The Billionaire’s Private Chef

Chapter 8 Becoming a Moonson Apprentice

Barbara recounted the events of the past few days in detail, naturally omitting the part about Jasper. As she spoke, Rebecca's tears fell again, and Zachary's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

"Scoundrel! Just a small fry from the Gordon family. When the Barrett family was at its peak, we never take such people seriously."

Barbara wiped her tears and said seriously, "Grandpa, please give me another chance. I don't believe in love anymore. This time, I will definitely make a name for myself at Moonson."

Zachary sighed. He didn't know what was going on with the women in his family. Both his daughter and granddaughter had suffered greatly because of their blind faith in love.

"It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but Hamza has been managing Moonson all these years. He deserves some credit, even if it's just for his hard work. You suddenly coming in as the head of Moonson makes it hard to convince others."

Rebecca insisted, "It doesn't matter, Grandpa. I can start by helping out. Just you wait and see how capable I am."

Zachary finally couldn't keep up his stern expression and laughed. "Alright. Then go try it out. Let's see if you still have what it takes to inherit the Barrett family's legacy."

*****

After resting at home for a few days and enjoying her mother's tenderness and grandfather's cooking, Barbara felt rejuvenated. She was ready to tackle Moonson with renewed vigor.

Moonson was an established restaurant of the Barrett family, started by Zachary's grandfather's generation. It was said that during its heyday, even national leaders had to make reservations a month in advance. Barbara heard from her mother that when she was a child, people seeking to apprentice under Zachary would line up all the way to the neighborhood entrance..

However, traditional restaurants were now in decline, and the Barrett family had to shift their focus to chain restaurants for the sake of their business. But if others were to ask the gourmets of Eyford City for a list of recommended restaurants, Moonson would definitely still be at the top.

When Zachary took Barbara to the restaurant, the sky had just begun to lighten, but the kitchen of Moonson was already bustling with activity. Although the restaurant was old, the kitchen was very clean and modern.

Hamza Howell, the current head chef of Moonson, was leading his apprentices in preparing ingredients. His stern reprimands could be heard from time to time in the kitchen.

A group of young apprentices in clean chef's hats were being scolded with ashen faces, not daring to utter a word, their heads lowered as they nervously worked on their tasks.

This was the scene that greeted Zachary and Barbara when they entered the kitchen.

Zachary laughed heartily. "Hamza, I didn't realize you were so imposing now."

Seeing Zachary, Hamza didn't put down the ladle in his hand and sneered, "Zachary, you never visit without a reason. What kind of trouble are you planning to give me this time?"

Zachary was not angry. He pushed Barbara forward and chuckled. "Hamza, this is my granddaughter, Barbara. Do you remember her?"

Hamza looked Barbara up and down for a long time, then slapped his forehead. "Oh, it's that little girl who used to run around! She's all grown up and looks much calmer now."

Barbara was embarrassed that someone still remembered her mischievous past.

Zachary patted Barbara's shoulder and said with a smile, "I'm entrusting this child to you for the time being. Feel free to order her around, and don't worry about my feelings."

Barbara smiled sweetly and said, "Hamza, I look forward to working with you."

After Zachary left, Hamza's smiling face immediately fell. He said sternly, "Barbara, listen carefully. In this kitchen, we only respect skills. You won't get any preferential treatment just because you're Zachary's granddaughter. For generations, the Barrett family members have started from the bottom as apprentices. The work in the kitchen is very hard. As you can see, we are all young men here. This is not a place for a delicate young lady like you to fool around. If you're just here to experience life, you can go back after a few days."

Barbara knew that the work in the kitchen was hard, but she had prepared herself before coming. She said firmly, "I know, Hamza, but I sincerely want to be a chef. Give me all the dirty and tiring work, and I will show you my skills."

The expression on Hamza's face softened slightly. "Then start by assisting others."

He then called over a few of his more experienced apprentices and asked them to familiarize Barbara with the division of labor in the kitchen so that she could get started as soon as possible.

*****

From then on, Barbara lived a regular life of going to work every day. Occasionally, Jasper's driver would come to pick her up and take her to the villa to cook for Brenda, but Barbara never saw Jasper. She was so busy every day that she had no time to think about anything else.

However, her work in the kitchen of Moonson was far from smooth sailing. The people in the kitchen did not give her any preferential treatment because she was the boss's granddaughter. On the contrary, they assigned her all the most menial and tedious tasks. Barbara even overheard them sneeringly calling her "Missy" behind her back.

But Barbara was not discouraged. She still went to work early and came home late every day, meticulously completing the trivial tasks assigned to her. At the same time, she was also carefully observing the work of others, memorizing the techniques she learned, and secretly practicing after work in the kitchen.

Barbara could understand their mentality. They had been working hard, and suddenly a well-connected person was parachuted in. No one would be happy about it. So all she could do was try her best to do her job well.

One day, during the break after lunch, Barbara was once again excluded. A few young chefs huddled together, looking at something on their phones, exclaiming and laughing from time to time, and glancing at Barbara every now and then.

Barbara was not one to be trifled with. While they were not paying attention, she walked over in a few steps and poked her head over. "What are you looking at?"

The few of them were startled and hurriedly put away their phones. In their haste, one of the phones was knocked to the ground.

Playing on the phone screen was the video of Daniela pulling her down the stairs. It had already been reposted over ten thousand times.

The leader was Vincenzo Mcguire, Hamza's most valued apprentice. He had been assigning Barbara's work these days and was the most hostile towards her among all the apprentices. Now that he had been exposed, he was not ashamed but said righteously, "Well, Missy, I see that the lives of the upper-class people are nothing special. Could it be that you couldn't make it in the wealthy circles, so you came to a place like ours to do odd jobs?"

Barbara was not angered. This kind of provocation was less than one ten-thousandth of what she had endured at the Gordon family.

"I'm here because I have the right to be here. I know you look down on me, but I will make you acknowledge my skills sooner or later."

Vincenzo snorted coldly and said, "I'm looking forward to it."

Barbara didn't notice that after she turned and left, Vincenzo's eyes were filled with resentment and frustration. Then, with a glint in his eyes, a plan began to form in his mind.