Chapter 221: No second chances 3

A slap resonated in the washroom. Benita touched her sore cheek and lowered her gaze as Ann berated her.

''What were you doing exchanging words with Ever?''

''Miss Ann, she was getting on my nerves''

''Shut up. I told you to be careful today and not give yourself away. Do you think I can be able to help you with that attitude of yours? I am already trying my best for you. Just an hour ago, the CEO changed the rules and said no one was leaving even if they lost''

''Is that why he decided to give the winner a car and a house?''

''Yes, so if you want to get those rewards, just do as I say and stop acting so pompous. Here…'' she removed a small bottle from her bag that contained a small liquid, ''take this and find an opportunity to put it in Ever's dish or even on her ingredients when she is not looking''

''What is this?''

''You don't need to know, just do as I say and stop asking a lot of questions''

''But, this is too dangerous. I just found out that Ever is from a powerful family. What if they decide to investigate this? I am really scared''

''This is not the time to be scared, plus is too late to back out now. We need to get rid of Ever, make sure she never gets to work in this industry again. This is a win-win situation for us and you are going to make that happen. Leave the rest to me, I will make sure nobody traces it up to you''

''Alright'' she took the portion and stuffed it into her pocket, ''I will leave now''

''Hurry up, the contest is about to start'' Ann said and pushed Benita out of the door. She waited for a while before stepping out of the washroom.

When Benita returned, she saw that the team were already inspecting their ingredients and she stood next to her table. The team of specialists were people invited by the hotel to check the ingredients and take into consideration factors such as the freshness of the ingredients, their quality. After the ingredients were graded and rated to be of good and safe quality, the chefs would officially start their contest. This was done to prevent any mishap during or after the preparation since kids were involved and had sensitive digestive organs.

The three food critics and specialist finished inspecting the ingredients and tools that were going to be used and nodded their heads. The MC after receiving a positive confirmation went back to the podium to officially announce the commencement of the contest.

''Everyone, our contest is about to commence, our team of specialists have affirmed that the ingredients to be used are of good quality. I wish our chefs the best of luck. You may now start''

As soon as the MC finished, he left the podium and the recording camera for the contest were now on the chefs as they busily went about with their works.

Ever looked at the faces of her family that cheered her on and smiled before starting to get her ingredients. Remembering everything Papa Jones taught her, she started with making of her mayonnaise. She could have used the industrially made mayonnaise but Papa Jones told her not to so she could only make her own mayonnaise and store it.

''¼ cup of sunflower oil, check''

''Two eggs, check''

''Ground mustard, check''

''salt, check''

She poured the oil into the food processor and added the eggs, ground mustard and salt and started processing it. It soon turned pale yellow in colour and she then slowly drizzled the remaining oil into it until it emulsified and turned thick. She turned added a little lemon juice and allowed it to mix until a few second before she turned it off.

The camera then left her and went over to Benita's side. She was making 'kids dirt cup'. It was a fun and creative dessert that she researched into and realised that it was something kids loved to eat. It was easy to make and the ingredients were always readily available in the market. She first of all measured her cold whole milk into a mixing bowl, emptied a package of chocolate instant pudding and whisked them together for two minutes and allowed it to sit for five minutes.

She then stirred in 8 oz. of whipped topping and half a cup of crushed cookies. Her actions were swift and decisive as she went about her work.

Zooming in on Chef Hugh, the old man smiled to the camera before going back to making his very own special Rubén pasta that he came out with after making a lot of dishes. It was a simple yet captivating dish made from dried African pasta known as 'talia'. The noodles after been made from the dough is allowed to dry to a certain degree so that it will remain crispy even when cooked afterwards. With parsley toppings and mushrooms, nothing can go wrong with this dish and he was sure the kids were going to love it.

Moving on to Ignatius, he was preparing wild fruits pancakes. Though his skills weren't the best, he was still good at what he did, except that perhaps because of the video he received, he wasn't that attentive and kept making mistakes and his actions were unfortunately caught on camera.

The competition was quite tense as everyone paid detailed attention to their dish to make it the best.

Meanwhile, as this was going on, Ann who stood next to Jayden at the side watched nervously as the time passed by. She was getting impatient and her mind became hazy and filled with bad thoughts. She felt that she had come to a crossroad and could no longer move on. Her lies would catch up with her very soon because she knew Jayden was going to find out soon that she was the one who drugged him and tried to sleep with him that night. She was scared he would find out she was the one who sent nude pictures of them together in bed to Ever on the day of the auctioning at New York. This was something she didn't want anyone to know because the truth was, Jayden even after getting drugged, still managed to retain a little conscious and was able to drive her out of the room after everything she tried to do.

She kept glancing at her watch and then at the entrance door as if waiting for someone or something.

Jayden kept his gaze on Ever throughout the entire time. He was so focused on her every move and was anxious for her. he trusted her and knew she was capable of saving herself, but still, he couldn't help but be nervous. Today, he had planned to make sure she told him the truth and nothing was going to stop it.

After an hour of intensive cooking processes, the time was up and the bell went off. Everyone stopped working and stood behind their tables. Their dishes already plated out and sent to the main table.

Benita kept her hand into her pocket and held unto the portion tightly. It was now or never but how was she going to do it when there were cameras everywhere? She kept staring at Ever whose gaze was on her family as they kept giving her loving signs and gestures. She clutched her fists hard.

''After a tense competition, our chefs have come out with mouth-watering dishes for our kids. Just looking at the dishes, my stomach is rumbling already. I believe the kids cannot wait to have a taste, right?''

''Yes'' the children responded.

''Alright, then, shall we have our representative from each group to come forward and do the tasting. Now, here is what will happen. Each dish you see over there at the table has a number. If you like the dish, you simply tick the number of the dish and drop it in the box over there. at the end, we will count the dish with the most ticks and we will have our winner. Is that clear?''

''Yes''

''Then, shall we have the representatives of each class group in front here?''

The teachers accompanied the children who were all 12 in number to the front row where the dishes were on the tables.

The dishes were lined up according to the number on the chefs' coats. The main food was the first in line followed by the desserts.

Mr. Hugh was the first person followed by two other chefs and then Ignatius. Benita and Ever stood at the last row with Benita been the first on their right.

The kids together with the food critics stood in front of the dishes ready to taste them. The dishes looked really good.

''Now, everyone, our food tasting will begin''.

The children followed their homeroom teachers and each chef plated the dish into a small plate for them. After tasting, they would with the help of their homeroom teachers tick the dish that appealed to them the most. This went on for a while until the finished tasting all the dishes including the desserts.

Walking over to the box, the MC removed all 12 sheets from the box and sent them to the food critics who were going to collate the results and also add their final remarks before coming out with the winner.