The championship called for a main banquet dish, while the other chefs were all busy with fish, shrimp, beef, and lamb. But what I served was sixteen pieces of homestyle beans.
The judges frowned. "You call this a main course?"
I ladled the steaming sauce over it.
"When you're poor, beans are meat. The Lopez's isn't about putting on a show. It's about giving ordinary people a hot meal they can afford after work," I said.
The judges made no comment after tasting it.
Isabella presented her signature roast chicken with sauce. The moment she lifted the lid, several judges frowned.
She had used imitation sauce; the fragrance lingered only on the surface, while the chicken inside had absorbed none of the flavor.
In the end, I won the championship by a margin of three points.
Highway re
