"So, Satou, are you here for an internship?"
Kikuchi Sonoka asked with a gentle smile on her face.
"Yes."
Satou nodded. He hadn't expected his second internship location to be at Kikuchi Sonoka's restaurant.
"When I received the Far Moon notification, I was a bit worried, but knowing it was Satou, I'm really happy.~"
Kikuchi Sonoka smiled slightly and said.
"However, Kuguchi-senpai, your restaurant doesn't seem to have a very good reputation?"
Satou hesitated for a moment, then added, "I heard the customers' comments at the door."
Hearing him say that, Kikuchi Sonoka's expression immediately dimmed. She nodded and said, "Indeed, we've encountered some difficulties since opening."
Then she quickly bowed to Satou, and her large chest immediately jiggled, a surging wave.
This made Satou unable to resist looking at her a couple more times.
"I'm so sorry for implicating Satou!"
Kikuchi Sonoka said.
"That's not the case."
Satou quickly said, thinking to himself that this senpai was truly innocent and lovely, no wonder she was being bullied. "Since I'm here for an internship, I will do my best to help you, senpai."
"Really? Then thank you very much, Satou!"
Kikuchi Sonoka looked at Satou gratefully.
Afterward, the two sat down at a table in the restaurant.
Although the internship location had changed from the famous Kirinoya to the poorly managed Chunguo Pavilion, the condition for passing the internship was to leave significant and visible results. Achieving results in such a restaurant actually increased the difficulty.
"Speaking of which, Kuguchi-senpai, why is your restaurant not doing well?"
Satou asked.
"It's probably because I'm a newly graduated chef and can't satisfy picky diners."
Kikuchi Sonoka sighed, looking a bit troubled.
Satou nodded. It was indeed very difficult for newly graduated chefs to establish themselves in the high-end culinary world.
Kojiro Shinomiya, who graduated as the top student back then, also underwent six years of training before officially opening his restaurant.
And at first, he also encountered unimaginable difficulties, almost going out of business due to poor management.
Of course, Kojiro Shinomiya was in the eighth arrondissement of Paris, an area filled with famous restaurants and fierce competition, so the difficulty was definitely much higher than here.
Moreover, in Japan, Far Moon's reputation was still very strong. As long as one revealed the title of an Totsuki Ten Masters graduate, there would be no shortage of customers.
Sure enough, Kikuchi Sonoka hesitated for a moment and said, "And, the sous chef, Fabre, has been changing my recipes without permission, causing the taste to change."
Satou showed a 'just as I thought' expression and asked, "Can I taste that onion chicken soup from before?"
Kikuchi Sonoka was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "No problem, there's still some left in the kitchen."
Then she turned and went into the kitchen, bringing out a portion of onion chicken soup.
"This is the recipe that Fabre changed."
She said.
Satou nodded, then picked up the spoon and took a sip.
But with just one sip, he frowned.
"The taste of this onion chicken soup seems different from usual."
He said, "Normally, chicken and onion should be marinated with pepper, salt, and olive oil, but olive oil wasn't used here. And when frying, you need to first use a cold pan with cold oil to fry the onions until they're brown, then add other ingredients, but he fried all the ingredients together."
"Amazing! As expected of someone who easily defeated the Autumn Election champion!"
Kikuchi Sonoka looked at Satou with an amazed expression. She hadn't expected him to pinpoint the recipe differences so precisely after just one taste. Did he also possess a talent similar to Erina Nakiri's?
"But Fabre said this is more in line with the authentic taste of Western cuisine."
She hesitated and said.
"This isn't in line; it simply makes the dish taste worse."
Satou frowned and said without hesitation.
Kikuchi Sonoka bit her lip and didn't retort. Although she was kind and innocent, she wasn't stupid. As the former second seat, how could she not see that this would make the dish worse?
She just felt uncomfortable saying it out loud.
"Kuguchi-senpai, I think you should get a new sous chef."
Satou said calmly.
"But the restaurant's reputation isn't very good, so it's hard to recruit talented chefs."
Kikuchi Sonoka hesitated and said.
When she first opened the restaurant, even slightly talented chefs were unwilling to work under such an indecisive, inexperienced eighteen-year-old girl. The only applicant was Fabre, because he had experience running a restaurant and was very experienced. Kikuchi Sonoka quickly appointed him as the sous chef.
Later, she found that Fabre often changed recipes, and she wanted to replace him, but because business was not ideal, it became even harder to recruit talented chefs.
Moreover, she was kind-hearted and somewhat couldn't bear to.
Satou was speechless for a moment, feeling that this senpai was truly too kind and innocent.
However, thinking about her decision in the Autumn Election, where she couldn't distinguish between the two dishes and ultimately allowed both Tadokoro Megumi and Hayama Akira to advance, Satou understood.
"But, Kuguchi-senpai, can you really bear to watch your restaurant continue like this day after day?"
Satou gazed at her and said in a deep voice, "If you don't mind, I can take on the role of sous chef."
"You as sous chef?"
Kikuchi Sonoka's eyes widened.
...
When Satou and Kikuchi Sonoka walked into the kitchen, Fabre was experimenting with a dish.
Seeing Satou enter, he smiled and said, "You're here. From now on, you'll be in charge of washing dishes. Don't think that just because you're a Far Moon student, you'll get special treatment. Not even the Elite Ten can."
"Sorry, I'm here to take your position."
Satou smiled slightly and said, "From now on, you'll temporarily be my assistant chef. Of course, it depends on your performance. If you don't perform well, you won't even be an assistant chef."
Fabre was stunned for a moment, then became furious, "What are you talking about, kid? Who do you think you are?"
"I'm very sorry, Fabre, this decision was made by me. I hope you can temporarily serve as Satou's assistant chef."
At this moment, Kikuchi Sonoka suddenly mustered her courage and said.
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