Steel Chef 2007 - Part Three: Judgment Day!
WHO: Ranma Saotome, Tatewaki Kuno, Abel Nightroad, Vash the Stampede, Monkey D. Luffy, Nita Callahan, Dizzy, Ukyo Kuonji, Jam Kuradoberi, Akane Tendo, Sanji, Souji Tendou, Shinji Ikari, Unsleeping Bride
WHERE: Floating Restaurant Baratie, East Blue
WHEN: Sunday, January 21st, 2007
WHAT: The bell rings, and the cooking part of the competition is over. Now it's time for the judges to chow down, mark their scorecards, and wait to see the final results.
Nita Callahan, as promised, provides her dishes. She does so rather awkwardly, as if she wasn't quite sure how this goes. Her world hasn't popularized Iron Chef yet. "Uh, we've got, for appetizers, fried onion in a spiced batter with chili - there's beef in there, by the way - and it's kind of hot, so you'll probably want to use a fork instead of picking it up like an onion ring. The main dish is a steak, though - I used the dragon meat there - and there's an herb and spice mixture on it. Family recipe. And the last is a maple apple pie, which I hope you like!"
She hates giving speeches.
Jam wasn't =entirely= sure how well that cooking would go. Particularly the dessert, anyway -- the dim sum chef has substantially less experience cooking those on such an abbreviated schedule, preferring to let it sit over a longer period of time. But... she's fairly confident in her abilities just the same, what with the scent of burning death lingering in the air over Akane's counter, and... was that a henshin sequence? Jam feels more anxiety over the sheer =weirdness= of her competitors than any lack of confidence in her cooking skills.
Which is why she's content to fold her arms behind her back, smiling vapidly like a prom queen until the judges make their assessments. There's nothing wrong with passing a polite grin over to the other competitors while she's at it, either!
Song Bird doesn't untie the cloth she put on her forehead, although she does rub it.
"That was a very impressive style," she says to Jam, with a guileless smile. She also pushes her glasses back up her nose, where sweat has made them slide somewhat.
First up appears to be Nita's dish. Ranma suppresses his natural suspicion of unfamiliar girls his age, reaching out to pluck a few pieces off of the onion, Nita's words of warning unheeded. Chomp chomp... Hey, not bad at all. He doesn't often get to eat spicy foods, so it's almost a new experience. The chili's pretty good, too. Ranma moves on to the steak, twirling his steak knife in one hand, then slashing it across the plate to slice up the meat. He eats the entire piece he was given in a few moments, and then it really kicks in. Oh, man, that's spicy too! Ranma coughs, but he's grinning at the same time. He could get used to this kind of cuisine; it's got a real /kick/ to it.
Finally, Ranma polishes off the slice of apple pie Nita gave him. Hmm, that's interesting. Kasumi's made apple pie once or twice, but this one has a really unique taste to it. And the sweetness is especially refreshing after the spicy fare he'd begun with.
Keep in mind, all of these judgements are made subconsciously, by Ranma's well-practiced taste buds. Out loud, all he says is, "Not bad, not bad at all." He writes down his score in quick and messy kanji, then folds up the little slip of paper into an airplane and flies it to Carne.
"Mm...?" asks Jam, turning towards Song Bird. She paid some attention, but for the most part, she was singlemindedly focused upon her food. And the Chinese beauty would =like= to be polite and return the compliment, but her outspokenness has dibs on her vocal chords. "Oh, sorry! Was not paying attention to yours, but sure it is delicious!" Insert vapid smile here.
Luffy's more or less been watching. Everyone seems to do something fancy.. and even if they don't, it's still fun to watch them cook! He grins, and when his serving of Nita's dishes arrives, he starts with the deep fried onions. This is stuff he hasn't seen before, but that doesn't stop him from digging in. Right. Eat slowly.. it's hard not to just wolf it all down like he normally does. Numbers are written down as he samples each. Once he's gotten a good idea of the scores, he doesn't hesitate to.. eat the rest of his servings. Chomp! It.. was there a second ago. Now.. he writes down more numbers, and adds them up slowly. Perfect.
Shinji Ikari looks over at Song Bird and Jam, because Song Bird is sending out Ayanamiesque vibes and abruptly decides that the verbal sparring that goes on between girls is terrifing.
Speaking to Jam and the others, Souji nods at her words. "You should not have been paying attention to the work of others. Your foes are before you, the tastes of these men. Even the greatest of dishes could fail due to the vagaries of individual preference. That is why we had to stive to find a balance of tastes that would appeal to the widest possible degree of tastes. From what little I saw of most of our work, I would say most of our efforts will prove satisfactory and most will prove... edible."
"Finally..." Vash sighs and drops his head forward when the first of the entries is presented. "I thought I was gonna die!" All those delicious smells while everything was cooking! But now it's his turn. Time to eat! He smiles at Nita, going for the steak first to give the onion a little time to cool. It's sampled next before he moves on to dessert. "It feels like the dishes go together." He nods. Like a theme! Vash likes thats. The pie is obviously his favorite as he finishes that first. But that doesn't mean he lets the first two dishes go to waste! Once he's finished he writes down his scores and passes them along.
Song Bird smiles at Jam in a rather simpering way. "Oh, thank you," she says, clasping her hands together. "Good luck... everything you made smelled delicious!"
Inwardly, she begins visualizing Jam as a soulforged hair ornament.
It's time to eat! The best part of the contest is the eating of course! Abel smiles his carefree smile at Nita and inhales deeply and almost has to stop himself from drooling at the apple pie. He goes at once to start sampling her dishes and nods quite firmly at the main course before going to try the dessert. Once he took the bite out of the pie his eyes practically lite up and starts going all starry. "So wonderful~!" He states, clasping his hands together. He quickly writes down the scores and passes them along before going to inhale the rest of the food before him!
Fascinating competition, the entire show was a marvel to watch. For most of the judges. Kuno, on the other hand, had his eyes peeled on Akane the entire time. An odd feeling in his stomach. Dread? No no no no, that's ridiculous! Excitement, anticipation! Yes! Don't you DARE feel dread, stomach! No stomach of Kuno's is going to dishonor Akane Tendo!
To his chagrin, Akane is not up first. Oh well, save the best for (Second) last, then! "Hmmm, let me see..." The Blue Thunder ponders. He already plans to give winning marks to the Tendo girl, but he could at least be gracious and try the other entrees. They went through the trouble, after all.
The appetizer comes first. He pulls out some chopsticks (a FORK? Surely you jest) and tastes the onions with his usual dining etiquette. Hm. Subtle, flavorful. Not bad at all. The beef chili packs a bit more punch than Kuno is used to, though. The dragon steak is next, and Kuno is... skeptical. Dragon meat? Well, nothing ventured nothing earned. An unreadable expression is on his face the entire time. A meat he's never tasted before, what does he think of it?! Finally, the pie. Apple pie. A favorite over in America, this almost immediately gives it a low score, since whenever he thinks of America he's reminded of his insane father. He tries it, all the same.
Finishing his testing writes down his scores on the papers provided, and resumes waiting for Akane's turn.
Sanji brings a cigarette out of his pocket and sets it to his lips, then lights it. Looks like it'll take a bit of time for the judges to make their decisions so a smoke is in order. It sounds like there are some positive reviews going on. He wonders how it'll all play out. But in the midst of it all the pirate cook walks over to Jam and offers her a flower from one of the table settings. "I was very impressed, Jam-chan. Your cooking technique is amazing. And your style is so cute!" <3 He couldn't help but notice! Believe it, the dress helped his opinion along.
There is no banter from Dizzy. She is simply relaxing now and studying Nita's dishes as the judges try them.
Nita Callahan mostly looks nervous, just waiting. NERVOUS. It's always nerve-wracking to be judged!
Shinji Ikari scrunches his nose a little at the cigarette being lit. He never much liked it when Mister Kaji smoked either, though Shinji is a polite young man and tries not to be obvious about his mild discomfort. It's not /that/ big of a deal after all.
"I, um, liked what you did with the glass." Shinji says meekly to Song Bird, in order to distract himself from the smoking. She gives off kind of a 'Wednesday Addams' or 'Rei Ayanami' vibe, but Shinji generally doesn't mind that sort of thing so much as he notes its existance. "I never would've thought of, um, s-something like that."
Carne looks at the scores, nodding thoughtfully to himself. "Okay, that's done! Next up, Dizzy!" ...What, he's not going to read the scores yet? In time, in time...
Dizzy takes a deep breath. The brief respite while the judges tried Nita's entry was very welcome; it gave her a chance to calm down and rest from her somewhat frenetic pace. She's up now, though, and the nerves come back. "Um...I hope you like my food!" She smiles at each of the judges--three of them she knows as friends or at least friendly acquaintances; the fourth, Kunou, she is unfamiliar with. Hopefully she makes a good impression on him.
"My theme is, um, Italian cuisine. The appetizer is called Insalate Carprese...I'm sorry, I probably mangled the pronunciation. It's sliced tomato--from the bonus ingredients table--with prosciutto ham and mozzarella cheese, and flavored with basil, olive oil, and basalmic vinegar. It's meant to show the colors of the Italian flag." She giggles nervously. "My main course is chicken alfredo, using fettucine noodles. The sauce is made with cream cheese, butter, minced fresh garlic, and some salt and pepper. The meat is grilled chicken breast, and the vegetables are bell peppers and broccoli. I put capers and parsley over it for garnishing.
Now she unmolds the spumone, gently knocking on the bowls while upside down to drop the contents onto a plate. "And this is spumone. This is actually just my second time making it--I only first found the recipe the other day. Um, the shell is made of vanilla ice cream with chopped almonds and almond extract. The filling is whipped cream with maraschino cherries and orange peel chopped up in it, plus a little bit of sugar and lemon juice for flavor and texture."
She now steps back (probably having rambled a bit overmuch) to let the judges try her food; she is fortunately only blushing a little bit with self-consciousness, and managed to keep her cool for her description. Overall, her food is probably not nearly as complex as the offerings by some of the more experienced chefs, but it is tasty.
Song Bird turns her head to look at Shinji and smiles at him. That's something Rei doesn't do. She folds her arms underneath something else prominent and says to him, with some embarrassment, "Well, sometimes when you are travelling, you catch a small bird and you pack it in clay to cook in the fire... and do you know how sometimes after a hot fire on sand, there is a little glass?"
He may not, of course, being a city-slicker.
The use of the glass =was= interesting, but Jam was quite honest when she said she wasn't paying attention. Smiling back to Song Bird, she offers a polite curtsy. "Thank you! And good luck!" As for Sanji who walks up... well, the cigarette isn't winning any awards, but she deals with enough smokers at her restaurant to just Stop Caring(tm) about it. Especially since he knows the shortcut to her heart: flirtatious compliments and flowers. Accepting the flower, she inclines her head, curtsying once more for Sanji. "Wish you good luck! I am thinking is delicious, is your good reputation." She glances over to Dizzy, forcing back a snicker at her explanation. "... Ah, is many exotic dish here! Good to see, now that I no have worry about actual cooking now." She smiles briefly, a slight wave of anxiety slipping over her. Sanji... well, she certainly feels =threatened= by his meal, once she gets a look at it.
Luffy grins when Dizzy steps up. Yes, he recognizes her, and he's eager to try her food. He isn't sure what to eat first, though.. but, as with all things, he eats them all and writes down points for each of them. They taste good, atleast, and he shows his satisfaction with the taste. Yay, food!
Ranma grins at Dizzy as she sets out her food. First American, now Italian, huh? There's sure a nice range to the presentations so far. He doesn't get the reference in the appetizer (flags aren't exactly something he's studied), but he seems to be pleased with the taste, as evidenced by the promptly cleared plate. The chicken alfredo doesn't last much longer before the dining style of the Saotome school. "Hm, nice," he says off-handedly once he's finished. Finally, there's that dessert. It takes Ranma a moment to figure out how to /eat/ it, but once he does, his eyebrows lift. Nice! He's always secretly had a taste for ice cream, but it's not a manly food to eat. He has an excuse now, though -- being a judge -- and he demolishes the dessert in seconds.
"Thanks, Dizzy," Ranma says cheerfully, jotting down another series of badly-written kanji. He folds up another airplane and throws it behind the back this time around.
Souji really hates cigarettes, especially around food. He's always thought that the foulness of smoke ruins even the best meal. "Excuse me sir," he states to Sanji, "But if you could, refrain from smoking inside until after the judges finish judging."
It really is hard to restrain himself as Dizzy's talking. But the second she mentioned 'Italian' Vash is reminded of how much he loves spaghetti! But what she presents is a far cry from what he normally fights Wolfwood over. "It smells great." Vash tries the dishes in order this time -- appetizer, main course, and then dessert. From the look on his face Dizzy has nothing to fear from Vash. But the gunman really likes food in general. "I noticed you had a little help in the kitchen though." He smiles at her before glancing to each of her wings. Does he consider that an unfair advantage? His expression doesn't hint at that.
Rei does, once in a while-Shinji likes to think of it as always being able to count on Ayanami's smiles to be sincere. One of the reasons Shinji is a little sillier around her than might be considered...usual is because he sort of hopes she'll start smiling a little more one of these days. "Um." Shinji returns the smile with a polite one of his own, Shinji's 'happy' smile being fairly rare and, according to people he's heard in the break room, creepy. "Well, I've heard of the fire and glass thing, y-yeah..." Shinji murmurs, remembering a few of the things people did for food after Second Impact, and careful to keep quiet enough so as not to risk Dizzy getting interupted.
He even gives his winged friend a little thumbs up when she heads back. She's a ball of nerves like he is, so Shinji figures a little support is nice.
Sanji smiles around his cigarette to Jam. "Your meals look really delicious." Actually he wouldn't mind trying them for himself. Though she might feel a tad threatened, Sanji is having similar feelings toward Jam most of all. Her flare for cooking might outdo his simple style. When Souji's voice is heard he blinks and looks over, then gives him an instant frown. Souji is telling him not to smoke in his own home? Well, the Baratie was his home and Sanji still considers it as such. But if he started a fight here and now Owner Zeff would probably appear out of nowhere and put him through the floor. He says nothing, but merely taps the cigarette out on a used dish and tossed the cigarette away into a garbage can. Hrmph.
Dizzy does look pleased to see the judges enjoying her food. "You're welcome, Mister Saotome," she says to Ranma, "I'm glad you liked it! And...wow, you eat fast, Mister Luffy!" She laughs, then nods to Vash, then looks embarrassed. "Um...yes, that's true...." She glances over her shoulders at her wings. She opens her mouth to say something...then just shakes her head. Let the judges call it. She isn't in this to win anyway. She does take a small bit of comfort from Shinji's gesture, waving back, then turns once more to Vash. "If it was against the rules, I'm sorry; please mark me down accordingly."
Song Bird looks at Sanji's cigarette with a relatively neutral expression. On the one hand it smells a little bad; on the other hand, it helps the body die! It's really quite a quandrary.
Her hands lace behind her back as she looks back to the judges, breathing in as she does.
Nita Callahan has found a chair from somewhere.
She is sitting on it. Nita has also removed her hat; her hair is messy.
Nope. Kuno does not know Dizzy. Strange looking girl, must be a cosplayer. Kuno shrugs inwardly, and begins to sample her dishes as well. This time his expression is completely unreadable as he tastes each one. Is he putting no a poker face for now? Kuno is being awfully competitive, for a judge. But, you see, Ranma is ALSO a judge. So Kuno is trying his best to be JUDGIER than Saotome!
Once he finishes sampling Dizzy's dishes, he writes his scores down, like the previous entry, and resumes waiting. Is it Akane's turn yet?
The smile upon his pale lips is quite the fond warm smile as he sees that Dizzy was one of the contestants. "I am sure that your cooking would be quite wonderful to have and it is my honor to have it, Miss Dizzy." He states before going to start sampling each item of food. His eyes light up with each bite before he goes to sample the desert. Sweet but yet, not too sweet. He mourns the latter part only because then he would have to get something sweeter to satified his sweet tooth but all the same, it was quite wonderful and he quickly writes down the scores. "A wonderful job Miss Dizzy." He states to her with a small bow of his head since he really couldn't bow, sitting down.
Vash blinks, wondering if he should've said anything about her wings. The promise of free food hid the fact that he'd actually be judging people! He's probably not very good at it...and he certainly wouldn't enjoy hurting anyone's feelings no matter what the benefits. "Everything was delicious. That's what counts, right?" He winks at Dizzy, hoping to soothe her embarrassed expression.
Akane frowns at Souji. Who did he think he was, bossing around a fellow chef like that? If he didn't like it, he could just move away! At least having something to be irritated about takes her mind off of her anxiety. Because as she looks from Nita and Dizzy's beautiful presentations of delicious foods...to her own presentation of...not-so-presentable foods, she can't hide her wince. Well, she gave it her best shot, at least!
Jam smiles faintly at Sanji's cigarette being extinguished... but thinks Sanji handles it remarkably well considering everything. She'd heard =rumors= this was his home turf, after all. "You perfect gentleman, Mister Sanji! Is honor to be in same competition as you." See, this is why she says nothing about cigarettes -- she lets =other= people take the fall! ... But really, she puts a bunch more of her attention on her friend Dizzy, and that gentleman Vash who was so nice to her at her first Relief Society meeting. She twiddles her finger in a wave to him, on that note. Trying to sway the judges? NO, REALLY?
Souji nods to Sanji. He offers no further explanation. In his world, smoking in a restaraunt is considered rather rude unless in a designated smoking section. Then again, Souji is just the kind of man used to getting his way no matter what. Truth be told, he's a bit of an ass and more than a bit of a egotist.
Nita Callahan would not consider her presentation 'delicious'. Tolerable, maybe.
The food is totally better than anything involving motor oil, though.
The complete lack of reaction from Kunou does make Dizzy frown just a tiny bit, but...then again, he was very blank when sampling Nita's wares as well. Ah well. She continues to smile, watching and waiting for now. Abel's and Vash's reactions, on the other hand, hearten her. "Thank you very much, Mister Nightroad, Mister Vash! I'm glad you enjoyed my food." She sighs with faint relief, seeing that her portion is done, and once more relaxes slightly. Who's next?
Carne takes the scores, nodding vaguely, and passing them to a nerdy little pirate busboy before stomping on the ground and leaning forward. "Very well! NEXT! SONGBIRD, you're up! Show us what you've got!"
Abel goes to smile, pausing in his festing of Dizzy's food. "You are quite welcome, Miss Dizzy but thank you for letting me eat your cooking."
Sanji does bristle but he calms himself and lifts one hand to his tie to adjust it slightly. Just being on the Baratie makes him.. want to brawl. o_o; It's what the cooks do here! But this is a competition and he has to behave himself. At least for now. At the praise from Jam she gets an instant smile and a heart in his eye. "You're so kind, Jam-chan!" He certainly feels better now.
Song Bird steps forwards, her face flushing a faint crimson to go with the usual pale creaminess of her cheekbones. She bows deeply and vigorously at the waist to the judges, and then starts her presentation.
"These pancakes," she says, "were inspired by the food served at festivals in my home; I had thought, would not a bit of a fruity sweetness go well with the savory bite of the green onion? I hope that they shall please you." She beams.
Then, onto the entree`: "I do not have a name of this, but as I said to my competitor -" she looks and gives Shinji a toothy little smile, then back to the judges: "It was inspired by cooking in clay. I had thought, how could I use such a thing as glass to accent my cooking?" She puts a fingertip to her chin and says, meekly, "I hope that I did well, to use it for the presentation."
The last dish makes her smile. "I have tasted this liquor before," she explains, perhaps fatally misunderstanding the purpose of soda, "and I had thought, it is so sweet, but with a bit of bitterness! So, I reduce into a rich sauce... and the dumplings I make are meant to echo its logo, with red, then white, and then red on top once more!"
She bows again, vigorously, and stays bowed for a second before rising again. "Please, enjoy it!"
Ranma seems to have plenty of room left in his stomach; it's the third taste-test and he's still going strong. He makes intrigued "mm" noises as he tastes the pancakes, then the hens. Excellent stuff. He quirks an eyebrow at the glass, but having lived on the road for the majority of his life, he knows all about campfire sand and glass. Nice trick, with that glass. And the dumplings are pretty tasty too, although he's not sure what he thinks of the glaze. Maybe it's an acquired taste.
"Song Bird, was it?" Ranma jots down his scores for the pale girl's meal. "Good stuff, thanks." Ranma is bored of folding paper airplanes, so he just passes the paper down the line of judges.
Kuno throws an occasional scowl at Ranma, that just screams 'I'm judgier than thou'.
When the latest dishes are brought before Kuno, he tastes them with the same disinterest he did the previous three. He can't ignore the taste, of course, and he DOES judge the dishes fairly. As fair as Kuno can possibly be, anyway.
Shinji Ikari gulps at that toothy grin, because he is just that sort of fellow.
Vash catches sight of Jam waving at him and blushes softly. He waves back at her, a dreamy expression crossing his face. Sigh. <3 But then it's time to judge again! The gunman sits up straight, trying to appear stoic as Song Bird makes her presentation. He tastes the dishes while nodding a few times. "That was really something you did with the glass!" And his impressed look suggests it was a good something. "To tell the truth, you had me worried there for a second." Vash chuckles. "Everything's really nice, but I like the glaze on the dumplings." A kick from the caffeine as well as the flavor.
The Kresnik quickly goes to bow his head with each bow that Song Bird did before going to smile his usual smile at her. "I look forward to trying your dishes. I wish you luck." With that said, he goes to try each dish blinking as to him, each one has an unique taste. "Wow." Was all that he had to say about the food and quickly writes down the scores and passes them along before going to finish each of the dishes before him. Yes, he -does- have an bottomless pit for a stomach, why do you ask?
Ranma is managing to completely ignore Kuno. So /there/.
Luffy laughs at Kuno's words, shaking his head. "This is good! I liked the main dish!" Of course he would. It was meat. Meat? Yeah. Luffy loves the stuff. Chicken, pork.. it makes it all taste better. Good thing he didn't try to eat any of the glass on it.. because he nearly tried some of it. That might've hurt.
Carne nods...nodnodnod...like a broad-shouldered nappy-looking pirate bobblehead. "Very good, very good... Well done. NEXT!" He swings his finger around to POINT at Shinji. "YOU! Shinji Ikari! Present your dishes, lad, make it snappy."
"Aaah!" Shinji jumps as he's pointed at, nearly tripping over himself. "S-sorry. Um. Sorry. Oh, um, well." Shinji shuffles forward in his silly little green 'Kiss The Cook' apron, his oversized chef's hat, and his crippling lack of confidence. He glups, once, trying to remember how this goes. "Ah. Um." Gulp. "M-my name's, err, Shinji Ikari, and, uh..." What does he do again? "I w-work for the IPA's Black Sheep Squaderon." Shinji pauses, flushing. "I, um, pilot the big purple one. A-anyway, um, I usually cook for my family, so I, um, figured that'd be the best kind of, uh, theme to try."
Shinji takes a swallow, his hands shaking a little as he continues, "The appetizer's, um, miso soup, with a croissant bread bowl...I used some of that, um, special chinese spice as the special ingredient there, since you can really use anything with miso soup." Shinji smiles a little. "It sort of, um, reminds me of my guardian. See, she always talks about a traditional Japanese breakfast, but she's always, um, on the run, and she loves instant food-stuff that's convienant and you can really spice to your taste, right? So I figured something in a bread bowl would be good for her, and while miso soup's very, um, traditional, it's also a really, err, versitile food, so if you like it spicy, or savory, or, um, h-however, you can really adjust it to your taste while not, ah, spending all day cooking." Shinji coughs, once.
"A-anyway, the entree is a stir fry. I used the dragon meat, and a group of mixed vegetables that includes, ah, snap peas, watercress, broccoli, mushrooms, potato wedges, and, um, those little ears of corn." Shinji blushes a little, not knowing the proper term for them. Some chef. "Again, a stir fry is quick and easy while still being, um, filling, so it's great for family meals or if you have, ah, unexpected guests, and I used the vegetables I did because they have plenty of flavor on their own; a friend of mine who comes over for dinner sometimes is, um, a vegetarian, and so I always try and have at least part of the meal be really, um, meat optional for her sake. This way, even without the meat, um, you still h-have a meal." Shinji blushes a little more, seeing as that point was kind of muddled. "And the soy sauce shapes were just, um, for fun." She needs more fun in her life.
"F-finally, dessert is a german chocolate cake. Two layers, and I used d-dark chocolate for the icing and milk chocolate for the shavings and to flavor the cake itself. I, um, figured the contrast would be good." Shinji shrugs, as if he had done personal insult to someone and had no idea how to apologize, "I was thinking of my roomate when I made this cake, so I, um, f-figured that something interesting would be mixing apples-I used the special apples, um, hopefuly they don't explode or something-into the cake batter, and on top of the cake. I used a cinnamon-sugar glaze, which is a lot easier to make than it sounds." Shinji smiles hesitantly, because he's starting to feel a /little/ more comfortable talking. "It reminds me of her, um, because...well, she's more complicated than you'd think, and she's the kind of person that'd make me bake a cake just because she, um, felt like it." The Third Child mildly hopes he does not die for that line.
Shinji gives another weak shrug, a mild attempt at a smile, and rubs the back of his head. "Um, sorry to bother you while you're trying to, um, eat, and I hope you guys enjoy it." At least, Ikari thinks, I didn't faint.
Ikari might faint when he realizes that Luffy's plates are empty already and he's already writing down numbers!
Song Bird smiles at Shinji in passing again and moves over...
To where there are chairs.
As such, she sits, not far from Nita. She leans back and crosses her legs.
Vash lifts his brows when Shinji's ordered forward so abruptly. Were the girls talked to that way? He hopes not! Though he wouldn't want anyone to be talked to that like that. Especially when Shinji's appeared to be the most nervous of all the contestants. He wonders how the poor boy managed to make it through or what inspired him to sign up in the first place. Vash tears off the bowl and dips it into the soup. "This was a really good idea!" And the soup does taste good too! Vash would probably enjoy it more if he didn't feel a little itchy all of a sudden. "You tried to make the main course vegetarian too, didn't you?" He smiles at the boy. "That's really considerate." See, none of the judges are gonna bit your head off! That chocolate cake on the other hand...the man in red tears into that with an appetite that borders on vicious!
The fourth contestant that's not Akane Tendo is brought up. Kuno frowns again. And most surprisingly it is from a male child! Not that Kuno is small minded, he just has little faith of a boy being a decent cook. When men get older and need to cook for themselves on a regular basis, then they can pick up a few things. But a child? Oh well, Kuno shall see for himself.
The cake, at least, looks good. Kuno samples the dishes like all the others, and writes the scores down when finished.
Patty joins Carne up on the balcony, both men leaning forward as they listen to Shinji's explanation of the ingredients he used. And the exchanged glance they share seems to reflect just one heartfelt sentiment. 'Uh-oh.' Seems like it's about time to start wheeling out those jugs of Cureall. The guy in red looks like he's already starting to scratch.
Big purple one? Ranma just blinks politely, not being up on his giant robots. Food, though. He knows food. But Ranma stops to listen to Shinji's description of the theme he picked, and it draws an unusually soft smile from him. Family, huh?
Ranma takes a quick sip of the soup before he starts in on the main course -- that spice he used is good, but /hot/! The stir fry gets a thumbs-up, as Ranma finishes it off quickly. He prefers his /with/ the meat, personally. He gulps down the cake cheerfully, then goes back to the soup to finish it off with the bowl...
And then, Ranma belches. A fireball. FWOOM.
...Actually, that seems to have been the only side effect for him. Maybe Ranma is building an immunity to weird spices after all the times Shampoo has dosed him. After the initial shock, he doesn't even seem phased, brushing away the ashes and writing down his scores on what's left of the piece of paper.
HOLY--!!! Akane jumps backwards, one arm flung up in front of her as though to shield herself from the sudden displayed pyrotechnics. What in the WORLD? "Er..." She's about to ask if he's okay, but Ranma seems pretty calm now that he's done playing Taro the Dragon Boy. Well that's good... She likes the look of that cake. She never imagined using apples before! And the stir-fry seems fairly easy. Just toss all those ingredients into a wok? Even Akane can't mess that up! ............Ha ha ha, yeah right.
Abel quirks an brow at the way the boy was being ordered around. He goes to offer him an encouraging smile. "Quite original and homey. I look forward trying your cooking so chin up." He goes to take a sip of the soup and an nibble of the croissant and just goes to smile an distant smile. He smiles even more a warm smile but then blinks and goes to rub at his eyes as he thought that he saw something but then starts to go scratch himself and sneeze at the same time. What skin shows reveals goosebumps but still despite swearing that he is -seeing- something out there that causes his hackles to rise on the back of his neck. He goes to blink as he lets out a cough but his eyes widen as a fire ball comes out. Normally, things like this wouldn't bother him but then again, he isn't in his true form so just the opposite happens, anything bad or side effects will happen to him.
He covers his mouth to prevent anymore fireballs coming out of it but puts an sample of the rest into his mouth to taste it and quickly writes the score down on a sheet of paper before going to flail as he is indeed quite itchy now. Whine~
Shinji Ikari smiles, meekly, in that 'awkward fifteen year old' sort of way. If Kuno ever thinks to look up the child's record with the IPA, he'll find that Shinji's killed over a hundred people, if you don't count the aliens, in the course of his duties.
He is also promptly blackened by Ranma's flame-belch. The Third Child looks mildly shocked, and then resigned. "Um, s-sorry about that..." Shinji raises a shaky finger, "Sensitive stomach?"
Shinji procedes to walk rigidly to the chef's area, where he pauses in front of Akane to quietly say, "Um, s-sorry about your fiance, Miss Tendo. I, uh, didn't m-mean any harm, ma'am. sorry." before heading back to a chair where he can hopefuly mope in peace.
Ranma coughs, pounding his chest. "'Salright, I've had worse," he says in response. Partly because it's true, he has, and partly because making fun of Shinji would be like kicking a puppy.
Akane blinks, and appears somewhat flustered for a moment. "Guh--he's... Ha ha, you don't have to call him that, it's sort of..." Well it's not that she MINDS, but if people say 'her fiance' then it calls to mind images of soppy gushy romantic love, and Akane and Ranma holding hands and gazing looooovingly into each other's eyes, and... Well, anyone who knows them, knows that just ain't so! But darn it, Shinji looks so SAD! ...And charred! She smiles softly, trotting away from her place in line to fetch a rag, soak it in hot water from one of the taps, and had it to the young man. "Here you go. Ah...for your face," she beams. "You did a great job. I'd love to get the recipe for the stir-fry sometime if you get the chance."
Carne passes out a cup of Cureall to each of the judges, allowing Patty to take his place on the stand. "All right, good job, squid-face! Next up, Jelly! ... Huh? Oh, Jam!" he corrects himself after a harsh whisper from Carne down below. "Step up, miss!" He flutters his eyelashes. How...fetching.
Jelly? Oh jeez. Jam doesn't even recognize that as her 'name' until the correction is made, at which point she attentively leaps up. "Aiya... yes! I here, I here!" ... Was she sleepign standing up? No, shut up!
Jam steps up to the center after some hesitation. She hadn't really prepared a speech, but the outspoken Chinese chef is more than happy to expound at length upon her entrees. "Full name is Jam Kuradoberi, I am here representing Five Lucky Dragons restaurant back in place Dizzy come from. Thank you for tasting food, am hoping you enjoy it! I like to explain briefly a little about each dish, if okay." Balling her little fist before her mouth, she coughs lightly, the chef's hat pitching forward upon her head in the process.
"I pick Chinese cuisine, as Dim Sum is my specialty! But trying to experiment, in some way, for best of competition. Appetizer... is what I call 'fire and ice' gyoza, as 'fire' is spicy and 'ice' is rich, full of flavor. Hoping each taste complement each other, ice put out fire, allow you to experience full richness of flavor in shrimp."
Jam shuffles her feet slightly, once more folding her hands behind her back. Though she does fidget a bit, to the point of untying her apron. It's getting annoying after all, and it's hardly necessary any more. "Main dish is Char Siu barbecue pork, serve upon Shahe Fen noodle with egg rolls. Hint of sake flavor brought out by rice noodle, most hoping to bring out flavor of pork with special five-spice powder. Though is seeming powder spicier than what I used to. I hope you like!"
Finally done fidgeting, she removes her apron, folding it over one arm to reveal a slightly better view of the long, sleeveless cheongsam she's wearing. No, she's not trying to sway judges -- she's actually just hot. (Take that statement as you will.) The dessert dish is the furthest from her usual repertoire, so she's slightly anxious, but continues with a broad grin, "And dessert is 'Flame On Iceberg', ice cream in sponge cake flambe. I trying something new, I hope you like!" She glances to each judge, smiling and bobbing her head at each, before curtsying one more and resuming her place behind her counter. No need to crowd the judges, after all.
Except maybe Vash. She's starting to wish she'd kept some of the paper cranes she'd folded.
Bowing once more, she adds, with a finger-twiddling wave, "Thank you again for chance being here!"
Abel accepts the cup and takes a rather big drink of it. As much as it was quite nice to breathe fire, it ruins the taste of the food.
Vash takes a sip of the cureall, though he hopes Shinji doesn't see it. It was a mistake anyone could've made! And his dishes were hearty and good in spite of it. He feels a little better when Jam's name is mentioned though. The gunman plants his elbows on the table and leans forward, wearing a grin that could only be called goofy. "You had great presentation..." He gets the feeling that he's supposed to be doing something though. Oh right, tasting! Vash sighs blissfully at the tastes of the appetizer and dessert, in that order. But after trying the main dish he starts to get that itchy feeling again. Nothing another lip sip won't cure! Even so, Jam could be his personal steel chef anyday. And he's sure a lot of other men would agree!
Shinji Ikari blinks, slightly thrown by the simple act of kindness. He's...like that. Weird. "Um, t-thanks..." The Third Child mutters, smiling a little. She's probably happy because she won't be last place now, the bitter part of him thinks, but Shinji is long practiced at not letting his face show any of his darker thoughts. Sometimes.
The Third Child whipes his face a little, and ponders how to best answer Akane's offer without offending the girl. "Um." Shinji blinks. "S-sure. I'll...show you sometime, getting the, um, hand motions right is a little tricky." Okay, that's a lie, but she can't be worse than Misato's attempts at cooking, right?
...right?
Jam smiles cheerfully as Vash offers his compliments, inclining her head in as welcoming a fashion as possible. A slight pink tinge crosses her cheeks as well. Overselling it, perhaps, but she seems pleased that Vash seems to like the dish!
Ranma sips just a bit from the cup of Cureall; he's starting to get itchy, but it quickly goes away. Poor Shinji. That spice seemed familiar, too... Ah, well. Jam's self-introduction makes the poor martial artist /nervous/. She reminds him so much of the Chinese Amazons that it's not even /funny/. She'd better not challenge him if she doesn't get first...
But that worry will have to wait. Jam has her dishes out, so he gets back to 'work'. A 'fire' gyoza goes down in one gulp, and then Ranma coughs, mouth wide as the heat of the food hits him. "Oh, /man/!" That's a cheerful oh man, though, in case you were worried. He snaps up an 'ice' gyoza after a few seconds, then gives Jam a grin. He may be developing a taste for spicy food after this competition. As long as it's not /cursed/ spices or anything...
Which brings him back to the main course. Ranma spins his knife and fork, then gobbles down the entire plate of noodles and pork in moments. He gulps, coughs, then sends another jet of flame out -- this time aimed carefully, so it doesn't touch anybody. (He's kinda having fun with it, now.) After that, he finishes off the cup of Cureall before he can start itching and hallucinating, then cheerfully eats the ice-cream-flambe dessert. "Good stuff, thanks."
Jam seems =very= relieved once Ranma takes a taste of her meals. That's a good sign, at any rate! "Is my pleasure!" she responds quickly, inclining her head once again!
After become normal again, Abel goes to smile at Jam and closes his eyes to accent the smile. She was adorable, just like Dizzy. He goes at once to sample Jam's dishes and his eyes open with them being lit up in surprise. "Wow, this is truly is amazing." He states of her appetizer before going to the main course. He eats it but this time, once he begins to see the hallucinations he takes a quick drink of the cureall but then goes to offer an small appluse for Jam's presentation of the dessert. He goes to take a bite out of it but then his eyes goes all starry at her. "So wonderful." Not as good as Shinji's but it was still quite wonderful to eat.
They keep drinking from this cup. Jam finds herself wondering: What's =in= that cup anyway? It's water, right? Abel's compliments are recieved appreciatively. The dessert seems to be going over quite well, which pleases her if nothing else!
Carne blinks. Oh no...more of the five-spice powder! He knew that purple-haired lass was up to no good, too many smiles, too many coy glances... But she sure was cute. He turns himself right back around to refill everyone's cups.
Patty, meanwhile, is enjoying his time in the spotlight. "Next up is the beetle-boy! Bring us your entries, squidface!"
Meanwhile, several of the cooks are STARING at Akane's food...still smouldering. There's a quick conference, then one of them rushes up to Patty to whisper in his ear.
"Huh? Well that makes sense... OKAY! LISTEN UP! DUE TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION AND HEALTHINESS, CHEF SANJI WILL GO BEFORE CHEF AKANE TENDO! THANK YOU!"
WHERE: Floating Restaurant Baratie, East Blue
WHEN: Sunday, January 21st, 2007
WHAT: The bell rings, and the cooking part of the competition is over. Now it's time for the judges to chow down, mark their scorecards, and wait to see the final results.
Nita Callahan, as promised, provides her dishes. She does so rather awkwardly, as if she wasn't quite sure how this goes. Her world hasn't popularized Iron Chef yet. "Uh, we've got, for appetizers, fried onion in a spiced batter with chili - there's beef in there, by the way - and it's kind of hot, so you'll probably want to use a fork instead of picking it up like an onion ring. The main dish is a steak, though - I used the dragon meat there - and there's an herb and spice mixture on it. Family recipe. And the last is a maple apple pie, which I hope you like!"
She hates giving speeches.
Jam wasn't =entirely= sure how well that cooking would go. Particularly the dessert, anyway -- the dim sum chef has substantially less experience cooking those on such an abbreviated schedule, preferring to let it sit over a longer period of time. But... she's fairly confident in her abilities just the same, what with the scent of burning death lingering in the air over Akane's counter, and... was that a henshin sequence? Jam feels more anxiety over the sheer =weirdness= of her competitors than any lack of confidence in her cooking skills.
Which is why she's content to fold her arms behind her back, smiling vapidly like a prom queen until the judges make their assessments. There's nothing wrong with passing a polite grin over to the other competitors while she's at it, either!
Song Bird doesn't untie the cloth she put on her forehead, although she does rub it.
"That was a very impressive style," she says to Jam, with a guileless smile. She also pushes her glasses back up her nose, where sweat has made them slide somewhat.
First up appears to be Nita's dish. Ranma suppresses his natural suspicion of unfamiliar girls his age, reaching out to pluck a few pieces off of the onion, Nita's words of warning unheeded. Chomp chomp... Hey, not bad at all. He doesn't often get to eat spicy foods, so it's almost a new experience. The chili's pretty good, too. Ranma moves on to the steak, twirling his steak knife in one hand, then slashing it across the plate to slice up the meat. He eats the entire piece he was given in a few moments, and then it really kicks in. Oh, man, that's spicy too! Ranma coughs, but he's grinning at the same time. He could get used to this kind of cuisine; it's got a real /kick/ to it.
Finally, Ranma polishes off the slice of apple pie Nita gave him. Hmm, that's interesting. Kasumi's made apple pie once or twice, but this one has a really unique taste to it. And the sweetness is especially refreshing after the spicy fare he'd begun with.
Keep in mind, all of these judgements are made subconsciously, by Ranma's well-practiced taste buds. Out loud, all he says is, "Not bad, not bad at all." He writes down his score in quick and messy kanji, then folds up the little slip of paper into an airplane and flies it to Carne.
"Mm...?" asks Jam, turning towards Song Bird. She paid some attention, but for the most part, she was singlemindedly focused upon her food. And the Chinese beauty would =like= to be polite and return the compliment, but her outspokenness has dibs on her vocal chords. "Oh, sorry! Was not paying attention to yours, but sure it is delicious!" Insert vapid smile here.
Luffy's more or less been watching. Everyone seems to do something fancy.. and even if they don't, it's still fun to watch them cook! He grins, and when his serving of Nita's dishes arrives, he starts with the deep fried onions. This is stuff he hasn't seen before, but that doesn't stop him from digging in. Right. Eat slowly.. it's hard not to just wolf it all down like he normally does. Numbers are written down as he samples each. Once he's gotten a good idea of the scores, he doesn't hesitate to.. eat the rest of his servings. Chomp! It.. was there a second ago. Now.. he writes down more numbers, and adds them up slowly. Perfect.
Shinji Ikari looks over at Song Bird and Jam, because Song Bird is sending out Ayanamiesque vibes and abruptly decides that the verbal sparring that goes on between girls is terrifing.
Speaking to Jam and the others, Souji nods at her words. "You should not have been paying attention to the work of others. Your foes are before you, the tastes of these men. Even the greatest of dishes could fail due to the vagaries of individual preference. That is why we had to stive to find a balance of tastes that would appeal to the widest possible degree of tastes. From what little I saw of most of our work, I would say most of our efforts will prove satisfactory and most will prove... edible."
"Finally..." Vash sighs and drops his head forward when the first of the entries is presented. "I thought I was gonna die!" All those delicious smells while everything was cooking! But now it's his turn. Time to eat! He smiles at Nita, going for the steak first to give the onion a little time to cool. It's sampled next before he moves on to dessert. "It feels like the dishes go together." He nods. Like a theme! Vash likes thats. The pie is obviously his favorite as he finishes that first. But that doesn't mean he lets the first two dishes go to waste! Once he's finished he writes down his scores and passes them along.
Song Bird smiles at Jam in a rather simpering way. "Oh, thank you," she says, clasping her hands together. "Good luck... everything you made smelled delicious!"
Inwardly, she begins visualizing Jam as a soulforged hair ornament.
It's time to eat! The best part of the contest is the eating of course! Abel smiles his carefree smile at Nita and inhales deeply and almost has to stop himself from drooling at the apple pie. He goes at once to start sampling her dishes and nods quite firmly at the main course before going to try the dessert. Once he took the bite out of the pie his eyes practically lite up and starts going all starry. "So wonderful~!" He states, clasping his hands together. He quickly writes down the scores and passes them along before going to inhale the rest of the food before him!
Fascinating competition, the entire show was a marvel to watch. For most of the judges. Kuno, on the other hand, had his eyes peeled on Akane the entire time. An odd feeling in his stomach. Dread? No no no no, that's ridiculous! Excitement, anticipation! Yes! Don't you DARE feel dread, stomach! No stomach of Kuno's is going to dishonor Akane Tendo!
To his chagrin, Akane is not up first. Oh well, save the best for (Second) last, then! "Hmmm, let me see..." The Blue Thunder ponders. He already plans to give winning marks to the Tendo girl, but he could at least be gracious and try the other entrees. They went through the trouble, after all.
The appetizer comes first. He pulls out some chopsticks (a FORK? Surely you jest) and tastes the onions with his usual dining etiquette. Hm. Subtle, flavorful. Not bad at all. The beef chili packs a bit more punch than Kuno is used to, though. The dragon steak is next, and Kuno is... skeptical. Dragon meat? Well, nothing ventured nothing earned. An unreadable expression is on his face the entire time. A meat he's never tasted before, what does he think of it?! Finally, the pie. Apple pie. A favorite over in America, this almost immediately gives it a low score, since whenever he thinks of America he's reminded of his insane father. He tries it, all the same.
Finishing his testing writes down his scores on the papers provided, and resumes waiting for Akane's turn.
Sanji brings a cigarette out of his pocket and sets it to his lips, then lights it. Looks like it'll take a bit of time for the judges to make their decisions so a smoke is in order. It sounds like there are some positive reviews going on. He wonders how it'll all play out. But in the midst of it all the pirate cook walks over to Jam and offers her a flower from one of the table settings. "I was very impressed, Jam-chan. Your cooking technique is amazing. And your style is so cute!" <3 He couldn't help but notice! Believe it, the dress helped his opinion along.
There is no banter from Dizzy. She is simply relaxing now and studying Nita's dishes as the judges try them.
Nita Callahan mostly looks nervous, just waiting. NERVOUS. It's always nerve-wracking to be judged!
Shinji Ikari scrunches his nose a little at the cigarette being lit. He never much liked it when Mister Kaji smoked either, though Shinji is a polite young man and tries not to be obvious about his mild discomfort. It's not /that/ big of a deal after all.
"I, um, liked what you did with the glass." Shinji says meekly to Song Bird, in order to distract himself from the smoking. She gives off kind of a 'Wednesday Addams' or 'Rei Ayanami' vibe, but Shinji generally doesn't mind that sort of thing so much as he notes its existance. "I never would've thought of, um, s-something like that."
Carne looks at the scores, nodding thoughtfully to himself. "Okay, that's done! Next up, Dizzy!" ...What, he's not going to read the scores yet? In time, in time...
Dizzy takes a deep breath. The brief respite while the judges tried Nita's entry was very welcome; it gave her a chance to calm down and rest from her somewhat frenetic pace. She's up now, though, and the nerves come back. "Um...I hope you like my food!" She smiles at each of the judges--three of them she knows as friends or at least friendly acquaintances; the fourth, Kunou, she is unfamiliar with. Hopefully she makes a good impression on him.
"My theme is, um, Italian cuisine. The appetizer is called Insalate Carprese...I'm sorry, I probably mangled the pronunciation. It's sliced tomato--from the bonus ingredients table--with prosciutto ham and mozzarella cheese, and flavored with basil, olive oil, and basalmic vinegar. It's meant to show the colors of the Italian flag." She giggles nervously. "My main course is chicken alfredo, using fettucine noodles. The sauce is made with cream cheese, butter, minced fresh garlic, and some salt and pepper. The meat is grilled chicken breast, and the vegetables are bell peppers and broccoli. I put capers and parsley over it for garnishing.
Now she unmolds the spumone, gently knocking on the bowls while upside down to drop the contents onto a plate. "And this is spumone. This is actually just my second time making it--I only first found the recipe the other day. Um, the shell is made of vanilla ice cream with chopped almonds and almond extract. The filling is whipped cream with maraschino cherries and orange peel chopped up in it, plus a little bit of sugar and lemon juice for flavor and texture."
She now steps back (probably having rambled a bit overmuch) to let the judges try her food; she is fortunately only blushing a little bit with self-consciousness, and managed to keep her cool for her description. Overall, her food is probably not nearly as complex as the offerings by some of the more experienced chefs, but it is tasty.
Song Bird turns her head to look at Shinji and smiles at him. That's something Rei doesn't do. She folds her arms underneath something else prominent and says to him, with some embarrassment, "Well, sometimes when you are travelling, you catch a small bird and you pack it in clay to cook in the fire... and do you know how sometimes after a hot fire on sand, there is a little glass?"
He may not, of course, being a city-slicker.
The use of the glass =was= interesting, but Jam was quite honest when she said she wasn't paying attention. Smiling back to Song Bird, she offers a polite curtsy. "Thank you! And good luck!" As for Sanji who walks up... well, the cigarette isn't winning any awards, but she deals with enough smokers at her restaurant to just Stop Caring(tm) about it. Especially since he knows the shortcut to her heart: flirtatious compliments and flowers. Accepting the flower, she inclines her head, curtsying once more for Sanji. "Wish you good luck! I am thinking is delicious, is your good reputation." She glances over to Dizzy, forcing back a snicker at her explanation. "... Ah, is many exotic dish here! Good to see, now that I no have worry about actual cooking now." She smiles briefly, a slight wave of anxiety slipping over her. Sanji... well, she certainly feels =threatened= by his meal, once she gets a look at it.
Luffy grins when Dizzy steps up. Yes, he recognizes her, and he's eager to try her food. He isn't sure what to eat first, though.. but, as with all things, he eats them all and writes down points for each of them. They taste good, atleast, and he shows his satisfaction with the taste. Yay, food!
Ranma grins at Dizzy as she sets out her food. First American, now Italian, huh? There's sure a nice range to the presentations so far. He doesn't get the reference in the appetizer (flags aren't exactly something he's studied), but he seems to be pleased with the taste, as evidenced by the promptly cleared plate. The chicken alfredo doesn't last much longer before the dining style of the Saotome school. "Hm, nice," he says off-handedly once he's finished. Finally, there's that dessert. It takes Ranma a moment to figure out how to /eat/ it, but once he does, his eyebrows lift. Nice! He's always secretly had a taste for ice cream, but it's not a manly food to eat. He has an excuse now, though -- being a judge -- and he demolishes the dessert in seconds.
"Thanks, Dizzy," Ranma says cheerfully, jotting down another series of badly-written kanji. He folds up another airplane and throws it behind the back this time around.
Souji really hates cigarettes, especially around food. He's always thought that the foulness of smoke ruins even the best meal. "Excuse me sir," he states to Sanji, "But if you could, refrain from smoking inside until after the judges finish judging."
It really is hard to restrain himself as Dizzy's talking. But the second she mentioned 'Italian' Vash is reminded of how much he loves spaghetti! But what she presents is a far cry from what he normally fights Wolfwood over. "It smells great." Vash tries the dishes in order this time -- appetizer, main course, and then dessert. From the look on his face Dizzy has nothing to fear from Vash. But the gunman really likes food in general. "I noticed you had a little help in the kitchen though." He smiles at her before glancing to each of her wings. Does he consider that an unfair advantage? His expression doesn't hint at that.
Rei does, once in a while-Shinji likes to think of it as always being able to count on Ayanami's smiles to be sincere. One of the reasons Shinji is a little sillier around her than might be considered...usual is because he sort of hopes she'll start smiling a little more one of these days. "Um." Shinji returns the smile with a polite one of his own, Shinji's 'happy' smile being fairly rare and, according to people he's heard in the break room, creepy. "Well, I've heard of the fire and glass thing, y-yeah..." Shinji murmurs, remembering a few of the things people did for food after Second Impact, and careful to keep quiet enough so as not to risk Dizzy getting interupted.
He even gives his winged friend a little thumbs up when she heads back. She's a ball of nerves like he is, so Shinji figures a little support is nice.
Sanji smiles around his cigarette to Jam. "Your meals look really delicious." Actually he wouldn't mind trying them for himself. Though she might feel a tad threatened, Sanji is having similar feelings toward Jam most of all. Her flare for cooking might outdo his simple style. When Souji's voice is heard he blinks and looks over, then gives him an instant frown. Souji is telling him not to smoke in his own home? Well, the Baratie was his home and Sanji still considers it as such. But if he started a fight here and now Owner Zeff would probably appear out of nowhere and put him through the floor. He says nothing, but merely taps the cigarette out on a used dish and tossed the cigarette away into a garbage can. Hrmph.
Dizzy does look pleased to see the judges enjoying her food. "You're welcome, Mister Saotome," she says to Ranma, "I'm glad you liked it! And...wow, you eat fast, Mister Luffy!" She laughs, then nods to Vash, then looks embarrassed. "Um...yes, that's true...." She glances over her shoulders at her wings. She opens her mouth to say something...then just shakes her head. Let the judges call it. She isn't in this to win anyway. She does take a small bit of comfort from Shinji's gesture, waving back, then turns once more to Vash. "If it was against the rules, I'm sorry; please mark me down accordingly."
Song Bird looks at Sanji's cigarette with a relatively neutral expression. On the one hand it smells a little bad; on the other hand, it helps the body die! It's really quite a quandrary.
Her hands lace behind her back as she looks back to the judges, breathing in as she does.
Nita Callahan has found a chair from somewhere.
She is sitting on it. Nita has also removed her hat; her hair is messy.
Nope. Kuno does not know Dizzy. Strange looking girl, must be a cosplayer. Kuno shrugs inwardly, and begins to sample her dishes as well. This time his expression is completely unreadable as he tastes each one. Is he putting no a poker face for now? Kuno is being awfully competitive, for a judge. But, you see, Ranma is ALSO a judge. So Kuno is trying his best to be JUDGIER than Saotome!
Once he finishes sampling Dizzy's dishes, he writes his scores down, like the previous entry, and resumes waiting. Is it Akane's turn yet?
The smile upon his pale lips is quite the fond warm smile as he sees that Dizzy was one of the contestants. "I am sure that your cooking would be quite wonderful to have and it is my honor to have it, Miss Dizzy." He states before going to start sampling each item of food. His eyes light up with each bite before he goes to sample the desert. Sweet but yet, not too sweet. He mourns the latter part only because then he would have to get something sweeter to satified his sweet tooth but all the same, it was quite wonderful and he quickly writes down the scores. "A wonderful job Miss Dizzy." He states to her with a small bow of his head since he really couldn't bow, sitting down.
Vash blinks, wondering if he should've said anything about her wings. The promise of free food hid the fact that he'd actually be judging people! He's probably not very good at it...and he certainly wouldn't enjoy hurting anyone's feelings no matter what the benefits. "Everything was delicious. That's what counts, right?" He winks at Dizzy, hoping to soothe her embarrassed expression.
Akane frowns at Souji. Who did he think he was, bossing around a fellow chef like that? If he didn't like it, he could just move away! At least having something to be irritated about takes her mind off of her anxiety. Because as she looks from Nita and Dizzy's beautiful presentations of delicious foods...to her own presentation of...not-so-presentable foods, she can't hide her wince. Well, she gave it her best shot, at least!
Jam smiles faintly at Sanji's cigarette being extinguished... but thinks Sanji handles it remarkably well considering everything. She'd heard =rumors= this was his home turf, after all. "You perfect gentleman, Mister Sanji! Is honor to be in same competition as you." See, this is why she says nothing about cigarettes -- she lets =other= people take the fall! ... But really, she puts a bunch more of her attention on her friend Dizzy, and that gentleman Vash who was so nice to her at her first Relief Society meeting. She twiddles her finger in a wave to him, on that note. Trying to sway the judges? NO, REALLY?
Souji nods to Sanji. He offers no further explanation. In his world, smoking in a restaraunt is considered rather rude unless in a designated smoking section. Then again, Souji is just the kind of man used to getting his way no matter what. Truth be told, he's a bit of an ass and more than a bit of a egotist.
Nita Callahan would not consider her presentation 'delicious'. Tolerable, maybe.
The food is totally better than anything involving motor oil, though.
The complete lack of reaction from Kunou does make Dizzy frown just a tiny bit, but...then again, he was very blank when sampling Nita's wares as well. Ah well. She continues to smile, watching and waiting for now. Abel's and Vash's reactions, on the other hand, hearten her. "Thank you very much, Mister Nightroad, Mister Vash! I'm glad you enjoyed my food." She sighs with faint relief, seeing that her portion is done, and once more relaxes slightly. Who's next?
Carne takes the scores, nodding vaguely, and passing them to a nerdy little pirate busboy before stomping on the ground and leaning forward. "Very well! NEXT! SONGBIRD, you're up! Show us what you've got!"
Abel goes to smile, pausing in his festing of Dizzy's food. "You are quite welcome, Miss Dizzy but thank you for letting me eat your cooking."
Sanji does bristle but he calms himself and lifts one hand to his tie to adjust it slightly. Just being on the Baratie makes him.. want to brawl. o_o; It's what the cooks do here! But this is a competition and he has to behave himself. At least for now. At the praise from Jam she gets an instant smile and a heart in his eye. "You're so kind, Jam-chan!" He certainly feels better now.
Song Bird steps forwards, her face flushing a faint crimson to go with the usual pale creaminess of her cheekbones. She bows deeply and vigorously at the waist to the judges, and then starts her presentation.
"These pancakes," she says, "were inspired by the food served at festivals in my home; I had thought, would not a bit of a fruity sweetness go well with the savory bite of the green onion? I hope that they shall please you." She beams.
Then, onto the entree`: "I do not have a name of this, but as I said to my competitor -" she looks and gives Shinji a toothy little smile, then back to the judges: "It was inspired by cooking in clay. I had thought, how could I use such a thing as glass to accent my cooking?" She puts a fingertip to her chin and says, meekly, "I hope that I did well, to use it for the presentation."
The last dish makes her smile. "I have tasted this liquor before," she explains, perhaps fatally misunderstanding the purpose of soda, "and I had thought, it is so sweet, but with a bit of bitterness! So, I reduce into a rich sauce... and the dumplings I make are meant to echo its logo, with red, then white, and then red on top once more!"
She bows again, vigorously, and stays bowed for a second before rising again. "Please, enjoy it!"
Ranma seems to have plenty of room left in his stomach; it's the third taste-test and he's still going strong. He makes intrigued "mm" noises as he tastes the pancakes, then the hens. Excellent stuff. He quirks an eyebrow at the glass, but having lived on the road for the majority of his life, he knows all about campfire sand and glass. Nice trick, with that glass. And the dumplings are pretty tasty too, although he's not sure what he thinks of the glaze. Maybe it's an acquired taste.
"Song Bird, was it?" Ranma jots down his scores for the pale girl's meal. "Good stuff, thanks." Ranma is bored of folding paper airplanes, so he just passes the paper down the line of judges.
Kuno throws an occasional scowl at Ranma, that just screams 'I'm judgier than thou'.
When the latest dishes are brought before Kuno, he tastes them with the same disinterest he did the previous three. He can't ignore the taste, of course, and he DOES judge the dishes fairly. As fair as Kuno can possibly be, anyway.
Shinji Ikari gulps at that toothy grin, because he is just that sort of fellow.
Vash catches sight of Jam waving at him and blushes softly. He waves back at her, a dreamy expression crossing his face. Sigh. <3 But then it's time to judge again! The gunman sits up straight, trying to appear stoic as Song Bird makes her presentation. He tastes the dishes while nodding a few times. "That was really something you did with the glass!" And his impressed look suggests it was a good something. "To tell the truth, you had me worried there for a second." Vash chuckles. "Everything's really nice, but I like the glaze on the dumplings." A kick from the caffeine as well as the flavor.
The Kresnik quickly goes to bow his head with each bow that Song Bird did before going to smile his usual smile at her. "I look forward to trying your dishes. I wish you luck." With that said, he goes to try each dish blinking as to him, each one has an unique taste. "Wow." Was all that he had to say about the food and quickly writes down the scores and passes them along before going to finish each of the dishes before him. Yes, he -does- have an bottomless pit for a stomach, why do you ask?
Ranma is managing to completely ignore Kuno. So /there/.
Luffy laughs at Kuno's words, shaking his head. "This is good! I liked the main dish!" Of course he would. It was meat. Meat? Yeah. Luffy loves the stuff. Chicken, pork.. it makes it all taste better. Good thing he didn't try to eat any of the glass on it.. because he nearly tried some of it. That might've hurt.
Carne nods...nodnodnod...like a broad-shouldered nappy-looking pirate bobblehead. "Very good, very good... Well done. NEXT!" He swings his finger around to POINT at Shinji. "YOU! Shinji Ikari! Present your dishes, lad, make it snappy."
"Aaah!" Shinji jumps as he's pointed at, nearly tripping over himself. "S-sorry. Um. Sorry. Oh, um, well." Shinji shuffles forward in his silly little green 'Kiss The Cook' apron, his oversized chef's hat, and his crippling lack of confidence. He glups, once, trying to remember how this goes. "Ah. Um." Gulp. "M-my name's, err, Shinji Ikari, and, uh..." What does he do again? "I w-work for the IPA's Black Sheep Squaderon." Shinji pauses, flushing. "I, um, pilot the big purple one. A-anyway, um, I usually cook for my family, so I, um, figured that'd be the best kind of, uh, theme to try."
Shinji takes a swallow, his hands shaking a little as he continues, "The appetizer's, um, miso soup, with a croissant bread bowl...I used some of that, um, special chinese spice as the special ingredient there, since you can really use anything with miso soup." Shinji smiles a little. "It sort of, um, reminds me of my guardian. See, she always talks about a traditional Japanese breakfast, but she's always, um, on the run, and she loves instant food-stuff that's convienant and you can really spice to your taste, right? So I figured something in a bread bowl would be good for her, and while miso soup's very, um, traditional, it's also a really, err, versitile food, so if you like it spicy, or savory, or, um, h-however, you can really adjust it to your taste while not, ah, spending all day cooking." Shinji coughs, once.
"A-anyway, the entree is a stir fry. I used the dragon meat, and a group of mixed vegetables that includes, ah, snap peas, watercress, broccoli, mushrooms, potato wedges, and, um, those little ears of corn." Shinji blushes a little, not knowing the proper term for them. Some chef. "Again, a stir fry is quick and easy while still being, um, filling, so it's great for family meals or if you have, ah, unexpected guests, and I used the vegetables I did because they have plenty of flavor on their own; a friend of mine who comes over for dinner sometimes is, um, a vegetarian, and so I always try and have at least part of the meal be really, um, meat optional for her sake. This way, even without the meat, um, you still h-have a meal." Shinji blushes a little more, seeing as that point was kind of muddled. "And the soy sauce shapes were just, um, for fun." She needs more fun in her life.
"F-finally, dessert is a german chocolate cake. Two layers, and I used d-dark chocolate for the icing and milk chocolate for the shavings and to flavor the cake itself. I, um, figured the contrast would be good." Shinji shrugs, as if he had done personal insult to someone and had no idea how to apologize, "I was thinking of my roomate when I made this cake, so I, um, f-figured that something interesting would be mixing apples-I used the special apples, um, hopefuly they don't explode or something-into the cake batter, and on top of the cake. I used a cinnamon-sugar glaze, which is a lot easier to make than it sounds." Shinji smiles hesitantly, because he's starting to feel a /little/ more comfortable talking. "It reminds me of her, um, because...well, she's more complicated than you'd think, and she's the kind of person that'd make me bake a cake just because she, um, felt like it." The Third Child mildly hopes he does not die for that line.
Shinji gives another weak shrug, a mild attempt at a smile, and rubs the back of his head. "Um, sorry to bother you while you're trying to, um, eat, and I hope you guys enjoy it." At least, Ikari thinks, I didn't faint.
Ikari might faint when he realizes that Luffy's plates are empty already and he's already writing down numbers!
Song Bird smiles at Shinji in passing again and moves over...
To where there are chairs.
As such, she sits, not far from Nita. She leans back and crosses her legs.
Vash lifts his brows when Shinji's ordered forward so abruptly. Were the girls talked to that way? He hopes not! Though he wouldn't want anyone to be talked to that like that. Especially when Shinji's appeared to be the most nervous of all the contestants. He wonders how the poor boy managed to make it through or what inspired him to sign up in the first place. Vash tears off the bowl and dips it into the soup. "This was a really good idea!" And the soup does taste good too! Vash would probably enjoy it more if he didn't feel a little itchy all of a sudden. "You tried to make the main course vegetarian too, didn't you?" He smiles at the boy. "That's really considerate." See, none of the judges are gonna bit your head off! That chocolate cake on the other hand...the man in red tears into that with an appetite that borders on vicious!
The fourth contestant that's not Akane Tendo is brought up. Kuno frowns again. And most surprisingly it is from a male child! Not that Kuno is small minded, he just has little faith of a boy being a decent cook. When men get older and need to cook for themselves on a regular basis, then they can pick up a few things. But a child? Oh well, Kuno shall see for himself.
The cake, at least, looks good. Kuno samples the dishes like all the others, and writes the scores down when finished.
Patty joins Carne up on the balcony, both men leaning forward as they listen to Shinji's explanation of the ingredients he used. And the exchanged glance they share seems to reflect just one heartfelt sentiment. 'Uh-oh.' Seems like it's about time to start wheeling out those jugs of Cureall. The guy in red looks like he's already starting to scratch.
Big purple one? Ranma just blinks politely, not being up on his giant robots. Food, though. He knows food. But Ranma stops to listen to Shinji's description of the theme he picked, and it draws an unusually soft smile from him. Family, huh?
Ranma takes a quick sip of the soup before he starts in on the main course -- that spice he used is good, but /hot/! The stir fry gets a thumbs-up, as Ranma finishes it off quickly. He prefers his /with/ the meat, personally. He gulps down the cake cheerfully, then goes back to the soup to finish it off with the bowl...
And then, Ranma belches. A fireball. FWOOM.
...Actually, that seems to have been the only side effect for him. Maybe Ranma is building an immunity to weird spices after all the times Shampoo has dosed him. After the initial shock, he doesn't even seem phased, brushing away the ashes and writing down his scores on what's left of the piece of paper.
HOLY--!!! Akane jumps backwards, one arm flung up in front of her as though to shield herself from the sudden displayed pyrotechnics. What in the WORLD? "Er..." She's about to ask if he's okay, but Ranma seems pretty calm now that he's done playing Taro the Dragon Boy. Well that's good... She likes the look of that cake. She never imagined using apples before! And the stir-fry seems fairly easy. Just toss all those ingredients into a wok? Even Akane can't mess that up! ............Ha ha ha, yeah right.
Abel quirks an brow at the way the boy was being ordered around. He goes to offer him an encouraging smile. "Quite original and homey. I look forward trying your cooking so chin up." He goes to take a sip of the soup and an nibble of the croissant and just goes to smile an distant smile. He smiles even more a warm smile but then blinks and goes to rub at his eyes as he thought that he saw something but then starts to go scratch himself and sneeze at the same time. What skin shows reveals goosebumps but still despite swearing that he is -seeing- something out there that causes his hackles to rise on the back of his neck. He goes to blink as he lets out a cough but his eyes widen as a fire ball comes out. Normally, things like this wouldn't bother him but then again, he isn't in his true form so just the opposite happens, anything bad or side effects will happen to him.
He covers his mouth to prevent anymore fireballs coming out of it but puts an sample of the rest into his mouth to taste it and quickly writes the score down on a sheet of paper before going to flail as he is indeed quite itchy now. Whine~
Shinji Ikari smiles, meekly, in that 'awkward fifteen year old' sort of way. If Kuno ever thinks to look up the child's record with the IPA, he'll find that Shinji's killed over a hundred people, if you don't count the aliens, in the course of his duties.
He is also promptly blackened by Ranma's flame-belch. The Third Child looks mildly shocked, and then resigned. "Um, s-sorry about that..." Shinji raises a shaky finger, "Sensitive stomach?"
Shinji procedes to walk rigidly to the chef's area, where he pauses in front of Akane to quietly say, "Um, s-sorry about your fiance, Miss Tendo. I, uh, didn't m-mean any harm, ma'am. sorry." before heading back to a chair where he can hopefuly mope in peace.
Ranma coughs, pounding his chest. "'Salright, I've had worse," he says in response. Partly because it's true, he has, and partly because making fun of Shinji would be like kicking a puppy.
Akane blinks, and appears somewhat flustered for a moment. "Guh--he's... Ha ha, you don't have to call him that, it's sort of..." Well it's not that she MINDS, but if people say 'her fiance' then it calls to mind images of soppy gushy romantic love, and Akane and Ranma holding hands and gazing looooovingly into each other's eyes, and... Well, anyone who knows them, knows that just ain't so! But darn it, Shinji looks so SAD! ...And charred! She smiles softly, trotting away from her place in line to fetch a rag, soak it in hot water from one of the taps, and had it to the young man. "Here you go. Ah...for your face," she beams. "You did a great job. I'd love to get the recipe for the stir-fry sometime if you get the chance."
Carne passes out a cup of Cureall to each of the judges, allowing Patty to take his place on the stand. "All right, good job, squid-face! Next up, Jelly! ... Huh? Oh, Jam!" he corrects himself after a harsh whisper from Carne down below. "Step up, miss!" He flutters his eyelashes. How...fetching.
Jelly? Oh jeez. Jam doesn't even recognize that as her 'name' until the correction is made, at which point she attentively leaps up. "Aiya... yes! I here, I here!" ... Was she sleepign standing up? No, shut up!
Jam steps up to the center after some hesitation. She hadn't really prepared a speech, but the outspoken Chinese chef is more than happy to expound at length upon her entrees. "Full name is Jam Kuradoberi, I am here representing Five Lucky Dragons restaurant back in place Dizzy come from. Thank you for tasting food, am hoping you enjoy it! I like to explain briefly a little about each dish, if okay." Balling her little fist before her mouth, she coughs lightly, the chef's hat pitching forward upon her head in the process.
"I pick Chinese cuisine, as Dim Sum is my specialty! But trying to experiment, in some way, for best of competition. Appetizer... is what I call 'fire and ice' gyoza, as 'fire' is spicy and 'ice' is rich, full of flavor. Hoping each taste complement each other, ice put out fire, allow you to experience full richness of flavor in shrimp."
Jam shuffles her feet slightly, once more folding her hands behind her back. Though she does fidget a bit, to the point of untying her apron. It's getting annoying after all, and it's hardly necessary any more. "Main dish is Char Siu barbecue pork, serve upon Shahe Fen noodle with egg rolls. Hint of sake flavor brought out by rice noodle, most hoping to bring out flavor of pork with special five-spice powder. Though is seeming powder spicier than what I used to. I hope you like!"
Finally done fidgeting, she removes her apron, folding it over one arm to reveal a slightly better view of the long, sleeveless cheongsam she's wearing. No, she's not trying to sway judges -- she's actually just hot. (Take that statement as you will.) The dessert dish is the furthest from her usual repertoire, so she's slightly anxious, but continues with a broad grin, "And dessert is 'Flame On Iceberg', ice cream in sponge cake flambe. I trying something new, I hope you like!" She glances to each judge, smiling and bobbing her head at each, before curtsying one more and resuming her place behind her counter. No need to crowd the judges, after all.
Except maybe Vash. She's starting to wish she'd kept some of the paper cranes she'd folded.
Bowing once more, she adds, with a finger-twiddling wave, "Thank you again for chance being here!"
Abel accepts the cup and takes a rather big drink of it. As much as it was quite nice to breathe fire, it ruins the taste of the food.
Vash takes a sip of the cureall, though he hopes Shinji doesn't see it. It was a mistake anyone could've made! And his dishes were hearty and good in spite of it. He feels a little better when Jam's name is mentioned though. The gunman plants his elbows on the table and leans forward, wearing a grin that could only be called goofy. "You had great presentation..." He gets the feeling that he's supposed to be doing something though. Oh right, tasting! Vash sighs blissfully at the tastes of the appetizer and dessert, in that order. But after trying the main dish he starts to get that itchy feeling again. Nothing another lip sip won't cure! Even so, Jam could be his personal steel chef anyday. And he's sure a lot of other men would agree!
Shinji Ikari blinks, slightly thrown by the simple act of kindness. He's...like that. Weird. "Um, t-thanks..." The Third Child mutters, smiling a little. She's probably happy because she won't be last place now, the bitter part of him thinks, but Shinji is long practiced at not letting his face show any of his darker thoughts. Sometimes.
The Third Child whipes his face a little, and ponders how to best answer Akane's offer without offending the girl. "Um." Shinji blinks. "S-sure. I'll...show you sometime, getting the, um, hand motions right is a little tricky." Okay, that's a lie, but she can't be worse than Misato's attempts at cooking, right?
...right?
Jam smiles cheerfully as Vash offers his compliments, inclining her head in as welcoming a fashion as possible. A slight pink tinge crosses her cheeks as well. Overselling it, perhaps, but she seems pleased that Vash seems to like the dish!
Ranma sips just a bit from the cup of Cureall; he's starting to get itchy, but it quickly goes away. Poor Shinji. That spice seemed familiar, too... Ah, well. Jam's self-introduction makes the poor martial artist /nervous/. She reminds him so much of the Chinese Amazons that it's not even /funny/. She'd better not challenge him if she doesn't get first...
But that worry will have to wait. Jam has her dishes out, so he gets back to 'work'. A 'fire' gyoza goes down in one gulp, and then Ranma coughs, mouth wide as the heat of the food hits him. "Oh, /man/!" That's a cheerful oh man, though, in case you were worried. He snaps up an 'ice' gyoza after a few seconds, then gives Jam a grin. He may be developing a taste for spicy food after this competition. As long as it's not /cursed/ spices or anything...
Which brings him back to the main course. Ranma spins his knife and fork, then gobbles down the entire plate of noodles and pork in moments. He gulps, coughs, then sends another jet of flame out -- this time aimed carefully, so it doesn't touch anybody. (He's kinda having fun with it, now.) After that, he finishes off the cup of Cureall before he can start itching and hallucinating, then cheerfully eats the ice-cream-flambe dessert. "Good stuff, thanks."
Jam seems =very= relieved once Ranma takes a taste of her meals. That's a good sign, at any rate! "Is my pleasure!" she responds quickly, inclining her head once again!
After become normal again, Abel goes to smile at Jam and closes his eyes to accent the smile. She was adorable, just like Dizzy. He goes at once to sample Jam's dishes and his eyes open with them being lit up in surprise. "Wow, this is truly is amazing." He states of her appetizer before going to the main course. He eats it but this time, once he begins to see the hallucinations he takes a quick drink of the cureall but then goes to offer an small appluse for Jam's presentation of the dessert. He goes to take a bite out of it but then his eyes goes all starry at her. "So wonderful." Not as good as Shinji's but it was still quite wonderful to eat.
They keep drinking from this cup. Jam finds herself wondering: What's =in= that cup anyway? It's water, right? Abel's compliments are recieved appreciatively. The dessert seems to be going over quite well, which pleases her if nothing else!
Carne blinks. Oh no...more of the five-spice powder! He knew that purple-haired lass was up to no good, too many smiles, too many coy glances... But she sure was cute. He turns himself right back around to refill everyone's cups.
Patty, meanwhile, is enjoying his time in the spotlight. "Next up is the beetle-boy! Bring us your entries, squidface!"
Meanwhile, several of the cooks are STARING at Akane's food...still smouldering. There's a quick conference, then one of them rushes up to Patty to whisper in his ear.
"Huh? Well that makes sense... OKAY! LISTEN UP! DUE TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT OF SANITATION AND HEALTHINESS, CHEF SANJI WILL GO BEFORE CHEF AKANE TENDO! THANK YOU!"