RP: Weekly Meeting

[chris_pho]

Date: Friday, October 21, 2011
Characters: Chris Pho, Alex Jameson
Location: Angel Abbey
Status: Private
Summary: Chris and Alex catch up about work and possible cooking lessons
Completion: Complete

Comments

[angelalexjay]

Alex gave him a look. "Mr. Jameson means you're sucking up about something. A kitchen fire? A stack of glasses and plates shattered?" He was teasing, of course, but reminding Chris to loosen up was about as effective as setting Rivkah up on a blind date.

"So I should get a plaque for my most modest employees and how you helped the other ones?" He said dryly, taking the plate and starting to eat.

"The themes seem to be going well. I was thinking about doing something different for Halloween. Last year the staff wore costumes, but I thought this year maybe if we offered say a 10% discount or free dessert we'd get people before they went off to a party or took the family trick-or-treating. It's Monday, so all we'd need to do is cancel speed dating, which has been waning a bit anyway." He took a large bite.

"I've gotten a lot of good feedback about the Wine-and-Dines. It's the most frequent mention on our Facebook page, and I get Tweets asking what the upcoming menu's will be, so that's more than taken off. I'd just say if you can project your menu's a few more weeks out so we can let customers know, that'd be good."

"Anything else on your mind, oh Supreme Employee?"

[chris_pho]

"I don't waste time with such nonsense as 'sucking up," Chris said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "If I want something, I'll just ask. There's been no kitchen incidents since Katie dropped the tray two weeks ago. You got that incident report, I trust?"

Chris listened and nodded. "I don't work Monday nights, but I'd noticed that the numbers for the event weren't as strong. Are you wishing to continue offering that or were you thinking about trying something else on Mondays?" He was curious because Alex had a good business sense and seemed to anticipate the market when it came to customer satisfaction.

"I'm pleased to hear that revolving menu is proving popular. I can work in a couple of weeks with more standard choices in order to get ahead, if you'd like. Nothing common, just more well-known. I think that's the easiest way to get the menus out there faster," he decided. He made a few quick notes on the paper before looking at Alex. "I think free dessert might be a good choice. It could entice a large variety of customers, since party goers and families could take advantage. Will you need me to work that night?"

Chris nodded. "Actually, I wanted your opinion regarding and idea that was suggested to me. Basically, the idea is that I might host a small cooking class on Sunday mornings, before we'd prep for brunch. There'd be a fee for the class, of course, and a cut off for size in order to make it manageable in our kitchens." He handed over the report. "I did research, so you'd be able to know what I had in mind."

[angelalexjay]

Alex nodded. "And she apologized herself." He kept eating as he listened. "I'd be willing to try something else on Mondays, depending on what you have in mind. We get a little bit of mutual backscratching hosting the local dating service, and if we're going to change that, I'll need to give them notice."

"Seems fair, though a lot of your more ethnic choices are what I'm getting feedback on, so if you wanted to standardize one of those, I can do a survey and see which would prove most popular." He pushed aside his monthly budget report and made a notation on the calendar for the next day's tasks. "It's up to you if you want to work. It doesn't have to be complicated. Could be pies, or some sort of caramel apple deal." He looked thoughtful. "Or caramel apple cobbler." He licked his lips. "Or pumpkin ice cream." He looked at the roster for that day. "I think barring any surprise cancellations we're good. If Ty doesn't have a gig, I can ask him to come in and that'd free me to be the dessert distributor."

Alex raised a brow. "Really?" He hadn't considered a cooking class. He looked at the research for a moment. 'How'd that come up? You're excellent in the kitchen, Chris, but you're not exactly a people person." He gave the man a frank look. "How do you feel about instructing several people, some of whom might be incompetent?"

[chris_pho]

"I don't have any ideas," Chris said, having not really thought about it before. "I was just curious if you'd considered other options or were content with how things were going."

Chris considered it. "I can come in for a few hours, if my boss doesn't start complaining about me working too much." He smiled sweetly. "I could come in and handle desserts that night, if you want. Offer them from five to close, and I can make cobbler and ice cream. I'll start working on different recipes this weekend and get the right ones for Halloween, if you want." He had stayed out of the kitchen following his move to DFW, but a small part of him missed it. The rest of him was glad for the control that being assistant granted him, though.

"I might end up needing bailed out of jail," he said dryly. "As long as I have a great boss who doesn't mind bonding me out, I think it's worth trying. A woman I ran into at the supermarket suggested it, actually, and my best friend thought it might be a good idea." He shrugged. "I have patience in the kitchen, surprisingly, even if I lack it in other facets of life. I'd stick to basic meals, if there turned out to be more than one class, and I'd charge enough to make profit for the restaurant, of course."

[angelalexjay]

"I'll see what the company says, if things are drying up on their end. Might make it an every other week thing, or once a month, open up Mondays for something else." He shrugged. "Won't change overnight, in any case."

Alex snorted. "Like I could keep you away. Besides, if you were home, you'd either get plagued by trick or treaters or ding-dong-ditchers." He took a swallow from his water bottle. "See what you can do on the cobbler. I've got a personal favorite on the ice cream, might be able to join forces for the night. Get them some free advertising for a discounted rate." He would, of course, have to sample the goods. Just to be sure. "Though if you come in that night, you will be expected to wear a costume." He grinned up at his slightly uptight second in command.

"Alright, if you think you can handle it. My other concern is more just for reputation and liability. I'll check our insurance, because employees are covered in the kitchen, I don't know about specialized customers. We would probably need a waiver, but if you were able to do more prep out at the tables, that might also help." He thought it might be a trick to get around the insurance, but if Chris was confident he could make it work and work well, Alex would let him take point.

"Let me take a look at this, but in the meantime, get me an advertising workup we can send to our web guy, see what he can do with it. And once we get the dates down, I'll see if Ty would do some photography, for posterity, and maybe future advertising if it works."

[chris_pho]

"I'll wear a chef's hat and apron," Chris said, arching a brow. "That will be my costume. It wouldn't be practical to wear costumes in the kitchen, anyway." He nodded. "I'll work on the cobbler and get you several options to taste test by mid next week."

Chris nodded. "A signed waiver should cover liability. I can do prep on a table outside of the main kitchen area, but there will be a necessity of using the equipment, obviously. Let me know what your insurance company says." He frowned in thought. "Advertising isn't a strength, but I'll see what I can do. I think I'd like to try a class before the holidays start, to test it and find out if it's even something I can tolerate. I'll also need to speak to the current cooks to make sure there won't be any anomosity if I teach a class in their kitchen."

[angelalexjay]

"Well, not the caped kind. You could always do a cowboy or a pirate, they're pretty standard." He shook his head. "Ah, Chris, we'll get that sense of whimsy to come out and play one of these days."

"Excellent. I'll see if Ty can stop by." He rather liked asking his lover's input on things these days. Kept them connected even as they had separate careers.

"You don't have to do graphics, just get me hard copy of what all it would say." Alex finished the plate, covering a burp. "Though if you know enough people who would be interested, maybe they could fill the class with word of mouth. How many were you thinking, as your maximum?"

He looked through the research, listening to Chris talk. "I doubt it'll be a problem." He said absently. "Might want to get one of the washers to come in early, though, make sure everything's properly cleaned." Which would appease the cooks well enough.

[chris_pho]

"Fine. I won't wear a suit. Casual clothing can be my costume." Chris rolled his eyes. "If I possess a sense of whimsy, I'll be certain to get rid of it. I have no desire to be whimsical, after all."

Chris nodded. "I'll write up hard copy then. I only know one person, the woman who first suggested it, but I'm not sure if it was a sincere desire for cooking lessons or not. There might be a couple more. Word of mouth might work, though it's probably good to advertise it to expand the potential participants. I would feel comfortable with a dozen or less, I think. Smaller means more individual attention, but it wouldn't be worthwhile if there aren't at least five sign-ups. I'll ask for volunteers amongst the washers, see if anyone wants an extra hour or two."

[angelalexjay]

Alex let his eyes go wide. "But it's Halloween! The one night a year adults can regress to being like a kid! Come on." He wheedled. "You can do better than that. Heck, my dogs could do better than that. One night, Chris. Don't make me come over and dress you." Though if he did, he might get obnoxious and make him a ninja or something.

"Let's cap it at 10 for now, and see what we can get. If there's enough interest we can do a contact list of those who don't get in the first time." He liked the idea of having enough interest that there was a wait, but he wouldn't assume as much.

He stood, stretching a bit before grabbing the now empty plate. "Sounds like a plan. If you think of anything for Mondays, let me know."

[chris_pho]

"Yet some adults regress every day." Chris gave Alex a pointed look. "If you insist on me regressing, I'll have to inform you that I never wanted to wear costumes even as a child. N'awlins celebrates Halloween unlike many places in the country, I'm sure, but costumes were never part of our celebration. Authentic haunted buildings, a ritual or two, and festive music and food, certainly, but not costumes."

Chris made a note on his pad. "Ten is good. If we have enough interest, it'll be more exclusive if there's a cap. Perhaps it will intrigue people enough to try it out." Of course, that meant he had to figure out some blurb for advertising and also decide on a menu that would be easily earned even by anyone, even the incompetent people Alex referred to, yet had an affordable cost and cooking time. He'd enjoy the challenge.

"Certainly. I'll get back with you next week about the class, and expect cobbler possibilities by Tuesday." He'd spend Monday experimenting and hope that Kudzu, Luke and Isaac didn't hate apple cobbler.

[angelalexjay]

"Some of us never really grew up at all." Alex cheerfully informed him. "We just take the excuse and REALLY run with it, unlike those who run from it like a scaredy cat."

"But you're in Dallas now. When in Rome... Besides, you'll stick out more and get asked where your costume is all night. You prepared for that?" Alex raised a brow at him.

[chris_pho]

"You say tomayto, I say tomahto." Chris stood up and snorted. "I don't happen to see refusal to wear a ridiculous costume as being scared so much as being sensible."

Chris couldn't resist smirking. "I would have assumed you knew me better than that, Alex. I'm prepared for everything." With that, Chris nodded. "They can ask if they'd like, but I'll be in the kitchen creating delicious desserts, so I doubt anyone cares. And now I'd better go check on the kitchen and make sure prep for dinner is going well. I'll take the plate back with me."

[angelalexjay]

"I never said it had to be ridiculous. Could be very dignified looking if you tried. Course, my dignity left me long ago, so I make do." He sighed, making a exaggerated sad face.

"No bail money for uncostumed people, all I'm saying." Alex took a final swig from his bottle. "You're warned." He might have to sic Isaac on Chris, given his general obtuseness about having fun. Yes, he definitely would give him a heads up.