Hell's Smitten (Gordon Ramsay x Reader)

Chapter 31- Foreign Cuisine Head to Head Part 1/2

Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013

The next morning at around 6 am, Sous Chefs Christina and Scott's voices both echo loudly through the dorms.

"Wakey wakey!" shouts Christina.

"Up and at'em!" Scott yells.

I rub my eyes and sit up in bed, kicking my covers off.

Today is yet another elimination day and challenges will get harder over time. I brush my hair and change into my chef's jacket.

In the common area, Taylor motions for me to join her at the bar table. I scoot out a bar stool and sit next to her. She slides me a plate of toast with scrambled eggs and smiles.

"I thought you could use some food before we go downstairs. Chef Scott said we have ten minutes before he and Christina went back to the kitchens." She then digs into her own plate voraciously.

"Thank you, Taylor!" I grin at her and she nods, her eyes still locked onto the food in front of her. Whenever Taylor gets focused she really goes all out, even when it comes to eating.

Both of us finish our food and fly down the stairs. We line up in the usual fashion.

Chef Ramsay emerges from his office and flits down the stairs gracefully. He stops in front of us with a wide smile on his face. I love seeing him like this. He's effervescent when he's happy, the joy travels straight into his eyes and leaves a twinkle there.

"Good morning everyone!"

"Good morning, Chef!" we respond.

"We're going to have one of my favorite challenges today, but with a twist..." He opens his arms.

From both sides of the kitchen, men and women dressed in waiter outfits push out trolleys with silver domed platters on them. In total there are twelve different domes on four trolleys.

"Today's challenge is going to be a foreign cuisine challenge. But not only that, it will be a versus challenge as well! Now, I'll need you all to select your competition from the opposite team." He goes silent as he waits for us to pair up.

I examine the blue team carefully. I don't know much about how good each chef is aside from the challenges we've participated in together since I haven't spent time one-on-one with any of them.

Dave and Bella have both already paired up, smiling at each other as they bump shoulders. I wonder if they've... 'paired up' in other ways too. I wouldn't put it past Bella, but she'd have to be really brave to do anything while there's a camera in every corner.

Kalyani and Gail are the second already-determined pairing. They both had a bit of a friendly rivalry going on during Kalyani's time in the red kitchen and it seems they are eager to have a chance for Chef Ramsay to tell them who is truly the best out of the both of them.

That leaves Pietro, Shaun, Abel, and Garrett open for pairs.

Pietro would be a challenge if he draws any country that utilizes pasta. I know for sure that he'd have a good chance of winning if he happens to get Italy, considering that I've heard him bragging about how he hasn't used pre-packaged noodles since he was in college.

Shaun is always quiet. I rarely hear anything from Ramsay about him at the pass, good or bad. He's a mystery to me. Picking him to go against would be like drawing a wild card.

Abel, on the other hand, has only received praise from Ramsay. In fact, his signature dish was definitely one of Chef Ramsay's favorites. Plus, he'd already beaten me before in the fish filet challenge by one measly point. If I pick him I'd be giving myself the biggest challenge, and a chance at redemption.