Twining while cooking?

Hey Guys,

I'm Arushi, a fifteen year old girl, who loves reading and writing. I publish weekly in this blog, and would love you to check out my other stories. Please read this story and tell me, in the comment sections, what you liked (or didn't like) about the story!

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Twining while Cooking

It was a beautiful day - Sunny and Pleasant. On such a day, people would generally be eager to get out of bed and roam outdoors, but as I woke up I felt rather weird in the stomach. I felt that the day was deceiving. It wouldn’t be as good as it seemed at that moment.

As I became mentally active and started recalling the importance of the day, reason of the fall in the stomach drew to me. It was the D-Day, the Ultimate results day. It was the day which would end the wait for the first round of Regional Junior Kitchen Auditions.

I had actually slogged my butt off to innovate the final dish long ago. I vividly remember staying up till wee hours of the morning studying recipes, writing notes on recipes, and brain storming ideas, with my twin, in mom’s kitchen. I had really enjoyed the whole process, every second of it. Nevada and I loved cooking, and wanted to pursue a career in that path, together.

I finally stopped day dreaming and got dressed. My knees were shivering from nervousness, as I wore my favourite white and green dress, which I had stashed away, cleaned and iron, for the big day. A few minutes later, Nevada, my twin sister, came out of her room wearing a similar dress in red and black.

We grabbed our bicycles and cycled swiftly to the audition spot, completely ignoring the morning smell, beautiful weather and scenery. We were early, but sure enough there were other bundles of nerves aka participants already waiting in the campus. Together, all of us formed a big queue outside the audition halls.

Sharp at 10, a gong was sounded and the doors of the magnificent audition hall was thrown open. Noisily, hundreds of us, kids, filed into the hall. Obviously, no adults were allowed inside, and only young chefs aged 8-13 were allowed to enter the hall. There, we were briefed the rules, again. (Duh! As if all of us had not already researched it before.) Rules were simple, we were to cook our signature dish- a Main or a Dessert- and the dish would be tested on basis of presentation, techniques involved, and taste alike. To advance to the next round, candidates needed to ace all three parameters. We would have only 90 minutes to make, plate and serve the dishes. We were also provided with a staple pantry, and all the ingredients we could have asked for. But what scared me the most was that from the 356 kids auditioning, only 25 would advance to the next round.

Nevada had the chance to cook before me, and she made a complex dish- Korean Rice Calamari. Her Calamari was a prime favourite in our household, and I knew she could nail this dish to a T. She quickly collected the ingredients she needed to ace the audition from a pre-prepared list. She worked calmly in the kitchen and having so many “aspiring future chefs” watching her cook didn’t daunt her a bit. Seeing her be so cool and collected, made me so proud of her. She had no big problems while cooking the dish, tasting everything as she went along. Her dish was a complete hit, without an inch of doubt. The three judges, along with the mentors loved the dish, praised it highly. When she came out of the tasting room, she was all smiles. Seeing her expression, I immediately knew that her dish’s finesse had guaranteed her the spot in elite 25. Sure enough, she thrust a certificate in my hands, which was her ticket to top 25.

I was so happy for Nevada. Her dream had come true. She was already fantasising both of us living in the Junior Kitchen accommodations and cooking in their kitchen. Between this dream and reality was a single thing- my selection.

I was in a very happy mood as I went into the cook. I had no trouble finding all the necessary ingredients for my cinnamon Apple Pie and Butter Cream ice cream. I started with making the mixture for the ice cream and putting it in the churner. Then I moved on to making my bread crust for the Apple Pie and sautéing Apple Slices and Cinnamon together. The dough for the crust-mixture was rolled out and put on the tin container. I popped that into the oven, after moved on to see how the ice cream was going on. I thought it was now thick and creamy, so I took it out to the churner, shifted it to a container and rushed to the blast chiller. Now all I had to do was get the Apple and cinnamon paste and sautéed apples ready. Soon, the crust was half-cooked and I took that out and arranged two layers of apple cinnamon paste and sandwiched the apple slices between the layers, then took the left over dough from the crust mixture and formed thin lines that was criss-crossed over the whole set up. Now I moved on to the last element of my dish, the dip. I was all- into making the sauce, when I heard Nevada call out “Ri, check on the apple pie, it’s been there for a long time.” Gosh she saved me. I rushed to the oven, grabbed out the tray, and to my great happiness, the crust had a beautiful golden brown colour. Now, I just had 5 minutes to prepare a dip, check on my ice cream and plate. I don’t know how, but I managed to complete the mammoth of the task on time, and soon was taking my dish for tasting. I was really happy with the dish, but was a little worried too.

As I opened the doors to the room, a million thoughts were floating through my head. Would I match my brilliant sister’s extraordinarily good results? How would I react to being rejected? How would the judges react to the dish?

I went into the room, and saw the judges’ amused faces. Yes, they had noticed mine and Nevada’s similar looks and I quickly went on to say’ “Yes, Nevada is my twin and she has just been selected.”

I presented my dish, while answering questions like where I live and what I do. I was standing behind a cooking top, while the judges sat 10 feet in front of me. They then came up and tasted my actual dish one by one. They said nothing, not a single comment. After a slow tasting, they all returned to the seat. Then, judge one, Chef Das said, “I see the making of a great chef in you. That Apple Pie was just sweet and sugary. Other than that, the Ice cream and crust were spot on, but the filling had a little unrequired volumes of sugar. In spite of that, you deserve a spot in the top 25.” I nodded in astonishment. The judge two had a surprisingly pleasant review and said that he didn’t feel the extra sweetness a lot and was more than happy to give me another chance.

Phew, so, I had a ‘Yes’ and a ‘Yes’. Now I stared at the final judge to hear his reviews. I needed only his approval before jumping to the top. He said, “I know it is hard, but I don’t think that dish can directly take you to the top 25. It was far too sweet. But, all is not bad, at least, your sister will be with us, all along. Plus I see making of a great chef in you too. Never give up cooking. Thank you."

I had mixed emotions. I was so happy for my sister but so devastated at the thought of not qualifying. I was so sure, after the first two results that I and Nevada would be together that, Disqualifying came as a hard blow. I went out to the hall, trying my best to hold back tears, and hugged Nevada. She understood that I had not been selected and sadness adorned her face too. She was adamant on not leaving me alone and was on the verge of giving up her spot in the top 75, but I stopped her. It would be such a big waste of opportunity. If she didn’t contest in the contest because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself.

The rest of the day is a hazy mess.

But after overcoming the initial shock of not being selected, I started looking forward for packing Nevada’s stuff, and the stories I would get to hear after she won the title. I also imagined the long talks we would have over phone and used all my energy in getting Nevada ready for the competition. She was going away to the junior kitchen accommodations next week for the commencement of the competition.

Nevada was very excited but kind of scared of being homesick (already) and was unsure of how she would feel on being separated from me (we had never been away from each other before).

The next few days were eventful. We broke this news at our homes, went shopping and brain-stormed more ideas but the most exciting part was getting a letter in our letter box which read ‘Junior Kitchen’.

Nevada tore open the letter and gave a scream of joy and thrust the letter in my arms. Anticipating, it was another update on the competition, what I read next, made me go mad with joy.

The letter read:

Dear Rivannah Khare,

One of the top 25 participants just confessed that he was actually above the required age limit and therefore was technically violating ‘Junior Kitchen’s’ Rules. He willingly gave up his spot, and to replace him we need another smart talented chef. As your dish just shortly missed the mark and you almost got the apron, we would like to invite you to be a part of the top 25.

Other details will be sent when you confirm taking part in the contest.

Thanking You,

Chef Das

Judge at ‘Junior Kitchen’ 

-Arushi Bajoria

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