The Lost Samurai

Chapter 20 - Judging.

Soon the dishes Kenshin and Hori's disciples were preparing were finished, a good risotto, a beautiful lasagna, everything perfectly done to get the hearts of the judges, be it in looks, smell or flavor, everything was cooked to achieve maximum level on all the possible evaluation standards.

The competitors looked each other in the eyes and the flames in their gaze couldn't be more evident, now they were heading for the last step, making desserts, this could totally change the outcome of everything, if you thought about the main dishes as half of the score and desserts as the other half it was easy to see how important it was, the main dishes were already done but the desserts would still be made, so it was their chance to change.

The three cooks from the dojo started laying the needed ingredients and preparing to make the desserts, they were using strawberries, chantilly that they still needed to make and a bit of chocolate.

The group was going with a simple strawberries and Chantilly or chocolate recipe, so basically the person could choose between covering the strawberry in chocolate or Chantilly, it was pretty simple but they knew Master Hori and the renowned chef both loved this dessert, so it was a good try.

Meanwhile Kenshin went for a traditional dessert that could get anyone's approval, a petit gateau, he already brought some vanilla essence, milk and sugar for the ice cream and the flour and chocolate to make the petit gateau itself.

He started mixing the ingredients to make the dough and the ice cream, soon finishing it, now he needed to make the filling for the petit gateau and turn this liquid in his front into ice cream, the filling was easy to make with chocolate but the ice cream was harder, to make it he needed to cool the liquid.

But it was a good thing he was such a master, if he were to cool it til the liquid turned into ice cream just using a normal fridge it would take ages, way more time than he currently had, he wouldn't be able to make it in time for the challenge and would need to think about another dessert, but with his skills he could easily reduce the time.

Controlling the chi around the ice cream he cleverly manipulated the energy in each molecule, subtracting the energy quickly and cooling it at an absurd speed, after cooling it he rearranged the molecules inside to the perfect molecular structure so he could have a perfect ice cream, creamy but solid and resistant to temperature changes, and extracting the best of each ingredient.

Seeing this not only Kyoko but also Hori and the invited chef were flabbergasted, they had never seen something like that in their lives, it was a good thing that the cooking crew of the dojo was too busy cooking their own dessert to look at him, else they would probably just give up.

"Master Kenshin's cooking is truly marvelous, the fusion of amazing fighting skills and amazing cooking skills let's him create such beautiful sights. I never imagined someone could make ice cream like this, I was thinking he was wrong in making ice cream with such a short time span but he proved me wrong." Chef Hiromi, one of the chefs from the best restaurant in town and one of the invited judges couldn't hide his sheer amazement.

"Kenshin truly gets better each time i see him, he really cooled it with chi, but not turning his chi in freezing force but instead manipulating the molecules, that's a whole new level of cooking." Hori was also in awe, this man was simply unpredictable 

Kyoko quickly calmed down her excitement, it was amazing but she saw her father doing it before so it was easy to shallow down, after this inconceivable exhibition Kenshin quickly put the ice cream inside the fridge and went to the petit gateau.

The dojo team, unaware of everything that just happened had just finished the Chantilly and was already finishing the chocolate blend, they used cocoa and various ingredients to make the perfect chocolate, the taste of this one was way above any other kind of chocolate and would.be perfect for the strawberries.

They quickly put everything into bows and prepared to bring things to the judges, stopping a bit to see what Kenshin was doing and becoming surprised seeing his chi manipulation of the petit gateau's dough, he was just transforming the molecules by himself to make it in time, they didn't know if this method turned out better or worse, but they knew for sure that it was too absurd.

Just a bit after Hori's group put their plates on the judges table Kenshin arrived with everything he had prepared, the judgement could finally start, it was time to see who was the best at the kitchen.

"Ok, first things first right? So we will taste the dishes first served, the ones my cooking crew made. I hope everything is really good and remember, you're all already winners just from going this far in your cooking skills, I couldn't be more excited to eat." After a quick motivational speech from Hori the three judges started eating.

The cooking team was really nervous, they couldn't discern anything from the judges expressions and they weren't 100% confident about their risotto, maybe 99% but that wasn't enough against this adversary, they needed 100%.

"Huum, a rich taste, and i can feel all the ingredients by themselves and at the same time as one, i really liked all the combinations but i think the risotto is too spicy, that casts a shadow to other flavors and it's no good in my mouth, i think i will give you a 9.7." Kyoko said her verdict and the three cooks were relieved, 9.7 was a really good score, that just meant it was almost perfect.

"Ok i think the risotto is spicy enough, not too much and not lacking, the veggies and mayonnaise are also perfectly placed and they aren't too much, you can still tell what the main dish is, but this mackerel, it isn't cut perfectly, at least the one in my plate, it has really small parts that aren't good for eating, i will give it a 9.8." Master Hori soon gave her verdict too, the announced scores were really good up to now, if things kept like this they could win.

"I think the risotto is really good, the mayonnaise is the problem here, everything else is perfect but this mayonnaise, i think you guys didn't put enough spices on it, i can barely taste it's taste, i will give you 9.7 too." The group sighed in relief, the first part was over, now they just needed a good grade for their dessert.

Some disciples quickly took away the dirty dishes and brought new ones for the desserts, this way the taste wouldn't be influenced by the main dish, they started eating it and each one grabbed the strawberries with the complement they wanted, soon they were ready to announce the scores.

"I really like strawberries and I love those, also the chocolate is otherworldly, it's just perfect in every aspect! I will say it's a 10!" Kyoko couldn't hide her excitement, this dessert just couldn't be better.

"The chocolate is really good and I like strawberries too. My problem is this Chantilly, it's too watery. It would be way better if the Chantilly was more solid, I will say it's worth 9.8 points." Hori wasn't being softer just because they were her disciples, she pointed everything out and gave them the score she thought was right.

"I think the Chantilly is watery too, but everything else is so good and the Chantilly is just a little bit watery, so I will give this dessert a 9.9." The cooks couldn't be more happy, the dessert went even better than the previous dish, they really had a chance of winning this one.

Now it was time to judge Kenshin, quickly switching the dishes they started eating his creations.