The Cooking Competition

My sister Ana has always been a talented cook. She learned from our grandmother and has been making dishes from memory since she was a teenager. Last year, some friends persuaded her to enter a local cooking competition. — choose for gap 1 —1. Ana decided to make her grandmother's famous chicken dish2. He told her it was one of the best dishes he had tasted in the competition3. The town hall was too small to hold the event properly4. Ana thought the competition was badly organised and unfair5. She was very nervous about cooking in front of strangers and almost said no6. She was thrilled with the result and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day7. She realised she had forgotten to bring one of the key ingredients from home8. The judges were all professional chefs from well-known restaurants But in the end, she agreed to give it a try. The competition took place in the town hall on a Saturday in March. There were twelve contestants, and each one had to prepare a main course in ninety minutes using a set of ingredients provided by the organisers. — choose for gap 2 —1. Ana decided to make her grandmother's famous chicken dish2. He told her it was one of the best dishes he had tasted in the competition3. The town hall was too small to hold the event properly4. Ana thought the competition was badly organised and unfair5. She was very nervous about cooking in front of strangers and almost said no6. She was thrilled with the result and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day7. She realised she had forgotten to bring one of the key ingredients from home8. The judges were all professional chefs from well-known restaurants She had practised the recipe dozens of times and was confident she could make it well under pressure. When the timer started, Ana got straight to work. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until about halfway through. — choose for gap 3 —1. Ana decided to make her grandmother's famous chicken dish2. He told her it was one of the best dishes he had tasted in the competition3. The town hall was too small to hold the event properly4. Ana thought the competition was badly organised and unfair5. She was very nervous about cooking in front of strangers and almost said no6. She was thrilled with the result and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day7. She realised she had forgotten to bring one of the key ingredients from home8. The judges were all professional chefs from well-known restaurants She had to think quickly and decided to replace it with a different spice. It was a risk, but she had no other choice. When the judges came to taste her dish, Ana held her breath. The head judge took a mouthful, paused, and then smiled. — choose for gap 4 —1. Ana decided to make her grandmother's famous chicken dish2. He told her it was one of the best dishes he had tasted in the competition3. The town hall was too small to hold the event properly4. Ana thought the competition was badly organised and unfair5. She was very nervous about cooking in front of strangers and almost said no6. She was thrilled with the result and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day7. She realised she had forgotten to bring one of the key ingredients from home8. The judges were all professional chefs from well-known restaurants He said the flavour was original and the presentation was beautiful. The other two judges agreed. Ana finished in second place overall, just behind a professional chef who had been cooking for twenty years. — choose for gap 5 —1. Ana decided to make her grandmother's famous chicken dish2. He told her it was one of the best dishes he had tasted in the competition3. The town hall was too small to hold the event properly4. Ana thought the competition was badly organised and unfair5. She was very nervous about cooking in front of strangers and almost said no6. She was thrilled with the result and couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day7. She realised she had forgotten to bring one of the key ingredients from home8. The judges were all professional chefs from well-known restaurants She has already signed up for next year's competition, and this time she says she is going for first place.