Annual Baking Competition (revised)

Lucy Anton

1,500 words

Annual Baking Competition

Savannah strolled across the busy street in Los Angeles, California. It was drizzling slightly, and the sun had just come out from behind the clouds. She could hear the cars driving by, which made plenty of noise considering there still remained quite a bit of rainfall from earlier that day. 

The populous city was filled with different colored buildings, which were close together. Savannah continued to hurry all the way down the pavement. She anticipated she would be showing up late, which almost never happens.

Savannah had worked genuinely hard to get a spot in the Annual Baking Competition. She spent day and night sending the baking company requests to possibly be a part of their show. She even took the time to send pictures of all the cakes that she baked for herself and her family members. This baking show was one of the most sensational shows out there, and was known tremendously by the public. Therefore, getting a spot in the show was rare.

“I hope I don’t show up too late.” She said to herself, in distress.

After some time, she arrived at her destination. She struggled to open the door, it appeared to be locked. Savannah looked down at her watch, nine thirty… she had missed it! The competition started at nine sharp. She could just imagine how disconsolate the rest of her life was going to be. All of her plans, success, fame, and her future, all down the drain. What was she supposed to do now? Quit her dream and stop baking? Be a chef instead? But then she would have to give up what she loved the most. Savannah’s head was now like a car without a break.

Thoughts were spiraling and wouldn’t come to an end, until someone steadily opened the door that had been previously locked. Savannah turned her head swiftly and spotted an older women. She had short blonde hair and spectacles that seemed to be sitting quite low on her nose. Before Savannah had the chance to speak, the lady had already began.

“Excuse me?” asked a lady, in a fast voice, “Are you Savannah Johnson?” 

“Yes,” started Savannah, praying that the lady would kindly let her in, “I am so sorry that I’m late, I’m usually really good with time management.” 

“Aha,” said the lady, in disbelief, “Sadly, I cannot let you through these doors. You signed a paper a month ago promising that you would not be late for this competition!” 

“I know!” said Savannah, still hoping that she could somehow change the lady’s mind, so she continued, “But this is my future! Baking is my life, and I can’t afford to lose it.” 

“Here’s the deal,” said the lady, now with a smile, “I will let you through these doors, if you can promise to win this competition.” 

“Win?” asked Savannah in shock, “I’m sorry, I’m confused. You mean, I have to win in order to come in?”

“You heard me,” the lady snapped, “I will let you through these doors if you intend to win! Can you promise something like that?” 

Savannah loved to bake, but she didn’t feel the real need to win. Her desire to be on the show was to just have fun. She didn’t want or need that kind of pressure.

“That’s far from fair!” Spat Savannah, in annoyance, “I have worked diligently to get a spot in this competition! I’ve worked morning and night continually to earn it!” 

“So,” said the lady, ignoring Savannah’s excuses, “What will it be?” 

Could she trust this women that she had only known for five minutes? Confident that the lady was not going to change her mind, Savannah came to a decision. “I’ll do it.” said Savannah, unsure of how she could win. 

The lady stepped onto the front step and opened the door slowly. Savannah paused and faced the lady. 

“What happens if I don’t win?” asked Savannah, making sure she knew exactly what she just committed to. The lady said nothing, just opened the door for Savannah. 

Savannah stepped inside. The inside was exceedingly larger. All along the walls were an abundant amount of baking supplies and ingredients. Everywhere, there were lights, music, and other passionate bakers who looked intensely at Savannah as she entered. 

“Welcome, bakers!!” Said a familiar voice from behind her, “My name is Stan Miller, and I will be your host for today!”

Out stepped Stan Miller and everyone began to clap. He was not only the host for the Annual Baking Competition, but also one of the most famous bakers out there. He starred on many other shows as well, and won almost every award in the dessert world. He spotted Savannah, who was clearly nervous and hadn’t found the station she belonged to yet. 

“Aha,” he said, walking towards her, “Savannah Johnson, am I right?” 

“Yes, sir.” She replied, trying not to choke. Did she look weird in front of a celebrity? 

“Just over there,” he said, kindly pointing to her station, “Grab an apron, and you’re all set.” 

Savannah ran towards where the aprons were, quickly picked one out, and headed to her station. Instantly, the lights were shut off and the dramatic music began.  

“Bakers,” started Stan, “Your challenge is to make a cake inspired by lemons!” 

Savannah started to panic, she made plenty of cake, but hadn’t touched lemons for a long while. Ever since Savannah was little, she loathed lemons, she had never baked anything with lemon in it before. 

“Well,” Savannah said, quietly to herself, “I’m going to have to try.” 

“You have two hours to make your dessert,” started Stan, walking with the camera, “Ready… set… go!” 

Savannah ran briskly to where the ingredients were located. She quickly seized the flour, baking soda, eggs, milk, sugar, and lemons. She ran over to her station, ready to start baking. She pulled out a bowl and whisked together the eggs, milk, and sugar. In a separate bowl, she added the flour, baking soda, and lemon zest. She then poured the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and added a pinch of lemon juice. She hoped that this was enough to win the competition. She didn’t have any experience working with lemons, so she had no recipe off the top of her head. Remembering what she had promised to the lady who let her in did nothing but increase her anxiety.

Once the cake batter was prepared, Savannah tossed the cake into the oven and set the timer for twenty five minutes. Eventually, the oven timer went off and Savannah raced over to check on the cake. She opened the oven, and could see that her cake was flat. After thinking, Savannah came to a decision that she was going to try to fill the cake with frosting to help it look less deflated. 

Savannah looked up at the clock. She only had fifteen minutes left! In dismay, she decided not to wait any longer for the cake to cool and started filling her cake with vanilla frosting. 

Later, Stan entered the room and demanded all of the bakers stop what they were doing. The competition was over, and now it was time for the judges to step in. Savannah’s cake was a mess. Her cake had melted the frosting, she had not given it enough time to cool, and it was even more flat than it was before! Stan and the other judges came over to her station and glanced at her cake. Stan stood there with an unbalanced smile on his face, “And what might this be?” He said, trying to sound like he was intrigued.

“What you have in front of you… is a… a…“ Savannah could feel herself beginning to choke, “A lemon sheet cake with swirls of soft vanilla frosting on top.” 

“Aha,” said Stan, and moved on to the next station. Wasn’t he supposed to try her cake?

 Did he walk away because it was the most awful cake he had ever seen? She eyed as Stan strolled over to other stations with cake that looked a great deal more delicious than hers. 

At that time, the lady who let her through the doors, came up to her. She looked angry with Savannah.

“I’m so sorry,” said Savannah, “I made a promise to you, and I didn’t fulfill it.” She dropped her head, in great despair.

The lady took a moment to look at Savannah. And instead of getting angry, she had grace. She remembered being young and wanting nothing more than to follow her own dreams. She could see herself, right in front of her, forty years ago.

“Don’t be that way,” said the lady, having great compassion, “That was not fair of Stan to walk by your cake and not even try one bite of it. I’m sure it’s delicious!” 

“You really think so?” said Savannah, lifting her head slightly, in shock of how the lady was treating her.  

“I do,” said the lady, taking a bite of the cake, “This is the most amazing cake I have ever tasted in my life!”

When Stan heard this from afar, he rushed over to Savannah’s station. He looked down at Savannah’s cake, with a disgusted look on his face. He slowly and carefully took a bite of it. Savannah held her breath, in anticipation.  

“Oh my gosh,” he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! This is the most scrumptious cake I have ever tasted!” 

From that moment on, Savannah’s dreams finally became a reality. She won the Annual Baking Competition and ended up becoming one of the most successful bakers out there at the age of twenty two. At the age of thirty three, she was asked to be the host for the Annual Baking Competition. She starred in many baking shows, was on millions of cook books, and even owned her own baking business! Despite all of this, she learned an immense lesson from her time on the Annual Baking Competition. She learned not to judge a cake by its cover, and to accept the fact that there is more to a cake than what is on the outside.