"Alright, it's that time, chefs, since Colette went first last round, let's have Ramon present his dishes first."
"Hello judges, for my entrée, I have a slow-cooked beef ragu with fried herb-infused gnocchi. Please enjoy." Ramon detailed as he placed his food before the judges, with Chief Wiggums actively reaching out and almost yanking the bowl from Ramon's hands.
"Come on, just give it here! I skipped breakfast for this! Can't you see I'm wasting away!?"
Mayor West shook his head at Wiggum's antics, "We're on live television clancy, try and have some decorum."
"I have to agree with the man, it's past my lunch time," Lewis muttered before digging in, taking an almost comically large bite.
Stepping back, Ramon left the judges to enjoy his food while he continued the conversation he and Colette had started, "Is it really beating me at my own game though. I mean, if you win, that just proves I was right and that all that matters is that food tastes good."
"No, it's proving how dumb your belief is; there is no substance behind it. A piece of toast can taste good, and even a simpleton can spread butter and use a toaster." Colette hissed, "Cooking is an art that requires mastery and meticulous execution. If the only criterion for good food is its taste, that means that anybody can cook."
"And what's so bad about that?" I questioned with a small smile, "Shouldn't that be the beauty of cooking? A universal experience that we all can enjoy."
Colette faltered for a second before shaking her head, "Don't be ridiculous, I have seen people who can't cook. Everything they touch becomes inedible, not even our dog would eat it."
"That sounds personal," I commented with a small smile as I glanced at Colette, "Makes me wonder what got you into cooking in the first place."
Colette froze instantly and turned to stare straight ahead, acting like I didn't even exist.
'Real personal, but the looks of it,' I thought to myself, letting the conversation drop and watching as the judges finished my dish, meaning it was time for Colette to present hers.
"For my entree, I made Omurice, which is a Japanese omelet served on top of ketchup rice."
"Ketchup rice," Mayor West muttered with a bit of hesitation, "I assume that's what gives it such a…distinct color?"
Colette nodded, "It may seem like an odd combination, but the umami from the tomatoes, along with the extra sugar content, pairs excellently with the omelet."
"I've never minded ketchup on eggs," Lewis muttered as he picked up his fork, "Though I do prefer hot sauce. Let's see here."
"Wait," Colette barked out an order as she took a knife out of her apron and cut a line straight down the center of the omelet. Like a golden curtain, the omelet unfolded perfectly, draping over the rice and revealing the custard insides sprinkled with diced chives. "Now you may eat."
Lewis didn't need to be told twice as his fork cut into the omelet and the rice beneath before scooping the bite into his mouth. The moment the food touched Lewis' tongue, his eyes widened, "Oh, that's good."
Before Lewis could even swallow his first bite, his fork was already moving back towards the plate for seconds.
Seeing his enthusiasm, Chief Wiggum and Mayor West's hesitancy melted away as they took their first bites and had almost the same reaction.
"I normally like my eggs hard-boiled…but this might change things for me." Mayor West muttered after finishing his first bite, which was quickly replaced by a second.
A small, almost imperceptible smile lifted the corners of Colette's cheeks as she stepped back from the judges' table and stood beside Ramon once more. "I don't think we need to guess who will be winning this round."
"Your dish does look really good," Ramon admitted with an appreciative nod. "Where did you learn that recipe? Seems like a comfort meal rather than what you would serve at those high-end restaurants you worked at."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Colette muttered with a light scoff.
Ramon shrugged, "Well, I did a bit of research. Most of the restaurants you worked at served French cuisine, and I'm certain none of them served a Japanese dish that's mostly popular as a kids' meal."
"That seems like more than a bit of research," Colette replied as she crossed her arms.
"Maybe," Ramon admitted with a smile, "But you can't expect me not to look up your name after you broke into my kitchen and challenged me to a cook-off."
"Hmph," Colette grunted, "And it was your sous chef who got more upset than you did. Most Head Chefs would have been holding a knife to my throat had I done that to them."
"That sounds like a lived experience," Ramon commented with a quick chuckle, "I bet there's a story behind that."
Colette's lips twitched, "Yes, well, I'm sure you must have your fair share of traumatic stories from the culinary industry."
"Eh, not really. Before opening this restaurant, I was an accountant."
Colette glanced over at Ramon with a raised eyebrow, "Don't lie to me, I've been watching you cook. You've been professionally trained."
"Trained, yes, professionally no," Ramon insisted with a cocky smile, "I just watched a lot of the cooking channel."
Colette's stare turned into a glare as she narrowed her eyes at Ramon, who held up his hands in surrender, "Swear to god."
Colette rolled her eyes, "Des hommes stupides et insensés, qui mentent sans cesse pour flirter."
"That sounded mean-spirited," Ramon muttered mostly to himself as he glanced back at the judges' table, "Oh, they just finished eating."
Colette's French mutterings came to an end as she turned her attention to the judges' table, and the three men began to discuss amongst themselves.
"In just a moment, we'll announce the winners of round two and see whether Ramon will be declared the victor or if we'll be moving on to the third and final round. Find out right after this commercial break."
"Cutting to commercials…and we're off. Live in ten!"
---
"Are you still watching that silly cooking competition, dear?"
"Well, I don't think it's silly, but yes. They just cut to commercials." Lois answered her mother as she sat up straighter to avoid hearing her mother scold her for it.
"Ah, so commercials are still a thing, are they?" Barbara muttered as she sat on the couch next to Lois, "Nowadays, it's all streaming services and subscriptions. And nothing ever has all the shows I want to watch. No, I have to buy fifty of them to see anything good, one for each genre."
Lois nodded but couldn't suppress a small sigh, which didn't go unnoticed by Barbara, "What's the matter, dear? Your mood has been rather dreary the last couple of weeks."
"I-I don't know, I should be happy that I've finally taken control of my life again. But now I just don't know what to do with myself. The last two decades of my entire life were taken up with raising three kids and keeping a whole household up and running." Lois stressed as she threw up her hands, "But now that I'm living with you and daddy again, there's an entire maid staff to take care of the chores, and Stiewe and Chris are gone for most of the day at school and day care. I can finally decide what to do with my time, but I don't have any options to choose between."
Barbara stared at Lois for a long second before a fond smile spread across her lips, "You know I found myself in your exact situation when you and Carol finally took off to start your own lives."
"Really?" Lois asked as she turned to face her mother, who laughed, "Of course, dear, you don't think you're the only mother who dedicated her life to managing her kids and husband, do you?"
Lois blushed, embarrassed, "Well, what did you do to get rid of this feeling? Tell me!"
"Well, luckily for you, the answer is quite simple," Barbara hinted with a smile, as she reached out and put a supportive hand on Lois' leg, "You need to remember who you were and what you did before you were a mother and a wife."
"W-what?! And act like I'm twenty again with my whole life ahead of me?" Lois scoffed and laughed.
"Yes!" Barbara insisted as she firmly clenched Lois' leg, "Because you do have all of your life ahead of you. It's never too late to pick up an old dream or to start a completely new one! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!"