Cindy's Bakeoff

"Cindy's Bake-Off" Celine Rose Mariotti

Celine Rose Mariotti

136 Kyles Way

Shelton, CT 06484

e-mail: [e-mail]

Word count: 3,020

Cindy's Bake-Off

Cindy Crump was busy, busier than she'd ever been when she entered her lemon sugar cookies in a baking contest, just a year ago. She never expected so many people to ask for her cookies. Now she even had her own business baking cookies. She had so many orders to fill, she didn't know where to start. The phone rang and Cindy interrupted her baking to answer it.

"Cindy's Cookies! Can I help you?"

"It's me, Julie. Did you see the afternoon news show?"

"No, I didn't see it. I've had so many orders to fill and now I'm making some new cookies-raspberry sugar cookies.. I'm getting orders for those now too."

"Wow! That's fantastic, Cindy!"

"Yes, it is. What was on the news?"

"They showed you and your business and the bake-off you're participating in. They said you were a local entrepreneur and that people loved your cookies," said Julie, very excitedly.

"Gosh, I wish I had seen it. The reporter from the station stopped by yesterday to interview me and the camera crew was filming. But crazy me, I am so busy here, I plum forgot all about it," said Cindy feeling very disappointed and mad at herself. How could she forget something like that? Everyone she knew in Pass Christian, Mississippi must have seen her and she missed her moment of stardom. Cindy was terribly upset that she missed the coverage of her on TV. But she just carried on with her baking. She put another batch of lemon sugar cookies in the oven and took another batch of raspberry sugar cookies which were all baked out of the oven. A customer came to the door. It was Mrs. Fitch. She had become a regular customer and raved about Cindy's cookies to everyone she knew.

"Hello Mrs. Fitch. Come on in. What can I do for you today?"

" I want a dozen of those lemon sugar cookies and half dozen of the raspberry sugar cookies. My friends Doris and Trudy are coming over to play Bridge and I want them to sample your cookies so I bring you more new customers. How's it going with that bakeoff?"

"I am baking a lot of cookies and if I can win the competition, I can get $10,000 which will help me to expand my business."

"It must be hard to do all of this out of your kitchen. Do you have any helpers?"

"My cousin Deirdre is going to come over and help me this afternoon. She is interested in being part of the business with me. And that will be great because I want to keep it in the family."

"That's wonderful Cindy. Thanks for the cookies. How much will that be?"

"That's $3.75"

"Okay." Mrs. Fitch took out her money and paid Cindy. "Keep baking these delicious cookies."
"Thanks Mrs. Fitch."

Cindy went back to her baking and she was humming along to one of Trace Adkin's songs when she heard the bell and knew another customer had just walked in. It was Mr. Tilbert, an elderly black man who loved sweets. And he loved Cindy's cookies.

"Mr. Tilbert! How nice to see you! What would you like today?"

"Your marshmallow cookies. I just love those cookies. They're simply divine!"

"That just makes my day, Mr. Tilbert!"

"Are you entering that contest, I heard about?"

"Yes, I am. I'm busy in back baking a lot of cookies for all the orders I'm getting. I'm hoping to win that bake-off!

"Good luck! I saw you on TV! Great coverage for your little business here!"

"Thanks Mr. Tilbert. You're a peach!"

"So are you, sweet thing."

With that Mr. Tilbert left the store and Cindy went back to baking her lemon sugar cookies. She couldn't wait to go to that competition and enter her cookies. She was going to enter her marshmallow cookies too. If she won, she would receive $10,000 and she would get to appear on the Shelly Bradford Show program. That would be big publicity for her. She just had to win. The door opened and it was Mrs. Pickles, an elderly lady who always came to buy Cindy's cookies.

"What a lovely day it is!" exclaimed Mrs. Pickles.

"How are you doing Mrs. Pickles? How's your arthritis?"

"Same old pains. Nothing new there. Got a letter from my son. He's on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. I am so proud of him. Twenty-five years in the Air Force. He is a lieutenant now," said Mrs. Pickles, smiling proudly, her eyes beaming with joy.

"That's what we need in this country! Good men serving in the Armed Forces, protecting the good ole USA!" said Cindy.

"Can I have a dozen of your raspberry sugar cookies?"

"Why of course! They're freshly baked!"

"I saw about you on TV. I hope you win that bake-off and get to appear on the Shelly Bradford Show. I'll be rooting for you!"

"Thank you Mrs. Pickles! You're the best!"

"How much will that be?"

"That's $2.75!"

"Here you go. Keep the change."

"Thanks, Mrs. Pickles."

Cindy looked at the brand new $10.00 bill. How nice of Mrs. Pickles to be so supportive of her. Just then the telephone rang and to Cindy's surprise it was the local newspaper.

"Is this Miss Cindy Crump?"

"Yes , it is."

"I'm Jools Kellogg at the Pass Christian Monitor and I would like to interview you for our newspaper. Can I come by tomorrow morning at your bakery shop? Say around 10?"

"Yes, that would be great! I'll let you sample some of my cookies too!"

"I'd love that. See y'all tomorrow!"

"Thank you."

Cindy clapped her hands in total excitement. She went back into her kitchen and made a batch of her chocolate supreme cookies. Things were finally going well for her. She heard the door open and she knew she had another customer now.

It was Mr. Bordeaux. He was one of her neighbors. He worked at the gas station and he sang in the nightclub.

"Hey there Cindy. I want two dozen of your lemon sugar cookies. I eat 'em like no tomorrow. And so do my kids."

"Glad you liked them. I just got a call from the newspaper and the reporter is coming to interview me tomorrow morning," announced Cindy happily.

"Terrific! Congratulations! We saw y'all on TV!"

The next morning, promptly at 10am, Mr. Jools Kellogg from the Pass Christian Monitor arrived. Cindy had some lemon sugar cookies on the table and some chocolate mocha coffee all set for the interview. She was so nervous and she asked her friend Julie to come over for support and Mrs. Fitch agreed to come too. So did her Mom, Mrs. Rachel Crump, and her sister, Arianna Crump and of course her cousin, Deirdre Crump who also worked with her in the business. They all gathered in her kitchen.

"Mr. Kellogg, come and sit down," welcomed Cindy.

"You have quite a gathering here!" exclaimed Mr. Kellogg.

Cindy introduced everyone and she had seats for everyone to sit down. She offered everyone a cup of coffee and one of her lemon sugar cookies. Mr. Kellogg ate the cookie and he munched away really enjoying it.

"These cookies are delicious! Are you entering these in the bakeoff? "

"Yes, I am, these and my marshmallow cookies too."

"What got you into baking, Cindy?"

"Since I was a kid I always helped my Mom and Grandma bake. My Grandma had lots of her own recipes. So when I graduated from high school, I went to a culinary school. Then I worked at a couple of restaurants before I opened my own business I have had a lot of success with it and when I heard about the contest to enter your own original recipes for cookies or pies, I decided to enter my cookies."

"Do you work here alone?"

"Lots of times I work alone but my cousin Deirdre who also likes to bake, helps me out part time."

"Is Deirdre here?"

"Yes, I am. And I do love to bake and I love to help Cindy out when I can. I'd like to become a partner with her."

"Did you also go to culinary school?"

"No, I didn't but I do work in my husband's diner at least three times a week and I do a lot of the cooking there and the baking too. Then I come help Cindy here at her bakery."

"You work out of your own kitchen? Do you plan to open your own bakery"
"That's my plan and if we win the bake-off, we'll receive $10,000. I'll be able to start up my very own bakery," said Cindy.

"Well, this is pretty fantastic and I wish you both a lot of luck with the contest and the bakery!" With that Mr. Kellogg left and told him the article would appear in tomorrow's paper. He snapped a picture of Cindy and Deirdre together and of their cookies too. Cindy and Deirdre were excited so was Julie, her friend.

"We're so happy for you. We'll be there when you enter your cookies in the contest. I just know you will win!"

"Thanks Julie. You're the best friend anyone can have."

"I feel the same about you. When is the bake-off?"

"On Monday."

"See you then."

Monday arrived and Cindy and Deirdre hurried off to the Tynes Culinary School where they were holding the bake-off. There were eight other contestants there. They all took their places. The judges of the bake-off recited the instructions and rules .

"Everyone here has to have brought all their own ingredients, and all of their entries have to be an original recipe. The clock will be set for two hours and each group of two must bake at least two different entries within that time allotted. Each of you have two stoves to work with and six bowls, two sets of measuring cups and measuring spoons, two sets of beaters, and three big tablespoons. The only ingredients we supply in case you should need more is a bag of flour and a bag of sugar on each of your stations and of course eggs and baking powder. At the buzzard, you may begin. The audience must remain very quiet."

The buzzard rang and they all began to bake. Cindy baked her marshmallow cookies while Deirdre baked the lemon sugar cookies. All the contestants were busy doing their baking. At the end of an hour and a half, the buzzard rang.

"Thank you for all your efforts. Now each judge will taste test each entry and they will be scored for taste, how well they are baked, and originality of the recipe, and ingredients. So each judge got busy taste testing. The first two contestants baked a chocolate crumb pie and a blueberry yogurt pie; the second two contestants baked chocolate caramel chip cookies and lemon meringue cookies; the third contestants baked apple strudel pie and peach crumb pie; the fourth set of contestants baked strawberry cream pie and raspberry cream pie; and Cindy and Deirdre baked their lemon sugar cookies and marshmallow cookies. When the taste testing was completed, they announced the winners.

Judge Watkins did the announcing. "The third place goes to Ida and Melinda for their chocolate caramel chip cookies and lemon meringue cookies; the second place goes to Michael and Jay for their strawberry cream pie and raspberry cream pie; first place goes to Cindy and Deirdre for their lemon sugar cookies and their marshmallow cookies. All the winners, please remain at your tables and we will present each of you with your award. I thank everyone for participating in our contest."

The audience stood up and clapped for everyone. Mrs. Crump and her daughter Arianna, plus Julie, Cindy's best friend all came up on stage to congratulate her and Deirdre. Mrs. Fitch and Mr. Tilbert had also come to cheer for Cindy and Deirdre. Cindy was overwhelmed with emotion. So was Deirdre. Their dreams were all coming true.

A week later, after being written up in the newspaper and interviewed on the local news channels, Cindy received a call at her bakery.

"Is this Cindy Crump I am speaking to?"

"Yes it is. Who's calling?"

"This is Michael Dunn from the Shelly Bradford Show. We saw a clip of you being interviewed on KSTS-TV in Mississippi and we're very impressed with the bake-off you won and we researched your bakery online. We'd like to fly you up to New York City to be on the show here with Shelly. As you know she is a famous chef and has several cookbooks out, her own chain of restaurants too and now her own show. We'd like your cousin Deirdre to also come with you," said Michael.

"Oh my God! This is so fantastic! I'm speechless!"

"I can understand. Well, I'll fed ex you the package and I'll make your plane and hotel reservations. You will be appearing on the show next Friday,"

"Wow! This is just awesome! Thank you so much. I'm looking forward to it."

A week later Cindy and Deirdre arrived in New York City. They flew into JFK Airport and were met there by Michael Dunn, the assistant producer of the show. He drove them to their hotel and then straight to the studio to film their segment for the show.

"I'm in Heaven! I can't believe I'm here in New York City and on the Shelly Braford Show! This is a total dream come true! I'm so happy!" exclaimed Cindy.

"Me too! I couldn't believe we won that bake-off and now we're going to be on TV!" said Deirdre clapping her hands excitedly.

"Follow me, ladies. What we're going to do on the show today is have you set up here to bake your winning cookies and Shelly will introduce you and both of you will talk about the bake-off you won and talk about your cookies and your bakery. Shelly will ask the questions and you follow her queue. She'll sample your cookies and you provide a website where people can order your cookies, then we cut and go to commercial, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Sounds great!" said Cindy.

One of the assistants, Tamara Bachman, helped Cindy and Deirdre set up their ingredients, and measuring cups and spoons, and bowls so they could start baking their cookies while the show was on. The other assistant, Lucy Tatianna did their hair and make-up.

Shelly Bradford came over to greet them.

"Hello ladies. So good to have you on my show today. We'll start with a segment on dietary foods for diabetics, then we'll have a segment on making pizza, an Italian chef, Mario Buccini will be joining us, and then we'll come to you and we'll discuss your bake-off and talk to you about your cookies and your bakery. At the top of the show when we begin, I will mention you and the camera will zoom in on you over here baking your cookies, okay?"

"Sure, sounds good. We're so thrilled to be here," said Cindy.

"Glad to have you both. Got to go. We're beginning taping."

Michael Dunn was ready to go to take one. The cameramen were in place. The set was ready. Shelly took her seat. Cindy and Deirdre were busy baking their lemon sugar cookies and their marshmallow cookies. Tamara stood in back in case they needed her. "Lights, camera one, action! Take one!"

"Good morning everyone! Welcome to the Shelly Bradford Show! On today's show, we have the winners of a cookie bake-off contest and they'll be baking their winning lemon sugar cookies and marshmallow cookies.; also joining us today is Dr. Linda Aiken, to talk about dietary foods for diabetics, and the well-renowned chef, Mario Buccini will be showing us how to make pizza. Throughout the show, Cindy and Deirdre will be over on the side here baking their lemon sugar cookies and their marshmallow cookies. So ,we'll return right after these messages with Dr. Linda Aiken."

The show continued right after the messages. As the different guests came on, Cindy and Deirdre were busy baking their cookies. Finally, their moment came. Shelly introduced them.

"This is that moment in our show when we feature some fine bakers. On our show today are Cindy and Deirdre Crump from Pass Christian, Mississippi. They won a bake-off for their lemon sugar cookies and their marshmallow cookies. They are here today to share their cookies and during the show they have been here baking them. So, ladies, tell us how you got into baking," said Shelly.

"Deirdre and I always loved to bake since we were kids. Our Moms and our grandma taught us how and we loved it. We always brought our baked goods to school and all around the neighborhood. I went to Culinary School and Deirdre helps her husband with his diner. She does a lot of the cooking there. We opened our own bakery. In my kitchen. Now with the money we won in the bake-off, we're going to buy our own place and have our own bakery. Things really took off when we entered the bake-off at Tynes Culinary School and we won first prize for our lemon sugar cookies and our marshmallow cookies," said Cindy.

"Are your cookies your own recipes?"

"Yes, they are. Cindy and I get together and go over ingredients and come up with our own recipes for cookies and even for cupcakes and cakes. We'd love to expand our business and now we'll be able to," said Deirdre.

"Well, how about we pass these cookies around to our audience so they can sample them and I'll have one too," said Shelly.

"Thank you. This is an honor for us to be on your show," said Cindy.

"Yes, we're really excited to be here and to be in New York City," added Deirdre.

"Hmm, these cookies are delicious! Congratulations ladies and best of luck in your baking!"

Celine Rose Mariotti

15