Ételle in the cook off- Ételle takes part in the Mount Hope Junior Chef Competition

“Okay,” Ételle said. “I think I’m all set.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” her cousin Om said.

“I checked twice,” her friend Aditya said. “Chef Vinnie is about to speak.”

They all watched the stage of the Mount Hope Gymnasium, where a small man with a chef’s hat stood in front of the microphone.

“Hello,” Chef Vinnie said into the mike. “Uh, is this thing on?”

“Yes,” one of the technicians replied. “It’s on Chef.”

“Oh! Okay,” Chef Vinnie said. “Right. Welcome everyone to Mount Hope’s Junior Chef Tournament. Now we have twenty contestants in all. You have three plates to make a starter, main course and desert. You will be judged by our three chefs Chef Savita, Chef Jane and Chef Ismail.”

The three chefs joined him on stage, they weren’t wearing chef hats, but they had chef coats and scarves on.

“Okay,” Chef Vinnie continued. “Remember, first prize is a weekend for you, your parents and your siblings at Mount Hope Hotel, second prize is a tablet and third prize is a digital camera. Remember, stick to the rules. Right so we start in five minutes! Get ready!”

***

Ételle put the finishing touches on her dish. Om gave her a thumbs up from the stand, Aditya smiled at her nervously. Which made her even more nervous. The buzzer went off indicating that time was up. The judges were going by each table.

Chef Vinnie came to her table followed by the judges.

“Our youngest chef,” he said and smiled encouragingly. “This is Chef Ételle. What have you made for us dear?”

Ételle cleared her throat.

“It’s a very simple dish, made of chicken, sautéed with onions, chilli and lots of garlic. Which is served with toasted baguette.”

The four chefs had a bite.

“Very nice,” Chef Jane said and took another bite.

“Oops!” Chef Savita said. “I just got a bite of that chilli, it has a kick.”

“My dear,” Chef Ismail said. “The extra garlic is perfect. Well done.”

Chef Vinnie smiled at her, the judges made their notes and moved on to the next table.

Ételle waited, worried she had not made it to the next stage, as the chefs had done their rounds. She was joined by Om and Aditya. Both had a taste of her dish.

“That’s really good!” Om said.

“Yeah, wow,” Aditya said and grabbed another baguette.

“I hope the chefs liked it,” Ételle said.

“They’re announcing their decision,” Aditya said.

The three of them watched Chef Vinnie climb to the podium. He went down the list of those who had made it. Ételle’s neighbour was not as fortunate and he started to pack his things.

“Chef Ételle, has passed on to the next stage,” he said and continued to read down the list.

“Awesome!” Om and Aditya said together. They both high fived Ételle.

“I best get ready for the main dish,” she said.

“The final person to pass on to the next stage is Chef Navi.” They heard Chef Vinnie say. This caused all three of them to look around the gym.

“No way!” Aditya said.

“That idiot can cook?” Om added.

“Who would have thought that Mount Hope’s biggest bully can cook?” Ételle said.

Navi saw them and came over.

“You should stick to exploring, explorer girl,” Navi said as he put his hands on the edge of the table and leaned so his face was close to theirs. “This competition is mine.”

“It’s not over, Navi,” Ételle said.

“Yeah, man, there are two dishes to go,” Om said.

“And Ételle is going to beat you,” Aditya added.

“We’ll see,” Navi said as he pushed a cup and walked away.

“Cup’s empty!” Aditya called after him.

“Idiot,” Om said. “You got this, Ételle.”

“Yeah,” Aditya added.

“Yeah, I hope so,” Ételle said and smiled nervously.