Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

A small arm can't twist a big thigh. Seeing the boy's extremely serious eyes, Xiao Zhou finally agreed to his invitation and nodded shyly.

Then, as if she had just thought of something, she handed over the ingredients she was holding.

"Okay, I'll contact you then, so don't not come!"

Seeing that Xiao Zhou had accepted his invitation, Bai Yuan smiled gently. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he carried the ingredients she had brought into the kitchen.

After Bai Yuan turned around, Xiao Zhou did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood there, watching his figure slowly disappear into the kitchen, his eyes filled with some inexplicable emotions.

She, who had always been looked down upon in the organization, was now being respected by the leader of the dark cuisine world, something she never dared to imagine before.

After all, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their identities are worlds apart.

She is such a kind and gentle person.

After leaving Bai Yuan's residence, Xiao Zhou took out his phone to post a status update, but after thinking it over, he closed his phone again, not wanting to cause trouble for the other party.

While the likelihood of posting something that causes trouble is small, it's not entirely impossible.

"Alice and the others seem to want fresh fruit. Let's call and have it air-freighted over. Just say they want to study the dishes for the competition."

In return for a favor, since Bai Yuan invited her to the luncheon, she would naturally do her best to help him get things done!

Take, for example, the preparation of ingredients.

Originally, she only planned to submit a written application, but now she is prepared to select the ingredients herself, since there are good and bad ingredients, and she is able to distinguish between them.

Although not very skilled, I am still a chef!

the other side.

Inside the kitchen, Bai Yuan held a cleaver, and on the cutting board was a piece of beef. This was the first batch of ingredients that Xiao Zhou had brought up; the quality was excellent, and it was definitely freshly killed.

Beside her, Lia picked up some mutton and scallions, preparing to make a simple dish of stir-fried mutton with scallions.

Although Bai Yuan didn't say it explicitly, judging from his conversation with the old man just now, it proved that their relationship was definitely not simple; at the very least, they were very good friends.

Meanwhile, Alice Nakiri picked up the fish and skillfully began to butcher it, preparing to make the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish that Bai Yuan had often taught her when she was a child, which was perfect for today's main dish.

Unlike Lia, Alice Nakiri knew Lancy Jon's identity and understood that this was a test, so she was on high alert.

Bai Yuan watched the two of them without saying a word.

He had already cut and marinated the beef, and prepared celery, cilantro, and green garlic on the cutting board. However, he was currently processing chili peppers, or more accurately, pickled chili peppers.

Finely chop the pickled peppers and arrange them neatly on a plate. Then, finely chop the pickled ginger and three small red chilies, and place them in separate bowls.

Outside, I listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen.

Lancy Jon became somewhat restless. He wanted to go in and help, but then he thought it would be impolite for him to go in as a guest, so he could only remain seated.

However, the anxiety of waiting made him pick up the cup on the table and fiddle with it from time to time, because at this moment he had nothing else to do.

"Has this kid's cooking improved again?"

Suddenly, a scent mixed with a slightly smoky aroma and hot oil wafted over.

It is a product of the Maillard reaction and caramelization reaction that occur when beef slices come into instantaneous contact with the metal pan wall during extremely high-temperature stir-frying.

This aroma is strong, direct, and has a touch of wildness, instantly activating the olfactory nerves, as if you can hear the food sizzling and cooking in the pot.

Lancy Jon closed his eyes thoughtfully, so that he could more clearly smell the aroma wafting from the kitchen and see Bai Yuan cooking.

The aroma of beef from the yellow cattle makes a grand entrance.

It doesn't have the fishy or gamey smell of raw meat; instead, it releases a rich and mellow meaty aroma after the juices are quickly locked in during high-temperature cooking.

This aroma has a unique umami flavor, which is the result of high-quality protein and amino acids being heated, and it also has a hint of soy sauce and oil.

In addition, there's the spiciness of bird's eye chili and pickled peppers, and the sourness of pickled ginger...

As if discovering a new continent, Lancy Jon held her breath and began to savor the various flavors in the kitchen, experiencing their mysteries.

Because several dishes are cooked together, he can smell multiple aromas at the same time.

Cooking is a very specific activity; even with many flavors, one will stand out, allowing him to determine the source of the flavor.

"The aroma of fish and the sweet and sour fragrance indicate that this is squirrel-shaped mandarin fish. On the other hand, the mutton's gamey flavor is well preserved, along with a rich scallion aroma, making it stir-fried mutton with scallions."

As the fragrance filled her nostrils, Lancy Jon couldn't help but comment.

The flavors are absolutely perfect; even a top-tier five-star chef couldn't find any fault with them. The chef's basic skills are very solid, at least those of a top-tier chef.

That little girl has grown up to this point.

As the image of Alice Nakiri making hamburgers on the field flashed through his mind, a hint of nostalgia appeared on Lancy Jon's face.

This year can feel both short and long.

What's short is that it passed in the blink of an eye, while what's long is that Alice Nakiri grew to this level in just one year.

"This small dwelling is truly a place where hidden talents reside!"

Thinking of the other smell coming from the kitchen, Lancy Jon understood the meaning behind Bai Yuan's earlier words.

It must be very rewarding to train such a great chef; he could brag about it to his friends for a year!

At the same time, inside the third-floor kitchen.

"Congratulations to Asahi Academy for defeating Touhou Academy in this match. The score is now 3-1, and Asahi Academy has advanced to the semifinals."

Silence fell. Instead of cheering, everyone in the stadium fell silent, staring at the competition field, their first reaction being disbelief.

The two giants of the previous school exchange competition, the first and second place holders, have now met in the very first match of the quarterfinals.

And the victor was none other than Asahi Academy, the perennial runner-up.

How can this be?

Wait... it doesn't seem impossible.

After all, in previous years, the strength of Oriental Academy and Chaoyang Academy was roughly equal, so it was normal for either to win or lose.

However, perhaps due to bad luck, Asahi Academy has never won.

However, it cannot be denied that Asahi Academy is a powerful school with the strength to win the championship, so this sudden surge is understandable.

"We won! We finally won!"

"We've defeated Oriental Academy, this year's championship is ours!"

Inside Asahi Academy, upon hearing the referee's call, the tense boys and girls cheered and couldn't help but high-five their companions.

With their biggest problem, Dongfang Academy, eliminated, Chaoyang Academy is undoubtedly the winner this year! No one else can compete with them for the championship!

"Did the Beef Trio Hot Pot lose so decisively to the Sizzling Chicken Hot Pot?"

Looking at the dishes captured by the drone on the big screen, Erina Nakiri's face showed surprise.

When she arrived, the competition results were already out, so she didn't see how the two contestants cooked their dishes and naturally didn't know why the sizzling chicken hotpot won.

While judging the quality of ingredients by their grade is unsophisticated, when both sides are evenly matched, the one who uses better ingredients has a greater chance of winning.

In a formal competition, you can't be like in the qualifiers, where you get a low score just because you used high-quality ingredients.

Therefore, the fact that this sizzling chicken hot pot was able to win must mean that it has something extraordinary about it.

"Indeed, according to common sense, the beef tripe stew should have a slight advantage, since the ingredients are all premium parts of the cow."

The chicken on the other side is so common that if it's not prepared well, it might even score negatively in some aspects—this isn't about favoritism, it's just a fact.

Mito Ikumi, standing nearby, nodded in agreement.

Although cooking competitions emphasize fairness and impartiality, it is normal for ingredients to contribute to the score.

After all, the more unique the flavor of an ingredient, the more difficult it is to cook, and cooking these ingredients well requires a high level of skill.

Furthermore, if the other party is using high-end ingredients, why aren't you?

Why is that? Is it because they don't know how to use it? That's the shortcoming, the point of deduction, so using high-end ingredients won't be a disadvantage in official competitions.

In this situation, the Chaoyang Academy team actually defeated the Dongfang Academy team's beef tripe hot pot with their sizzling chicken.

This means that Chaoyang Academy is at least half a level higher than Dongfang Academy.

This is a match where you can't complain even if you lose.

"It seems that our formidable opponent this time is not Oriental Academy but Asahi Academy."

Looking at the joyful faces of the students from Asahi Academy and the dejected students from Touhou Academy beside them, Erina Nakiri's expression became more serious.

"I really didn't expect that the invincible Oriental Academy in previous years would lose so badly this year, being taken away with a score of 3:1."

Hisako Shinoto sighed as she revised the documents in her hand.

She originally thought that the ultimate opponent of the Dark Cuisine World was the Oriental Academy, and she did a lot of research on this, but she did not expect that the other party would lose in the quarterfinals.

In that case, she needs to reinvestigate the information about Asahi Academy. If nothing unexpected happens, they will be her opponents in the final match.

"But if Asahi Academy wins the fourth match, there won't be any more matches to watch. Does that mean we have to stay here...?"

They came to watch the game and scout out the enemy's situation, not to watch the game out of boredom. Now that the game is over, there is naturally no reason for them to stay here any longer.

"Let's go check out other matches; maybe our next opponents will be among them. It's always good to know more about the situation."

In the end, Erina Nakiri made her decision.

As the most powerful person present, she has a lot of influence here.

Hearing her words, no one else objected; they all nodded and followed behind her, heading downstairs to the other competition venues.

"Look, isn't that the girl I saw last time? I didn't expect her to come all the way here to watch our game. Do you think she has a crush on me?"

Although Erina Nakiri's arrival and departure were brief, her presence attracted considerable attention from men because the entire delegation consisted of women, each of whom was quite attractive.

This is only natural; everyone likes beautiful things, and good-looking people will reap many benefits as long as they don't do anything reckless.

And the people here naturally included the guys from Asahi Academy. Looking at Erina Nakiri's figure, the man who had been discussing whether or not to strike up a conversation excitedly said.

At this moment, he was already imagining loving scenes of the two of them together.

"It looks like they just happened to be passing by..."

Beside them, a girl of average build couldn't help but complain. Her eyes were filled with obvious dissatisfaction as she looked at the man, and she seemed a little jealous.

What do you mean by "just happened to be passing by"?

She definitely came to see me, but her timing was bad; I had just finished my competition, and she was afraid I would see her, so she left shyly. I understand!