CHAPTER 20
‘Put on all the old favourites,’ says Rhi, buoyed up by her champagne cocktail, a favourite of Henri’s. ‘One sugar cube, two dashes of Angostura bitters, cognac and champagne,’ she says, pouring them for everyone. And we all raise a glass. I take a snap and send it to Fabien.
‘And some new ones.’ I’m looking at Maria and Ed. ‘Are you sure you all mean this? You’re happy to stay on and give the supper club a go to raise some money?’
‘Yes!’ they say, except Marco, who isn’t with us.
‘If Zacharie sees how popular our dishes are, he’ll know this is the sort of comfort food people want. Not high end with high prices! They want value for money, company and good food.’
‘What about the night market at the weekend? We could go and see if people like our cooking, hand out samples,’ Maria suggests.
‘Well, we could but that still doesn’t help us on where to hold the supper club,’ I say.
We spend the rest of the day going through recipes online, looking at the classics that Henri taught me, aiming to recreate them. If I do this, perhaps he won’t entirely have left us.
‘So, let’s decide how it’s going to work,’ says Ed. ‘We need this to pay for our keep and food. Don’t forget, the mayor said he thought we could.’
‘So, it’s like a pop-up. We cook, people come and eat as if they were in a restaurant and pay … a suggested figure, as a donation.’
‘We could do it here. Just like we do every night. We eat together. We just cook and make sure people have a nice time,’ says Maria. ‘Jen could put up more bunting.’
‘But who would come, once the mayor and Carine have been? We can’t get that many people around the table in the barn and people won’t drive up here. We’re a good stretch out of town.’ All the reasons why we shouldn’t do it are tumbling into my head.
‘This is about putting food on the table to pay our way, but it’s about remembering Henri too, isn’t it?’ Ed says.
‘And it’s about making us feel at home, even though we’re here … we’re home,’ says Keith.
‘A Friday-night supper club!’ Maria agrees.
‘What about going back to the riverside clearing?’ asks Jen.
‘It’s a good idea, but it doesn’t feel safe now the kids have muscled in there,’ I say, wishing I could think of somewhere we could rent.
‘What address is Henri’s registered to?’ Ed says.
‘The bistro.’
‘So, effectively, it’s still where the business is based …’
‘You mean I could go in and claim my space?’
‘You could indeed,’ he says.
‘But it’s a very small kitchen.’
‘We could do the next best thing and serve meals outside it – like we did when we first started the lavender bakes,’ says Stephanie, warming to the idea. ‘Hit them right where it hurts!’ she says, with a sharp twist of her fist.
‘We need somewhere people can sit to share food and conversation,’ I say.
‘What about your Romani caravan? We could take it down to the market,’ says Ed.
‘Wouldn’t be easy,’ I say. ‘It hasn’t moved in years.’
‘We need somewhere bigger,’ Maria says.
I’m beginning to think this just isn’t going to happen.
‘I know somewhere,’ says Stephanie, flicking through the old lavender recipe book.
‘Oh, no, not your unit. You need that for your baking. I’m not going to let you give that up.’
A rare smile pulls at the corners of her mouth. ‘No, better than that. You need somewhere with tables and chairs, right?’
‘Yes,’ I say.
‘With French charm? Antique furniture?’
‘But we’re not going to …’
‘In the heart of the town, not far from Henri’s?’ She’s grinning.
My eyes widen. ‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’
She nods. ‘The brocante!’ She beams.
‘A pop-up supper club at the brocante?’ Rhi repeats.
‘Oui, of course!’ Stephanie says excitedly. ‘Cook the food here and take it there.’
‘Or barbecue! I love to barbecue,’ says Graham.
‘Henri loved a barbecue,’ says Rhi.
‘It’s perfect,’ I say slowly. My heart lifts and soars.
‘We all cook, different dishes from different backgrounds, a mixed bag. Everyone is welcome,’ says Maria.
‘Yes!’
‘Here’s to Henri’s supper club! Now to get the word out!’ says Jen.
While Maria and Ed return to talking menus and Keith talks styling and bunting with Jen, I can see a hole in our plan. ‘Just one thing. How are we going to do all this without a vehicle?’
‘You could use my work van,’ Stephanie suggests. ‘But it is going in for a service at the end of the week and I’ll need it again on Saturday.’
‘You can use the camper!’ Jen says. ‘It won’t take me long to put in the new clutch.’
‘We couldn’t do that!’ I say.
‘It’s fine!’ She waves a hand.
‘I don’t want you to feel pushed out!’
‘I’ve told you I hate living in this van! Can’t wait to get out of it.’
‘Well,’ I smile, ‘there’s a spare room in the house.’
‘Perfect! I’ll take it!’
‘So, we’re on. Friday-night supper club!’ Maria can hardly contain her excitement.
‘Zacharie won’t like it,’ says Rhi.
‘All the more reason to do it!’ I raise my glass.