Totsuki Genius

After Damian entered assessment room number 10, he saw Chappelle standing at the front with his arms crossed, and the students who were taking the assessment.

Before Damian could take a step forward, he heard Chappelle say in a deep voice, "Are you here to take the exam too?"

"Yes, this is my letter of recommendation, Mr. Chapelle."

Chapelle glanced at the letter of recommendation before nodding and saying, "Damian Gray, right? Okay, but you're 20 minutes late."

"Sorry, I just arrived in Japan and I didn't know the road well yet."

"Huh? Aren't you from Japan?"

"I came from Naples, Italy."

"Interesting... Okay, that's forgivable. That will be the assessment. You have 40 minutes to prepare, there's an empty table near the door."

Damian nodded and looked at the words on the blackboard for a while before saying with some doubts: "A brilliant dish, among its ingredients there must be some kind of pasta..."

Chapelle nodded and said, "Damian Gray, be warned in advance that if the food is not good enough to pass the exam you will have to eat all the food."

Damian nodded and said, "Okay, I understand, Chef Chapelle, can I leave my luggage here?"

"Of course."

Damian was very polite and didn't seem nervous, this earned him some points with Chappelle.

All these students are children or relatives of chefs or children of rich people.

They are arrogant and arrogant young people.

Unfortunately, their cooking skills are low.

But what made Chapelle disdain them even more was that many simply gave up taking the exam when they saw him.

Damian arrived at his counter and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, but contrary to what was expected, he didn't immediately go and choose the ingredients.

He went to the sink and began meticulously washing his hands.

This unassuming behavior earned even more points with Chapelle.

How can a chef not wash his hands before starting to cook? This is something basic that any chef has to know, unfortunately, the other examinees seemed to have missed this.

"Spaghetti, chili peppers, garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce... What will he prepare?"

Damian carefully chose the best ingredients available to him.

Capers, black olives, fresh basil, Calabrian pepper, among other ingredients.

Seeing Damian's choices of ingredients, Chapelle became even more curious about what he was going to prepare.

He remembered that Damian said he was from Naples, and immediately a dish that could use those ingredients came to mind.

As he paid attention to Damian's actions, a young man approached him carrying the plate with a single hand.

Chapelle frowned at the way the young man was walking carelessly with the plate in one hand.

"Chef Chapelle, please try my Yakisoba!"

Chapelle stopped for a few seconds to smell the food, the smell wasn't bad, but he frowned when he saw the appearance of the dish.

Chapelle took a pair of chopsticks and tasted some and took a few seconds to taste the Yakisoba.

With clear disgust written on his face he frowned and asked with a dark expression: "Did you add apple cider vinegar to this Yakisoba?"

"Yes! I thought of that while I was coming to take the exam, I'm sure it was a genius idea-"

"This was the most inedible dish I've tasted today, everything from the noodles to the chicken, and even the seasoning is absolutely bad. Plus, adding vinegar to your already inedible Yakisoba could give anyone indigestion and stomachaches. "

"Under no circumstances would I serve something like this in my restaurant."

"You fail." Chapelle spoke coldly as he criticized every point of the young man's Yakisoba.

"How... how is this possible!? Chapelle-sensei, prove it again! It must be..."

"No need. Try it yourself, I'm sure you'll understand your note." Chapelle spoke as he took out a new pair of chopsticks and passed them to the young man.

The young man picked up the chopsticks and tasted his Yakisoba with dissatisfaction, but when he tasted it, he almost spat it out.

Even though the Yakisoba was so inedible, Chapelle respectfully ate and swallowed it all.

"Like everything, when you're done you can get out of here. You're not fit to be a chef." Chapelle spoke while looking away.

Seeing how bad his food really was, the young man was so embarrassed that he didn't even want to stay there any longer.

He ate it all while resisting nausea.

The young man ate everything as quickly as he could, then he covered his mouth and left after eating, probably because he had diarrhea.

Chapelle quickly went to wipe his mouth, and when he returned his eyes were unconsciously drawn to Damian.

Damian had put a pan full of salted water to boil while he gathered all the ingredients, in a mortar he pounded the garlic with the pepper and a little olive oil until it formed a paste.

After that, he placed the spaghetti in the pan with the now boiling water for approximately 3 minutes.

He then heated a frying pan and added the olive oil, the paste created with garlic and pepper, capers, tomato sauce, black olives, calabrian pepper and butter along with the anchovy fillets.

A few minutes later, he tasted the sauce to see if it had enough salt, seeing that it was good, he smiled and turned his eyes to the spaghetti in the boiling pot.

Seeing that it was already good, he took the cooked spaghetti with some of the cooking water into the pan with the sauce.

He then gently mixed them so that the spaghetti was coated in the sauce.

Then he added parsley and basil.

He mixed it and then turned off the heat.

Facts have proven that anything, as long as it is done perfectly, can be considered an art.

Cooking can also be an art.

The others who were taking the transfer exam who were eliminated also sighed seeing this. Even though they had already failed, they were curious about what Damian was doing.

The gentle fragrance of Damian's dish spread throughout the room.

Even Chapelle was eager to try Damian's dish.

As he watched, Damian finished the dish with lemon zest, parsley and plenty of parmesan cheese.

After that Damian wiped the edges of the plate with kitchen paper and walked towards Chapelle with the plate in both hands. Chappelle couldn't help but nod at Damian's demeanor.

Damian walked in front of Chappelle and said, "Mr. Chapelle, please taste my dish, it's called spaghetti alla puttanesca."

At that moment, Chappelle couldn't help but swallow hard as he looked at the spaghetti.

"Visually and by smell, this dish has already passed the test, now let's see what it tastes like." Chapelle muttered to himself.

Chappelle picked up a fork. The immediate aroma made his heart race. The intense scent of capers, black olives, and fresh tomatoes danced through the air, enveloping Roland in a symphony of flavors before he could even take his first bite.

He observed the presentation: the spaghetti was perfectly al dente, smothered in a rich, glossy sauce, with pieces of anchovy fillet delicately distributed. This was a work of art that seemed to shine in his eyes.

Roland picked up his fork and began rolling the dough, the strands intertwining with the sauce as if they were lovers reunited after a long separation.

He brought the fork to his mouth, and the explosion of flavors was instantaneous. The sauce was robust, with a perfect balance between the saltiness of the anchovies and the acidic touch of the ripe tomatoes.

"Hmmm…" He let out an involuntary groan, the sound leaving each of the young men taking the exam perplexed.

The mix of ingredients seemed to tell a story, as if each bite revealed a secret of Italian tradition.

As he chewed, Roland felt the texture of the crunchy capers, which burst with flavor, contrasting with the smoothness of the spaghetti. The olives, chopped in a rustic way, added a touch of bitterness that balanced the sweetness of the sauce, while the aroma of garlic and red pepper danced in the background, causing a slight burn that invited the next piece.

He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the experience to intensify. The flavor was intense but not aggressive, like a seductive whisper.

This was the essence of puttanesca: a dish that spoke of passion and life, made with simple ingredients that came together in sublime harmony.

"It's almost like a poem... Talking about the simplicity and complexity of life..."

Roland couldn't stop. Each bite was like a new discovery, an invitation to taste the story of whoever prepared that dish.

He could clearly see Damian in the kitchen, every movement precise, every ingredient chosen with precision and care. The chef was conveying his soul through the food, and Roland was the happy spectator of this spectacle.

When he finally finished, he looked down at his empty plate, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

(I need to replicate this masterpiece in my kitchen.)

At this moment, the young people were even more astonished.

"I-Chapelle-sensei is smiling!?"

Chapelle recovered from his daze, he asked Damian to prepare another portion.

A few seconds later Damian returned with another portion, Chapelle took the plate, covered it and put it in a microwave.

"Did I pass the exam, Mr. Chapelle?" Damian asked m

"Yes, I have to admit that your dish completely exceeded my expectations. Congratulations Damian Gray, Tōtsuki welcomes you."

Damian smiled and nodded.

"Tomorrow is the opening ceremony. As the student who scored the best on the transfer exam, you will have to give a speech. The ceremony starts at 8:20, so don't be late."

Damian nodded and went to get his bags.

"By the way, the dorms won't be announced until tomorrow, right?" Damian stopped and asked when he remembered he had nowhere to stay.

Chappelle was stunned for a moment and then suddenly said, "Oh! I almost forgot about that..."

Chapelle quickly took the paper and stamped something.

"Take it, this is your admission notice."

"You can take this admission notice and check into a hotel near Tōtsuki."

"Tomorrow your dorm will be announced."

Damian smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chapelle, this will save you some money."

"Heh... Right! You must be tired from the trip, go and rest."

"Yes! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hmm!"

(End of chapter)

Now, getting straight to the point... GIVE ME YOUR POWER STONES NOW!!🤌 Ehem! Have a good night or good day? I don't know haha