Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.
Thank you to all those who are following the story and for the peeps who have commented on what I have written so far…
I dedicate this chapter to ROMITRI TOGETHER FOREVER – thank you for your sweet, encouraging words!
_
Two rival restaurants and chefs – what happens when love joins the menu?
Restaurant Wars
CHAPTER 3
Tatiana POV
I was running late.
I hate being late.
Punctuality is very important to me, and something I expect from others – so naturally I adhere to it myself. Which was why I was feeling frustrated and anxious – I was already 10 minutes late to the meeting! I couldn't afford to give the judging panel a bad impression, after all this was going to be my first time judging with the group.
I was intimately familiar with the other judges – not in a sexual way (well maybe one of them) – by the fact that my restaurant, La Corte, had been part of the Restaurant Wars competition for the last 9 years and these lovely people had bestowed the honour of 'Best Restaurant of the Boulevard' to my restaurant every year. If it wasn't for the fact that they had asked me to become a judge for the 10 year anniversary (and because one of the existing judges – Pricilla Voda – was retiring), I'm certain we would have won again.
Not trying to be cocky about it, the results speak for themselves!
But I guess it was high time to give the other poor sods a chance at the title and it was an honour to be selected to be part of the judging panel, especially as this year they were televising the whole competition (last 9 years the competition played out in print, as part of an editorial piece in the Gourmet magazine – one of the main sponsors of the competition).
Guess with a larger prize at stake (as part of the whole anniversary deal), it wasn't surprising that the competition was going to get national coverage. In the past, the winner of the competition received $100K prize money, a full four page coverage in the Gourmet magazine (free publicity!) and bragging rights for the whole year for being crowned the 'Best Restaurant of the Boulevard'. This year, the winner would get all those things, plus a prime piece of real estate near the harbour, where they would have the opportunity to open up a second restaurant.
A part of me wished I was actually taking part in the competition and not playing the role of a judge (which naturally meant my restaurant couldn't partake), but I guess I should be happy I was being involved in some form or another.
I finally made it to the offices belonging to Gourmet magazine, and the annoyingly, perky receptionist directed me to the conference room where the others were already waiting for me to commence the meeting.
There were 8 people seated around the large table, chatting away quietly with each other. Apologising for my tardiness, I quickly introduced myself (to the 3 new faces).
"I apologise for my lateness, my name is Tatiana Ivashkov and I'm the owner and chef de cuisine of La Corte".
Alberta Petrov, one of the judges and close 'friend', took it upon herself to carry out the remainder of introductions (not sure if it was for my benefit or for the 3 new faces).
"My name is Alberta Petrov, and I'm one of the judges that makes up the panel for Restaurant Wars. The other judges are Hans Croft, Ellen Kirova, and Robert Doru. Pricilla Voda is joining our meeting today for the purposes of handover to Tatiana, who will be joining the judging panel this year. This of course means that her restaurant will not be competing due to the obvious conflict of interest. Then we have Galina Saunders, who will be 'hosting' the televised part of the competition, Eric Dragomir editor for Gourmet magazine and Rhea Szelsky producer for the televised part of the show for Channel 10".
She indicated each individual as she went through the introductions, ensuring there was no mistaking who the people in the room were.
After an awkward moment of silence (guess no one knew who should lead the conversation), Eric took charge of the meeting.
"Thank you all for being here today. As you know, Restaurant Wars is celebrating 10 years of its conception, and this year we are excited to have the chance to televise the entire competition in a 'reality TV' style approach. Thanks to shows like My Kitchen Rules and MasterChef, we know that a lot of people will be very eager to tune in for this competition, especially those who have already followed it from its humble beginnings. We have changed the format of the competition this year, as a tribute to the fact it has been around for 10 years".
Eric took a brief pause to look over the notes he had in front of him before he continued.
"So this year the competition will run across 10 weeks, and each week a restaurant will be eliminated from the competition. We have already selected the 10 restaurants we want in the competition that reside in the Restaurant Boulevard in Newtown – some of these have participated in the past, others are new. As always, we selected only one restaurant per cuisine/country – like the best of the best. As La Corte will not be competing this year, the Italian restaurant contender will be Spirito di Italia – a new Italian restaurant headed by chef Adrian Innocentis. The other countries/cuisines to be represented are: Chinese (Bĕijīng Kăoyā), Thai (Phra Rāch), Spanish (Tres Amigos), Indian (Bhaarat ka Khazaana), Japanese (Kōgō), French (Palais de Merveille) and German (Die Festung). And let's not forget the Turks (Tϋrkiye Mϋcevher) and Russian (Gordost Rossii) – their ongoing feud will be more than enough to fuel the drama and excitement that is necessary to make for a successful television show…"
I noticed the other judges nodding their heads eagerly at this statement, while furiously writing notes. I, on the other hand, was of two minds on this. When my restaurant was competing, I was more than happy for this silly rivalry between the Mazurs and Belikovs, because it meant their attention was focused on each other and not on the other competing restaurants. I think this was the main reason why my restaurant won the competition unchallenged for the last 9 years and the best these two could do was win 2nd and 3rd place. But now, sitting in the judging seat, I can't help but feel sorry for these two families and hope that they can put their stupid feud aside and focus their energies on the actual competition. Both restaurants have the makings to win, especially now that La Corte won't be competing and they each have new sous-chef de cuisines (from what I hear).
I tuned back in to Eric going over the structure of the competition (after having answered a few questions the others in the room had thrown his way regarding the selection process of the 10 'finalists').
"As the competition this year is running over 10 weeks, we thought it would be good to have 10 challenges – one for each week. The contenders would be advised at the start of the week what the challenge is and they would then have the full week to execute the challenge. As the competition will be broadcasted by Channel 10, they have graciously given us one of their studios to showcase the part where the contenders fulfil the challenge and the judges carry out the tasting and verdict. The 10 challenges are: Signature dish (most popular dish), Best entrée, Best main, Best dessert, Mystery ingredient, Banquet, Farmer's market, Food truck, Something old and Something new…"
Naturally, this caused a buzz amongst the judges – Alberta and Hans were excited at the prospect of judging a new challenge each week, but Ellen and Robert were apprehensive and worried that stretching out the competition over 10 weeks would be over-kill and that the restaurants my find it difficult fulfilling the challenges (which may have some overlap).
I, on the other hand, was keen to see what the restaurants would bring to the table (excuse the pun). I know for a fact that if La Corte was participating, we wouldn't have any issues carrying out the challenges. So, if any of the restaurants couldn't handle the pressure or call for innovation, then they didn't deserve to be considered for the title of 'Best Restaurant of the Boulevard'. I'm sure that the restaurants competing in this year's Restaurant Wars would need to at least be able to participate in the weekly challenges, even if they couldn't necessarily meet the level of excellence La Corte would have set at each challenge.
The rest of the meeting was spent discussing the finer details – when the restaurants would be notified of their participation, the schedule for filming & judging etc. I tuned out as I found the finer details too boring to keep my attention. Losing myself in my own thoughts, I was bought back to reality when I felt Alberta's hand brushing mine under the table.
"Hey Tati, you look like you are in your own little world…"
I couldn't stop the secretive smirk that pulled up on my lips at the nickname, nor the memories that bombarded me from her slight touch.
"You know me Bertie, takes a lot to keep me interested and entertained…"
The statement was supposed to be innocent enough, but the single raised eyebrow that Alberta gave in response made me realise that it could be considered in another way. Choosing to let her interpret the meaning behind the words, I took the opportunity to take my leave. I had spent more than enough time on this and needed to get back to my baby – my restaurant.
With a quick farewell to the team and a final sly look to Alberta, I left the office and made my way back to La Corte.
Whilst stuck in lunch traffic, I couldn't help but evaluate my life to date.
My upbringing was not an easy one, spending time from one foster home to another. I was too young to remember my family – the orphanage said my parents died in a car crash when I was 5. I vaguely remember them mentioning I had a sister and brother who were older than me, but still under the age of 18 and so we had been split and spread across the system. The only thing that provided me peace and stability was cooking and I was good at it. The last foster family I grew up with (and with whom I stayed the longest), owned a deli in Little Italy. It was here, with this family, I was able to really develop my talents and realise my dream – to one day own and run my own Italian restaurant.
I had to face numerous challenges to get me where I am today. I had to work hard and spend long hours working my way up from menial tasks like waitressing and dishwashing. I had to pay my own way through school, taking night classes through TAFE and other culinary training schools. After years of working non-stop, I finally got my big break, working as a sous-chef de cuisine for a small Italian restaurant in Melbourne. Once I had saved enough money, the first thing I did was travel to Italy and spent the better part of 6 months travelling around the country, staying in cheap hostels and local families. I learned everything I could in my time there, and when I came back, I moved to Sydney and with the savings I had, opened La Corte.
The success I have achieved was not overnight, and because I had dedicated every waking hour to the restaurant I didn't have much time for a personal life. Not that it mattered to me – I was happy having casual relationships and taking care of my 'needs' when required. Which is why I had certain 'arrangements' with a few acquaintances – Alberta being one of them.
Suddenly, I changed my mind about the going to the restaurant and executed a sharp U-turn to head back to my apartment. On my way home I called the restaurant and advised my sous-chef de cuisine, Rufus that I wasn't coming in today. He was genuinely surprised, as I normally don't take unscheduled days off like this and kept asking me if I was ok. After assuring him of my well-being and giving him instructions on the menu and other matters related to the restaurant, I hung up and made another call.
"Hi Bertie. Its Tati… got any plans for the rest of today?"
Google translations on the names for the restaurants – these were made up by me (and if by some freakish fluke they exist somewhere in the world, its pure coincidence):
La Corte – The Court
Spirito di Italia – Spirit of Italy
Bĕijīng Kăoyā – Peking Duck (Mandarin)
Phra Rāch – The Royal
Tres Amigos – Three friends
Bhaarat ka Khazaana – Treasure of India (Note in Google its spelt Khajaana, but my way gets it closer to the correct pronunciation – I speak Urdu, which is similar to Hindi)
Kōgō – The Empress
Palais de Merveille – Palace of Wonder
Die Festung – The Fortress
Tϋrkiye Mϋcevher – Jewel of Turkey
Gordost Rossii – Pride of Russia