My Flufftober 2022 contribution for the prompt : Secret Family Recipe.
I'm sorry for the mistakes, English is not my native language. I hope you like it.
Disclaimer : Food Wars! belongs to Yūto Tsukuda, Shun Saeki and Yuki Morisaki.
Secret Family Recipe
Soma added the spices to the sauce and poured it on the meat. He smiled. It was finally ready. He took the plates and he headed for the dining room, where Erina was waiting for him. He put the plates on the table and sat down in front of her. He was both anxious and impatient to know if she would like the dinner he had prepared. It was the first time he had cooked for her except when he he had competed in a Shokugeki.
They had been a couple for two months and Soma wanted to do something special for her. Preparing dinner was not an easy task because of her God's Tongue.
Erina took a bite and ate. Soma watched her, waiting for her reaction. He had the feeling that Erina was having fun making him wait. She put her fork on the plate and she smirked.
"Not bad."
Soma could not help smiling. He knew her well and he knew she was teasing him. She had found his dish excellent, but she did not want to tell him. It does not matter, he thought. This time, he would not say anything. She took her fork again and tasted another piece. She frowned and thought.
"It's strange," she said. "I can smell all the ingredients, but I feel like there is something more."
She closed her eyes, concentrating on the taste.
"I can't find what it is."
She opened her eyes and she saw Soma smiling playfully. It was rare that Erina's God's Tongue couldn't find the ingredients of a recipe.
"What did you add ?"
"It is the secret ingredient of a family recipe."
Soma remembered that day when he had learned this recipe. He was only seven years old and like every day, he watched his father cook. This day was important for Joichiro. It was his wedding anniversary and he had organized a special evening for him and Tamako. As he cooked, he showed each step of the recipe to Soma, who was focused on what his father was doing.
"I added a secret ingredient to the recipe," Joichiro said.
Soma looked at him, puzzled. He had seen nothing. What could his father have added ?
"The secret ingredient is love."
Soma was disappointed. The little boy felt like his father was making fun of him.
"It's not an ingredient," he said, sulkily.
Joichiro knelt down and ruffled his son's hair.
"When you'll cook for the woman you'll love, you'll understand."
Soma looked at Erina and smiled. When he had met her, he had understood what his father meant.
The end