"oh man, I think we needed that training session" Terrance groaned as he and the rest of the guys walked out of the training room.
"It just sucked that Henry couldn't join in" Bobby frowned
"Ah don't worry he'll be up and about tomorrow" Bruce smiled
"Indeed, then we can have another training session" Zack declared
"If the girls don't use it" Mack sighed
"Oh man, I heard they used a simulated beach last time, man oh man what I wouldn't give to see Kylie in a bikini" Bruce laughed
"Same with me and Julie" Oscar smiled
"Hey, you guys smell that?" jack asked as they all stopped and sniffed the air
"Yeah what is that?" Jenner asked
"Oh we're going to be eating GOOD tonight!" Mack shouted
"Huh?" the Americans asked shocked
"Oh you mates are in for a treat" Crash smirked.
Mel had gone into her room after class and changed out of her uniform, donning a pair of jeans, a black shirt, an apron and a bandana, which had a blue flaming smiley face. Once she was done with everything she headed down to the dorm's kitchen and walked into it, locking the door and closing the tray window. Once she had done that she looked around and went to a cupboard, and unlatched the bottom, which revealed a cookbook. Grabbing it she flicked through it
"Hey, the door's closed" Odessa said making Mel look up
"Hang on" Angie said before a knocking was heard
"Occupied" Mel shouted
"Oh, okay" Angie said "Yeah you don't want to go in there just yet" she smiled
"But I was hoping for a chocolate milkshake, I ever brought the stuff for it: chocolate topping, vanilla ice cream and milk" Odessa said making Angie flinch and quickly look back
"Think you can?" Angie asked already knowing the answer. After hearing what Odessa wanted Mel set to work, in a small saucepan she put water in and started to boil it before melting milk chocolate and a couple of marshmallows, she then went to the freeze and pulled out a metal cup and a tub of Vanilla bean , next she got out a glass and waited until the chocolate while melted while cooled, she poured it into the glass before adding the milk and mixing it she then added a scoop of ice-cream and then a biscuit straw, slipping it in and then smiling before knocking on a small side door. Once it was opened Mel slid the milkshake through and then went back to the cooking he was doing.
"There you go" Angie smiled passing the drink to Odessa
"Incredible" Odessa looked at it wide eyed, she took a sip and enjoy it, shivering at both the coldness and taste of the milkshake
"How is it?" Angie asked
"Incredible! I don't think I have ever had on this good!" Odessa exclaimed.
"She is one of the best cooks in our year level. She's an award winner" Angie explained. "She told us if she didn't get into our school she would have gone to culinary school."
"No kidding" Odessa said as the scent of the spices Mel was using filled the air. "The only one she can measure up to is Reggie from our school" she said
"Reggie cooks?" the Australians asked
"Oh yeah girl, his cooing is slamming, but smelling the air I can tell Mel's no slouch" Nat said. "Damn! I would both hate and love to see a battle against those two" she mused
"Hopefully he's half as good as Mel, otherwise he is in trouble" Matilda said walking in and sniffing the air "Oh man!" she exclaimed
"What?" the Kirby girls asked
"If that is what I think it is, we're all in for some good tucker!" Matilda smiled.
In another small saucepan she placed half a cup of white wine, a tablespoon of sweet soy sauce, half a cup of honey and stirred it. Once that was reducing away she started to chop various different vegetables. Zucchini, pumpkin, carrots, corn, radishes, beetroot before adding them to a baking dish and drizzling over some garlic infused olive oil and started to bake them. Next she placed the roasted spices, mustard powder and a bit of corn flour into a bowl and then started to cut a mix of beef, pork and veal into strips and then placed them in the seasonings before using a preheated carbon steel skillet and placed the season meat into the pan, the sound sizzling it making the spices again dancing in the air. Then she pulled out a saddle back of lamb and laid it out. Going over to a new bowl and mixing chicken and turkey mince, placing it over the lamb and then rolled it up and tried it with string to hold it together before she put it in a baking dish under the veggies. Wiping the sweat off her brow she went back to her sauce and added in some flour to it, stirred and tried it. Smiling as the flavours were on her tongue smiling before she nodded and checked the fridge for something, mainly a couple of cheesecake bases she had prepared earlier while she was at lunch. A small grumble coming from her stomach so she grabbed a packet of twiggy sticks and started eating a couple. She thought back to her competitive days and noticed that it was much hard then these days, sure she worked hard but the main difference was that he was doing it to save the world, while back in those days she would be close to having several nervous breakdowns, she was glad her dad suggested she change from being a cook to a hero.
"DAMN! Please tell me that is not what I think I smell" Reggie shouted. "I thought she stopped"
"What do you mean?" Terrance asked
"Mel, smelling this, I can tell she's the Melissa Bourne that many young cooks aspire to" Reggie said
"You have got to be kidding me!" Terrance gasped
"Yeah, she was an ace in the cooking world but before she was a teenager, but one days she vanished, I didn't think that she would turn into the fiery hero that we've seen before. I've got to challenge her!" Reggie said
"ARE YOU NUTS!" the Jackman students shouted
"Why?" The Kirby students asked before the dinner bell rang and the pie window opened unleashing a wave of delicious smells upon them
"Bon appetite" Mel said walking out as she had cooked a variety of dishes, pan seared meats, roasted vegetables, mouth water stir-fries homemade pastas
"Well dig in guys" she said as the students got to work, piling their plates up with the various foods that Mel had cooked.
"My goodness, these are so good" Riley said
"And this roast is so tender and juice I don't need a knife" Brittany smiled
"Wow" Isabella gasped
"And please tell me this is the Pasta de Firestorm?" Reggie asked as he examined the bright red pasta which smelled spicy.
"Oh no man, that is something even hotter: Fettuccini Dragonfire" Zack smirked
"No way could it be that hot" Reggie scoffed as he had a large servings. Taking a bit Reggie froze as a vicious smirk grew on Mel's face
"Reggie?" Natalie asked
"You okay?" Nancy asked concerned as smoke was literally coming out of Reggie's ears, all the while Mel was smirking s she was enjoying the super spicy pasta
"mhmm" Reggie nodded
"Um dude, have some water Bobby said
"NO, don't! Have something with milk" Wyatt said
"Here you go man" Terrance said handing Reggie a glass of ice cold milk, which he skulled down so fast that steam erupted from his throat
"So how did you like it?" Mel teased
"DAMN GIRL!" Reggie exclaimed "Now I know I have to fight you in a cook off" Reggie panted
"You are joking right" Mel asked
"Yea I am" Reggie seemed excited
"Okay then, we do have home-ec tomorrow with Tuckshop" Mel said
"Oh you can do it there, now that will be a fun class" Angie said
"Not that Tuck Shop's going to be against it" Zack said
"Good, I'll do it then" Mel said as she walked over to the dorm computer
"After dinner" Angel sternly said.
"Okay okay" Mel said enjoying the dinner she made, and judging by the look on the faces of the American students. This was what the doctor ordered.
"I am surprised that you two want to have a cooking battle in my class" Tuck Shop said smiling "Not that I think it's a bad idea, but Reggie are you sure?"
"Oh you betcha I am" Reggie smirked rolling up his sleeves.
"Mel, are you sure about this as well?" Tuck Shop asked knowing her cooking past.
"I am, besides this is a friendly competition" Mel smiled
"Oh, who am I to stay otherwise" he laughed "ATTENTION CLASS, TODAY WE WILL BE HAVING A COOK OFF BETWEEN REGGIE MILLS AND MEL BOURNE!" he called making the class excited. "Now today I was planning on having you guys bake something sweet, So that is the theme will be, a nice baked dessert. You have the entire class to do it" Tuck Shop smiled
"What about cooking time?" Reggie asked
"Everything you need to cook has been prepped." He stated "So you two can begin" he said as he stepped back. Mel and Reggie quickly got everything ready and started to work.
Reggie sifted the flour, then he added in butter, eggs and milk, mixing them together whole adding in some vanilla essence. Stopping the mixer every now and then to scrap down the side before he continued to mix the batter and poured it into the baking tin, which he and then set in the oven to back before he unwrapped a packet of cream cheese and threw it into a mixing bowl with some lemon rind and extract which he mixed together.
'Okay the lemon icing will go well with the vanilla of my cake.' He thought
"Not a bad flavour profile" Mel said as she added brown sugar, dark cocoa and before mixing in some meringue egg whites to make the batter fluffier.
"I knew she was good, but not this good' Reggie panicked as she put her raw cake in the oven and then started to melt white chocolate, milk chocolate, butterscotch chips in a double boiler, making sure to not crystallise the chocolate while she added a bit of cream to temper the chocolate a bit
"I hope I'm not overwhelming you" Mel smiled in a friendly manner
"No you're not, heck if anything your pushing me something which I have hoped. I'm the best cook of the class but you are on another level" Reggie smiled
"Too bad you were taken" Mel said "Yeah well there are days I regret leaving, but after what happened to you guys knowing I can use my cooking to make you guys feel better" Mel smiled
"Thanks Mel," Reggie said as the timer went off on his cake, drawing it out and removing it from the tin, and after he let it cool a bit he cut it in half and added some of the frosted on the bottom before adding the top half and covering it in the rest of the icing.
"Done!" he smiled
"And so am I" Mel said as she finished drizzling the chocolate icing she made over her cake.
"Nice" Reggie nodded holding out his hand
"Same to you" Mel smiled and shook his hand.
"That is what I like to see boys and girls" Tuck Shop smiled before the two presented their cake, "Oh my, what amazing cakes, it almost feels a shame to be cutting into them" he said
"Oh I can help" Kylie said as she snapped pictures on her phone.
"Thank you" Tuck Shop said as he cut a slice from each cut. Smiling as he tried them starting off with Reggie's cake. He chewed it slowly, he enjoy the sweetness of the vanilla and how it was highlighted by the slight citrus taste in the icing, which was elevated to a smoothness thanks to the cream cheese he used. It was delicious, he marked down his thoughts before turning to the rich looking chocolate cake that Mel create. He could smell the chocolate and coco. He could tell it was a different beast from Reggie's vanilla. While there was a contrasting mix of flavours from Reggie which complemented each other, Mel's cake was a harmonious taste with a hint of caramel thanks to the brown sugar and butterscotch in the icing. He once he finished his slice of cake he marked the results down and quickly looked at the two cards and sighed.
"So who won?" Riley asked
"It...was too close to tell" Tuck Shop smiled
"WHAT!" they all shouted. The two cooks looked at each other before they tried their cakes, getting blown away by how they tasted
"You're not too bad" Mel stated
"Thanks, you're still the ace I hoped you were" Reggie said as he cutup and served his cake, Mel doing the same. The two classes enjoyed their time with each other
"What's this I smell?" a voice asked making them all look over to see Theo and Candy walking in
"You guys had a Cake battle without ME!" Candy cried
"Trust you to find out we're having sweets' Mel said as she threw her a cupcake. The sugar lover quickly caught it and bit into it, moaning
"Just as good as I remember" Candy said
"Man Reggie you are the bomb" Booby smiled "But you know what?"
"You've got that look that you've got a hankering for Barbecue" Riley smiled. Zack head them and smiled
"What are you planning?" Angie asked
"Oh nothing much" Zack said getting a nod from Tuck Shop.
"Mama always said I was born on the wild side, One foot in the flames and the other trying to walk the line" Zack sang as he pulled out several ingredients.
"What is he doing?" Jenner asked
"I have no clue" Reggie frowned as Zack cub strips of corn and put them to the side before he grab a slab of beef and started to cut it into steaks. He walked over to the grill area and lit it up making it go nice and hot before brushing it with canola oil and grabbed a stake and quickly rolled it in the spice mix he made before throwing it on the grill, the sound of it sizzling
"Is he doing Barbecue?" Bobby asked
"OH man, oh man I can smell the spices cooking" Reggie said
"Garlic Salt, Paprika, cinnamon, mustard powder rosemary, a little hickory" Riley sniffed the air
"Man that is going to be good barbecue" Reggie cheered
"There is only one person who's barbecue is better than Zack's" Angie smiled
"Who?" the Americans asked
"His uncle Terrance Ryan, perfect" Angie said
"Indeed, my good old Uncle Terry" Zack smiled
"Okay he is your Tex Mex barbie plate with extra jalapeno poppers" Uncle Terry said as he set down a plate and joined the man who ordered it, his older brother James
"Thanks Terr" Capt Lightningbolt smiled as he bit into the brisket that was covered in tex-mex style seasoning.
"So how are things with you?" Terry asked
"Good, still trying to finding the Disasters" Capt Lightningbolt frowned as he threw a popper into his mouth and started to chew it "Oh man bro, these are great"
"Thanks, for more than the compliment to my cooking. I seriously mean it; if it wasn't for you guys and the other pro heroes I would still be behind those iron bars" Terry sighed
I know man, I'm just glad you're out. I know I hated to have you in there. If I had enough say on my team I would have gotten you out of there and onto my team" Captain Lightningbolt told him chewing more of the barbecue.
"What did mum say about talking with your mouthful?" Terry asked in good humour.
"Yeah, yah" Capt Lightingbolt smiled as he enjoyed his lunch
"So you're able to be out and about?" Terry asked
"I am, though I had to earn it" Capt Lightningbolt said.
"YO Uncle Terry you in?" Zack asked
"OUT BACK!" Terry shouted smiling as he saw his nephew walk out and hug him
"Hey Uncle Terry" Zack hugged him "You just putting some on?"
"You know it" Terry laughed as Zack started to help load up the barbecues with different cuts of meat to smoke for the next day while some music played
"Mama always said I was born on the wild side, One foot in the flames and the other trying to walk the line" Zack sang along with the song smirking at his uncle
"You remembered" Terry said smiling
"Sure did, I mean it was the first song you taught to me" Zack said "And one I always sing when I cook barbecue
"Good man" Terry smiled as he passed Zack a bottle of Creaming Soda and clinked them together before his uncle turned the radio up
"Gonna ride the lightning, Feel the thunder
'Til the darkness pulls me under
Gonna fly on wings of fire
Pray the good Lord lifts me higher
Singing, "Oh, when they call me home"
Singing, "Oh, when they call me home"
Gonna ride the lightning!" they sang together, having a general good time. Flashes of what his life would have been like if he had stayed in jailed instead of being freed. He had decided that one of his greatest joys was his family, something his young nephew reinforced every time they hung out, even if it was a quick hug.
"Oh, when they call me home." He sang smiling
G'day Guys Grizz here, and what many of you guys online may not know, that while I am a proud geek into all things comics, gaming, anime and movies I also enjoy cooking, yea who would have guessed. So I figured that one thing everyone knows is that a good meal can make people feel better so I figured I'd do a cooking chapter with Mel being the best chef of the class and have her go up against teh Kirby's best chef who is Reggie. So I hope this made you hungry because I was made hungry asked well.
Now there will be no new chapter next week even thought I probably could post, but I'm making a Christmas special with the three schools featured mainly in this fic having a bit of a Christmas celebration Down Under so look forward to that, not sure if it will be apart of this series or a one-shot so that will be up Christmas Day or Boxing day
So until next time I'll catch you on the flipside down under