Cooks and Models

Rumble's heart pounds in his chest as he stands in the spotlight, his competition standing next to him as the judges sit and stare daggers at them.

"We have had an intense competition this season, twelve chefs have entered this kitchen and now, only two remain Rumble Lane and Sweetie Belle, the judges are eager to see who has come out on top and who will face off against " The Thunder Cook," the host says as he approaches the competitors.

"So Rumble, tell us a little about yourself," the host says as holds the mic to Rumble.

"Well, Chef Flam Bay, after graduating from Canterlot High, I followed in my brother's footsteps and attended Sal Tay University to pursue a career in the culinary arts," Rumble replied.

"And what brings you here to this competition?" Flam Bay asked.

"Well, I guess it was the name, "The Thunder Cook," I just felt like it was a lucky thing since my brother's name is Thunderlane," Rumble said as the host smirked slightly.

"That's a nice sentiment, now why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" The host said as he held the mic to Rumble's competition.

"Well, like Rumble I too graduated from Canterlot High, but I instead went to Crescendo University to major in the performing arts, but I did take some culinary courses as a minor study," Sweetie Belle said as the host nodded.

"And what brought you to this competition?" The host asked.

"To be honest, Flam; I didn't expect to make it this far, the reason I took some cooking classes is to learn how to cook without burning anything, I was so bad, I could even burn juice," Sweetie said as the host let out a small laugh.

"You're kidding about burning juice, right?" The host asked, chuckling.

"I wish I was, Flam," Sweetie said while giggling.

Taken by surprise, the host cleared his throat and brought the mic closer to him.

"Now that we know more about our competitors, let's get to the judging, keep in mind the winner will face off against "The Thunder Cook" and as a second prize the winner will also get to spend a whole day with Vignette Valencia," the host said as Sweetie let out a squeal of excitement and Rumble just blushed.

"That's right, the Vignette Valencia, the social media icon now a famous runway model, you've seen her model the latest in Hoity Toity and Rarity fashion lines, and one of our lucky contestants will win the chance to compete for this fabulous prize," Flam Bay said as he turned his attention to Sweetie Belle.

"Like all gentlemen say, ladies first," the host said as Sweetie Belle brought out her dish and removed the cloche before serving it to the judges.

"Miss Belle, why don't you tell us about what you prepared for the judges?" The judge asked as he looked at the dish.

"For my dish, I prepared a simple Filet Mignon, I seasoned the meat beforehand with garlic and onion before searing it over low heat, I used a bit of wine to tenderize the meat and give it some extra flavor," Sweetie said as the judges cut into her dish and tried it.

After the judges debated amongst themselves, they wrote down their thoughts as Rumble stepped up and took the cloche off his did and served it to the judges.

"And what have you prepared, Mr, Rumble?" The host asked.

"For my dish, I prepared a simple dish of freshwater salmon, I used the poêlée to get it crispy and delicate; for added flavor, I shimmer the fish in lemon juice with the lid on the pan and to top it off, a little sprinkle of salt," Rumble said as the judges took a bite.

The judges muttered amongst themselves and jotted down notes as Rumble watched nervously.

The judges then signaled that they were ready and the host approached their table. "Alright, Judges, what are your results?" The host asked. "Let's start with you, Chef Coriander,"

"Both dishes were superb, you two made a wonderful taste melody with different acidic ingredients, but for me, the filet mignon was the best thing I had, so I have to cast my vote for Sweetie Belle," Coriander replied.

"So that's one vote for Sweetie Belle, let's move on to you, Chef Masala," the host said.

"Well, Chef Flam; I enjoyed both dishes, the filet mignon and the freshwater salmon were both delicious, but for me, the filet mignon was a tad bit overcooked, so I must cast my vote for Rumble," Saffron said.

"So that's one vote, Sweetie Belle, one vote Rumble, let us go to our third judge," the host said as he held his mic to him.

"Chef Ramsneigh, what are your thoughts?" The host asked as Ramsneigh clasped his hands.

"Well, Chef Bay; I for one am happy with both dishes, the heart of each of these chefs is put into their dishes and it shows, but as Chef Masala said, the filet mignon was slightly overcooked, but that could work in its favor, I love a little burnt piece on food, but my main problem is you used a little too much wine, Sweetie Belle, the meat was a little too soaked, so for that, I have to cast my vote for Rumble," Ramsneigh said.

Rumble gasps and holds his chest, not believing he won. "Oh my gosh," he exclaimed as he took a deep breath.

After gaining his composure, Rumble went up to Sweetie Belle and extended his hand. "You did well," he said as Sweetie took his hand and shook it.

"You did as well, I wish you the best of luck against "The Thunder Cook," Sweetie said as she walked out.

"Well there you go folks, Rumble is the last chef standing and will now face off against "The Thunder Cook" and…"

The host stops mid-sentence as he places a finger in his earpiece, after talking to the person on the other end he starts again.

"I just got word that instead of our usual way of broadcasting this face-off, "The Thunder Cook" has decided to finally appear on the show in the flesh instead of using a proxy; so without further ado, let me introduce the contestant and the audience to "The Thunder Cook," The host said as the door opens and in comes Thunderlane.

Rumble's jaw drops as Thunderlane comes up to him and smiles.

"Got to say, little bro, I'm proud of you, you really learned a lot, but don't expect me to go easy on you because you're my blood," Thunderlane said playfully as Rumble smiled.

"I wouldn't dream of it, I'm going to use what I learned to defeat you," Rumble replied as his brother smiled.

"This is truly "The Thunder Cook" history, a family grudge match between The Thunder Cook himself and his little brother, hang on to your seats, because this two-hour special is not over yet," the host said as he pulled out an envelope for the final challenge.

Rumble took a deep breath as the host pulled out the paper with the challenge written on it, envisioning multiple different scenarios of what the dish could be.

"Oh, this will be interesting, the challenge for our two chefs is to make an Italian course of their choosing, it can be as many dishes as they want, all that matters is taste, skill, and presentation," the host said as he read out the challenge.

"Good luck, little bro," Thumderlane said with a cocky smile.

"Right back at you," Rumble said as he readied himself to rush to his kitchen.

"Then without further ado, let the cook-off begin," the host said as a buzzer went off, counting down from thirty minutes as they began cooking.

Rumble scrambled around in the kitchen, grabbing bottles of wine as well as a bag of pasta and cans of tomato paste to make a spaghetti dinner. Looking towards his brother, he noticed he was making lasagna with a side of risotto.

Rumble cleared his mind as he made a quick change in plans, using the ingredients he had already got, he picked out a few extra and began boiling the noodles as he worked on making a sauce.

The thirty minutes seemed to fly by as the buzzer rang out, signaling the chefs to stop cooking and prepare the dish to be served.

"Here we are folks, the last dish, will " The Thunder Cook take home another win, or will he be dethroned by his brother, let's get to the judging," the host said as he came up to Thinderlane.

"Tell us about your dish, Chef Thunderlane," Flame Bay said as the judges were served.

"For my dish, I made a chicken lasagna, a bit unconventional I know, but I wanted to try to do something outside the box. I first slow-cooked the chicken and pulled it off the bone like you would pulled pork, I then coated the meat in a mix of garlic and onion powder, I then baked it into the lasagna, and served it with a side of risotto with chopped-up broccoli, to tie it all together I served it with a glass of pinot grigio," Thunderlane said as the judges took a bite of his dish.

The judges fell silent as they wrote down notes and muttered amongst themselves.

"And now, the final dish, Rumble, why don't you tell us about your entry?" The host asked.

"For my dish, I went with a traditional pasta dinner, I was going to serve it with a side of garlic bread, but when I saw my brother going with a bigger side, I edited my plans slightly," Rumble said as he removed the cloche and served his dish to the judges.

"Instead of just garlic bread, I made it into a bruschetta, I used the leftover pasta sauce as the tomato, sprinkled it with romano cheese, I also placed a few black olives and a smear of basil pesto on top," Rumble presented.

"For the spaghetti, I made the sauce myself, I added some red wine to bring out the flavor profile, and to tie it all together a lovely glass of red wine," Rumble said as the judges took a bite of his dish.

The judges muttered amongst themselves and took notes as they weighed each dish. Soon they waved to the host indicating they were ready.

"Alright folks, it's the final judgment, let's go to the judges, Chef Coriander?"

"Well, Chef Bay, both dishes were delicious, but Thunderlane, your risotto was a tad overcooked, the rest of it was good, but for my vote, I have to give it to Rumble, excellent presentation, the food was cooked perfectly, and the wine was divine," The chef said as the host moved to the next judge.

"Chef Masala, your thoughts?"

"Like my father said, both dishes were delicious, my favorite dish from Italy is risotto, but for it being overcooked, it did turn me off to it this time, also there was a bit too much salt. Now the spaghetti and bruschetta were perfect, the flavors danced in harmony, and the wine complemented the meal really well, so my vote goes to Rumble," the chef said as the host moved to the final judge.

"Chef Ramneigh, what are your thoughts?" The judge asked.

"Well, Chef Bay, it really doesn't matter since it's clear who won," Chef Ramsneigh said with a chuckle. "But in all seriousness, both dishes were delicious, that all I can say is finally, some good bucking food," Chef Ramsneigh said as the host, the contestants, and the other judges chuckled a bit. "But in all seriousness, I did think the risotto was a bit over-seasoned, the overcooked part I didn't mind, but Rumble's dish is the one that stood out the most to me, so I must cast my vote to Rumble," Chef Ramsneigh said as Rumble gasped in disbelief.

"You have seen it here first folks, " The Thunder Chef" has finally been defeated and the one to dethrone him is nine other than his brother," the host said as he approached Rumble while he and his brother were shaking hands.

"Rumble, you have defeated "The Thunder Chef" and have won the honor of spending the day with Vignette Valencia, how do you feel?" The host asked as Rumble wiped a tear from his eye.

"I feel like I'm over the moon, I never expected to go toe-to-toe with my brother and win, but I'm just at a loss for words," Rumble said as the host gave him a piece of paper.

"Well, I hope you find your words soon, tomorrow you will be spending time with Ponitown's biggest model, your day will start at the best spa in town, and from there who knows, it's all up to you," the host said as he ended the broadcast.

Rumble looked at the piece of paper in his hands, his heart pounding as his brother patted him on his back. "Congratulations, Lil bro, you get to spend the day with a popular model, just don't do anything I wouldn't do," Thunderlane said, making Rumble blush.

"Bro stop, I'm not like that," Rumble protested as he looked at the address, he did have a crush on Vignette, but there's no way she'd be interested in him he thought.

He takes a deep breath and leaves the set, heart racing as he thinks about the prize he won.