“It’s an Earth dish. We call it boeuf bourguignon.” Pearl wore a faintly smug grin. I couldn’t help applauding her pride in the dish.
Apparently, no one else could either.
“I declare human chef Pearl the winner of the first challenge!” Chancellor Qaimus gushed and held out his bowl for seconds.
Chapter 5 – Pearl
“I declare a cheat!” The Kwado chef’s jowls huffed so large he looked like an angry bullfrog.
“You haven’t tasted the other dishes,” Ala grumbled, her deep blue lips pulled thin.
“What is the point?” Master Iffas waved a webbed hand haughtily. “I have tasted nothing in the universe to rival this dish.”
“I agree.” Lady Jessup’s pale skin appeared even whiter, as though she had just awoken from a swoon.
“She has used human trickery,” the blue male hissed. Although I don’t know who his hateful eyes glared at more, me or Jutuk.
“Yes!” Uilay bounced up and down on his frog-like legs. “I saw her crushing up and adding rocks to the pot.”
“That was salt, you idiot,” I snapped, rolling my eyes. “If you recall, I tried to tell you about salt when you were still with the Baron.”
Yes, it was a taunt to the fact that the Baron replaced Uilay with me, but I didn’t care. At least I didn’t until his assistant, Varsanal, pounced in my direction. I had only a second to ponder the movement before Jutuk stood at my side, a low, menacing growl emanating from deep in his chest. It stopped the Kwado in his tracks. I suspect Varsanal tried to look intimidating next to Jutuk, it just didn’t work. Kind of like a bullfrog squaring off with a lion.
While part of me would love nothing better than to tell these whiny alien chefs to suck it, the only good competition was a fair one.
“Look, to be fair,” I began, watching as Chancellor Qaimus’ eyes narrowed curiously. “I think the judges need to try the other dishes before making a decision."
Counselor Trie made a face like he deemed the idea distasteful.
“If we taste the other dishes, may we have more of your delicious boeuf bourguignon?” Lady Jessup’s pale blue eyes grew wide in anticipation.
“Sure,” I agreed, trying not to giggle. Beside me, I felt Jutuk relax.
The judges each took a bite of the other offerings. The Kwado chef’s entrée appeared charred and overcooked, and from the expressions of the judges, left a bitter aftertaste on the tongue. In contrast, the male Framaddi’s dish looked raw and unappetizing, lacking any discernible seasonings or flavors. It was clear the judges found neither dish impressive. Still, I’d hand it to them for due diligence in sampling each recipe, even though Lady Jessup and Counselor Trie gagged loudly in protest.
There was no further deliberation, just a nod shared between the judges and Chancellor Oaimus.
“Human chef Pearl still wins.” The Chancellor announced to grumbles from the other chefs, save one.
“What are the rankings?” Ala asked, stepping upon the dais to be noticed.
The judges seemed caught off guard by the female Framaddi’s question, their expressions momentarily frozen in surprise. It dawned on me that Ala asked simply to know who garnered the lowest rank and thereby was eliminated from the contest. The judges huddled together on the raised dais,murmuring amongst themselves as they tried to come up with a response. Chancellor Qaimus finally motioned for silence, his bulbous face pensive.
“We have the final rankings. The winner by unanimous decision is human chef Pearl. Second is Chef Ala of the Framaddi.” The diminutive female preened at the news. “Third is Chef Uilay of the Kwado.” The frog chef shot me a hateful glare before puffing up proudly. “Last place, Chef Rollak of the Framaddi.”
I bit back a smile at the announcement of last place. Little fucker had tried to poison me after all.
I’d witnessed a person’s face get so red that it looked about to explode, but this was the first time I’d observed the phenomenon in the shade of blue.
“Charlatan.” The little blue bastard screamed, launching himself at me.
Rollak didn’t even get close. Jutuk was like an avenging angel, stepping between us with a faint smile playing on his lips as he held up his fist toward the Framaddi. It wasn’t so much that Jutuk punched the little blue guy. It was more like Rollak ran into the clench of muscle and bone and went down like a rock.
I had never experienced someone standing up for me like this other than my grandmother. It was almost overwhelming how much I liked it. All my life, I’d taken care of myself, fought my own battles, and I found it surprisingly comforting and empowering to have someone protect me. As Rollak crumpled to the ground like a broken marionette, I preened at having the Jutuk by my side.
“There will be no violence!” Chancellor Oaimus wheezed like he was the one Jutuk hit.
Jutuk let his golden gaze settle on Rollak’s companion. “I suggest you take your chef somewhere and calm him.”
