Volume 1 : Prologue 1: No Regrets Part 1

 

"Let us congratulate Luis Shin for earning his 10th 3-star restaurant!" An announcer shouted loudly. A wave of applause and cheers came after as they stared at one man on the stage. 

 

The man was in his late 40s. His face was tidy, showing off how handsome he looked. He wore a white chef's uniform, pristine and stunning. 

 

The medal was placed onto his chest, and a light smile formed. Luis was handed the mic and said, 

 

"Thank you for awarding me this award. But this reward isn't only because of me. This reward could have never been accomplished without the help of my staff." This wasn't the work of one person. 

 

"I want to thank my disciples, sponsors, and all the customers who loved my food." Luis wanted everyone to understand this wasn't the work of one person.  

 

And like that, the party started. Luis, naturally, was the center of attention.  

 

"Luis, do you have plans to open another restaurant?" The person who asked this was one of Luis's sponsors.  

 

"Are you seriously asking that when he just got 3-stars?" Another one sighed as he shook his head. 

 

But he couldn't help but have the same thought as well. That was because Luis was known to be a genius. 

 

Every time he earned the 3-star medal, he would open another restaurant! 

 

Luis chuckled, "I have some ideas of what I want for my next restaurant." 

 

I see. Luis's sponsors shook their heads. 

 

They expected this. 

 

Luis was a true pioneer of cooking. 

 

Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese. All these cuisines were different from one another. Yet, Luis had accomplished it all. And there were many more besides these! 

 

Each restaurant focused on a different theme. And they all became successful. That was why Luis was nicknamed, 

 

The Cooking Genius! 

 

"Of course, I won't be opening up another one so soon. I want to stabilize the restaurant right now." Luis sighed. 

 

His restaurant just obtained 3 stars. But it was too soon. He wanted to hold it down before starting another one. 

 

His sponsors sighed in relief. Despite him being a genius, Luis was a traveler. Once he decided something, he would accomplish it. 

 

But once he accomplished this, he would start off with another goal! 

 

He was a typhoon!

 

Luis talked with his sponsors for quite some time. 

 

That wasn't the end. Many other people greeted him along the way. Some he met before, while others he just met now.  

 

"He's the greatest chef of this generation."

 

"Isn't he the teacher of Lin and Marcus?" 

 

Never did anyone expect one person to create an elite generation of elite chefs. He was a legend among legends!

 

Luis chuckled. I'm not that great. 

 

He wasn't some legend.

... 

After some time, the ceremony ended. But that was not the end for Luis. 

 

"Sasha, what are you guys planning?" A wry laugh came from Luis's mouth. He couldn't see anything as he was blindfolded. He didn't know what else to say. 

 

When the ceremony ended, his disciples quickly covered his eyes, telling him they had to go somewhere. 

 

"Secret."

 

"If you say only that, I'm going to be suspicious." Luis laughed.  

 

"Trust us, Teacher. There's nothing you need to worry about." Sasha insisted again. 

 

"Yeah! You don't have to worry about anything." Ethan, his other disciple, shouted out. But that caused Luis's expression to frown, 

 

"I don't want to be assured by you, Ethan." Ethan was the most troublesome of all his disciples. But that caused Ethan to scoff, 

 

"Hey! How could you not trust me?! I'm your disciple!"

 

"Remember last week's flambé incident?" Sasha added to Luis's argument.

 

"Hey! That was not my fault! You were standing way too close to the pan!" Ethan roared out. 

 

But Shasha retorted, 

 

"You added too much alcohol into the pan." Luis shook his head. As Ethan used the flambe technique, he added too much alcohol, causing the fire to become an inferno.

 

That was a day. 

 

"Why am I getting ganged up like this?!" Ethan wanted to cry. Sasha and Ethan continued to argue. Hearing them argue, Luis laughed. These two changed so much.

 

They were once quiet trainees, but now these two had become the sous chefs of his current restaurant. 

 

Their talents were brilliant. 

 

"Anyways, we're here, Master!" Sasha ignored Ethan as she pulled off the blindfold and, 

 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

 

"Surprise!"

 

With the poppers exploding, Luis's expression was stunned, speechless. But then he noticed the ones who used it, 

 

"Chris! Marcus! Lin! You guys are all here!" It wasn't just them. 

 

All of the disciples Luis trained were here. 

 

That was why he was so shocked. His disciples were spread far and wide around the earth. Some controlled Luis's 3-star restaurants while others set off themselves, opening up their own. 

 

"Don't you all have something to do?" They were all famous now and owned their own restaurants.  

 

Lin explained, "You don't have to worry about this, Teacher. We've been working for quite some time to create some free time for today."

 

"Really?"

 

Marcus nodded, "You should thank these two little sous chefs here. They were the ones who helped open up our schedules." He rubbed their heads as he exclaimed. 

 

Luis turned to the two and hugged them, 

 

"This is the best present ever. Thank you so much, my disciples!"

 

"Don't worry about it!" "It's the least we can do!" This was the plan Sasha and Ethan had. Luis's birthday was on the same day as the award ceremony. 

 

They must have a regular birthday party.

 

Luis stared at all of them. 

 

"Now, let's party!" Ethan screamed out as he brought out the alcohol. All his disciples started to party. It wasn't as grand as the award ceremony. But Luis preferred this any day compared to the others. 

 

The smiles on his disciples' faces were enough. Laughter and cheers went on throughout the night.  

 

Luis stared at all of the people there. All his disciples were drunk. Luis was the only one who wasn't as he stared at how drunk they were. 

 

They have all grown up. Luis taught most of his disciples when they were children. He didn't have a wife or a child. But he wasn't sad. 

 

To him, those kids were his pride and joy. 

 

Ethan was the only one who wasn't passed out. Luis smiled, "Ethan, can you send them to the hotel. I have something I have to do. You can use my card to get them the best rooms."

 

"Understood, Teacher." Ethan didn't stop him. The expression on his face said it all. Luis nodded as he got out of the hotel and into his car. 

 

The drive was at least an hour. 

 

It would have been tiresome and mundane. But not for Luis. The location he arrived at was a mountain. But on the side was a cemetery. Luis had a smile as he entered. It was lofty and light as he walked toward two gravestones. 

 

"Hello, Dad. Hello, Mom." 

 

Luis crouched down as he talked to his parent's gravestones. A frown soon came after, "It's only been a month since I came here. Why is it so dirty?" 

 

Once a month, Luis would meet with his parents. When he finished cleaning the two gravestones, Luis started talking about his life, 

 

"Dad, Mom, I told you guys before I will get another 3-star medal. And I did. Check it out." Luis showed the pristine medal to them. 

 

"But I guess you guys have seen these too many times." Luis chuckled. Every time he earned a medal, Luis would bring it to them to see. It had become a process. 

 

"My disciples set up a surprise birthday party for me." That was why he was so happy. He could care less about the medals. 

 

What he was happy about was his disciples. He continued to talk about them like a doting father. After a few minutes, Luis sighed, 

 

"Everything was great today. I wish you guys were here to see me."