Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"The wonderful sauce, a blend of sweet and sour, is as refreshing as morning dew. Then, the rich condensed milk glides across the tongue like silk, and finally, the spicy kick of mustard playfully stimulates the senses."

As he savored the flavors on his tongue, Xia Tianci seemed to be immersed in a sea of ​​wonderful sauce, his expression one of pure enjoyment, the rich taste almost overwhelming his sense of taste!

"When you chew the orange pulp, it bursts with fresh juice, like tiny fireworks exploding in your mouth."

The subtle, refreshing scent of lime zest lingers, transforming the last traces of fishiness from the shrimp into a colorless, odorless sea breeze, leaving one feeling exceptionally cool.

Savoring the taste deep on his tongue, Xia Tianci continued to eat, and out of curiosity about the sauce, he deliberately dipped his food in more sauce.

This sauce is excellent. No matter what kind of food you dip in it, it will be given a rich flavor!

"The most wonderful thing is the batter, which is as thin as a cicada's wing but retains an amazing crispness. After biting through the crispy shell, the fresh sweetness of the shrimp meat will gush out like a tide."

The meat is firm and chewy, with distinct fibers, yet it's not dry at all; instead, it releases a sweet juice when chewed. The combination of these two qualities creates an incredibly wonderful texture! It's so delicious you can't stop eating it.

Huang Tian's voice rang out, tinged with a hint of surprise. He had dipped the shrimp in a small amount of the magical sauce, making the shrimp flavor particularly strong in his mouth.

"The shrimp's freshness is locked in by the high temperature, and every muscle is full of the sweetness of the ocean, as if you can taste the refreshing feeling of the waves washing over the rocks."

Sitting in the chair, Chu Yunsheng opened his arms and savored the beauty of nature. The sweet and sour sauce and the rich condensed milk intertwined, neither masking the original flavor of the shrimp nor diminishing its sweetness with a subtle acidity.

The spiciness of wasabi flashes by like a shooting star, stimulating the taste buds before quickly dissipating, leaving only a slight tingling sensation that tempts one to take a few more bites.

"29 points. Without a doubt, this dish has reached the level of a top-grade dish."

One star? No, it's at least a top-tier two-star dish. It's hard to imagine that a student made this.

I'd like to give it 30 points out of 100, since it's really rare for someone of that age to produce a dish of this caliber.

However, considering that there are still many contestants who have not yet appeared, it would be difficult to give full marks if an even better contestant were to appear. In addition, giving full marks so early would be a bit exaggerated. Therefore, after careful consideration, Chu Yunsheng decided to give 29 points for now.

If this dish wasn't made out of luck, then Erina Nakiri would have received full marks from other judges long ago.

"This dish has reached the level of a special grade two star. Every detail has been meticulously crafted. It would be fine to sell it in a hotel."

This dish probably wasn't something I came up with on the spur of the moment.

When he finished speaking, Xia Tianci paused, picked up another shrimp ball with his chopsticks, and this time he deliberately wiped off some of the sauce.

Then comes the rich shrimp flavor, the shrimp balls are crisp and bouncy with an exceptionally good texture, and paired with the flavorful sauce, it's irresistible.

Having tasted the true deliciousness of the core shrimp balls, Xia Tianci looked up at Nakiri Erina, his eyes filled with inquiry and curiosity.

The dish in front of me is very well made; it's definitely not something you could come up with in half an hour.

If this dish were served at their hotel, it would definitely become a best-selling dish among women, because it looks so appealing and tastes so good.

Whether you're taking photos or tasting it, it's sure to be a hit!

"That's right. I developed this dish during a field study organized by the school. I sold this dish for fifteen days and made many improvements during that time."

Since there was nothing to hide, Erina Nakiri answered truthfully.

"Even so, the fact that you were able to perform exceptionally well in the competition and bring this dish to the level of Special Grade Two is enough to show your solid basic skills."

For most people, coming to this kind of competition, let alone performing exceptionally well, simply performing normally is already quite an achievement.

Xia Tianci changed the subject, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Nakiri Erina. What a talented girl! He wondered if she was from Dongfang Academy or Chaoyang Academy.

"Do you plan to sell this dish? If so, I'd like to sell it to the Emperor Hotel and give you 15% of the profits."

Of course, you can continue doing this if you want, even opening a shop to sell your wares is fine, since we're not competing with each other.

Remembering the purpose of his question, Xia Tianci's eyes flickered slightly as he began to speak.

Because he didn't want to offend such a talented chef, he offered a very generous deal, essentially meaning someone would work for you without you doing anything.

For chefs, this method of purchasing dishes usually only applies to top-tier chefs; ordinary chefs are more likely to face a buyout system.

Although one can gain a lot of money in an instant, after selling the dish, one signs a non-compete agreement and cannot make that dish for commercial purposes.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, few chefs are willing to sell their creative dishes to restaurants.

Another possibility is that Xia Tianci proposed a collaboration.

"I'm sorry, I completed this dish under the guidance of my teacher. He made a great contribution to this dish, so I cannot make decisions on my own before he gives his approval."

Erina Nakiri shook her head slightly. The success of this dish was largely due to Bai Yuan, so she couldn't sell it to Xia Tianci without his permission.

Despite his very sincere offer, she still couldn't agree.

This is a matter of principle.

"Your teacher? If we're destined to meet, could we? I'd like to see what kind of teacher could produce such an amazing student."

Upon hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Natsumi's expression clearly froze, obviously not expecting to be rejected.

However, he quickly regained his composure and became somewhat curious about her teacher, wondering what kind of person could teach such a talented student.

A top-level chef who is no more than fifteen years old.

Although Xia Tianci appeared calm at the moment, he was secretly incredibly envious. If he had a disciple like that, he would probably be laughing in his dreams.

After all, for a master chef, the most important thing is to pass on the tradition.

Having a disciple who can pass on all your skills is definitely a very fortunate thing.

"If I had the chance, my teacher would be an amazing person. He is an all-rounder in cooking and has superb culinary skills. I would say that without him, I wouldn't be who I am today."

Erina Nakiri spoke from the bottom of her heart, saying that Hakugen's teachings to her were profound.

If she hadn't met Bai Yuan, she would definitely still be in Totsuki, obsessed with surpassing any of the Ten Heroes, or perhaps wanting to stand at the pinnacle of Totsuki.

Back then, she would definitely have represented Totsuki Academy in the school exchange competition, but she would never have been able to stand high on the mountaintop and look down on all the other mountains like she does now.

"He is indeed a very respectable person. If this dish were served to me, I would give it a score of 30 out of 100. A good dish is one that customers like."

Hearing Erina Nakiri say this, Ye Tianci's curiosity about Bai Yuan intensified. He closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before finally giving Bai Yuan a score one point higher than Chu Yun's.

This was also the first time he had given a perfect score.

"39 points. You made one mistake that wasn't exactly a mistake. While the outer sauce was well-controlled, some shrimp were dipped in too much sauce, causing the flavor to lean towards the sauce and lose the original taste of the shrimp."

Diners come here to eat, and our job is to present them with the best culinary techniques. If we can master this, the level of this dish can hopefully be elevated to another level.

Huang Tian, ​​who had been silent until now, spoke up at this moment, pointing out a flaw that wasn't exactly a flaw, but was indeed a problem that annoyed people at many times.

So even though Huang Tian was suspected of nitpicking, Nakiri Erina nodded seriously.

"I understand, thank you for your guidance."

Although it was a bit of a shame that she didn't get a perfect score, compared to the previous record of only 88 points, her existence was like a bug, standing in front of these contestants and leaving them with no hope of surpassing it.

"It's here! An amazing 98 points!"

This is the first time this year's competition has seen a contestant score above 95. Let's move our drone closer and present the dish to everyone.

As Mr. Lin spoke, the drone recording the event in the sky vibrated and hovered deftly in front of Erina Nakiri.

Through the transmission of high-definition cameras, the dishes she made were perfectly presented to everyone.

This attracted the attention of not only the audience but also some contestants who had finished cooking and were resting in the team's rest area.

They had all heard what the judges said and naturally understood how terrifying Erina Nakiri was.

This is a top-tier dish, a dish that even some highly experienced chefs find difficult to make, and now a little girl has actually made it!?

Moreover, judging from what the judges just said, this dish doesn't seem to be just a simple premium dish; it's a premium dish that has reached a star rating, which makes it even more terrifying.

"I got it, but it wasn't a perfect score."

After glancing at her score on the big screen, Erina Nakiri showed a regretful expression, then went to their rest area and sat down next to Shirabuchi.

"You've done very well. You're the clear number one. I just did a quick observation, and only the top-tier dishes in the first-class category qualify for a score of 90."

A near-Special Grade dish would probably score around 92 points; anything higher would have to be a Special Grade dish.

Seeing Erina Nakiri walking towards him, Shiroyuki nodded slightly to her, and then told her about his discovery regarding the judges' scoring criteria.

Only by achieving the "Temporary Special Grade" cooking level can one guarantee a minimum score of 90 points, and chefs who can create "Temporary Special Grade" dishes are generally not far from achieving "Special Grade".

To enable some of the younger generation to reach this level.

Basically, as long as you live to be twenty years old, you can obtain a master chef certificate.

"Now it's up to Yuuki and the others. I'm not too worried about Hisako."

Sitting beside Shiroyuki, Erina Nakiri was a little nervous. If Yoshino Yuuki and the others couldn't get 90 points, the situation would be really bad.

"Don't worry, everyone has made great progress recently. Getting 90 points is not difficult, as long as they can bring out their full potential."

Bai Yuan's voice was steady, and his eyes were full of confidence as he looked at Yoshino Yuuki. This was a form of spiritual support; he believed that they would not hold the team back.

Even if it's delayed, it's not a big deal. It's just that they're not good enough. After all, the time for teaching is limited. It's already a very rare thing that he can make these people all have the peak strength of a first-class chef.

"But then again, where have all the Totsuki students gone? Are they on other floors...?"

Looking around but not finding any trace of anyone from Totsuki Academy in the crowd, Erina Nakiri muttered to herself.

"They should be on another floor. As for whether we can run into them, it depends on whether they can all reach 90 points, but with their current strength, it shouldn't be difficult."

He made adjustments to the personnel sent by Totsuki this time. Although their strength was generally not strong, the weakest of them had reached the peak of the first-class chef level.

The strongest, Tsukasa Eishi, is now a Special Grade One-Star Chef, placing him at the absolute top of the food chain in this competition.

As long as he doesn't encounter those two freaks, Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri, he fears no opponent and is a true powerhouse.

"Xiao Hui seems to have finished cooking as well. I just saw her use lychees to cook shrimp, and I feel that this dish is similar to my fruit basket."

His gaze drifted towards the contestants' area.

Although many people have finished cooking, many more are still struggling. Among them, Tadokoro Megumi caught her attention a long time ago.

The reason is simple: both of them used fruit as a starting point to blend the deliciousness of shrimp with the fruit. However, because they used different fruits, the final results were different.

"There are still quite a few differences. Xiaohui used the cooking method of lion's head meatballs, while yours is more like fried shrimp sauce, with the special feature being the magical sauce."

Upon hearing Erina Nakiri's words, Shiroyuki chuckled and replied.

He had nothing to do earlier and had been observing Tadokoro Megumi's cooking. Watching her progress step by step, he naturally knew the key to her cooking.

"How to cook lion's head meatballs?!"

Erina Nakiri's voice held a hint of confusion, but after carefully examining Megumi Tadokoro's cooking, a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

"Xiao Hui diced the pork fat, water chestnuts, and shrimp. Then she mixed the shrimp, garlic, onion, lemongrass, and Shaoxing wine, and blended them into a paste using a high-speed blender. Finally, she mixed the two together, seasoned them, and stuffed them into the lychees."

"Oh... I see."