Cooking Up Passion

by Kiana Lee

  Fortunately there was a lot of do and she immersed herself in her work. She closed her eyes once again and visualized the steps she needed to complete. She had less than two hours to finish the assigned dishes, and she needed to make sure that her execution was flawless. She unlocked her phone and scrolled to a snapshot of the diced vegetables to verify the measurements. All seemed well until she made her first cut; the knife in her hand felt heavy and unfamiliar. Then unable to help it, doubt over her abilities gripped her by the collar just as memories of the awful incident at the hotel entered her head. When her knife came down again, the carrot slipped and she sliced the vegetable at an odd angle.

  “Your dicing needs work,” Jason said, slanting a critical eye at her cutting board.

  She started to retort but when her gaze fell on his board, she saw that his dicing was as precise as the demo instructor’s.

  The supervising chef strolled around the room with a clipboard pressed against his chest. He stopped behind her. “Your carrots are not uniform,” he informed her. “You need to practice your knife skills at home.” Lifting the clipboard, he wrote something down.

  “Yeah, knife skills are important,” Jason said.

  “That’s right, they’re very important,” the chef agreed. He looked at the diced vegetables on Jason’s cutting board. “Nice job, Jason,” he said, giving him a nod of approval.

  Caitlin choked back her anger and frustration. She bent her head, afraid that she would do or say something she would later regret. This was her first practical, and she was already messing up. And it humiliated her that someone who barely paid attention in class was performing better than her. Putting aside her prepared vegetables, she grabbed the whole chicken and slammed it down on her board. She started to make a cut, but in her carelessness, the blade slipped through the meat, slicing her index finger.

  “Ow!” she yelped. She dropped the knife, the sound clattering on the metal table. Blood rushed out from the cut.

  “We need first aid,” Jason called to the kitchen assistant.

  “I’m okay,” Caitlin said, her voice a bit shaky. But the assistant was already rushing to her. The woman dragged her to the sink to clean and dress the wound.

  It appeared that the injury went deeper than Caitlin realized, and the blood soaked through the bandage. Although the assistant tried her best to stop the bleeding, the woman wasn’t in any hurry to leave Caitlin’s side. The kitchen helper was a student from another class, and her job was to run around fetching items for the students in the practical class. Tending to Caitlin was likely a welcome break. But while the assistant took her time patching up the wound, Caitlin was well aware that class would soon be over. Looking at the clock on the wall, she frowned. She still needed to get started on her broth.

  “I think I should be okay,” she said.

  “One more minute,” the assistant murmured.

  When the helper finally released her, Caitlin returned to her spot and saw that Jason was stirring the stew in his pot. Everyone else in the class seemed to be moving at a fast clip as well.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” she growled, and then rushed to make up for lost time. With her eyes constantly checking the clock, she finished her first dish, but she felt terrible. Her creation was a complete mess. And as much as she spun the bowl to examine it from different angles, the dish didn’t resemble anything the demo teacher had shown. Unfortunately there wasn’t any time to re-do the recipe. The instructor was coming around to grade all the dishes.

  “Hmmm,” he said as he saw her bowl. He dipped a spoon into the preparation and took a taste. “The liquid is fine but your presentation is terrible.” His comments sunk heavily into the pit of her stomach.

  The chef turned to Jason’s bowl. Taking his time, he inspected the contents before tasting the gravy. “Once again, excellent work, Jason,” he said and wrote the grade down on his clipboard.

  Chapter 6

  Caitlin walked into the apartment and slammed the door behind her. In her act of impulsive anger, her injured finger scraped along the wooden panel, causing her to jump back.

  “Dammit!” she yelled as a stab of pain shot to her brain.

  She threw her school bag on the floor. Grabbing her bandaged finger, she plopped on the sofa, and pressed her face against the soft fabric.

  “When is this day ever going to end?” she moaned, her tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.

  Her thoughts returned to her horrible day. It was only the first day at school, and she already hated it. Actually, if she had to be truthful, it was only one classmate that bothered her. Out of all the hospitality programs the college offered, she had the bad luck of sharing the same program with Jason.

  She lifted her head when she heard the sound of keys scraping into the lock. Finally, someone was home to listen to her whine.

  “Hi, Caitlin,” Jessie called from the door as she entered the apartment with her boyfriend Nate Carter.

  “Congratulations.” Nate took off his sandals at the front door and walked into the living room. “I was out of town for a few weeks and just heard that you signed up for cooking school. You’re a great cook so I’m sure you’ll do well.”

  The sincerity in his voice took her by surprise, and for a moment her anger dispersed. “Aw, you’re such a sweet guy.” She turned to Jessie and nodded. “He’s a definite keeper.”

  “That he is,” Jessie said, giving her boyfriend an adoring smile. When she turned back to Caitlin, her smile faded. “Did everything go okay?” she asked cautiously.

  “You would never believe the jerk that’s in my class,” she said, sitting up.

  Jessie glanced down at her bandaged hand. “Did he do that to you?”

  “No.” Caitlin winced and turned her hand to inspect the wrapped finger. It looked worse than it appeared, but it didn’t help that she’d hit it against the door. “I did this to myself.”

  Caitlin described how she wounded herself and the bad marks she received on her chicken dish. “We had to attend two more demos and the accompanying practicals. Throughout the entire time, Jason didn’t take any notes, yet somehow he managed to produce dishes that the instructors praised. Even in the first practical, he had the teacher eating out of his palms,” she said, unable to keep the frustration from her voice. “And on top of that, he had all the girls drooling over him.”

  Nate laughed. “Well, it sounds to me that you might have a crush on the guy.”

  “Yep, I agree,” Jessie said. “I’ve never seen anyone get under your skin like this. And when someone occupies your mind…”

  “You’re both talking crazy,” Caitlin said a little furiously. “I’ll admit that the guy’s good-looking — if you go for buff surfer types — but I’m not attracted to him. At all. Besides, he’s too into himself, and no girl in her right mind would want to hook up with him.”

  “Hey, you need to destress,” Jessie said. “Do you want to go out for a drink?”

  “I’m going to need more than one drink,” she sighed. “If I wasn’t so pissed off, I would probably be hanging out at the Lama’s Bar and Lounge with some people I met in class.”

  “We can still go there and meet with them,” Jessie suggested. “The drink at Lama’s are pretty decent and aren’t too expensive.”

  Nate got up from the sofa. “I have a teleconference in a half hour, so you girls go without me.”

  “All right, I’ll see you later.” Jessie walked her boyfriend to the door and kissed him goodbye. When she turned back to Caitlin, she said, “Let’s get you to the bar. I’m buying.”

  ***

  As they arrived at Lama’s, Caitlin made a resolve to enjoy herself. The bar was built along the beach in the trendy part of town. It was different and cozier than any establishment Caitlin had frequented in San Francisco.

  They passed through the dimly lit interior of the building. A handful of people crowded around pool tables, and off in one corner two people play
ed darts. Meanwhile, everyone else packed around the large TV monitor that showcased a football game.

  From the sea of faces in the room, Caitlin recognized a few people from the school, but none of them were from her program. Loud laughter erupted from the corner of the room. When she turned in that direction, she smirked at seeing a drunken man trying to hit a punching bag machine. The machine was supposed to measure the force of his punch, but he misjudged his target, and now lay sprawled on the ground. In her moment of distraction, she missed seeing a server with a tray of food hurtling toward them. Jessie grabbed Caitlin just in time and pulled her aside.

  “Coming through,” the server said as she brushed past them, “sorry.”

  “We should probably go outside,” Caitlin said after her near miss.

  As they walked to the back of the building, the vibe changed. The ground was covered with stone slates. Large tropical planters were placed at various locations and several tables were situated here and there. A dozen palm trees grew around the bar area with spotlights shining on the underside of the fronds. That same light also lit the entire courtyard. Slightly off to the right sat the bar, which was large and covered with a straw roof to make it resemble a tiki hut. Four bartenders worked in the center while all the chairs that surrounded the hut were occupied. In clusters near the hub, people laughed and chatted with one another. Meanwhile the music drifted from the sound system and floated into the indigo sky.

  The air had cooled, and Caitlin hugged her arms to her chest, glad she’d brought a light sweater. From where she stood, she could see the faint outline of the horizon. Just then there was a lull in the music, and for a second, she heard the soothing sounds of the ocean crashing onto the shore. Then the moment was gone. The piped music continued and blended with the general babble of voices. Caitlin scanned the enclosed area, noting the mix of students from the culinary school and the nearby university. A few tourists also mingled in the crowd. Since living on the island for almost a year, she knew that a person couldn’t avoid bumping into tourists. And since this joint was reviewed on blogs and other social media platforms, it was always busy.

  “Oh, those people are leaving their table,” she said to Jessie. “Let’s grab it before someone else does.”

  They walked over to the empty table. The events from the first day of school were now starting to fade a little. She was overwhelmed by the experience, but at least she survived it. Her thoughts suddenly turned to Jason. It was apparent that some people didn’t have the same struggles as everyone else. If she were honest with herself, she was envious of how easy the course was for him. She knew that they had only begun the program and that many things could happen in the following weeks. Still, it seemed that he was already acing the course, and he wasn’t even trying. With the way things were going, he might be the one to gain the coveted job. But one thing puzzled her. While Jason’s French stew in the last practical was well prepared, it wasn’t mind-blowing. The girl who worked on the other side of Caitlin had executed her dish with more visual appeal. Yet somehow Jason garnered the lavish praise of the teacher. All the instructors loved him, and he probably achieved perfect scores for his creations today. Meanwhile, it appeared that Caitlin had a lot of work cut out for her. The prospects of coming out of the course as the leading student seemed like a distant, almost unattainable hope. But she still had five weeks to prove her worth, she reminded herself. She drew upon the determination that had served her so well in the past. Caitlin was never a quitter, and she wasn’t going to start this day.

  As they settled in to their seats, she spotted Jane and a couple of others she recognized from the class and waved them over.

  “I didn’t think you were coming out,” Jane said cheerfully, making her way over to their table. She appeared extremely happy and looked as if she had already polished off several bottles of beers.

  “My friend Jessie dragged me here,” Caitlin said as she made introductions.

  “I’m going to the bar to get us some drinks,” Jessie said. “What do you want?”

  “A Bloody Caesar would be great, thanks,” she said.

  “Sure thing,” Jessie said before making her way through the crowded bar.

  Caitlin turned to her classmates. “I’m glad classes are over. The instructors were killing me with all the info they threw at us.”

  “Well, classes are over for now, but I think tomorrow’s session will be tougher.” Betty, one of Jane’s friends, paused dramatically. “We’re going to be filleting fish and working with crabs.”

  “So we’ll be using our knives again,” Caitlin groaned. “My knife skills suck.”

  Jane’s other friend gave her a sympathetic look. “You’d better brush up on them quickly because we’ll be using our knives on pretty much everything.”

  “Molly’s right,” Jane nodded and tipped her beer bottle to her lips. “And don’t forget that we have midterms to think about. And before we know it, finals will be here.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m subjecting myself to this. I’m over forty, and I’m starting again from the bottom. I should’ve just stayed in my cushy job at the accounting office.”

  “I totally understand,” Caitlin said. “If I stayed at my old mainland job, I might’ve become a manager by now. For sure, I’d be making a lot more money. But cooking is what I want to do, so I’m working part-time doing keiki cooking classes on the weekends and going to school during the week.”

  “You’re ambitious to do both at the same time,” Betty said. “I don’t plan to take on a job until I’m finished the program. Doing six to twelve hours of classes per day are enough for me.”

  “I wish I had the luxury of only focusing on school,” Caitlin said, “but I’ve got bills to pay.”

  “Don’t we all,” Jane said, grimacing.

  “At least there will be one lucky person who gets the job at Signatures,” Molly reminded them.

  Everyone at the table fell silent for a moment as their thoughts turned to the coveted job placement. Celebrities ate at the establishment, and it was well reviewed in reputable food magazines around the world. To have a restaurant like that on a person’s resume would do wonders for her career.

  “I was surprised when they announced this,” Betty said. “My cousin went to the cooking school a couple years ago, and he never heard of a restaurant offering up a job placement. He said if there was something like this when he went, he would’ve been more motivated in the course.”

  “I’m feeling pretty motivated now,” Jane said. “If I land that job, I could go straight into a great restaurant, rather than work my way up at Flipper’s Burger and Fries.”

  “Well, you can feel as motivated as you want, but that job already has my name on it,” Caitlin said and laughed. The others laughed with her, thinking she made a joke, but she was dead serious.

  A few minutes later Jessie returned with two drinks in her hands. “Sorry,” she announced to the group, although she sounded more cheerful than anything. “I have to steal Caitlin for a second.”

  Pushing the Caesar into her hand, Jessie then dragged her away from her classmates. “I just met this guy at the bar. He’s really nice, and I want you to talk to him.”

  “Is he hot?” Caitlin asked, mild curiosity entering her voice.

  “Oh, he’s more than hot,” she assured her. “It’s too bad that I already have a boyfriend.”

  “He’s that good, huh?” Caitlin lifted her drink to her lips while pretending to give her friend a considering look. Since Jessie found Nate, she made it her mission to play cupid and hookup either Caitlin or her younger sister Maya with someone she knew. But despite her best efforts, none of her matchmaking attempts worked out for either of them.

  “He’s sitting there on the right,” Jessie said, nodding toward the tiki hut.

  As they moved closer, Caitlin noticed the powerful figure sitting at the bar. He was conversing with a bartender and a woman who appeared to be especially attentive. The dark-haired man
seemed relaxed and comfortable in his element. At the moment his broad back faced them. But even from this vantage point, Caitlin could tell that he possessed athletic prowess. She could only imagine what he might look like from the front.

  Just then the stranger at the bar turned his head as if he sensed her appraisal. Her heart skipped a beat, and a streak of energy flashed through her body as she met a set of familiar brown eyes.

  “This is Jason,” Jessie announced.

  “Yeah, I know Jason.” She downed her drink. Once again her body felt hot and cold at being so close to him. All instincts urged her to turn around and run, yet she couldn’t do that unless she wanted to appear like a mad woman, or worse, a coward.

  “Seriously?” Jessie’s eyes widened with surprise. “You know him?”

  “Yeah, we’re in class together,” she said tightly. She placed her empty glass on the bar.

  Understanding flashed in Jessie’s eyes. “Oh,” she breathed. “I get it”

  Pretending that he didn’t hear their exchange, Jason lifted his tumbler and looked at Caitlin. “So how was your first day of school?”

  She opened her mouth to say something rude when Jessie nudged her with her elbow. She pulled her to the side. “Now play nice,” she said.

  “Why should I?” Caitlin asked, arching her brow in challenge.

  “For one, he’s cute —”

  “So you’re telling me that because he’s cute, I have to be nice to him?” she frowned. “If anything, he should be —”

  “You seem stressed about school,” Jason said, getting up from his stool and approaching them. “We’ve just started, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “What do you know?” Caitlin planted her hands on her hips, and she fought hard to ignore the intoxicating scent of cedarwood and leather from his cologne. “You aced all the practicals as far as I can tell.”

  “It was easy for me,” he said, shrugging. “You’re probably new so you might find it a little rough.”