Disclaimer: I do no own Shokugeki no Soma. If I did, my OC would exist in the story.
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He was bored. The young upstart, the son of the spice guru, the chef of tricks.
William Pucheco Navarro was bored and tired with a letter in his right hand.
Sure he had the large estate in his home country of the Philippines, a very large estate on a very large plot of land, and he had just about all his necessities, his dad didn't bother on buying stuff he wants the money he worked for; instead making his son earn his own money.
He had done his cooking experiments, trying to come up with new and exciting dishes, but he became bored of that.
All that was left of the young adult, as his father would like to call his 17 year old, was to lay down on the couch watching his big screen. Sure his friends could come by, but they had their own studies to deal with and finish. They didn't pursue culinary like he did.
But let me tell you, when the young William, only 11 at the time, decided he wanted to cook; after his dad tried to cook for once instead of his mom, which in all reality worked out for the better even if the dish almost killed the family. Yes it was that bad...
The little Navarro took it headstrong and immediately dived into the culinary world, making dishes, failing horribly at times, working hard, and using his dad's amazing spice mixes sometimes. Only a year later he would become recognized as a talented young chef after a multitude of hardships with his young chef life. He not only created a deliciously simple dish; lightly fried Tilapia with a honey sweetened glaze that consisted of soy sauce, pepper, a dash of sugar, topped off with a nice little parsley leaf with a wedge of lemon for a sour compliment, but a restaurant favorite at his dad's popular restaurant in Pampanga.
There he rose through the doubt that surrounded him being so young and recently showed a knack at cooking. Though a knack at cooking is an understatement. He was almost a pure natural at it. Knowing when the rice is perfectly steamed on the stove top, when a cut of fish is perfectly done searing, frying, or grilled, knowing the right amount of cut veggies to put into one his dishes. For his parents, it was like watching a miracle happen in front of their eyes. Their young son who showed no real drive for anything, but getting through his schooling, now filled with a passion to a stable career.
His famous moniker would not come until he was 15, 3 years after his recognition by many a great chefs. William was cooking in his large home in his large kitchen, he thanks his dad everyday for it, and it was a slow day for him. None of his friends were not terribly busy with something and it was the the middle of the day. He was getting, like he is now, bored. So as he was chopping his mirepoix for a traditional french onion soup, with his own twist, he looked at his knife, shrugged his shoulders and started to toss his knife into the air as he chopped. He found himself entertained and grabbed another knife from his knife rack and started to juggle the two knifes. Next thing he knew, the young teen was doing tricks with the knifes, making them go around his hand as he chopped and prepared his soup. He tossed his knifes behind his back, doing a quick 360 before catching the knife behind his back once again. And this is where one of his friends had just happen to walk in onto his little show.
Ok, maybe just not walked in as he caught the knife, but watching him for a good 4 minutes in awe, William's buddies are always allowed in so long as they tell one of the maids that they were coming in. So, as the young chef tossed another knife as he poured in the veggies to saute them for a bit, his buddy approached him. William caught the knife, got his wet rag, wiped the blade, and with a simple movement of the wrist, he tossed one of his knives back into his knife rack. he whistled with satisfaction.
Now this is where his friend suggested he showed everyone his skills. His skill to entertain and cook at the same time.
"C'mon Will. Think of the popularity you will gain? When has a fantastic chef as young as you ever did something like this?" William's friend stated as he talked with him.
"I dunno Alex... Sure I could do this, but will it really work? Sure it make work for a while, but I don't know about the long term..." Will looked at his friend skeptically as he added in the stock for his soup.
"Do the cool stuff like tossing the knife back into the rack, do cool tricks with the pots, pans, the lids, hell even when you finish the food. Do it entertainingly like tossing the bowls up, catching them with your arm as they stack, like this." Alex holds his arm like a waiter would when not carrying food to show him.
"That one seems impossible since the arm is only held out like an "L" man. The hand must be touching the chest to make a triangle to properly catch the bowl safely as it will be caught in the space between the pectoral and the elbow." He replied with a stoic tone. Will put a lid onto the pot of soup.
"See you got the theory for it down, now put it into action. Here man, I'll help." Alex offered.
The rest up to the time where the young Navarro was laying on the couch is history. In those 2 years since, he made his name known to the world with his outlandish cooking tricks and deliciously amazing dishes. He amazed crowds with the spectacular pan flips and tosses, not just the food but the pan itself, and teased them with the scent of a 10 out of 10 quality meal, he's made a lot of people drool over those 2 years. His knife tricks never ceased to amaze the people, attracting world renowned chefs like Saiba Jouichirou, Doujima Jin, and even Senzaemon Nakiri. Well, would not say impressed, but appeased the headmaster of Tootsuki, due towhat was a by product his father being blessed with the visit from the legendary man for talks about some of his dad's famous spice mixes filling the shelves and pantries of the school. What actually happened instead of settling that business deal was a night out at a karaoke bar with a lot of heavy drinking. Nonetheless, the teen William, did a good job at creating a hangover dish that pleased the headmaster.
Back to the main point and a much more concise version of this story, he impressed a lot of people with his amazing tricks, thus he got the name: The Show-Off Chef.
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Back to present day, the 17 year old looked at the letter he looked at multiple times before as he lay upon a very nice couch.
"So either dad got the old man to send me this letter or my hangover dish was good enough for him... Heh, old timers..." Will mumbled to himself as he let his arm with the letter in his hand drop to the ground.
"I see you got the letter." A gruff voice came from upstairs.
"Yea... I did dad. Did you do this?" The teen asked from the couch.
"Kind of, I asked that invitation to be sent to you a while ago. Your mother sealed the deal just a few days ago sending him a complementary 100 pound sack of our special spice mix. He doesn't doubt your skill, he's just annoyed you didn't accept a long while ago. That sack of spice was to get him to send another letter since he's been so bogged down this year." His dad explained.
"Well I guess if Mom did that, I might as well not that spice go to waste." Will shrugged.
"Good I had your things pack for a while now." His mother came down from the stairs with a rolling suitcase.
William sighed as his mom came down with the bag in tow.
"You be good and do your best, alright anak?" His mom gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Will nodded as his dad walked up to him, almost seeing eye to eye, his dad only a few inches taller.
"If you need the family secret mix, just call. It'll be at your place in 3 days." His dad put a hand on his right shoulder.
"I got you Dad." William smiled as his dad motioned for one his house maids to call a driver for his son.
William got into the personal airport carrier. He rolled down the window to look at his parents one last time for a while.
"You remember the Japanese lessons from the last 2 years right?" His dad asked to double check on his departing son.
"Yea, I remember." The Show-Off Chef smiled before the vehicle drove away towards the Manila Airport.
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"Huh... Tootsuki..." William stood in at the entrance to the school.
"Thought it was just a bit smaller... Just a bit." He shrugged before he walked into the school.
A/N:
So this is my little story. A one shot for now, may make it into a larger story, but I feel like I'm not ready for that yet. Just this little tidbit for now. If I do continue this I'll do everything that is necessary to ensure this keeps stays as true to the story as physically possible. Anywho, enjoy this little tidbit, please give a review, brutal honesty if you must and try not to light the flame too much, thanks.
~ Makmix