Top Chef

Stacy's high school stages a competetion to cater their prom

 

Top Chef

 

They delivered the invitation by special courier. At first, she thought it was some cruel joke played by some of her competitions. Not so. The invitation was genuine, and she had to prepare. 

            The meal was a seven course, black tie formal meal. Each course had to compliment the next. The judges would chose a winner based on timing, presentation and of course, the quality of the food served. The twist, and there was always a twist. This meal was for a high school prom. The fate of the competition lay in the unsophisticated palates of the cheeseburger and fries eating population of a local high school. The second twist. The meal could not cost more than forty dollars per person. 

            Great, she thought to herself. A gourmet meal on a shoestring budget and judged by teens that cared only about either protecting their virginity, losing their virginity, taking someone’s virginity or acting as if they were virgins when the “magic moment” came. 

            Such were her thoughts as she read over the list of entrants. One was a graduate of the school’s culinary arts program, another from the Le Cordon Bleu, one from somewhere in Louisiana, others hailed from Rome, Paris, London and New York. 

            Two weeks to prepare and submit the menu for approval to the high school prom committee, another week to gather a staff which had to include a member of the school’s culinary arts program, a week to travel, obtain supplies and one day to prepare the meal.

            Chloe was about to toss the invitation into the nearest trash bin. Her own business needed her. Her restaurant was booked for a solid month prior to this competition and her first priority had to be her own business.

            “What’s that?” Doreen, her souchef asked upon seeing the courier envelope.

            “Some contest. They claim the top fifteen chefs in the nation are invited. Check out the list.”

            “Chloe, this is an amazing list. All these chefs carry top ratings. You are at the top of the list.”

            “I bet everyone’s letter has them at the top of the list Doreen. What do you think?”

            “Girl, I would be in that competition today.   We can do this. Leave Gerald as head chef, move Leo up to temporary souchef and we can do this.”

            “Really? You think Gerald can handle the kitchen?” Chloe asked.

            “He’s gay, not incompetent. I have trained him, he shadowed you. Tell you what, I’ll get a menu together, you scout these chefs. Then we go do this.”

            “I’m not sure. Emeril is a judge, Martha Stewart is a judge and who is this committee judge? The high school senior class president? I am not sure about this. The two who know food do not have a true vote in the winners. Look, it says the winner will be decided based on cost, timing of the courses and presentation of the meal.”

            Doreen eventually changed Chloe’s mind and in two weeks, they sat in the hallway with fourteen other chefs accompanied by their souchefs. The committee was late getting started due to a problem with decorations. Chloe wanted to pull out, but she had samples of her menu and they were going to serve them. None of her food ever went untasted.

            “Uh, Chloe? You notice we are the only ones here with food samples?”

            Stacy opened the door and ushered Chloe and Doreen into the room. There were four others on the committee. Doreen recognized Stacy at once. The bright smile and petite body could only be that of Stacy Wright, reigning US Women’s National Gymnastics Champion and Olympic hopeful.

            “Sorry we are a little behind today. The decorations committee took more time than expected. Please, have a seat and let us look over your menu,” she said politely.

            “We have food samples also,” Doreen offered. “Could we serve you?”

            After a hushed discussion among the panel, they all nodded in agreement. At least that hurdle crossed easily enough. 

            They served the samples to the delight of the panel, who reviewed the menu as each item was served. Stacy was obviously the chairperson and gave rave reviews of each course, along with compliments on adhering to the cost imposed on each chef. 

            “We only serve quality, no matter what our budget,” Chloe explained. “My staff must give no less than their best to each meal.”

            “This is marvelous. We definitely have to give you high marks on your budget and samples. Our prom is in two weeks. Each chef will have a portable kitchen and you will all serve twenty-five couples. We have divided the couples equally, but this committee will offer the final judging in the event of any ties. Each team will provide sixty servings of each course. Any questions from the committee?” Stacy asked.

            “If you don’t mind, I have a question,” Chloe said. “How did your high school end up doing this competition? This is world class cooking for a high school prom.”

            “We wanted the best for our seniors. As juniors, we have to provide them with the best prom possible. We thought this would give them the best possible meal and offer them some culture at the same time,” Stacy replied. 

            Satisfied, Doreen and Chloe left the teens with the rest of their food samples. Chloe wanted to see the rest of the chef’s reaction to the teen committee, and had to stifle a few laughs when two of the contestants stormed from the room after their menus were rejected. 

            The Italian and French chefs had to overcome a slight language barrier, but it disturbed all competitors when the local chef hugged and kissed the only boy on the committee. Chloe felt the competition might not go fairly if this was the actual tone of the competition. However, secrecy was the key here. No one except the committee would know who served which group or what food. Some duplication was inevitable with so many courses of food. 

           

Prom Night

 

Chefs worked feverishly preparing their meals. Chloe felt confident in her staff as Doreen kept them all on their toes. The servers kept the food flowing in a timely fashion as Chloe put her touches on each course. No matter what the course, she made sure each had her signature taste.

            After eying some gags from other tables, her confidence built slightly. Escargot served to high school students never went well. The French chef failed to recognize this. The Italian chef soon realized his Florentine dishes were not very palatable to this group either and set about making some quick changes on the fly. 

            The local chef served local foods, and had the unfortunate incident of a course failing to hit time. Chloe felt confident now as the votes came in.   The marks were high, very high. However, were they high enough to take this competition?

            Two more courses to go. Chloe’s dishes served at the perfect temperature, quickly set before each student and each morsel of food seemed to vanish from their plates. It was a dream come true for her to see their faces light up as they enjoyed the meal. 

            After her initial misgivings about serving high quality cuisine to high school students, Chloe wanted nothing more now than to see them relish and savor each bite of her creations. The marks tallied quickly in her favor.

            “The committee would like to speak with the chefs now,” a student said as he rounded up the chefs.

            Stacy looked gorgeous in her floor length formal. She and the rest of her committee took their seats and tallied the final scores. 

            “After one of the finest meals in our lives, we are eliminating five chefs right now. The escargot incident was unfortunate, but the two who seemed ill are doing well. Team France, eliminated. Team Italy, eliminated. Team Mexicana, eliminated. Team New York, eliminated. And Team Georgia, eliminated. Your teams had the bottom five scores. Thank you for your service. Your checks are ready for your trouble.”

            Stacy turned to the committee. They conferred for a few moments and tallied more results. 

            “The rest of you are the too ten chefs. I’ll read the scores and the team,” she said. Stacy read out the scores, based on fifty ratings on a ten-point scale. Chloe was surprised at how low some of the scores seemed to be.

            The final three were left standing. Chloe was nervous and still surprised to see the local chef still in after the botched timing, but the timing was only a part of the score. When her score came up next, Chloe’s confidence soared. 

            “With a score of forty seven out of fifty, Chloe’s Bistro is our winner,” Stacy announced. “Your check and trophy will be presented once we get back out to the dance floor. I believe the contract will allow you to come back as next year’s caterer if you choose.”

            Chloe’s expression showed her surprise, and her confidence. Her quality never wavered, even when it came to serving seven different varieties of pizza to a high school crowd.      

Reviews

[No one]

That must have been a rich private school if they could afford to host such a prestigious culinary competition with entrants from around the world. Famous Italian and French chefs and all.

That sounds like some damn good pizza. You've managed to make me hungry!

I'm wondering how and why international entrants would be competing at a high school with local chefs. Is that plausible? Maybe.

The twist, and there was always a twist.This meal was for a high school prom.