“I have notes on that, but not today.”
Genevieve licked mustard off her thumb. “I like the cheese. It’s melty.”
“Smoked gouda,” I said.
“Gouda is a funny word.”
“It’s an excellent word.”
Lily took the longest. She examined the dog, sniffed once, and took a neat bite. Then another. Then she looked at Flint’s plate and back at mine.
“His tastes more like campfire,” she said.
Flint’s mouth twitched.
I braced.
“But yours has more stuff happening, and I want another bite to figure it out.”
I beamed. “Lily, you’re welcome on my tasting panel any day.”
Tyler held up his half-eaten bison dog. “I vote for this one.”
Mandy laughed. “You don’t even know if we’re voting.”
“I’m always voting.”
Benny lifted Flint’s. “I vote bacon.”
Genevieve looked distressed. “Can I vote both?”
Caprice stepped in, bright and brisk. “You can give official camera reactions to both, and the adult judges will handle scoring.”
“Adult judges make things complicated,” Tyler said.
“They do,” Flint and I said at the same time.
Our eyes met across the tasting table.
The shared beat was small. Smaller than the smoke curl off Flint’s skillet. Somehow, it stayed with me.
Caprice moved the kids back with Mandy, then faced the camera. “Official scoring is based on taste, visual appeal, outdoor practicality, and fit with the Round Two brief. Judges, clean comments.”
Joelle picked up her score sheet. “Flint’s bacon-wrapped dog is controlled, smoky, and easy to understand. The beans help the salt and make it feel like a full campfire meal. Sunny’s bison dog has more moving parts, but the balance works. The slaw is crisp, the cheese makes sense, and it still eats like a hot dog instead of a plated entrée.”
Ed lowered his camera enough to glare over it. “Flint’s dog knows what it is.”
Flint nodded.
Ed looked at mine. “Sunny’s knows what it wants.”
I blinked. “Ed, that was accidentally profound.”
“I’ll try not to let it happen again.”
Caprice checked her sheet. “Camera appeal goes to Sunny. Kid surprise goes to Sunny. Practicality is close, but Sunny kept it handheld and readable. Flint, your dish is strong. Sunny, yours hits the brief and gives us a better turn from Round One.”
She lifted her clipboard.
