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I was an old pro at this sort of thing and went directly into my rhythm, hardly noticing as the sun rose and other people arrived to take their places in the competition. About an hour after Sofia arrived, Tony showed up and set up shop one place over from me. He seemed in high spirits and was playing music on his phone in earbuds as he danced around under his canopy.
Remember to find out what kind of coffee he drinks, I said to myself. Whatever it is, I need some.
The rest of the stations were taken up by out-of-town restaurants and some everyday citizens. A food truck from just outside of Memphis showed up to compete, as did a guy I recognized from other competitions who had done a few shows on food channels. I wasn’t too worried about them. They were here to be seen, not necessarily to win.
A couple of news crews dropped by, taking footage for B-roll and having a reporter come and ask generic questions of contestants. When they came to me, every single one of them mentioned the fire from a few weeks back and the “heroics” of the day. Again, I tried to limit that kind of talk, but they were undeterred, finding their narrative for the competition and running with it.
Eventually, they left us alone, and it was us versus the clock. The judges would sit down to taste at five, meaning the chili would have been cooking for twelve hours at that point. It was long enough to develop a strong flavor, but not enough because I would rather have a twenty-four-hour cook.
I kept stealing glances at Sofia, both flirting with her for fun and also because I wanted to enjoy every possible interaction before I had to give her the news. The last thing I wanted was to have her be upset with me.
Finally, as the time neared for the judges to come around and grab their samples, I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked up at Sofia at her stall. She was standing next to a table filled with samples, hands behind her back and a fresh apron on. A big, wide smile on her face gave away that she was feeling extremely good about her chili and was ready for the judges. At that moment, I almost stopped what I was doing just to admire her but forced myself to keep going.
She wouldn’t want to beat me because I wasn’t ready.
The judges, a news personality who had been raised in Ashford, a renowned doctor from the local hospital, and the pastor from one of the largest churches in southern Tennessee all came by. I gave them the spiel about the chili as the sounds of the fair quieted, and I watched their faces. All three did a remarkable job of not giving much away, and when they moved on to the next table, I didn’t know for sure how they liked it.
After the judges, other fairgoers were allowed to stop by, and I started slinging samples to them. They came in a rush, and though Ashford’s fair was small, I was moving fast to keep up with the demand all the way until I was completely out of chili.
The comments from people had been good, and I felt like I had a pretty good chance, but I kept hearing people walking by talking about Sofia’s as well. It sounded like the rivalry between Sergio’s and the fire department had just begun, and from the way people seemed to enjoy the competition, I had a feeling it might not be the last time we had a showdown.
Eventually, the clock struck seven, and the contestants all gathered in front of the judges’ table to hear the results. It seemed like the entire fair had stopped to watch, and the crowd of people around the table was the largest I had seen since coming to Ashford by several orders of magnitude. I could see friends and their families, folks from the logging company, the diner, the restaurant—everyone in town, it felt like.
Sofia had positioned herself beside me, and all the contestants were lined up shoulder to shoulder. I reached my hand behind her and took hers, and she squeezed it. It was nice to feel her touch, even just that little bit, and I moved my hand back behind me to await the announcement. The news personality was the one behind the microphone and tiny speaker set up, and the other two were holding a silver and bronze ribbon.
“First up, the final three. The judges debated and chose the top three chilis here today, and they were, in no order, Kieran Duggan from the Ashford Fire Department, Tony Russo from Dina’s Diner, and Sofia Falco from Sergio’s Italian Restaurant!”
A cheer went up as the three of us waved to the crowd, and Sofia was nearly vibrating with anticipation.
