Finding My Special Ingredient

Chapter 14- Know Your Limits

3rd person's pov

"Ladies and gentlemen, please finish your dishes. We will commence the judging soon." Dojima declared as they came down to their last few minutes. "Soma-kun, I'm ready to begin plating." Tadokoro said as she finishes up while Soma gave her his sign of understanding. 'Oh? Interesting choice.' Aika thought as she took a sniff of the air to estimate what they were making. "Time's up. We will start by tasting Shinomiya's dish. Begin serving." Dojima said as all of them stopped what they were doing. "Hey! Where's my portion?" Hinako said, panting as she escaped once again. "You don't get one. Share with Mizuhara if you want some." Shinomiya said as he brought the dishes to the table. 'A dish made by a Totsuki graduate. I wonder what kind of amazing recipe he used.' Tadokoro thought as she watched on while he placed the dish down. His dish made all of them surprise, except Aika who narrowed her eyes when she saw the dish. "As expected, Chou Farci. A family recipe common in Auvergne region of France. It's made of diced meats and vegetables wrapped in cabbage leaves and then steamed. It is a similar dish to the better known western 'stuffed cabbage'. "Aika explained after seeing the confusion of Soma, knowing that he hasn't really touch into French cuisine, or any other cuisine in that matter. "Well, this is certainly an unexpected choice." Gotoda said, looking at it while Sekimori agreed with him as Chou Farci is a dish often made by average French family. "My, this is something of a disappointment. Especially from Shinomiya, who always makes such hoity toity dishes." Hinako said which made her get smacked by Shinomiya in the head. Again. "You knew it already didn't you, Aika?" Sho asked, looking at the dish. "After last time and after seeing what Shinomiya senpai had chosen, there was a high chance that he would have made Chou Farci and I confirmed it while it was boiling." Aika replied to her father which made him smile.

'The herbal scent certainty whets the appetite. I wonder if it taste as nice as it smells.' Aika thought as she sniffed the air a bit after the judges cut a piece of it, the aroma leaking out. The judges all took a bite, chewing slowly. "Ah~! This is delicious!" Mizuhara said as she grabbed herself sensually. 'I really hope I do not do these sort of action when I'm judging. If I do, I'm quitting my job.' Aika thought as she looked at the scene in front of her with her eyes flashing discomfort. "This stuffing, he didn't use the standard Chou Farci filling of roast pork and onions. It's a stuffed chicken breast." Gotoda said as he realized the difference. "He used breast meat from locally raised chickens and filled it with morel mushrooms, asparagus and foie gras that were sautéed together in beef grease along with a mixture of diced chicken breast, egg, butter and cream that was pureed into a mousse. He then steamed the entire ensemble into perfection. The smooth creamy mousse slides onto the tongue and melts, filling the mouth with the rich, savoury flavour of chicken." Sho said, giving the basic steps that were used to make the dish. "But the most impressive of all is the cabbage leaf that wraps all of it together. Aika, care to explain?" Dojima said, looking at it as he picked another piece up. "Savoy cabbage smells strongly of grass when raw, it has a very delicate sweetness when cooked. Through blanching and steaming, he cooked it to perfection, accentuating all the strengths of the filling. The resulting delicate sweetness refines the overall taste of the dish by an order of magnitude, almost as if it was done by magic." Aika explained after tasting a small piece which was offered to her by her father.

Upon graduation, Shinomiya moved to France and after several years of training, he opened his own restaurant in Paris. For years, French cooking had tend to overemphasize meats and meat dish. But Shinomiya's new cooking shone a new fresh light on vegetables shocking the French foodies. The people of the world's capital of Haute Cuisine quickly came to respect this newcomer of a  Japanese chef, honouring him with the nickname, Le Magicien De Legume (The Vegetable Magician).  "Mmm. I really hate to say it, but this is yummy." Hinako said as she took another bite. "A common family dish, completely reworked from a deep sensitivity for vegetables."Gotoda said approvingly. 'He has transformed it into something that would not look amiss on the fanciest restaurant tables. The fluffy smoothness of the chicken mousse melded with the young green sweetness of the cabbage is so delicious the taste seems to wrap around not just the tongue but the whole body. It is an enchanting flavor that suffuses the soul. This is magic, true magic.' Aika thought as she closed her eyes to savour the taste, only to be transformed to the dimension of vegetables. "It's magical cabbage!" Dojima, Sekimori, Mizuhara, Gotoda and Hinako shouted, wearing clothes that looks like the cabbage they just ate. Aika immediately snap out of it as she drank her tea as fast as possible. 'Dear brain, get that piece of memory out of my mind.' Aika mentally said to herself as she stared into her tea which she refilled, wanting nothing to do with that memory.