Blowback

Blowback by Peter May Read Free Book Online

Book: Blowback by Peter May Read Free Book Online
Authors: Peter May
Tags: Mystery, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General
the
boulangerie-patisserie
which baked the bread and prepared the desserts. The other half was where the serious cooking was done. There were hotplates and gas rings, ovens, freezers, larders, and a charcoal grill. A dazzling array of shiny, stainless steel surfaces.
    The whole kitchen was alive with activity. Extractors hummed and timers pinged, and an extraordinary number of men and women in white, sporting long green aprons and tall white hats, moved among the preparation and cooking areas with all the sure-footedness of a well-choreographed ballet company. Evening service was imminent.
    “There are anything up to twenty chefs working here at any one time,” Guy said. “Although the bulk of them are
stagiaires
. Most trainees spend a season here, learning from the bottom up. But we have short term trainees, too, who normally come to us on release from college courses. The
stagiaires
get all the donkey work to do. Chopping vegetables, preparing stocks, jointing the birds, trimming the meat, washing the floor.” He wandered across the space that divided the two halves of the kitchen, where a long, low, marble table was laid out with three place settings. Beyond it, floor to ceiling glass windows gave on to what Enzo assumed must have been Marc’s office.
    Servers in loose black tops and pants glided in and out bearing large silver trays loaded with
amuse bouches
prepared in the
patisserie
to serve guests in the lounge. Enzo was aware of curious eyes flickering in his direction, then away again. There couldn’t have been anyone in the kitchen who did not know why he was here.
    “The organisation of the kitchen is fairly simple,” Guy said. “It is divided into four. The larder, or
gare manger
; the vegetable section; fish and meat; and the
boulangerie-patisserie
. There is a chef in charge of each, the
chef de partie
. Then there is the
sous chef
, or
second
, the
chef de cuisine,
and, of course,
the
chef himself.
Le patron
.”
    “And who is
le patron
now?”
    “Let me introduce you.”
    Guy led Enzo across to where a work station was being set up with wooden chopping board, knives, and condiments below a blindingly bright heat lamp. The chef behind it, dressed all in white, was nearly extinguished by the light. A man in his early forties with a neatly trimmed ginger moustache and amber-flecked green eyes, he was almost painfully thin. Enzo wondered how anyone who enjoyed his food could be so emaciated.
    “This is Georges Crozes. He was Marc’s
second
, promoted to chef when Marc died.”
    Georges wiped a bony hand on a clean
torchon
dangling from his apron strings and reached over stainless steel to shake Enzo’s hand. He had unsmiling, guarded eyes. “
Enchanté, monsieur
.” But Enzo felt that he was less than enchanted to meet him.
    Guy seemed oblivious. “Traditionally, when a three-star chef dies, Michelin takes away a star. They say it is a mark of respect for the deceased chef, since how could someone else immediately fill those three-star shoes? In reality, it usually means huge loss of income for the widow or whoever has inherited the restaurant.” He beamed appreciatively in the direction of Georges Crozes. “However, because of the circumstances of Marc’s death, they made an exception for us. And it is very much down to Georges that we have retained that third star ever since.”
    Enzo said, “I understood that Michelin was thought to be on the point of taking away one of Marc’s stars anyway.”
    Guy flicked him a glance. “A rumor. Whether it was true, we’ll never know. At any rate, Georges was his
protégé
, schooled in the
style Fraysse
, and although he has introduced his own individual slant on things, it is still essentially Marc’s
cuisine
that we serve here. And since we still have those stars…” He shrugged to indicate he believed his point had been made.
    “Monsieur Fraysse, your evening meal is ready.”
    Enzo turned to find an older man smiling benignly at them. He was

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