Dimwit || Shinomiya Kojiro

quatre

(Ishikawa Juno POV)

Shortly after the Autumn Elections, the first-years were tasked with completing the Stagiare, where we would work on the frontlines with professional chefs in cafes, restaurants, and diners.

"WHAT THE HECK?" I exclaimed as I read who I was assigned to work with for the week. "Totsuki Resort?! Wait, then I would be working with Dojima-senpai?!" My eyes couldn't believe it.

"Gin told me he specifically requested you." Fumio-san came into the dining hall.

"Waa, what did I do to deserve this," I cried imaginary tears of joy. "Well, I'll be off then!"

"Have a nice time," Fumio-san waved me off.

Once I arrived at the resort, I was met by some of the employees and escorted to the kitchen.

"Hello, you must be Ishikawa-san," a light-brown haired male stretched out his hand, "I'm Sena Hiromi, Dojima-san's sous chef."

"A-ah, nice to meet you. I'll do my best to learn," I shook his hand.

"By the way, Dojima-san will be joining us as soon as he is done with his managerial duties," Sena-san began, "But in general, you will be assisting me in the kitchen. Here's our usual menu."

I took the list of recipes and quickly memorized it. Soon after, Sena-san guided me to my work spot and explained to me the usual procedures. Lunch time rolled around and the kitchen staff began to begin cooking.

Working in a professional kitchen was pressuring to say the least. Everyone worked in perfect harmony, so I did my best to support Sena-san. One important quality that I learned was to accommodate each customer's specific requests, since people of all ages from all around the country stayed at the resort. It wasn't unusual for a special request to put in that deviated from the set recipe.

Gradually, I had gotten used to improvising my preparations and cooking on the spot, ready for anything to happen. I had managed to survive the peak hours of lunch; I wiped the sweat from my forehead and took a small breather.

"Ishikawa-san, nice work," Sena-san praised.

"Ah, you're too kind Sena-san."

Then the kitchen door opened and in came Dojima-senpai. "Ah, Ishikawa-kun, sorry that I couldn't make it earlier, I was held up in my office. I wanted to inform you that there will be a banquet later this week, and we are tasked to serve dinner."

"Banquet?" I was surprised.

"Yes, we hold banquets for our VIP members frequently. It's one of the resort's highlights" Sena-san explained.

"We will use a set 5 gourmet course menu. Each dish has its own unique prepping techniques, so I'm here to teach it to you," Dojima-senpai added.

"Hai, I'm ready to learn," I stated in a determined tone.

Dojima-senpai spent the rest of the week teaching me different techniques all from different cuisines: French, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, while I assisted Sena-san in the kitchen during peak dining hours. The techniques were hard to learn, as they required very specific and minor detailed care, like hearing when the oil was ready and I kept making mistakes, but I eventually got the hang of it.

The banquet was the last day of my Stagiare experience and I must say, it was three times as hectic as a regular day at the resort. Customers piled on request after request and the prepwork was hard to change once it had been set. But, after a long night's work, the banquet successfully concluded with all VIP guests fully satisfied.

The next day, the Totsuki kitchen staff, including Sena-san and Dojima-senpai sent me off. "Thanks for teaching me lots and never giving up on me Dojima-senpai, Sena-san," I bowed in appreciation.