Bonjour Madamoiselle . Nourris Moi.

Zat eez French for Hello, Madamoiselle. Feed Me. In this photostory, Brooke encounters some very picky food critics who are never satisfied.

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Brooke ran about the house, straightening the curtains and nervously biting her fingernails. Some very important guests were about to arrive, and she had to impress them. The doorbell rang and she rushed to get it. Glancing around to make sure the house was spotless, with not a trace of her sister’s messes in sight, she took a deep breath and twisted the handle.

But no one was standing there.

She fumed. She was expecting fancy guests and some kid had decided to ding-dong-ditch her. Rude. Just rude. Disappointed, she pushed the door back in place.

Until someone said, “Look down, Madamoiselle.”

There on her doorstep, were two French…animals? The cat wore a pink beret and the dog sported a bushy mustache.

“You two are adorable!” She laughed. “But Halloween isn’t for a few months. Now, where’s your owner?”

“You see, madam, ve are zee critiques. Ve are here to assess your cooking abilities. So eef you vould kindly let us in, ve shall begin.”

“Um. Okay…sorry, make yourselves at home.” Brooke smiled.

Soon they were settled in, and she squealed to herself. “It’s happening! It’s really happening!”

First she skinned the carrots-

Then she slid a plate in front of the French golden doodle and tabby.

“Vell, is zees main course?” Monsieur Honey asked. “No, sir, it is appetizer.” Brooke informed him.

“I do not like it.” Madame Praline chimed in bluntly. Monsieur Honey agreed. “Oui.”

“Well, maybe you’ll like the main course.” I said confidently.

“Ve shall see.”

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I left the critics waiting as I heated up my signature pasta and pizza dish. I flounced into the room ten minutes later carrying two piping-hot plates.

“Very eeenteresting..yes, I do believe I’ll enjoy zees.” I bit my lip to keep the “YES!” from slipping out. Then, Monsieur Honey, the proper, fancy, frenchman, did something I didn’t know he could do.  He dove his muzzle into the pizza. 

Brooke didn’t know if he could eat through his moustache, but he finished it so fast, even Madame Praline stared in shock. “Mm-mm. Oui, zees eez deleecious.” His utensils remained untouched.

The cat took a dainty bite of pasta. “Veery good. Trés bon. Zee flavor is nice- wheech spices did you use?”

Chef Brooke rattled off a list. “Pepper, oregano…..”

“But zere eez one problem…zere eez too leetle sauce so zee noodles are veery dry.”

“Ah.” Brooke nodded.

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“Ah, dessert, my favorite part of zee meal.”

Madame Praline chuckled.

Brooke was still preparing the food.

Soon she brought out a large plate, on top of which sat a glorious chocolate cake. And then I remembered. Monsieur Honey would not like me very much if he ate it. He could be hospitalized, er vetrinarian-ized? Madame Praline saw the problem right away. “He cannot eat zat. Chocolate gives him problems.”

I understood. “Well, I can bring you some bread….”

Monsieur Honey was outraged.

“Bread? Dessert? Zees seemply vill not do! Vat do you theenk I am, a dog?”

“Uh, yes.”

“NO! Sveet food eez dessert. Not bread.”

The animal’s laughter followed me into the kitchen. 

An hour later, they were enjoying  criticizing the pie Brooke had made.

“Sveet, but not good. Eet eez not appetizing.”

She facepalmed. Now it was time for the final results.

She wiped her hands on her apron nervously. Her sweaty palms were minced with the scent of oregano and basil.

 

Madame Praline purred. “Your food eez quite good, you have potential for somevone as young as you. Keep cooking and one day you vill vin a cooking show.” With that, she settled her beret back on her ears.

Brooke smiled. “And you, Monsieur Honey?”

He was silent for a moment, then finally said, “I liked zee pizza. Nice vork.”

She said her thank-yous and goodbyes, and closed the door. The second the critic’s limousine pulled away, Brooke jumped on top of the piano and started dancing.

Ruthie came running. “Who is making that awful sound? Is a chicken dying over there? Oh, nevermind….SAIGE! I TOLD you to practice your guitar in the basement!!!”

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HAHAHAHA…..

this was so fun to make. My favorite line was-

“Bread? Dessert? Zees seemply vill not do! Vat do you theenk I am, a dog?”

XD LOLOLOLOL

Okay, I’ve gotta run. Bye!