I know we all love the idea of Kenji being absolutely shit at cooking, ( he's a rich boy with no time and a fancy AI assistant who can do all the cooking for him, ) but I keep thinking back to the opening scene. Kenji's dad asks him what he thinks about their curry and he, despite being 6 years old, responds with: "ten more minutes." And he's right. It does indeed, need ten more minutes. He's also very clearly a foodie, being particular with his noodles, knowing specific steak names, remembering the tonkatsu from his childhood. So, I raise you this: He is good at cooking, and he's an absolute natural at it. Complicated recipes? No problem. Knife skills? He doesn't even have to look. Omu Rice? Hell yeah, he gets it perfect every time. Cooking was his and mom's favorite pass time. No matter how old he got, he was always there, helping her in the kitchen. ( He definitely has a cookbook that he inherited from his grandma or something. )
Bad day? Miso soup. Lost a game? That's fine. He'd make oyakudon with some ramune. Dad cancelled out on graduation again? He'd feel better after a bowl of zosui. Nothing comforted him better than food. And mom. She made everything taste like magic.
But now he's older, and busier, and of course mom isn't there anymore. So he loses his spark. Cooking isn't as fun, his meals don't taste as good. It becomes a chore - he's always too tired. Always missing her. So now it's junk food, and takeout, and whatever lifeless healthy meal Mina forces him to eat.
But maybe, one day, Emi catches a whiff of the breakfast he's making. It's nothing complicated. Pancakes, eggs, bacon. He decides to give her a plate, and to say that she loves it is an absolute understatement. Emi chirps like it's the best thing she's ever eaten. So he makes some more. And he makes it again. And eventually, he digs out a dusty cookbook from under his bed and wonders what she might like to try next.
A Tuna Tataki sounds right up her alley.
