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 Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2023 8:11 pm
Talia had a few ideas that she wanted to try, and a few recipes that she wanted to make to…well. To impress Evan. First on the list was a cheesecake bite, filled with some strawberry jam. It tasted delicious to her, but she hoped that the real chef would think the same. The next was a red velvet cookie with a cream cheese swirl, and while she wasn’t as excited by how this one had turned out, she was terribly proud of her last one. They were just sugar cookies, but they had been decorated with royal icing, and they looked like bowls filled with mac and cheese, and a few looked like different slices of cheese. They were dumb…sure…but they were cute.
Poking her head out of the kitchen, Talia spotted Evan, and having already told him that she wanted him to try her desserts, she grinned. “Okay, I’m ready for you if you’re ready to have a look and a taste!”
She hadn’t yet made the suggestion that they be sold on his truck…but she hoped that he would understand when he saw the theme…and if not, well. She’d just ask regardless.
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Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:43 pm
Evan was doing accounting, which was one of his least favorite part of owning a business because he felt so stupid when numbers were involved. He was trying to figure out how much he needed to buy when he went to the store later, and he looked absolutely miserable because all of these numbers were looking the same. He was curled over the table in a dark pull-over that made him seem even smaller.
It might not have been so hard if he wasn’t getting hangry, too. Talia’s sweets smelled so good that his mouth was watering but he wanted to keep his appetite so he could adequately sample everything.
He’d miscalculated how good they’d smell, and his stomach was currently loudly demanding attention.
“I’m ready,” he announced, quickly pushing himself up and turning towards the kitchen. “It smells really good, what did you decide on making?” he asked, hurrying in to see her selections.
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2023 4:20 pm
“I tried out a few things, first is this one? And honestly, I’m the most excited for it, it turned out fantastic, it’s a cheesecake bite? And it’s swirled with raspberry jam, so…” Talia held one out for Evan, and popped one into her own mouth, giving a contented sigh as she did so, and making sure to put a few aside for Zac. He would like this one, she was sure.
“Next…I think I have to work on this one but it looks pretty. It’s a cream cheese swirled red velvet cookie? I don’t know, I’m not sold on the flavor of the cookie part, but it looks amazing and the cream cheese is addictive. And the last things are just some sugar cookies…I…was kind of thinking, maybe we could add deserts sometimes to your food truck? I tried making things that had cheese in the name, and these cookies are all cheese themed, like, not in taste but…look at this little cheese wedge! It’s precious!”
And delicious.
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Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2023 5:20 pm
Evan leaned forward to sample the cheesecake bite, and though he only had a small morsel it was enough to tell that she’d outdone herself with it. It was his favorite of the batch, but they were all delicious. They were cute, too.
She was talking about adjusting the menu of his food truck, though. Adding dessert wasn’t a bad idea! He didn’t have any, but his mind seemed to suddenly stall at the suggestion. So far, the only thing on the menu was his recipes. He was the only chef in the kitchen, he knew his recipes and didn’t have to share the back of the food truck. Was there space enough for the both of them? Would the heat melt her cookies? Could cheesecake keep in a food truck?
He felt silly for not knowing enough about dessert to be able to answer that question himself.
“I like the cheese theme,” he said earnestly, because she’d clearly put a lot of thought into them. “You got really creative with these. How long do they take to make, would you make them here and then they go out with the truck?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2023 1:29 pm
“I think they should last fine. But yeah, you have the cooler, I could make a dozen or so and keep them in there, and the sugar cookies would last outside of cooling, they should be fine…I mean, it was just an idea, I love the truck, and I like seeing people happy with food, and I don’t know. I thought it could be a neat thing to try out, if you wanted.”
Honestly, Talia felt rather…shy in asking. Like she was pushing too hard, or asking for too much…but. She was proud of these sweets and this idea…and hoped that it translated at least a little bit.
“I think I should be able to like, get the sugar cookies into their own packages, if you don’t think customers would mind them in like sandwich bags? That would keep everything neat and clean for those…”
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2023 12:06 pm
Evan considered this for a moment, not because he thought to deny the idea but because he wondered if there was more to it. It was the first time Talia had mentioned wanting to sell her baked goods, but it certainly wasn’t the first time she’d been passionate about baking. She seemed to thrive when crafting sweet treats.
Honestly, it made him think about why he’d wanted to pursue his restaurant. Well, food truck. He’d dreamed of a brick and mortar, but he loved his food truck, too. He didn’t even know if he wanted more than this.
Maybe. But for right now, he was happy. He got to go out with the truck and cook. It was on his schedule. It was his kitchen, and he got to direct every little important aspect of his truck.
And, he’d thrived. He’d been better for it. He’d grown. He’d healed.
“It could be a cute Christmas special. I mean, everyone likes Christmas cookies. And these are really cute. We can work on making a post about it later, and figuring out prices and getting nutritional info up. Oh, and we’ll have to take pictures.” It would be a project, but he didn’t sound like he thought it was daunting or discouraging. “But, um. I’m wondering.”
He lifted up one of the cookies and looked it over. Even if she didn’t have much experience making these, it still looked professional.
“...Have you ever thought about running your own bakery?”
She’d looked more reserved than usual, earlier. He thought she was nervous and hadn’t understood why, but now it all made sense. He didn’t want her to take his words the wrong way so he clarified, “I mean, in the bigger picture. Have you ever thought that maybe you might be interested in making a profession out of this?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2023 7:06 pm
Talia blinked and looked thoughtful, pleased that he liked them, and thought the idea of making them a Christmas special would be a good one…but the idea of opening her own bakery…
“I’m…honestly not really sure. I. I really enjoy baking. It’s something…that I think I did a lot of before…at least. You know. It…feels familiar. It’s very safe, and it makes people happy. In a lot of ways I think I like it so much because of you, you and your love for cooking…I don’t know. I’m not…”
She wrinkled her nose and picked up a cheesecake bite, looking at it for a long moment before popping it into her mouth to give herself more time to think on what she wanted to say.
“I’m not sure I want a full time bakery? I’m not sure…that I’m that passionate about it…or. That I want the full responsibility of running a business. I still don’t really know what I want to do with myself, but…it’s a neat thought, and not one that I had considered before but…I don’t think I make…”
Talia gestured to her small bit of treats. “...Things that are exciting enough? Like…if that makes sense?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2023 6:41 pm
Evan listened attentively. He had an easy-going, curious air about him but there was no indication that he had intention to pressure her into anything outside of her comfort zone.
He understood what she was saying, he felt the same things. Her baking was his cooking, except he’d known for a long time that this was what he wanted. The corner of his lip twitched into a smile when she credited him, but she probably wasn’t giving herself enough credit.
“It’s a little daunting,” Evan admitted. “Having to be in charge of all of the business stuff. But I’ve been doing okay, so I know you’d be great at it. If you wanted. I think you’re talented. I think they’re exciting enough. They look good, they smell good, they taste good. Some people say there’s a difference in doing something you love for fun and for work, and I guess I can see that. I just like to cook, I don’t like all the business stuff.”
He gestured to his mess on the table with a dejected sigh. He’d get through it, but he’d rather be in the kitchen than doing math. He could probably pay someone to do this, but Evan was protective of his business. He’d worked so hard to make it what it was. It was important to him, he wanted to be involved in everything and do as much as he could.
“If you ever wanted to try though, I’d support you. Like, farmer’s markets, or bake sales or things? You could do those if you wanted, when you wanted. On your own schedule, if you wanted to try it out. That way you didn’t have to do any big investment or anything if you were just feeling it out.” He shrugged and smiled again. “I’d go with you if you were nervous.”
Even though he still really hated being at the counter, he’d gotten better at it in the past year. He was most comfortable in the kitchen but he was willing ot pull his weight wherever he was needed. He’d help her too, if she wanted. If she had a dream he wanted her to reach it.
Or to just try something new! If she was running a booth or something, she could at least get compliments and get to see how happy her treats could make others. He could only eat so much sugar, and Zac could put it down but he wasn’t particularly expressive. He made an effort, for her.
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2023 6:55 pm
Talia nodded. “No, that math is absolutely one of the reasons that’s holding me back.” She gave a sheepish grin, but still looked thoughtful. “Would you be super put out if I kept trying out sales with your truck? I really…at this point in time I don’t think I know enough to try anything…big. But…a farmers market could be…honestly fun but…I’d want to have more to offer…”
She honestly wanted to try though.
“Can we see how and if these things sell first, and then I’ll go from there? But…a farmers market would be pretty cool…do you want to go with me this weekend to scope the place out and see how much I would need to make or…figure out how to make?”
Sharing her cookies was…honestly so soothing and the idea of…
Well.
It was interesting, and she was willing to think about it.
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2023 3:05 pm
“Oh yeah, that’s fine. We can figure it out. I’ll show you how I do things. I mean, I know you’ve seen me doing things, but I’ll show you. And if you want to take really nice pictures, you should call Malcolm over. He’s really good at photo editing and stuff. He helped me when I was making my menu and promotional pictures. Just–if you get stuck, you have friends to help. We can figure out some pricing things. Whenever you want to make some cookies and things to take with me, I can make an announcement about it.”
That way, there was no pressure. A special side menu for Talia to test things out made sense, just something a little extra. She already knew how to market her things, she’d been on his truck before. He should show her how to work out the math, the pricing, the costs.
“I’m surprised you don’t think that you’ve got enough to offer, though.” He sat up in his chair and propped his elbows on the table. “It seems like you’re baking something new every week?” He wasn’t going to let her talk herself out of her own creativity. “I think, if we go to a Farmer’s Market this weekend, you’ll see. But yeah, that’s a good idea. They have good donuts at the one downtown, we should go try them while we’re out.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2023 5:14 pm
Talia nodded. “I hadn’t even thought of that…I’ll talk to him if it goes well with the truck things…but,” She made a face and then gave a grin that was a little embarrassed. “...Is it terrible that now I have this swirly logo in my mind that absolutely involves a unicorn? Oops.”
The more she thought about the whole thing…the better it sounded, or the more she seemed to be able to talk it up in her mind. “Let’s test these first before I get absolutely ahead of myself, and yes please. I would love some donuts, and to see if someone still has any apple cider for sale. It might be too late in the year but, I have hope.”
Hesitating for a second, Talia held her arms open to Evan, giving him a look. “Thank you. I’m…I wouldn't have thought about this if it weren’t for you, and I think…it could be kind of fun if I do it right. But thank you for allowing me to try it out on the truck first.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2023 7:12 pm
Evan laughed softly. “Why would it be terrible to have a logo in mind? That’s one of the hardest parts. Coming up with an image and a name? You’re already ahead of the game if you’ve got something in mind. Feels like mine took me forever and I only got ‘Snack’n Cheese,’ I mean. Come on.”
He rolled his eyes, but it was the right name, even if he’d been self conscious about it.
But then, what wasn’t he self-conscious about?
He had to stand up from the other side of the table to walk around, but he assumed by her open arms that she wanted a hug. That was easy enough.
“We can test them first, but I don’t think you’d be wrong to start planning for something bigger. They’re good. You’re talented. I know you could do anything you put your mind to.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2023 7:21 pm
“Snack’n Cheese never fails to make me hungry, Evan. I think it’s a perfect name.” Talia laughed and hugged him tightly, relaxing after a second. “Sounds good to me. A test run with these…and if they sell…I’ll get information about the Farmers Market…and after that…who knows.”
At the very least…it was a start. A start she hadn’t realized she wanted…it would be interesting but…hopefully, would turn out well. And if not…well.
She still enjoyed baking…if it didn’t turn into something she could do for profit…oh well.
Talia had survived worse, and she would survive this.
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