Hot Sauce Cook Off is an episode of Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Bitty Adventures.
Summary[]
After hearing the constant bragging from Berrykin Bloom's cousin, Berrykin Bertram, about how he has won the hot sauce competition at the Big Berry County Fair year after year, the girls are determined to help Berrykin Bloom win for a change, whether he really wants to or not.
Episode Review[]
Strawberry and Apple are at the market, placing fruit in the stands. Berrykin Bloom pushes a small cart of hot peppers, humming cheerfully. The twins arrive, carrying baskets. Sweet asks for something new, claiming it is about time to update the café menu. Sour thinks there is no need to fix what is not broken, but Berrykin Bloom agrees with Sweet that they should find new ways to make things.
Berrykin Bloom shows the twins the hybrid peppers he has been growing for years, which he calls the "Hot-and-Not": crossed half a jalapeño with a sunsweet sugar plum and a hint of mint. Sweet smells one and lets Sour smell it too. Sweet says it looks beautiful, and smells great. Sour is reluctant to agree with her sister. Berrykin Bloom bows gracefully and tells he uses those peppers to make his "Hot-and-Not" chili sauce. He gives them some sauce to try. Sweet exclaims it is the best
Yum!!
chili sauce she ever tasted. She tells Sour they have to have it in the cafe. Sour whispers Berrykin Bloom "That's twice in one day I agree with her. I'm starting to get worried!". Sweet asks Berrykin Bloom what is his secret? He answers there is no secret, but following three simple rules: you can't rush, everything takes time; never give up, there is a solution for every problem; and always have a little loving care, any job worth doing is worth doing well! Strawberry steps out of the café, saying she received a text message for Berrykin Bloom. Berrykin Bloom guesses who is it from - his cousin Berrykin Bertram - and asks Strawberry to tell he is out of the city, and is not expected to return in the near decade. Strawberry says he also sent a video. The four girls look at the video, in which Bertram asks "Where are you, cuz? I tried every number in Berry Bitty City". Berrykin Bloom mutters that he buried his phone at the bottom of a flower pot. Bertram teases him for doing that. Strawberry asks what is it about? Berrykin Bloom explains it is the hot sauce contest at the Big Berry County Fair. Bertram says he hopes Bloom does not enter the contest, for Bertram will surely win the Golden
Chili... again. Bertram moves aside that the viewers can see a plaque with seven Golden Chili ribbons. Bertram chuckles nastily and says because they are cousins, he gives Berrykin Bloom a preview: he is seen giving a taste of his chili sauce to a Berrykin volunteer with a helmet, standing on a device that resembles a High Striker. As soon as the volunteer tastes the sauce, steam comes out of his ears and he jumps high. He lands back, sighing but smiling. Bertram says: "Let's see you top that, cuz!". He laughs nastily and the video ends.
Berrykin Bloom is enraged - a very rare event. He immediately regain his composure and apologizes. Strawberry comments she's never seen him so upset. Bloom says that Bertram has been beating him every year in the hot sauce contest, starting from the first contest Bloom entered, always winning the Golden Chili. Sour and even Sweet (!) are angry at Bertram's bragging. Strawberry tells Berrykin Bloom he
Go for it!
does not need a golden medal to prove how good a chili sauce cook he is. Sour exclaims that a medal isn't everything but it's something, and that's better than nothing, and Berrykin Bloom should enter the contest to teach his arrogant cousin a lesson. Apple agrees, saying there is no reason he can't beat Bert. Bloom is unsure, for it isn't his style, but Sour urges him to enter the contest. Bloom still says it is not something he'd do. Strawberry says he should do what's comfortable for him. Eventually, Sour and Apple's enthusiasm catches Berrykin Bloom too, and he decides to go for it. Strawberry is unsure it is a good idea.
For the next day, Sour and Apple assist Berrykin Bloom in cooking the sauce. Sour promises Bloom he is going to have the hottest chili sauce that ever was. With this recipe Apple and she cooked up, he can surely beat Bertie once and for all. Berrykin Bloom approaches a planter in which pepper bushes grow (only branches, without pods), and pours in one drop of his best fertilizer. Immediately, the bushes grow peppers in various colors - red, orange and yellow. Bloom picks a red one carefully and throws it into the sauce pot. Sour and Apple are content with the sauce, and call the volunteer. The Berrykin volunteer tastes a bit, but... does not flinch. Sour and Apple are disappointed, but Bloom explains his "Hot-and-Not" pepper has a delayed reaction, they should wait a bit more. Indeed, a few seconds later, steam rises from the volunteer's ears and mouth, and he jumps high. Then he hastily drinks a whole jug of milk, smiling. Sour and Apple are excited, certain that Berrykin Bloom will win.
Suddenly Apple gets a call for Berrykin Bloom, another of Bertram's videos. Bertram shows on the screen his latest creation: he gives a taste to the volunteer, who jumps five times in a row. "Let's see you top that! Ha-ha-ha!" he laughs. Sour tells Berrykin Bloom he'll just have to make his sauce even hotter. While Berrykin Bloom and Sour are busy with the cooking, he receives a third video from his obnoxious cousin: this time, the sauce makes the volunteer spin around while blowing steam. Berrykin Bloom gives his volunteer a taste, makes him fly around, bumping into things. The fourth video from Bertram shows the volunteer spins so fast that he drills a very deep hole in the ground, then comes out near the spot where he sank. Berrykin Bloom's new sauce makes the volunteer flies above their heads.
The fifth video from Bertram shows the volunteer flying high in the sky, then landing with a parachute, chuckling. Berrykin Bloom exclaims "That isn't hot sauce, it's rocket fuel! There's no way I can compete with him!". He is ready to give up. Sour demands to know how Bertram does it. Berrykin Bloom has no idea what is Bertram's secret - he always wins. Apple examines Bertram's last video closely, and suddenly spots something strange floating inside the sauce pot. She zooms the image, revealing those are blue lumps. Berrykin Bloom realizes this is his cousin's trick of success: that pepper is the hottest chili pepper in the Berry Bitty World - the Big Blue Blazer! Sour asks if he can grow one, but he answers sadly that it is a very rare species, a giant chili that grows under conditions that cannot be duplicated in a garden.
Sour concludes that since Bertram got some, they've got to grow somewhere. But where? Berrykin Bloom has no idea where. He knows the conditions for growing those peppers are: a speckle of sunlight, a dollop of dew, a whisper of wind, and a twist of morning mist. Apple inserts that information into her computer, and soon finds the location - the Meandering Meadow. The map shows exactly where it is: you cross Dewdrop Dale, up Loganberry Hill, then half a mile to the meadow. Encouraged, Sour suggests to go there. She asks Berrykin Bloom if they obtain the Big Blue Blazer, can he make it into hot sauce? He says of course, but there is hardly time - the contest is only a day and a half away. Apple calculates the distance and says if there is no bad weather, they can get it by noon tomorrow. Sour says they have plenty of time. Apple says they need help to bring the Blazer, because it is a giant chili, and calls Strawberry. Sour tells Berrykin Bloom to get everything ready for the cooking. After the girls leave, Berrykin Bloom mutters that it is very nice of the girls to help him, but Bertram always finds a way to win.
Strawberry, Sour and Apple pack for the journey. Strawberry asks Sour if she is certain that's what Berrykin Bloom wants? Sour says there is no doubt. Before leaving, Sour asks Sweet to keep Berrykin Bloom's spirit up - to distract him by doing the "happiness thing" she always does.
The three girls are on the way. They cross a river, and at night they camp at Loganberry Hill. Apple leads the way, keeping her sight on the map on her cellphone.
Meanwhile at the café, Sweet cooks a very large dinner for Berrykin Bloom - much more than he can digest, including a hamburger as big as his head. She offers him a fresh
"Be sure to leave room for dessert..."
Butterberry pie that simply crunches. He thanks Sweet for keeping his mind off the contest. Just then, another video message from Bertram arrives on the laptop screen - "I hope you're not wasting time with the contest! You don't stand a chance! Take a look at...". Sweet quickly closes the screen. Berrykin Bloom is near despair, but Sweet reminds him what he always - never give up. Encouraged, he agrees.
Strawberry, Sour and Apple comes to a ravine, which is not shown on the map. Sour comments sourly they cannot climb down, it will take a week. Strawberry, remembering what Berrykin Bloom said "there is solution to every problem" has an idea. She walks a few feet away, looks around and spots a bridge over the ravine, at some distance to the right.
Sweet and Berrykin Bloom sit at the gazebo, thinking Bertram can't reach them there, when a post bee delivers him a package. He opens it, and recoils: a megaphone on a spring emerges out of the package, announcing Bertram's taunting. Sweet grabs the package and strains to close it, finally sits on it. Bloom is despairing.
Strawberry, Sour and Apple find the Big Blue Blazer.
Sweet tries to cheer Berrykin Bloom up, telling jokes with a hand-puppet. It does not work. Berrykin Bloom bows his head in despair.
Strawberry, Sour and Apple tie ropes to the Blazer and drag it on a sled, straining against its massive weight. The bridge shudders, but they passing it safely. Then they stop to rest on a hill. Sour exclaims "It's amazing what you can do when you really try". They are so proud for obtaining the Big Blue Blazer that they fail to notice that it is sliding downhill - in the direction of the ravine! Luckily it stops on the bridge. When the girls approach the bridge, it creaks and shudders dangerously. They decide not to risk walking on the bridge but to find another way to pull the Blazer back. While they consider their next step, Berrykin Bertram appears, saying that they found the last Big Blue Blazer of the season, but it does not help his cousin where it is now. He offers to "help" - by pulling the supporting rope, increasing the shuddering of the bridge, taunting "Oh, me! Oh, my! Did I do that?". The Big Blue Blazer falls off the bridge into the ravine. The girls are enraged. Sour and Strawberry accuse Bertram of not playing fair. He teases "No, I play to win! Ha-ha-ha" and leaves.
Sadly, the girls return empty-handed. It is almost noon when they arrive. Sour, her voice is choked with tears, tells Berrykin Bloom and Sweet what happened. Berrykin Bloom consoles the girls by telling they tried their best, and no one can ask more than that. Sour says sorrowfully there is nothing left to do but to pack the cooking equipment. As the girls start gathering the equipment, Strawberry suddenly detects a pleasant aroma. Berrykin Bloom tells her it is the "Hot-and-Not" sauce he made while waiting for them. Strawberry tastes and finds it delicious. Sweet tells them they added it to the cafe's menu. Strawberry asks Berrykin Bloom if he ever entered that sauce to the contest. He says he did not, because it is not nearly as hot as the sauce his cousin Berty makes. Strawberry says: "It's delicious, and what really matters is: it's yours". Sour agrees. Bloom says he never considered this, but why not? They pour the sauce into a jar and pack it, and a post bee comes and takes it. Strawberry says all is left is to wait for the decision of the judges.
At the café, there is a great commotion. The Berry girls are there, asking for the new chili sauce. Strawberry and the twins are busy with the orders. Strawberry approaches Berrykin Bloom and asks if he heard the results. He mumbles that he did not think about that. Apple enters and asks that too. The twins approach. Berrykin Bloom hides under the table, too scared to hear the results. Sour looks at her cellphone, gasps and announces that Berrykin Bloom has won! The four girls cheer for him. Berrykin Bloom says cheerfully that cousin Bertie won't be happy about that. Sour says that Bertram was disqualified for conduct
And the winner is...
unbecoming a chili grower. On the other hand, Berrykin Bloom's sauce showed great craftsmanship, a lot of time and efforts went into it, and it was obviously made with great love and care - therefore the judges voted for it. Strawberry says: "That's more than a sauce: it's you, Berrykin Bloom". Berrykin Bloom announces he is speechless. Sour says humorously "I say get busy! Start making more Hot-and-Not sauce". Sweet says they put his sauce on the "Berry Best Bits" webpage catalogue, and already getting orders. A post bee delivers Berrykin Bloom a package. Sweet sighs "Not again", thinking it is from Bertram. But it is not, it's from the judges - the Golden Chili ribbon! The four girls cheer for the overjoyed Berrykin Bloom.
Quotes[]
- Sour: When I was faced with making eight dozen rhubarb trifles in one night, did I say "It just isn't my style"? When my soufflé deflated like a flat tire, did I climb under the covers and pull the sheet over my head?
- Apple: No!
- Sour: I say: enter that contest, and beat him!
- Apple: Yay!
-----
- Apple: This year, the name Berrykin Bloom will mean hot sauce!
- Berrykin Bloom: Yes? Why... yes! This year is my year!
- Sour and Apple: (cheering) To the chili patch and victory!
- Berrykin Bloom: Victory!
-----
- (Sweet tries to cheer Berrykin Bloom up by using a hand-puppet)
- Sweet: (in a squeaky voice, as the hand-puppet) Oh, boy! We're having fun now!
- Sweet: Say, wanna go for a walk?
- Sweet: (as the hand-puppet) Nuh-uh!
- Sweet: Why not?
- Sweet: (as the hand-puppet) It's too... CHILI outside! Ha-ha-ha!
- (Berrykin Bloom is still depressed)
-----
- Berrykin Bertram: Oh, tisk, tisk, what a shame.
-----
- (Strawberry, Apple and Sour return)
- Sweet: You made it, you're back!
- Berrykin Bloom: And the Blue Blazer?
- Sour: (chocked with tears) It's in the bottom of a gorge, in little pieces.
- Sweet: But... but what happened?
- Sour: Berrykin Bertram. He destroyed the Blue Blazer!
- Strawberry: We're so sorry, Berrykin Bloom.
- Berrykin Bloom: There's no cause to be, my dears. You tried your best and that's all anyone can ask.
- Sour: (sniffles tearfully) I guess we better pack all this up.
- Apple: Yea. We'll do it. It's the least we can do.
- (the girls start packing the cooking equipment. Strawberry smells something)
- Strawberry: What is that delicious aroma?
- Berrykin Bloom: Oh, another batch of Hot-and-Not sauce. Made it while I was waiting.
- (Strawberry tastes the sauce, and finds it delicious)
- Strawberry: Mmm!
- Sweet: Isn't that good? We're adding it to the cafe's menu.
- Strawberry: Have you ever entered this in the contest?
- Berrykin Bloom: Oh, goodness, no. It's not nearly as hot as the sauce cousin Bertie makes.
- Strawberry: But it's delicious! (chuckles) And what really matters is - it's yours!
- Sour: (cheered up) You know, she's right!
- Berrykin Bloom: Hmm, never considered it before. But... why not?
- Strawberry: We don't have much time, but we can get it there if we hurry!
- (a sample of the sauce is put in a jar, packed and sent to the contest)
- Strawberry: Well... now all we can do is wait to hear from the judges.
-----
Lessons[]
- Crime does not pay: similarly to the bad guys from Apple's story ("The Berry Bitty Great Race"), the dirty trick Berrykin Bertram used did not help him to win the contest, and eventually he was disqualified for his actions.
Trivia[]
- Cherry, Plum, Orange, Lemon, Raspberry and Blueberry appear very briefly in the final scene, without speaking lines.
- Sour's behavior has changed significantly, perhaps as a result of watching her behavior mirrored in Apple in the previous episode: her voice tone has softened; her comments are humorous rather than sarcastic; she acts altruistically to help Berrykin Bloom; she becomes emotional when telling Berrykin Bloom sorrowfully about the failure, her voice choked with tears; she is overjoyed to announce Berrykin Bloom has won and a little calmer when Bertram was disqualified.
Goofs[]
- Hearing that Berrykin Bloom has won, Strawberry, Apple and the twins rejoice - but the rest of Berry girls do not respond at all (Lemon and Cherry only turn their heads slightly). Compare this to the final scene of "High Tech Drama", in which all the Berry girls rejoiced when hearing that Lemon and Raspberry won the contest, including those who did not participate actively in the episode.
External links[]
- Hot Sauce Cook Off at the Internet Movie Database