Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

Shortly after the judges finished speaking, the large screen in the sky began to flash, and the final score was 3-0, with Lia winning the match.

It was an absolute and overwhelming victory!

"Accepted."

Looking at the unwilling girl opposite her, Lia casually uttered two words, and then left the competition venue with an arrogant expression under the spotlight.

Suddenly, she paused slightly as she noticed Bai Yuan watching her from the audience.

Immediately, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly involuntarily, and a feeling of joy welled up in his heart. He didn't know when the other party had arrived or how long they had been watching the match.

Regardless of when she arrived, Bai Yuan should have seen her current splendor, her victorious display of defeating the enemy, and perhaps he could ask for some reward later.

She doesn't need many people, just enough to sleep together in each other's arms at night. It doesn't matter if there are more people, since she can't handle Bai Yuan's energy by herself anyway.

With these thoughts lingering, Lia left the competition arena and headed towards the Dark Cuisine World's rest area.

"Boss Bai, where did you go? You said you were only going to blow on a small fire, why are you so late?"

Lia's voice was tinged with curiosity as she naturally sat on Bai Yuan's lap, her small body fitting perfectly into the boy's embrace.

She discovered this a long time ago.

Bai Yuan was rather large, making him a perfect chair for her petite frame.

"I went upstairs to cook a dish for someone, which took a little longer than expected. I didn't expect that you and Alice had already finished their competition when I came down."

Bai Yuan's words were tinged with emotion. As he spoke, he looked at the silent Nakiri Alice not far away, who was also looking at him.

"I see. That's a real pity. I didn't get to see my impressive cooking skills on stage."

My theme this time was lamb. After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to just make curry lamb and win. You have no idea how exaggerated the judges' expressions were!

With a burst of silvery laughter, Lia told Bai Yuan what had just happened, and Bai Yuan let her sit on his lap and listened patiently to her.

"Although I haven't seen it, I can imagine it to some extent, after all, I know Leah's strength better than anyone else."

They would occasionally nod in praise, providing some emotional support.

"It's our turn to go on stage next."

After resting for more than ten minutes, Erina Nakiri's voice rang out, drawing Bai Yuan's attention.

The girl had a hint of arrogance on her face. As she spoke, she stood up and looked at Hisako Shinoto next to her, who was also looking at her.

"Yes, Erina-sama."

Hisako Shinto agreed and stood up.

"I won't say anything more. I wish you both the best of luck."

Seeing the two who had come to him in perfect unison, waiting for his parting words, Bai Yuan stood up, patted their heads, looked into their eyes, and said earnestly.

"A resounding victory!"

Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto exchanged a glance, then put their hands together and shouted in unison, their belief in victory reaching its peak.

"Then let's go."

After the shouts came silence. Nakiri Erina looked at Shiraibu in a calm voice, while Shiraibu Hisako stood beside her. Upon seeing this, Shiraibu nodded slightly in agreement.

"In the third match, the duo of Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinto from the world of dark cuisine will face off against Dick and Adolf from Fal Academy!"

Seeing that the atmosphere on both sides was just right, an impassioned voice came from Mr. Lin's mouth.

Then, fighters took to the stage one after another. Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto walked side by side, while Dick and Adolf walked one after the other.

"Shh. What a pretty girl. Speaking of which, is the world of 'dark cuisine' all women? If so, I'd like to ask how to join."

As Adolf watched Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto take the stage, he blew a vulgar whistle and uttered frivolous words.

"They won't accept someone as low-class as you. It's better to keep some things to yourself. Saying them out loud makes you seem very rude."

Dick's words were sharp and frightening, making Adolf's face turn ugly. He immediately retorted, "It's an honor for them to join us as a two-star chef. As for you, a guy who just entered the one-star chef level, you have no right to talk to me!"

I mean your character is despicable.

I'm saying your cooking is terrible!

The two bickered back and forth like this until they finally went up to the competition field.

Erina Nakiri was stunned by the scene, thinking she was seeing a reflection of herself and Alice Nakiri.

However, one thing is certain: these two guys don't get along.

"It seems like this match is in the bag."

The two people who are arguing cannot understand each other, and the dishes they make cannot resonate with each other, which is a huge advantage for them.

"Yes, Erina-sama and I are the best partners. With the best against the worst, the advantage is on our side!"

Hisako Shinoto also spoke lightly. She was initially tense when she went on stage, but after seeing Dick and Adolf's performance, her tension vanished instantly, replaced by extreme ease.

"However, although our opponents seem to have contradictions, we cannot rule out the possibility that this is just a performance for us."

We still need to give it our all; it's not too late to relax after we win this match.

Seeing Hisako Shinoto's relieved expression, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but remind her that opening champagne too early was a big no-no.

"Don't worry, Lady Erina, I'm just relaxing. I'll still give it my all when it comes to cooking, after all, my opponent is no weakling."

Hearing Erina Nakiri's instructions, Hisako Shinoto patted her chest.

She will not let her guard down because of the infighting among her opponents; on the contrary, she will be on high alert so as not to miss this rare opportunity.

"Yes, let's crush them in one fell swoop!"

Erina Nakiri's voice became more impassioned, and she then looked at the host, Mr. Hayashi, who immediately understood when he saw her looking over.

The next moment, the large screen in the sky began to switch images, with one cooking theme after another flashing by, and the contestants and audience on site all stared intently.

Bai Yuan was no exception.

He placed his hand on Lia's lower abdomen, his gaze fixed on the large screen in the sky, his deep eyes revealing a glint of wisdom.

The large screen paused after a brief transition.

The final image is the character for "porridge".

"Is the theme for this round actually cooking porridge...?"

Looking at the vivid theme on the big screen, both sides at the cooking station fell silent and began to construct corresponding porridge dishes in their minds.

What is porridge?

The combination of rice and various ingredients.

There is also pure porridge, which is different from congee. Congee has distinct rice grains and separates the rice and soup, while porridge is thick and unified, with the rice grains being broken down to 90%.

"I remember when we were at the beach, Teacher Bai Yuan made a very delicious porridge. It was made with sea cucumber, sea worm, celery, soybeans, and millet. Why don't we make that porridge this time?"

Suddenly, Hisako Shinto's voice rang in Erina Nakiri's ears. Although it wasn't loud, it caught his eye. It was indeed a good solution.

After all, even if Teacher Bai Yuan were to prepare it, it would be at least a Radiant-level dish. Using it in a competition like this would be overkill. Right now, all I need to do is recall the taste of that porridge...

"Is the main dish porridge...? That's not a common dish in France."

Looking at the theme on the big screen, Dick fell into a brief silence, clearly thinking about how he could use the porridge theme to win the game.

"Use snails. As one of the most distinctive ingredients in France, using snail meat to cook porridge might be a pretty good choice."

Adolf's voice rang out, offering his suggestion: since everything is starting from scratch, why not use some ingredients they are good at?

"But there's never been a precedent for making porridge with snails, so none of us can guarantee how it will taste."

"So what do you want to make? Century egg and lean pork congee? Mushroom and vegetable congee?"

"Those common Chinese congee dishes, even if we're skilled at them, lack any unique characteristics, making it difficult to win the competition."

Upon hearing Dick's words, Adolf expressed his dissatisfaction, believing that the opponent was too strong and that victory would be impossible without taking some risky moves.

"What you said isn't entirely unreasonable, so let's make this competition your priority."

Although they had deep conflicts, they talked about the game during the game and privately. Dick would not stop playing well because he harbored resentment towards Adolf; that would be too childish.

"I'll take the lead, and I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

Taking a risky tactic, if you win, you deserve praise, but if you lose, someone needs to take responsibility. Adolf's initiative to take responsibility made Dick look at him in a different light.

"You don't have to take the blame alone. After all, I did agree with your idea. If the final outcome isn't good, I'll share the responsibility with you."

Despite being treated differently, Dick still said irritably after hearing what the other person said that he didn't need the other person to take responsibility for him.

"Alright, alright, stop making it sound like we're doomed to lose. Show some spirit and don't let them look down on us!"

Seeing Dick say that, Adolf felt a headache coming on. Seeing that the other party was about to continue, he immediately raised his hand and pressed down, stopping him from saying anything more.

This guy was eager to take responsibility, afraid of gaining any advantage, but all of this was on the premise that they would not be able to cook the dish well and lose the competition.

If that's the case, why don't they just create the perfect dish, win the competition, and get the victory?!

"Okay, let's go pick out the ingredients first."

Dick realized his mistake, his head sank slightly, and then he looked at the servant beside him. He remembered that there were snails from their region in the food storage.

However, due to the long distance, the snails delivered here are kept fresh via cold chain. Although they are killed within two days, it still affects the taste to some extent.

As a professional chef, a must-learn skill is turning the various shortcomings of ingredients into advantages.

"Let's go get our ingredients too."

Erina Nakiri's voice rang out, and then, together with Hisako Shinoto, they followed the waiter to the food storage room to begin selecting the ingredients they needed.

Ingredients such as sea cucumber, sea worm, celery, soybeans, and millet are very common. Before long, Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto found all the ingredients they needed and had them brought to the cooking station by the waiter.

"let's start."

The match lasted an hour, but porridge is not a dish that takes a lot of time to prepare; normally, it only takes about half an hour.

The extra time is given to those who want to innovate, giving them more opportunities to think outside the box.

After all, cooking is not static. While it's good to stick to tradition, sometimes innovation is necessary. The extra time is for innovators, allowing them to prepare more thoroughly.

"Okay, I'll go grind the soybeans and millet."

After saying this, Hisako Shinto left the kitchen counter, soaked the soybeans and millet in water, and then followed the waiter to get the small millstone.

This type of millstone can grind fewer soybeans at a time, making it suitable for home workshops, which is just right for this dish by Erina Nakiri and Hisako Shinoto.