I busied myself with my notepad, pretending that I had something important to write down when all I wanted to do was find an excuse to not be looking at him.
The chef directed our couple of the hour to start sampling the options and the cameras swooped in even closer.
Carter rubbed his hands together. “I doubled up on my workout this morning so outta my way people, I’m going in! Iearnedthis cheat day.”
Kristen giggled, picked up the tarte and took a bite so tiny I doubted she could taste anything.
“Mmm,” she said, eyes wide. “I love it.”
Carter speared a scallop, popped it in his mouth and nodded as he chewed. “Oh wow, this is fantastic. Hell yeah, brother.Hellyeah. I definitely want these on the menu.”
The chef beamed but Drew remained stony faced. For fuck’s sake, they were complimenting his food, the least he could do would be to crack a smile.
Carter and Kristen both moved on to the escargot, or attempted to. It had the wow factor, but it could be a major pain to actually eat the things. Snails were just too damn slippery, which is why I usually tried to steer couples away from the idea. But Drew had insisted we offer it in the tasting since it was one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. I had a feeling that including it was less for the couple and more for the camera.
“Uh, what the hell do I do with this?” Carter laughed as he held up a shell. “Throw it back like a Jell-o shot?”
Kristen giggled.
“It’s such a unique dish, isn’t it?” I said, shooting a glance at Drew. “You secure the shell using the snail tongs then use the tiny fork to pull out the meat.”
“Hold up, folks.” Dorian the producer moved closer to the table. I’d quickly figured out that he was the sort of person who could disappear into the background or suck the air out of a room, depending on his mood. “Let’s savor this moment, okay? Have some fun with it. It’s cute, ya know?”
Ah yes, the stage direction that I was learning was a big part of ‘reality’ TV. “Savoring the moment.”Ugh.
Dorian had a very clear vision for the show, and he wasn’t afraid to pause the action to manipulate it in the direction he wanted. He clearly had willing subjects in the couple, because Carter pretended to catch Kristen’s nose in the snail tong and they laughed harder than necessary about it. I’m sure the show’s editing and background music would make the moment feel funnier than it actually was.
Kristen held up the tong and fork. “Okay, I’m lost.Whatdo we do?”
I opened my mouth to answer but Drew started talking before I could.
“I’d be happy to show you how to enjoy ourEscargots à la Bourguignonne. Allow me.”
Of course his French accent was impeccable. I imagined myself doing an eyeroll so my disdain wouldn’t be caught on camera, but it wasn’t the same.
Drew gracefully demonstrated how to grasp the shell with the tool and spear the meat out. He held the tiny fork up in the air.
“Voila,” he said with a smile thatalmostlooked natural.
“Me first,” Kristen said as she moved closer to Drew.
She opened her mouth and looked up at him like she wanted him to feed her, which…um, what? Sure, it would be cute if it wasthe guy she was marrying,but she wasn’t even looking Carter’s way. The energy between her and Drew seemed familiar, almost intimate, and it didn’t make sense to me.
Drew opted to hand her the fork, and she popped it in her mouth with a flourish. Kristen covered her mouth with her hand as she chewed, all the better to show off her huge ring. “Oh my. Huh. Different!”
“Lemme try,” Carter said. He wasn’t quite as smooth as Drew but he managed to get the bit of snail meat out without too much drama orgarlic butter spatter. “Wow. I love it. Garlic-city,” he said as he chewed.
Damn it, I was going to have to be a killjoy.Diplomatically.“You’re right,” I agreed. “It’s an aromatic selection for sure, and it’s the resort’s specialty. But for your event, I have to be honest with you that from a planning perspective it presents some challenges.”
Drew cleared his throat. “It’s a unique dish that people love. It received a Gault & Millau award for culinary excellence, which is rare for an American restaurant. I was told that you want a one-of-a-kind event, and this appetizer will show your guests that they are in for a celebration unlike anything they’ve experienced.”
“Sold,” Carter slapped the counter. “I want our wedding to be super different. We’re going to blow people’s minds.”
“But …” Kristen held up the tongs. “This thing is sort of hard to navigate. And if we’re doing passed apps it’ll be even tougher for guests.”
“That’s the issue exactly,” I said quickly relieved that one of them understood.
“We should consider what our couple prefers and let them make the decision,” Drew said in a stern voice, narrowing his eyes at me to signal that I needed to shut the hell up.
