My wine-based flirtations with the sexy chef are starting to cause problems

Our secret sommelier discusses the perils of falling in love in the workplace – and trying to seduce your crush with fine wine

As mine and Max’s flirtation intensifies, I find ways to use service to my advantage (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Something very bad has happened. I’m not doing well. I’m being curt with customers and cutting corners; I’m rushing some orders and forgetting others. It’s not making me easy to work with. I’m not proud of myself, not least because it’s horrifically clichéd: I have a crush on a chef.

It’s a tale as old as time. A woman working front-of-house, a male chef. She (me): loquacious, personable, charming; he (let’s call him Max): laconic, surly, driven. Our flirtation has been going on for a while now – he comes to find me in the office to ask my opinion on a new dish, I offer him my wine glass after service, just to taste. He rolls his eyes in my direction when the host tries to flirt with him, I return it when one of the directors tries to flirt with me. We’ve developed a vocabulary of meaningless inside jokes – everything is now a wink and a nudge.