Carmela’s day starts early. She’s got to cook her own family’s breakfast before she leaves for Chance and Kye’s house. Fortunately, the lads usually sleep late, so she’s got a little leeway to stop by the market on the way and pick up fresh ingredients for the day’s meal.

She’s also got great employers, which means she’s got a modern kitchen with the best equipment. It doesn’t take long to get the fire going in the stove and start the coffee. Before starting breakfast, she’ll put lunch on – usually a big pot of chili or soup, or maybe roast beef or chicken that she can slice for sandwiches later. She’ll also pop the day’s bread into the oven.

Carmela’s day is unusual for a cook because of the odd hours her employers keep. Breakfast can be as late as 9 or 10 o’clock, with lunch (when the lads are actually home for it) in the early afternoon. Their largest meal is the evening one, but Chance and Kye don’t expect her to stay until they arrive. They’re perfectly happy to have her leave a roast warming in the oven, or a pot of stew on the back burner.

Of course, when Chance throws one of his frequent get-togethers, the timing of the meals shifts around. Lunch will more than likely be a light affair, perhaps only a sandwich (or two or three, in Kye’s case), and dinner will be in the early evening. That’s when Carmela really gets to shine. She’ll spend the entire day working on the meal, producing four- or five-course meals that never cease to amaze the lads. They’ve offered numerous times to hire an assistant, but the most she’ll accept is a part-time scullery maid to wash and prepare the vegetables and meats.

She does accept the assistance of a couple of day-maids on such occasion, to clean up after the affair. This leaves her free to start the bread for the next day and get home to her own family at a reasonable hour of the evening.

Here’s an example of a fairly typical Victorian Era feast:

• Savory soup
• Roast turkey with dressing – or Chicken fricassee with rice – or Roast pork with potatoes
• Two vegetable side dishes
• Citrus ice
• Fresh dinner rolls with butter
• Jams, jellies and sweet pickles
• Fancy cake
• Punch, coffee and water or wine