Miss Annabelle went back through the door in the corner and Luke and I moved towards one of the countertops. She came back out a few minutes later with a tray of small white ramekins. When she set the tray down I saw that the ramekins were full of what looked like a mix of spices. "Let's see if I can stump you this time Lucian." She looked over at me. "I have been trying to find a combination that Lucian cannot guess every spice. I have yet to stump him." She turned back to Luke, her eyes sparkling. "But I will not give up." Luke laughed and started rolling up his sleeves. "Show me what you got Miss Belle of the Ball."
We spent the next half hour testing each grouping. Luke would take a pinch of the mixture, spread it down the counter and started naming off spices that he recognized immediately. After that he would stick some on his tongue and close his eyes. He guessed all the ingredients in the first five bowls within a few minutes. The last bowl he seemed to hesitate though. He guessed the first three ingredients straight off, but he kept going back for more of the mixture to get the last one. Miss Annabelle brought him a glass of water so he could cleanse his palate to start over again. "Gah, what is that?" Luke put his head down on the counter. Miss Annabelle had started to bounce on her toes again in anticipation of her victory. "Do you give up Lucian?"
"No! Not yet. I almost have it. It's tangy with a sweet after taste. Where's it from?" Would that help him?
"India" Miss Annabelle had stopped bouncing as soon as Luke started talking about the characteristics.
"MANGO!" Luke shouted it as he hopped off the stool he was sitting on. He started jumping around with his hands in the air. "It's Mango Powder." He stopped jumping and turned to Miss Annabelle. "That's it right? That was a good one. I have never used it before, but I might start."
Miss Annabelle gave a short giggle. "I almost had you Lucian. I will claim a small victory though since I have encouraged you to try a new ingredient in your masterpieces."
We started to clean up the counter just as the door jingled and a group of four walked in, two guys and two girls. They all looked to be at least 20. One girl had long red hair, she was wearing dark, skin tight jeans with a black long sleeve sweater. The other girl had short blond hair, black pants, and a silver and white sheer top. Both guys looked to be about the same height as Luke. One had short jet black hair that was gelled to be a little spikey on top. The other had lighter hair, closer to dark brown. He wore glasses that he pushed higher on his nose when he looked up to see us. "Luke, long time no see." The guy with the glasses walked ahead of the group and held his hand out to Luke. Luke shook hands with him and said "Maxamillion, how's it going." He let go of Maxamillion's hand and put it around my waist. "This is my girlfriend, Sang." I held my hand up and waved at him.
"Nice to meet you Sang. By the way, it's just Max." He gestured behind him where the three other members of his group stood. He grabbed for one of the red head's hand and pulled her closer to him. "This is my girl, Erin, my brother Justin, and his girlfriend Samantha." They all waved to us and walked over to the counter. Miss Annabelle walked back over after putting the tray away.
"Are we ready to get started? I thought we could have a friendly competition between the three couples. The winners get a free class of their choice." Max and Luke started laughing. I looked at Luke to try to figure out what was so funny. Luke looked at me, still laughing. "Sorry Cupcake. Max, Justin, and I are pretty competitive. We have been coming to classes here on and off for, how long Max? Two, three years?" Max nodded and started laughing more.
"When I saw this little kid come walking in, I thought he was in the wrong place. Then I saw what he could do on the chopping board, and I didn't care that he was only 14. I knew I needed to be his friend."
Justin spoke up now. "I remember that day. Max, you came home from that class and all you could talk about was this little kid that would kick anyone's ass in the kitchen." Justin looked at me. "I knew I needed to check it out for myself, Max would never admit defeat that quickly." Max stood straighter and pointed a finger at Justin. "I did not admit defeat." He looked at Luke "Don't listen to him." Luke only laughed harder.
"Alright, everyone put your feathers down." Miss Annabelle came to stand with the group. "I said friendly competition remember?" She was smiling as she said it, which made me think that this was a ritual between the three of them.
She had us spread out in the kitchen, so there was at least one station between each group. "Since this is a presentation class, today we will be making a few simple dishes. The challenge comes in how you plate it. I want a full dinner menu, at least three courses. Use anything you can find in the kitchen. I will be the final judge. A quarter of the grade so to speak, will be based on taste, the rest will be on presentation. Let's shoot to have everything plated in an hour.
She stepped back from the counter and the three guys immediately moved to the door in the corner. I followed behind with Erin and Samantha, only to see the guys disappear into a large refrigeration unit. We stood in the doorway, watching the guys. They were scanning the shelves, ingredients already stacked in their arms. Luke saw us first and smiled. "Guess I got carried away Sang. Do you want to help me pick out something?" Max and Justin stopped looking around to look at the doorway too. They both looked sheepish when they spotted their girlfriends. "Sorry Erin. Come on in." Max held out his free hand for Erin and she stepped into the unit, Samantha and I following her. It was a little crowded in there with all six of us, but nobody wanted to suggest that we take turns. After a few minutes, Luke and I headed back to the main kitchen area to go through what we had picked out. The others followed soon after.
We decided to make bruschetta for the appetizer, grilled chicken with a pesto sauce for the main course, and orange almond biscotti for dessert. We worked well together and it was fun working side by side with Luke like this. We would hear giggles and laughter coming from the two other couples and I knew everyone was enjoying the evening. I felt proud and excited to be here with Luke.
With about 15 minutes left, Luke brought out three white plates. I placed three of our bruschetta pieces on the first plate. Luke came up behind me reached around me to sprinkle some balsamic vinegar over the top. He added a few drops and zigzags to the plate around the bread. Next we plated the chicken. Luke had sliced the chicken into small strips, running across the grilled lines. He placed them on the plate so they half laid on each other. He gave a stir to the pesto sauce and then spooned it over the chicken, only three quick lines. Then he pooled more on the side of the chicken. He added some of the tomato mixture from the bruschetta on top of the pesto sauce. I took the biscotti out of the oven and Luke quickly drizzled an orange zest glaze over the top. He placed them on the third plate, but I lightly pushed him out of the way. I stood the biscottis up so they balanced against each other, like a teepee. Luke had a tiny tea cup of coffee and he placed it inside the teepee, so the steam from the coffee looked like it went up through the top of the biscotti teepee. I was pretty proud of our final product.