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Winner Melbourne Food & Wine Festival Young Writer Competition
Anna Turner Aged 13 Year 8 The Peninsula School
"The Best Meal I Ever Had - Fish & Chips"

Everyday I walk to school down the same old street with the same old people at the same old time, everyday I know that at Collins Street a dog will bark and a man will yell. I know that at traffic lights number two a rusty blue van will stop in lane one, indicating right. Everyday at the cross roads the old man in the red jumper will turn left and I will leave the crowd and go right, down the road to Stampford Primary school.

But today was different, the dank shop down the road wasn’t blanked out with old yellow newspaper, the door had been painted and a new sign was up. There was life inside at this early hour of the morning, music was poring out the open door along with a smell that has never been smelt before, it was they smell of the very finest food ever eaten, a very delicious smell, it was fresh and gave a spring to your steps.

Over the next few days when I walked to school I observed the progress of the new shop, writing had gone up in the window, “Tara’s Finest Fish and Chips”. Fish was a delicacy in the small town of Stampford, some had never heard of it, even the old man in the red jumper had only eaten it once, he said it was a different flavour to everything, juicy and slightly lemon, it is white with a strange texture but nothing could describe it well enough. He told me how they caught the fish near the water, with great long rods, and how they took all the little bones out so that we could eat them.

By Sunday everyone knew of the Fish and Chips. Each day I had to pass the tempting smells that drifted around the nearby area, Mum said it would be too much money for us to go there and anyway what was wrong with chicken she would say. So each day I had to resist.

I decided I would save up and treat myself to this ‘Fish and Chips’, or perhaps I could ask for a meal if I would do some work for… Tara I guess her name would be. Okay that’s what I will do; tomorrow I will roll in there on my daily trip to school. I would tell her that for a meal of Fish and Chips I would do as many days of work as it would cost.

So the next day I waited until the crowd had gone and I stood restlessly outside watching Tara set up the tables for another day of work. She spotted me. I suddenly lost courage and sprinted out of sight and off to school. I didn’t understand, I had planned it so well and then just suddenly I lost all my nerve.

The next day she was ready for me, and there was no opportunity to get away. She invited me in and sat me down. She handed me a menu expecting me to be her very first customer. I didn’t know what to say, but I tried a few words,
“Miss, I don’t have any money but… but I would love to try some fish.”
I didn’t want to sound like I was begging, she didn’t mind.
“Yeh sure, you pass here every day don’t you? You can pay me tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry but I won’t have any money tomorrow either,” I told her rather nervously. “I was wondering whether I, I could do some work in return.”
“That sounds great, how about after school. I’ll give you a meal and then you can help me pack up, see if we can get some more customers.”
It was a deal!

All day I couldn’t wait, I had told everyone on my way to school so there was no one that didn’t know. I waited patiently all day and finally the school bell rang and I rushed out and ran all the way to the Fish and Chip shop. When I got there, there were lines poring out the door; almost everyone in the little town was there. And to my surprise so was Mum!

I got my meal of Fish and Chips, the odour amazed me, my mouth started watering as soon as it was under my nose, the fish was warm and juicy, and it tasted like nothing I had ever tasted, not a bit like steak or vegetables, I ate it slowly tasting every single bite. Honestly it was the best meal I had ever had.

What the Judges said:
The scene setting was great and so was the dialogue. Very life-like, good characterisation and built anticipation well.
My next favourite meal, a real foodie prepared to go to any lengths for good food, well done.
Anticipation worked, but it fell over in the end – there was no real payoff. Take time to work it out.
Anna has managed to tell a simple story, lead us into her character’s head and convey the pleasure and sensation of her meal. She has done a great job and chosen a subject she can relate to directly, which makes it really believable and hence, powerful.