“Thanks, Chef.” Brian strolled across the stage. “But it wouldn’t be much fun if we made it too easy, would it?”
All the contestants groaned, and Evan was glad he wasn’t the only one.God, I hate the twists on these shows.
“You probably thought you’d be completing with your loved one throughout the show, but today we’re shaking things up. Today you’re going to be partnered with someone else.”
A murmur rose from the competitors. Evan and Amber exchanged a glance. She shrugged.
“So, do you want to know who your sous chef will be?”
“Yes!” The response from the contestants was unanimous.
“All right then.” Brian chuckled. “Louise, if you’ll do the honours.”
“It’ll be my pleasure, Brian.” Louise beamed to the audience, then held up an envelope. “Earlier we asked you, the audience, to vote for our cooking pairs. Inside this envelope are the winning combinations. So, without further ado…”
Louise rattled off pairings, and Evan held his breath hoping to hear Harry’s name followed by his own, or vice versa. It wasn’t to be. He tried not to let his disappointment show when he and Amber were partnered with Dennis and Mei, specifically Evan with Dennis in the first cook-off. He figured any obvious disappointment could be put down to Mei’s earlier comment about Dennis’s cooking ability or lack thereof.
* * *
It turnedout Evan shouldn’t have been disappointed. Cooking with Dennis turned out to be kind of fun, even though Mei was right and the poor guy couldn’t cook to save his life.
They’d set up mobile cooking stations on deck, big stainless-steel trolleys fitted out with cooktops, ovens, and all the equipment needed to prepare a meal. The first step of the process had been Dennis deciding what meal he was going to impress Mei with, and that was something he had no trouble with at all. Dennis knew all Mei’s favourite foods, even if he had no idea how to go about cooking them. Evan smiled as he listened to Dennis rave about the pasta dish they’d tried at a restaurant that had quickly become a favourite, the seafood they bought at the markets on the weekend, and the good old-fashioned roast beef.
“I’m not sure a roast is such a great idea, Dennis. Although it sounds delicious, there’s no way you’d get it cooked in time.” Each team had an hour to prepare a meal. “Why don’t you make the pasta dish? It sounds amazing, and pasta doesn’t take too long to cook.”
“But what about making the pasta?” Dennis looked panicked. “Isn’t that hard?”
“No, not really.” Evan smiled and tried to put Dennis at ease. “The pasta doesn't have many ingredients. It's made with flour and egg yolks and a touch of salt, and once you’ve made the fettucine, it only takes a few minutes to cook. And if you do a simple sauce, based on the one you liked at the restaurant with the crab, tomato, garlic, and basil, that won’t take long to whip up either. And you said Mei loves oysters, so you could start with some of those, topped with a simple dressing. They won’t even need any cooking.”
“Wow. You make it all sounds so easy,” Dennis said.
Evan chuckled. “That's because itiseasy.” He reached out and gave Dennis a reassuring pat on his shoulder, relieved to see he had relaxed a little. “So you think Mei will enjoy that?”
“Oh my God, if I can make all that, she’ll be absolutely astounded. Actually, so will I.” Dennis laughed, then narrowed his eyes. “You sure you know how to make all that?”
“I think so. I like cooking, so do a bit at home, and I’ve watched a bunch of cooking shows.”
“In that case, I definitely think I’ll win some brownie points in the romance department.”
It was so nice to see Dennis cared about what Mei thought of the dishes he’d chosen rather than what the competition judges would think of the food choices. But then again, as they’d been advised, winning was about making your partner happy. Either way, Dennis was onto a winner with his obvious desire to make Mei happy.
“Great.” Evan didn’t have to force a smile but added a reassuring arm squeeze. “Let’s grab those baskets and go gather the ingredients and get cooking.”
A short while later, as Evan watched Dennis knead the pasta dough, he hoped he hadn’t steered the poor guy astray. Dennis was up to his elbows in flour, and the dough was a gluey ball. Oh well, it was too late to go back now, so Evan focused on dicing tomatoes, the job allocated to him by Dennis, who’d wanted to tackle the hero of the dish himself. That meant, along with making the pasta, Dennis was going to pick the crab meat from the shells, something Evan was all too grateful for.
“How are you boys doing?”
Evan looked up to see a camera and the show host with the chef. He plastered on a smile. “Okay. Right, Dennis?”
“Uh-huh.” Dennis nodded vigorously but didn’t stop kneading. “I was sort of wondering if this was ever going to turn into pasta but it seems to be coming together.”
The camera focused on Dennis and the sticky mess stuck to his fingers.
“A little more flour should do the trick,” Chef said. “So, what are you making?”
“I’m doing oysters for starters, and then a crab fettucine,” Dennis said, the nerves evident by the tremor in his voice.
“Sounds good.” Chef gave an approving nod. “Not too complex for the time you have to cook but will be impressive so long as you get the flavours balanced. It’s also important you get the pasta al dente and don’t overcook the crab.”
