Chapter 20

Emma introduces me to the chief cooks of the restaurant, then introduces me to the trainees.

The chef's levels averaged around 7, with the cooking attribute being their highest stat, whereas the trainees' average level was around 5.

"Hello. Sofia already introduced me but I am Rin Yamashita, just call me Rin" I smile at the staff and introduce myself in perfect English "Nice to meet you all."

"Rin, I detect the British accent in your speech. Did you study in England" The sous chef seemed interested after hearing an accent she is familiar with.

"No, I just watched a lot of British TV shows. But I would love to go one day" I give Emma a smile and continue to make conversation with the cooks.

"Rin" I hear Sofia shout my name to get my attention.

"Yes Sofia" I turn towards the lady as she called my name.

"Brandon" She also calls another name and I see a boy walk out towards her

"Yes Sofia-san". I see the half Japanese boy they introduced me to as a trainee.

'Emma said that he's the youngest in the kitchen. If I remember correctly, she said he was only 16'

The boy stood around 172cm, had tanned skin and his looks were average. He looked at me and then back at Sofia, waiting for her to speak.

"Rin. Brandon. You will both have a match later" Sofia looks at both of us with a smile.

I look at Brandon and then back at Sofia.

"Match? In what?" I ask calmly, as I already knew what was going to come next.

"A battle of cooking" she says to both of us.

[RINNN ITS SHOKUGEKI TIMEEEE. BEAT THE FUCKER] An aggressive high pitch voice rings in my head.

'You're way too aggressive for this Amara' I reply in amusement.

'You didn't have to tell me. I'll beat his ass' I smirk to myself.

"What are the rules?" I hear Brandon talk now.

"First, you will have 90 minutes to create your dish and secondly you must either create an Italian or Japanese meal. I will judge your dish along with Emma and Roberto" Sofia explains the rules and procedures of the match.

'Hmm Roberto is one of the demi chefs, I remember he is half Japanese half Italian. Two Italian judges and one British, this will be interesting.

"The restaurant will reopen soon, so we don't have enough time. Brandon, you will have the evening shift off. The match will begin at 9pm after the restaurant closes up" Brandon nods and then continues to listen.

"You two take the rest of the time to prepare. Oh yeah, whoever wins will be my student" She smiles but I could sense a slight evil aura coming from her.

I look at Brandon and see sparks coming from his eyes.

'Analyze'

___________________________

Name - Brandon Nishimura

> Cooking level - 6/10

> Gastronomy level - 5/10

> Management level - 4/10

___________________________

"Good luck" I hear Brandon's voice but sense arrogance in it as if he was looking down on me. I notice he was putting his hand out for a handshake and decide to make eye contact with him.

"I don't need luck to win against you" I look at him directly in the eyes and then walk away.

Just before I go through the kitchen doors, I turn back to Sofia "I'll be back here around nine, see you later".

Sofia looks back and nods as she whispers to herself "He's exactly like Akari".

I smile at her and then leave the restaurant followed by my bodyguard.

'I need to call Alfred' I get my phone out from my pocket and call him. "Master Rin what can I do for you?" the old man's voice rings through the phone.

"Alfred, have the herbs and spices been collected yet?"

"I have a man who is currently at the international food market picking up the spices as we speak"

"Okay that's fine. Get him to deliver them as soon as possible. Can you send me the location of the market? I wish to pick some things up personally."

"Okay master Rin, I'll send it to you now"

"Thankyou Alfred" I thank the old man and then end the call. I receive a text from him and then look at the location through online maps.

'Okay so it's 3:20 now. It'll take 30 minutes to get there, and it's a 15 minute drive from my condo. I already have a recipe in mind but it's better to practice so I can improve it.'

I tell Ayato the address of the international food market and then we make our way there.

"Wow! there really is a wide range of food here."

I look around at all the different shop fronts and then at the big sign showing the name of the company who runs the market 'Nakiri International'.

'Amara, this is related to Alice and Erina, right?' I ask because of the name 'Nakiri' being used in the company name.

The market was enormous and looked as if there were over 50 different stores selling fresh foods. The main street of the market was bustling with people making it an extremely lively environment.

[Alice's dad owns the organisation but not much is said about it in the manga and anime]

[But it must be pretty impressive purely judging by the look of this market]

'Okay, I have to look for an Italian shop and then a butchers' I continue to look around until I found an Italian food shop. After picking up all the ingredients needed for my recipe, I head back to the condo to practice on the recipe.

'All the herbs and spices have been delivered' I see multiple trays of all different herbs sitting on the kitchen countertop.

'Hey Amara, Brandon has a higher level of cooking than me. What's your advice on closing the gap?'

[Well, he doesn't have an OP memory like yours. Memorise the more common European herbs and spices before going into more detail on Italian herbs. Whilst making your practice dish, analyze the flavours in your dish and make a judgement call on what to add.

'I already have the theory regarding uses of the more common herbs, so all that's really needed it for me to taste and assess them personally'

"Okay it's time to abuse the fuck out of this" I hype myself up and get straight to assessing the herbs whilst considering the uses I read in earlier textbooks.

'Rosemary and garlic are a must for the recipe, also I'll use the...' I continue to devise a rough recipe before preparing.

After completing the meal I analyse the dish "6/10 huh.. not good enough" I mumble to myself. 'What is it missing? It feels like there's something missing from the meat' I continue to think before coming to an answer.

'The flavour needs to be enhanced.. I need to also cut down the cooking time for the dish without losing flavour'

'Ive done it! I'll add...' After my second attempt I analyse the dish '7/10.. it seems like this is my limit at the moment. Although I would like a higher score, I don't see myself getting it any higher with my skill level.'

"Okay, it's 8PM! I need to get ready!" I pack the ingredients needed, wash up and put an outfit on suited for making food.

I wore all black as I didn't have any professional chef wear "I think this will do" I say as I look into a mirror."

"Oh wait. I should wear that." I grab a storage box which was under the wardrobe and pick out a small box.

"I believe this is what Rin's mother used to wear as well" I say to myself whilst looking at the storage box filled with headbands. I grab a black headband and wrap it around my wrist.

"Okay let's go" I mumble to myself before I call the driver and leave for the restaurant.

'8:55PM' I look at my phone as I knock loudly on the back door of the restaurant's kitchen. "Hello! It's Rin. I'm a little early".

A woman I recognize as being a demi chef opens the door.

'If I remember correctly, she is called Mio.'

"Hey" she smiles "Come on in, Brandon has already arrived and we're just finishing up the cleaning."

Most of the staff are present as I walk into the kitchen. 'They must be interested. Guess I'll have to put a show on' I smirk as I walk towards a clean cooking station.

Brandon had already got most of his stuff out in advance as he had arrived earlier. I asked Mio to collect the tools I needed.

"Mio I'm sure you'll have this in stock, please could you get..."