Up His Sleeve

Trey Calhoun has been dreaming of a career as a chef, and for years he has been applying, without success, to celebrity chef Joe Gordon's mentorship program for teens. While Trey is studying his favorite cooking show, Back Shelf Bake Off, Wooton Bassett joins him, and the two discover a big announcement: the show is going on the road to small towns, and its next competition will be held right in Odyssey. Trey has been praying for a chance like this, and Wooton promises to pray that he gets an answer.

Meanwhile, Penny Bassett is discouraged. She has been helping a boy named Gabe get ready for a work program that would reduce his time at the juvenile center, but Gabe backs out of the interview, convinced he isn't good with words and would only fail. Penny tells him that in life you have to be willing to risk failure or you won't get anywhere, but Gabe leaves anyway. Wooton cheers Penny up with news of the bake-off and talks her into entering with him, even though neither of them can cook.

At the sign-ups, Trey learns a devastating rule: this season is a team challenge, and without a partner he can't enter. Desperate, he spots Red Hollard, the handyman who only came to the building to fix the water heater, and asks him to be his partner. To Trey's surprise, Red perks up at the mention of being on television and eagerly agrees.

Both teams make it through the interviews to the first round, where pairs must bake a steak pie in one hour using pantry ingredients that may be past their prime. Trey quickly discovers that Red doesn't know the first thing about cooking; he has never even heard of a julienne. Their pie comes out a sloppy mess, but when Joe Gordon tastes it, he declares it absolutely fantastic and praises Trey's bold puff pastry. They advance. Wooton and Penny, on the other hand, give up on the pie after two minutes and build a hamster fort out of raw meat and potatoes, complete with paprika gunpowder. Joe Gordon pronounces it "the worst effort in the history of the show" and sends them home.

Afterward, Trey admits to Wooton how frustrated he is. He has prayed about this for months, and it seemed like God was opening the door, so why would God give him a partner he can't count on? Wooton says he never tries to figure out what God is doing; he just keeps a lookout for how God is working, because "it's usually not what I expect, but it's always better than what I expect."

In the second round, a blindfolded taste test, Trey shines. While Red confidently guesses things like porcupine stew, Trey correctly identifies all three dishes and their spoiled ingredients, earning the team a spot in the third round, the first one on national television. Backstage, Trey overhears Joe Gordon complaining rudely on the phone about the dinky little town, and when Trey introduces himself, the chef brushes him off, admitting he doesn't even read the mentorship applications. But a show staff member quietly encourages Trey: if he wins the competition, he'll have a straight shot into the mentorship program. Trey is thrilled, sure that God is answering his prayers.

In the televised round, Trey and Red make an elevated peach cobbler. Red worries that the peaches don't smell right, but a rushed Trey insists they're fine, while Red adds his own touch, a molasses whipped cream. Joe Gordon loves the molasses, but on his next bite he crunches down on a peach pit and chips a tooth. The team is eliminated on the spot. As they say goodbye to the camera, Red seizes the moment to speak to his grandson Daniel, a faithful viewer: "I love you, buddy. You're the best, and I'm super proud of you."

Trey is crushed, telling Wooton and Penny that it seemed like Red only cared about being on TV. Then Penny gets a phone call from Gabe: the video of her and Wooton's meat fort has gone viral, and watching them cheerfully fail showed Gabe that he didn't need to be afraid of failing either. He's on his way downtown to do the work program interview after all. Wooton realizes that maybe this is why they went on the show in the first place, and he shares the thought with Trey: sometimes when our prayers aren't answered the way we want, it's because God is using us to answer someone else's prayer.

That sends Trey to Red with a question: why did Red want to be on TV so badly? Red explains that Daniel's mother moved out of state a year ago without saying goodbye or leaving a number, and Red has been praying ever since for a way to let Daniel know he loves him. The bake-off was God's answer; as Red puts it, "you never know what he's got up his sleeve." Red apologizes for ruining Trey's chances, but Trey tells him he didn't ruin anything and that he's glad Red was his partner. Red says Trey hardly needs anyone to show him around a kitchen, but if he ever wants to learn something else, like fixing a car engine or trimming trees, Red would be happy to teach him. Trey warmly accepts the offer of a mentor he never expected.