87  What Sherwin Was Looking Forward To

"What nonsense are you talking about?! How could the soup I made possibly be worse than that dumb cat!!!"

Sanji Meow comment finally ignited the fire that Sanji had been suppressing. Just moments ago, he was planning to use his cooking skills to impress Sherwin and the others, especially that cat with the same name as him, and make them bow down in awe.

But the result was the complete opposite of what Sanji had imagined. This group of people actually thought that his soup wasn't as good as that annoying cat...

Did they sneak into the kitchen earlier or something?In any case, Sanji refused to believe that his proud creation could be outdone by a cat. Even if that old geezer Zeff said those cats were actually an intelligent race called the Mink—it still didn't count!

"First, the cooking time. If you had simmered it for fifteen more seconds, the flavor would've come through better, meow. Then there the order of ingredients—the celery should've been added last. Also, the salt went in too early, meow..."

Sanji Meow stood there with an air of superiority, pointing out flaws in the soup. At the end, he even added, with a tone of feigned generosity,

"But for an average chef with mediocre talent, getting the soup to this level is already pretty impressive, meow."

"Waaahhh!!! You stupid cat! What the hell are you so smug about?!"

Driven to the brink of madness, Sanji lunged at Sanji Meow, baring his teeth and claws. But before he could get close, he was grabbed and held back tightly by Patty.

This was when the tip Sherwin had just given earlier proved useful.

"Don't even think about laying a hand on our honored guest, you bastard!" Patty dragged Sanji toward the kitchen while forcing a smile at Sherwin and the others.

"Please don't mind him. Continue enjoying the fine food of our restaurant."

"What a shame. I was planning to take the chance to kick that idiot a couple of times, meow..." Sanji Meow muttered with regret, shaking his little head as he watched Sanji being dragged away.

"Mmm, there'll be a chance," Sherwin said, scratching the cat chin with certainty.

With those two Sanjis' personalities, there absolutely no way they won't end up fighting at some point.

But Sherwin wasn't the least bit worried about his Sanji Meow getting the short end of the stick. Having already awakened Observation Haki, Sherwin knew it would be easy for him to handle a Sanji who hadn't fully matured yet.

When the third dish was brought out, it was finally not Sanji who served it, but Patty and another named side character—Carl, the guy with a full beard and small round sunglasses.

The moment this side dish was brought out, all three cats were immediately drawn to it. It was a fish dish, and the little kitties had absolutely no resistance to fish.

As soon as the dish was placed on the table, even the usually loud and boisterous Klee Meow went completely silent, burying her head and eating like crazy.

The quality of this dish was clearly a notch above the previous ones. Even compared to the fish dish made by Sanji Meow, it held its ground without falling short.

It must have been made by old man Zeff himself.

Sherwin thought as he slowly and methodically ate the fish on his plate.

He had some basic knowledge of Western cuisine. Typically, the head chef only managed the overall coordination of the kitchen and rarely cooked personally.

Even if they did, they usually only handled the main course. Things like appetizers, soups, side dishes, and desserts were normally taken care of by sous chefs and assistants.

It was actually quite rare for a head chef to personally handle both a side dish and a main course.

Was it because Sanji Meow had just trashed the soup earlier?

Or was Zeff planning to personally cook two dishes from the start?

Whatever the reason, Sherwin and the cats were all thoroughly satisfied with the meal...

"Hmm?"

Sherwin suddenly felt three intense gazes land on him.

When he looked up, he saw the cats—who had already cleaned their plates—staring longingly at the fish dish still more than half full on his plate, their eyes full of drooling anticipation.

(=﹃=) ×3

A bunch of little gluttonous cats!

Sherwin smiled helplessly, then cut the fish on his plate into four portions and shared them with the three cats who were practically drooling with anticipation.

Of course, Klee Meow portion was the biggest.

"Wah! Sherwin-nii is the best, meow!" Klee Meow cheered, but didn't start eating right away. Instead, she swapped her portion with the one from Sherwin plate. "Klee happy with just this much, meow~"

Let me say it again—Klee Meow is the most adorable little angel in the world!

"I am ashamed, meow..." Seijuro Meow muttered humbly, but his body was very honest as he accepted Sherwin kindness without hesitation.

"It not like I asked you or anything... but thanks, meow." Sanji Meow remained as tsundere as ever.

The fourth dish was a classic steak. However, the beef used here seemed to come from some kind of sea beast—while it was clearly beef, it also carried a hint of seafood flavor.

Naturally, this dish also won unanimous approval from everyone. This time, Sherwin quickened his pace while eating, and at last managed to avoid having the cats "steal" from his plate.

"Is it time for dessert now, meow?"

Klee Meow held her knife and fork, tapping the table lightly with an eager look on her face. As a child, it was only natural for her to be fond of sweets.

Felynes have a sense of taste that quite similar to humans and can detect sweetness. In Monster Hunter Rise, for example, the dango-based Palico meals in Kamura Village were all sweet treats.

Very soon, Patty and Carne brought out the dessert. Just from the nervous look on Patty face, Sherwin could tell this dessert was definitely made by him.

"So tasty, meow!" Klee Meow was the first to give her review. "But not as good as the ones Big Brother Sanji makes, meow."

Although Patty skills weren't quite on the level of Zeff or Sanji, the dessert he made was already delicious enough. And unlike Sanji, he didn't have the same kind of obsession.

Even when told his skills weren't as good as Sanji Meow, Patty still maintained that strange service-smile of his.

Sanji Meow, knowing the dessert wasn't made by Sanji, didn't deliberately nitpick either, and gave an objective and fair evaluation.

As for the final drink, it was probably chosen with Klee Meow in mind. Zeff served them a kind of fruit juice unique to the East Blue—and naturally, something like that didn't involve much in the way of cooking skills.

"How was the meal?" Zeff personally placed the juice in front of Sanji Meow, asking with a smiling squint.

"Everything was pretty good, meow—except for that soup." Sanji Meow reply was just as Sherwin had expected.

And sure enough, Sanji immediately exploded again, shouting, "What was wrong with my soup?! You dumb cat who doesn't understand human cuisine!"

Sanji Meow, who had long been itching to land a couple of kicks on Sanji, feared someone would hold him back again, so without a word, he sprang up on the spot—only to be a step too late…

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting at me, you brat!"

Zeff launched a clean spinning kick, using his prosthetic leg to slam straight into Sanji face, sending him flying through the air in a spin.

"What wrong with what he said? Your soup was undercooked, your order was off, and you did under-salt it!" Zeff pointed at the airborne Sanji, roaring angrily, "Have you forgotten even the most basic standards of a chef?!"

Sanji Meow critique of the soup was something Zeff was naturally aware of—and he fully agreed with the points the cat had made. That was precisely why he was so furious with Sanji.

In truth, it wasn't that Sanji couldn't accept criticism from others. What he truly couldn't stand was Sherwin and the others saying that his cooking skills weren't as good as Sanji Meow...

Noticing this—and never one to miss a chance to stir up some fun—Sherwin cheerfully suggested, "Boss Zeff, there no need to be so angry. If your Sanji not convinced, why not let him have a cook-off with our Sanji?"

Location: The restaurant.

Occupations of both parties: Chef.

In this kind of situation, how could there not be a Food War?