‘Hi, I’m Callie, restaurant manager, and this is Ella, one of our waitresses for today.’ The director introduced herself as Nancy. Her eyes were framed by brown-rimmed spectacles, her magnified hazel eyes looking straight at Ella. She was a tiny voluptuous woman – five foot, if that – and her blonde curls were tinged with purple dye that ran through the ends. Ella couldn’t even hazard a guess how old Nancy was, but dimples appeared in her blushed cheeks as she gave them both a warm smile and extended her hand, which they both promptly shook.

‘We’re going to start filming in a minute, we will be wandering around and taking some sweeping shots over the restaurant, so just carry on your business and pretend we aren’t here. We’ll do our best not to get in anyone’s way.’

Ella noticed Wilbur being interview behind the bar as they headed towards the kitchen. ‘There’s a real sense of community here at The Lakehouse. What does being a part of this community mean to you and your team here?’ asked the interviewer, firing questions at Wilbur, who seemed at ease with a microphone held in front of his mouth and a camera pointing in his face.

‘We source all our food locally…’ The sound of Wilbur’s voice trailed off as Ella and Callie wandered back into the staff-only area and closed the door behind them.

‘Gosh, it’s all go, isn’t it. What time is break time?’ joked Ella.

‘That’s a good thing – being busy and all this going on makes the day go quicker. You need one of those.’ Callie pointed to some brand-new notepads sporting The Lakehouse logo. ‘Pick one up at the start of each shift, ready to take your orders.’

Ella took one and placed it in the pocket of her apron.

‘Come on, I’ll take you through.’

After Callie had introduced Ella to everyone, she checked with Gianni that he was ready for them and then led them into the main kitchen. Breathing in the kitchen’s unique aroma – a mixture of coffee, sweet desserts and pots of herbs scattered about the worktops – Ella noticed Gianni piling up profiteroles on top of each other. He looked up and quickly wiped his hands on a small white towel stuffed in the front of his apron, then beckoned everyone over to the tasting table. ‘Come, come…’

Callie touched Ella’s arm. ‘Good luck, you’ll do just fine.’

Everyone lined up as Gianni began to lay numerous dishes out in front of them. ‘The restaurant is busier than normal, especially with the TV crew in. Each and every one of you needs to act professional and courteous at all times, nothing is too much trouble for the diner, and remember – what the customer wants, the customer gets. And smile.’

‘Yes, Chef!’ they all replied in unison without any prompting, causing them all to look at each other and grin.