Chapter 51：Timer Starts…Now

The sky was rather dull due to heavy rainfall forecast for the whole week. A bus, which had a banner of the Culinary Organization of the Philippines, slowly headed to the mountains of Busay. This place was commonly known as little Baguio. Here, one can feel the coolness of the wind touching one's skin the whole day. Every day, the residents would wear a jacket to warm their bodies even if the sun was high at noon. It had natural landscapes for trekking, rappelling, or other outdoor activities.

The bus reached its destination, Busay Palace Mountain Resort. The organizers chose this venue as a treat to all the participants. The rooms and event venue were in a separate area within the hotel. Five makeshift kitchens lined up at a big hall of the hotel. Only 100 individuals were to enter the second round.

After arriving, they had an orientation, and the contestants were grouped by five, forming twenty teams. Five teams would face off at a time. Out from these five, two teams garnering the highest scores would continue to the next round.

Most of them were nervous to hear such strict elimination round. Beauty was anxious, too. Will she be able to pass this hurdle all the way to the finals?

On the other hand, Cathy was at ease as if she knew what would happen.

Ronald, with the other two men and a girl, stayed in the hotel and was observing the whole situation. After he saw Beauty unsettled, he sent her a message.

Ronald: I'm sent here by your man. If you need help, just call me.

Beauty: Why would he send you?

Ronald: He couldn't bear to see you lonely so he sent me to cheer you up. Relax. Don't be queasy. Be confident.

Beauty: Do I really look queasy? You're lying.

Ronald: Just take a look at yourself in the mirror. Talk to you later.

"Okay, for the rest of the day, just relax and enjoy the place. Spend time with your team and get to know each other. We will start at exactly 6 am tomorrow. No one must be late." A woman left the podium thereafter.

Beauty went straight to Ronald who was standing at a coffee bar with three people. Coincidentally, a food server quickly walked in carrying a big bowl of soup on a tray, crossing her path. They almost collided, but Beauty stopped her tracks in time.

Simultaneously, Ronald was about to shout to warn her when she suddenly halted on her own.

At the same time, the server 'accidentally' slipped, throwing the big bowl he was holding near where Beauty should have been standing, but it hit an empty table instead. The table received the onslaught.

All eyes were on them. Two persons hastily went to Beauty's side, and the other went in front of the server. Being on the scene, they learned the spilled soup was still steaming hot. The server felt uneasy and tried to clean up his mess.

"Hoy! You almost hit my friend," shouted Ronald.

"Sorry, Sir, Miss. It was an accident. I tripped and lost balance." He had an apologetic expression on his face that was hard to understand. "Thank goodness, you weren't hurt, Miss." We will file a complaint to your supervisor. What happened was unforgivable." A bulky guy said.

"Please, Sir, I beg you. I'll lose my job." The server knelt and clutched on the bulky guy's trousers.

"I don't think that's necessary, Sir. I'm totally fine. Nothing happened. It was only an accident." The kind Beauty spoke on behalf of the server.

"Let them take care of that," interjected Ronald.

"But…" She wanted to intervene on behalf of the poor server, but the bulky guy pulled the server away, preventing her from intercepting.

"No buts. Come, let's talk over there."

Beauty was reluctant, but the other pulled her at a nearby garden bench and made her sit. "Beauty, how was the first round?"

She was silently staring at him.

"What's on my face? Why look at me like that?" He pointed his forefinger to his face.

"Why are you here?"

"I already said the reason in my text messages. Clarence sent me for you."

"Oh, so considerate of him. Or maybe he sent you to be a flyswatter, shooing other guys away from me," she pouted sullenly as she spoke.

"Nice description there, flyswatter. I'll be glad to be a flyswatter." He nodded and punched out several times to an unseen opponent. "Puh, puh, puh, puh. I'm a flyswatter."

Not entertained, Beauty stood up. "Well, see ya later. I gotta go now. Need to spend time with my team."

"Hey, wait. I have a question."

"…"

"What happened earlier? I really saw that guy walking from your blindside. How come you suddenly stopped? Do you have your extra set of eyes?"

"What extra eyes?" She rested her chin on her pointing finger and placed the other hand on her hip. "At that time, I only smelled a strong aftershave with a combination of crab soup on my way and thought someone was approaching, probably carrying hot soup."

"You smelled it? Even you knew it was hot?"

"Yeah, I have a very sensitive nose. Actually, that man's aftershave was bizarre, causing me to cringe and stop at that time. And FYI, hot dishes give off steam, making it easy to smell from afar. That's why."

These words astounded Ronald. His nose was totally inferior to this girl.

At a distant, Cathy saw the failure and was disgruntled, "Useless."

Unbeknownst to her, a girl—one of Paul's men—was observing her with her dark sunglasses. Aside from protecting Beauty, their other mission was to find strong pieces of evidence against Cathy.

No untoward incidents happened at night, but the three guards were vigilant the whole time. Taking turns to watch over Beauty's room. About Ronald, he snored with all his heart in a nice suite.

"Teams, listen carefully. I'm John, owner of the Nova Family restaurants here in Cebu. I'll be one of the judges as well. Joining me is Miss Lisa Lopez. She owns multiple bistros in the country. You might have eaten in one of them; especially in 'Fudgey.' The last one here with us is Mister Paul Palangka, a teacher and magazine writer from Manila. He writes for his own special section in Food Entertainment Today."

Applause was heard after the judges were introduced one after the other.

"Each team is required to make us a three-course meal. That means one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert. Since we're Asians, we chose the theme: Asian Cuisine. You are to make dishes that would showcase the Asian culture and spirit. Just making famous dishes from Asian countries without added authenticity and creativity isn't going to work.

"You have two hours to prepare, and by the end of the allotted time, your three-course meal will be served whether you're finished or not. So I suggest you choose a person to become your leader who is knowledgeable about the theme."

"The timer starts… now."