At the Shunkatei, a luxurious private room.
Taki Tsunozaki, looking at the empty seat over there, started to feel impatient, "Sonoka, who else are you waiting for?"
Sonoka, beside him, seemed absent-minded, her gaze always lingering forward, as if hoping someone would appear at the Shunkatei restaurant.
"Taki!"
"I'm very happy~"
"It seems we haven't had a good get-together like this for a long time!"
Finally, Sonoka turned her head slightly and couldn't help but laugh softly after glancing at Taki.
Seeing her evasiveness, Taki could only roll her eyes in frustration.
Since she arrived at the Shunkatei early in the morning to visit this friend, she had often felt something was amiss.
Clearly, it was a banquet arranged for her, but there was still an empty seat, and it was the most important "guest of honor" position.
In other words, this person's status was higher than hers, and it even made Sonoka willingly wait eagerly.
Who?
Who could it be?
Who could make Sonoka willing to do this?
Unable to help it, Taki felt puzzled and deeply anticipated what was to come!
...
Just then.
Following the agreement, Zane arrived at the Shunkatei punctually and pushed open the door.
Come to think of it, this seemed to be his first visit to the Shunkatei restaurant since he arrived in the world of "Food Wars," right?
No, more accurately, this was his first visit to a different restaurant and his first attendance at a banquet since arriving in this world over a month ago.
"Chef Zane."
"You're really here!"
Seeing Zane finally appear, Sonoka was overjoyed and then took the initiative to stand up and go to him.
As soon as Zane entered the Shunkatei, he saw Sonoka.
She looked very beautiful today, and the white dress she wore made her look even more elegant and noble than usual. With a bow at her waist and matching white high heels, she was absolutely enchanting!
At that moment, Zane realized that this Sonoka was also a woman of both beauty and talent!
"Sonoka."
"You look really beautiful today!"
Finally, Zane withdrew his gaze and smiled gently.
"Ah?"
"Really...?"
On hearing this, Sonoka blushed and quickly touched her burning cheeks, feeling a pounding sensation in her heart.
Then she pretended to be composed and continued, "I've already saved a seat for you. You... please come with me!"
"Okay, thank you."
So, Sonoka led Zane to the luxurious private room.
After entering the private room, Sonoka considerately moved the chair at the empty seat and said to Zane, "Please... please have a seat!"
"Just here to attend the banquet, no need to be so warm, right?"
Seeing Sonoka being so warm and polite to him, Zane felt uncomfortable.
But in the end, he didn't say much and just sat down with Sonoka's kindness.
...
Unexpectedly.
Right after sitting down.
The atmosphere in the entire private room instantly turned icy.
Taki, next to him, had a somewhat menacing look in her eyes as she stared at Zane intently.
If looks could kill, Zane would probably have died in her hands at least a hundred times.
Originally, today's banquet at the Shunkatei was meant to entertain her, but it seemed that the man in front of her, who was extremely handsome, seemed to be the main focus!
Plus, his relationship with Sonoka was a bit ambiguous and hard to explain.
Naturally, this situation raised Taki's suspicions.
"Taki!"
"Let me introduce you."
"This is Zane, the owner of the neighboring tavern."
"He's from China. Don't be fooled by his easygoing and gentle demeanor; his culinary skills are recognized even by WGO's First Executive!"
Seeing Taki's "hostile" look, Sonoka quickly introduced Zane to her.
"The neighboring tavern?"
"So you two are neighbors who can meet every day now?"
Hearing this, Taki immediately felt a strong sense of crisis.
She began to feel that the most important and cherished thing to her was about to be snatched away by this annoying man in front of her.
"Yeah!"
"We're not just neighbors; we're also good friends."
"During this time, I've been going to the tavern to drink and dine often!"
"Taki, you don't know how amazing Master Zhang's brewing skills and cooking are. Even the simple egg omelet..."Sonoka still seemed to not understand, and continued to speak to herself.
"Stop!"
"Everyone's here now."
"So shouldn't the dishes you want to serve me be presented?"
Taki, getting more and more annoyed, quickly interrupted Sonoka.
"Oh, look at my memory."
Just as Sonoka was about to praise Zane in front of Taki, she quickly slapped her forehead.
Finally, she called the staff at Shunkatei to bring out the dishes she had prepared in order.
...
French cuisine.
It certainly has a strong influence in high-end dining!
From romantic dates to entertaining VIPs and gathering with family, many people think of taking others to expensive French restaurants.
Even in various national banquets, French cuisine is the most influential!
And today, after Taki's difficult visit to Shunkatei, and with Zane's arrival, Sonoka actually prepared a table full of French cuisine.
When you look closer, there's sherry, various salads made with vegetables, fruits, and seafood, flavorful Marseille fish soup, beef, tuna, salmon, and also tartare made with avocado, onions, and other spices, onion soup...
And finally, the most exquisite caviar and foie gras!
Of course, for French cuisine, a formal meal usually consists of six or seven courses.
But these dishes weren't all brought to the table at once, they were served one by one in sequence, so a full French cuisine meal took about two hours to finish!
"Sonoka."
"Your cooking skills have improved a lot."
"I heard that your Shunkatei is aiming for a WGO two-star rating?"
At this moment, savoring the taste of the French cuisine, Taki, who was still savoring the taste of the French cuisine, couldn't help but ask Sonoka.
"Aiming for two stars, I consider it a failure this year."
Saying this, Sonoka looked a bit disheartened. "I put a lot of effort into it, but in the end, I couldn't satisfy the WGO Executive with my cooking alone."
Even though she had started to see these honors as less important under Zane's influence.
But every time she thought back to how the few French dishes she made couldn't get Anne's approval, she still felt a bit unwilling!
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