Silver Sakura

Stagiaire

  Akira Hayama indeed did win the finals, however, it didn't come easily. It was an all-out battle until the very end.

  However, the next challenge was here: the Stagiaire. It was a temporary change to loan out students to restaurants in teams of two. This not only would shave off more students but also give us hands-on experience in a professional setting.

  During the first stage, the head chef would only let me do dishes until the third day when I basically said 'fuck it' and just started cooking. He actually hadn't even noticed until he started having customers asking about the cook and found me making dishes. I was yelled at for a couple of minutes, then I simply set some of my food in front of him to try, and he left me alone from there on out.

  "Oi! This is pork, not venison! Does no one have these meats marked?" I called out when I saw the carved meat waiting to be used. "You, go check the meat locker to see what's going on in there." I told the guy handing me the chopped vegetables for the dish I was making. He nodded, then hurried away. "Who brought me this damn pork?! Can't you tell this shit apart?"

  "Sorry, chef, we're quite busy out there!"

  "And serving the wrong food will make you busier!" I waved my hand before sighing while stirring in the vegetables. "This is the most unorganized kitchen I've ever seen." I said under my breath.

  "Gin, maybe I can help." The kid that had been sent here with me spoke up from the sink as he was doing dishes.

  "How?"

  "W-Well, we can't do it right now since we're still serving, but after hours, I can look over the storeroom."

  "Good idea. Head chef should be able to spare some folks to help rearrange the food. I'll focus on the kitchen because this place is utter fucking chaos. Watch it!" I then shouted to a cook that stumbled over someone else. "Do I need to tape lines to the floor so you know which side to fuckin' walk on?! Shit, how have they made it this far being so damn clumsy?"

  "Don't you think changing up the setting of the kitchen would cause more of a disruption?"

  "We're going to bring order. Oi, do you have one of those label-maker doohickies?" I looked over my shoulder at the boy at the sink.

  "I do."

  "Good, we're gonna need it. We can label this place to make sure they stay organized after we're gone. Oi! Where's my damn venison?!"

~

  Passing the first stage of the Stagiaire, the second stage knocked me on my ass almost as soon as it actually started. I was placed in a restaurant that focused on Indian dishes with a multitude of spices. I didn't even know half of these methods to prepare spices, and it was being shown right to my face just how well Hayama knew his craft if this is what he'd been doing during the Fall Selection.

  I could make curry fine, but these chefs....they could make it amazingly. I also hadn't even heard of murgh makhani until now, or tikka masala. Hell, even bhajji, vada pav- fucking half of the menu was new territory for me. The kitchen would be a swirling storm of smells, of spices and vegetables and meats coming together to make mouth-watering food.

  The chefs around me were polite but firm in their teachings, showing me how to prepare the dishes and giving advice when I had questions. However, after the 4th day, I was beginning to keep up with the pace of the kitchen and the methods of cooking. Being placed in this kitchen was showing me exactly what I was missing in my own cooking.

  I was sure to show off what I learned to my parents the next time I visited back home.

  I would also show off to everyone at Kyokusei. The Fall Selection had shaken my confidence in my cooking to the core, but working and learning in this kitchen had returned it.

~

  Drying my hair with a towel, I looked through the little brochure for the Moon Festival. It was a five-day festival the academy held to celebrate autumn and to also show off the up-and-coming chefs from the school. Students were allowed individual and group booths, but my mind was already set on an idea as soon as I'd heard about the festival.

  I wanted to make mooncakes. They were cute, colorful, and could be made into various shapes with many different designs. Mooncakes were also a staple to autumn and Chinese Moon Festivals. People loved them, I wanted to make them, it was a win-win idea.

  Not to mention the fact that I also just wanted to stuff my face with mooncakes, and I had yet to hear of anyone else planning on making them.

  I'd submit my form tomorrow after looking at the areas available for booths. I wanted somewhere shaded under a tree to really set the scene. The idea was so vivid in my head that I could practically see it.

  Goodness, did I really want to pig out on mooncakes that much?

~

  "You're really going to do it again?"

  "Do what?" I looked up to see Ryo holding the Moon Festival Guide opened to the page with my booth on it. "I'm not following."

  "Mooncakes. You're making a gentle dish again when you should be baring your fangs."

  "Fight me about it. I like sweets."

  "Where's your drive to win? I thought you wanted to be #1."

  "Trust me, that hasn't gone away. Come on, sleepyhead, haven't you figured out by now that just because my dish doesn't seem impactful doesn't mean it isn't? I've got my ways."

  "What are you doodling?"

  "The designs for the cakes."

  "....You're really determined on these mooncakes."

  "I am."

  "Are they....your favorite?"

  "Pretty damn close." I replied, and Ryo closed his eyes while sighing. "What? I'm allowed to look masculine and like cute foods."

  "You do know that if your booth loses profit, you'll be expelled, right?"

  "Yeah."

  "You really expect to sell mooncakes at a Totsuki festival?"

  "Yeah. Oi, don't be rude! You should try my mooncakes before you look down on them!"

~

  I was actually excited setting up the moon gate as my 'storefront', and the whole idea was coming together so well when I was hanging lanterns from the branches of the tree curling over the area. I could hear hammers and saws from others building their own booths and prepping for the festival.

  "Gin, where do you want these flowers?" Glancing over my shoulder to the trio of girls, I saw the late-blooming flowers they were holding.

  "Out front in the pots, if you don't mind."

  "Not at all!" They grinned and went to put the flowers in front of the moon gate. Lia, Aiko, and Chiyo were a few of my classmates that had offered to help out with my booth.

  I felt a smile pull at my lips as I secured another paper lantern on a branch. Climbing down the ladder, I glanced over the area with benches and tables set out for folks that wanted to sit and rest while they ate. It looked nice during the day, but I knew once the sun started going down this place would look like a fairytale.

  I wasn't going to lie, I was actually really excited for my first Tohtsuki festival. There were friends I wanted to share this experience with, allies, and even frenemies.