As Chef Bernard's booming voice filled the room, I felt my earlier relief start to evaporate. Sure, he didn't have Maeve's icy intensity or Leora's commanding aura, but there was something unnerving about the sheer enthusiasm radiating from him. His energy was less "experienced chef" and more "over-caffeinated alchemist."
"Cooking," he declared, pacing across the stage with his arms spread wide, "is life itself! It is art! It is science! It is magic! And in this academy, it is survival."
He stopped abruptly and pointed a finger toward a random student, who flinched like they'd been struck. "You there! Do you know why we cook?"
The student, a wide-eyed elf with silver hair, stammered. "Uh… to make food taste good?"
Chef Bernard slapped his hand on the nearest counter with a thunderous bang, causing several of us to jump.
