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“I’m glad you asked,” smiled Martin. He pulled out a plate from the small chest beside him. It was inside a plastic storage container but steaming from heat. “We cooked up a meal for you.”
Oh, shit, thought Casey. I can’t eat this. I can’t. She looked at it, nodding. Taking the fork, she poked at the food, then pushed at it. Lifting it, she smelled it and curled her nose.
“It smells terrible. People won’t eat this. Food has to appeal to all the senses. It has to look good, smell good, taste good, and feel good going down. I’m not sure this meets any of that.”
“We’re working on the smell. But taste. It’s really very good.” Casey looked at him, then smiled.
“You first,” she grinned. Martin froze, staring at his brother. “What’s wrong? If you believe in your product, you’ll taste it along with me.”
“I can’t,” said Martin quickly.
“Can’t or won’t?” asked Casey. “Look, I’m trying to open the door for you here. If you won’t show me that you believe in the product, how in the hell do you think I’m going to convince my team to cook with it.”
Good girl.
Casey wasn’t sure who that was in her ear, but she was grateful to hear that she was doing the right thing.
“Just take a bite,” said Alex.
“You take a bite,” sniped Martin.
“How about you both take a bite,” said Casey. The brothers stared at one another, then Alex spoke up.
“We can’t! We’re allergic to one of the bean mimics in the mixture.”
“Allergic? Well, I need to know that. I mean, a lot of people have allergies, including myself. I understand confidentiality of the formulation, but I can’t have people going into anaphylactic shock in my dining room.”
“It’s a soybean composition derived from Mexico,” said Martin quickly.
“Oh,” frowned Casey. “That is a shame. I’m allergic to soy. Well, you can taste the product for me and describe it to me. I mean, just a small amount should be okay for you. Go ahead.”
The brothers stared at one another. If they didn’t do this, they would lose this opportunity. But they knew all too well what was in the product. They didn’t want to taste human components and manure. Who would want to do that?
Finally, Alex elbowed his brother and nodded. They took the forks and a tiny bit of the product, placing it on their tongue.
“What do you taste?” asked Casey.
“Uh,” he coughed, “well, I get the taste of beef but better.” He coughed, straining to swallow the food.
“Better, huh?” asked Casey with a smirk.
“Yes, much better,” said Alex.
“Well, why don’t you leave the rest for me, and I’ll see if I can get the staff to taste test. If they like it, we’ll be able to talk about how to bring that into the restaurant.”
“Yeah, sure,” said Martin.
“Are you alright? You look a little green.”
“I think I need to take an allergy pill,” he said, shaking his head. Casey stood, handing the men a pitcher of water and two glasses. In minutes, they’d finished off the entire pitcher of water.
“Better?” asked Casey.
“We’re fine, really.” The brothers looked at one another, then stood from the table, trying to control their gag reflex. Otto was waiting for them as they stopped, staring at him.
“Everything okay, Casey?” he asked.
“Yes. Otto, this is Martin and Alex from RMN. We were just having a discussion.” Otto put out his hand, waiting for the brothers to accept. When they did, he slapped them on the back, causing them to jerk forward.
