Bridge Street.

Second Home.

George chucks the empty packaging into one of four grey plastic bins. There is a six-burner stove to the right side of the fryers that belongs to the pasta section.

A massive stockpot of water is in the right-hand corner on top of the lit burner, which is starting to boil. There is eight metal pasta pots hanging on the edge of the canopy. Against the wall beside the stove is the same type of fridge as the pizza section and grill section has the same type of fridge. In the corner is the kitchen porter section, the big dishwasher is currently filling up, and a doorway beside which leads to two chest freezers and a tall silver fridge, that is the desserts section, which the KP does; he also gets paid in peanuts.

Now I have shown you around my second home, but just for your information, there are no windows or doors that lead outside. This kitchen has two entrances; one that anyone that works in this place comes in, which is a swinging white door; the other one is beside the walk-in fridge, which leads to the customer toilet, also the drink stock room. I can tell you it gets hotter than Satan's nut-sack mate in the summer, especially on the grill section, sandwiched between the two boiling sections for a thirteen-hour shift; you're having Satan's nut-sack, f*****g hell, George starts to switch on the grill to carry on setting up for the day, now Fridays are funny days because it can be busy during the day to evening or dead during the day then at 6 or 7, it f*****g explodes into life.

Some Jamaican dancehall music is playing from a speaker situated on top of the chest freezer.

George nods to the tune while slicing cherry tomatoes in halves on a green board with a green-handled knife, putting them in a tub to share over all three sections. The head chef is walking with a tray of defrosted pizza dough, putting them on a shelf underneath the marble, after he sieves ‘Double O’ flour with semolina onto the marble into a mountain.

George finishes cutting the last cherry tomato, he picks up the 4-litre container containing the cherry tomato halves, packed to the brim, and he shares them around all three sections.

The kitchen porter walks into the kitchen in a black chef's uniform to keep the kitchen clean and fill the dessert section.

George poured the remaining cherry tomato halves into the metal container on the pizza section; he cleans to dry his green knife and board after putting the dirty plastic container upside down into the grey dishwasher tray.

George puts the clean green board back onto the damp thin blue sponges that will keep the chopping board from sliding all over the place; he grabs the two washed cucumbers, top ‘n’ tails them, slicing through the middle, then through the middle again but width way, holding a teaspoon, he scrapes the insides of the cucumbers into a small metal bowl, putting that to one side; afterwards, he grabs his knife, tapping it on the board then speedily slicing the hollowed out cucumbers, not even looking as George cuts the eight halves because he is talking to the Andrej about football.

The head chef is making them some breakfast which is pizza dough cooked into a kind of loaf, cheese on top mixed with black pepper, sliced in half once cooked, after sliced into four quarters, some rocket with salami along with a chopped up buffalo tomato slice in the middle, trust me you have to try this mate if I had the money I would have a stool in town, selling these bad boys. George puts the evenly sliced cucumbers into a plastic container with a blue food bag, putting the lid on after he takes the pen from behind his ear, writes a date label, and peeling to get to the sticky side after he puts it on the container then he puts it in his fridge. George busts a little dance move to the musical beat while walking over to the pasta section, three big saucepans of boiling water on the stovetop, salt trickling from his fingertips into the saucepans boiling water below; he does this a couple of times, after pouring penne from its industrial five-kilo packaging, stirring.

George, the head chef, and the kitchen porter are outside the back, having a break before the restaurant opens, majority of the prep is done. George has a cigarette lit hanging from his lips, and one eye closed to avoid smoke going into his eye, looking like Pop-eye, the sailor. He stands throwing darts at the board, on his second dart, hits the bullseye.

He turns, saying to the head chef, “I am on two, bro.”

George turns back to throw the third dart, triple two the dart is sticking out from, which means George is on five now, while Chef stands up from his seat, stubbing his roll-up out, George collects his darts from the board, after fist bumps Chef as he goes to throw his three darts. George smokes while drinking his coffee, sitting on the wall at the side. On the chef's first dart, he hits the bull's eye.

George says, “Nice, but luckily I got the triple two because I would be back in the middle.”

They are playing a match called ‘Around the World.’ The chef throws his second dart, hitting the three, as they carry on playing until one is the winner.

A ticket is printing from one of three black ticket machine, each section apart from dessert has one, when I tell you the noise it makes when it’s printing an order, can soon become annoying, you can hear it in your dreams when your sleeping. The ticket machine on the grill section is next to a stack of white with a blue trim metal burger trays lined with branded tracing paper, that is white with the company’s brown logo dotted around. George’s fingers grip; tearing the ticket from the machine, putting it in a grey ticket holder strip. For starters, it is just mozzarella garlic bread, which the head chef starts making. Followed by two of the new lamb burgers, which George goes to slap on the grill as I speak.

The head chef, with his back to George, says, “I have found an old music artist. I think you will like him, bratr. I will put him on in a second.”

George responds, “Anything has to be better than drum ‘n’ base, bro.”

The chef scoops up the raw mozzarella garlic bread, putting it inside the pizza oven with the silver pizza scoop. The pizza oven is currently three hundred thirty-seven degrees. George is setting up a tray for the burgers while over his left shoulder; the raw burger is sizzling on the grill. He fills up a dark brown pot of burger relish, placing it in the middle of the tray. After George gets the sliced-in-half burger buns, toasting them on the grill until they have square grill marks, putting the bottom bun on the tray with the top bun leaning against the pot of relish. The chef is flicking through his mobile, putting it on the side while a song starts to play. George with spatula in his left hand, rotates the burger a quarter to make square grill marks.

After, he asks the head chef, “Who is this?”

The head chef takes the bread from the oven onto a wooden board. He slices it into six quarters with the black-handled pizza slice after pressing a black doorbell to get a waitress or waiter to take the food.

The head chef responds, “Rodriguez -Street Boy.”

The assistant manager comes in quickly, taking the food after leaving. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that George won the game of darts, so today they are on one-all.

George asks, "I Like this guy. Do you think he is still alive?”

The head chef responds, "No, bro, I think he is dead. I have one of his albums; I will put it on.”

George flips the burgers on the grill, revealing excellent squared grill marks as the other side starts to sizzle.

After a busy lunch service, all the customers have been fed and paid, majority have now left to go about their day. George sits beside a white door on his break, eating a pepperoni pizza with some chopped bacon, crispy onions, chives and BBQ sauce drizzled over the top. He has a cup of coffee beside an open A4 lined notepad with a black-inked pen in his hand, and he is writing; in his other hand is slice of pizza, he has just taken a bite from, and he is nodding to a musician playing through his headphones.

George is putting his plate back in the kitchen, the kitchen porter has gone home, and more staff will be in for the evening shift.

George says, "Thank you brother for the pizza; it was sexy.”

The head chef responds, "Your welcome. Quick smoke also game?”

George sips his coffee after nodding in agreement, and they both leave the kitchen.

The assistant manager walks towards them, asking George, “Can I have a cigarette, please?”

George takes his packet of cigarettes from his pocket, takes one out, giving her one, along with a cigarette, I wink, but of course, I am joking; he never gave her a cigarette, only joking anyway; she takes the cigarette from George’s fingers. At the same time, the head chef holds the glass door open for them.