Chapter 159 - Believe In Yourself

The waiter opened the door spreadly with a serious look on her face as she tensed her jaw.

Joanna dropped the fork nervously as she noticed his tensed facial expression. "Is the critic here?

"He is here!" A waiter walked inside and announced gazing at Joanna.

"He is here?" Joanna repeated, she swallowed down and her hands began to tremble.

"What did he order?" Joanna asked as the waiter walked to her ripped the paper of the notebook off and placed it in front of her position. 

"Here."

Silence as she skin through the note then a smile appeared on her tace she turned around to look at me. "He ordered the zucchini ravioli."

Joy exploded in my chest, that meant he appreciated the simplicity. That was such a positive sign since Joanna's cusine was based on simplicity and refinement.

She began to shape the dough to form ravioli and then filled them before pouring those into boiling water. 

She made the sauce for the pasta which was some pesto mixed with a smooth ricotta and goat cheese cream on top and an oregano leaf.

"Ready!" She said before handing the dish to the waiter.

As soon as she finished serving she walked to me and sighed, "I am so nervous I hope he likes the ravioli!"

Soon the waiter came back with the critic's judgment about the dish.

"he didn't like it..." he said as he set his gaze to the floor sorry.

"Oh... no..." Joanna whispered as her face grew paler, one second later the waiter exploded in a noisy laugh and rectified, "because he loved it! He said the tastes combined in a perfectly balanced texture and that he could feel how genuine the dish was in its simplicity. He was surprised to learn that you are just a beginner and an amateur."

Joanna covered her mouth in joy and her eyes filled with gratification and pride.

She was proud of herself, probably for the first time in her life, she was confident in her skin and genuinely happy.

It was such a pleasure to see her in that mood, I never wanted to stop seeing her like that, because she deserved all the happiness she was experiencing at that moment.

"What else did he order?"

Unlike the first time, she asked what he ordered this time she was excited and she looked forward to showing him how capable she was. 

"He ordered a well-cooked pork with a fruits salad to the side and the zucchini parmigiana."

She nodded before turning around and proceeding with the new order, as she cooked she never lost the smile on her face and unlike the first dish this time not a glimpse of concern touched her face.

She finished cooking for the food critic in about twenty minutes and then as the waiter walked out of the kitchen she began to bake a chocolate cake to surprise him and thank him for the visit.

When she was done she cut little slices of the cake and gave those to the most affectionated clients, and then even saved a slice for me.

The boss of the place came with a bottle of champagne and poured it in Joanna's glass for a toast.

"To the most dedicated chef who had ever worked in this place!" He lifted the glass as he gazed at Joanna smiling proudly.

She walked to me to handle another glass which her boss filled, then she clicked her glass with him and then with me.

We celebrated her amazing success and then I drove her home.

On our ride home, she continued to cheek the critic's site to monitor whenever he will post the review of the restaurant. 

As I stopped to a semaphore I stole her the phone and put it quickly in my bag, "stop checking the page! He will not post right now and you did an amazing job. Now you need to rest and celebrate!"

I exclaimed as she stretched on the seat, "I can't believe it went well!" She smiled as she shook her hand, "maybe I am a good chef!"

"You are Jo, and that's the reward you deserve for having followed your dream and listened to me."

When I parked the gar inside my garage she hugged me, "I am so grateful to have you!"

I squeezed her before caressing her back, "me too! I am so proud of you and I can't wait to see you shine even more! You deserve it!"

If there was a person who deserved good things in life and success then that person was Joanna I doubt many of the affirmed food critic in the entire world was just as passionate as her in their job. She had a connection with food and everyone could say it, it was like she was dedicating that dish to her father and she put all herself there. The more she cooked the better she got just like a naturally talented chef.

I already pictured her as the owner of a prestigious restaurant, I was sure that if she persuaded that dream she would eventually get there. And when she will, I'd still be her number one supporter because that's what best friends do and I will never lose her. 

We ordered pizza for dinner and chatted about everything until Joanna's phone rang, when she cheeked it she saw the notification that the critic just posted a new article.

I convinced her to finish eating the pizza before checking the site. So only when we finished eating I googled the critic's site and clicked on the side of the site dedicated to reviews.

There it was, Joanna's restaurant name next to the title of the review: 'an unexpected twist for a simple menu." 

Joanna held my hand and then closed her eyes, she cleared her voice to say, "go on, read it loudly for me."

Alright, I skimmed through the review quickly checking if that was a positive or a negative one and then took a long deep breath before starting to read.