Christmas Canapés & Sabotage: a Culinary Competition Mysteries holiday short story by Janel Gradowski Page B
Authors: Janel Gradowski
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in the cream of tomato soup she was sipping out of a tiny espresso mug. By the time the speech was over Amy had decided on two things. One—she would need lots of coffee to get through the two-day competition and not fall asleep during the final judging stage on Saturday evening. Two—garam masala was the spice giving the tomato soup the slightly exotic flavor.
Once the presentation was complete, the wait staff began clearing empty plates from the tables. The crowd noise roared again as people began collecting coats and purses. Everybody seemed excited to begin cooking. The first step would be setting up the non-edible parts of the tablescape that evening.
As Amy pulled on her coat a scream silenced the random chatter in the room. "Fire!"
She spun around. About ten feet away the table full of teapots was on fire. Each pot sat on a wire platform over a lit candle to keep the tea warm. A pool of fire on the white tablecloth grew larger by the second, originating from an overturned candle in the middle of the ring of pots. Bea pushed past Amy, grabbed a pot full of green tea, and doused the flaming tide. Everybody applauded as several waiters rushed out of the kitchen carrying fire extinguishers. Seeing that the threat had already been taken care of by cool-headed Bea, they decided to blow out the rest of the candles. There was now no need to cover the table and nearby people in fire-retardant foam. Bea calmly replaced the teapot on its stand and walked back to the dining table to stand next to Amy.
"That was awesome!" Amy said as she patted her heroic friend on the back. "I was ready to run for the emergency exit along with pretty much everybody else. You have nerves of steel. You're like a foodie super hero, saving the masses with a pot of tea."
Bea shrugged. "I tried putting real candles on the tables at my restaurant last Christmas…for about a week. I'll just say I have quite a bit of experience putting out little, unexpected fires." She bent and retrieved her purse from under the table. "This one was kind of weird, though. The candles under the teapots are in wide, shallow bowls, I'm sure to prevent them from being knocked over easily. How the heck did an overturned candle end up in the middle of the table?"
Amy spent the rest of the day deciding on table props with a mental side dish of wondering if the fire was a malicious act instead of an accident. Once all of the table accessories were finalized, she packed them up and headed across town. There was a mini traffic jam ahead when she pulled Mimi the Mini Cooper, her car that was so adorable she gave it a name, into the turning lane. Several cars were stopped ahead of her. She could see a man with a fluorescent yellow safety vest, reflective stripes flashing in headlights, standing in the entrance to the K Hotel convention center parking lot. Darkness by dinner time was another downright depressing cruelty of winter. Amy turned up the heat, to counteract the invasion of cold air that would occur when she rolled down her window to talk to the guy. Living in a giant freezer all winter didn't exactly make her want to do a happy dance either. The car's interior was toasty, bordering on balmy, by the time it was her turn to chat with the man.
He ducked down to peer at her. "Are you a Holiday Celebrations competitor?"
"Yes."
He pointed to the right. "You can park in that lot then take your things inside yourself. There are carts available at the door. Or, if you would like to wait a bit, the hotel is offering a valet service. Under the entrance awning there are people to help unload your supplies and then park your car, free of charge."
"Okay. Thank you."
Fancy schmancy. A valet service. But the line almost stretched into the street. She had hauled stuff around competitions by herself many times. So she came prepared and dressed to stay warm in a bulky, down coat that made her look like a troll, complete with crazy hair courtesy of the wicked wind, in anticipation
Once the presentation was complete, the wait staff began clearing empty plates from the tables. The crowd noise roared again as people began collecting coats and purses. Everybody seemed excited to begin cooking. The first step would be setting up the non-edible parts of the tablescape that evening.
As Amy pulled on her coat a scream silenced the random chatter in the room. "Fire!"
She spun around. About ten feet away the table full of teapots was on fire. Each pot sat on a wire platform over a lit candle to keep the tea warm. A pool of fire on the white tablecloth grew larger by the second, originating from an overturned candle in the middle of the ring of pots. Bea pushed past Amy, grabbed a pot full of green tea, and doused the flaming tide. Everybody applauded as several waiters rushed out of the kitchen carrying fire extinguishers. Seeing that the threat had already been taken care of by cool-headed Bea, they decided to blow out the rest of the candles. There was now no need to cover the table and nearby people in fire-retardant foam. Bea calmly replaced the teapot on its stand and walked back to the dining table to stand next to Amy.
"That was awesome!" Amy said as she patted her heroic friend on the back. "I was ready to run for the emergency exit along with pretty much everybody else. You have nerves of steel. You're like a foodie super hero, saving the masses with a pot of tea."
Bea shrugged. "I tried putting real candles on the tables at my restaurant last Christmas…for about a week. I'll just say I have quite a bit of experience putting out little, unexpected fires." She bent and retrieved her purse from under the table. "This one was kind of weird, though. The candles under the teapots are in wide, shallow bowls, I'm sure to prevent them from being knocked over easily. How the heck did an overturned candle end up in the middle of the table?"
Amy spent the rest of the day deciding on table props with a mental side dish of wondering if the fire was a malicious act instead of an accident. Once all of the table accessories were finalized, she packed them up and headed across town. There was a mini traffic jam ahead when she pulled Mimi the Mini Cooper, her car that was so adorable she gave it a name, into the turning lane. Several cars were stopped ahead of her. She could see a man with a fluorescent yellow safety vest, reflective stripes flashing in headlights, standing in the entrance to the K Hotel convention center parking lot. Darkness by dinner time was another downright depressing cruelty of winter. Amy turned up the heat, to counteract the invasion of cold air that would occur when she rolled down her window to talk to the guy. Living in a giant freezer all winter didn't exactly make her want to do a happy dance either. The car's interior was toasty, bordering on balmy, by the time it was her turn to chat with the man.
He ducked down to peer at her. "Are you a Holiday Celebrations competitor?"
"Yes."
He pointed to the right. "You can park in that lot then take your things inside yourself. There are carts available at the door. Or, if you would like to wait a bit, the hotel is offering a valet service. Under the entrance awning there are people to help unload your supplies and then park your car, free of charge."
"Okay. Thank you."
Fancy schmancy. A valet service. But the line almost stretched into the street. She had hauled stuff around competitions by herself many times. So she came prepared and dressed to stay warm in a bulky, down coat that made her look like a troll, complete with crazy hair courtesy of the wicked wind, in anticipation
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