Waifu Wars: A Food Wars Fanfic

Ch. 128 Casino Night, Part Twelve: Clash of the Casseroles

To finish his piquillo sauce, Torrey added it to the food processor along with smoked paprika and blended it down into a smooth paste, before pouring it into a mixing bowl. He combined it with heavy cream and a light drizzle of olive oil, whisked it all together, and poured it all into a dutch oven. The next layer was the toasted pan de mie, followed by more piquillo sauce, a layer of béchamel, Brussel sprouts, and cubed Presunto ham. Then more béchamel. Once the dutch oven was nearly brimmed with cheesy, creamy goodness, Torrey sprinkled on a layer of freshly grated parmesan cheese for good measure, then placed it in the oven to bake.

Rindo leaned comfortably against the counter of her own kitchen, resting her chin upon a hand. She was simply content watching Torrey, since her own casserole was already in the oven. At the sight of the parmesan cheese topping, her mouth began to water. Torrey caught her eye, and she realized that she was practically drooling down her arm and awkwardly tried to wipe it away. Torrey laughed.

"I'm gonna need a plate once that's finished," said Rindo, not even embarrassed.

One of the many things that Torrey admired about Rindo was that she always kept her cool, and never took herself too seriously.

"I know; that's why I made an extra-large portion," said Torrey.

"You're seriously the best, Kohai. Seriously."

"I need to try yours, too. Seagull eggs?" said Torrey.

"Hey, for me that was a pretty tame choice. I was thinking ostrich egg; that's always a crowd pleaser. But I really didn't need that much yolk."

"You sure do know how to put on a show, Senpai. Even with basic techniques. It was like..." Torrey trailed off, but Rindo kept staring at him, her amber eyes boring into his very soul. He started to blush. "Er, nevermind."

"Aw, c'mon! Just say what's on your mind already, you know you can't hide anything from me anyways," said Rindo, chuckling afterwards.

"It was kind of mesmerizing. You have this sort of presence in the kitchen that no one else does."

"I was surprised that you couldn't take your eyes off me. It was kinda nice for a change, though," said Rindo, with a slight grin.

"So my ploy to distract you didn't work- should've figured I'd need more than that to take you off your A-game."

"From you, Kohai? A simple wink might have worked."

"Damn, guess it's too late now."

"Maybe not. You know what these casseroles could use?"

"Sides?"

"Sides," said Rindo, leaping back into action. Torrey laughed again, watched her for a moment, then followed her lead.

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"Whoa, looks like our competitors are starting their side dishes! That wasn't even part of the challenge! Who will be able to complement their main dish the best? Let's take a moment to introduce tonight's judges, and see what they think of this match so far," said Urara. She made a gesture to the spotlight operator, who panned from Urara over to the judges table.

"Up first, we've got a Food Network icon. He's an iron chef who owns a number of successful restaurants- give it up for Bobby Flay!" said Urara, gesturing to the middle-aged man with orange hair. The crowd roared louder than they had all night. Torrey and Rindo had star power, but even they couldn't compare to the reputation of Bobby.