The Winner Is . . . Read online

  “Yes! So, we’re going to give you time to fix it. To restore it to how it was before. I noticed you baked another avocado. You may use that one instead. The judges have agreed that it would be fair.” She gently nudged Caroline forward. “Come on, you can work on it now.”

  Five minutes later a new avocado was on a new plate, looking exactly like the original.

  Mark the cameraperson rushed over to take some close-ups. He stopped two feet before the table, then stepped forward cautiously. “Caroline, I’m very sorry about what happened. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

  Caroline nodded but stayed silent. She definitely didn’t say what she was thinking. Thank you, Mark—I’m glad you bumped it. This second avocado is a lot more stable. That first avocado was probably going to fall anyway.

  When Mark was done, Caroline and Rae moved back to their workstations and the judges returned to the front of the room.

  Chef Gary stepped forward. “Before we continue I want to make sure that you’re both okay with what just happened. I know the extra wait means that we will not be trying your dishes in the best of circumstances. Things might have gotten soggy and cold when you intended them to be crispy and hot. This will all be taken into account. You will not lose points for anything related to the delay. Are you okay with that?”

  Caroline looked at Rae. Rae nodded. “Yes, Chef.”

  What was I supposed to say? Is it unfair? Maybe. Caroline’s avocado was going to fall over. I could tell—it was leaning. All the cameraman did was make it happen sooner than later. So, she got a lucky break. Good for her, but I don’t have to be happy about it.

  Chapter 5

  ae tried to shrug off the disappointment, but it wasn’t easy. Caroline’s plating was better than hers. What was going to happen now? Did she even have a chance?

  Steve waved his arm. “ROLLING.”

  Chef Gary looked into the camera. “We gave our two young chefs a surprise start. This was not an easy challenge, but they stepped up and delivered. Well done.”

  Chef Porter’s gaze settled on Caroline. “Caroline, will you please bring your plate to the table?”

  Caroline slowly walked forward. One avocado disaster was enough, and if it happened again, she wouldn’t get another redo. She carefully set the plate down, relieved.

  Chef Porter was instantly impressed. “Lovely! What a creative presentation. Caroline, what have you made us?”

  “I made a stuffed avocado with a spicy sriracha mayonnaise.”

  “Should we try it?” Chef Aimee held up three forks.

  “Nice crunch with the breadcrumbs.”

  “Not too spicy on the sauce—just the right amount of bite.”

  “The avocado pairs nicely with the feta, and you managed the salt perfectly. Not everyone remembers that feta is a salty cheese.” Suddenly, Chef Porter was wearing her pickle face—the expression that looked like she’d just bitten into a very sour pickle.

  Caroline shuddered—this was bad.

  The frown deepened. “Something’s missing . . . something important.” Chef Porter paused. “Cilantro! Where’s the cilantro?”

  Chef Aimee pointed to the decorative sprig that had been pushed to the side of the plate.

  Chef Gary shook his head. “I see it, but I’m not tasting it.”

  Chef Porter poked at the sprig. “Well, we might as well move on.”

  Chef Aimee called Rae to the table.

  Caroline turned to leave, but Chef Porter stopped her. “Caroline, you may stay at the front, but please move over to the side.”

  Rae set her dish down. The mood around the table had changed. Five minutes ago she’d been excited, but now she was nervous.

  Chef Porter smiled. “Rae, what have you made us?”

  “I made elote avocado toast with a spicy relish.”

  “Dig in.” Chef Gary scooped up a bite. “Ah, cilantro! There it is.”

  Chef Porter agreed. “Yes, and I’m especially happy to see the grilled corn. I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to pick that out. Very clever.”

  Rae relaxed and the judges continued.

  “The crunch of the toast and the smoothness of the avocado is a nice contrast.”

  “It’s nicely spicy. It could be too much, but the queso fresco mellows it out.”

  Chef Gary squeezed some lime on his second bite. “That’s the tang I was looking for. Well done, Rae.” He turned to the other judges. “Shall we confer to—”

  “The ingredient lists,” interrupted Chef Porter. “Please hand them in.”

  Chef Gary read off the list of ingredients in the soup. “Avocados, corn, garlic, onion, serrano chile, lime juice, créma, cilantro, olive oil, water, crouton, and salt.” He waved the ingredient lists from the junior chefs. “We’ll see how many of these you covered.”

  Rae waited until Chef Gary was at the back of the room with the other chefs; she leaned closer to Caroline and nudged her arm. Caroline didn’t respond. Rae couldn’t blame her—disappointing Chef Porter never felt good.

  Minutes later the judges were back and Chef Gary was talking.

  “This was not an easy challenge. We surprised you, and tested you in a new and unfamiliar way. Caroline, your dish was original and exceptionally creative, but you were missing one of the main ingredients of the soup. Quite frankly, that was a surprise and a disappointment. A garnish is not a valid representation of an essential flavor.”

  Caroline lowered her head, wishing the floor would swallow her up, but this was a cooking show: the only magic that happened here was with food.

  Chef Porter waved a piece of paper. “I have the tally. One young chef incorporated eight of my ingredients; the other had five.”

  Chef Gary continued. “Plus the texture and combination of flavors in the winning dish was spot on. Congratulations, Rae, you are the winner of this challenge! Please come to the front. We all enjoyed your avocado toast. I could see serving something like this with an egg on it for breakfast. In fact, I might even try it this weekend.”

  Rae walked forward to stand with the judges. At first it was exciting, the clapping and the accolades, but then something happened. Seeing Caroline across the table, alone with her head down, took all the fun away. And there was a new realization—this wasn’t just going to be hard on the loser. It was going to be hard on their friendship, too.

  This is not the way I wanted to start the week, but I’m not discouraged. I had a huge disadvantage in this challenge, but I did okay. I may have missed the cilantro, but the judges loved my presentation and that’s a win, because Rae is a tough competitor when it comes to plating. If not for the cilantro—and that’s not my fault—I would have won!

  Chapter 6

  aroline and Rae were back at Porter Lodge on Chef Porter’s farm, surrounded by acres of forest. They sprawled out on the big soft armchairs in the main room.

  Rae leaned back against the pillows. “I don’t know why I’m so tired. We’ve been doing this for two weeks, and now after only one challenge . . . I’m exhausted.”

  Caroline stretched her arms. “Me too. Do you think it was the surprise of it? You know, because we weren’t expecting a challenge?”

  “Maybe.” Rae closed her eyes. “I bet that’s how the whole week will be—surprise after surprise. We’ll have to expect the unexpected.”

  Caroline threw a pillow to the floor. “Ugh. I don’t even want to think about it. Let’s talk about something else.”

  They were silent for a moment, and then Caroline sat up. “Hey, you didn’t get to go to the Gadget Wall.” Nearly every day for the past two weeks of competition, the junior chefs had been adding fun cooking gadgets to their personal toolboxes every time they won a challenge—spinners, slicers, strainers, mezzalunas, spiralizers, citrus presses. Anything a junior chef could want in her dream kitchen. But today there’d been no Gadget Wall.

  Now Rae sat up too. “You’re right. I wonder why. Is it still there? Did you see it?”

  Caroline chewed on her fi
nger. “I don’t know. I didn’t notice.”

  Chef Nancy stood in the doorway of the main room. “How is everyone doing? I know that was a big surprise today, but you both handled it well.”

  Rae eyed the papers in Chef Nancy’s hand. Was that the schedule for the week?

  Chef Nancy sat down across from Rae and Caroline and glanced at the papers. “The only thing left for today is an interview with Steve the producer, and then tomorrow we have a morning field trip. We’ll leave right at eight.”

  Caroline put her hand out for a schedule, but Chef Nancy pulled them close. “I’ll hang on to these until after the field trip. We’ll go over everything tomorrow.”

  “Where are we going?” Rae offered a half smile, but she already knew the answer.

  Chef Nancy looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”

  “More surprises!” Caroline swung her hand into the air. “Every day will be an adventure.”

  Chef Nancy stood up. “That’s the spirit. If you’re open to anything, you’ll be ready for everything.”

  Caroline nodded. Words of wisdom from Chef Nancy felt good—even if you didn’t really believe them.

  Rae waited until Chef Nancy was out of the room. “What was that? Now I’m even more confused. Surprise start, no schedule, and no Gadget Wall! That’s all different. What’s going on?”

  Caroline shrugged. Could a shrug be a lie? No, not if it was only a feeling. Something about tomorrow’s field trip was going to be a BIG surprise.

  I’m excited about this week, because both Caroline and I are serious competitors. We don’t play games. This will be about cooking only, and when we’re not in the kitchen, we’re friends. I trust her and she trusts me. It’s not easy to battle against a friend, but we can do it and still have fun.

  I’m excited about this week, because Rae and I understand each other. We know the other’s strengths and weaknesses. That makes this an even match. We’ll each do our best, and the best chef will win.

  Saturday

  Chapter 7

  hef Nancy rushed through the room, but stopped when she saw Caroline and Rae at the breakfast table. “Good morning, junior chefs! Big day today.” She pointed to the door. “Ten minutes and we’ll be leaving in the van.”

  Rae grabbed a muffin off the table and watched Caroline. Would she choose sugared cereal, again, like every day for the past two weeks? Or was that being too superstitious?

  Caroline paused at the cereal, then moved on. “Sorry, cereal, I can’t do it!” She picked up a muffin.

  Rae laughed. “It can’t hear you. It doesn’t have feelings.”

  “I know, but we had a thing going. What if cereal in the morning was my lucky charm for the competition?”

  “HA! Nice pun, but I don’t believe in luck, at least not that kind.”

  Caroline took a bite of muffin and closed her eyes. “Mmm—me neither, and this tastes soooo much better.”

  Chef Nancy was a stickler about time. Ten minutes later, they were in the van and heading off on the mystery field trip.

  “How long until we get there?” asked Caroline.

  Chef Nancy looked at her phone. “About ninety minutes.”

  “Good to know.” Rae leaned back and closed her eyes. “I’ll start worrying in eighty minutes.”

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  Rae slept on and off for the first thirty minutes, and then she was fast asleep. She awoke with a start as soon as the van stopped.

  “We’re here!” Caroline opened her door and jumped out.

  Rae blinked and tried to focus. “WHAT? Why did you let me sleep so long?” But no one was left to answer. She stumbled out the door. Where were they? It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the bright morning light. Who was that in the distance? Chef Gary and Chef Aimee?

  Caroline moved next to her. “Cranberries.”

  “Is that some kind of code?” Rae’s brain felt foggy.

  “NO, silly! It’s a fruit. This is a cranberry farm.”

  Rae shot Caroline a nasty glare. Why hadn’t she woken her up? But Caroline was too excited to notice. “I think it’s kind of cool. I don’t know anything about cranberries—do you? Cranberry challenge . . . that’s not so hard, right?” She playfully pushed Rae’s arm. “I was worried for nothing.”

  “Junior chefs, stand here!” Steve pointed to a spot on the grass.

  Chef Gary and Chef Aimee moved over to face them.

  Rae looked around. What was she missing? Cranberries couldn’t be the big surprise. There had to be something else. But what?

  I can’t believe Caroline didn’t wake me up. She’s not like me—she doesn’t think about the big picture. There might have been clues on the drive in, and now we missed them. Chef Nancy didn’t mention that the judges would be here—that’s huge. Something big is going on.

  Chapter 8

  hef Gary got started as soon as the cameras were rolling. “Welcome, junior chefs. As you can see, we’re here at a cranberry farm. I’m excited for you to learn about one of America’s most interesting fruits, but . . .” He held up a finger. “Before we begin, we have a little surprise that—”

  “Big surprise,” interrupted Chef Aimee. She was smiling at something in the distance.

  Rae shuddered. What was it? A something, or a someone? She couldn’t see.

  “Eyes on me,” instructed Chef Gary. “We’ll show you in a moment, but first I want you to know that we have given this a lot of thought, and were this you, in a different pair of shoes, you’d be happy for the opportunity. Remember, the best chef is going to win this competition, no matter what. Can you win this?”

  “YES, CHEF!”

  Rae froze. She and Caroline weren’t the only ones shouting. Tate and Oliver raced forward and stepped up next to Chef Gary.

  How did I feel when they told me I had another chance to get back on the show? I did jumping jacks! I can’t wait for this next challenge so I can show the judges all I’ve got! Being the first contestant to go home in week one was tough—but I am tougher!

  Sure, I lost the elimination challenge in week two, but I don’t want to talk about that. As soon as Steve the producer called, I was ready. I’m back and I’m here to stay! I’m going to win this challenge. The world’s going to see that I deserve to be the Next Best Junior Chef.

  Caroline gasped. “What? They get to come back?”

  “Only if one of them wins this challenge,” cautioned Chef Aimee.

  Caroline looked like she was about to burst into tears.

  Rae’s hands tightened into fists. This wasn’t fair. They’d already beaten them!

  Steve stood off to the side, smiling. This was his kind of moment: tension, surprise, and anger. This was good television.

  Chef Gary furrowed his brow and nodded sympathetically. “Here’s how it’s going to work. Later today, there’ll be a challenge, and the winner of that challenge will win a prize. However, if the winner of the challenge is either Tate or Oliver, they will forgo the prize and instead win the right to compete again as a contestant in the competition, right through to the end of this week to the final winner-take-all challenge.”

  The cameraperson moved in for some close-ups. Two faces were smiling and two were scowling.

  Rae’s hand shot up. “So if they lose today, they are out—FOREVER?”

  “Yes, forever.” Chef Gary motioned for Tate and Oliver to join Caroline and Rae in the lineup. “Junior chefs, I’m happy to offer you this new opportunity, and to sweeten the pot, Chef Aimee will tell you about the prize.”

  Chef Aimee held up a card. “The winner of this challenge will win a dinner for four at Le Soupir.”

  Caroline tugged on Rae’s arm. “That’s in Paris! France!”

  Chef Aimee continued. “Le Soupir is of course the most celebrated five-star restaurant in Paris, France. So in addition to the dinner, you will also win transportation and a three-night hotel stay in one of the foodie-est cities in the world!”

  T
he corners of Rae’s lips slowly curled up—she couldn’t help it. She’d love to take her grandma to Paris. This was a great prize, and beating Oliver again would be the bonus.

  Caroline grinned. “Le Soupir!” If she won, her mom would have a heart attack. Well, not really. But she dreamed about that restaurant.

  Chef Gary looked over the group. “Four smiling faces. I knew we’d get there. Well, enjoy your morning, and we’ll see you back in the studio for your challenge. Are you ready for a big day?”

  “YES, CHEF!” The response was unanimous.

  “CUT!”

  I can’t believe what just happened. Is it fair? I guess it doesn’t matter what I think, but I’m not worried. I beat them before, so I can beat them again. Really, this is more like Caroline and me against Oliver and Tate. We have to win, so it can go back to being just the two of us!

  Wow! I don’t know what to talk about first. Oliver and Tate being back is big, but Le Soupir! That’s huge! My mom has been talking about that restaurant forever! Of course, we would never get to go there—it’s super expensive and it takes more than a year to secure a reservation, and it’s in another country. I can’t believe it. I really want to get this for my mom. I will win this!

  I don’t care about the fancy restaurant. I just need to get back in this game. I messed up once, but I won’t mess up again. Second chances are for setting the record straight, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going all the way to the end, and I’m going to win!

  Of course, I feel lucky to be back. I thought Caroline and Rae would be more happy to see us, but I guess it makes sense that they aren’t. They don’t want us to win. I get it, but I’m grateful to have another chance. I’m ready to prove that I deserve to be here.