Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

Just as Bai Yuan was reminiscing about the past, a burning gaze brought him back to his senses. He then casually looked around and met Erina Nakiri's slightly resentful gaze.

"eccentric."

When Bai Yuan looked at her, Erina Nakiri opened her mouth and uttered two words, then snorted and turned her head away, her voice tinged with jealousy.

They both call him teacher, so why does Alice have something she doesn't?

unfair!

Looking at Alice Nakiri, who was the center of attention at the banquet, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but feel annoyed.

At the same time, I thought about returning to Far Moon after today and having Bai Yuan teach her as well.

"Look, Alice seems to be preparing for the next step!"

Just as Erina Nakiri was lost in thought, a gasp suddenly came from the surroundings, and then Alice Nakiri covered the kneaded dough with a lid.

Next, knead lard and dry flour together to make the flaky filling for the puff pastry.

Once you have both, you can use folding techniques to make it into round or straight pastries.

These two elements are also the foundation for making Dragon Head Pastry.

The reason why it is called Dragon Head Pastry is because it resembles a dragon's head. The Dragon Head Pastry has a variety of colors, and food coloring is needed to make it.

Of course, there are two types of pigments.

One type is natural pigment, and the other is chemical pigment used in industry.

In daily life, people have discovered many kinds of food colorings, most of which are extracted from plants and insects and are natural and harmless.

These pigments can be used in clothing weaving and in cooking.

The color variations in Chinese pastries are mostly achieved using natural pigments.

"The yellow color comes from curcumin, the red color comes from grape skin pigment, and as for the eyes, which are more expressive, we'll use fondant to make them."

Alice Nakiri got hold of a piece of paper from somewhere and started drawing on it.

After completing the design, Alice Nakiri took out the various ingredients she had prepared in advance and began to extract natural pigments.

This process took more than ten minutes.

Place the natural food coloring in a bowl for later use. Alice Nakiri lifted the bowl next to her, looked at the pastry in front of her which was in pretty good condition, and nodded in satisfaction.

Without much hesitation, she poured the flour onto the table, then added natural pigment water and oil, and used the White Snake Spinning Chain again.

As for why she made it again, it was mainly because she had used white flour earlier, and she wanted to test her skills to see if she could meet the cooking requirements.

If her current skills cannot support her culinary abilities, she will give up and choose another culinary style that she is better at.

After all, this is a crucial moment for the First Faction to show its teeth. She has received such a great benefit from Senzaemon Nakiri, so she naturally cannot fail at this critical moment.

"The python has turned yellow!"

Looking at the large yellow snake leaping and tumbling in the sky, a seven or eight-year-old child in the seats exclaimed with delight, as if he had discovered a new toy.

"It's turned red again."

Beside the child, a little girl spoke timidly, her eyes filled with longing.

She desperately wanted to be the one everyone was paying attention to, but unfortunately, her culinary talent was lacking, and she probably wouldn't have that opportunity in her lifetime.

"It's so lifelike! If I hadn't told you it was fake, at first glance, anyone would have thought there was a real, colorful giant python flying in the sky!"

"Absolutely! This is the first time I've ever seen such a technique; it's truly amazing!"

"Such amazing technique is probably unique in the entire culinary world. It's worth it to see such a sight in my lifetime."

"I really don't know how far this girl can go."

As the giant pythons of various colors danced in the sky before them, the crowd was once again amazed, their eyes glued to them.

The giant python in the air twirled and flew, turning red one moment, then yellow the next, and even green after a while, changing at an extremely fast speed.

Soon, the dough balls reached their optimal state and were gently placed on the counter, where Alice Nakiri's fingers flew across them.

To make pastries, the most basic and important step is to puff pastry. Only after puff pastry is puff pastry properly can everything else be meaningful.

So Alice Nakiri covered the dough of different colors with a glass bowl, then worked on their respective oil fillings, making them into round and straight puff pastries.

Making dragon head pastries is not easy. After making the round and straight pastries, the chef's creative skills are put to the test.

Even if the chef is very skilled and the dough looks beautiful on the outside, once it is deep-fried in oil, the extremely high oil temperature will break up the crispness on the surface at an astonishing speed, turning the dish into a completely different form.

This is the most difficult step in making Dragon Head Pastry: you need to judge what shape the pastry will eventually come out of the pot.

It has to be successful on the first try; there's no time for extra attempts, since it's very laborious to make.

Alice Nakiri could only make three Dragon Head Pastries no matter how hard she tried. Any more than that, and not only would she run out of time, but she would also lose patience.

Unlike Bai Yuan, who possesses extremely high skills and can create complex pastries in an instant, she was different.

It often takes her more than ten minutes to polish each one she makes, refining all the details.

But diligence can make up for lack of talent. If you're not skilled enough, practice more. All the hard work day and night is for this moment!

With this in mind, Alice Nakiri's gaze became even more determined, her mental focus intense as she worked to perfect the Dragon Head Pastry.

All eyes were on her as she skillfully crafted the dragon head pastry, which gradually took shape in her hands.

The process was tedious, but no one on site seemed impatient. Instead, they watched with great interest, eagerly anticipating her final product.

Because the Nakiri family didn't have any skilled pastry chefs, they were very curious about everything related to pastry chefs.

"hateful!"

Seeing Alice Nakiri stealing the spotlight, Shota Nakiri, who was being neglected, cursed under his breath and then sped up his cooking.

He knew in his heart that if he didn't do something soon, he would probably be trampled underfoot.

As a top-notch chef, he simply couldn't accept being outshone by his cousin, who was a few years younger than him!

"The son of the Yuno family is also quite good. He cooks very quickly, and the quality of his dishes is consistently good."

As Shota Nakiri's movements became faster and faster, people around him gradually noticed him and then realized that his dish was about to be finished.

"They're making layered meat patties, and they look pretty good."

No sooner had the man finished speaking than Nakiri Shota took the mille-feuille meat pie out of the electric griddle, picked up a sharp knife, and sliced ​​it in half.

In an instant, the rich aroma of meat spread rapidly in all directions from the cut surface, immediately attracting the attention of many people.

"Gudu."

"It's really good, the smell is very appetizing, but it's a bit too ordinary, and I can't see anything special about it."

Shota Nakiri cut the mille-feuille meat patty and placed it on the white plate in front of him. A servant stepped forward and distributed the dishes to everyone.

Upon witnessing this scene, the vanguard of the First Faction couldn't help but both praise and mock.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing that things are normal. Look at Alice, she worked so hard and only made three dragon head pastries. There were none for us."

Upon hearing the words from the first faction, the second faction immediately retorted, a traditional skill of the Nakiri family.

"There's not much point in eating the common dishes. There are so many dishes here, and they're all better than this. Why not try some dishes that people don't know how to make?"

"You really are something..."

Listening to the two factions belittling each other, neither Senzaemon nor Umori-in Nakiri uttered a sound, but simply stared silently at Alice Nakiri, or more precisely, at her hand.

They knew very well that Alice Nakiri, as Hakubuchi's beloved disciple and inheritor of his mantle, was very likely to surpass Erina Nakiri in the future.

"Has it finally come to this...?"

Looking at the oil pan in front of her, whose temperature was gradually rising, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but swallow. This was the most crucial step in determining the success or failure of the Dragon Head Pastry.

If any part of the dragon head pastry falls off during the frying process, then everything is wasted and you have to start all over again.

Carefully examining every detail of the dragon head pastry, Alice Nakiri's expression was serious and earnest as she gently placed it into the net.

As the dragon head pastry was put into the pot, its flaky crust quickly exploded under the stimulation of the oil temperature, creating the fluffy texture of the dragon's neck.

In addition, several deliberately raised parts of the dragon head pastry bulged out, adding a touch of arrogance and domineering power to the dragon head.

"This is truly beautiful!"

"Indeed, it looks exactly like an Eastern dragon. I never expected Alice to be so good at making pastries at such a young age!"

"Holy crap, this is so realistic!"

As the dragon head pastry took shape in the oil, it was then scooped out by Alice Nakiri and placed on a plate, eliciting a gasp from the audience.

The reason is simple: under Alice Nakiri's superb skills, the fried dragon head pastry presents a majestic and imposing appearance.

When placed on the dining table, its perfect presentation makes it almost too beautiful to eat.

However, this is not over yet.

Alice Nakiri's hands were seen rubbing together rapidly, opening and closing as if she were fiddling with something.

Soon, a pair of angry eyes appeared in her palm, which she picked up and stuck onto the dragon head pastry that should have had dragon eyes.

Finish the finishing touch.

After the dragon's eye was attached to the dragon's head pastry, it seemed to come alive suddenly, subconsciously inspiring a sense of awe in everyone present.

After realizing what had happened, the expressions of the people present varied.

"It's a pity I'm not skilled enough. If the master chef were to do it, I'm afraid most of the people on site would be scared out of their wits when the Dragon Head Pastry comes out of the oven."

Hearing the praise from those around her, Alice Nakiri felt no joy whatsoever; instead, she pondered how she could do even better.

After all, she had seen Bai Yuan make dragon head pastries once.

To put it bluntly, she thought she had seen a real dragon and almost prostrated herself on the ground. When she came to her senses, she found that her pants were a little wet.

Yes, it's a little embarrassing to say, but she was really terrified by the dragon head pastry Bai Yuan made, and her mind was in shock for a long time before she could recover.

Compared to the dragon head pastries she had seen back then, what she was making now was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean, only slightly better in appearance.

"Two out of three were successful; I'm in pretty good shape today."

Looking at the dragon head pastry in front of her, Alice Nakiri breathed a sigh of relief.

One of the three is slightly damaged. Although it does not affect the taste, it affects the appearance and the flavor will be worse than the other two.

However, she was already quite satisfied with this level of achievement in making pastries of this difficulty.