They watched the monitor as Gloria walked forward and presented her dessert to the judges. The sauce was ladled on top of the cakes, strawberry on the vanilla cake, and marshmallow on the chocolate. The judges tasted the cakes and the sauces.
The critique of the cakes came first. The judges agreed that the cakes would have been quite ordinary without the sauces. And then they agreed that the two sauces were excellent. None of them seemed to realize that Brooke and Gloria had served the same marshmallow sauce. Chef Duquesne even commented that he liked Gloria’s marshmallow sauce much better than Brooke’s, and that it certainly complemented the cakes much better than it had complemented Brooke’s mousse!
Hannah, Michelle, and Brooke watched the doorway to the greenroom as the other contestants finished their presentations and came in to wait to be called back for their scores. Gloria was the last one to enter the comfortable waiting area, and she took a seat on one of the couches next to Loren.
“You did just great, Gloria,” Loren said, smiling at her. “I think we all ought to celebrate when we get back to the hotel, and meet up in the bar.”
“Sorry, we have other plans,” Hannah said, giving him a friendly smile. “But thank you for asking us, Loren.”
“Can’t make it tonight,” Rodney said, giving Gloria a glance that could only be construed as suggestive.
“Same here,” Gloria said, giving Rodney a sexy smile before she turned back to Loren. “I’m busy, too. Just wait until the contest moves to my restaurant in Atlanta. I’ll show you all the hot places to go.”
“That must mean you think you won,” Hannah said to Gloria.
“Oh, I do. My dessert was better than any of the others, and I know Alain thought so, too.”
Alain? Hannah’s mind queried. Everyone else called him Chef Duquesne, or Judge Duquesne. By using his first name, Gloria had referred to him in a much more familiar manner. Either Gloria was guilty of wishful thinking, or she believed that she had an edge with the head judge.
“Do you know the head judge personally?” Hannah couldn’t resist asking.
“Of course not. If I did, I’d have to disqualify myself. I only sat with him for one drink in the bar last night. After that, I went straight up to my room.”
Alone? Hannah’s mind prompted her, but she didn’t ask. Instead, she asked another question. “You ran into Judge Duquesne in the bar and he bought you a drink?”
Gloria shook her head. “No. I already had a glass of wine. I was sitting there alone and he came in. He walked right over and sat down on the stool next to me. And then he ordered a drink. What could I do? I wasn’t about to refuse to sit next to him. That would have been rude. So I finished my wine in a big hurry and went up to my room.”
Alone? Hannah’s mind repeated, but Hannah ignored it for the second time. And then, just as she was wishing for an interruption to this awkward conversation, the production assistant came into the greenroom.
“Please follow me, single file, and take your places at your cooking stages. The judges are ready to announce the scores.”
Hannah’s knees were trembling slightly as she followed the production assistant from the room. They were about to find out if Gloria’s expectations had been correct. Hannah found herself hoping that Gloria would be disappointed and get what she deserved for stealing Brooke’s marshmallow sauce recipe and then using it against her victim in the competition.
“Keep smiling no matter what happens,” Michelle warned as they took their places at their workstation. And then Judge Duquesne began to read the scores, explaining that he would proceed from the lowest to the highest, and the name of the winner would be last.
“Chef Brooke Jackman,” Judge Duquesne intoned. “Our judging panel agreed that your mousse was excellent. The sauce was also excellent, but it did not complement the flavor of the mousse.”
Somehow Brooke and her assistant managed to keep smiling. Hannah wondered if she could have done the same if she were in Brooke’s position. It showed remarkable aplomb, and Hannah was proud of Brooke for being such a good sport.
“Chef Loren Berringer. As we mentioned during the judging, your piecrust did not have the dry, flaky character that is desirable in a pie. The judging panel agreed that brushing the bottom and sides of your piecrust with egg white and prebaking it might not have worked with your filling. We suggest you look into the slip-and-slide method some chefs use with pies of this nature.”
“Chef Rodney Paloma, your dessert was undeniably delicious, but that does not change the fact that your meringue had beaded. While I, personally, do not object to this slight imperfection, Ms. Stone’s score reflected her displeasure with your meringue. If it is of any solace, I must tell you that I think the amber beading on a meringue is rather attractive and for that reason, I gave you a higher score.”