Chapter 13
A few days later, while Theo served customers (a few more than they’d had before though most tables inside and out were still empty), Milly made a plan of action for the cooking festival.
It was going to be running in late August, and lasted for ten days, with different events held in venues all around the city, which gave them time to build some buzz around the particular events they were going to host at the café.
They just needed to decide what they were.
After chatting for a few minutes, Theo joined her.
‘So,’ she began. ‘I’ve done all the sign-up forms and admin bits, but there’s some more information we need to provide.
We need to decide what our theme is going to be.
There are various ones, and they’ve said things like community, which I was expecting, but then there’s also hidden gems and a couple of others, but we don’t really fit into those categories. ’
‘I think we should focus on community events.’
‘That’s the one I was thinking too. That category is all about eating together, making new friends and reconnecting with old ones.
And those are joyful, happy activities, so for me, it fits really well with the café name and vibe.
’ She looked at him, and his gaze was so soft and appreciative it made her weak.
‘It made me think of that place you took me not long after I arrived.’
‘Absalon?’
‘That’s it. I loved that people were making new friends. I love that here in Denmark, if you’re feeling lonely, there are so many things you can do about it and there’s no stigma attached to it.’
‘I find it hard to understand it isn’t like that everywhere.’
She gave a sardonic chuckle. ‘I wish it was, but in England people feel ashamed of being lonely. It’s like having the plague and they feel they have to hide it.’
‘Other countries could learn a lot from us. We pay more taxes, but we don’t mind because the state focuses on helping people. We love our government, but in a nice way. Not a …’ He hesitated. ‘Not a scary way.’
‘That’s good to know,’ she replied with a smile. ‘So basically, we can be part of the festival just by signing up, but it would be great to run some specific events during that week. We need to think of something to do with community and figure out how it’ll work.’
‘We could do something every lunchtime. Maybe change the tables to long table dinners, that always encourages people to make new friends.’
‘I love that idea and you could make sm?rrebr?d and showcase different or unusual flavour combinations.’
Theo nodded. ‘We could have a theme for each event. So one day it could be inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine, the next, say, American, the next classically Nordic, all with their own twists.’
She could see the light burning in his eyes as he spoke. It was as though he’d come alive, as if something inside him had been given permission to fly.
‘I love it!’ she replied. ‘And maybe we can give people some questions or something?’
His forehead creased as he frowned, and a little line appeared in between his eyes. ‘What do you mean? Like a quiz?’ He said the word so distastefully, Milly laughed.
‘No, but we want people to talk, yes? Maybe when you serve a dish, people can have time to eat and talk and then you can ask some questions. See if they can identify the flavours you’ve added and explain why you’ve done it.’
‘That’s – that’s a really good idea.’
‘Why are you surprised?’ she asked raising her eyebrows.
‘I’m not surprised by you, only that I quite like that idea. I don’t really like standing up in front of people and talking, but I think I’d enjoy talking about food. As long as no one complains.’
‘Someone will always complain – that’s the way of the world, I’m afraid – but I’ll be there and if anyone does, I’ll handle them. I don’t mind dealing with stuff like that.’
‘My knight in shining armour,’ he replied with a grin.
‘More like your damsel in sugary pastry.’ She brushed away crumbs she’d only just noticed clinging to the fabric of her dress from where she’d eaten that morning.
Theo had made a delicious hindbaersnitter, which was a raspberry slice with a thick sugary glaze, only he’d added a sprinkle of chipotle pepper and the sensations it had created in her mouth had been phenomenal.
She’d been dubious at first, thinking the hot, spicy, smoky pepper would ruin the deliciousness of the raspberries, but as usual, she’d been wrong.
Theo had combined the flavours perfectly so they balanced and complemented each other. And that gave her another idea.
‘Why don’t we do some lunchtime ones for the sm?rrebr?d and some breakfast ones so you can show off your amazing gift with pastries too?’
‘I think amazing gift is a bit much, don’t you?’
‘No! No, I don’t! You’re so talented, Theo, and the way you mix up flavours will impress everyone.’
He grinned and nodded. ‘I like that idea too. Yes, let’s do that. We don’t have to run something every day over the ten days—’
‘No, but if we do one even every other day, that’ll be five in total, which’ll give you lots of coverage—’
‘And give me time to prep in between—’
She adjusted the arm of her glasses, loving the flow of their conversation and his mounting excitement. ‘Especially as we’ll still be open as usual the rest of the time and hopefully the festival will attract more people whether we’re holding an event or not.’
He stood back, his hands on his hips, showing off his broad chest. She made sure not to stare. ‘This could work, Milly. This could all actually work.’
‘It really could.’
Theo stepped forwards and took her hand. The warmth of his skin on hers made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, her body coming alive at his touch.
‘Thank you again for suggesting we do this.’ As his eyes focused on their hands entwined together on the table, he quickly moved his away, standing up.
Her skin felt suddenly cold not only because she missed his touch, but also because she couldn’t put off speaking about the café’s finances any longer.
Theo had sent her the login details for his accounting software, and she’d been slowly looking into everything in between the cooking festival preparation and everything else she was working on.
Last night she’d made a concerted effort to drill down into the figures, and it wasn’t great reading.
After their exciting conversation over the festival, a heavy dread was now settling in her stomach.
The café’s financial situation was even worse than she’d thought.
It wasn’t in debt yet, but whatever capital Theo had to begin with was being rapidly used up.
He spent a lot of money on ingredients – ingredients he wasn’t using and that were then going out of date.
He also seemed to insist on the highest quality, which inevitably came with the steepest price tag.
After some research, she saw he used the best cinnamon, the best coffee beans, the most expensive sugar.
It was admirable that he wanted to give his customers the best, but the café simply wasn’t in a position to have that luxury and would it really make that much difference?
She wasn’t sure the average person would be able to tell.
The cold truth was that Theo needed to dial back his spending, at least for a while.
Once they were selling everything he was making on a daily basis, and had built up a decent amount of reserves, they’d then be able to spend a little more on ingredients.
They.
Milly sat back in her chair. She’d thought ‘they’ as if she were staying.
As if she would be here past the end of the summer and into autumn, winter and beyond.
She wanted to see Copenhagen covered in snow, to snuggle in front of the fire as it fell outside.
She thought about how to broach the subject.
There was no getting away from it; she had to talk to Theo and soon.
Whenever she attempted it, he’d find it hard to hear and she couldn’t blame him; she would feel the same herself.
She just had to trust that he knew she was only trying to help.
At that moment, his wide smile was like a knife in Milly’s heart.
She didn’t want to wipe it off his face, not after they’d had such a good morning, but there was no other choice.
Making the festival a success meant having this discussion whether she wanted to or not.
She took a sip of her coffee, a deep breath and began.
‘Theo, you know I’ve been looking at the finances?’
‘Yes.’ His posture tightened.
‘Well, I think we need to look at how much you’re spending on ingredients, on an everyday basis.’
He began to wipe the surfaces clean. ‘People appreciate good quality. At least here they do, where it’s less about commodity and chain stores.’
‘I know but right now the café isn’t in the position to be able to spend that much on things. Maybe it’d be best to choose one or two things that have to be the best, but everything else should really be cut back, especially with additional expenditure with the festival.’
He shook his head. ‘I won’t compromise. I’m a chef. A good one.’
‘You are.’ She adjusted her glasses, then reached out and took his hand but she could feel the coolness radiating off him. ‘But while the café builds up a good following, and until your regular income is a bit higher, you really need to think about cutting back in some places.’
He straightened, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He said something in Danish, but she had no idea what, and given it was probably a grumble, she didn’t bother asking.
‘This café would have been in a much better position if I hadn’t had to scrabble around for financing from the very beginning.
I’m starting to wonder if it’s all really worth it. ’