Last week we were preparing for Valentine's Day, one of our busiest night. It was sentimental for another reason – it marks the second Valentine dinner at Mozzeria since it opened!

I remember last year's Valentine event very well because it was also Chef Bryan Baker's first day of employment with Mozzeria.

This time we decided to offer a special Valentine prix fix menu, so our customers could dine a set menu at a flat rate. We were not going to offer the regular dinner menu during Valentine's Day. But I wondered: would our customers be okay with that? What if we had walk-ins, and would they be turned off with only the Valentine prix fix menu being available?

I looked at reservations that had been made for Valentine's Day and became nervous with time slots being really tight. I hoped that all customers come in as scheduled on their reservations, still have enough time to enjoy their meals, and complete their meal just in time for the next reservation. It would be a balancing act!

To prepare for the special day, Chef Bryan Baker prepared Valentine dishes for us to sample. My goodness, it was so good! Russ and Jesse also practiced making heart-shaped pizzas and nailed down their techniques.

Valentine’s Day came and it was time to play the music. I knew we needed to play romantic songs, but what do I know about romantic songs? I was like “Please Help Me!” Thank goodness for Pandora... it lists songs in categories such as indie romance and classical romance. I was able to choose indie romance songs at random, and when I looked at the faces of our customers, they seemed to take in and enjoy the music. Whew.

When customers completed their meals, we asked how they liked it. To our delight, all customers loved every course of the Valentine’s prix fix menu! It was simply divine! They asked if we would offer it again next year.

With such positive responses, we have decided to continue offering this special 4-course Valentine’s menu next year. We thank these customers for making Valentine’s Day extra special for us as well, and we definitely felt love was floating in the air.