, ten minutes, Chef!" Gina says, stirring a big pan of risotto.

As soon as I turn back around, JP hands me a second ticket. This time, it's for the blue team.

"Three covers, table twenty-two– two scallops and one capellini! Time?"

Kalyani doesn't look up from the apps station. I'm about to call out my request a second time when Abel takes over.

"Kalyani, (Y/N) asked for your time!" he commands, his voice edged with steel.

"Sorry, Chef! Eleven minutes, please!"

More tickets flow in and I get in the groove of calling them out. Gina is first to bring up her appetizers, followed closely by Kalyani.

"Hot behind you, Chef," Gina warns as she slides the risotto up next to me. From my other side, Kalyani drops off her pan and the scallops before heading back to her station.

Gordon stands beside me and watches as I take a spoon and try a bite of Gina's risotto.

"You need two more minutes, Gina, but it's seasoned perfectly." I take the pan over to Gina's station and hand it to her.

"Sorry, Chef," she grumbles before putting the pan back on the heat.

"No problem, just test it yourself before you bring it up next time!" I remind her.

I turn my attention to the scallops, touching them lightly and flipping them over to check the sear– it looks perfect.

While I check the scallops, Bella plates up the capellini and the re-fired risotto. I call for service and watch with a sense of pride as my first plate of appetizers makes its way out to the hungry masses.

There isn't a moment of respite before the next two tickets come in. I call out the orders and both kitchens respond with a hearty 'heard!'

The next few tables of appetizers run through like clockwork. I don't let my guard down and test every dish meticulously. The second I stop tasting everything is the second it all falls apart. I don't always have time to plate, however, so I pass half of the dishes from each kitchen to my sous chefs.

Gordon has to help Bella with proper plating procedure, but she eventually gets the hang of it. Abel needs no help– in fact, he plates so beautifully that each tray I send out for the blue team looks like it could grace the cover of a food magazine. As I plate yet another order of scallops, a thought claws into my mind. Is he plating better than I am?

"(Y/N)?"

I shake my head clear of my worried thoughts and look over at Abel, who's patiently waiting for my attention.