Gordon entered The Tasty Treat once again. Saffron and Coriander were there to greet him when he entered.
"Good morning, Chef Ramsay," Coriander said to him.
"Good morning," he returned the greeting.
"What's the game plan for today?" Saffron asked, seemingly a lot less irritable than she was the previous day.
"Well, we have the lobby looking absolutely spotless, I hope it stays this way. Today, I am going to take a good look around the kitchen to see if anything needs to be cleaned. We will also need to make sure that all the ingredients are being stored properly. For example, we can't have any of the fruits and vegetables falling on the floor and getting bruised. We can't have spices just laying around and spilling everywhere, it'll just be a huge mess. Organization is important in any workplace, but a kitchen needs to be pristine. I want this kitchen so sanitary and squared away that Celestia herself would be proud to come in here and eat a meal. Sound like a plan?" Gordon rambled.
The father and daughter duo nodded, eager to get the show on the road. Gordon wasted no time, entering the kitchen. He looked at the holding containers on the service line, "Inside, they're clean, which is good. However, the outsides are filthy. A little sponge and water will easily clean this off. You expect me to believe that two unicorns are not capable of just making them fly? Dish washing should be a quick and easy task for the both of you. This is ridiculous. Look at these rusty trays. Old food caked into them. This is a health hazard, are you fucking kidding? You two must have gone mad. No wonder this restaurant's empty, you do fuck-all to keep the place clean. You should be ashamed of yourselves."
Saffron immediately went to work cleaning the stains off the holding tins.
Gordon turned to Coriander, "You realize for those to look like that, it means that the entire service line is probably filthy, right?"
Coriander nodded, but remained silent.
"You do? Then please explain why the fuck this oven looks like someone cooked a gryphon in it alive and it just shat everywhere and then the shit got burnt and charred and it's all over the racks. This oven is dirtier than my language is, when was the last time you've actually cleaned it?" Gordon grumbled.
"Well, we were going to clean it yesterday, but you came in and addressed how bad the lobby was and we spent the whole day doing that," Coriander explained.
"What I saw was Saffron and my two waiters cleaning the lobby while you stood there looking more dazed than Shining Armor when he was hypnotized by Queen Chrysalis. You're in a world of your own, you lack any responsibility, you always have an excuse, I understand now that the problem is you. You're the reason this restaurant is going into the ground. Not Zesty Gourmand, not Last Word, not the citizens of Canterlot, not the tourists from other parts of Equestria, not your daughter, it's you. You two lack communication. Instead of working together, you're always bickering and arguing and at each other's throats. You're always finding excuses, rather than producing results. At this rate, I have a better chance of joining the Wonderbolts than saving this restaurant and I can't even fucking fly," Gordon's tone was calm, but there was venom in his words.
"I still don't know who you think you are to come up into my restaurant like you own it, telling me how to run it," Coriander also kept his tone low, but he was visibly irritated by Gordon's tongue lashing.
"In case you forgot, shit-for-brains, I'm the one you two asked to save this trash heap. I'm here to help you, free of charge, might I add. One of two things is going to happen. One: You drop the tough guy act and start taking my advice or Two: I can quit wasting my fucking time and leave this lost cause to rot," Gordon shot back.
Saffron, who was still washing dishes, turned to Coriander, "Father, don't be so stubborn. He is trying to help us. Don't you want The Tasty Treat to be the household name it once was? Ponies used to come from all over Equestria to eat here. Don't you want to return it to its former glory?"
Coriander smiled at the thought, reminiscing on his past success, "Leaving won't be necessary, Chef Ramsay. I apologize if I've been abrasive, I've just never been one to back down from confrontation."
Gordon laughed, "Look, if you want a confrontation, I'll give you a confrontation, but I'm not here to fight. I'm here to help you. Are you going to let me help you or are we going to continue with this pointless back and forth?"
"I'm ready to work with you," Coriander smiled reassuringly.
"Good, let's get this Luna damned kitchen cleaned before I lose my fucking mind," Gordon breathed a sigh of relief.
Together, the three of them cleaned the service line, the front counter where the register was, the ovens, the stoves, the microwaves, the toasters, the dishes. It was completely spotless, it looked brand new.
Saffron smiled, "It hasn't been this clean since we built the place."
Coriander nodded, "I know, I thought I had done a better job at keeping it clean than this, I truly didn't realize it had gotten that damned bad."
Gordon laughed, "Now that the lobby and the kitchen are both clean and actually safe to have ponies in them, I am going to try and open the place up tomorrow. There needs to be a new paint job and a new sign. I feel like the main reason you two aren't getting business is because it looks so shitty on the outside, that they think it's abandoned. I feel like we can get that done during the night and have this place back up and running."
Coriander sighed, "Should we even open tomorrow then? Or should we say we're closed for renovations?"
Gordon smirked, "Just come back tomorrow, you'll see what I mean."
Saffron had an idea of what was going to happen, but she kept to herself, "We look forward to it. See you tomorrow, Chef Ramsay."
"Yes, and thank you again for helping us. You truly are a lifesaver and a business saver," Coriander added.
"You two gave me a job, I'm going to get it done, rest assured. This place will be the talk of the town again, if it's the last thing I do," Gordon promised.
"Of course, you've been a huge help to us," Saffron smiled.
"Almost forgot, I'm glad I thought about it, I checked the storage area where the food is kept, it was actually flawless. I will commend you both for that. If you put as much effort into the rest of the place as you did into keeping that storage room organized, this restaurant would be in much better shape and you lot wouldn't have even needed my help," Gordon added.
"Thank you, Chef Ramsay," Coriander extended his hoof.
Gordon hoof bumped him, "It's what I'm here for."
Coriander and Saffron exited for the night. Gordon stayed behind, planning on what to do with the outside. He was determined to make the exterior look as presentable as the interior.
End of Chapter 3!