Chef Charming (2 page)

Chef Marcus returned to his
teaching station and reclaimed the class’s attention.

“You should be done with
your preparation, which we call
mise
en place
,” he said.

Rori grinned excitedly at
her partner
. Jess always took time to
explain the terms and skills they saw on their favorite food shows. Despite
being quite a novice in the culinary realm, Rori was addicted to cooking shows.
That was fine with her roommate, too. One of the main things Rori was looking
forward to in this class was practicing all the skills she had watched so
often. The few times Jessica had let her ‘help’ with a practice dish had ended
in near disaster so she was hoping to improve. Not that it would take much, she
thought. Her skills had nowhere to go but up.

Chef
MacRae spent the next half hour discussing and
demonstrating basic techniques, making sure the entire class had simple
measurement and mixing skills. He had gathered the students around his central
station in the middle of the food lab. The college had recently won a grant and
had invested a significant amount of the money on the latest in high tech
equipment.

Marcus chose r
andom students to attempt each skill. Jessica
demonstrated fine chopping skills, the most advanced of the introductory
techniques. Of course, she did wonderfully and winked at Aurora as she returned
to her side. Chef demonstrated mincing, julienne, coarse chopping, and dicing,
and then asked volunteers to try. Rori was not about to raise her hand. At the
end of this instructional time, chef sent the novice cooks back to their
stations to practice their skills on the ingredients they would be using in
their crepes.

“I will come around and check
your progress,”
Marcus said. “I may also
ask you to demonstrate one of the techniques to make sure you are progressing
in your learning. We’ll spend ten minutes on these skills and then I will
demonstrate the actual crepe making.” As he was speaking, he cleared up his
station. He was meticulously clean about his work area and had made the point
earlier in the class.

“He’s such a neat freak
. I hope he never comes to my studio,” Aurora said to
Jessica. “I’m not the messiest one down there, but just the general chaos of
all the supplies would probably render him apoplectic.” At the thought of
annoying the handsome, distinguished chef, Rori added, “Hmm, then again, maybe
I ought to invite him down!”

“Be nice,” Jess laughed.

Chef MacRae made his way
around the lab, stopping at each of the eight stations.

“Are you ladies ready?”
He stood before them. “Actually, Miss Johnston, you
are excused from this requirement, but Miss,” he hesitated as he checked the
roll for Rori’s last name, “Sinclair, show me a julienne chop of this carrot,
please.”

Aurora had never been so
terrified in her life
. The normally
cheerful, vibrant young woman gulped. This class was a terrible idea, she
thought to herself.

Her hands trembled
noticeably as she attempted to duplicate
the
chef’s perfect cuts. She did not do well at all and could see the frustration
in his face.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“You seem to be saying that
a lot this evening,” Chef Marcus muttered.

“You make me nervous,” Rori
blushed as she accidently spoke her thoughts
aloud.

Marcus
hesitated noticeably. Her statement seemed to confuse
and surprise him.

“Well, I guess you will have
to learn to deal with my ominous presence, now won’t you?
” His tone was mildly sarcastic. “Watch me one more
time.”

He moved around the table to
her side and demonstrated the cut once more, gesturing for her to try at the
same time
. Still not satisfied with her
nervous attempts, he reached across her, placing his hands over hers.

“This is the correct way;
calm
, up and down consistent rhythm.” He
moved her hands as he spoke. “Now you try. He remained beside her, watching
over her shoulder. “Better,” he said, and then abruptly moved to the last two
students.

Jess’s eyes were round with
surprise
and Aurora stood in stunned
silence.

“I’ve never been so scared
in my life,” Rori whispered
. “Why oh why
did I ever sign up for this class?” Her words did not reveal what she was
actually feeling. She was not ready to admit to herself, much less to her
roommate, that his touch on her hands had sent a course of electricity through
her. She had felt a strange feeling of loss when he moved away. This is silly,
she thought. I cannot possibly be attracted to this man. He can barely tolerate
me.

“I think he should change
his name
.” Anger in her voice, Rori’s
good nature
had finally been pushed
to the limit.

“To what?”
Jessica realized her roommate was finally showing
some of the same righteous anger that she herself felt at his mistreatment of
her roommate. “Sir
Frowns
a Lot?”

“That’s a good one,” Rori
giggled, “but I think Chef Charming fits him better.”

Jessica’s laugh turned the
head of fellow students and earned her a scowl from the chef, but she didn’t
mind. Chef Charming and Sleeping Beauty she thought, perfect match.

The rest of the class was a
blur
. Chef demonstrated the tricky
mixing, pouring, and cooking of the crepes. All the stations had struggles and
there were plenty of groans and laughter the rest of the evening. Even Chef
seemed to lighten up a little bit. Jessica made Rori do the crepes. Jess had
worked in a French restaurant during her culinary arts internship,
so it was a skill she had already perfected
.

Each station had to get
approval of the chef before plating and tasting their masterpieces
. The class shared their recipes and tasted each
other’s creations. They had all chosen various combinations of the ingredients
for the filling. Jessica’s favorite was a chicken and broccoli Alfredo
variation made by one of the pair of graduate students at the neighboring
table. The young man was quite handsome, so Rori teased her.

“The crepe was probably
inedible,” she teased,
“but the cook is
scrumptious, right?” Neither coed realized Chef Marcus MacRae had overheard
their banter. He was fully aware that they were talking about John Liu, the young
man whose station adjoined theirs.

Marcus had seen the two
girls flirt outrageously with the young man
.
Not that it mattered to me, he told himself. He was a professor and they are
students, so their relationships are none of my business. If he were honest
with himself, he would admit that he was actually very interested in the
relationships of one of them. Chef Marcus spent the rest of the evening in bad
humor.

“Tomorrow night we will be
exploring the world of spices,” Chef spoke over the noise of the clearing of
their stations
. The students stacked
their dirty utensils and cutlery on the designated station. Each team was to
take a turn washing and storing all the equipment away at the end of class.

“We will be doing this
through a series of rice dishes
. Rice is
an ingredient common to many, many cultures and it will give us a perfect
palate for exploring. I need a volunteer to come in early to start several pots
of rice so we have enough to begin class. Please see me afterwards if you are
free to do so.”

The c
hef stood at the door and handed out the vocabulary
assignments as the students left. Rori hopped into the line to take advantage
of this opportunity. She courageously planned to volunteer for the rice
assignment. Her studio and the after school program were all in this building
so it was no problem for her to come in half an hour early. With her major art
show on Saturday night, she would welcome the excuse to get out of the studio.
Plus, maybe this would win her back some points with Chef Charming.

“I can come in early to do
the rice,” Rori told him as she took the assignment papers
. “I’m here in the building all day anyway, so it’s
not an inconvenience.”

“Fine
.”
Chef accepted her offer but seemed
perturbed. “Be here at six o’clock.”

Rori’s consci
ence could not find rest. At one o’clock in the
morning she rolled out of bed, turned on her computer and pulled out the
information page from the cooking class while she waiting for it to power up.

Do
it before you lose your nerve, she told herself.

Dear Chef
MacRae:  I want to apologize for causing
problems in class tonight. I will try to
get my act together
and be better prepared tomorrow. Please forgive me. ~Aurora Sinclair

She hit send and crawled
back into bed.

The next evening at precisely
the required ti
me, Rori burst through the
door.

“I’m not late am I?
” She
had been caught up
in
one of her final paintings and had lost track of the time. She didn’t even have
time to change out of her painting clothes.

Marcus looked up from his
notes
. The fairy woman standing before
him caused his heart to miss a beat. Long blond hair spilled over her
shoulders. Tattered overalls splattered with paint covered a baby blue tank
top. She even had paint on her elbow and cheek. He reacted in self-defense.

“Pushing
punctuality to the line, aren’t we?” Hearing his own
voice, he knew it was harsh but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

Marcus had unwillingly
admitted to himself that for some bizarre reason he
was drawn
to this strange
young woman. If he was going to survive these next twelve days, he had to make
sure she did not suspect his attraction. He had complained about her last night
to his friend, fellow professor, and confidant, Jake Hampton. Jake had reminded
him that there was no restriction on relationships between adjunct professors
and graduate students, but Marcus still did not want to go down that road. He
was in his faith and knew that he could never have a relationship with someone
who did not share his values. He had no idea what this magical being’s belief
system involved. He had even complained to Jake that he had doubts that she was
even of this world.

“You have it bad, my
friend,” Jake had laughed
. “I may have to
come by your class tonight to see this creature.”

Marcus laughed wryly to
himself
imagining what Jake would think
of her if he saw her right now. She definitely was not the delicate being he
had described from last night. Still he marveled that someone could make baggy
paint-splattered overalls and disheveled hair look so enticing. He vowed to
keep his distance tonight.

He pointed her to the pantry
supplies and began pulling out the necessary cooking pots.

“You do know how to make
simple white rice, correct?” Marcus asked her. He felt a pang of guilt as he
saw her wince at his biting comment.

“Yes.
” She nodded, trying to guard herself from his jabs.
“How much do you need and do you want me to put any seasoning in it?” She
normally put salt in the water when she made simple rice dishes for herself.

“Put a half a teaspoon of
salt per four cups of water
in each pot.
That is less than normally added, but we will be adding a lot of different
spices to all of it.”

He moved back to his papers,
trying desperately to dismiss her presence
.
Why did I ever agree to let her come in early?

“Lord, help me here!
” He sent up what his high school youth pastor had
called a ‘Flare Prayer.’ Marcus knew that he should have spent more time
spiritually preparing for this battle before class, but now he was desperate.

In answer to his anxious
plea, Marcus heard
Chef Jake Hampton’s
familiar whistle.

“
Thank you, Lord,” Marcus breathed, unaware that Jake
was already standing behind him.

“No,
it’s just me,” Jake quipped. “Although some of my
students do think I have superpowers.” Marcus ignored his friend’s terrible
attempt at humor, but appreciated God’s timely rescue.

“So, is that the fairy
princess?” Jake nodded toward
the station
where Aurora was preparing the rice. “She’s not dressed quite like I’d expect
from Sleeping Beauty.”

“Yes, but keep your voice
down,” Marcus
said. He admired and loved
his friend but his clowning around was not appreciated tonight.

The two had attended the
same culinary institute and both had graduated four years ago.
Chef Hampton
had immediately been
hired
as an assistant professor when the culinary arts program at the
college began the following fall. Marcus had taken a position as an executive
chef at an upscale ski resort
. 
             
The
friends had stayed in touch, though, and when this adjunct professor position
opened, Jake encouraged Marcus to apply. As the program at the college gained
popularity, he knew that it was likely that the temporary position would turn
into a permanent one. He was thrilled to have his friend here.

“She looks harmless to me,”
Jake said, but he could only see the back of her head as she was filling the
pots with wate
r before setting them to
boil. “I wouldn’t have thought the big bad wolf was afraid of Goldilocks.”

“
You’re mixing up your fairy tales atrociously,”
Marcus
pointed out.

“Rori!”
Jake exclaimed as the young lady turned around. He
crossed the room and greeted one of his favorite church friends with a big hug.

“You know her
?” Marcus gaped at his friend who proceeded to help
Rori move the large pots onto the burners. Jealousy not just for the relationship,
but also for the display of casual affection, swept over Marcus.

“Rori and I are old friends
from church,”
Jake explained to his
flabbergasted friend. Rori nodded and smiled at her chef instructor. Maybe
having a mutual friend will help him get out of his bad mood, she thought.

“Plus she is Zoe’s
favorite
teacher at preschool,” Chef Jake continued. Rori rolled her eyes as he added,
“Rarely does a day go by that Aunt War-
ee
isn’t a
topic of excited conversation at our house.” The proud father purposely
mispronouncing the young teacher’s name just as his four-year-old daughter did.

“I love Zoe,” Rori admitted
to mutual affect
ion and grinned. “She’s a
gem.
Must take after Carla.”

“Ha
, ha, ha,” Jake retorted, inwardly admitting his wife
was the main reason they had such a delightful little girl. “So I see you got
roped into
sous
chef duties tonight. What did you do
wrong to deserve having to spend more time with Chef Grumpy here?”

Rori was amazed at the
natural teasing and obvious kinship between the two friends, although Chef
Marcus did seem uncomfortable being the center of attention.

“Oh, no,” she said, trying
to fix the damage Jake was unknowingly doing. “I volunteered. I practically
live in the building anyway, so it was logical for me to help out.” She hoped
she sounded calm and nonchalant. Her feelings were anything but indifferent but
knew she could not let these two men know it.

“
After I get these boiling, is there anything else I
can do?” she asked. “Do you want me to stay and guard the pots, or can I go
change clothes? I was trying to finish up a layer on one of my paintings and
didn’t want to be late so I didn’t get to change.”

“No,
you have to stay,” Marcus replied instantaneously.
“Sorry, part of the job.” Jake raised his eyebrow, suspicious about his
friend’s motives. They would definitely talk later.

“That’s okay,” Rori agreed,
pinning a syrupy sweet smile on
. “I’m
here to do your bidding.” If he was going to make this hard, she was not going
to help him out in any way. She would be so agreeable that any criticism of her
would seem mean and petty.

Jake barely covered up a
guffaw as he saw Marcus pale
. This is
going to be fun, Marcus’s traitorous best friend thought.

Thankfully, Jessi
ca picked that moment to arrive. She had purposely
left work early so she could be there for Rori as she braved the lion’s den, as
Rori had termed the food lab. The auburn hair and ruddy complexion Marcus had
inherited from his Scottish ancestors lent itself to the imagery. Jessica
suspected that Aurora Sinclair was slightly, if not more than slightly,
infatuated with this tall handsome chef.

“Did I miss anything?” Jess
whispered to Rori who was patiently watching the pots begin to bubble, ready
with the uncooked rice.

“Nope.”
The one word
answer
conveying volumes to Rori’s friend.

“That bad,
huh?
”
Jess put her backpack away
and slipped on her chef’s coat. 

“Yup,”
came
another one-word
response.

Jess pulled Rori’s chef coat
from the hook at their station, urging her to put it on
. Obviously, she had been too distracted when she got
here to remember it. Jess was surprised that Chef had left the gaffe slip.
Although her experience with him had shown his kinder, gentler side, after last
night she thought that his mood in this class would be different.

“Thanks,” Rori mumbled as
Jess handed her the coat.
The culinary
department provided inexpensive coats for the students to rent, finding it lent
them an air of professionalism. Of course, Jess had her own more expensive one.
Rori teasingly called her a culinary snob.

“Wow,” Jess was now
beginning to be concerned.
“Three one-word answers.
He has you rattled, doesn’t he? And
don’t just say, ‘Yes,’ or I’ll bop you!”

Rori
grinned as her natural optimism won out. “Ok, how about,
‘yes, he does.’ Is that better?”

The f
riends both glanced at the door as Chef Hampton
finished giving his friendly advice. Trying to appear stern, but still finding
the situation hilarious, Jake had to duck as he left the room, barely missing
the hard sesame roll Marcus had playfully launched at him.

“Get out of here
. I can handle this on my own.” Rori heard the cryptic
remark Marcus made to his friend.

“Sure,” Jake called through
the open door, picking up the pastr
y and
tossing it back to Marcus. “Let me know how that works out, will you?”

As Marcus turned
around, he saw Rori watching him. Hopefully she did
not know that she was the topic of conversation.

S
lightly embarrassed at having appeared to be
eavesdropping, Rori blushed and tried to look busy, cleaning up an already
spotless station. She wished she could keep her art area this neat. It never
failed, though, as the best-laid plans dissolved into chaos when an inspiration
hit her and she struggled to get it on canvas as fast as she could. Sometimes
it was hours later before she realized she had created total pandemonium out of
her orderly intentions.

As the rest of the class
filed in, Chef
MacRae called them to his
station. 

“Tonight we are going to
explore the different spice profiles common in cuisines from around the world,”
he explained. “Each pair of you will
choose one of the spice profiles to highlight. The baskets on the side table
have the necessary ingredients, recipes, and a description of the region’s
cuisine. Since Miss Sinclair so graciously came early to prepare our rice, she
and Miss Johnston
will be allowed
to choose their
cuisine first.
Ladies.”

“Let’s get Moroccan,” Jess
suggested as they stood before the table. Rori had no
opinion on the matter, still smarting over the inflection in Chef’s voice when
he said, graciously. She wondered if she had imagined it or if the rest of the
class
knew
he had it out for her.

“Fine
.”
Rori shrugged and helped gather their
supplies. 

Great, thought Jess
. One word again. This was going to be a long night.

“Thank you, John
and Calvin,” Chef nodded to the two young men at the
station next to Rori and Jess. They were the last pair to share their dish as
the class time was approaching an end. Chef MacRae had asked each group to give
feedback to their classmates. John and Calvin’s Mexican rice dish was a big hit
with the class so far. Rori and Jessica were the only partners who had not
given a critique yet.

“We’re next,” Jess whispered
. “I’ll take it, if you want.”

“Yes, please,” Rori’s heart
was pounding at the thought of having to spe
ak
coherently under the ominous stare of Chef Marcus.

“And, you, Miss Sinclair?
” Of course, Chef did not let her off the hook,
turning to her with his intense green-eyed stare. “Do you have anything to
add?”

“It was yummy?” Rori
answered, eliciting laughs from the rest of the class.

“Perhaps you could enlighten
us as to exactly what you considered ‘Yummy’ if it wouldn’t be too much
trouble,” Chef insisted. This woman infuriated him and fascinated him at the
same time. He was sure she knew he was not happy with her, yet she turned it
into a joke. It was going to be a long two weeks.

Rori jumped as Jess pinched
her and whispered, “Behave!”

“I liked how the dish was
rich and hearty without being too spicy,” Rori offered, her statement almost a
question.