Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

The remaining two are not necessarily good-looking either. Out of twenty or thirty female chefs, it is already quite remarkable if one of them is good-looking.

As a boy in his adolescence, it's natural to feel admiration upon seeing such a beautiful female chef, and this admiration stems from her looks.

Humans are truly visual creatures; before discussing inner qualities, they first filter out outward appearances.

If external conditions are not right, no one will want to understand the inner workings.

This applies to both men and women.

Only a very few cases are different.

"Stop looking, it's very impolite."

If you really like them, wait until you demonstrate your strength in the competition and stand on the champion's podium. The chances of confessing your feelings then will be much higher.

Noticing the look in the eyes of the boy in the group, the captain followed his gaze and then spotted Erina Nakiri and the other two, a look of amazement flashing in his eyes.

But the captain is the captain after all, and his composure is the best in the team. Therefore, he did not show too much emotion, but spoke to the obsessed team members rationally and objectively.

In ancient times, women preferred strong men.

Appropriately displaying strength can help them pursue outstanding girls.

The premise is that these girls don't have boyfriends.

Of course, as the old saying goes, if you swing your hoe well, there's no corner you can't dig down.

"Seeing such beautiful female chefs participating in the competition makes me feel even more motivated for the rest of the competition."

"Yes, just thinking about how many beautiful women are watching us from the audience while we compete on stage, and maybe even fantasizing about what it would be like to date us, makes me incredibly excited!"

"You guys! Don't think about those things. Remember, we're here to trample the Eastern Academy underfoot, not to attract the attention of pretty girls!"

"These two things don't conflict. Just watch me show off my skills!"

The group chatted amongst themselves, but none of them actually went up to chat with Erina Nakiri.

They knew perfectly well that the chefs who came here to compete were determined to defeat all their opponents. No one would be thinking about utterly pointless romantic entanglements before the competition even began.

"Ten people just passed by; they must be a team participating in a competition. Did they all come out...?"

The students from Asahi Academy noticed Erina Nakiri, and Erina and the others naturally noticed them as well. Hisako Shinto, before passing by them, specifically counted the number of people in that team, which was exactly ten, the limit for the competition.

Without a doubt, they are also contestants.

"This is the third team we've encountered, isn't it? It seems there are quite a few people who share the same idea as us, and everyone came here as soon as they landed on the island."

There were also some groups of two or three, I don't know if they were contestants, I spotted quite a few earlier, but I think they are most likely.

After all, there are a few among them whose imposing presence alone is intimidating; they're most likely top-tier chefs.

As she passed by, many people looked at her with inquisitive eyes, and Alice Nakiri returned their gazes. Then she noticed some men with imposing presence.

Achieving fame at a young age, stepping onto the world stage, and possessing formidable strength—such a person stands out from the crowd wherever they are placed.

Therefore, Alice Nakiri could recognize her at a glance.

"You are the first place winner of the Fujian Youth Chef Competition, and the Youth Chef Competition is aimed at the best under the age of thirty."

Here, even at the Eastern Academy, which has the longest academic system, the oldest student is no more than twenty-two years old. We have no reason to lose!

Erina Nakiri said with a relaxed expression that she had also achieved good results in the Fujian Youth Chef Competition and there was no reason for her to lose to her peers.

"Brother Bai Yuan taught me that you should never look down on others. Your current thoughts are dangerous, and you can't have them during the official competition."

Hearing Erina Nakiri's relaxed words, Alice Nakiri looked away and said seriously, word by word.

This was Bai Yuan's teaching to her, and it was also the strategy for dealing with enemies that was engraved in her bones, something she has never forgotten even now.

I lost many games as a teenager due to carelessness.

She experienced that feeling of resentment quite often.

"This is a team battle. It's not enough for Erina and Alice to be strong alone. Only when everyone does their best, unites as one, and gathers their strength together can we have a chance to win."

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming somewhat awkward, Hisako Shinoto immediately changed the subject.

This competition is about the entire academy; individual strength is both important and unimportant. Only when everyone is strong can we win.

"Best of five games. Theoretically, as long as we win both singles matches, we only need to win one doubles or four-player match."

Upon hearing Hisako Shinoto's words, Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri were also drawn to her words, and their brows furrowed slightly.

They are unlikely to lose these two matches, but the real winner will be Tadokoro Megumi and her team in the crucial third match. Only by winning that third match can they truly be considered victorious.

"Trust your teammates. Xiaohui and the others are not weaklings. They are also top-level chefs!"

Seeing the slight furrowing of Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri's brows, Hisako Shinoto instantly understood their thoughts, and then spoke solemnly.

"Of course I know. After all, we were trained together and personally taught by Teacher Bai Yuan. I naturally believe that Xiao Hui and the others are very strong."

This competition is no small matter; we must be fully prepared to have any hope of winning. Once we get back, let's first determine our strategy and do a simple rehearsal.

As Alice Nakiri's voice rang out, she was so excited about the upcoming school exchange competition that her body trembled slightly.

"Indeed, we must make a proper plan."

Beside her, Erina Nakiri, unusually, didn't disagree with her. Instead, she nodded in agreement, acknowledging that a good plan was key to victory.

"The spot for solo battles should be decided between you, me, and Teacher Lia, barring any unforeseen circumstances. As for the main battle spots and order for multiple players, that will depend on Brother Bai Yuan's arrangements."

Heading towards the inn, Alice Nakiri talked as she walked. She and Erina Nakiri were the strongest, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would likely be the ones to fight in the tournament.

"Normally that's true, but he's Teacher Bai Yuan, who knows what kind of ingenious ideas he might come up with during the match, like having us fight multiple opponents..."

Thinking of the usually whimsical Bai Yuan, Erina Nakiri shrank her neck slightly. Even now, she dared not say for sure that the other party would definitely send them to fight individually.

"No matter what, we are the best candidates to fight alone. Even if there are some changes, the changes will not be too significant."

Alice Nakiri shrugged. The Dark Cuisine world was aiming for fame in this competition. Even if Bai Yuan wanted to give others a chance to perform, he wouldn't lose his core strength. He couldn't let them give up their individual battles when they were at a disadvantage, as that would greatly increase their chances of losing.

"What you said makes sense, but we'll have to wait until the day of the match to see the specifics..."

At this point, Erina Nakiri's voice softened, clearly unsure of what would happen, given how unpredictable Shirobuchi was.

They often have wildly imaginative ideas, asking them to do things that would never be thought of under normal circumstances.

"Let's go back, I'm a little hungry."

"I just saw a lot of food stalls on the street, how about we just grab a bite?"

"I still want to eat Teacher Baiyuan's cooking. Although this food stall smells pretty good, you can still feel the mixture of flavors if you smell it carefully."

Putting everything else aside, that fried chicken stand over there—the oil they use has definitely been reused for many days.

As she said this, Erina Nakiri frowned slightly, a hint of disdain in her expression. There was no way she would eat those dishes.

“That makes sense. Let’s go back and eat then. These small stalls like to use the same pot of oil for several days without doing any processing in order to save costs.”

Hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Alice Nakiri also spoke with some emotion.

Oil used for frying is not unusable, but it needs to be treated before consumption.

In addition, there must be a limit to how often it can be reused. Repeated reuse will cause the concentration of acrylamide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to increase with repeated heating, which will increase the risk of cancer.

Of course, what really made Erina Nakiri resist was not the risk of cancer.

Rather, it's because used oil becomes more viscous, making food greasier and less palatable.

As the owner of the God Tongue, she has extremely high standards for cooking, even to an outrageous degree, so naturally she wouldn't be interested in that kind of dish.

Given God Tongue's current state, dishes below the first tier are unlikely to whet her appetite.

"However, Teacher Bai Yuan is most likely not awake yet. We'll ask the innkeeper later if the inn has any ingredients."

They prepared breakfast this morning, we ate lunch out, and we'll prepare dinner ourselves—consider it a warm-up before the competition.

Considering that Bai Yuan hadn't rested at all during their journey here, when they returned, he would most likely still be sleeping in the room with Mito Ikumi.

So, after a brief moment of thought, Erina Nakiri decided to cook dinner herself.

"It's not that it's impossible. Come to think of it, don't you think this assessment is a bit similar to the Fujian Provincial Youth Chef Competition? Both involve contestants making a dish and getting a score."

However, compared to the Fujian Provincial Youth Chef Competition, this competition places greater emphasis on teamwork; if even one person on the team fails to perform well, the entire team will be eliminated.

Upon hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Alice Nakiri nodded slightly in agreement, and then casually chatted with her again.

"The focus is different, right? One focuses on testing individual talent, while the other focuses on testing teaching quality. So the content being tested may seem similar, but there are actually fundamental differences. This year's competition is actually a simplified version of the academy exchange competition, which is quite different from previous years."

Hisako Shinoto's voice rang out; she had put a lot of effort into researching for this competition.

Although the number of participants in previous school exchange competitions was greater, the process was roughly the same, except that the number of competition sessions increased significantly and the method of calculating points was more complicated.

Now, the process has been simplified, and the students sent out are mainly the elites of the academy. Objectively speaking, the resulting rankings are not as prestigious as the previous ones.

I don't know why the competition format was suddenly changed.

"Indeed, the rankings between academies should be a test of the backbone of the school, but according to the current rules, they have become a contest between the school's high-end combat power."

Erina Nakiri nodded in agreement.

Before long, the three returned to their hotel.

"Welcome back."

Seeing the three people enter, the innkeeper smiled gently, then came to them and helped them take down their belongings.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"By the way, do you have a kitchen here? We'd like to borrow it."

"Yes, where is the supermarket on the island? We want to go there to buy some groceries."

"Is there any extra food in the kitchen...?"

The girls chattered away, giving the proprietress no chance to interject. She could only watch helplessly as the three girls finished speaking.

"There is a supermarket on the island that sells goods, but you need to swipe your ID card to shop there. Since you don't have one, I can go with you."

"Go inside and turn left. There are two stoves inside, one gas-powered and one electric. Our hotel's two chefs usually prepare the meals for our guests."

Seeing that the three had finally stopped asking questions, the proprietress quickly spoke up, briefly explaining the situation of the supermarket on the island, and then personally led the three to the kitchen.

"boss."

Upon seeing the voluptuous and beautiful boss, the two chefs who were slacking off in the kitchen immediately stood up, scratched their heads sheepishly, and then greeted her.

"I need to use the kitchen for a little bit of business today, so I'll give you all a day off. You'll still get paid. You can go home now."