Read Online The Bluebird Café by Rebecca Smith - Free Book Online

Soo’s mum said. ‘A lovely finish on the palate.’
    â€˜Thank you. My own recipe too.’
    â€˜You should write them down,’ said Soo.
    â€˜I do. I have. I’ve got a bulging notebook. I love inventing things, changing them, adapting them. I always have.’
    â€˜Have you been cooking for a long time?’ Soo asked, reaching for her notebook.
    â€˜Ever since I could hold a wooden spoon.’ Lucy had been planning that line for a long time. It had been destined for the
Independent on Sunday
. ‘I taught myself, well, with my mum’s help, but I haven’t been to catering college or anything. I came to Southampton to study English, and I just stayed here and opened the Bluebird.’
    â€˜Can I take a menu?’ Soo asked.
    â€˜Please do, and come back soon.’
    â€˜I will,’ said Soo, although she didn’t really look the Bluebird type.
    â€˜Yes, we will,’ said Soo’s mum. Lucy guided them towards the door.
    â€˜I wouldn’t usually say this,’ said Soo, ‘but you could try sending me a recipe or two for the Women’s Page. I don’t promise to use it, but we might. Put in some background. You said you did English. You know, when you first made the dish, where to shop, calories and so on …’
    â€˜Oh, I’d love to!’ Lucy gushed.
    â€˜Well, here’s my card.’
    â€˜Thank you!’
    â€˜This could really be something,’ Lucy told Paul and Abigail. ‘I might even get my own Cook’s Column. I’ll be a celebrity chef.’
    â€˜Well, Delia Smith started out in
Swap Shop,’
said Abigail.
    The next week the Bluebird was reviewed in the
News
.
    The Bluebird Café, 105 Bevois Valley Road
    Lucy Brookes, the charming young proprietress of the Bluebird Café, says she has been cooking ever since she could hold a wooden spoon. The menu, prettily illustrated with birds and flowers, features many of her own creations. Lucy came to Southampton as a student and liked it so much that she stayed! Situated in what some people might call one of the city’s seedier districts, the Bluebird is a little oasis of sophisticated home cooking at reasonable prices. Meateaters beware though, it’s all vegetarian! There are about a dozen tables painted in pastel shades with old-fashioned chairs and a mural of birds and clouds. Portions are generous.
    We enjoyed the complimentary rolls, which were freshly baked that day and flavoured with home-grown herbs, and the big helping of good old-fashioned thick-cut fries. My companion’s aubergine ravioli were pretty parcels, fragrant with basil and that sort of thing, swimming in a classic Italian tomato sauce with a generous sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I munched my way through the chef’s salad, and was impressed by the generous quantities of pricier ingredients such as artichoke hearts, asparagus points, olives, and by the many brightly coloured leaves.
    My blackcurrant sorbet was delicious, velvety and smooth, and my companion’s Inca pie was chocolate heaven. It certainly filled her up! Our bill with a bottle of mineral water came to £15.95. A real treat and quite a bargain too.
    The Bluebird Café is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
    â€˜It’s a rave! Look, Paul!’ Lucy waved it at him. She made copies to send to her relatives and to her friend Vicks and other people she wanted to impress.
    â€˜Do you think it would be tacky to put copies inside Christmas cards?’ she asked Paul.
    â€˜Yes.’
    They framed a copy and put it up in the window. Business did pick up.
    â€˜
Southampton News
readers can be your new target diners,’ sniggered Abigail. ‘You can be a stop-off on the coach excursions.’
    Lucy stayed up late that night, looking through her recipe notebooks, writing her first column for Soo Sholing’s Women’s Page.

Chapter 18
    â€˜I’m just