The Heat Is On Read online

“Good observation!” said Chef Aimee. She scooped the puppy up and looked at Rae. “What about you, Rae? Any ideas?”

  Rae looked around nervously. Something about this was a trick. The cameras, the puppy, the name . . . hadn’t the others noticed? Maybe this was a chance to get ahead. She had to be smart. What kind of name would a chef like? “Umami!”

  “Oh!” Chef Aimee stepped back and handed the puppy to Chef Nancy. “Interesting. Can you explain?”

  “Well, umami is a special taste sensation, and this puppy is obviously special—plus you can call her . . . Uma for short.” Rae grinned.

  Caroline and Oliver both frowned.

  Chef Gary pointed to the puppy. “This kind of dog is sometimes called a hot dog, because of its long body and short legs. So, let’s introduce our first challenge.” He motioned for everyone to stand. “We’re calling it the Diner Challenge! And today’s menu special is . . . HOT DOGS!”

  Caroline gasped. Hot dogs for a cooking challenge? Rae and Oliver looked surprised too.

  Chef Gary continued. “For this challenge, we are asking you to create a hot dog with toppings that are representational of the name you suggested for our puppy. In addition to the hot dog, you’ll also be making a potato accompaniment. No french fries or potato chips—we want to see ingenuity in your side dish.”

  Chef Aimee held up three cards. “Oliver, will you please step forward? When you won the last challenge your advantage was a choice of fire, water, or air. Which did you choose?”

  Oliver smirked. “I picked fire, ma’am.”

  Chef Aimee looked through the cards and handed one to Oliver. She waved the two remaining cards. “One of these is water and the other is air. Oliver, will you please pass these out to the remaining contestants—one card to each.”

  Oliver studied the cards, then handed them out.

  “Assignments received! Now let’s have some fun.”

  “CUT!” yelled Steve.

  The cameras turned off and Chef Nancy rushed forward. She was still holding the dog, but she waved her one free hand. “Quick, into the tent.”

  Rae stepped next to Caroline and held out her card. “Water! What do you think it means?”

  Caroline shook her head. “I don’t know, but I bet Oliver does. He’s smiling.”

  Chapter 4

  he interior of the tent was set up exactly like the filming studio, with workstations, a table at the front, a pantry, and the Gadget Wall. Chef Nancy lined everyone up behind the big table.

  Chef Gary and Chef Aimee stood on the other side, waiting. The puppy was nowhere in sight.

  “ROLLING!” shouted Steve, and the cameras turned on.

  Chef Gary smiled. It was his sneaky smile. Rae was instantly worried.

  “There is of course a twist in this challenge, and that twist is determined by the card in your hand. Oliver, you have fire—that means you may only use the stovetop flames and direct heat to prepare your hot dog and side dish.”

  Chef Gary turned to Caroline. “Caroline, you hold the air card. That means you may only use hot air to prepare your hot dog and side dish.”

  Rae looked around nervously. Wait! She had water! WATER! How could you be creative with water?

  Chef Gary smiled at Rae. “And finally the water card. Rae, that means you may only cook with water to prepare your hot dog and side dish.”

  Chef Gary raised his hand. “You have sixty minutes for this challenge, and we want to see some real out of the box thinking. The pantry will be open for the duration of this challenge.”

  Rae glared at her card. Water was impossible. Oliver gave her the worst card on purpose!

  Chef Gary clasped his hands. “Okay! Before we get to work, let’s talk about the prize. The winner of this challenge will be featured in a photo spread with their recipe in Creative Cooking. As you know, Creative Cooking is one of the most distinguished culinary magazines published today.”

  Caroline and Oliver both smiled.

  “And each week, the junior chefs get to have fun outside the kitchen with Chef Gary.” Chef Aimee nudged Chef Gary. “The winner of this challenge will get to decide his fate!”

  Now Rae smiled too. Last week had been fun. She’d knocked Chef Gary right off his seat into the green Jell-O dunk tank.

  Chef Gary pointed to the clock. “To your workstations. The clock is about to start. Are we excited?”

  “YES, CHEF!”

  “Ready?”

  “YES, CHEF.”

  “CUT!” yelled Steve.

  The cameras turned off.

  Chef Nancy stepped forward. “This is a hard one, so we’re going to give you a little extra time. Instead of five minutes to plan, you’ll actually have twenty minutes and I’ll come around to help.”

  When the show was on TV, no one would know about the twenty minutes. It was just how the show worked. None of the junior chefs complained. Extra time was always a good thing.

  Oliver gave me water. Why? It’s for sure the hardest challenge. My hot dog is called the Umami Dog, so it has to be extra delicious, because of the name and, well, because I want to win. No, I haven’t even thought about the potato side dish. Ha! Who has time to think about it? I guess I’ll just boil them.

  Chef Nancy walked straight to Rae’s workstation. “How is it going?”

  “Boil!” complained Rae. “How can I make something amazing if I don’t get to fry, or bake, or broil, or sauté, or glaze, or anything?” She slumped over the counter.

  Chef Nancy patted her shoulder. “You’ve been given an opportunity. You can wow the judges. Turn it around. Think about what you can use. Tap in to your creative spirit.”

  Rae nodded. Chef Nancy was right—she needed to change her thinking. Step one: How was she going to give her hot dog the umami flavor?

  This is a competition. I had to give the water card to someone. I think Rae has the skills to handle it. She might not win, but she’ll be okay. She won’t freeze up and fall apart. I’m excited about my Turbo Dog. My hot dog has the best name. If you saw it on a menu, you’d order it. Potatoes on the stove? Not hard at all. I already have a bunch of ideas.

  Oliver was busy writing a pantry list when Chef Nancy approached. “So, Oliver, are you comfortable with this challenge? Any questions?”

  He didn’t look up. “No questions, ma’am. I’m going to make a spicy sriracha sauce, homemade ketchup, and a potato rosti.” He added a few items to his list.

  Chef Nancy tapped the table. “Remember, Oliver: the judges have asked to see creativity. In this instance simple will not be best.”

  Oliver looked up. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll remember that.” He scratched something off his list. Chef Nancy was right. He needed to exceed expectations. His potatoes had to be amazing.

  I’m glad I got the air card. Poor Rae water is pretty much impossible. All she can do is boil. I hope she can make it work. I already know what the freckle part of my Freckle Dog will be—pickled jalapenos. I’ll use three, one for each spot on the puppy. I haven’t decided on the potatoes yet, but I have the oven, so it won’t be hard to make something that’ll impress the judges.

  Caroline couldn’t wait to tell Chef Nancy about her plans. “The hot dog will be sweet and spicy just like the puppy, because she has some feistiness in her. But I’m especially excited about the potatoes. I’m making stuffed potato cups and I’ll use mini muffin tins to shape them.”

  Chef Nancy nodded. “Be sure to get them into the oven as soon as possible. Sixty minutes will go by faster than you think.”

  Before she moved off to the side, Chef Nancy offered some last words of advice to the group. “If you make a mistake, ask yourself, How can I solve this problem? There’s no time for worrying. Innovate!”

  Chapter 5

  LACES, EVERYONE!” Steve held up his hand. “And cameras . . . rolling!”

  Chef Gary stood at the front of the room. “You’ll have five minutes in the pantry and then we’ll start cooking, but remember, if you’ve forgotten anythi
ng you can go back. Get ready. Your time starts . . . NOW!”

  Caroline, Oliver, and Rae grabbed their baskets and raced into the pantry. Rae recited the five ingredients from the top of her list: “Anchovy paste, soy sauce, tomato paste, fish sauce, and olive oil.” No one cared that she talked to herself—they were used to it. Ten minutes ago she’d been desperate, but now she was on a mission. “Umami paste to the rescue!”

  “TIME!” shouted Chef Aimee.

  Everyone raced back to their workstations.

  A minute later, Chef Aimee gave the official start. “LET’S GET COOKING!”

  The camerapeople moved in for a close-up of Oliver’s workstation. His first step was mise en place—that was French for “everything in its place.” Everything needed to be chopped, measured, and portioned into bowls before he even started cooking. The benefits were huge—less chance of making a mistake, and faster access to the ingredients.

  Caroline grabbed her potatoes and started peeling. There was a lot to do.

  Chef Aimee came by just as she began grating. “Oh dear, are you okay?”

  Tears steamed down Caroline’s face. She nodded. “It’s the onions, but I’m almost done.” She dumped the grated potatoes and onions in a dishtowel and moved over to the sink. “I need to wring these out and get them as dry as possible, because extra moisture will make my potato cups soggy.”

  “Clever,” said Chef Aimee. “I’m impressed.”

  Caroline blushed.

  I’m cooking my hot dog in the oven. I don’t want it to dry out, so I’ll put it in a baking dish with just a little beef consommé and roast it at around 400 degrees for ten to twelve minutes. The consommé will help it stay moist, and the baking will make it perfectly brown.

  Rae was waiting for Chef Aimee when she arrived. She held up a mason jar. “Pickled onions. I made them right away, so the onions would have time to absorb the flavor of the vinegar.” She dipped a spoon into her bowl and stirred. “And now I’m making an umami paste.”

  Chef Aimee leaned over to look. “What’s in it?”

  Rae rattled off a list of ingredients, and then stopped. “Oh no! I forgot the Parmesan cheese.”

  Chef Aimee pointed to the pantry. “Well, don’t waste time talking to me.”

  Rae gave a fast wave and ran off. When she came back Chef Aimee was gone. Too bad—she’d wanted to tell her about her potato salad. Hopefully no one else was using sweet potatoes. Rae grabbed the Parmesan cheese and quickly grated it into the bowl. The potatoes were next, and if they weren’t peeled and boiling in the next five minutes she’d be in trouble. She sighed. This was definitely going to be a race, up until the very last minute.

  I’m going to boil my hot dog, but not just in water. I’ll add salt, vinegar, cumin, and nutmeg. After five minutes in a simmering bath, it’ll be perfect.

  Oliver was Chef Aimee’s last stop. His countertop was filled with bowls, tools, cutting boards, pots, pans, and Oliver was racing back and forth.

  Chef Aimee watched, shaking her head. “Oliver, what’s going on here? This isn’t how you usually work. It looks . . . kind of crazy.”

  Oliver nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I know, but there’s so much to do.”

  Chef Aimee put her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s take a breather, just for a minute. Take me through your process.”

  Oliver pointed to each bowl and identified it. “Bowl one is sriracha barbecue sauce—still needs paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Bowl two: sauce to add to the red onion marmalade once the onions are done cooking. Bowl three: homemade ketchup—I’ll add this finishing sauce once I’ve blended the tomatoes, onions, vinegar, water, and sugar in the food processor.” Oliver fidgeted and pointed to a stack of potatoes. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I really need to get to those if I’m going to finish my rosti on time.”

  Chef Aimee raised her arms and stepped back. “Of course, Oliver, continue. I don’t know how you did it, but it looks like you’ve got this under control.”

  I’ve scored my hot dog and am marinating it in a mixture of oil, homemade ketchup, soy sauce, and garlic. It’ll absorb these flavors and the moisture from the sauce. When I put it in the pan, it will steam on the inside and grill on the outside. It’s the best way to make a perfectly cooked hot dog. And I’ll use bacon fat instead of butter.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  “Thirty minutes,” called Chef Gary.

  “No!” Caroline banged a spatula on the table.

  Chef Gary rushed over to check on her.

  “Ugh!” She dropped the spatula and picked up a fork. The mini potato cups were sticking to the muffin tin.

  Chef Gary stepped up and sniffed. “Mmm, smells good. Might be worth the trouble to get them out.”

  Caroline smiled halfheartedly and attacked the tin again. This time the plump potato cup popped right out. She picked up a bowl and started mixing.

  Chef Gary watched. “What’s that?”

  “Homemade ranch dressing.”

  He covered his mouth. “I’d better go before I start drooling.”

  “Eye on the clock! FIFTEEN MINUTES!” Chef Aimee clapped her hands.

  That was just enough time for the last two visits—Rae and Oliver.

  Chef Gary picked a skewer off Rae’s table and twirled it. “I think we’ve seen these recently.”

  “Yes, Chef, but with a new recipe. I’m making potato salad on a stick . . . with sweet potatoes.” She dropped a quarter cup of diced poblano chiles into her bowl of potato chunks. “I have to mix these in carefully—I don’t want to smash my potatoes.” She picked up a wooden spoon and carefully folded the ingredients together.

  Chef Gary returned the skewer. “Good work, Rae! I can’t wait to try that flavor combination.”

  “Sweet and spicy to go with umami!” Rae looked up to smile at Chef Gary, but he was already heading off to see Oliver.

  Oliver was shaking his head and his frying pan.

  “What’s cooking?” asked Chef Gary.

  “Not this potato rosti!” snapped Oliver. Then he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, sir, but it’s these potatoes. I want crispy, not soggy.”

  “Creative problem-solving.” Chef Gary tapped his head. “Take a minute and think it through.”

  Did Oliver have a minute? When Chef Gary yelled “hands up,” he’d have to drop everything—ready or not.

  He took a deep breath, and studied his pan. Suddenly, he knew what to do. “Thank you, Chef!” His pan was too crowded. The rosti was steaming not frying. He sliced the rosti into eighths and pulled out four pie-shaped wedges. A minute later, four remaining slices were back on the stove, crisping up.

  Chef Gary walked to the center of the room. “FIVE MINUTES!”

  “AHHH!” Rae drizzled five droplets of poblano honey dressing on the side of the plate.

  Oliver cut three thin wedges of potato rosti and balanced them on edge next to a small ramekin of ketchup.

  Caroline stacked three mini potato cups one on top of another and was just about to add a few chopped scallions when . . .

  “TIME! HANDS UP!” called Chef Gary.

  “CUT!” yelled Steve.

  Chapter 6

  he camera crew followed Steve to each workstation to get close-ups of the food. Caroline, Rae, and Oliver stood to the side, watching.

  I can’t wait for the judges to try my potato cups, because there’s a surprise inside—a tangy ranch sauce filling. I don’t think anyone is going to miss the chopped scallions.

  Five minutes later everyone was back in position for judging.

  “AND ROLLING!” shouted Steve.

  Chef Gary pointed to Rae. “Rae, will you please bring your dish to the table?”

  She looked around nervously, then lifted her plate and started toward the front. It was a surprise to be first.

  I know the judges are going to like my hot dog. The umami sauce is rich and complex, and it goes perfectly with the tangy pickled onions.

  Chef Gary studied her plate. “I see you�
��re using skewers, but I would have never thought to bend them into triangles. Clever! It’s a creative presentation.”

  “Thank you, Chef.” Rae clamped her hands tightly together behind her back. No one needed to know they were shaking.

  “What have you made for us?” asked Chef Aimee.

  “I have an Umami Dog with pickled onions, accompanied by a sweet potato salad with a poblano honey dressing.”

  Chef Gary cut the hot dog into three pieces.

  Rae held her breath while the judges took bites.

  “Wow! Complex but satisfying,” said Chef Gary.

  Chef Nancy licked her lips. “That sauce is delicious. I could eat it with a spoon.”

  Chef Aimee shook her head. “I want what you had, but my end of the hot dog is just bun and wiener. Where’s the umami sauce?”

  Rae covered her mouth, horrified. Caroline’s words flashed through her mind: You have to spread the filling right to the edge of the crust. What a mistake!

  Chef Gary broke the skewer into three—one piece for each of them.

  “Oh my gosh!” Chef Aimee covered her mouth. “This is good!”

  Chef Nancy nodded. “Like a firework in my mouth! There’s the pow of spice and then the satisfying sweetness of the potato.”

  Chef Gary dipped his potato back into the sauce on the plate.

  “Double dipper!” teased Chef Aimee. “But I don’t blame you.” She reached in and did the same.

  “Impressive! All of it!” said Chef Gary.

  “Thank you, chefs.” Rae quickly walked back to her workstation. Disappointing a judge was not a good feeling, but there’d been more good than bad. Maybe she still had a chance.