Elina (ilmatar) wrote in morningstar_mnr, @ 2009-06-05 16:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | emily, npc |
Friday evening, on campus of Culinary Institute of America, St Helena, California
The four large open demo kitchens in the big hall had been in good use from morning until evening. The Culinary Institute of America's contest for chefs that were previous students of the school hadkick started with twelve successful and talented chefs proving their skills working on ingredient baskets in three shifts. Apart from the contestants there was some audience, a handful of judges who were either teachers at the school or respected professionals on the field, and a film crew to document the fantastic display of culinary delights and the making of them.
Emily Brandon had been in the last shift with three other contestants. She had heard of most of the chefs before and met some of them - even went to school with one of them. Now that the contest was over and her 4-course menu had been served to the judges, she could breath easier than during the whole day. After a few hours of hectic working she finally could wash her chef's knife, take off her hat and sit back.
She had done well, Emily thought. She hadn't been in a proper contest in a couple of years now so she had been nervous but it seemed over a month of weekly rehearsing and brainstorming dishes to prepare for the contest as well as her experience and talent had not failed her. The judges would not tell the results until the next day after the second trial as they announced the points and eventually the winners. It was quite nerve wrecking not to know how she had really done until it was all over, but Emily felt proud of her innovative and beautiful dishes. The things you came up with under pressure, with limited resources and time!
She had a big glass of water that she was sipping silently and alone sitting by the demo kitchen she had been working in. She noticed the film crew was making rounds to record the feelings of the contestants after the first trial. Emily nonchalantly brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and wiped sweat off her lip just before they got to her kitchen.
Gregori watched as the judges and the film crew made their rounds. This was one of the most interesting things that had happened for several years, and of course, that was because she was here, Emily Brandon. He hadn't seen her for years, but she was more beautiful than before, still as bright and enthusiastic, as attractive, and if anything, a better chef if her dishes were anything to go by. He waited until they'd recorded her segment, it would be edited rather severely, the same way everyone else's was being, but maybe he'd take a hand in that one. But first, he approached her confidently, "Emily! How good to see you here, how did it go?"
She nearly choked and then spat out the water from her mouth. Luckily she didn't, but her surprise was obvious.
"Wh-what? Greg?" Emily asked even though the man was right in front of her. "What are you doing in here? You're not participating in the contest, are you?" she kept asking silly questions - she had seen and met all of the contestants already in many occasions during the day.
"No, but I am part of the Television company producing the show," he smiled at her, "and I just had to come and say hi to you after all these years."
He would have sat down, but he knew he only had a few minutes, and besides, he had no idea whether she was single or married or anything. Best to find that out first at least. "You look as beautiful as ever, and your food looked great, how's life?"
"Um, life's great! I live now on the East Coast, work in this restaurant called La Fee Verte - don't know if you heard it but it was announced in the beginning to the cameras too - and um... well, I've been around. A lot. I've been now a year in La Fee and that's starting to be a long time," she chuckled. "Gosh, what a surprise! Greg," she wondered looking at him and smiling. "Not a cook anymore? Wow. What happened? I remember how passionate you were about the field back then when we were still at school."
"Well, you know how it goes, I got kind of stressed out by the hours and then I was offered this consultancy slot with a cookery show, and here I am!" He grinned, "I might have known you'd wind up with a high class restaurant, you always did have that drive to be the best, but, are you happy?"
"Oh I understand perfectly," Emily nodded. "At the moment I'm very happy with where I am, and I couldn't dream switching to something else than cooking. But I don't have a family yet so..." she shrugged and left it open. She had to stand up from her chair to really measure up the man she had seen maybe a decade ago the last. "Goodness, look at you. You look like you're doing good for yourself! Do you live around here?"
"I do, have a house just a few miles from here as it goes, set back a little off the beach, a nice quiet residential road." He grinned, "I had it built around the kitchen of course, to my own design. You should come out and see it, let me cook for you?"
Emily laughed and looked delighted to be invited but shook her head anyway. "Oh, I'm sorry, Greg, I would love to but I can't. It sounds like a wonderful place, though! But see, I'm staying the next week in San Francisco for a bit of a, uh, romance," she smiled and without knowing dropped the bomb on him.
Gregori covered it up well, barely even reacting, just smiling and shrugging his shoulders, "Well the invitation stands, whenever you are in the area?" He turned to follow the film crew, then spun back again, and lifted one of her hands to his lips, "I wish you the very best of luck with this competition Emily, knock 'em dead."
Turning away again he moved after his film crew, already working in his mind on a way to get Emily to visit his house, he was sure she would adore the kitchen, and then, of course, himself.
(OOC: Big thanks to Sam for writing Gregori!)