So long as it was through proper means, competition breeds excellence in any field. Naturally, cooking was the same.
A local town chef can claim to be the best in a town if he was the sole chef in the entire community, but introduce a second, and now opinions may divide regarding who makes the better food.
Money follows success, and to earn more, one chef would have to consistently hone and refine his skills to satisfy the palates of his customers better than the other chef.
A positive feedback loop is created, and all kinds of cuisine are enhanced with spices, flavors, and even passions. Though arguably a matter of surprising mistakes, discoveries, and innovations to discover new recipes, cooking also offers a means to express oneself.
Totsuki Academy, as one of the world's leading culinary schools, couldn't possibly treat students the same. Those that excel in competition gain privilege, while those who fail or remain constantly on the lower rung, are expelled.
Totsuki itself was notorious for its high turnover rate with hundreds of new student applications, but a relatively small graduate cohort.
Given the strictness of the school, it was no wonder that rumors abound around Shirou who had been temporarily exempt from classes and scrutiny.
As far as students and the rumors were all concerned, the only ones able to obtain that privilege were skilled individuals. The seats of Tostuki's top ten students had an autonomy in the Academy that could threaten even Senzaemon if they banded together.
For someone to not even be required to appear in class or selection tests meant that they had to be on a level similar to the ten upper student seats of the academy.
Was it any wonder Shirou found himself the center of attention as he walked into the Autumn Festival's testing ground?
Many pairs of eyes were looking at him, trying to place his face in any of their classes, but drawing constant blanks. He didn't even participate in the first-year camp as if he were just better than them…
Frowning, Shirou didn't let it get to him. Their indignation was almost kind of cute compared to the life-threatening situations of the Holy Grail War and the world at stake during it.
Their petty jealousy and ignorance was simply lost to him. However, just because he felt that way didn't mean others would be the same.
"Sorry," Soma scratched the back of his head, looking unhappy for the first time in a long while. "I might have- well I kind of provoked everyone during the entrance ceremony and you standing next to me might be causing you trouble."
"Do I look troubled?" Shirou asked.
"Tired," Soma answered grumbling. "You seem to have a lot on your mind, but don't think that means I'll go easy on you if we compete."
Shirou glanced around at all the other competing students; roughly thirty packed into the current room he and Soma were in as the rest of the students began being sorted by the professors.
"I wouldn't count on it," Shirou said.
Shirou wouldn't have cared all that much about winning the festival if it was before Erina had reminded him of Lorelei's likely response, but things were different now.
He had to win. Not just for himself, but for everyone depending on him.
That fact had Erina biting on her nails because she too fell into the category of 'fucked' if this all went to shit.
In fact, Erina had tried to persuade her grandfather so she could compete herself and forfeit if she met Shirou in the finals, but her plans were shot down by Senzaemon insisting she recover from her altercation first.
Unknown to Shirou, Erina had planted a spy in the competition, well; a confused spy, but one with specific instructions.
Competitors would be separated by blocks A and B where the preliminaries would all be held.
"Good luck," Shirou said while Soma waved a hand.
Shirou absently read his notice on a display board and then moved in the direction of block B while Soma went to A.
Of both blocks, the top four would move onto the next round and qualify for the semi-finals.
Several students were in B-Block, and most turned to glance Shirou's way when he entered. This was unusual as most would already have an idea of who to look out for in their time taking classes together, but Shirou was a new face. It was therefore, something of a habit to observe him, a form of scouting out the competition and guessing who he could be.
All were already wearing white chef's attire with fitted aprons, and some even wearing chef hats.
It didn't help that certain rumors were aplenty, and Shirou chose to appear only now.
The room was large and fitted with numerous kitchens set in long rows where students would each have enough space to cook to their heart's content. An extended pantry was located on the far left, while on the right, an industrial sized fridge contained a variety of meats for students to select from.
Shirou felt his inner cook tingling. He loved cooking as it was his favorite pastime since Kiritsugu had adopted him.
Snapping out of his stupor, Shirou let out a breath and did his own version of scouting out the competition.
Like Shirou had assumed, he hardly recognized anybody he was competing against aside from the Aldini brothers, Takumi and Isami, who had visited the villa before- oh, and there was that girl too.
The one with purple neck length hair and parted bangs that always trailed beside Erina.
Shirou recalled that Erina had often murmured about a friend named Hisako something?
To be specific, the girl's name was Hisako Arato, the friend Erina insists is her aid. She was frowning at Shirou with unconcealed scrutiny for some reason or another that eluded Shirou's consideration.
A panel of judges sat on a wide table at the front, and a large cook timer was in full display over the kitchen space.
The preliminary set up was quickly being set under way. All that was left was for Shirou to await his assigned cooking station before the preliminaries in Block B would officially begin.
In the meantime, mingling was possible between competitors.
Shirou noted that Takumi and Isami were speaking words with each other, and that no one was really approaching him. It made sense since he didn't exactly know anyone very well, but outliers existed.
Hisako for example was just about ready to storm up to him before someone else beat her to the chase.
It was a woman with pale blond hair, and a face that somewhat resembled Erina's. Instead of rounded cheeks, the girl's visage was narrower, giving her slier appearance of mischief.
"Oh, so you must be the rumored hidden seat?" The girl showed no reservations with opening the conversation with a foxy smile.
However, it was Shirou the girl was dealing with. He didn't so much as blink an eye or grow drawn in by her appearance. Rather, he frowned at something else, causing the girl's smile to stiffen.
Rumors?
Shirou made a face of utter ignorance. Frankly, he'd been living under a rock during his stay in Totsuki.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said honestly.
The girl obviously didn't buy it as she playfully blinked her eyes and giggled under her breath. The redness of her eyes were the same shade as Erina's.
"Hoohoo? Is that how we're playing it?" The girl leaned forward and narrowed her eyes on Shirou, a finger placed over her lower lip. "Interesting."
Shirou opened his mouth, but the girl wasn't done as she offered him an eccentric hand.
"Pleased to meet you." She said while Shirou decided to reciprocate the gesture.
The two shook hands, but Alice made it clear she was holding onto Shirou longer than necessary. She pulled, bringing her face closer to Shirou's ear.
"I'm sure my cousin Erina has spoken of me? My name's Alice Nakiri. Good luck."
Why did that have to be said so dramatically? Was it supposed to mean something?
Alice let go of Shirou's hand and sauntered off while blowing a playful wink at him.
Right then.
Shirou reaffirmed again. No one in this culinary school seemed normal.
The fact a dorm manager suggested he wear a naked apron the prior night already spoke volumes…
Shirou hummed, still trying to get used to the idea of cooking as a competition rather than a humble pastime.
Still, it wasn't as if he didn't have some semblance of confidence as both Senzaemon and the other head judge had tested his skill for fairness sake before the competition.
"Shirou Yukihira, end seat of row five!"
He perked up as his place was called.
He got into position and looked to his immediate left to see who he'd be cooking beside.
.
.
.
Of course he was cooking next to that overly dramatic woman.
Her name was Alice Nakiri, a chef specializing in the field of molecular gastronomy.
A chef must not value only the culinary aspects of cuisine, but the aesthetic and artisan aspect of cooking as well to excel.
A true chef is a master of both! And that was her, Alice Nakiri, but at the same time…she was also a highschool aged girl.
"Oh, we meet again!" Alice smiled cheekily as she arrived at her cooking station by Shirou.
Whether Alice was pleased with the almost resigned expression on Shirou's face or not, it did little to abate her interest. How could she not be curious?
As a Nakiri, she'd heard and seen her grandfather pulling strings for a certain student, and there was no way her grandfather would be so lenient. Therefore, there had to be something more in the picture.
Rumors speculate that Shirou's absence was due to an incomparable talent, and as it stood now, Alice had a mixed impression. One would only have to look at the unassuming form of Totsuki's First Seat to know not to be misled by appearance.
Chefs change when in and out of a kitchen, but Shirou looked more relieved and relaxed in a kitchen than he did when he wasn't. It was like the competition was hardly phasing him.
Was it a sign of a talent reckless enough to not put the competition in his eyes?
No, in truth, Shirou really just enjoyed cooking as the one activity that naturally soothed him in his life.
Therefore, any kitchen would do for Shirou if he could cook with it.
Alice could never associate with that mentality for a cook off. The tension and expectation were too much to cook at leisure, and so, she took Shirou's demeanor at face value.
It showed his confidence and gave merit to the rumors!
No, actually, Alice wasn't that stupid to get carried away.
She puffed her cheeks. The real reason she was genuinely interested was because of no one else but her own anti-social cousin, Erina Nakiri.
Now, Alice wasn't a stalker, but considering Erina's track record, Alice often checked in on her. Out of everyone in the family, Alice felt she had the best ability to read Erina and convince her to do what she wanted.
And yet, low and behold, she'd recently spied Erina trailing behind Shirou like a lost puppy fearful of the wind and rain.
Erina Nakiri! That Erina Nakiri!
It was so unlike her.
Alice knew that both she and Erina could be snotty as Nakiris, but that didn't mean they weren't without their soft sides. Alice picked up that one boy whose talent she fully believed in, but therein lies the crux of the matter.
Talent.
A certain level of talent was required for Alice to be playful or acknowledge the other person.
Erina was even more so, and she looked at Shirou as if she were looking at an instructor.
Alice shifted her weight from her left foot, to her right, her hands going under her chin as she leaned her elbows on the kitchen space while blatantly staring at Shirou.
"Hey," Alice called just as the preliminaries were about to start.
"What?" Shirou asked, checking the quality of his kitchen.
"It's a food war, prepare to be wowed." Alice's nonchalant expression grew serious.
"Start!"
The preliminary instructor officially announced the beginning of the competition, and Alice didn't waste time to turn her back on Shirou before he could reply.
She was going for an air of mystery, but frankly it was for the best. She would have been annoyed if she'd seen Shirou just sigh at her.
Curry was the theme of the preliminaries.
A staple dish of the Indian subcontinent, curry was an umbrella term encompassing the use of complex combinations of spices or herbs that usually included turmeric, cumin, ginger, and chillies.
From there, the curry would be up to the interpretation of the student in order to make something that would earn the approval of the judges.
Out of the entire block, only four winners could be selected, and Alice giggled as she felt one of those spots was already reserved for her.
Her idea of a curry would stem from six procedures that would elevate her dish above and beyond the rest through modern appliances and her own cooking skill.
Without hesitation she raided the pantry and the fridge.
She grabbed Mulard duck liver as foie gras, before gathering turmeric, six kinds of cheese, ingredients for pie batter, then coriander, spice masala, tomatoes, seaweed extract, and thyme for garnish before hurrying back to her station.
Fully focused, she put her items down and got to work on the preparation. The pie batter would have to be made then baked, but for now she could set it aside while grabbing her knives and prepping her ingredients.
She could still hear her competitors frantically trying to mix and match ingredients whereas she had already decided on what to make from the moment she heard the theme. Such was the nature of her culinary talent, and yet she paused as she heard a rhythmic cutting sound.
There were no discrepancies to it, and everything was uniform.
Then there was the sound of the over flames turning on before a hot pan and oil were added on top.
All the noise was coming from beside her.
Alice finally turned to glance at Shirou and momentarily fell short of her thoughts.
In the entirety of Shirou's cooking, there has never been a time where he'd been watched from the preparation down the cooking itself. Furthermore, Shirou had no formal training. Rather, he cut and prepared in a way that was most comfortable to him.
With a cutting technique like he was using a sword, Shirou would palace an onion, a carrot, or a potato down, hold a finger over top with his left hand, and then slice the knife in a flurry and leave behind uniform shapes throughout.
W-Was he a machine? An industrial processor?!
It was too systematic.
Technology was supposed to make up for the shortcomings of humans and offer unmatched precision that human means should not have been able to consistently execute.
What about the food frying in the pan?
Shirou wasn't even looking, and would stir just as the sides began to brown. It was like he just knew when to move it to before it burned.
Was he some sort of walking thermometer, or was he just that confident in his ability to handle temperature, timing, and quantity out of habit?
Seasoning was even worse.
There was neither hesitation or measuring tool used for the spices or herbs he was using, as if he fundamentally understood how much was needed at any time. A pinch there, a handful here - there didn't appear to be any consistency in the amount, and yet the smell was telling Alice that the blend was perfect.
She shook her head and hurriedly glanced away. There was her own dish to focus on, and she refused to believe her dish made through her cooking skill and modern technology would lose to basic human sense!
Pouting, Alice hurried to prep her ingredients while noting the remaining time on the clock.
Sweat matted her brow.
/-/
Shirou took a breath, and slowly let it go, not even trying to understand why Alice kept looking at him with that expression.
Moreover, he didn't even begin to decode why Hisako was gritting her teeth from behind him in row six either.
It didn't matter. He'd entered a certain state.
The smell of frying vegetables and meat wafted towards his face.
A content smile graced his face as his worries disappeared as he focused on just his unconventional cooking.
No death, no bossy women, and no threats to his person.
No wonder even EMIYA fought fiercely for the kitchen.
-Snarky as the bastard was, he did have his wisdoms.
This was life.
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