Chapter 173 - It wasn't much

Ryouta: its Terrible*munch slurp*

Tamako: oh I guess another failure

man: well I guess I'll clean up your mess honey

He heads in the kitchen and starts making something

a red-haired boy around Ryouta age looks at him curiously and asks why he is still eating it

Ryouta: while its terrible...there is a certain flavor I enjoy...

the boy looks confused

old man: so boy what's your story...why haven't you eaten much...what are your parent doing

Ryouta: well I don't have any parents...in fact I woke up in a forest a year ago...(actually the Kazuma family all have family that cares about them... it's just complicated situations for them...but they are all rich...Grayfia has a younger brother but they seem to be at odds for some reason and Est, Sakura and Restia are like apart of me...they don't really require food...Grayfia also is a noble rich family...wait a second...why is everyone spunging off me)

Ryouta starts having tears in his eyes

Old Man: oh...I'm sorry...I guess even someone as young as you has it hard

Ryouta was confused at what this old man was talking abou

suddenly the man presents his dish to Ryouta

Ryouta is mesmerized by the smell: this is udon

Man:oh you can tell from the smell

Ryouta bit into and was shocked at it. The noodles were perfect and the balance was perfect...he felt warmer and his body felt more relaxed

Ryouta: wow what is this...the most impressive thing is the noodles..how did you remove the starchy flavor

Man: I gave them a ice bath

Ryouta eyes shined: of course that removes excess starch....but sometimes when I make a broth it's starchy...

old man: did you separate the noodles when you cooked the noodles

Ryouta: no...I mean they are going to end up the same

Man: its a rookie mistake...

Ryouta felt shocked at this

Tamako: but you are quite knowledgeable do you like to cook

Ryouta:...I'm not sure...I like cooking for the people I care about..I like bringing joy to people...I learned that the one thing that everyone has in common in the world is food...when someone is hungry they will eat...

The man smiled and patted the boy shoulders and was surprised because...he felt tons of muscles on this boy...he also noticed a sword on his side and another special weapon on his right: hmm

Ryouta: huh?

Man:...oh nothing besides I am Jōichirō Yukihira , my wife the owner Tamako and this is my son Soma

Ryouta: Ryouta Kazum, this is Est, this is Restia and this is sakura...they are a little shy

old man: stop it kid

Tears come from Tamako as she hugs him

Ryouta was confused at what was going on

Joichiro: don't worry we will look

Ryouta: never mind that...can you be my master...I want to learn what it truly means to cook like you

Joichiro rubs his nose smirking: well if you

Ryouta holds hands: please take me as your disciple Tamako sensei

Ryouta bows

Tamako laughs and smugly says: well of course but it won't be easy to be as amazing as me

Ryouta kowtow Three times

Joichiro, soma and old man Kazusato Yukihira were frozen at this devolopement...they couldn't process it

-------------------------

A little bit later Soma askes Ryouta

Soma: why did you want my mom to be your master...dad is a better chef

Ryouta:...she has a quality that I think I need...Sensei has something that he lacks...no not lacks but not as strong but not as intensed

Joichiro who is watching Ryouta cut vegatibles in the back smiles...thinking to himself: yeah...she does have something...I guess you could say it isn't as strong as hers...

Joichiro: hey Ryo lets have a match...if you win I'll do all your prep for a week if you lose you have to be my genie pig for a week...

Ryouta:sure

...

Tamako: the winner is Joichiro

Ryouta is then forced to eat his experiemnts

Ryouta: bleh squid and peanut butter...thats horrible...hmm I have an idea for a new recipe

---------------------

1 year later

Soma: the winner is aniki

Ryouta takes off his bandana: it wasn't much

Joichiro: grr fine...I'll take you with me

Ryouta: haha yes

Tamako: wow my disciple has sure has grown...I've done a good job teaching him...he still has a long way to go

Ryouta: yeah...I still have a long way

Ryouta/ Joichiro matches 19 wins 41 losses

Joichiro: your not doing bad you won the last two

Ryouta: ugh that's because you did something crazy...ugh..anyway let's go

Soma: have fun, you guys

Soma waved and Ryouta and Joichiro left...Joichiro told him to call him Saiba ryouta just said he will call him chef

---------------------

Ryouta and Joichiro...Saiba called a cab

Ryouta asked: why have you been letting me win...I noticed that your cooking has been less than normal...

SaibaL oh so I'm caught...I didn't really hold back I just gave you a slight handicap...I was testing something...

Ryouta narrows his eyes...he hated people not giving there best with competing against others...it was like his very core was being mocked...he wasn't angry but...annoyed..

Saiba: stop looking at me like that...I will be honest your gifted, but its kind of demonic

Ryouta: demonic?

Saiba: I feel if your not careful you will end up going to the dark side

Ryouta looks at him confused

Saiba: you possess t something most people would only ream to have...God's eyes, you were able to tell the difference in what I was missing from the sight...

Ryouta: but I still have trouble with telling differences with taste

Saiba: that because your palate is still small...

Ryouta:...but whats god's eye?

Saiba: Every generation there are people born with great abilities. Their senses are greater than normal. for example, there is God's tongue that can taste any type of flavor and understand what makes it better. They say if you have one your destine to be a great chef and you have one. However just possession one doesn't mean you will achieve greatness some fall and never recover.

Ryouta: so what good is having super senses? I think Taste is the most important...

Saiba: For the cook, one might think that taste is the most important sense. It is indeed a common mantra among chefs: "Always be tasting." But it's not just tasting to taste, but rather to evaluate what you're tasting. Is there enough salt so that it tastes not salty but rather seasoned? Is there enough acidity? Enough richness, enough depth? If not, then think: How should I adjust this?

But often overlooked as a fundamental cooking sense is hearing. When I cook bacon, for instance, I start it in water. The gentle heat of water begins to render the fat and the bacon will never go above browning temperature; it's cooking, but it can't burn. But once I hear that pan crackling, I know that the water is almost gone; rendered fat can get very hot, and so I must attend to the pan.

Smell, likewise, is important, not just as an indicator of deliciousness (or the reverse) but of where you are in the cooking. If I am finishing up the components to go along with the prime rib I'm roasting in the oven, and I don't smell that delicious roasting meat, I'd better check the oven because it's probably not cooking properly, and not nearly done. If I smell it too early, perhaps the oven is too hot.

Touch is essential, a sense to call attention to because people are terrified of germs and bacteria, seem increasingly afraid of touching food. We touch a bread dough to evaluate if it has risen sufficiently. We press down on steak to intuit how done it is on the inside. We touch the top of a crème brûlée to ensure that it is smooth and brittle, not soft and sticky. Touch your food.

Sight is important, obviously — you can see that you've overcooked your pine nuts, or how delicious that roasted chicken is because you've put an aggressive coating of salt on it and roasted it in a very hot oven. You can see the oil ripple and swirl when it hits the sauté pan telling you the pan is good and hot.

But more important is imagined sight. What you expect to see should be a part of the cooking process."

Ryouta is frozen for a moment...like he had a deep understanding

Ryouta: (imaginary sight...that's right...

suddenly the taxi comes

Saiba stops talking and waits for Ryouta to regain his bearing and head off

Ryouta: so do you posses a god sense

Saiba: oh me...I wonder~

------------------

they walk and out of the taxi and walk to some old building...

They went inside then visit an old lady and Joichiro and this old lady talk for a bit. He introduces Ryouta to the old lady and they talked for a while. The old lady said something about trying some of his cooking later but Joichiro says they're actually running late. The lady was thinking about how the person once known as the demon has changed...

They then said bye and walked to a mansion...

Ryouta was shocked at the size and questioned: Does master know you have a sugar mama on the side

{Ryouta wanted to gain some experience outside the restruant so he had no clue where he was going)

Joichiro lips twitch "no there was only one woman for me and this is an old friend of mine only my friend is home

They went to the back of it and went inside and got changed in one of the rooms. Joichiro changed into a professional white chef's uniform. he then had a black apron around his waist and Ryouta was wearing a white jacket blue pants.

they walk and see an old man drinking tea the old man smiles and is surprised to see a boy with and they talk for a bit and Ryouta cheekily asks: So you're going to rob them. stealing is bad..but I mean...as long as I get a cut its not bad...

Joichiro: brat shut up and prep...