Lights, Camera, Cook!

by Charise Mericle Harper

  Chapter 30

  verything was ready and waiting for them in the restaurant kitchen when they arrived. Chef Porter was wearing an apron and was standing behind a long table. Across from her was a workstation set up with cutting boards, knives, bowls, utensils, and aprons. Nancy the chicken was not on her shoulder. Chef Porter didn’t like to waste time; as soon as the aprons were on, she got started.

  “Today we are going to make a fine herb omelet with the eggs from my hens and the herbs from my garden. As young chefs, you know the first step is always to prepare your ingredients. Please chop the herbs in front of you. You will need one half tablespoon of parsley, chervil, chives, and tarragon.”

  Tate grabbed the knife and started chopping. He liked Chef Porter a lot more when she was just giving directions.

  Once the herbs were done, Chef Porter continued. “Crack your eggs and add a splash of water. The water will encourage your omelet to be light and fluffy.”

  Rae noticed something right away. Fresh eggs cracked differently than store-bought eggs. The shells stayed together better, plus the yolks were super yellow. She almost said something, but Chef Porter wasn’t the kind of person you interrupted. Rae held the blue egg and nudged Caroline. Would it be different inside? Caroline stopped cracking and watched. Rae tapped the shell and pulled the egg open. A bright yellow yolk fell into the bowl. It was disappointing, but only slightly. A blue omelet would be weird. The shell was so pretty. Could she keep it? And then for no reason other than happiness, she held up the shell and smiled, and there right in front of her was a camera pointed right at her face. NO! It was only a second, but it changed everything. Rae held her breath, waiting, but nothing happened. Chef Nancy did not march over and ask for a camera card. If no one saw, did it count? Maybe the cameraperson wouldn’t tell.

  Chef Porter continued with the instructions. “Bring your bowls and follow me to the stoves.” There was a large bank of stoves with tools laid out. Chef Porter grabbed a skillet and placed it on the burner.

  “Heat the skillet on medium heat, add the butter, and when it is no longer foaming you may add your eggs. Gently scrape the bottom of the pan with a plastic spatula to allow the liquid egg mixture to run under the egg that has already set. Once your eggs are completely set you may add the fine herbs.”

  Rae was frantic but pretending to be calm. She scanned the room. Chef Nancy was in the distance watching. Would she come over to get a card? Rae couldn’t concentrate. Her omelet was brown and lopsided. Hopefully Chef Porter wouldn’t notice. She covered it with her spatula.

  Oliver was an omelet expert. The end part was his favorite. Fold twice and tilt. His omelet slid onto the plate with the folded edges down. “Perfect!”

  Chef Porter didn’t stay for the eating part. Chef Nancy apologized: “Chef Porter is sorry she can’t be here, but she has a very busy schedule. It takes a lot of work to run this farm.”

  No one minded. Especially Rae.

  The omelets were delicious, but Rae ate slowly. Her appetite was gone. Should she tell? Was it cheating not to? What about Oliver?

  Caroline scraped her plate clean. “Fresh eggs taste so much better!”

  Tate held up his fork. “Thank you, chickens.”

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  After lunch, Chef Nancy led everyone to the back of the room. There were two baskets on the table: an empty one and a basket filled with fresh vegetables.

  “These vegetables are from the gardens at Porter Farm. They were gathered this morning. Chef Porter has generously offered them to us for the elimination challenge.”

  Everyone stood at attention.

  “Oliver, since you won the last challenge you may go first. Please choose a fresh vegetable to take back to the filming studio to use in tomorrow’s elimination challenge.” Chef Nancy pointed to the empty basket. “You may put it in there.”

  Rae couldn’t believe it. Knowing an ingredient ahead of time was a huge advantage, for all of them. It meant they’d have time to prepare and think about creative recipes.

  Oliver looked at Rae and scowled. She knew why. This was it. He thought the race was over and she was the winner, but was she? Wasn’t it still a tie? She should say something, tell Chef Nancy, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked at her feet. Oliver picked four sweet potatoes and walked toward the empty basket.

  Caroline nodded. Versatile choice, but maybe too safe. Sweet potatoes were easy to cook and the judges would know that. Her thoughts were interrupted—Oliver’s potatoes were suddenly rolling all over the floor. Oliver dropped to his knees and snatched three, but the fourth rolled under the table. He scooted on his stomach, then emerged potato in hand, smiling for the camera.

  Rae gasped and covered her mouth. Camera card! And obviously he’d done it on purpose.

  Oliver looked at her and shrugged.

  Chef Nancy said nothing. Instead, she continued with the vegetables. “We’ll choose the remaining order out of a hat to be fair.” She pulled off her hat, dumped three pieces of paper in it, then pulled them out again and read off the names—Tate, Caroline, then Rae. Tate picked red and yellow beets, Caroline picked baby eggplants, and Rae picked poblano peppers.

  I picked baby eggplants because they have an earthy flavor and a comforting texture. I’d like to pair them with something like a roast or duck.

  I picked beets because they have a rich texture and great color. I might make a goat cheese and beet tart to accompany beef or lamb.

  I picked sweet potatoes because they are a transformation vegetable. You can use them for anything. I could make an almond wasabi-crusted potato pancake to go with braised pork roast.

  I picked poblano peppers because I love to add heat to my dishes. The poblano pepper will be great in a side dish like spicy mac and cheese or spicy pilaf with raisins and nuts.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  As soon as the vegetables were chosen and the cameras were off, Tate ran up to Oliver.

  “Did you smile on purpose?”

  Oliver shrugged. “Maybe. What’s the difference? The game’s over. Rae has all her cards. She won. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  Except that Oliver was wrong. It did.

  Chapter 31

  hat evening, after the video-chats with their families, Chef Nancy gathered everyone together.

  She held up a camera card. “It’s time to announce a winner, but first I need to collect a few remaining camera cards. Rae, will you please hand me a card?”

  “WHAT?” Oliver stared at Chef Nancy, then at Rae.

  Rae was blushing.

  Chef Nancy walked over to Rae. “Did you smile at the camera this afternoon while we were cooking with Chef Porter?”

  Rae nodded and handed Chef Nancy a camera card. “Oliver, will you please hand me a camera card?”

  Oliver’s face was red too, but not from embarrassment. “Wait a minute, ma’am! You mean we were tied? I HAD A CHANCE TO BE THE WINNER? That’s not fair. Ma’am, if I knew that, I would never have dropped the potatoes!”

  Tate gasped. “You dropped the potatoes on purpose? Why?”

  Oliver brushed him off. “Camera time, but it doesn’t matter.”

  Chef Nancy scowled. “Yes, it does matter. The purpose of the camera cards is to moderate your actions in front of the camera. Dropping the potatoes to get more time on film is both sneaky and manipulative. Please hand me two cards. One for dropping the potatoes and one for smiling.”

  “Not fair,” grumbled Oliver, but he handed over the cards.

  Chef Nancy walked back to the center of the room. “After tallying each contestant’s camera card count, the winner of the private lesson is Rae, with nine cards remaining.”

  No one clapped or said anything. They were all too uncomfortable. Minutes later Tate, Oliver, and Caroline headed over to the library to do some research for their dishes.

  Rae followed Chef Nancy to the school studio. Chef Nancy tried to reassure her. “It was fair and square. This was a game against the cards, not each
other.”

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  The school studio was dark. Chef Nancy turned the lights on, but it felt strange and empty without the other kids or the camera crew.

  Chef Nancy walked to Rae’s workstation. “So, what are we doing? What would you like to learn about?”

  Rae looked at the floor. Her face was red again—she could feel it.

  Chef Nancy led Rae to a chair. “Do you feel faint? Sit down. It’s okay. Take your time. You can ask me anything.”

  Rae pointed to the food processor. “I don’t know how to use it. Can you teach me?”

  Chef Nancy was surprised, then embarrassed. It was her job to train all the contestants and she’d failed. She hadn’t gone over the basics. Not everyone had the same tools at home. Chef Nancy pulled the food processor out and put it on the counter. “Let’s do it!”

  Rae was a good student. In less than an hour, she had mastered the food processor and all of its accessories.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  That night before falling asleep, Rae told Caroline about the blue egg. “He let me have it on purpose, just so I would think he’s nice. Which he isn’t, obviously.”

  Caroline nodded. “I guess so. I still can’t believe he dropped those potatoes on purpose just to get more time on TV. Why? I didn’t want to be filmed when I dropped my strawberries.”

  Rae shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he wants to be a chef and a TV star. He’s tricky. We have to watch out for him.”

  Thursday—Elimination Challenge

  Chapter 32

  he interviews in the morning went well—maybe too well. Oliver was worried. It all seemed a little too easy. Tate thought so too. The final challenge was supposed to be tough. Why were they given an ingredient ahead of time? Rae and Caroline didn’t seem worried—they were more concerned about seeing their parents. The parents were invited to the filming of the elimination round. Oliver made sure his shirt was tucked in extra neatly—his mom was coming. She cared about stuff like that.

  Chef Nancy went over the schedule. “You’ll have fifteen minutes with your parents and then we’ll move to the back room for a special talk.”

  Rae wasn’t looking forward to the visit. It would’ve been different if her grandma was coming too, but she had a bad hip and couldn’t sit in the car for long trips, so it was just going to be her dad. They didn’t have a lot in common, especially food. Her dad was a burger and pizza kind of guy, and he put ketchup on almost everything.

  Caroline was feeling like Rae, but for different reasons. Her mom made her nervous. No matter how good a chef she tried to be, her mom would always be better. It wasn’t easy to follow perfection.

  Once Chef Nancy had approved of everyone’s outfit, she led them to the room to meet their parents. Like usual, Tate was first to the door, but then he stopped right in the doorway. Rae bumped into him, but he didn’t move. A man in an army uniform was kneeling on the floor: Tate’s dad. Everyone watched. Tate screamed and ran into his arms.

  Rae found her dad. He hugged her twice, once because he was happy to see her, and an extra time for her grandma.

  Oliver’s mom straightened his shirt, even though he was pretty sure it was already perfect. “Nice choice. It brings out the green in your eyes.”

  Oliver nodded.

  His mom gave him a hug. “I miss your pasta alla pescatore.”

  He hugged her back. Their language was food.

  Caroline told her mom about the eggplant—that was a mistake. Suddenly her mom was full of recipe ideas and tips: baked eggplant chips, roasted ratatouille tart, remember to salt and pat it dry, it’s very good if you roast it, don’t use oil in the pan to fry it or it will get mushy . . . Caroline’s head was spinning when she finally hugged her goodbye.

  Tate couldn’t let go. That wasn’t just a saying. It was fact. His mom and Chef Nancy had to pry him away from his dad. Tate wiped his eyes.

  His dad had been crying too. “It’s okay, little buddy. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

  Chapter 33

  hef Nancy had memorized her special talk, but now she couldn’t remember how it started. The parent meeting had been surprisingly emotional; it had thrown her off-course. All she had were bits and pieces: never give up, do your best, have a plan, there are no losers . . . It wasn’t anything new. She’d said it all before. She gave up on it and instead suggested they each share a wish with the group. The kids were surprised, but willing.

  “I wish you calmness,” offered Oliver. “So you don’t get nervous.”

  “I wish you planning,” added Rae. “So you don’t run out of time.”

  “I wish you creativity,” said Tate. “So you make something great.”

  Caroline held up her hands. “I wish you steadiness, so you don’t make mistakes.”

  Chef Nancy stepped forward with her arms open wide. “And I wish you joy, so you all have fun.”

  They all joined together in their first-ever group hug.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  “TIME!” Steve rapped on the door.

  Chef Nancy pulled away from the group. “Okay. This is it. Let’s go line up at the door.”

  It was the same line as the first day, but it felt different. This time they were going in as a team.

  “Rolling!” shouted Steve.

  “Next Best Junior Chef is proud to invite our four junior chefs to the first elimination round of this competition. Please welcome Caroline, Tate, Oliver, and Rae.”

  This wasn’t like last time. Rae enjoyed every minute of the walk to the front of the room.

  Chef Gary stepped forward. “Welcome, junior chefs. Are you ready for your challenge?”

  “YES, CHEF!”

  He held up a basket. “Our junior chefs have each picked a fresh vegetable from Chef Porter’s farm to use in today’s elimination challenge.”

  He handed out the vegetables. “Sweet potatoes for Oliver, red and yellow beets for Tate, baby eggplants for Caroline, and poblano peppers for Rae. Wow! I bet you’ve all been researching recipes.”

  The kids mumbled and nodded.

  “Chef Aimee, can you please come forward and show our young chefs what you’ve made?”

  Chef Aimee smiled and presented her plate. “It’s a beautiful candied mushroom tartlette . . . for dessert!”

  Tate and Oliver both groaned. Tate because he was worried, and Oliver because of the mushrooms.

  Chef Gary smiled. “That’s right—we want you to be magicians. We want you to turn those vegetables into desserts.”

  Now everyone else groaned too.

  “I knew it,” whispered Oliver. “They tricked us.” But it didn’t make him feel any better.

  Chef Porter stepped forward. “I can’t wait to see what you do with my beautiful vegetables. You’ll have ninety minutes to create a dessert. Do you accept this challenge?”

  There was only one answer.

  “Yes, Chef!”

  Chef Gary waved his arm. “Let’s get cooking!”

  Everyone ran to the workstations.

  “Cut,” called Steve. The cameras stopped rolling.

  There wasn’t time for talking—only for thinking. Chef Nancy gave them each pens and papers to make a pantry list. In ten minutes the cameras would be back on. That wasn’t a lot of time to plan a dessert.

  Of course I was shocked. I’m not magician. But then I remembered my neighbor Mrs. Demir. If she can make dessert pudding out of a chicken, I can make dessert out of poblano peppers. The trick was to think of a dessert that could be sweet and spicy.

  My first thought was YES! I got this! It’s easy to make a dessert out of sweet potatoes, but then that’s the problem. It’s too easy. I’m going to have to use extra creativity to win this and wow the judges.

  Yes, I was pretty surprised about the switch, but I was more surprised that I got an idea of what to make right away. That’s never happened to me before. It felt great.

  It was a big surprise, but today’s been a day for big surp
rises. I’m having trouble concentrating. Beets have a sweetness to them. I’m lucky. I can use that.

  Chapter 34

  olling!” shouted Steve.

  Chef Gary stepped to the center of the room. “Do you know what you’re going to make? Are you ready to start?”

  “Yes, Chef!”

  “You’ll have ten minutes in the pantry to pick out your ingredients.”

  Chef Gary raised his hand. “GO!”

  Everyone rushed into the pantry. It was the quietest pantry run ever. Not even Rae was talking.

  “And, time!” called Chef Gary.

  “And, cut!” shouted Steve.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  Chef Nancy had five minutes with each contestant before the cameras started again. She listened to their ideas and helped them plan out their strategies. She had only one goal—she wanted everyone to do their very best.

  “Oliver, that ice cream needs to be made as fast as possible so you can get it into the freezer.”

  “Tate, get those beets in the oven, but remember to leave out two so they can be candied.”

  “Caroline, caramelize the apples and eggplant first, then prepare your pastry.”

  “Rae, roast and then liquefy those peppers in the food processor.”

  Rae nodded and smiled. She knew exactly how to do it.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  “And, rolling!” shouted Steve.

  Chef Gary walked to the center of the room and raised his hand, then brought it down hard. “Let’s get cooking!”