Messy starts

The black marble on the surface of the kitchen platform was completely covered with white corn flour , sprinkled with half cut carrots, seeds of chilli lining the corners along with the red tomato spread all over giving it a grotesque appearance. Sanjeev walked up to Mike and smiled “What a mess, isn’t it ?” his eyes pointing at the spillage in front of him.
“Yeah, clean kitchen is not my forte, guilty as charged” Mike lifted his hands as if surrendering to the mess.

“Isn’t that a basic need to get things working for the complex recipe that you are attempting, I can hardly think if my counter is so messed up.” Sanjeev shook his head clearly showing his displeasure.

“The only thing that matters to me is what goes into this “ Mike pointed at the curry boiling in the pot on the gas.

“Lets see when it comes to tasting” Sanjeev nodded, the displeasure of the messy counter clearly visible on his face.

The timer sounded the end of the preparation time given for the competition and all the cooks kept their tools down , looking at each other in anticipation.

Sanjeev walked up to each counter to taste their dishes, giving them feedback and criticisms as needed, reaching Mike’s counter at the end.

“Wow” Sanjeev looked at Mike in surprise,
“Still think my counter indicates my skills ? “
“Well, as much as I would have liked your dish to not taste good, can’t argue that this surely tastes out of this world”
“Thank you” Mike bowed gently.
Sanjeev looked back as he walked away from Mike’s counter and recalled how his own counter used to be equally messy when he had started his career.