Lights, Camera, Cook!

by Charise Mericle Harper

  When you have a time limit, you have to think creatively. I used the brunoise cut to make our carrots smaller so they would roast quicker. Roasted carrots have a sweet caramelized taste. It’s worth the extra effort, even though they’ll end up in a purée.

  Chef Nancy peeked over his shoulder. “What’s cooking?”

  Tate didn’t look up. “Not these super slow-roasting carrots!”

  “They’re for our carrot purée,” added Caroline, “to go with savory scallops.”

  “Sounds delicious. How are you making the purée?”

  “Food processor!” they both shouted at once.

  Chef Nancy looked at her watch. “Ten minutes left.”

  Tate pulled the carrots from the oven and checked them. “They’re still NOT DONE! We need more roasting time.”

  Caroline grabbed a spoon and scooped them into the food processor. “There’s no more time—we just have to use them as is.”

  “But . . .” Tate started to protest.

  Caroline stopped and turned. “It’s better than no sauce.”

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  Time wound down quickly.

  “Hot pan, foamy butter—one minute a side. That’s how to sear a scallop.” Oliver was giving Rae a quick lesson, but something had changed. Instead of sounding bossy, it was helpful.

  Caroline dropped a teaspoon of coconut oil into her hot pan, swirled the pan to coat it, and then placed three seasoned scallops in the center.

  “Five minutes left!” shouted Chef Nancy.

  “TATE! Faster! We have to get that purée done.”

  Tate held up a jar of honey and shook it. “I CAN’T GET IT OPEN!”

  Caroline left the stove to help. She was only gone for a minute, but scallops cook fast. When she got back, two of the scallops were cooked to perfection but the third one was smoking. She scraped it loose from the pan, but it was too late. The underside was charred black. “NO! NO! NO!” Caroline banged her spatula against the stove.

  Tate looked worried. “Is there another one?”

  Caroline shot him a look.

  Tate looked around, then whispered, “We’ll cut off the bad part.”

  Scallops are really hard to cook. You can’t forget about them, not even for a second, because they can easily overcook. No one wants to eat a rubbery scallop.

  Janet brought her camera in for a close-up just as Tate was slicing the charred crust off the scallop.

  “Great!” grumbled Caroline. “Mistake number one for the whole world to see.”

  “Wait.” Tate shot her a sneaky smile. “If I do this . . .” He turned the cut scallop upside down and placed it on the plate next to the other two. “No one can tell. It looks perfect.”

  Caroline poked it with her finger. “Rubbery.” Hopefully Chef Nancy would try one of the others.

  “Thirty seconds,” called Chef Nancy. The last seconds of the challenge were loud and busy.

  “TIME!” Eight hands shot into the air.

  Chapter 18

  hef Nancy pointed to the front of the room. “Please follow me and bring your dishes to the front table.”

  Caroline nudged Tate. “You carry it! I’m too nervous.”

  Tate put the plate down without disturbing even a single microgreen. Caroline studied the competition. Visually they were evenly matched—the real test would be the taste. She rotated the plate so the good scallops were facing out. As long as Chef Nancy didn’t choose the bad scallop, they had a chance. Actually more than a chance: Their carrot purée was amazing. It was sweet, rich, and delicious.

  Chef Nancy clapped her hands. “I have a surprise! There are three scallops on your plate and only one of me, so let’s bring out two more judges!”

  Chef Gary Lee and Chef Aimee Copley burst through the doors. Everyone gasped, then clapped and cheered.

  Mark zoomed in for close-ups. Rae and Oliver were smiling, but Tate and Caroline looked worried.

  “We’ll start with Caroline and Tate,” said Chef Nancy. Chef Aimee picked up her fork. “Is that carrot mash?”

  Tate nodded, then remembered Chef Nancy’s lesson about words. “It’s a caramelized roasted carrot purée.”

  Chef Gary grabbed his fork and stabbed a scallop. “Sounds good. My mouth’s watering!” He scooped up some of the purée, then delicately took a bite. “Wow . . . Good crunch on the crust. Is that coconut oil?”

  Caroline perked up. “Yes, Chef.”

  “I like the sweetness; it’s unexpected.”

  “Thank you, Chef.”

  “The purée has a nice flavor, though it might be a little too sweet. The scallops could use just a little more bite. I taste a bit of spice, but with this purée, you could push it more.”

  Chef Aimee held up her empty fork. “The sweetness works for me . . . plus that scallop was cooked to perfection.”

  “My turn.” Chef Nancy reached in with her fork and speared the last scallop. She took a bite . . .

  “AHHHH!!” She spit into her napkin.

  “Too sweet?” asked Chef Gary.

  “Too rubbery!” Chef Nancy looked at the half scallop still on her fork. “Wait! Why is the end cut off? What happened here?”

  There was no choice. Caroline and Tate had to explain.

  Chef Gary listened, then shook his head. “That’s too bad. Remember, the plate is your stage. If you’re not proud of what you’ve made, leave it off.”

  “Thank you, Chef.” Caroline spoke for the both of them. Tate was too sad to talk.

  The judges moved over to Oliver and Rae.

  Their expressions said as much as their words. They loved their dish.

  “Mmm!” Chef Gary ate his scallop in two fast bites. “The acidity of the basil lemon créma and the perfectly cooked scallop . . . the texture . . . I think I can say . . . I . . . I’m officially speechless! How did you manage such a perfectly seasoned dish? I can’t—”

  Chef Aimee nudged Chef Gary. “Not so speechless after all.”

  Everyone laughed.

  Chef Gary, Chef Aimee, and Chef Nancy stepped away to discuss the competition, but there was no suspense. It was clear who’d won. When they came back, Chef Gary made the announcement.

  “Congratulations, Oliver and Rae. You are the winners of this challenge!”

  Rae would have high-fived with Oliver, but he wasn’t a high-five kind of guy, so instead they just awkwardly nodded at each other, grinned, and walked over to the Gadget Wall.

  “Veggie chopper.” Rae held up her pick.

  “Micro planer,” said Oliver, and he tapped the edge of her chopper.

  It was almost like a high-five. Rae smiled.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  At lunchtime Caroline piled her plate high with an assortment of potato chips: salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, salt and pepper, and barbecue.

  Oliver was watching. Winning changed his demeanor—it made him friendly and talkative. “How can you eat so much junk food?”

  She shrugged. “My mom won’t let me have any junk food at home. Plus the one time she did, this happened.” She pointed to a scar on the inside of her arm. “Rice Krispie treat burn. I was seven.”

  “That’s nothing!” Tate held out his finger. “Five stitches, and look.” He pulled up his pant leg. “Mole sauce burn.”

  “Mine’s new!” Rae held out her wrist. “Baklava. I misjudged how hot the pan was.”

  Everyone looked at Oliver. He shrugged. “What?”

  Rae scowled. All chefs had something. “No fair—we told you ours.”

  “Fine,” grumbled Oliver, “but no laughing.” He pushed the hair off his forehead. There was a small circular scar high above his left eye. “I got too close to the toaster when I was six.”

  Nobody laughed.

  Tate leaned in for a better look. “What were you making?”

  Oliver shook his head. This was the embarrassing part. “Hot dogs.”

  “In a toaster?”

  “Yup, one popped right out and got me in the
head.”

  They couldn’t help it—they had to laugh.

  Chapter 19

  fter lunch there was a lesson and a mini-challenge. No one complained about learning how to make ice cream—this was something they all wanted to try.

  Oliver half skipped all the way to the filming studio. Ice cream was one of his all-time favorite foods. In fact, it was number four on the list of what he’d take if he were trapped on a desert island, or, better yet, dessert island. He smiled at his silly joke.

  Chef Nancy gathered the group for a quick demonstration on making a simple ice cream base.

  “Heat the milk and cream, but be careful: don’t boil it. While you’re waiting, whisk the eggs, sugar, and sweetener. Then, slowly add the hot milk and cream to your egg mixture, a little at a time. Mix and cool. At this point you can add your flavorings. Once everything is cooled, you can put it into the ice cream machine. Save your mix-in ingredients, like fruit or candy, and add them to your ice cream after it is made. Understand?”

  They all nodded enthusiastically. They couldn’t wait to get started.

  Chef Nancy handed out the camera cards: Tate had eight, Caroline had nine, and Rae and Oliver still had ten.

  Oliver glanced at Rae. He wasn’t going to lose any camera cards—he was sure of that. All he needed was for Rae to make one mistake. He didn’t feel bad. She was probably wishing the same thing about him. A private lesson could be game-changing.

  Steve stepped to the front of the room and waved his hand. “Rolling!”

  Chef Nancy held up an empty ice cream cone. “Ice cream! It’s loved by millions. I want to see innovation. Be inventors! You have ninety minutes to create a unique ice cream flavor. Don’t hold back. I want each lick—the first to the last at the very bottom of the cone—to be amazing!” Then she gave the signal. “Let’s get cooking!”

  They all ran for the pantry with recipes in their heads. Curry mint, bacon fig, strawberry Froot Loops—no two were alike.

  “Apple custard pie!” shouted Rae, and she headed straight for the fruit. “Like pasteis de nata, but with apples and cinnamon.” Mrs. Souxa, her Portuguese neighbor, made delicious custard tarts. She was the inspiration, and Rae was adding the innovation. She put three apples in her basket. It wasn’t like the pears—she knew exactly which ones to pick.

  “Honeycrisps.” Her favorites for cooking.

  The ninety minutes went by fast.

  Oliver browned bacon with maple syrup until it was candied and crisp.

  Tate simmered milk with coriander, paprika, turmeric, and mint leaves.

  Rae caramelized apples in butter and sugar, added extra egg yolks to the recipe for the custard, and whipped up a piecrust.

  Caroline soaked sugared cereal in the cream to infuse it with flavor, and then started part two of her recipe—fresh strawberry compote. She dumped the strawberries onto her cutting board and grabbed for a knife, but accidentally nudged her board. The strawberries started to roll.

  “NO!” She scrambled to catch them but only saved five—the rest tumbled onto the floor. Caroline bent down to pick them up. When she looked up a camera was staring straight in her face. There were two choices: cry or be brave. She looked up at the camera, blew off a strawberry, and popped it straight into her mouth.

  A minute later Chef Nancy was standing in front of her. Caroline handed over her camera card. Obviously she had forgotten the third choice—ignore the camera.

  Oliver couldn’t wait to use the ice cream maker. This was a professional machine—and that would make a difference. The ice cream would be fantastic. He cooled his base in the freezer to speed up the process.

  When it was ready, Mark followed him over to the ice cream maker to catch the action. Oliver held up his mix, smiled at the camera, then emptied the fig cream into the top of the machine. He closed the lid, pushed the button, and waited for the magic to happen.

  Minutes later creamy fig ice cream oozed out from the spout. Oliver took it back to his workstation and quickly folded in the candied bacon and ribbons of caramel sauce. He looked up and saw everyone was finished plating—except for him. He rushed to add the finishing touches to his dish just as Chef Nancy called, “Time!”

  I made apple custard pie ice cream, with real pastry bites. Custard is creamier than regular ice cream.

  I made fig ice cream with candied bacon and ribbons of chipotle caramel.

  I made cereal-infused ice cream with fresh berry compote. I had just enough berries for three scoops of ice cream.

  I made curry mint ice cream with spiced pistachio crumbles.

  “Amazing! Astounding! Delicious! Addictive!” Chef Nancy loved all of them.

  “And cut!” yelled Steve.

  Chef Nancy walked toward Oliver. He smiled and eyed the Gadget Wall, but instead of telling him to pick a prize, she asked for one of his camera cards. “Really, Oliver! At this stage, you decide to show off for the camera?” She turned and walked away shaking her head.

  Oliver was shocked. He slammed a spoon on the table and his face turned bright red.

  Chef Nancy moved to the front of the room and the cameras started again. She called Tate to join her. “Congratulations, Tate. You are the winner. I enjoyed all the flavors. They were delicious, but I think yours would make me cry when I got to the last lick.”

  While Tate was at the Gadget Wall picking out a knife sharpener, Chef Nancy filled up her cone with two scoops of his ice cream.

  Chapter 20

  aroline made an extra effort to be nice to Oliver at dinner. He still looked upset, and maybe embarrassed.

  Rae was watching him too, but she had different ideas. This was the intimidating boy she’d met on day one. He was angry.

  Oliver was trying to calm down, but it wasn’t easy. His head felt like a pressure cooker about to explode. Pressure cookers have a little valve on them that slowly lets out the steam. He needed a little valve to let out the steam too.

  “Catch.” Tate tossed him an orange.

  Oliver caught it. He wasn’t mad at Tate for winning. Disappointed, sure, but losing the camera card—that’s what made him mad. Now Rae would get the private lesson. That was huge. It could change everything, and he’d wasted it for two seconds of happiness on camera.

  Oliver tossed the orange back to Tate. They did that for a while, back and forth, neither of them talking.

  Then Oliver broke the silence. “Hey, I’m going to check out the library after dinner. Want to come?”

  Tate nodded. “Sure.” He remembered the library ladders and smiled. After he was done climbing, he’d look up a recipe. His dad had mentioned Gochujang chili paste the last time they’d video-chatted. It was super popular in Korea. He’d seen some in the pantry—maybe he could use it in one of the challenges. His dad would like that. They usually video-chatted twice a week, but now that he was on the show, it was harder—their schedules were different.

  ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅

  Chef Nancy was worried about the next challenge. Oliver was like a pot of noodles about to boil over. What would happen if he lost again? She’d had a talk with him, but she couldn’t tell if it had helped. Oliver hadn’t said a word, he had only nodded and stared at the floor. This wasn’t what she’d been expecting. It was the opposite of calm.

  When Oliver and Tate went to the library, Rae and Caroline stayed behind in the lodge. Rae was making a new charm for tomorrow’s challenge, and Caroline wanted to help. Rae unpacked her craft bag, laying everything out on the big table in the main room.

  “Wow, you have so many colors.” Caroline poked at a yellow block of clay. “What kind of clay is this?”

  “Plastic. It gets hard in the oven. You can use it too, if you want to make something. Chef Nancy said she’d bake it for us when we’re done.”

  Rae took the teacup charm off her necklace. “Time for something new.”

  Caroline picked up a small piece of red clay and rolled it between her fingers. “What kind of charm are you making?”

&n
bsp; Rae smiled but stayed silent. Caroline would guess soon enough. She formed the clay into a mini apron and centered a red heart on the front. It was an exact replica of the aprons they wore in the competition. She was making two of them, one for each of them, because no matter what happened on Thursday, there was one thing almost as important as winning—to stay friends with Caroline.

  Tuesday

  Chapter 21

  hef Nancy shook her head and pointed to the door. Tate grumbled, turned around, and trudged out of the room. This was strike two. She’d already sent him back once to change his wrinkly shirt, and now he was going again, this time to comb his hair. The field trip challenges were important—the judges would be there, everything had to be perfect, or at least as close as she could get. Oliver walked into the room. Chef Nancy smiled. He didn’t need any fashion help. Oliver always wore a pressed button-down shirt.

  While everyone ate breakfast, Chef Nancy gave them a rundown of the schedule for the day.

  “Chefs, this is a big day: our first field trip challenge! First off, there’ll be interviews in the interview room. They’ll be brief, so no worries. And then when everyone’s done, we’ll make our way to the van and depart for the secret destination.”

  The word secret made everyone instantly start talking. Chef Nancy had to wait, and then wave, to get their attention again.

  “Chef Gary and Chef Aimee will meet us at the destination and explain your challenge.” Chef Nancy handed everyone a piece of paper. “This is a list of the ingredients that will be available to you at the . . . destination. After breakfast you will have an opportunity to go to the pantry and select three items you would like to bring with you that are not on this list. Please do not pick a main protein. If needed, those will be provided for you.”