by Susan Willis
He shrugged and smiled. ‘That was probably what made you jittery. And when she came back the next time she was nice to you?’
‘Oh, yes. She totally relaxed me and understands what it feels like to bake under stress.’
Simon’s timer bleeped and as she turned back towards her bench she heard him mumble, ‘Which is more than can be said for his lordship!’
Just as Nicola’s timer sounded and she painstakingly removed her tart from the oven, David shouted, ‘BAKERS, YOU HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES.’
Because of her late start she hoped the tart would be sufficiently cool in fifteen minutes, but reasoned that it wouldn’t matter because the lemon tart was a bake that could be eaten hot or cold.
She watched Gemma covering her cake with the violet frosting and had to admit the colour did look stunning. She remembered how her mother had taught her to spread frosting evenly and smoothly and would have loved to give Gemma a few tips.
After leaving the lemon tart to cool for as long as possible she lifted it onto a round, glass serving plate.
Seconds later David called, ‘YOUR TIME IS UP – STEP AWAY FROM YOUR BAKES.’
Nicola smiled – this would be the last time she’d hear those words and knew that whatever happened later she’d miss the competition. Carrying her serving plate she joined Simon and Gemma as they walked down and placed their bakes on the table.
Nicola wondered why the stools hadn’t been placed in the usual places to listen to the comments but then David told them they were now free to wait in the hospitality room or go into town for a while before the award ceremony began.
‘So we mustn’t find out what they think until this afternoon.’ Simon said as they filed through the kitchen door.
Nicola nodded. ‘Hmm. I knew they wouldn’t announce the winner until then but I did think we’d be allowed to hear what they thought about the bakes…’
***
With the camera filming, Jessica and David were ready to taste the bakes.
David said, ‘Just before we start, Jessica. I can tell you that so far in round one, Nicola was better than Gemma, but last week they were practically neck and neck. And up until today Simon has never quite had the edge the other two have got.’
Jessica drew her eyebrows together and nodded her head while David cut a triangular section from the Sicilian summer lemon tart and put it onto a small plate offering it to her first.
They both tasted the tart and Jessica relaxed her shoulders moaning softly. ‘That is absolutely delicious – the flavour is sublime.’ She looked into the camera. ‘And to make up some words for the viewers, I think it is tinglingly citrusy. It is also perfect in appearance, the texture of the pastry is impeccable, as is the lemon custard – I simply cannot find fault with it.’
David nodded. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘But Nicola did make a chocolate torte, using pastry and filling last week, and I would have liked her to show us a recipe using a different set of skills for the final. Although I have to agree it is simply perfection.’
David picked up a knife to cut Gemma’s lavender polenta cake but Jessica placed her hand on his arm. ‘Let’s look at the appearance before you cut into it,’ she said. ‘I think the outer covering of violet frosting could have been applied a little neater. Unless she was running out of time I would have liked her to take a little more care with the appearance.’
He laughed loudly into the camera. ‘Nah, it looks fine to me.’ He cut a large slice from the cake and handed a fork to Jessica.
They both tasted the cake and Jessica closed her eyes while she rolled the cake around her mouth then swallowed. ‘In my opinion the flavour profile wouldn’t meet everyone’s palate and for me the lavender is a tiny bit overpowering.’
‘Never!’ David argued. ‘The level of flavour is perfect. The texture is light and the concept is creative and bang on trend. And I think it’s very special.’
He gazed into the camera lens and gently teased Jessica. ‘You’re just an old-fashioned fuddy-duddy.’
Jessica drew her eyebrows together in consternation as David placed Simon’s white chocolate and raspberry bread and butter pudding in front of them both.
Swallowing a mouthful of pudding David said, ‘My one criticism with this bake is that Simon has used shop-bought bread which is not what the bake off is all about – he should have at least baked his own bread at home to make it look more rustic.’
Jessica folded her arms under her large bust and challenged him. ‘And was that explained to the contestants before the competition?
David blushed and cleared his throat. ‘I-I’m sure it was, Jessica,’ he said then lifted his shoulders. ‘And in my opinion although the bread and butter pudding does have a good chocolate flavour it’s not special enough for the final.’
‘Hmm,’ Jessica muttered. ‘I think the bread and butter pudding looks delightful and is a traditional bake with a modern twist by using the white chocolate and raspberries. There may be a few too many raspberries but they blend exceptionally well with the white chocolate.’
She stared resolutely at David. ‘My order of results for these three would be the Sicilian lemon tart is the best all-round bake on the table. And a tie for second place between the lavender cake and the bread and butter pudding. If I was absolutely pushed to split them I would give second place to the bread and butter pudding and third for the lavender.’
‘NO,’ David shouted in alarm. ‘That’s not right at all…’
Jessica leaned towards him and pursed her thin lips. ‘If you’re not going to take any notice of my opinion why on earth did you ask me to come along and judge?’
‘CUT,’ yelled the director. ‘We can’t have this arguing in front of the viewers. We’ll have to scrap that last little bit.’
David shook his head slowly, and anxiously stroked his chin. He apologised to Jessica, whose face was flushed and pinched. ‘Look, let’s go back to the beginning and taste them all again and try to find a compromise,’ he offered, to which she nodded her head in agreement.
***
While Simon and Gemma collapsed spent onto the settee in the hospitality room Nicola escaped into the toilet. She gasped in horror as she looked in the mirror and saw that under her eyes were black with smudged mascara, the foundation on her nose had collected into a moist blob, and her hair looked completely bedraggled. She groaned and opened her handbag to do some quick repairs with her make-up kit. The thought that David had seen her looking such a mess, especially when he looked his best, made her cringe.
***
Shortly before two o’clock Gemma, Simon and herself were ushered by a crewman into the large ceremony hall attached to the university. The walls in the old building were panelled in dark oak wood and rows of red velour chairs were placed in front of the small stage. The director led them up onto the stage where they were joined by the other original ten contestants who greeted them warmly.
They’d each been issued with two guest invitations for the ceremony and she quickly spotted Jay and Susan sitting in the front row and some colleagues from the library further back in the hall. Simon pointed out his sister to Nicola who gave them all a cheery wave.
While Nicola chatted with Thomas, she saw Simon talking to Gemma who pointed out a group of her pupils from school sitting behind Simon’s sister.
Simon said to Gemma, ‘I’d have thought to see your parents here from Leeds?’
Gemma’s shoulders curled over her chest and she stared down at the floor. ‘Nah, they wouldn’t do that. It would mean they’d have to stay off the alcohol and drugs for the day,’ she muttered. ‘And that would be too much to ask of them. I’ve been in and out of care homes most of my childhood while they spent every penny of benefit on their addictions.’
‘Good heavens,’ Simon exclaimed gently. ‘How awful…’
‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted all that out. It’s just when I saw your loved ones here to support you it made me feel bitter.’ She pulled her shoulders back and
lifted her chin. ‘I don’t usually think of them at all now and have put the past well and truly behind me.’
Awkwardly, Simon patted her shoulder. ‘Well done. At least the children are rooting for you – you’re obviously their favourite teacher.’
David strode onto the stage smiling and waving at the audience. The packed room full of people began to clap and the director and crewmen stood to the side of the stage while the camera was filming.
‘Afternoon, everyone,’ he called out cheerfully. ‘Thank you all for coming along to the award ceremony for our first Bake Off competition. And I do hope you’ll all be watching it on TV when it’s shown next month.’
Nicola looked at the back of David as he walked in front of them and decided there wasn’t one angle where he didn’t look good. He introduced the other ten contestants and made funny remarks about their attempts at puff pastry. Thomas held up his large hands to which the audience laughed loudly. He then told everyone how he’d been amazed at the high standards of baking in the competition and the director gesticulated at the audience to give the contestants another round of applause.
‘Now I’d like to introduce our guest judge in the bake off – it’s Jessica Gallagher.’
Jessica walked onto the stage smiling and carrying a large silver award while the whole audience clapped and cheered loudly. Placing the award on a small table she stood next to David and told everyone how good it was to be in the North East and how much she’d enjoyed judging the first ever bake off competition.
‘I’d just like to read out some of the comments we’ve made about the three finalists because it’s been such a strong competition. David and I have been overwhelmed with such excellent bakes which, in turn, has made judging a difficult challenge,’ she said smiling at all three finalists. ‘Simon, your white chocolate and raspberry bread and butter pudding was a new twist on a traditional pudding which was very impressive.’
Simon’s face flushed bright red when his sister raised her hands above her head and clapped loudly.
When the noise subsided Jessica continued, ‘And Gemma, David thought the lavender cake with violet frosting was creative and bang-on trend.’
The school children in the audience cheered and whistled while Gemma grinned back at them.
‘And lastly, Nicola,’ Jessica said. ‘I thought the flavour in your Sicilian lemon tart was absolutely sublime.’
Another huge round of applause made Nicola’s legs tremble. She remembered how euphoric she’d felt the last two times when she’d won, and prayed it would happen again because it would be even more special with Jay and Susan watching.
With a dramatic flourish David gestured into the camera. ‘And now everyone, we will reveal the winner of the bake off.’
The camera swung between Simon, Gemma and Nicola – as she held her breath. Her heart was hammering – she closed her eyes and prayed, please let it be me, please say my name, David. I want the award and the dinner date with you so much.
‘And the winner is…’ he said.
Counting-down music blared from the loudspeakers while everyone in the room stared at him in silence gripped with anticipation. Nicola couldn’t hold her breath any longer – oh please, she begged, just say my name.
‘It’s, GEMMA,’ he cried jubilantly.
The whole of Nicola’s body seemed to crumble inside. Bitter disappointment flooded through her and she looked wildly at Simon who was standing with his mouth wide open in shock. She bit down hard on her bottom lip to stop tears filling her eyes – it was over, she moaned silently, she’d lost the bake off.
Simon was slowly shaking his head and scratching his jaw while David and Jessica approached Gemma congratulating her and everyone in the room began to clap loudly with the schoolchildren chanting her name.
The Winner and Loser of The Bake Off
Gemma purred, ‘I can’t believe it – I’m totally speechless.’
‘It’s fully deserved,’ David replied. ‘You’ve been consistently good in every round and obviously saved your show-stopping lavender cake to the final – which was clearly the best bake of the day.’
‘Congratulations, my dear,’ Jessica said handing the silver award to Gemma.
She took the award carefully in her hands and beamed at the children in the audience while they whooped and chanted her name. Two local press photographers asked her to step to the front of the stage and hold the award high above her head – which she did with a huge grin on her face. Then she was ushered down from the stage into the audience for more photographs with the schoolchildren around her.
‘That’s going to make headlines in the newspapers tomorrow morning,’ Simon whispered in Nicola’s ear. ‘I can just see it now – local school teacher bakes the best cake…’
They’d been asked to form a semicircle in front of David and Jessica.
Nicola was standing in between Thomas and Simon. ‘I suppose so,’ she muttered sadly. She swallowed back the tears and squinted at Gemma wishing with all her heart it could have been her. And, she thought enviously, not only did she have the award but she had a night at the Savoy to look forward to with David.
David was smiling at them all now and repeated his words about how amazingly well they’d all done then handed Simon a scroll and envelope for third prize.
Next, he stood in front of Nicola and laid a hand against his breastbone. ‘We’ve awarded second prize to our local librarian for her delicious lemon tart. Sorry, Nicola, but Gemma just pipped you to the post this time,’ he crooned softly.
She clenched her fists behind her back wanting to scream and shout at him – why, oh why, did you choose her? Was it because of the mishap with the flour or was her cake really so much better than my tart?
But with everyone clapping when Jessica handed her a scroll and envelope, she knew there was no alternative but to accept it gratefully, swallow her pride and give everyone a big smile.
***
As they joined the audience at the back of the room for a glass of wine Susan and Jay hugged her and Simon introduced his sister.
‘Oh, Mum, you aren’t too disappointed, are you?’ Jay asked with a worried frown. ‘I mean, second prize is still a great result.’
‘Nooo,’ she exclaimed putting her arm around his waist. ‘Of course I’m not. I’m more than delighted to have made runner-up.’
Susan nodded and clinked her glass on the side of Nicola’s. ‘And you have been star baker for two weeks running. So I would say, if what David said about the high level of professional baking is true, you both did great just to get in the final.’
Nicola looked at Simon and smiled sincerely. ‘Susan’s right. We both did really good…’
Simon nodded. ‘Hmm, I know but I’d have loved to have been a fly on the wall when they were tasting the bakes,’ he said cocking his head. ‘I simply cannot believe that lavender cake was better than your tart.’
Nicola smiled gratefully and laid a hand on his arm. ‘Thanks. But I probably lost a few marks after my incident with the flour,’ she said, and then told them all how she’d managed to coat Jessica’s eyebrows with flour.
Jay hooted, ‘Way to go, Mum.’
Susan giggled, and Simon’s sister threw her head back and roared with laughter.
Jessica approached the group quietly from behind. ‘Well,’ she said. ‘Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves in this corner.’
Nicola swung around to greet her and introduced everyone. ‘I was just telling them about the flour. And once again, I must apologise to you, Jessica.’
Jessica waved a dismissive hand. ‘No need. I just wanted to catch you before I left for my train,’ she said pointing to a small overnight case propped against the wall. ‘I wanted to tell you again, that I thought your lemon tart was truly amazing, and in my opinion should have won on the taste alone – which was divine.’
Jay’s face was beaming and Susan had watery eyes. Nicola could feel her cheeks flush with pride as she thanked Jessica. To have
this praise from her heroine was a heady experience – she wanted to squeal and jump up and down with happiness. But, she wondered, did it make up for not winning and having dinner with David.
Jessica turned to leave the group but quietly leaned towards her ear and whispered, ‘And I do think the Savoy will be very overrated…’
Simon, ignoring Jessica’s protests, took her arm and insisted upon carrying her case down the stairs and out to the taxi rank.
Most of the audience had dwindled away and her friends had gone back to the library as she went with Susan in search of the ladies’ toilets.
***
Jessica’s comment was whirling around in her mind – did she mean the food at the Savoy was overrated or perhaps, she thought frowning, she meant David’s company would be overrated? When they left the hall she heard the familiar voices of David and Gemma in the corridor. Grabbing Susan’s arm she pulled them both back behind the wood-panelled door so they would be out of sight but could still hear their conversation.
Gemma was standing with her back against the wall and David stood in front of her with an arm outstretched and his hand on the wall above her head. ‘That lavender cake was so special that I had to give you first prize and it was very exotic – just like you are,’ he crooned. ‘You’re such a babe magnet. I can’t wait to take you to the Savoy to congratulate you properly…’
Nicola’s heart was hammering loudly in her chest and she could feel Susan’s arm shivering with excitement in the conspiracy. She poked her head around the door just in time to see Gemma duck out from under David’s arm and slither along the corridor muttering that the dinner wasn’t really necessary.
Nicola was furious and dug her nails into the palms of her hands – she wasn’t sure who she hated more – David or Gemma. Holding Susan’s arm she lifted her chin and marched them both out into the corridor and along to the toilets. Vaguely, in the distance, she heard David calling her name but she didn’t stop until they got inside.