n

n

nThe competition had already begun, and everyone tensed up as they watched the contestants hurriedly cook.

nAs time passed by, the audience continued to discuss and observe the competitors.

n

"Heavens look at those knife cutting skills.... Senior Vegara is amazing

"

n

"Just looking at senior Winston cook, makes me hungry

"

n

"What kind of smell is this?... why is it so fragrant?... looking at them cook, has made me realise how far back my cooking skills are

"

n

"Look!!!.. she's already placing her dessert in the kiln.

"

n

"Senior Yorick is extremely fast and well... just look at the way he's beating the eggs.

"

n

"--

"

nDominic saw the signal from Landon, and knew that it was finally time to stop the contestants.

nTime for the judges to give their reviews.

nUp first was contestant Milton.

nHe placed his dishes on a metal wheeled trolley, and brought them closer to the judges.

nOnce he had placed all the dishes on their table, he immediately stood a little distance in front of them and waited nervously for their comments.

n.

nThe judges had their own metal megaphones, so they began their assessments.

n

"Before we the judges eat, let's talk about your plate presentation and appearance.

nThe theme of the meal was, adventure.. And your dish screams hunting in the Forest... Am I correct?

" Chef Benita asked

nThe place was dead silent.

n

"YES!

"

nThe audience held their breaths as they listened to the judges...

n'So far so good', they thought.

nThe judges on the panel smiled.

n

"And what would you call this dish?

" Landon asked

n

"A hunter's victory

" Milton said anxiously.

n

"It certainly does look like forest.

nThe rice was sculpted like a mountain and placed at the upper most corner of the plate.. I can also see that you added a yellow colored sauce around the mountains top as well.

" Landon said.

n

"Around your mountain of rice, you mixed that same sauce with your meat, and placed at the doorstep of the mountain... I'm guessing that this signifies the ground itself...

" Chief Lyore commented.

n

"Your leafy vegetables were then placed between each meat stack, creating the illusion of trees.

" Chef Blake said.

n

"And finally, you rolled your brown fried eggs, cut them into several pieces and stationed them at different points on your plate.. which made them seem like large rocks or logs of wood placed around the forest.

" Chef Benita added as she used her fork to poke the eggs.

n

"And for your dessert, I see that you also neatly placed star shaped cakes on a different plate... which probably signifies the stars at night..

nSo your adventure happens at night time... interesting.....

" Landon said.

n

"And finally for your appetizer, I'm guessing the fish sticks in the sauce signified a water body and life somewhere in your forest

" Chief Lyore concluded.

nEveryone in the audience couldn't help but give 2 thumbs up to Milton... He had done so much preparation, and showed off his skills as a chef.

nHe was telling his own adventure story through his cooking.

nNow, it was time for the judges to eat the meal.

nAs the judges ate, they all had different looks on their faces.

nThe audience couldn't help themselves from guessing what the final outcome would be.

n

"Do you think chef Blake is impressed?

"

n

"Look!!!...Chef Benita is still continuing to eat the fish sticks.

"

nThe judges looked at each other and finally decided to give their review.

nThe audience quieted down and the air was filled with anxiety.

nThe people felt like they couldn't breathe.

n

n

n

"For your meat, you cut them up into rectangular pieces, spiced them up, covered the outer surfaces with flour and eggs, and later fried them..... making the exterior of the meat crispy, and the interior juicy and tender....It has great taste..

" Chef Benita said.

n'Meat could be cooked this way?', the people thought.

nThe people eased up when they heard the review.

nThe other judges went on to give their own comments as well.

n

"I can tell that the sauce that you made was made of milk, butter, salt, eggs and pepper.

nThe butter was heated up and mixed into the milk to make heavy cream... Then you added all the other ingredients, as well as curry to make the sauce look yellowish.

"

n

"Your vegetable pieces were fried and coated with spices, which also made them firm and crispy... And your cakes were soft and sweet as well

"

n

"_

"

nAs the judges kept giving positive reviews, everyone thought that Milton had done a marvelous job... But the next comments made them realise that life was really too unpredictable.

n

"Separately..... your dessert, entree and appetizers were Fantastic.. they were really great.... but together..... they were utter TRASH!!

" Chef Blake commented.

nEveryone gasped for air, as they heard what was said.

nWhat was this situation?.... Did they just hear it right?

nHow brutal!!!.... but also somehow entertaining to watch.

nMilton on the other hand, felt like someone had poured cold water on him.

n

"When I ate your appetizer, entree and dessert together, I felt like I was at the jungle loosing a fight against a wild boar.

" Chief Lyore said.

n

"I agree..... It feels like I'm being torn into shreds by dangerous animals.

" Landon added.

n

"Your meal's name is a 'Hunter's Victory Day'.... but it feels like a 'Hunter's Death Day...

" Chef Benita stated.

nThe other contestants couldn't help but sweat as they looked at their own dishes in front of them.

nThey had completely lost their confidence as they listened to the judges.

nWas it possible for them to have a do-over?

n

"The peppery taste on your food, clashes with your overly sweet cakes.... The combination is just awful.

"

n

"Also, the milk you had us drink as a beverage, didn't enhance the taste of your dish at all... Instead, drastically destroyed it.

"

nAfter the judges had pinpointed all his errors, they ended their remarks with encouragement.

n

"But I must say, you've got what it takes to be a master chef.

"

n

"All you need is more time, experience and practice..... Never give up!!

"

n

"Nothing in life comes easy.... .. Take all the criticisms we give you today, work on your skills and make us proud.

"

n

"Contestant Milton..... I await the day that you cook alongside me as a 3 star chef!!!

"

nTears flowed from Milton's eyes as he heard the last comments.

n

"Thank you!!

"

nThe audience got emotional as well.

n

"We believe in you senior Milton

"

n

"Never give up!!

"

n

"That's right... all you need is time and experience..

"

n

"Your way better than me in cooking senior Milton

"

nMilton truly felt touched as he listened to the crowd.

n.

nThe competition went on with the audience hanging on a tiny thread of life again.

nTheir emotions were all over the place because of the judges.

nOnce the judges were done with their assessment, they awarded points to all the contestants.

nFor this part of the competition, Yorick came first, Vegara was second and Milton was third... of course there were 5 other contestants behind Milton as well.

nNow it was time for stage 2 of the contest.

nThe audience quickly came down to eat their fill, as they themselves were hungry from watching all these juicy meals being prepared.

nWith 20 Sous-chefs helping each contestant, the dishes were served very fast to the citizens.

nAnd finally by the end of the competition, the plates were gathered and counted.

nSurprisingly, every contestant still had the same rank as before.

nWhich meant that the audience still found Yorick's food to be the tastiest, followed by Vegara and then Milton.

nOf course Landon gave a closing speech for the event, and awarded the winners with their rewards.

nWith this, the competition had come to an end.

n.

n

"Daddy..Daddy, you won

"

n

"Daddy congratulations

"

n

n

nMilton turned around and looked at his wife, his 9 year old son and his 6 year old daughter running towards him.

nThey immediately hugged him as they felt immensely proud of him.

n

"I can't believe that Chef Benita would be teaching you for 2 weeks.... hahaha... I'm so happy....Wahhh!!... look at all the money in the bag

" his wife jumped about happily.

nMilton smiled as he looked at his family.

nToday had truly shown him that his road to being a chef wasn't going to be easy...but there was no way in hell that he would give up without a fight.

nJust as the judges had said, he needed to properly hone his skills in order to advance in the culinary world.

nHe needed to do this for his family, and for his future.

nHe had already swore that he would do his best and get Chef Blake and Benita's recognition.

nHis new dream was not to be a 3 star chef like them, but to be a 5 star one.

n.

n--Knighhood Academy, Capital of Arcadina--

n.

nA young gentleman sat on a chair in his dorm room, with his personal guard standing beside him.

nSuddenly, his window opened and someone in a cloak jumped in.

n

"Any news?

"

n

"No young master

"

n

"Keep searching

"

n

"Yes young master

"

nAnd just like that, the cloaked person had left, as quickly as he had arrived.

nMarder Shannon's personal guard was worried as well.

n

"Young master Marder... What do we do about lord Shannon's disappearance?

"

n

n