CHAPTER NINE
MEETING A FELLOW CHEF
Ava Davis signed the document and submitted it online promptly. Satisfied, she turned to look at herself in the mirror, "American cooking show, here I come." Sighing, she turned back to the screen. On her laptop were some cooking channels she subscribed to. Since the online registration was completed, she waited to get the notification mail. Sitting, she stayed glued to the screen. Her mind was too restless even to check the cooking sites. Then a mail arrived. "Finally!" she yelled, then opened it. "We're on." She laughed as she stood to do some dancing.
Now, she could check up on past winners and know what the show was like. If she was going to do this, she wanted to be prepared. "Hmmn, she sighed. So you won last year." She said to herself, instantly going online to search for the male chef that won the last round.
The chef, 29years old from Paris, had won the competition with so much hype from the audience. She pulled up the food he made while on the show and made a few jottings. They were meals she had never even tried. CHOPPERs clients were in for another treat this week. Done with writing out the ingredients, she went to his gallery. For a male, he sure had lots of pictures to post. And most were his personal pictures. In one of the pictures, a comment was pinned. "Someone likes his face more than the food." She read out the comment. It was precisely what one would think. The chef had posed with a food tray. Rather than the food, his face had a clearer view. The food? Not so much clarity.
Ava laughed as she went through his other pictures. A few posts had dishes she wanted to try out. It took a while to screenshot some of them. She was too tired to go through the second winner's profile by the time she was done. Shutting down the laptop, she yawned tiredly. "Don't be lazy," she scolded herself. "Kat and a whole lot of others would be counting on you."
That being said, she went to check the second runner, but on her phone this time. The second runner was a female. And from Seattle. Astounded, she sat up straighter to check out the lady. This lady had more delicacies than the first runner. It got her hyped up. "Just what did that guy do to top the class?" she mused to herself. She was so into the meals the lady posted that she was forced to comment on her recent post. "I love your dishes," she said as she typed the words, "Makes me remember my grandma." To herself, she added, "And I got her cooking hands."
Her phone chimed immediately, notifying her of a message. She had just shut down the laptop. "She replied," Ava was surprised the chef is online. Cooking is divine! "Oh, she's making me think of grannie." She mused. That was precisely what grandma Davis always said whenever her cooking skill was complimented. Her response each time was, "Cooking is divine."
For a few minutes, she and the lady chatted back and forth. Turns out the chef, Barbara, was a warm person. That they were both in Seattle intrigued the ladies. Funny that they never met before. To that, Barbara had confessed that she had recently just moved in after a terrible breakup. "That explains it then." Said Ava. Sorry to hear that." She typed.
When Ava told her she was a chef and was entering the coming show, the lady wanted to meet ASAP. It was something Ava wanted too. At least, that way, she could drill her for tips on how to win.
Barbara mentioned that she was getting some ingredients in town. The place was close to CHOPPERS. "Can you meet there?" she asked.
"I work there," Ava replied the lady.
"I'll be there in about an hour. Can I stop by?"
"Sure," said Ava as she typed. The moment Barbara was offline, she jumped off the bed. Today was her day off, but she had to be at the diner right away. She dashed into the bathroom for a quick wash. Done, she came out and rummaged through her wardrobe for a good outfit. Her pink jumpsuit beaconed to her. Tossing her head aside, she reached for it.
Thankfully, it wasn't crispy, so she settled for that. She would also need her fur jacket since the jumpsuit is a tube model with no sleeves. Dropping both on the bed, she proceeded to cream her body and sat down for her makeup. Checking the time, she realized she had just twenty minutes to do her face. That was enough time.
Her makeup regime wasn't something strenuous. She had mastered the art of excellent quick work in college. Settling down, she got to work. Her well-groomed brows made the job even faster. In fifteen minutes, she was done. She dressed hurriedly, then stopped to check herself in the mirror. "My hair is a mess," she groaned. Instantly, she dashed for her hair stretcher. With that, she had her curls straightened out. And then she was all set. Taking a final check in the mirror, she nodded with satisfaction. The last thing she wanted was to come across as an untidy chef.
As she unlocked her door, she felt the hairs on her neck stand. Turning intuitively, she found Daniel behind her. "What? Are you sneaking up on me now?" she asked, stepping away from the door.
Daniel fidgeted a bit as he approached her, "I came to see you."
"There's nothing to talk about, Dan. You made that absolutely clear." She responded, dropping her keys in her bag.
Daniel ran after her. She walks awfully fast, he muttered under his breath. "Please, Ava," he pleaded. "Let me explain."
"I have an appointment," she told him honestly. Checking her time, she looked at him briefly. "And I'm running late as it is." Pressing the elevator door open, she stepped in. "Bye, Daniel."
"This isn't goodbye," Daniel shouted after her.
Casey whistled a few minutes later as Ava walked into the diner, looking hot. "Girl, it's your day off."
"I know, right," smiled Ava. She hung her coat and walked towards the others. "Did a certain Barbara stop by?"
"Who's that?" asked Kathrine, walking into the diner.
"Hey, Kat," Ava greeted, walking briskly to the assisting chef. She pulled her into a close hug. Casey and Jude exchanged looks.
"When did you two become friends?" asked both at the same time. They giggled excitedly.
"Since she bribed me with a cooking show entry form." Said Ava smiling. She nodded satisfactorily when the colleagues opened their mouths in awe. "Yes, she did that."
Kathrine, blushing, pushed the chef aside. "Don't go all mushy now," she warned Casey, who looked like she was about to cry. Jude couldn't hold it in. He pulled the lady for a warm hug. The others joined in. They did their bear-hug thing and circled excitedly. A cough behind them made everyone pull apart, thinking it was a customer.
"Hello," Barbara greeted warmly. She was dressed in jeans and a grey top, but her flops attracted everyone. She smiled when they all stared at the big, fluffy slip-on. "Ava?" she turned to the lady in a pink jumpsuit.
"Yes, hello Barbara," Ava replied. "Nice flops, by the way."
"Thank you."
Turning to the CHOPPERs staff, she introduced them. "Barbara, meet Casey, Jude, and Kathrine," she said, then to her colleagues, "You all, meet Barbara."
When everyone had exchanged greetings, Ava went on, "Actually, Barbara won the second runner for the cooking show," she said to Kat, and turning to the others, added, "The one we were talking about. I…. well, we got talking, and here she is."
The others nodded as they rushed to usher Barbara a seat. "I want to drill her for tips. A girl's gotta do what she must to win." Ava told her colleagues.
"Anything you need," Casey assured. "You have to win."
"I'm on for you, girl," Jude said enthusiastically
"Thanks, guys," she hugged them briefly and dashed off. The assisting chefs insisted they feed the newcomer their favorite item today. They brought some appetizers first while the main course was being set up. Barbara stared at them all. They looked attractive, but she didn't feel like it. She had just had a sumptuous meal not quite long.
"We have some good stuff, trust me," Ava said to Barbara, telling her to try it.
"I'm filled to the brim." Barbara pleaded.
"This is on the house. You have to eat it." Kat said, bring a food tray.
Sighing, she picked the cutlery and took a dip. Closing her eyes at the sweetness of the frosty cake, she just took a bite, said "Yummy," and dived into the meal. She didn't know when she finished the appetizers, and the food then requested a second serving. "It's good." Barbara loved the meal. "Great, I'm a fan of this place now." she complimented the chefs. "Nice job, y'all." They waved excitedly. Turning to Ava, who stood by patiently awaiting her time, she said, "Now, shoot your shot. With that meal, you have a free pass to any question."
"What's the show about?" asked Ava, "I know it's cooking and…."
"It's not just cooking; it's an art. The organizers want a story about every meal. The culture, the art behind it. If you cannot do all that, you're out." Barbara told her pointedly.
"Tough call, hun?"
"Very tough."
"How do I stand out?"
Barbara looked at her thoughtfully. She imagined what made one of them stand out was her dressing. "There was a particular lady, Sasha. She dressed African all through," she laughed, "The organizers kinda forgot her name and just called her Africana," she laughed shortly, "I think that's one way to stand out. Your dressing. But cooking is more about the food palate. Know what you're cooking."
"Thanks."
"Oh, and be prepared to answer any question while cooking. Questions like why your water is little, why you parboiled your rice, why you need snail in seafood. Simple yet difficult questions. Your scores start from the kitchen to presentation."
"So, how did the first runner win?" she couldn't resist not knowing. "From what I could see, your meals look top-notch."
"Yes, that's the secret to his winning. He made homemade food look so palatable for international servings."
"What did he make?" asked Ava, "I didn't see that on his page."
"He is more of a face man," both ladies laughed.
"I noticed that too."
"Well, he made Caprese salad. Then swapped the main ingredient mozzarella for cow milk cheese."
"That's smart," Avva commented.
"Yes, he was smart enough to think outside the box," Barbara pointed out. "While we were all worried about getting it right, he was busy looking for quick substitutes," she explained further, "He used ingredients that were internationally recognized."
"Wow, cow cheese." Every country could get that. It was brilliant play at food.
"Yes, and that did it for him. He won fair and fine."
"You're a good sportsman," she commended the lady's free spirit.
"It took me months to get here," Barbara confessed. "For months, I couldn't accept the defeat. It was my first losing out on competition," she added. "Do well to remember that." She told Ava.
"Noted," Ava said, drawing in the air with her fingers for emphasis. "Anything else?"
"The competition is usually in phases. You have to be in the first three or seven to get to the next round."
"Geez, thanks," she noted that too. They talked some more about the show and expectations.
"How long have you been working here?" it was Barbara's turn to ask the questions now.
"Four years since I grad."
"Nice."
"I'm looking to settling somewhere. But I don't see me doing it here."
"You just got here," Ava pointed out. "You might fall in love with the city eventually," she urged, "Take your time."
"All right," Barbara smiled. She checked the time and grabbed her bag. "I've got to go, darling," she smiled apologetically. "It's been nice meeting you."
"Same here," Ava said, "I'll keep in touch."
"Please do," was Barbara's quick reply. "I'll be rooting for you."
They started for the door then. Ava winked at Kathrine as they walked by.
Somewhere outside the CHOPPERs, Lucian sat in his car waiting for his driver to get back. He had quickly rushed into the diner to get his daughter's favorite latte. Though he had asked for a few seconds, it was running into a few minutes now. Lucian was bent over the document he was going through for a while. Suddenly he looked up, and his driver still wasn't back. "What the heck is keeping him waiting?" he asked, leaning over to honk the car. He got down and almost collided with Barbara.
The lady was tall, he noted. Apologizing, he stepped aside. Lucian didn't see the short lady behind her. He could only make out her hair. Then his driver rushed forward.
"I'm sorry," the driver got back, meeting his boss halfway through the door.
"It's okay, let's get going." Replied Lucian, getting back in the car. Barbara and Ava got out of the diner as the vehicle drove off. They flagged down a cab.