This sweet potato and kale soup is yummy, I thought to myself as I stood near the checkout lanes at Whole Foods. All around me, dozens of cooking fans cheered wildly in support of their teams. Folks who had just stopped in quick to pick up some organic yerba mate looked at us like we were nuts.
In the cooking area, Lily and her team of three friends were in the midst of preparing apple-stuffed French toast as their entry in the Junior Iron Chef competition. Earlier, a pre-competition crisis had threatened to derail their efforts before the clock even started. The nutmeg was missing! In the fog of preparations taking place, I didn’t notice how that one was resolved, but it was, and the girls were ready to go.
Anthony from the WEHM weekday morning show was the host of the event. This guy is my least-favorite DJ ever. Unlike most morning shows that feature two-three hosts, he is the only one on 92.9, but he talks just as much as if he were having a conversation with others. He finds himself so amusing. He must say, “I mean, come on,” twenty-seven times every half hour. The one positive of his presence was that, after he stopped talking, we got to hear his station, and that’s good music. The second song played during competition was one of our favorites, Brandi Carlile’s “The Eye,” which turned out to be rather appropriate for Lily.
Lily can be a bit…high-strung. I don’t know where she gets it from. Surely not from her parents. Her mother has certainly never barked orders like a drill sergeant as we prepared to leave the house in the morning, completely baffled that the rest of the human race is not as “efficient” as she is. And I have never been known to bite someone’s head off because they interrupted me while I was composing an email or watching a basketball game. The source of Lily’s volatility is a complete mystery.
The girls had a good plan. They had practiced a couple of times at our house, and they all knew their tasks. However, an obstacle arose that made the nutmeg incident look paltry in comparison. The fact that her group’s griddle wasn’t working properly was cause for a full-scale Lily meltdown. Rivers of tears, wiping her cheeks with her shoulder, in the middle of the competition, judges milling about the space, taking notes. I guess we should be happy she was crying quietly, and not screaming at us through the tears. The chorus from the Brandi song is “You can dance in a hurricane / But only if you’re standing in the eye.” Well, Lily must have been in the eyewall, not the eye, because she was not dancing; she was getting battered by ferocious winds.
It was a very unfortunate situation. Overall, this was a great event, a unique experience for all of the kids competing, and a lot of fun. One dad yelled, “Nice job cooking!” as if he were yelling, “Nice shot!” at a basketball game. The judges were smiling and friendly, and Lily and her friends smiled back and were able to answer their questions gracefully, just like we’ve seen so many times on our favorite Food Network shows. But underneath it all, Lily was wound up tight. It only took one snafu for her to snap.
Despite the tense situation, the girls did manage to finish and get everything plated in time, partially aided by the use of a neighboring team’s griddle after they were done using it. Bevin continuously handed Lily tissues for about fifteen minutes, and she finally calmed down (though she still was not happy). Anthony and a representative from Whole Foods walked around to each team and tasted their finished product. The Whole Foods employee said that Lily’s group had the “most aggressive” of all the dishes, meaning the most complex or ambitious, which was something. I can say from experience that, no matter how well their food did or did not meet the competition guidelines, it tasted delicious.
At the awards ceremony, Lily’s team was awarded the Mise en Place prize, which apparently means they were very organized. They received a plaque, and all the competitors received certificates.
In the evening, Lily was on the phone with my dad and told him the event was fun. So I guess it’s good that she was able to move past the stress and reflect on the day positively. But next year we’re doing several hours of yoga and visualization exercises before she competes again.
In the cooking area, Lily and her team of three friends were in the midst of preparing apple-stuffed French toast as their entry in the Junior Iron Chef competition. Earlier, a pre-competition crisis had threatened to derail their efforts before the clock even started. The nutmeg was missing! In the fog of preparations taking place, I didn’t notice how that one was resolved, but it was, and the girls were ready to go.
Anthony from the WEHM weekday morning show was the host of the event. This guy is my least-favorite DJ ever. Unlike most morning shows that feature two-three hosts, he is the only one on 92.9, but he talks just as much as if he were having a conversation with others. He finds himself so amusing. He must say, “I mean, come on,” twenty-seven times every half hour. The one positive of his presence was that, after he stopped talking, we got to hear his station, and that’s good music. The second song played during competition was one of our favorites, Brandi Carlile’s “The Eye,” which turned out to be rather appropriate for Lily.
Lily can be a bit…high-strung. I don’t know where she gets it from. Surely not from her parents. Her mother has certainly never barked orders like a drill sergeant as we prepared to leave the house in the morning, completely baffled that the rest of the human race is not as “efficient” as she is. And I have never been known to bite someone’s head off because they interrupted me while I was composing an email or watching a basketball game. The source of Lily’s volatility is a complete mystery.
The girls had a good plan. They had practiced a couple of times at our house, and they all knew their tasks. However, an obstacle arose that made the nutmeg incident look paltry in comparison. The fact that her group’s griddle wasn’t working properly was cause for a full-scale Lily meltdown. Rivers of tears, wiping her cheeks with her shoulder, in the middle of the competition, judges milling about the space, taking notes. I guess we should be happy she was crying quietly, and not screaming at us through the tears. The chorus from the Brandi song is “You can dance in a hurricane / But only if you’re standing in the eye.” Well, Lily must have been in the eyewall, not the eye, because she was not dancing; she was getting battered by ferocious winds.
It was a very unfortunate situation. Overall, this was a great event, a unique experience for all of the kids competing, and a lot of fun. One dad yelled, “Nice job cooking!” as if he were yelling, “Nice shot!” at a basketball game. The judges were smiling and friendly, and Lily and her friends smiled back and were able to answer their questions gracefully, just like we’ve seen so many times on our favorite Food Network shows. But underneath it all, Lily was wound up tight. It only took one snafu for her to snap.
Despite the tense situation, the girls did manage to finish and get everything plated in time, partially aided by the use of a neighboring team’s griddle after they were done using it. Bevin continuously handed Lily tissues for about fifteen minutes, and she finally calmed down (though she still was not happy). Anthony and a representative from Whole Foods walked around to each team and tasted their finished product. The Whole Foods employee said that Lily’s group had the “most aggressive” of all the dishes, meaning the most complex or ambitious, which was something. I can say from experience that, no matter how well their food did or did not meet the competition guidelines, it tasted delicious.
At the awards ceremony, Lily’s team was awarded the Mise en Place prize, which apparently means they were very organized. They received a plaque, and all the competitors received certificates.
In the evening, Lily was on the phone with my dad and told him the event was fun. So I guess it’s good that she was able to move past the stress and reflect on the day positively. But next year we’re doing several hours of yoga and visualization exercises before she competes again.