Chapter 23

I wake up at 7AM and work out in the gym before heading to the restaurant.

I head into the restaurant at around 9AM like usual and, as usual, I am greeted by the kitchen staff.

"Good morning Rin" Emma notices my presence and greets me.

"Ah, Sofia told me she wants to see you. She's currently in her office."

"Good morning Emma. Okay, I guess I'll go to her office now" I say to Emma before swiftly heading to the office.

*Knock* *Knock* "Sofia, it's Rin. I heard you wanted to see me. Can I come in?"

"Ah Rin. Yes, please come in" I hear Sofia's voice and then enter her office.

"Good morning Rin. Come sit down" She smiles and directs me to sit down on the chair in front of her.

"Good morning Sofia. Emma told me you needed something from me" I sit down and return the smile to Sofia.

"Yes Rin. You should be pretty familiar with how the restaurant runs now, so I want to give you some more responsibilities. Can you handle it?"

"Yes, of course" I answer confidently.

"I want you to work under Roberto. He's an experienced chef, so you'll definitely learn a lot from him. The person who usually serves under him is injured and won't be able to work for the next few weeks" She smiles warmly as she sees the confidence in my eyes.

'I get to work under a demi chef. I'm surprised she trusts me this much'

"I won't let you down" I bow in gratitude.

'Shit, I need to tell her I'll be leaving for Europe in August. I hope she doesn't think I just used her.' I worry that she might have a negative reaction.

"Sofia" I muster up the courage and say her name.

"Yes Rin?" I look at her and see a questioning look on her face.

"I'm planning to go to Europe in August. The duration of my trip is indefinite, so I can't give you any dates on when I will return. I'm already receiving so much from you, yet I have given nothing back to you."

"I hope you don't think I'm ungrateful" I voice out my worries to Sofia who watches me with a warm smile.

"Rin" Sofia interrupts me.

"To be honest with the pace you're learning at, I'm not sure if I'll have too much to teach you by August. One reason I'm having you work under Roberto is because I fear that I'm going to run out of things to teach you" Sofia says, looking directly into my eyes.

"I think practical experience will allow you to grow better, so make sure you absorb as much knowledge as possible whilst working with Roberto"

"Thank you for all that you're doing for me, I promise I'll pay you back one day" I say to Sofia with gratitude

Sofia stays silent for a few seconds, then says, "Actually, if you want to pay me back then you can do it in Europe."

'Her restaurant operates in Japan so I wonder what she wants from me in Europe' I look at her with interest.

"In September there is an under 16s youth cooking competition that is held in Europe. This year they will hold it in Milan, Italy. I can arrange a place for you in Italy, what do you think?'

I think for a moment before answering "I'd be glad to take part" "But Sofia... isn't it underhanded to grant me a place without some kind of test?" I ask her.

"No, not really. Many people get in through recommendations. Of course, there is the natural way of getting in via trails, but your level of skill is way ahead of most chefs of your age" she explains, looking at me seriously whilst doing so.

"Just remember that by having my recommendation you'll also be representing me so don't lose" I can hear the competitiveness in her voice.

I look up at her and see fire in her eyes, the smile on her face now looking quite intimidating.

"Of course. Do you really think I'll make a joke out of your reputation" I smirk and then look into her eyes confidently.

"You're talented Rin. With how quick you learn as long as you work hard, you'll achieve a level neither I nor your mother could reach."

"But don't take the competition lightly. A lot of the competitors get recommended by the top chefs in Europe so it won't be easy to beat them all" She looks at me with slight worry as she says this.

"Sofia" "I'll win this tournament" I put my hand on my chest and look at her with a serious expression.

Sofia gets up and then rubs my head, then says, "Then make sure you work hard. The competition is three months away."

Before I leave the office to look for Roberto, I talk with Sofia.

[I wonder if you'll run into any Canon characters whilst in Europe] I hear Amara's voice as I walk out of the office.

'I guess there's a slight chance now that I'll be taking part in a tournament'

"Have you seen Roberto?" I ask one of the kitchen staff, as I don't see him in the room.

"I believe he's in the storage room" I walk in the backrrom and see Roberto looking through the stock of ingredients

"Good morning Roberto" I greet the old man.

"Ah Rin, just in time. Come here" Upon noticing that I'm standing at the door, he waves me to come towards him.

"Roberto, I've been told by Sofia that I'll be working under you until your assistant recovers. Please take care of me" Although curious about what he wanted, I thought it was best to greet him politely.

"Yes, now stop hanging around, come here and carry this" he gestures me to pick up a box full of fruit and vegetables.

I pick up the box and hear him say bluntly, "Rin put them outside. They are bad."

I nod and take them outside, but it's only then that I look properly at the contents of the box.

'These don't look bad at all' after picking up a vegetable and smelling it, I struggle to discern what was wrong with it.

I put it down after inspecting it for a few seconds and walk back towards the storage area where Roberto was waiting.

"Roberto, all the ingredients are fresh stock, right? So why were they bad?"

He looks at me but stays quiet.

"From what I can tell there isn't a difference between the stock I threw away and the current stock in here"

"Rin" The old man stops me from talking.

"As you become more experienced and knowledgeable in cooking, you will naturally become more familiar with ingredients"

"One of the most powerful tools that an experienced chef has is that they can recognise the slight differences with the quality of ingredients. Here, hold these" he hands me two tomatoes.

"Which one is of better quality? Smell and feel them"

I feel and slightly squeeze each tomato and smell them, but still couldn't find any differences. *sigh* "I can't say. They both seem like they are of the same quality."

"The one in your right hand is better. Close your eyes and focus on feeling the tomato deeply. If you lightly squeeze each tomato, you should be able to tell which one is juicier" I follow his advice and close my eyes.

'Now that I focus on it, the right one feels slightly juicier. But I wouldn't have noticed this if I didn't really concentrate' I open my eyes and look at Roberto who has a smile on his face.

"Do you understand?" I say then hand the tomatoes to the old man.

"One thing that is key to making good food is good ingredients. You can be the best chef in the world, but if you don't have the right quality of ingredients, then the meals you create will be of limited quality."

'It seems I need to learn more about how to discern freshness and the quality of ingredients. It might be one thing that is holding me back from making a level 8 dish'

"Well, anyway, I need you to prepare ingredients. We have a busy shift ahead of us. Are you ready?" he says whilst patting my head.

[3 weeks later…] (end of July)

'After every shift I have been studying the characteristics of different ingredients and how to tell between the quality of them. If it wasn't for my OP memory, then I would still be in the same state I was in when looking at the tomatoes a few weeks ago' I stand now Infront of a market stall selecting various ingredients to use for dinner.