Friendly Find

This past week, I was meeting an out-of-town friend for coffee.
Usually she suggests meeting at Starbucks for our visits, but this time I convinced her to try something new...I'm just adventurous like that.
There was a little cafe downtown that I'd been dying to try out. Cafe Arianna. It looked cool, inviting, and unique.
So we headed down there.

Its situated right on the corner of Landsdowne and Third, right across from the A&W, with its own little parking lot and everything! I didn't know that at the time, so we walked from the (free!) parking in front of Coopers.
Well, when I walked in I quickly scoped it out. I knew that it had only been open for a matter of weeks, and was probably still finding its niche among all the Zack's, Second Cups', and Starbucks' of Kamloops.
The man at the counter welcomed us with an accent I didn't recognize until I spotted a familiar face in the doorway to the kitchen...
Christiana!
Since none of you probably know who she is, I will explain!

Waaaay back, a long long time ago...as in last year...when I was beginning the Culinary Arts course, we had one of the Third Level Students come into the cafeteria (usually they only run the Accolades restaurant) and work as our Sous Chef. Basically, our task master for the day.

We had some real gems. Cocky, arrogant fellows we wanted to empty our boiling soup pots on, and ditzy clueless girls that didn't know one end of a ladle from the other. None of them cared anything about us newbies, and just resented having to get up so early instead of getting up at 2pm like the rest of their classmates.
Cristiana was different.

She had moved from Italy to Canada in 2007, to take the Culinary Arts course and open a "real" Italian place with her husband. That was their dream.
When she was our Sous Chef, she took it seriously. This was not just another school assignment. For a moment, this was her job.
She didn't sit in one one of the offices and watch youtube like the others, she got right in there with us and actually taught us things.

One day she made homemade ravioli with us, as quickly and expertly as only a true Italian can!
I was in awe of her. She took cooking very seriously, was not afraid to voice her opinions to anyone, and my favorite Instructor truly respected her, which made me respect her as well.
Maybe one of the reasons I liked her so much was because she liked me.
I remember one day when I was in my Entrees station, she came to talk to me. Just to talk. She told me I was really good; that I had "it".
"Some of these kids are no good," She told me, "But you understand about cooking."
Coming from this talented, confident, and ambitious woman, that was a compliment that really went to my heart.

I only saw Cristiana a few times after her stint as our Sous Chef, but I still considered us friends.
So imagine my delight at realizing Caffe Arianna was her dream-come-reality. When it dawned on me who was in the kitchen I felt a huge smile spread across my face. It only got bigger when she recognized me at once and waved ecstatically.
When she got a free moment she came over to say hello.
We hugged, and I congratulated her on opening the cafe. She was very pleased with it, and was beaming with pride.
Then she asked the terrible question:
"So have you quit the program? I went to Accolades the other day, and went upstairs to see you, but you were not there! I thought maybe you were sick or something."
I admitted, yes, I had given up cooking as a career. She understood, but was disappointed, too.
"She was very good," she told my friend with a very earnest expression.
Another Cristiana compliment. My little heart can't take it. Made me want to enroll in the next semester right then and there. (glad I didn't though!)

Anyways, it was absolutely fantastic to see her again, and to know that she got to open her cafe after all. It really made my day.
While I was only in there for coffee, I grabbed a takeout menu to browse later on.
There are paninis (yum!), homemade soups, desserts, and salads available, as well as special order homemade pastas! I even noted something about homemade gelato!

I am so, so glad I opted out of Starbucks to try Cafe Arianna! I know I've been picking on Starbucks lately, but the more I think about it, the more I want to support local businesses, and this experience has certainly encouraged me in that. Why not give friends my business, instead of huge cafe chains?

I'm definitely going back. There's a Max's Panini, and Coffee Affagato with my name on it...