The story begins in Food Wars, when Alice took him home.

They also understand the characteristics of wild vegetables in the mountains, and can easily distinguish whether they are poisonous or not, whether they are delicious or not, and how to cook them.

It can be said that all the preliminary preparations have been completed, and now it's up to them!

"Despite training for so long, the best among them is only a second-class chef, and most of them are third-class chefs."

While it's not considered weak in the Far Moon region, it would still be quite difficult for most people to break into the top 50.

After all, those already formidable individuals have undergone extremely rigorous training; treating them the same way we did before would likely lead to serious losses.

As the students descended the mountain, Lia emerged from the wooden house and came to Bai Yuan's side. Looking in the direction they had disappeared, she spoke with a hint of worry.

After this period of intensive training, she developed a special affection for these students and naturally hoped that they could achieve victory.

"What I taught them most during this period was not technique, but the courage to face difficulties and the creativity in cooking."

"Just watch how far they go. If more than ten of them make it to the finals, this special training will have been worthwhile."

Looking in the direction the students had left, Bai Yuan's eyes were deep and held an indescribable charm.

"Using ingredients from the mountain, we created a dish that would satisfy the two judges on our way."

Walking on the slightly rugged, muddy ground, Anzu Yasuda lowered her head and began to think.

The final assessment can be said to have taken into account everything I had learned before. While I wouldn't say it would be incredibly delicious, I was at least capable of creating a reasonably tasty dish using ingredients from the mountains.

"There's no point in overthinking it. In short, let's start by gathering ingredients!"

After pondering for a long time without any clue, Anzu Yasuda decided to collect ingredients first and then decide what dish to make based on what she could find.

"Besides having to consider the assessment, you also have to take care of your own diet if you fail the assessment. Does that mean you're facing two assessments simultaneously...?"

After leaving the roots of the wild mushrooms on the ground, Yasuda Anzu couldn't help but ponder as she put them into the basket on her back.

This assessment may sound like it's just about satisfying the judges, but in reality, you also have to be responsible for your own food and accommodation in the mountains.

It doesn't look like an easy assessment at all.

"It's really difficult! If it weren't for the targeted training that Teacher Bai Yuan has given us during this period, if I were to take care of the food and accommodation myself, at least 60% of these 100 people would starve to death and 30% would be poisoned to death."

Anzu Yasuda couldn't help but mutter to herself.

She collected ingredients along the way as she walked. Because she came down quite late, most of the wild vegetables along the road had already disappeared, which was why she chose a relatively secluded route.

As for wild rabbits and pheasants, those are precious ingredients that require a bit of luck to obtain.

Furthermore, given her abilities, catching wild rabbits and pheasants would be quite difficult, so she never considered it from the beginning.

Wild vegetables and mushrooms were the only two ingredients she could obtain in large quantities. She found a bird egg on the road, so she decided to make a pot of wild vegetable and mushroom porridge.

Looking at the small patch of wild ferns in front of her, Anzu Yasuda had this idea in mind. She then began to pick them, gathering the fallen branches around her to prepare a simple breakfast.

She had a precise understanding of herself and knew clearly that this assessment was very difficult, and the possibility of passing with just one dish was very low.

So, before facing the formal assessment, she planned to stay in the mountains for a few days until she could come up with a qualified dish that would pass the assessment.

Knowing that she wasn't very capable, she didn't have high expectations for herself.

He successfully completed the final assessment set by Bai Yuan, and was expelled from school in a not-so-miserable manner.

After dropping out of school, she returned to her hometown and opened a bakery. Although she didn't learn how to make bread there, she developed a good self-learning ability.

With this skill, I can go back and work at a bakery as an apprentice for a year or two, and then open my own shop after completing my apprenticeship.

After gathering all the wild vegetables from the bracken field into her basket, Anzu Yasuda did not stop. Instead, she glanced around and continued walking in one direction.

Soon, she heard vendors calling out their wares.

"Bamboo pot, bamboo tube, bamboo chopsticks."

You only need a small amount of ingredients to redeem it, so don't miss out!

The young man was full of enthusiasm. Several shirtless teenagers were wielding simple stone axes nearby, while several other stones had already fallen. Some girls were making tools.

The young man selling his wares had simple bamboo pots, bamboo tubes, and bamboo chopsticks on his stall—essential items for outdoor living.

"Indeed, we've come to the right place."

Anzu Yasuda thought to herself that this wasn't the first time such a scene had occurred, so she came here after collecting enough ingredients, hoping to try her luck and make a trade.

"This whole set only requires two pounds of ingredients, and anything will do."

Upon arriving at the stall, Anzu Yasuda asked a few simple questions and received this answer.

Without much hesitation, she unloaded most of the ingredients from her basket in exchange for a basic set of cooking equipment, and then headed towards the less crowded area.

Soon, she found a relatively flat piece of land surrounded by a river.

She then put down her basket, piled up the collected firewood, and began to make fire by friction.

Because of the dry weather, the process went very smoothly, taking only a little over five minutes, and wisps of wood dust began to rise from the ground.

"huhu"

Looking at the wood in front of her that had already begun to smoke, Anzu Yasuda smiled with satisfaction. Then, a small spark rose from the firewood.

After a simple treatment, the sparks gradually grew into flames, burning fiercely in front of Anzu Yasuda, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

At least the first step did not fail.

Take the ingredients out of the basket, wash them simply with spring water, then Anzu Yasuda draws a cleaver from her waist and quickly processes them on a bamboo cutting board before putting them into a bamboo pot filled with spring water.

This was Bai Yuan's request.

As a chef, you can leave everything else behind, but you can't leave behind a handy kitchen knife; it's the soul and the foundation of a chef.

If you're a pastry chef, then that stick in your hand is the soul of your culinary skills!

Chapter 114: How to Obtain Saltiness in the Mountains and Forests, the Attack of the Underachievers!

"The taste is terrible..."

It wasn't seasoned, just had a slight umami flavor from the mushrooms, but it was barely edible. A light breakfast wasn't bad.

After taking a sip of the wild vegetable and mushroom hot pot in front of her, Anzu Yasuda revealed a mask of pain.

Without salt, the wild vegetable and mushroom soup was hardly delicious, but she had no better solution and could only console herself with this thought.

"To enhance the flavor of this dish, the most important thing is seasoning. In the mountains and forests, ingredients with seasoning properties include wild pepper, wild onion, and honey, which are all excellent seasonings."

As Yasuda Anzu sipped the wild vegetable and mushroom soup, which had no saltiness whatsoever, she frowned slightly. Obtaining these seasonings in the mountains and forests required considerable luck.

However, given her abilities, she'll likely be staying here for quite some time. Even if she doesn't find it, she can obtain it through barter with others.

only…

It's unrealistic to expect to get precious seasonings using only wild vegetables and mushrooms, since these things are abundant and not hard to find.

You need to catch at least one or two wild animals and trade them for meat to make it a fair trade, but that's difficult...

"Ugh, isn't this even harder than the placement test?!"

Furious and helpless, Yasuda An couldn't help but mentally rant as she grabbed her hair.

He gulped down the wild vegetable and mushroom soup in his hand, washed it with spring water, put it in the basket on his back, and set off again.

"So sleepy. By the way, why us? Isn't it fair that anyone can be the one testing the worst student?"

On the only way down the mountain, Erina Nakiri raised her hand and yawned, looking at Alice with a serious expression, and couldn't help but complain.

"This is a task personally assigned by our master. He must have his reasons for arranging it this way. We just need to follow his instructions."

Upon hearing the question, Alice Nakiri shrugged. If Bai Yuan hadn't personally instructed her, she wouldn't have come here so early in the morning to wait.

Of course, Bai Yuan actually only called her at the time, but she felt too bored by herself, so she lied and said that Bai Yuan had called both of them.

Erina Nakiri believed this without a doubt and did not call to verify it. She got up before dawn and came here with Alice Nakiri.

"What kind of dishes can those guys serve up? I don't know what Teacher Baiyuan was thinking, to put so much effort into training them."

When she said this, Erina Nakiri's voice carried a hint of resentment.

She had been hoping to receive significant guidance from Bai Yuan during the midterm exams. However, aside from helping her briefly at the beginning, he devoted the rest of his time to this group of underachievers – what a waste of resources!

"For a master, it doesn't really matter who he trains. There's not much difference between us guys in front of him. He can train us all."

Having grown up under Bai Yuan's tutelage since childhood, Alice Nakiri is well aware of his prowess.

Without Bai Yuan's guidance, she would be at best a second-class chef, perhaps even inferior to Nakiri Erina, who possesses the God Tongue.

"Hmph, I'd like to see just how capable these guys who are hogging resources really are! And whether they're worthy of Teacher Bai Yuan's training!"

Upon hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Erina Nakiri gave a soft snort, unusually not refuting them.

"Lucky! There are wild onions here!"

Looking at the wild onions growing on the ground, Anzu Yasuda knelt down, her face showing excitement, and quickly picked them and put them into the basket behind her.

After a morning of searching, she found a lot of useful ingredients in this area, and even discovered rare porcini mushrooms under the trees.

"Speaking of which, Kurosaki and the others found matsutake mushrooms in the forest last time. They said there were quite a few, and they didn't manage to pick them all in one go. They should be able to do it again during this assessment."

I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to try it. Combining matsutake and porcini mushrooms should elevate the flavor of any dish to a whole new level.

Thinking back to a recent special training session, the high-class mushroom soup dish served by Kurosaki's squad included matsutake mushrooms.

It is said that it was found in a remote place, and there was a considerable quantity. They did not collect them all at once, but they will definitely go again for the midterm exam.

"Let's have lunch here. There are plenty of fish and shrimp in the river. Maybe we can try something different with seafood, like stir-fried snails. We're still short on salt, so hopefully Teacher Baiyuan's method will work..."

Arriving at the stream, Yasuda An stopped and briefly explored the surroundings before deciding to rest there for the time being.

He then took out pine wood from the basket on his back, collected dry branches around him, put the wood chips into the grooves in the wood block, and began to drill wood to start a fire.

"There are plenty of stupid rabbit dens, but it took me a long time to find them all. So what? In the end, they still ended up in my hands!"

The man had a cut on his arm from chasing the rabbit, but his face was full of smiles.

"Luckily, I like to carry some chili peppers with me, and I'll also collect some oily nuts, press some vegetable oil, and make a simple spicy stir-fried rabbit dish. Then I can pass the test and go down the mountain!"

As he ran his fingers over his chest and felt the chili pepper inside, a smug expression appeared on his face, for this was the key to his success!

"Damn it, it got away again!"

The man was speechless as he watched the pheasant fly into the tree.

He had been tracking him all morning, but the guy always managed to escape at the most crucial moment, giving him no chance at all.

"No, we've already spent the whole morning on this. We have to catch it today, or I won't be able to sleep soundly tonight!"