Page 30 of Tumbleweed Temptation
“I like that. It could still be a contest, but they wouldn't have to figure everything out there. I mean, I think those people who are in those shows kind of know the science of cooking and stuff.”
“Good point. So. Let’s make a list of ingredients for each contest.”
“What are y’all working on?” Hailey asked, placing the basket of wings between them before leaning across the bar to look at the notebook.
“We thought we’d have some cooking classes to teach people how to eat healthier,” Ginny said. “We thought we’d make it like a cooking contest, have it at the diner.”
“That sounds fun.”
“We haven't actually done more than brainstorm, but we’re trying to, you know, come up with a plan.”
“What would be cool is if you would rotate restaurants. Do one contest at one restaurant, another at the next. How many contestants are you thinking?”
“Well, we haven't gotten to that point yet. I really like the idea of rotating, but how big is your kitchen? What about the kitchen at Delgado’s?”
“I don't know. I mean, mine’s not very big, but I have three people back there every night. Delgado’s is probably the smallest. How are you going to get contestants?”
“I thought we’d spread the word and see who wanted to participate.”
“Wait a minute,” Austin interrupted. “What about the church? The church hall? Does it have a kitchen? That way the restaurants don't have to shut down for this.”
“It doesn’t actually have a kitchen, and really, the only restaurant who might have a conflict would be this one. I mean, we’re going to have it in the evening, right? After office hours?”
“Well, we haven't gotten that far. But yeah, I can see where Janine would go for that. She’s not that busy in the evenings, is she?”
“No, not too much. But with this, they wouldn't be making money, though, right? We’re not charging to get in. The restaurant won’t make any money.”
“Can we think of a way where the restaurant could make money? The audience or whatever?”
“I don't know. Let’s start with what we do know. What we’re going to need to do this.” Ginny bent her head over the paper and started listing every healthy food she could think of.
“How are you going to pay for all that?” Hailey asked, pointing to the list of food they compiled.
“Um, well, maybe we’ll cut it down a little, but we want to make enough for everyone who attends to taste.”
“Oh, and maybe we could do a cookbook after, with the recipes of all the contestants, not just the winners, though maybe we could highlight the winners,” Hailey said. “Make it a reasonable price to offset the cost of the food.”
“Maybe we could get the town to help us pay for it, too. Or the restaurants.”
“Y’all. I can’t write fast enough for all these ideas. Slow down.”
“Just thinking out loud.”
“What do you think would be a good incentive for the restaurants to host this?” Austin asked Hailey. “I mean, we want to encourage people to come and taste, but we want y’all to benefit, too.”
“Maybe the winning entry can be recreated by the restaurant for a week or so, a special item on the menu,” Ginny said. “Limited time. Drive people to the restaurant, hopefully, and yet not complicate things on the day of the competition.”
“I like that. But I have to say I think it’s hilarious y’all are making a list of healthy foods while chomping on wings,” Hailey pointed out.
“Think of it as our last hurrah,” Austin said.
“Speak for yourself,” Ginny muttered, and dipped another wing into the blue cheese dressing.
