Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 2- Signature Dishes Part 2/2

Monday, June 24th, 2013

"Alright, next two please, you know the drill." Chef Ramsay shifts from one foot to the other and looks around impatiently, his smile disappearing.

From the red team lineup, an elegantly dressed Indian woman steps with poise towards Ramsay. She sets her tray down just as the blue team's contestant approaches–the bald man who put Bella in her place earlier.

"Red team–your name, where you're from, and dish please?" He looks at her expectantly.

"Chef, my name is Kalyani. I'm from Kodiak, Alaska. My signature dish is inspired by my mother's shrimp curry, passed down through our family. It prominently features coconut milk, curry of course, and is pulled together by a hint of ground ginger."

Chef pulls the plate towards himself. "Alaska? They have excellent seafood there, don't they? It looks lovely, Kalyani, just lovely. I love traditional Indian food." He spikes a shrimp with his fork, swirls it in the curry and brings it to his mouth.

"Absolutely delicious, you've definitely had practice with this dish. Thank you." He nods at her, handing back her dish.

"And could you please introduce yourself, let us know where you are from, and tell us about your dish?" Ramsay addresses the bald man.

"Of course Chef, I'm Pietro from Oregon and I've made you one of my personal favorites, Pietro's Meatballs." He hands Chef his plate and stands back, watching carefully.

"Presentation is a bit lackluster, let's see about the flavor." He cuts into one of the meatballs and tastes it.

"While it looks like shit, I can't find fault with its flavor. Both teams get a point, wonderful. I hope we can keep up this quality. Next two chefs, please." He waves for the next two to come forward as Pietro makes his way back into line.

Up next, our red team contestant is the small and dainty freckled red-haired girl who'd been intimidated by Ramsay from watching him on the television. I wonder how she'll fare now that she is inches away from his imposing figure. Trailing behind her is the blue team's contestant, the older gentleman who'd also prepared a scallop dish.

"Red team, what's your name, where are you from and what is the dish?" Ramsay asks, glancing at his watch.

The girl–nicknamed 'Red' by Garrett earlier–hesitates.

"Well, love, we don't have all day. Please–" Ramsay reaches for her dish without waiting any longer for her to speak.

She seems to finally find her voice and meekly says, "My name is Mary from Maine, and I've made you a seared tuna with wasabi butter sauce." She looks at the ground the entire time she speaks.

Chef notices, of course, and quips, "Mary, please, look at me when you're speaking. I can't hear very well when you talk to your toes. Let's try the dish, shall we?"

Ramsay cuts into the tuna without waiting for her to answer and takes a bite.

"You've gone overboard on the wasabi, I can barely taste the tuna. It's too strong." He hands the dish back to 'Red' who starts to sniffle.

"Oh come on darling we can't have you breaking down already, the show has barely begun and there's much worse in store. If you can't handle it, please, I don't want to see you cry. You're welcome to go." He motions at the door in pity.

Red finally looks at him in the eyes and shakily responds, "No Chef, I can do it," then walks back to the line. I see her cheeks and ears are burning in embarrassment, so I try to not look any longer.

"Blue team, your name, where you're from, and dish please?" Chef asks, picking up the pace.

"Sir, my name is Shaun from New Orleans and I've prepared a Cajun seafood pasta for you today, including scallops and shrimp," he says as he hands the dish over.