It was a busy night, and I was hot and tired, Alex again his yelling self, but as by now I have realised the immense stress he was under to get all the meals out, I was more sympathetic, and he always afterwards begged my pardon for being such a boar, when Joe came to tell me that I had a call waiting in the office, and as there was a bit of a lull just then, Alex said that I could go and take it.
It was the bus driver, and he must have made himself nice and comfy for a long talk, but I was in a hurry, and told him shortly that it was our busiest time, he could phone me after ten. I thought, after me being so short and a bit bad tempered that I would never hear from him again, not worrying about it, as he was not really my cup of tea.
But sure as heck, I was busy clearing away the last of Alex's mess, when I was again called to the phone by Emma. After some smalltalk Iain said that if I was willing, he would organise his day off to fall on the same day as mine, and he would then take me around a bit, showing me some nice and historic places, and we agreed that he would pick me up the next Tuesday morning at ten.
In the meantime, Alex and Rosanne had decided that I had to be taught to do the pizzas, as it was very time-consuming, specially over week-ends when a lot of the folks in the Immervouilin caravan park ordered take-aways. Oh My heavens!!
So on the first quiet night I was given this small ball of dough that I had to roll into a round shape, but I never imagined that tiny piece of dough getting as big as a pizza! Alex was a good instructor, and with his advice, I actually got the dough stretched and rolled to the right size. I was familiar with putting the stuff on, as I sometimes had to do it when both of the chefs were too busy. Then came the tricky part! I had to get that floppy thing onto the spade-like thing, and then into the pizza oven. Alex was quite patient, something that amazed me, and after showing me carefully how to stick it in quickly and with confidence, something that was absent at that stage, he left me to try. The bally thing crumpled up like a wet cloth, leaving a sorry looking would be pizza, and a shivering me! I had to clear the mess, and Alex gave me another piece of dough, and this time the rolling out was a lot easier. As he started me off with a Marguarita, it wasn't such a waste, but he reminded me that the pizza was for an order that was coming up, and he expected me to get it right!
I looked at this thing lying on the table, looking pretty with the red tamato paste and white cheese, and I felt a lameness coming over me, but Alex gave one terrible bark, telling me to bloody get on with it. Where the strength came from I would never know, but I grabbed the spade and without thinking about it, stuck it neatly under the pizza. I wonder still who was most surprised, me or Alex! As he now needed the pizza, he put it in the oven himself, and told me to do another one, this time a carnê picantê, so called as it had three kinds of meat on it, and that combined with garlic and chillies, made for on heavy and extra nice, but even more floppy pizza.
All went well, and I picked it up almost perfectly, but with Alex watching over my shoulder, he told me that the pizza had to be deposited in the oven very fast, as the dough would cling to the spade if it gets warm! I have watched umpteen times when thy did it, and it looked so easy, so, my confidence picking up a bit under Alex's guidance, I stuck the thing in, but the bally pizza stuck to the spade, and on my trying to get it off, it came off the spade, all crumpled up! Alex was using some pretty horrible language, but I was so bally shocked that it did not even bother me. What bothered me was the stench that came out of that oven, and quickly invaded the whole place. Alex was livid, but Rosanne came and said that the only way to learn was when under pressure, and I was not to blame. The oven had to be put off, and that was the end of the pizzas for the night, as the porcelain base had to be cold before it could be cleaned.