Chapter Six

Charles, Mark, Vera and the head chef headed to the kitchen to begin preparations for the cooking competition.

Vera assembled all the managers who were interested in watching and told them about the rules of the competition. Even the cooking and kitchen manager was present and he was interested in knowing the winner.

They invited two connoisseurs in the city who would be the judges of the contest and they arrived swiftly. They were the best cooking judges in the city and they were trusted to be impartial.

Many of the hotel staff gathered to watch the competition because this was the first time anyone was challenging the great chef to a cooking competition.

Some of the kitchen staff mocked Charles when they saw him. They didn’t think a man like him would ever beat the head chef.

“What does he think he’s doing?” One of the kitchen staff asked. “Does he think he can beat the head chef? That’s absurd.”

Others mocked him for his clothes and shabby appearance. They didn’t even know that he paid for the highest hotel membership.

“Look at his shoes,” he heard one of the kitchen staff say. “I hope he doesn’t contaminate the kitchen. I can’t believe they let such a man into this prestigious hotel.”

“He looks dirty,” another staff member said. “I wonder how such a poor man found his way here. I think it’s a disgrace that they even let him challenge the head chef in the first place. Who let such a stray into the hotel?”

Vera walked up to Charles when she heard what the staff and some of the managers were saying. “Are you sure you want to do this?” She asked him. She supported him and somehow, within her, she believed that he could win the competition. But everyone was mocking him and she didn’t like it.

“I want to do this,” Charles told her. “Trust me.”

“Ok. I wish you good luck but remember the rules of the game. If you lose, you’ll never come back here. You’ll be black listed from this hotel. I’m sure you don’t want to lose all the money you paid for the hotel membership.”

Charles nodded. “I know. I’ll do my best to win.”

With his black card point, Charles purchased the Bronze Cooking skill. Immediately after the purchase, his head was filled with recipes of over a thousand meals. He knew everything about cooking that he didn’t know before. He knew all the dishes from different countries and the fastest way to prepare them. He smiled as he realized that beating the chef was going to be an easy task.

“Are you ready or are you giving up already?” The head chef asked and everyone laughed around him. “If you want to quit now, you can do so. Just get your things and leave. Go back to your delivery job. Everyone here knows you're incapable of beating me.” As he humiliated him, everyone laughed and made fun of Charles the more.

Charles didn’t let that faze him as he took his position in front of his cooking corner. What mattered to him was beating the chef and watching him grovel at his feet. Every type of ingredient was given to them and the cooking manager would pick three meals for them to cook.

“Both of you are expected to prepare a desert, salad, main course and appetizer.” The cooking manager announced. “For dessert , a flourless chocolate truffle. For salad, an exotic lobster salad. For the main course, a fish teriyaki. And finally, for appetizers, a Chinese steamed dumplings. May the competition begin.”

The kitchen manager had given them the hardest meals to prepare and only a great chef will prepare them without mistakes.

A bell was rung and the competition commenced immediately. Charles began cooking and all the recipes were easy for him to recreate because of the cooking skill he purchased. He was completely focused and ignored the hotel staff's booing at him.

After two hours of cooking, the aroma coming from Charles’ side of the kitchen was exotic. Everyone wondered what he was adding that made his dishes smell so good. They moved toward Charles’s corner and completely ignored the head chef.

The head chef began to tremble as he saw that Charles' meals were looking good and smelt nice. Vera began to get happier and hoped that Charles would really win.

Mark watched from the corner, gritting his teeth in anger. “Just watch, he won’t win this competition. He’s nothing but a delivery man who stole a million dollars this morning. Jeremy would humiliate him.” He said to those around him who cared to listen.

After cooking for over four hours, both Charles and the head chef were exhausted. But the head chef was more exhausted because he was used to bossing other cooks around instead of actually cooking.

They served their meals in different plates and Charles even went ahead to style his dishes, making it more attractive. They presented the dishes to the connoisseurs to taste and judge.

“Taste mine first,” the head chef said. “You don’t want to ruin your taste buds by tasting this man’s food first.” He said and everyone laughed.

The first connoisseur went ahead to taste his desert. It tasted good and he gave the head chef a 7 over 10. He moved to Charles and tasted his desert and immediately, his eyes widened.

“This is a masterpiece,” he said as he took another huge bite. “I’ve never tasted anything like this.”

The head chef’s eyes widened in shock. The connoisseur did not give him any compliment when he tasted his food. To his greatest disappointment, the connoisseur awarded Charles 10 over 10. The other connoisseur tasted the meals and had the same reaction.

“This man is the best cook I’ve ever seen,” Charles heard among the staff gathered. “I can’t believe he beat the head chef so easily. The chef used to boast about how he is the best chef in the city and this man just beat him.”

“I want him to teach me,” he heard another one say. “The head chef is a very rude man. He deserves everything he is getting. This man is so humble and gentle. I want to know more about him.”

When they finally finished tasting the meals, it was clear who the winner was. The head chef was sweating and trembling by the corner. All of Charles' meals received great remarks whereas none of his crossed a 7 over 10.

Mark was fuming as he realized that his friend might have lost the cooking competition. He wondered what had suddenly come over Charles and how he got so good at everything.

“After tasting and judging the meals, the connoisseurs have decided that the winner of this cooking competition is Mr. Charles.” The cooking manager announced and everyone cheered for him. All the staff that were looking down on him were now staring at him with respect and admiration.

“This is not possible!” the head chef exclaimed. “He is not even a qualified chef. How can you say he beat me in a cooking competition? How can you let this incompetent man take my glory?”

“He won you fair and square.” The cooking manager answered. “His dishes were the best I’ve tasted in years. I’ve never met anyone who has ever prepared such exotic dishes like him. And it’s a disappointment that he beat the head chef of this hotel.”

The head chef rushed toward Charles' dishes and grabbed a spoon. “I’m going to see what’s so special and different about his food.” He said, taking a spoonful of his food. Immediately he chugged it down, his eyes widened and the spoon fell out of his hand.

He turned to Charles with teary eyes and fell to the ground before him. In all his years as a chef, he had never tasted something so better. He knew he made a great mistake by challenging Charles.

“What have I done?” The head chef asked in shame. Tears were now streaming down his face as he realized that he was about to lose his job.

Charles looked at him on his knees and smiled. “You just ruined your career.”