Photo ops were abundant as the queens made their way from the Lighting of the Torch to the
Flame-Up in Gourmet Alley where the girls received instructions on what to do and not do as
they prepped for their 30 second career as pyro chefs. Gourmet Alley Co-Chair, Craig Miner,
provided comic relief, telling the girls they would need to wear hair nets. Panic could be seen
on their faces as they chanted “oh, no.” Instead, hair was put into pony’s, each helping the other
(serving as mirrors) to make sure they looked OK with their new hairdos. Two groups of four
were formed, anxiety was high but their can-do spirits won out as they took on the task of
providing the festival goers the first flame-ups of the day. “I’m not good at this, there’s a reason
why pyro chefs have done this for 30 years,” said Kyle as she grabbed the long narrow handle of
the very large pan and attempted to flip its contents. Although very apprehensive over the whole
process, she was a trooper, noting that the pan wasn’t necessarily all that heavy but the handle
was small and hot; making the flipping difficult. As for the flame-up, maybe next time.
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GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
gmhtoday.com