Food of the Elite

Chapter 14

"Eh!? Um...ok."

Megumi cautiously approached Chef Shinomiya. I guess she still has that thing about her expulsion to worry about.

"I'm sorry for the expulsion thing. You're a great chef and hope you continue to do well. Also..."

While I couldn't hear what you he said, Megumi started blushing and shaking her hands in front of her. She then walked back towards us.

"What did Shinomiya say?"

"It's nothing!" Her voice got very high pitched but I decided to drop the topic.

"Hold it right there, buster!"

Back behind Shinomiya we're the other alumni such as Inui.

"Ugh." I heard Shinomiya mumble.

"We're not letting you get a head start on us, Shinomiya." Inui said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Shinomiya solemnly replied.

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, you have any interest in Italian cuisine?" Chef Fuyumi asked me.

Maybe this was a good way to gain some interest and connections between some of the alumni.

"Ho un interesse, ma dovrò rifiutare. Scusa bella."

She looked shocked by my response but quickly regained her composure.

"Che dolce chiacchierone che sei."

"It's only natural when talking to a lovely woman such as yourself."

"I'll leave it off on that. You're too young, though I'd be willing to be a partner when you grow older."

"That'd be helpful." After all, I did need some chefs from every genre of cuisine to make the restaurant I plan on making a success.

I turned to see Megumi getting pampered by countless alumni.

"Heh. Already trying to recruit students only in their first year? It seems you have a very high opinion of their potential."

"Ch-chef Dojima, what's going on?"

"In order to be here for this, most of these chefs either closed their restaurants or left them in the hands of their sous chefs."

"That's asking a lot for purely volunteer work." Megumi commented.

"That is true."

"You have a point." Yukihira followed after me.

"To make a long story short, this camp is an opportunity for them to scout possible future recruits. Chefs train in the real world by moving from restaurant to restaurant. The better their talent, the more likely they are to move to another restaurant. That means acquiring recruits with potential is a top priority for existing owner chefs! There is such a thing called 'right staff' for a restaurant and the alumni here can tell you how hard it is to get them. That's why they come here, to get a look at your potential. This camp is not beneficial not just to the students, but also a scouting trial to the alumni."