Heaven's Senses

XXVIII

I stood there taking his verbal attack, but got bored and yawned loudly. I didn't have to yawn so loud, but I thought it was appropriate to show how much he didn't faze me. After all, the best way to kill the snake, is to cut off the head. 

I ended my yawn with a chuckle and a determination filled gaze in my eyes.

"The sign of a weak chef is when they talk way too much for my liking." I said and he looked stunned, "You stand there talking about how I should burn this into my memory, how you stole my idea and made it your own by changing up a few things, while I was relying on my wits to get me through this challenge. Well guess what, Mimasaka, the only one relying on something is you. But then again, I guess I was relying on your stupidity to get through this as well."

"What?" He questioned me.

"I thought about you all week, piecing together where you were hiding and each move you made. Remember, I'm the girl with the Heaven's Senses. You can hide from sight, but you can't hide your presence from me."

I turned back to my dish and prepared to serve it, gliding past Mimasaka as I approached the judges' tasting table.

"Well then, why don't you let your senses be rattled!" I announced and set my dish on the table, "Order up! Yukihira style beef stew: Fall Selection special!"

When the judges looked down at my beef stew, they were both stunned and confused. On the surface, it looked like there just different cuts of beef thrown in to the bowl without any thought, but this appearance went far deeper than initially thought in the judges' heads.

"You're not screwing around with us are you?" Chef Tsunozaki said, "I've never seen any beef stew like this before."

"What are you talking about? Haven't you seen a bowl of beef stew before?" I asked, "After all, they're all considered to be a garnish."

"What's that?"

"Did she say that they're all garnishes?"

"The charcoal grill gives it a rich aroma."

"It looks like it's simmered to absolute perfection."

My stew may have looked like a jumbled up mess, but there is beauty underneath a mess if you know how to sort through it.

"So the stew itself is basically the same as the previously presented dish." Mizuhara said.

"As for the garnish..." Tsunozaki took a bite.... and her mind went wild. Bite after bite she looked like she was about toburst from the taste of my dish.

"The cheek meat is so tender and juicy that it practically melts when you chew it!" Tsunozaki exclaimed.

"The texture of the tongue and honeycomb is also a fest of deliciousness." Kikuchi could barely hold in her expression.

"The grilled skirt steak was sliced thick, the amount of juices flowing out of it is entirely new." Mizuhara commented.

"When paired with the stew it brings forth a torrent of splendid loveliness!" Inui said.

"Well, it looks like it's thrown in carelessly at first, but each cut was prepared perfectly. An expertly built thrill ride of flavor. Such a manajorie of creating perfect balance."

Mimasaka looked like he was about to explode out of mind-blowing shock.

"But how is this possible?" He asked himself, "How could she make this on the fly?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I would say that it was all thanks to you that I was able to make this dish perfect." I said and stood up tall, "I thought like you did, wanting to use a powerful garnish to increase the depth of flavor in the dish. But, that wouldn't work in my favor. It's not my style. So I decided to combine various flavors and seasonings into a single dish."