Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

At this critical juncture, Wada Munemasa naturally did not hold back and agreed to Tadokoro Megumi's request without any hesitation.

As he spoke, he curiously looked at the other person. Although Tadokoro Megumi and Hojo Miyoko showed quite good cooking skills, they were relatively young and lacked cooking experience. It was hard to imagine how much they could improve the dishes.

Pistachio and sea urchin pasta, this is a dish developed by his chef.

He was dull-witted and, after his master's death, did not further develop the dish, but instead preserved the tradition and continued it.

In his mind, since he couldn't innovate, he should stick to the old ways and see if he could meet someone in the future who could improve the dish and make it more delicious.

He made many attempts along the way, but unfortunately all of them failed.

"Sardines...maybe I can try that method. I just don't know how the final product will taste. Anyway, let's at least give it a try!"

Megumi Tadokoro walked steadily out of the kitchen, her eyes scanning over the various ingredients available, before spotting something that might be useful.

sardine.

"I need to try the returned dishes."

He already had a general idea in mind; the only thing he needed to confirm was whether the original taste of the dish was as bad as he imagined.

"it is good."

Without hesitation, Hanasaki Chiyuki handed the returned pistachio and sea urchin pasta to Tadokoro Megumi for her to try.

Seeing this, Tadokoro Megumi didn't stand on ceremony. She picked up a new spoon, twirled a few strands of pasta, put them in her mouth, and then closed her eyes to savor the taste.

"As expected, the sea urchin, after being cooked for a long time and with the addition of lemon juice, has become so soft that it can no longer provide any texture to the dish."

Besides the lemon juice affecting the flavor of the seafood, the dish had a variety of minor problems that the other party didn't point out all at once, clearly intending to take it slow, which drove the restaurant's head chef to despair.

This is also a common tactic used by restaurant predators.

Don't say all the problems at once; say only one or two at a time, and then say one or two more after improvements have been made.

If this cycle continues, chefs with low willpower might break down. Many chefs only pay money to escape the pain.

Oh no, I should say it's compensation for the poor hospitality.

Of course, this refers to chefs from outside the restaurant.

She, Megumi Tadokoro, had long since developed the ability to solve all sorts of difficult problems after being challenged in various ways by Teacher Shirabuchi.

Since the pasta wasn't flavorful enough, she decided to add some texture to it.

Sardines, or more precisely, salted sardines, are the best choice if the original flavor is not significantly altered.

Without hesitation, Megumi Tadokoro quickly marinated the sardines, sealed them with plastic wrap, and prepared to let them sit for about ten minutes to allow the flavors to penetrate.

During this process, Megumi Tadokoro also obtained a few sea asparagus spears, put them in the oven to dry out the moisture, then crushed them into pieces and put them in a bowl for later use.

After processing the sea urchin ingredients, the next step is to prepare the pistachios.

Pistachios, pasta, cheese...

With her eyes closed, Megumi Tadokoro's brain raced, and she then cut the pistachios on the table in half, leaving one half with the skin on and peeling the other.

Pistachios with the skin on are coarsely ground in a mortar and pestle to retain their grainy texture and slightly bitter flavor.

The peeled portion is placed on the table, mixed with cheese, and then vigorously pounded with a rolling pin until the two are combined and inseparable.

During the pounding process, the peeled pistachios gradually turned into fine crumbs, sticking together with the cheese; neither could be separated from the other.

"That completes the preparations."

Looking at the various ingredients lined up in a row, Tadokoro Megumi scanned them to confirm their presence before starting to cook.

If the pasta lacks texture, she uses marinated sardines to enhance the flavor.

Since sea urchin and pistachios don't go well together, she adds dried sea asparagus flakes as a natural salt crystal.

The reason why pistachios are divided into two layers is mainly to enrich their flavor.

Once all the ingredients are ready.

A number of chefs gathered around, all looking at Tadokoro Megumi with curiosity, wanting to see what kind of improved dishes she could come up with.

Despite being surrounded by onlookers, Tadokoro Megumi remained calm and composed, breathing evenly as she began cooking according to the recipe.

Although the ingredients have been modified, the preparation of the dish remains largely the same, requiring only slight changes to the order of a few steps.

For example, some of the pistachio crumbs are sprinkled in to flavor the bottom sauce, some are added when mixing noodles, and the rest are added before serving.

In this way, a single pistachio can have three distinct layers, providing customers with a novel taste experience and thus earning positive reviews.

"Let him try it."

After serving the dish and sprinkling it with crushed pistachios, the pistachio and sea urchin pasta was complete. Tadokoro Megumi let out a long sigh of relief and then looked at Hanasaki Chiyuki.

Although this dish still looks like a premium dish, it feels completely different from before.

If the previous dishes relied on technical skill to barely reach the top grade, then this improved version is a truly top-grade dish.

If the cook were Erina Nakiri or Alice Nakiri, the dish could even be upgraded to a top-tier one or two-star dish.

Simply put, the level cap is higher.

"It looks really good. It has the original flavor of the dish, and it also adds a lot of texture."

Most importantly, it built a bridge, truly allowing the flavors of the ingredients to blend together!

To have achieved this at such a young age, one truly deserves to be called a top student from the distant moon; one's future is limitless!

Smelling the enticing aroma in the air, one of the older chefs spoke up.

He is the sous chef of this kitchen. Although he has not reached the special grade, he is still one of the best among the first-class chefs.

His words now clearly express his approval of the dish. He not only approves of the food itself, but also of the person cooking it.

"Sea asparagus...?"

Upon hearing the sous chef's words, Wada Munemasa showed a look of sudden realization.

This is a rare ingredient, a natural salt crystal bomb, with a natural salt frost on its surface, which can be used as a substitute for table salt.

Furthermore, sea asparagus is rich in glutamic acid, which can enhance the umami flavor by more than 2 times when paired with sardines and sea urchins, making it a rare and valuable ingredient.

Megumi Tadokoro added this ingredient, which not only reduced the amount of salt used but also brought the flavor of the dish to an unprecedented level.

"Okay, I'll take it to him."

After being informed by the surrounding chefs, Hanasaki Chiyuki understood Bai Yuan's identity.

Although it's hard to believe, all signs point to the fact that he is very likely a notorious restaurant killer!

After walking through the long corridor, Hanasaki Chiyuki arrived at the private room where Shiro was. She opened the door and found him resting with his eyes closed. The surroundings were very quiet.

"This time it's been a long time, I hope it won't disappoint me."

Hearing the noise at the door, Bai Yuan opened his eyes and saw Hanasaki Chiyuki carrying a dish toward him, her eyes filled with a complex expression.

"Don't worry, this is the result of our chefs' research, you'll definitely be satisfied!"

As she said this, Hanasaki Chiyuki's voice held a hint of pride, and she placed the pistachio and sea urchin pasta in front of him.

"This one looks much more presentable, but the most important thing about cooking is the taste. Only when it tastes good can it be considered qualified."

As Bai Yuan spoke, he used his knife and fork to twirl the pasta, then put it in his mouth. The rich umami flavor exploded in an instant, impacting his body.

"The umami flavor is strong enough. Since the amount of cheese has been reduced, it's not as greasy as before. That's one solution."

The only problem is that the ending is too messy, like a jumble of miscellaneous things piled together. That's not good; let's revise it.

It's easy to tell from Hanasaki Chiyuki's words that Tadokoro Megumi and Hojo Miyoko have taken over the preparation of this dish.

In other words, he can train the two of them by making demands little by little.

"Okay, I'll go talk to them."

Hanasaki Chiyuki nodded, picked up the food and rushed back. She returned more than ten minutes later, then went back again, and then came back again, repeating this process more than ten times.

"That's the feeling! This dish turned out very well. I'll give you a good review later."

As Bai Yuan savored the eighteenth-generation pistachio and sea urchin pasta on his plate, a satisfied smile finally appeared on his face.

As he continued to point out the shortcomings, Tadokoro Megumi filled in the gaps and made improvements, and the pasta served to him tasted better and better.

The last dish even reached the level of a top-tier one-star dish, which was a truly unexpected delight!

"As long as you are satisfied."

After running back and forth more than ten times, Hanasaki Chiyuki's forehead was covered in sweat, and the stockings under her beautiful legs were soaked.

If you look closely, you can see obvious sweat stains.

"I'm very satisfied with this dish. Please say a word to the chef who made it for me."

After finishing the pistachio and sea urchin pasta in front of him, Bai Yuan looked at Hanasaki Chiyuki standing in front of him and made a request to her.

"Please tell me, and I will pass it on for you."

After being tormented so many times, even if Hanasaki Chiyuki still had feelings for Bai Yuan, they had all been worn away and turned into endless resentment.

Of course, because of the other party's status as a customer, she could only keep this complaint to herself and dared not say it out loud, but that did not mean it would disappear.

"Cooking is a process of identifying and correcting shortcomings. Only by constantly identifying and correcting shortcomings can one clearly recognize one's own weaknesses."

After saying this, Bai Yuan stood up from his chair, preparing to leave.

After all that trouble and waiting for Hanasaki Chiyuki and Tadokoro Megumi, it's now 9 PM, which is also the restaurant's closing time.

"Okay, I will pass it on."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, a hint of surprise flashed in Hanasaki Chiyuki's eyes.

Isn't this guy the restaurant hunter?

Why would someone say such things to the person who defeated them after a defeat?

Anyway, things have finally come to an end, and I can go home and rest.

Never before has Hanasaki Chiyuki wanted to lie in her bed at home and rest as much as she does now.

A few minutes later.

Inside the kitchen, Tadokoro Megumi frowned slightly: "Are you sure he really said that?"

"It's absolutely true. He specifically asked me to tell you this before he left. What a strange person, isn't he?"