"The last but not the least, Beauty."A waiter placed a plate on the table. There was six bite-size oval shape bread with crisscross cuts. Cheese melted in every cut having some brownish chips on top of it.
"This bread represents the artistic trait of my family. All of us love any form of arts. One time my father had no money left after paying the bills and what"s left was a small amount to celebrate my brother"s birthday. My mother bought a large bread and cheese. She made this simple cheesy bread but it wasn"t crisscross cuts. It was my brother"s name that she beautifully carved on top. That became my brother"s birthday cake."
"This is our family"s favorite dish, Baby Back Tender Ribs. This represents my loving and caring family. Red sweet sauce as love and tender meat the tender care my parents gave to us."
"This is a Chocolate Rocky Road Parfait. Our family is not rich financially and we went through ups and downs in life. This represents the rocky road we went through and made life rich with excitement, thrill, love, and joy."
. . . . .
The judges gathered and discussed who will be the champion.
"Nota"s dish burnt again but feel sad for her family"s loss. Her dishes were too simple for me, though offered for her family," said Liza.
"I think so, too."
"Same here."
"Luisa"s dishes are special and showed an enjoyable family. But I"m more on Beauty"s way of explaining her dishes. They all represented her family," spoke John.
"I like the bread a lot. Simple and easy to make but delicious. What I made was plain. This one is cut crisscrossed. At first, I thought it was a potato with those deep cuts like french fries standing. Never thought of this." Sheila shared her thoughts this time. She had a complicated relations.h.i.+p with Clarence but when it comes to cooking she was fair in her judgment. The heart of a chef ingrained deep within her.
"I like both deviled eggs and the bread. To compare the two, the Deviled Egg is far more sophisticated and cla.s.sy than the bread. Points wise, Luisa got the appetizer. The desserts, I say both are equal," said John.
"Yeah, you"re right," said Sheila.
"Both showed us good dishes but Beauty"s presentation was superb. I like the ribs a lot, not so sweet, not so tangy and so tender. She also presented it as a whole, not in small cuts and with those fruits and vegetables surrounding it. It"s a feast in the eyes and a perfect combination of flavors. This dish overshadowed Luisa"s chicken cuts."
"I think we have a winner."They all agreed in unison.
They went to the compet.i.tion hall.
"After much deliberation, we come up with a decision. Before we announced the winner, we would like to invite someone who had been the two-time Philippines Junior Master Chef Champion. He"s here to grace us with his presence. Our one and only Clarence Peres."
Most present were students of prestigious culinary schools, so most knew of Clarence. As a result, the people went wild as he came in.
"Clarence, Clarence, Clarence, Clarence."
"Ahhh, Clarence. Please take a picture with us," a girl on the mezzanine floor shouted.
"Clarence, h.e.l.lo buddy, remember me?"
"Please, people, calm down." The noise stopped instantly. "Welcome to the Regional Open Culinary Compet.i.tion," said John as he shook the boy"s hand. "How"s life?"
"Fine. Totally fine. h.e.l.lo, everyone." Clarence waved his hands and sent a flying kiss. The people shouted again and louder, most of all the ladies. The hollers took longer to subside this time.
"Clarence, you always cause a commotion wherever you go," said Liza.
"I can"t help it. What can I do? They love me." He kept on waving his hands to the audience.
Beauty heard that and shook her head, "Braggart."
"Now, you will be the one to give the plaque and the prize money for our three regional top chefs. After much deliberation, we have made a decision. Our third top chef of the Visayas region is… Nota Baile."
"Clarence, please take a selfie with me," said Nota as he stood beside him after receiving the plaque and prize money.
Beauty and Luisa stood in the middle holding each other. They were ecstatic themselves.
"Second Visayas Top Chef is … who do you think will be the champion?"
Some shouted Beauty, some said Luisa.
"Without further ado, the champion is… Beauty Ferol. So the Second top Chef is Luisa Cabajes."
As Clarence presented the plaque to Beauty, they looked at each other. Their eyes exposed what they felt inside.
Everyone saw the way the two gazed at one another. Even their brilliant smiles spelled out how intimate they were.
Suddenly, somebody yelled, "Kiss." Then everyone followed, "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss."
Beauty s.h.i.+ed and averted her eyes. Without notice, Clarence kissed her on the cheek and caused more waves of noise in the hall.
. . . . .
Beauty and Clarence sat at a garden nearby her room.
"Happy?" asked Clarence.
She nodded her head while leaning in his embrace.
"I already told Papa and Mama that you"re now my girlfriend."
Beauty moved her head and looked at him intensely. "Papa and Mama? When did they become your parents?"
"We"ll eventually get married, so why fuss?"
Beauty wanted to rebut but unsure of what to say. This guy was clearly sharp with words and not easy to beat. Then she remembered something.
"No wonder, Mama told me something weird before they left."
"I know what you mean. Papa reminded me as well. Don"t worry, I a.s.sured them and I will keep my word. Besides, I also want our first on our wedding night."
At first, she didn"t get the meaning of his last sentence. Suddenly, her mind opened and understood. She couldn"t speak a word to hear him saying those statements unmoved. For her, such a topic was a very sensitive one. Clarence"s boldness was unfathomable to mention such things easily.
She couldn"t bear to look at him and covered her face which was getting red.
Clarence saw her reaction and wanted to tease her. "Don"t be shy now."
She looked up and said, "You, braggart. Shameless." She pinched his side very hard.
He laughed heartily as if the pinch didn"t penetrate at all. He loved to tease her all the more. "I"m a braggart who has the capacity to be a braggart. We"re also in love, what"s there to be ashamed?" He held the pinching hand and she let go. He cupped her face with his hand and softly said, "What I said is a promise and I"ll keep it."
She stared at him and silently sighed. She was shy to talk about it but was also happy. She really felt cherished. In the end, she said, "Thank you." She leaned on his chest and just listened to his beating heart.
Silence prevailed for a while.
Suddenly, she looked up, "but I have a goal," said Beauty.
"What"s that?"
"I will beat you in the nationals."
"That won"t be easy. I"m not even sure if I"ll be the champion."
"I know but I will try my best. I want people to know I"m not a country b.u.mpkin or a social climber or someone just riding in your success, but I"m someone who has the ability as well."
"You don"t need to prove yourself. I like you the same."
"But this is my life as well. I want the world to know that I, Beauty Ferol, can stand by your side equally."
He just smiled and kissed her, avoiding to comment after her declaration. "I don"t want fame, I only want you."
. . . . .
The sun was up. A plane past by and landed on the runway of the Manila International Airport.
Clarence, Beauty, Ronald, and Jenna stepped out from the plane.
"Nationals here I come," said Beauty.