Chapter 6 #2
Working quickly, he dredged the patties in flour, then dropped them into the fryer. They foamed and bubbled. A moment later, they turned a beautiful golden brown. He set them aside to drain under the heat lamp.
Pulling six square plates from the shelf on his workstation, he dotted the horseradish sauce along one corner, then the ketchup. There. Excellent.
The five-minute buzzer sounded. He tuned out everything around him as he assembled his tiny sandwiches and got them on the plate.
A few minutes later all three judges stood in front of his space.
“Judges, I have sliders as my appetizer for you today.” Zach’s stomach tightened as the judges tried his dish. Paul grimaced and swallowed hard. Anne discreetly wiped her lips with a napkin, but he thought he spotted the bite of slider in the paper as she pulled it away from her mouth.
He glanced at Ava. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth formed a frown.
“Ah. Thank you, Zach.” Paul tapped the table. “That was certainly an experience.”
Zach heard the words, but they sounded a lot like the noise his dreams made when crashing to the ground.
What happened to Zach Sullivan, master chef?
Ava needed a glass of water—and soon. The bite she’d taken of his appetizer was…
not good. They’d been forced to give him the lowest score, and the blow had been obvious in the shock on his face.
Did he really not know how terrible it had tasted?
He’d need to make up a lot of points on the entrée and dessert rounds tomorrow to make up for it.
She’d eaten so many good appetizers this morning before ending up at Zach’s table.
Now the crowd around them faded away as Zach turned an intense gaze on her. Whoa. Were his eyes always that dark green? He cocked one eyebrow at her.
“What did you think of my slider?”
“I, um…” She licked her lips, and his gaze flicked down at them.
“It wasn’t great.” Really, what was she supposed to say?
It was the worst thing I have ever put into my mouth.
I regret it with the regret of a thousand ants who join a picnic only to find out all the food is made with artificial sweetener. Probably not.
“I already got the lowest score. Whatever you say won’t be a shock to me.” Zach picked up a towel and wiped his hands. “I want to know what you really thought of it.”
Honesty would not be the best policy here, but she couldn’t lie either. “I think it was the worst thing I’ve ever eaten.”
A murmur began around her. She glanced left, then right. The audience who had been milling around the tent began to gather in a semicircle in front of Zach’s cooking station.
A muscle jumped in Zach’s jaw. “The worst thing, eh? C’mon, it couldn’t have been that bad. There’s loads of terrible food in the world.” His eyes held amusement.
“One time, I had an assignment to cover the cooking class at a local high school. One of the kids made pasta and thought they could substitute ketchup for spaghetti sauce. That was better than this.”
At her right elbow, a woman in a purple Flavor Fest T-shirt said, “Ooooh, are you gonna take that, chef?”
A lazy smile walked across Zach’s face. He put his hands on the workspace and leaned toward Ava and the gathered crowd.
Was it hot in here?
“I happen to really like ketchup with my pasta.”
“After tasting this appetizer, I can see why,” she shot back. “You’ve obviously lost your sense of taste. Maybe you left your taste buds back home in Chicago?”
“You go!” someone called out from the back of the crowd.
There was no one standing near any of the other contestants anymore. They’d all massed around her.
“If I’d known there was going to be this much action, I wouldn’t have disagreed with you about whether we should come,” one man said to the woman he had his arm around. “This is actually fun.”
Zach put his hands up. “Okay, I’ll admit that wasn’t my best effort. But any good cook knows you have to take risks to make something worthwhile.”
“I’m sorry to break it to you, but that wasn’t a risk worth taking.” Ava put a hand to her hip. Was she actually enjoying this? Who was Zach Sullivan? Certainly not the person she’d thought he was. “And this is probably a silly question, but did you even taste your dish before plating it?”
“I didn’t have time.” Zach rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, leaving one lock curled out of place. Ava fought the sudden urge to smooth it back. “I didn’t realize I would be interrupted so often, and I ran out of time.”
That made sense. She wasn’t the only judge who’d gone around asking the contestants about what they were doing. “And what about since then?”
“Yeah,” someone hollered from amid the crowd. “Taste it!”
Others chimed in. Ava’s stomach sank a little. Was it wrong that she was starting to feel bad for Zach? A muscle in his jaw jumped again.
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists.” A sparkle lit his eye as he spoke. He shook his head. “I don’t need to taste it to know it was fine.” He crossed his arms, the challenge evident.
“I hate to break it to you, bub, but coming dead last is a good indication that you are wrong.” She crossed her arms too.
Now the crowd began to chant. “Eat it! Eat it!”
She held her breath.
His shoulders relaxed, and the hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Fine. I’ll eat it.” The crowd began to cheer, but he silenced them by raising his hands, palms out. “I will eat it, but only if Ava eats some too and tells me what’s wrong with it.” He raised one eyebrow.
She swallowed hard.
“You’re on.” She uncrossed her arms and nodded once. “Do you have some more stashed back there?”
“I happen to have one left.” Zach turned to the back of his cooking station and cut the last slider in half. He plated the halves, added horseradish and ketchup, grabbed two clean forks, and handed one of the plates to Ava.
Ava speared the sandwich, dipped it in the horseradish and ketchup, then raised a brow at Zach. “At the same time?”
He’d done the same with his portion. “You’re on.”
The crowd around them began counting down from five. When they reached one, Ava closed her eyes and popped the bite into her mouth. Everyone cheered.
She gagged. Yep. It was still terrible. Salty and metallic. And now it was cold too.
She opened her eyes. Zach’s mouth was pulled into a frown. His eyes glittered. She forced herself to swallow. “Are those tears in your eyes?”
Zach’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He wiped his mouth. “That was so bad.” He laughed. “I didn’t think I’d be able to swallow it.”
“Not to gloat, but I told you so.”
The crowd began to disperse.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t rub it in.” Zach tossed his dirty fork into a tub of sudsy water. “I don’t get it, though. How could adding red cabbage instead of regular change it that much?”
Ava shrugged. “You’re the chef, but I’d say there was an unexpected chemical reaction. Did you see how the color was all off?”
Zach rubbed the back of his neck. “I think the garlic turned green and the cabbage turned blue. That can happen with acids and alkaline ingredients. But that doesn’t explain that metallic flavor.” He poured them both a glass of water from the pitcher on his backline. “Here. Swish.”
She swallowed the water in one gulp. “Thanks. So salty.”
“Me or the food?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Har har.” Amusement burbled up in her.
“I’m sorry I’m so prickly around you.” He tucked his hands into his pockets.
“What?” She opened her eyes wide. “I hadn’t noticed.” His lips tightened and she relented, giving him a wink.
“Har har,” he mimicked her. His gaze bored into her. A tightness crept across her shoulders. “I mean it. I feel like I’m always apologizing to you. But I—”
“Zach!” Dani wove through the crowd toward them. “I have an emergency, and I need your help.”
Ava’s shoulders relaxed. Dani had provided her a way out of this intense conversation. She backed away a step.
Dani caught her arm. “Please, stay. I think you can help me out too. You two can be my superheroes.”
Help Dani out and become a superhero? How could she say no to that? “What do you need?”
“I just found out that a couple of people for the teams portion of the charity contest had to drop out.” Dani’s knuckles were white as she clutched a clipboard. She looked at Zach. “I have to totally rejigger the contest. I thought since you two already know each other…”
Zach crossed his arms. “I think I can see where this is going.”
Dani blew a stray hair out of her eye. “So, will you do it?”
“Do what?” Unlike Zach, Ava had no idea where this was going.
“Compete in the charity competition.” Dani brought her hands, still clutching the clipboard, up under her chin in a mock prayer pose. “Please, I’m begging you.” She made a comical puppy dog face at her brother.
Zach laughed. “You don’t have to look at me like that. You know I can’t say no to you. I’m here, aren’t I?”
This obviously had nothing to do with her. She was already doing the charity competition. Dani must have someone in mind to pair up with Zach. It looked like he was going to be the superhero. Ava began backing away again.
Dani turned the puppy dog eyes toward her. “Is that okay with you?”
“Me?” Why did she have to give the okay? Zach was an adult. He could make his own decisions. “Me what?”
“Do the competition. As a team. A pair of chefs working together. I know you signed up to do the singles portion, but I really need another couple’s team.
I thought since you two know each other, you might want to be on a team.
” Dani’s tone turned pleading. “I saw you two just now. The crowd was eating it up. If you can bring that energy next week, it could really help. I could even whip up some new advertising for it.” She traced a hand across the sky like she could read the ad up there.
“Come and see the island’s odd couple. Will they cook up something great, or will they grate each other apart?
” Dani waved a hand between her and Zach. “You have chemistry.”
Ava’s face went hot. “I think—”
“Not chemistry chemistry.” Dani laughed. “I mean the banter between the two of you just now. If you bring that to the charity competition, we could really draw some crowds.”
Ava blinked at her, but Zach chuckled. “I think your slogan needs some work.” He uncrossed his arms. “I didn’t realize that the charity competition had a team event. I would have brought a partner.”
“And now you don’t have to,” Dani said. “Ava can be your partner. I’ll work on the slogan. It’ll be great, I promise.” She shoved a piece of paper at them. “Here are the rules.” Without waiting for their agreement, she turned on her heel and dashed off.
“What was that?” Ava stared after her.
Zach smiled, but it was halfway to a grimace. “That was my sister. She always has plans for my life. Don’t worry, I’ll talk her out of it later.”
“Talk her out of it? Why?” Sure, she had hoped to fly under the radar for the charity competition, but this could be even better.
“C’mon, Ava. We keep butting heads. Do we really want to cook together?” Zach put a hand to his hip. “Plus, I really want to do well in that competition. My charity could use the money. I know how reluctant you are in the kitchen.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you actually want to do this?”
She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, he nodded once.
“I’ll talk to Dani about it,” he said, then turned and walked off.
Ava studied Zach as he walked away. His open posture, his easygoing nature with his sister, his willingness to learn and grow. This Zach was not at all the arrogant chef she’d thought he was.
Suddenly, being his partner was very appealing indeed. Especially since being partnered with someone else held more risk of exposing her secret. At least Zach already knew her shortcomings.
She would just have to focus and not let Zach become a distraction. She had one purpose here on Jonathon Island. Everything depended on her writing articles that wowed her editor and won her the job of her dreams. Everything else was secondary.