She was not entirely sure what had prompted her to accept the invitation to participate in Bewitched It! but it had very little to do with the galleon reward. Then again, 5000 galleons was nothing to stick one's nose up at and could really go a long way in a household of seven as well as the much needed supplies on the reservation. Several of their incubation united had recently been incinerated by some hatchlings who had learned to breath fire a bit earlier than anticipated, and apparently the fireproofing spells had worn off. So there were damages expenses, metal charmers to pay, and a whole other slough of thing to tick of the list that needed paying for.

But, here she was, Kurumi Rasting, and it was apparently her turn to speak.

"Hello," she greeted with a small waved followed quickly by a polite bow. "I'm Kurumi Rasting, dragonologist and head Fertility Specialist at the Galloway Rehabilitation Reserve. I'm a mother of five and a home cook, selling some of my baked creations in the gift shop at the reservation. I was known as Cookie Girl during my time at Hogwarts and it was rumored that I was part house elf." Pauses a moment because...this was the moment where they were meant to serve a cheesy sort of baking pun that also solicited a bit of banter between herself and her fellow competitors, right? "....so I really know how to clean up the competition."

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!

Rapunzel Ariel Black-Lee was here with her Santa hat, Santa apron, and little Santa oven mitts, ready to bake up a storm! She was no Cookie girl, but she was athletic and enthusiastic about sugar, so that was... something! The former Chaser and coach for the Chudley Cannons had needed no introduction, really. Some of the viewers probably recognized her, even though she hadn't been on the pitch in a hot minute. Punz was used to the limelight, but she did falter slightly when all eyes were suddenly turned toward her. What's my line again?

"Ho ho hello!" she began, attempting her best Santa chuckle. No one was chuckling with her though, so it was awkward. "I'm Rapunzel Ariel Black-Lee," because yes, she did always go by her full name, "and you may recognize me from the most winning seasons the Chudley Cannons ever had! But today I'm here to rep all the home bakers out there who have walked into Honeydukes and thought, 'I could make that!' Yes, at home I am just like you! I won't make any promises because I don't like to keep score in the kitchen, but as we say on the pitch... " She paused for dramatic effect and also to flash her brilliant smile at the camera. "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!" She laughed with a toss of her blonde hair and mimed crossing the two fingers on her oven mitt, holding her fake laugh until the host moved on to the next person.

Whew, alright. She could breathe again!

If asked a month or so ago if she classified herself as an 'amateur baker', Grace Bones-Miarkos would have scoffed. More than scoffed, really, she would have given a withering look and a hair toss. But today, now, with that great big gorgeous prize, Gracie B. was all about bread and cake and hot cross buns.

With her hair pulled back in mussed plaits and artfully drawn freckles, young Gracie B. was going for 'the delightful youngest contestant, the girl next door'. A fan favorite, right? Oh, was it her turn? "Hi! I'm Gracie Bones! I'm a recent graduate of Hogwarts and I'm studying... art." That was all basically true, if recent was relative. "Even though I'm super busy with my studies, I love to bake for my family and friends. It's such a great way to show the people you love how much they mean to you, and it's a real creative outlet. I feel so lucky to be here!"

This level of enthusiasm was exhausting.

She had been excited when she first heard about the chance of going on a cooking show, but now, now Minerva McCarthy was feeling her nerves take over. She was actually on a cooking show, her! Was she good enough to be on an actual cooking show? Her children thought she was, so here she was doing it. This was good for publicity of her dance studio as well, so even if her cooking flopped people would see her and know of her studio.

As she stood in her place and listened to everyone she grinned hearing Kurumi. How long had it been since she had seen her and a famous quidditch player, wow there were so many great people here. One just graduating from Hogwarts, well that might have made Minerva feel old, but still, this was exciting.

"Hello, I'm Minerva McCarthy. By day I am the owner of McCarthy Dance studio. I've been baking since I can remember and with four children at home baking is something they love to do with me. I am ecstatic to be here and get a chance to bake with all the other contestants."

Intimidated by the competition filled with what seemed to be completely capable women? Psssssh, no. maybe. There were a few things that James Malloy did not turn down. As it so happened, this competition had three of them; food, money and attention. The 28 year old would have been greedy if he asked for more.

And yet...

Oh. Was it his turn already? The man straightened where he stood, being sure to make sure his apron was in proper position to see the words "TOP CHEF". That was him...sorta. No. Definitely. He was here for it.

"Name's James, call me Jamie, won't mind that. 28 and the father of the best kid in the entire world. Don't have to agree with me but it's still true." Pause. Where was the camera? Was this televised? "Hi Dallas! See Daddy? See Daddy with the fancy apron? Gonna win this for you, bud." And a wide grin for the kid he couldn't see in the audience because of the damned lights.

Anyway, where was he? Right, right, intro. "I know a lot about food, because I like food. Don't need no better qualifications than that. I freelance with my photography. Got signed to a couple agencies. Work at an apartment complex--supervisor because my boss lady knows I'm worth it. Um, yeah, so, let's cook!"

OOOOOOHHHhhhhhhhh!!

Look at these lovely contestants already and excited to bake up a storm. He was so super excited to get to judge this and couldn't believe how adorable it all was. Clapping after every contestant introduced themselves Leon couldn't help but wonder where were all the male bakers at.

Come on boys there had to be a few. Maybe some goblins or elves could be fun too, but that was probably another competition. For now, Leon just took note of the contestants that had spoken so far.

"Part house elf?" Chip gave Mrs. Rasting a rather bemused but very amused look at that interesting little anecdote. "I guess you'd have to be to accomplish all of that - mother of five, dragonologist, and gift shop baker? Wow!" He punctuated his exclamation with a fist punch to the air. Wait, house elves slept sometimes, right? "But we'll see if that will give you an advantage over your competition." He gave her a wink, then turned to the next contestant.

"My, my, and here I thought I was the celebrity!" Chip gave Mrs. Black-Lee a laugh. Sure, it was a stage laugh, but it was a jovial one all the same. "We're sure glad to have you here though. And we'll see if you sizzle in the kitchen as much as you did on the pitch!" Wink, wink. Just a little culinary pun. He was known for those.

And the next contestant was... an actual child. "I hope you're not skipping any classes to bake with us today!" Chip teased her gently, keeping his overly large grin. But no, really, was she? "Those art studies might come in handy today. Decorating is a very important part of baking, of course!" Almost as important as taste, or even equally so.

And another mother. They seemed to be popular with the home baking scene. "Sounds like you really know how to stay on your toes," Chip joked with Mrs. McCarthy. Get it? Dance and kids, made her stay on her toes? Okay, admittedly not his best pun, but his confidence sold it. "Hopefully you can keep on your toes in our kitchen today!"

Ah, yes! Chip was pleased to see a man in the typically woman-dominated field today. But............ Merlin, this bloke could talk. Chip allowed him the obligatory say-hi-to-my-kid bit, keeping his overly large stage smile. "Okay! Let's hope your interest in food translates to some delectable dishes in the kitchen worthy of a photo op!" He was sure this one was going to be fun.

Now that they contestants had introduced themselves, the fun could truly begin! But first, the judges. "And our guest judge today," Chip began, gesturing to the rather excited man on his right. "Leon Brown, proprietor of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop in Diagon Alley." He waited for applause to die down before continuing, and he turned towards the contestants to get started and give them their first set of instructions.


"Today, there will be three rounds! Each of you will compete in all three, accumulating points on taste and presentation. And the first round..." Pause for dramatic effect. "Is the perfect start to any holiday party..." More pause, more drama. "Those delicious bite-sized delights..." Pause, pause, pause. "CAKE POooOooOPppS!"

And with a flourishy wave of his hand, the alcove doors opened to display several different magically themed cake pops. "Contestants! Choose two of these cake pops to recreate.... and go!" Hopefully they didn't knock each other down. "You have thirty minutes." Once the clock started, Chip took his seat next to Leon and watched the bakers begin.


OOC - Choose TWO of these cake pops for your character to recreate - one, two, three, four, five, six . All ingredients are in their personal kitchen space or in the pantry behind them, though nothing is exactly labelled. They have step by step instructions, but they are vague and do not list measurements, so... good luck! And also, all chocolate to be used must be taken from the chocolate frogs located in the pantry - as long as they can catch them.

Grace dimpled politely at Chip, but her eyes were already fixed on the far doors to the alcove. The moment they opened, Grace was off like a shot, only catching herself after she was half way across the space. Yes, she was competitive, but she didn't want to seem too keen and lose the audience.

"Wow, cake pops. They're so clever!" And easy to make, right? Just cake and icing and fondant. Perhaps some creativity and artistic flourishes were exactly the touches needed in this round. So, should she go for the ones that required the most artistic talent, or choose something easy? Or maybe one of each?

She'd take the snitches and the brooms and make a little vignette.

"A-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Rapunzel laughed right back at Chip. Wasn't he just a chip.... of like, a the kind you put in cookies? Ha. Such a friendly Chip.

Oh Merlin, they were really getting started RIGHT NOW. Breathe, breathe, breathe, Punz! Her eyes popped a bit as Chip revealed the cake pops they had to recreate, but Punz was no dummy; she rushed for the cake pops and was just centimeters behind that younger girl, who grabbed the Snitches Punz wanted. Of course! Punz thought about cobbing young Grace Bones, but let's face it, the girl lived up to her name and was a bony thing. Instead, Rapunzel snatched the remaining broomsticks and the Bertie Botts bean pots. Both looked slightly untidy and DEFINITELY easier than the Sorting hats. She felt bad for whoever was slowest and had to make those.

Her cake pops in hand, she rushed back to her station to get to work. It wouldn't be that difficult to glue a few beans on top of cake pops, right? Er? Did they have edible glue here?

The clock was ticking, and Grace was still gathering ingredients. Or, she'd gathered most of them, but someone had the bold idea to make them catch their own chocolate. As Grace scurried into the pantry for the last of her ingredients, she discovered the frogs were loose and milling around, just WAITING for someone to try to grab them.

One good jump, right? Could she wear them out? Grace shooed a few toward her basket, groaning as they hopped over it, spilling ingredients along the way. "Just... get in the basket, you dumb little..." No, wait, be charming. "Aren't they so sweet?" Teeth clenched, Grace grabbed at the nearest frog, nearly taking off both legs completely as she dropped him into her basket. FINALLY.

"Where's the cake, where's the cake," Rapunzel murmured to herself, wondering why they didn't just provide pre-baked cake for them if they wanted them to make cake pops??!?!?!

Anyway. She had to dodge around the Bone-y girl and gather her things, then hurry back to her station, adjust her Santa hat, and start tossing ingredients together. Flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar... erm, guess she was doing the reverse creaming method... butter.... should she use oil? She glanced at the UNHELPFUL recipe. Whatever, butter it was. Doo doo dooo... a little vanilla, some eggs (3? Would 3 be enough?), milk, and BAM! She had batter.

What was she forgetting??? Punz paused to look around her station. She felt like she was rushing, but also, they only had ONE HALF HOUR to do all this and she was already down like, ten minutes in the first half. Without regard for the mess she knew she was fully about to cause, Punz began pouring the batter into a cake pop maker, which was kind of a like a waffle maker but just for making round balls of cake. It did cook faster than regular cake pans, and she needed to have TIME for DECORATING, but it was messier, and Punz realized that she could not just pour this whole bowl over the cake iron; she'd need to spoon it in one pop at a time.

UGH. TIME. Where was it going? How long did they have left? She closed the lid on the cake pop machine, hoping no one noticed the excess batter pouring out the side of it, and called out, "Time check?" Eh, Chip Sprinkles, or whatever his name was?

Ooooh Cake, this was going to be good. Leon loved all the contestants already and he clapped for them all as they went racing towards the pops. "You know I think this is going to be a close competition. Look at them go, the speed just to get to the pops is thrilling already. Do you think they are going to know what to do once they get back to their stations?" He looked at the fantastic Chip before looking back at the contestants again.

"I know what would go great with these cake pops.... ice cream!" Of course ice cream, cake and ice cream went hand in hand. YOu really couldn't have one without thei other. "Look at the techniqe of Miss famous Rapunzel, get it girl!"


Minerva's nerves were getting to her as they were going to start and listening to the judges she couldn't help but realize she was up against many moms and many that had just as much if not more experience as she did, but that didn't matter she was going to do this and she was going to win. She had a competitive side it just hadn't come out in a while, but the minute the doors open she had taken off as well. There was no way she was letting anyone get to the owls, those cute little guys were hers.

Once she grabbed them she headed back to her working station and looked at the ingredients. It was time to start gathering everything up, so taking her list and headed to the pantry she filled her basket. Thankfully the other two go their first and the frogs were pretty much out of their jumps so gathering them was no problem at all.

Heading back to her station she organized all her ingredients on the table, there was no way to work unless they were properly put out. Seeing the others a little further along she decided she better step up the pace and dumped the flour, sugar, eggs together and started to mix.

Part house elf

Kurumi batted her hand playfully towards Chip as he responded to her little introduction. Hard to tell if there would be any advantage to be had. Unless they were going to be cooking with raw meats and insects, she doubted there was too much of an edge that she had over her competition. All came down to how well one handled themselves under pressure, she supposed.

Her hands politely folded in front of her as the event proceeded, she squealed in delight when the first task of cake pops was revealed. Oh she did love making a good cake pop! Now, did recreate mean...precisely as seen on the display or...were they allowed to give things their own unique individualized flare?

She had no real time to ask as they were let loose and the competition properly began. "OH!" she exclaimed in surprise while taking off at a bit of a job towards the pops. Her choices were all rather easy. The first selection was in honor of her first born, so the mommy dragonologist scooped up the cauldrons in one hand. Her second selection was a dedication to her daughter, an avid quidditch fan and hopeful, so the golden snitch was plucked next. Bit of a call back to her disastrous career as a Seeker as well, but plenty of fond memories. She always found that she baked better when she had a personal connection with what she was making and there were plenty of connections to be had here. Perhaps the next round would be in homage to the triplets or her dashing husband who was supporting her in the audience somewhere.

And...hopefully baking this snitch would be much more successful than she was in her attempts at catching it.

But...speaking of quidditch, and thankfully her station happened to be right beside Rapunzel's.

"Excuse me, Rapunzel?" Kurumi asked as she scanned down the recipe for both pops at the same time - a slender finger per parchment. "I was wondering if I may get your autograph? When you have a moment that is. My daughter, Rebecca Rasting, is quite the quidditch fan and has one of your posters among those decorating her bedroom walls."

Make the cake. Those were hardly clear instructions now, were they? Though at least there were some measurements provided which...she politely ignored. Her own fail proof recipe was the way to go. And she would do so WITHOUT the aid of some takoyaki looking device.

Fetching herself two round cake pans, the Gryffindor alumnus made quick work of her dry ingredients while she juggled and danced around a bit with the mixer to start on her frosting as well. For the snitch pops she went with a traditional vanilla cake...but added a bit of lemon zest for additional flavor and the little peek-a-boo of yellow it would provide among the white cake. The cauldrons, despite her son's selective 'allergy' to sweets, she went with a vanilla as well but added a bit of lime zest to go with the green coloring of the potion inside - and it was a bit sour, which was more what her son would enjoy. Dry ingredients settled, she carefully added the wet ones and whisked like no one's business with BOTH hands so as not to waste any more precious time.

She HAD been one of the last to select her pops, after all. Sometimes her politeness got in the way of her competitive nature.

But stir stir stiiiiiir...and her batter was to a consistency she approved of. As too was her icing. "Perfect!" she praised herself, quite literally giving herself a pat on the back as she hurried her cakes into the oven and set the timer.

Now to work on some of the decorations while she waited for those to bake! The snitch's wings were a good place to begin...and did she want to use gold dusted chocolate or go for some fondant...hmmmm...

Her feet were moving back into the pantry for the chocolate frogs before she could even so much as think the word 'quidditch'.

"Hello Minerva! Good to see you again!" she called softly to the former Hufflepuff as she scampered by to collect more ingredients.

And let the games begin!

Chip took his seat next to Leon and watched as the contestants scrambled to be the first to grab the cake pop examples of their choosing. "Always so interesting to see who chooses what, don't you think?" he asked of his fellow judge, and of the studio audience. He was meant to be providing commentary after all. "Surprising choice for the Quidditch queen." One might think the broom and the snitch for Rapunzel, but perhaps a couple of the other ladies had gotten to the snitches first. "Let's hope that doesn't cause any bad blood." Ha ha ha.

They all seemed to have a good start, even skirting around the jumping chocolate issue, and seemed to have little issue figuring out the ingredients even with the lack of detail or labels. But... really, where was the fun in that? And just before the midway point, "Time to talk with our lovely home bakers!"

Leon was welcome to join and speak with them as well, but Chip jumped over the judge table and headed to Grace's station first. "Looks like you have plenty of chocolate, Grace! Have you ever made cake pops before?" He noticed the Quidditch theme she had going on, causing him to wonder if she had her own sport aspirations, or if she was simply trying to throw Rapunzel off her game. Ah, good times! He loved healthy competition.

And speaking of Rapunzel, she was next in line for Chip to check on. "I see you were not quite quick enough to catch that snitch," he said as he stepped over to her station, donning a very sympathetic expression, though his eyes flashed with amusement. Get it? Hilarious word play there. He didn't even know if she had been a seeker, but it still worked. "Though maybe the cake pop maker will give you an advantage." Maybe. It didn't seem like the others chose to use that piece of equipment, at least not yet, though it didn't necessarily mean anything. Results still remained to be seen.

Chip jumped over to Minerva's station next. "How's it going over here?" he asked, noting that she seemed to get right to work, mixing her ingredients. "Easier without the ankle-biters tugging at your apron strings? Or are they mum's little helpers?" Of course, he was just bantering, although he didn't have any children of his own and could not imagine trying to bake with young ones underfoot. But Minerva appeared to be an expert.

And then Kurumi, the part house elf. Chip suddenly appeared at her station. "Trying to flatter the competition? Now there's a strategy." Heh. Would it work though? Possibly. The young woman seemed to bounce all over the place as she gathered and mixed and baked. Well. He leaned over her counter as he peered at her cakes. "Lime zest? Bold choice." Would it pay off? Only time, and his taste buds, would tell.

"TEN MINUTES!" he called out to the contestants, reminding them of how much time they had left. And now that they were at the ten minute mark, it was time for a holiday surprise! "What is Christmas without the Christmas carols, am I right, contestants?" Oh yes, he knew he was!

And with that, dozens of wood nymphs flittered out into each of the bakers stations, loudly singing Christmas carols - not all of them the same song and several of them off-key. Several wood nymphs for each station, flittering around the cakes and ingredients as they serenaded them, not trying to cause chaos, but would likely make things a tad more difficult. Hopefully the bakers could bake and decorate around them!

And you know what? Leon was right - ice cream did go well with cake. Chip summoned them both a couple bowls before returning to his seat so he could watch the rest of the round. Keep going, bakers!

Punz beamed a little as the very fabulous Leon called out to her. She bopped her hand in the air for an air-five to him.

ONLY ten minutes WERE LEFT??! Rapunzel needed to decorate these things! She hurriedly popped her cake balls out of her cake pop maker and then threw them into the freezer on a plate. She tossed some confectioner's sugar and milk together to make a glaze because she was pretty sure she wasn't going to be able to decorate them with ALL the detailed things in that little time they had left. Punz was about to run over into the pantry room to get some sprinkles and food coloring when Kurumi spoke to her, stopping her in her tracks as she blushed but beamed at her competitor.

Aww, her daughter had a poster? of HER? She was so famous?! "I'd be glad to!" she replied happily. So sweet. SO sweet. And Punz was SO distracted by this. She almost forgot what she had done with her cake pops...

She hurried back to the freezer, so now she did not have all the decorations she needed, but at least she was going to be able to glaze the cake pops, and put them on a stick, and... oh, the host was here. Time to SMILE!

"Ha ha," the blonde fake-laughed at Chip's joke as she started stabbing a stick into each of her cake pops. "Good one," she winked at him. "I think we'll see!" Only now... her view of anything was kind of blocked by all these singing NYMPHS! And she still needed to go get directions from the pantry!

Ugggggggh. "Excuse me," Punz called out politely to the nymphs, spinning around one and twirling around the other, trying to make her way to the pantry. Merlin, they WERE good carolers!

The adrenaline was pumping trying to beat the clock and Minerva was loving every single minute of it. She had gotten all her ingredients together and had swished her wand to get the mixing going so now she had to gather the icing pieces. The owl had a few colors and that was going to be tricky with a time limit. Her thoughts were broken for a minute when she heard her name and couldn't help but smile and give a wave, "Hello Kurumi! It is so great to see you again." She had always looked up to the older Gryffindor and fully expected her to take home the trophy today, she was brilliant in a kitchen, at least she was at school. That was a long time ago though and Minerva had come a long way since then so anything was possible.

She turned back to her work station and began preparing to get her cake in the oven to bake when Chip was at her counter. "Oh, I guess it is easier, but my kids help out so much around the house. My oldest just turned 17, so they aren't super young anymore. My late mother taught me how to bake and I always wanted to pass that down to my own children." Finishing putting the cake batter in a pan she laughed, "I do have an almost one-year-old though, so this is easier at the moment." Aiden was now getting into everything so baking was more of a challenge these days.

As quickly as Chip had come it seemed he was gone, but that was alright she had a cake to bake and the ten-minute warning got her heart pumping. Thank Merlin for the magic she could speed the baking process along. Though distractions were being a big part of the day she was beginning to see and Wood Nymphs were the next thing to happen. These little creatures made her laugh and soon she was singing jingle bells with one of them.

What an exciting day!

Leon was sashaying to each counter and checking out each contestant. Oh, but he did see that air five and had to give it back. "It is starting to smell so delish in here." The cakes baking were turning the entire room into a scented candle and Leon was all about it.

When the ten-minute warning happened he clapped his hands to cheer everyone on, "Get it, girls and guys, you can do it!" He looked to the audience to see if they thought it could be done before heading back to his seat, "Oh Chip you know exactly how to get to my heart."

The ice cream was exactly that and yum, how amazing was it to eat while watching this compeition unfold.

Chip sat back at the judges table with Leon and leisurely ate his ice cream as he watched the bakers try to finish their cake pops around the singing wood nymphs. This was delightful! The bakers seemed to making the most of the few minutes they had left, putting the finishing touches on their creations, even with the minor obstacles they had during this first round.

"Save some of that ice cream for when we sample the cake!" he suggested to his fellow judge. Hopefully it wouldn't be melted by then and hopefully at least some of the cake would be edible!

His eyes snapped up to the clock as time was winding down. And when there were mere seconds left, he counted down with the clock. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! YOU'RE DONE!" he shouted, just as the buzzer went off.

"Okay, bakers! Put down your utensils and present your cake pops!" It was time to judge their appearance and taste!

No, no, no!!!

It was time already? Minerva wasn't fully finished but she hurried to get the end in. Looking at the sample she knew hers didn't look like it, but she had tried. The beak wasn't in the exact spot, the icing wasn't exactly the color, she should have mixed the food coloring a bit better, but all in all, she thought it looked okay. Plus she didn't have any worry about it not tasting good, she knew that part she had down.

Setting down her utensils she placed the item on the presenting dish and waited to see what the judges would say.