Drama · 3 min
The Pitch.
Between lunch and dinner service, a young cook ambushes her chef with a dish idea and discovers how much approval she is really chasing.
The roles
REN MATSUDA
Early 30s. Head chef. Technically brilliant. Emotionally unavailable by habit. Running a kitchen that's understaffed tonight. Stress sits in his jaw. The kind of guy who shows approval by not yelling.
ANIKA OSEI
Mid-20s. Line cook, two years in. Ambitious, talented, has been developing a new dish on her own time for three weeks. Rehearsed the pitch. Losing the rehearsal.
The Pitch · Drama side · memorlined.app
(A restaurant kitchen. Between lunch and dinner service. Half the stations are wiped clean. REN MATSUDA stands at the pass, checking the reservation book with a pen between his teeth. ANIKA OSEI pushes through the swinging door carrying a sheet pan with three small plates.)
ANIKA OSEI
Chef.
(REN doesn't look up.)
ANIKA OSEI
Chef. You got a second?
REN MATSUDA
Not really.
ANIKA OSEI
Thirty seconds.
REN MATSUDA
We have a hundred twelve on the books tonight and I'm down a prep cook.
ANIKA OSEI
I know. I'll help with prep after. Thirty seconds.
(He looks at the plates. Looks at her. Takes the pen out of his mouth.)
REN MATSUDA
What is this?
ANIKA OSEI
So I've been working on something. On my own time. It's a—
REN MATSUDA
Just tell me what's on the plate.
ANIKA OSEI
Right. Seared scallop. Charred leek puree. Pickled fennel. Brown butter.
REN MATSUDA
That's the plate?
ANIKA OSEI
There's a crumble. Rye and miso.
REN MATSUDA
Where?
ANIKA OSEI
Under the scallop. You can't see it until you cut in.
(REN picks up a spoon. Cuts into the scallop. Looks at the cross-section.)
REN MATSUDA
When did you make this?
ANIKA OSEI
This morning. I came in at five.
REN MATSUDA
Nobody told me you were in at five.
ANIKA OSEI
I let myself in. Side door.
REN MATSUDA
You can't just let yourself in at five.
ANIKA OSEI
I know. Sorry. But try it.
(He takes a bite. Chews. Swallows. Sets the spoon down.)
ANIKA OSEI
So?
REN MATSUDA
The scallop's good.
ANIKA OSEI
And the crumble?
REN MATSUDA
Salty.
ANIKA OSEI
I can adjust that. I was thinking half the miso—
REN MATSUDA
The leek's overworked.
ANIKA OSEI
I charred it in the pan and then I—
REN MATSUDA
I can taste the char. It's a paste. Needs texture.
ANIKA OSEI
So if I pull it earlier—
REN MATSUDA
Maybe. Try the second one.
(He tastes the second plate.)
REN MATSUDA
Better. Still salty.
ANIKA OSEI
That one has less miso.
REN MATSUDA
How much less?
ANIKA OSEI
By a third.
REN MATSUDA
Try half.
(He pushes the plates back toward her.)
ANIKA OSEI
So is that— I mean, what do you think? Overall.
REN MATSUDA
I think it's a plate.
ANIKA OSEI
A plate.
REN MATSUDA
It's food on a plate. It's fine.
ANIKA OSEI
Fine.
REN MATSUDA
What do you want me to say?
ANIKA OSEI
I don't know. I've been working on it for three weeks and "fine" is—
REN MATSUDA
Three weeks is not a long time. Work on it for three months and it'll either become something or it won't.
ANIKA OSEI
But is it worth three months? That's what I'm asking.
(He looks at her. First real eye contact in the conversation.)
REN MATSUDA
The fennel's good.
ANIKA OSEI
Yeah?
REN MATSUDA
The pickle's right. The acid is right. The scallop's cooked well.
(He trails off. Goes back to the reservation book.)
ANIKA OSEI
The idea is what?
REN MATSUDA
The idea is fine. Keep working. Don't come in at five without telling me.
(A printer chatters behind them. REN rips off the ticket.)
REN MATSUDA
Two-top early. We're live. Get your station set.
ANIKA OSEI
But should I—
REN MATSUDA
Anika. Station.
ANIKA OSEI
Heard.
(She picks up the sheet pan. Starts toward her station. Stops.)
ANIKA OSEI
Chef.
REN MATSUDA
What.
ANIKA OSEI
The fennel's from the guy at the Saturday market. The one with the truck.
REN MATSUDA
Okay.
ANIKA OSEI
He's got sunchokes too. I was thinking for next—
REN MATSUDA
Station.
ANIKA OSEI
Right.
(She goes. Starts pulling containers. REN looks at the ticket. Looks at the third plate she left behind. Picks up the spoon. Takes a bite. Doesn't say anything.)
Print it for class, or open it in the app: every role in this side is playable, and the other side of the scene gets a reader. Cast a voice against your part in the Audition Room, then run it until the lines are yours.
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