Growth.

“Easy there, smooth talker.” Nadia snorted, heat rising to her cheeks. “Hm… something simple and quick. I’m a mom so I need something I can fool a five year old into eating. He’s huge on those dinosaur chicken nuggets right now.”

“Oh, don’t call me smooth, I’ll get an ego,” he chuckles a little and then makes a face. “Yes, children can be a struggle. I mean I don’t have any but — I hear,” He teases. “But if you’re busy, a slow cooker is a great tool. On a Monday or Sunday you could pop a whole chicken in there, let it go for the day and you’ll have at least four nights worth of meals for yourself and your son if you just made rice or vegetables,” He nods.

Taking a sip of her white wine, Amelia rolls her eyes, brow raised. “If you wanna’ help people, you can pour me another glass.” She says dryly, holding out her emptied wine glass. 

“Americans, so rude. No please, no thank you,” He smirks and reaches over for the chilling bottle, popping the cork, which has been just sort of shoved back into the bottle, with his hands, and topping off her glass. “Why the long face, my friend?”

“That sounds a bit fake. They kick you out of culinary school if you can’t catch a potato on a knife?” He asked, chuckling. “That sounds neat, though. I would want to go, definitely. I actually taught a friend to cook a meal recently. It made me realize how much I love cooking. I do it a lot without even thinking about it.”

“Definitely true. Part of the final exam,” Olin smirks. “No, they do not care what you do so long as you keep all ten fingers, which is a struggle for some,” He chuckles and sets the knife down. “Yeah? What do you enjoy cooking? Perhaps you should cook them a meal in return. There are few nicer gestures.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem. I end up eatin’ the meal and after that I don’t wanna clean up the mess.”  She laughed as she admitted that. “If your masterclass, also teaches some shortcuts, then you can definitely count me in.”

“That is the struggle, darling,” Olin agrees. “Lucky for me in the restaurant it is the job of someone to clean up and they are compensated to do so. At home I have only the motivation which is the satisfaction of seeing a clean kitchen,” he chuckles. Olin was a pretty neat guy, but he could understand what she was getting at. “I will ponder on that. Do you like to cook?”

“That doesn’t look too hard to do. It’s basically Fruit Ninja but vegetable style.” Benji pointed out with a light chuckle, shifting his one year old in his arms. The child was evidently fascinated by the potato flying up into the air and giggled at the sight. “That sounds like a great idea. Can I come? Or do I need to be like…..super professional to join in?”

Olin smiled at the girl, wiggling his fingers in a wave and repeating the motion for her amusement. “What is fruit ninja?” Olin asks, confused, but with an amiable smile. “Oh, no. It would be beginner friendly, I think. Small groups so there is plenty of time for questions on technique and that,” Olin shrugs. “The idea is still in its infancy stages, if I am being honest. Any ideas on the kind of meal you’d be interested in seeing?”

“Yes.. I’m much more in control.” She laughs and nods. “I’m all patched up with tape.”

“Well then you must be doing alright,” Olin nods. “And I am glad to hear that. Tell me how teaching is going. I have not seen you since you stormed off at the farmers’ market.”

“You’d hate me. I would be an awful student. Even my mom gave up after a couple tries. She imparted to me our family lasagne and that’s all she could stand.” 

“I don’t hate paying customers,” Olin chuckles and shrugs. “One day you’ll get over the ‘bachelor who can’t cook’ archetype,” He teases. “And when you do, you come find me.”

“i’d be down for it, i know how to slightly cook but hell i would love to learn more…plus pretty sure i can do that??? but who knows, you toss potatos i toss wrenches” she joked with him. 

“Wrenches?! Well, I will try to make sure not to do anything that would incur that sort of wrath,” Olin smiles a little bit. “What does ‘slightly cook’ mean to you? I think everyone has a different definition, which is why I ask, like — some people overestimate their abilities, some people underestimate,” He nods.

“I think that’s pretty creative, food always catches people’s attention. Captures mine anyways.” Daniela shrugged as she watched the potato fly up into the air, “Can you make me something out of that like now? Fries, mashed, garlic — whatever. I’m hungry now.” 

“Demanding little thing,” Olin smirks and tosses a smaller piece of potato into the air, watching it land on the knife. “Say please and I might consider,” He teases. “What are you feeling?”

“I dig it. Who doesn’t like learning a wild new recipe?” As a chef, they were maybe a bit biased, but Johnny figured even the most inept cook would be interested in learning something new. “You got any teaching experience?”

“My thought precisely,” Olin offers with a shrug. “No, not really. Just many years of being in the cooking industry. I think that job is sort of inherently a teaching job, if that makes sense.”

“That ain’t true… is it?” Amelia smiles softly, though she’s clearly suspicious about Olin’a little comment on culinary school. “Mmhm– well– I think it’s a good way to get this place dirtier than ever. Is THAT what you wanna’ accomplish, or did I miss somethin’?” She stifles a few laughs. 

Olin smirks and then shakes his head. “No, darling, of course not,” He chuckles. “I mean I would be the one cooking,” He says, turning his gaze to Amelia with a nod. “Not as if I would let people run amuck in my kitchen. So rude,” He teases. “I’m just trying to help the people.”

“I’m mostly teasing. You’ve never shouted obscenities at me, so you’ve got Gordon beat there. That’s his signature move.” She shrugs. “I really like it, yeah. I’m happy with how they’re turning out.”

“Well, I am quite glad to hear that at least.” He nods. “Feeling any more in control of… things?” He quirks an eyebrow.

“Oh.. I mean.. I’m sort of hopeless when it comes to anything that doesn’t just like sit and cook somewhere. On the stove or in an oven. I basically can only put ingredients together and hope they all cook together properly.”

“You should learn, man. It’s both useful and attractive to cook,” He chuckles. “You could come to the class.”

“Are you though?” Aly asks, skeptically, closing one eye a little. “They’re good, healthy and thriving.”

“I’ve got a few people who would say so, I get the sense you disagree,” Olin nods. “Well, good, I’m glad to see that. Is it as relaxing as you’d hoped?”

“That sounds like a great idea!” Scarlett encouraged with a short nod of her head. “Will you be teachin’ on how not to be a messy cook?”

“Making a mess is half the fun,” He chuckles. “But cleaning it up is a bummer. I think streamlining sort of comes with being in the kitchen, you know? You learn shortcuts and stuff.”

“Please. You’re just showing off and you know it.” Nadia rolled her eyes fondly, taking a sip from her wine. “I think that sounds like a lot of fun. That’s something I’d be interested in.”

“Perhaps a little, I am just a man — we always want to impress pretty women,” He teases. “Yeah? And what would you want to learn?”

“Yeah?” Aly asks cooly, misting the leaves on the plants of hers that were starting to grow better. “How very Gordon Ramsay of you.”

“Oh, come on, I am much nicer than him,” He chuckles a little bit, shrugging as he goes back to pruning his weeds. “How are the plants coming?”