Afterthe first courses of goat cheese balls, Spanish Rioja-glazed chorizo, andchickpeas, and then heirloom tomatoes and spring onion toast with brazedmanchegocheese shavings, I had relaxed into doing what Ido best.
Otherthan having to serve the three judges myself and explain each dish, I’d spentmost of the day in the kitchen with my head down. It had felt amazing tofinally cook in Sarita. I took full advantage of the huge space, even if Ididn’t have it all to myself.
Verahad the kitchen staff prepping for the night on one side of the big space whileI took up the other half. They pretty much stayed out of my way except to offerencouragement or loud whistles when I’d done something that especiallyimpressed them.
Thatwas probably the best part of the day—working near the staff I was coming toappreciate and respect. Vera had done some whipping into shape with theirpreparation and skills, and they’d seriously cleaned up the kitchen in hershort tenure. But they were also good people. Talented people. I knew that if Ihad the opportunity to lead them, we could do some incredible things.
“Didyou find that you had enough time to prepare for this meal?” Killian askedafter he’d sampled both desserts.
Ithought back to the last week of frantic prepping. Wyatt had given me somewiggle room at Lilou so I could spend more time at home perfecting the dishes Iwanted to make. But I hadn’t left him totally high and dry. The current stateof my apartment verged on catastrophic. And laundry would need to be done ASAP.I was presently wearing my last pair of clean underwear.
Notthat Wyatt would have complained if I suddenly started going without.
“Ofcourse,” I told him.
Hislips twitched. He knew I was lying, but he thankfully didn’t call me on it.“Where did you get the idea for the caramel crema? I enjoyed the way youtweaked a more classic dessert.”
Ishrugged and attempted a wobbly smile, admitting the truth this time. “My head.It’s a dish I personally enjoy. I wanted to bring in the elements of all of myfavorite things and showcase my personality in them.”
“You’vedone that,” Delgato murmured. It was impossible to tell if he was complimentingor insulting me. “And the crispy squid? Actually, just walk us through the secondcourse.”
Mybrain blanked on what I’d even served for the second course. It didn’t feelpossible to have done all of this in one day. And yet, somehow, I’d created thebest meal of my entire life.
Therewere things I would have done differently now that I was on this side of themayhem. But I’d given it everything I had and was super proud of what I’daccomplished.
“Iwanted something light and edgy, but also balanced. There was a lot of pressureto impress you with just this one meal.” I laughed lightly, and they smiled atmy honesty. “I also wanted to bring in some other cultural flavor profiles. Iknow this is a traditionally Spanish restaurant, but one of my favorite thingsabout cooking is bringing different tastes together and making them work tofeature the best of everything. Crispy squid is one of my favorite dishes. Iserved it with the harissa aioli to cut the richness of it and then squeezedsome lemon over the top for that acidity that I feel all fried seafood needs.Another favorite flavor profile of mine is artichokes and bacon.” I grinnedagain. “Okay, I’m a big fan of bacon in general. But the crumbled smoked baconand gorgonzola over grilled artichoke hearts is a particularly heavenlycombination. Patatas bravas seemed like an obvious choice. But I juliennedfingerling potatoes, so they would present nicely with the roastedserranos. The smoked paprika aioli and fried egg over thetop was an idea inspired by Wyatt’s asparagus on the Lilou menu. Seafood issuch an obvious choice for tapas, but I wanted to stretch some of the conceptsalready on the menu. That’s where I came up with the cold PEI mussels. So, Icooked them first in red wine and chopped tomatoes, onions and pineapple. Ibulked up the broth while they simmered and then quick-cooled all of it. Ifinished the dish with fresh coriander.”
“Thosewere my least favorite,”Aróncommented.
Inodded, accepting the criticism without defending my dish. I knew I was takinga risk with the pineapple and the temperature. But I hadn’t wanted to play itsafe or predictable.
“Iliked the pineapple,” Killian added thoughtfully. “I mean, I don’t think I wantto eat mussels cold every time I have them. But the dish itself was interestingenough to catch my attention and boasted the chops to back it up.”
“Thankyou, chef,” I said quietly, demurely, with all the decorum in the world. On theinside, I’d thrown my hands in the air and was basically twerking incelebration.
Ezradidn’t comment one way or the other. “And the third course?”
Iwent over my stuffed sardines with chorizo and poblano peppers; the prawnstossed in a garlic-chili-lemon glaze; the cheese and cauliflower fritters witha mint yogurt dip; and the marinated saffron lamb skewers and salsa verde. I’dalso served thePadrónpeppers with that course.
Theysaid even less about my third plates. Other than Ezra’s casual, “There was alot of mint throughout.”
“Myattempt at cohesion,” I answered lamely.
Ezrapushed the dessert to the middle of the table and folded his arms over his chest.His eyes moved over the dishes I’d slaved over that sat mostly untouched.They’d been picked at and ripped apart, severely inspected for mistakes andflaws.
Ididn’t know what they found. And I couldn’t have told you if anything hadturned out like it was supposed to.
Thetemptation to second guess every single thing I’d done and thought and approvedtoday was so strong, I felt strangled by it. Instead, I forced my brain tofocus on the technical aspects I knew I could control. The pepper was perfectlytender. The lamb was finished exactly right. My mint yogurt dip requiredexactly this amount of chopped mint leaves.
Myexecution was perfect. TBD on what any of it tasted like.
“Whatmakes you think you can handle a kitchen like Sarita?” Ezra asked in a voicethat was calm and direct. I’ll admit I was terrified.
Thiswas it. My chance. I thought of Wyatt’s text this morning.Don’t fuck it up, Swift. You deserve this.
Sucha charmer.
Still,I smiled like an idiot at his straightforward advice. That he believed Ideserved a kitchen of this caliber said everything I needed to hear. And theadvice was sound. Don’t get in your own way. Don’t overthink it. Don’t let themintimidate you into cooking anything less than your very best.
