Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"This is the place Grandpa arranged for you. You can stay here."

"I've already spoken to the Food Wars Club. They can clear out the venue for us in an hour. However, because it's so sudden, there won't be any audience members besides the judges, and the venue will be completely sealed off. Is that alright?"

Erina Nakiri brought Alice to the house the Nakiri family had arranged for her. After a brief, quiet conversation with Hisako Shinomiya, Erina came up to Alice and spoke.

"I don't care about the audience, it won't help the food battle. What's important is that I can have a food battle with Erina. I've been waiting for this day for so long!"

After Jonah put down his bags, Alice Nakiri looked at Erina Nakiri, her eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit.

That look inexplicably made Erina Nakiri feel a little flustered.

This guy, why is he so passionate?!

No, she's always been number one among her peers, what's there to be afraid of!?

Alice Nakiri is the real challenger!

"Let's set off now. The theme will be drawn on-site there."

"Right on my mind!"

"Iris Nakiri said excitedly."

The food battleground.

"How did it all turn out like this without us even realizing it?!"

Wearing a pristine white chef's uniform, she stood on the stage for the food battle, with no spectators in the audience thanks to Hisako Shinoto's arrangement.

As it is an internal power struggle between the Nakiri sisters, it is not appropriate for outsiders to watch, regardless of whether they win or lose.

Everything was normal until Senzaemon Nakiri heard the news from somewhere and immediately dropped what he was doing to come over.

At this very moment, on the judges' panel.

Senzaemon Nakiri sat in the main seat with his arms crossed. To his left sat Roland Chapel, the head chef and lecturer of the French cuisine department, and to his right sat Gin Dojima, the head chef of the Totsuki Resort.

This is an all-star lineup!

"I never expected that on my rare trip back to Totsuki, I would see these two sisters having a food war."

Speaking of which, Nakiri-kun was previously based in Northern Europe, right? He seems to have made significant achievements in the field of molecular gastronomy; his skills shouldn't be underestimated.

Watching the two sisters engaged in a food battle on the stage, Dojima Gin, with his buzz cut, sat upright with a hearty smile on his face.

“Molecular gastronomy is a completely new field, and no one knows how far it will go, but Alice’s willingness to try is commendable.”

Sitting upright in the main seat, looking at Alice Nakiri, whose spirit and energy were at their peak, Senzaemon Nakiri couldn't help but admire her in his heart.

I had heard from Leonora Nakiri that Alice Nakiri had apprenticed under a very skilled chef. At the time, I was skeptical, since the chef seemed too young and didn't have any officially recognized qualifications; he sounded like a con artist.

However, seeing the burning passion that Alice Nakiri was displaying in the ring at that moment, he changed his mind.

Ordinary teaching methods cannot cultivate such students!

"Although I can't be sure of Master Alice's true strength, one thing is certain: she is definitely not a simple person!"

Senzaemon Nakiri muttered to himself, because Leonora Nakiri was intentionally hiding something and preparing to surprise him, so he didn't yet know Alice Nakiri's true strength.

"Now, please come forward and draw a theme."

The person in charge of hosting this competition was a petite girl, and her voice sounded a little nervous when she saw so many big shots sitting below.

However, her excellent professional skills allowed her to hold on and stand between the two contestants to advance the food battle process.

Fortunately, she didn't need to host much of the match; she only needed to make an appearance at the beginning and end.

"Sharing a topic...?"

Seeing the rapidly scrolling text in front of her, Alice Nakiri pressed it without thinking. The scrolling text slowly stopped, finally settling on the two words "fish jelly".

The ingredients are somewhat subtle.

"Fish jelly, I actually got this kind of theme..."

Erina Nakiri looked at the subject matter before her, pinching her chin as she fell into deep thought, while Alice Nakiri paced back and forth on the ring.

"I understand!"

Suddenly, as if a flash of inspiration struck her, Erina Nakiri had an idea. She immediately jogged off the stage and strode towards the truck not far away.

This is a food truck arranged by the Food Wars Bureau to provide ingredients specifically for this competition.

The contents are so abundant that almost any ingredient you can think of can be found inside, making it like an alternative Doraemon's magic pocket!

Soon, Erina Nakiri emerged from the food cart, carrying a basket filled with the ingredients needed for this meal.

Before returning to the ring, she glanced at Alice Nakiri pacing anxiously around the ring, and her tension eased somewhat.

"Hmph, you can't even quickly come up with an answer to a question of this level, yet you have the audacity to say you'll beat me. How laughable!"

She scoffed inwardly, then returned to her work station, took out the salmon wrapped in parchment paper, and cut it into rectangular pieces.

Then add brandy, white pepper and sea salt to season the tuna simply, and then set it aside.

The remaining scraps after trimming were diced and then mixed with brandy, white pepper, and sea salt, but this time she added a little more olive oil.

Cut the tomatoes into small pieces as well, put them into the bowl containing the small pieces of salmon scraps, mix them well with a fork, and set aside.

Slice the lemon thinly and the garlic into pieces.

Heat garlic slices, thyme, white wine, and brandy in a pan over high heat until boiling, allowing the alcohol to evaporate gradually, leaving only the aroma of the liquor. Then strain through a sieve into a bowl and set aside.

In a separate pot, pour in red wine, add two lemon slices and a spoonful of honey. Once the red wine has reduced, remove the lemon slices to concentrate the flavor.

Having completed this step, Erina Nakiri looked up and saw that Alice had finally begun to act, retrieving a fresh cod from the food storage.

Judging from its vibrant appearance, it must have been airlifted over this morning.

But why is this guy taking cod? Is he planning to butcher it on the spot? Doesn't he know he only has one hour to cook this dish?!

"It's in really good condition."

Looking at the cod in front of her, Alice Nakiri gently touched it, feeling its surging vitality, muttered something, and then opened the kitchen utensil box, inside which was a complete set of seven-star knives.

These are the blueprints she asked Bai Yuan for some time ago, and she specially sought out skilled craftsmen to handcraft them one-to-one.

After more than six months of practice, she has mastered the use of each knife and can use them in a coordinated manner, making her fish processing twice as fast as before!

"Stop jumping around, you're already on the chopping block, it's too late no matter how much you jump."

As Alice Nakiri spoke, she took the Lu Cun sword from the Seven Star Swords and aimed it directly at the cod's neck. In a flash, she decisively swung the sword, the blade precisely slicing through the cod's carotid artery, instantly taking away all its life force.

Then, Alice Nakiri laid the cod flat on the cutting board and quickly used various knives to remove the scales, bones, internal organs, and meat. The whole action was done in one go, as if she had practiced it countless times.

"Your fundamentals are incredibly solid!"

Seeing Alice Nakiri's performance, Gin Dojima on the judging panel couldn't help but praise her, his eyes filled with admiration.

If you want to know what best shows a person's effort, then it has to be their basic skills!

Because fundamental skills don't lie; how much you practice will ultimately show up as results, which are very clear and observable.

"Well, I thought that since she was going down the path of molecular gastronomy, she wouldn't care much about the basics, but now it seems that I was being a bit stereotypical."

Dojima Gin's words made Nakiri Senzaemon nod, a smile appearing on his face. Clearly, he was very satisfied with Nakiri Alice's performance.

"If you don't speed up, I'll overtake you."

After completing this step, Alice Nakiri noticed Erina Nakiri's gaze. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was clearly surprised that Erina could dissect a whole cod so neatly and efficiently.

The whole process took no more than two minutes!

"Hmph, I don't need your reminder. You'd better hurry up. This assessment only lasts one hour, and 20 minutes have already passed!"

Upon hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Erina Nakiri snorted coldly and then buried herself in her cooking.

"Forty minutes is more than enough!"

With a relaxed smile on her face, Alice Nakiri put the prepared cod bones into a pot with onions, carrots, celery and other vegetables and simmered them over high heat, adding white wine to enhance the aroma while simmering.

After finishing the most time-consuming task, turn to processing the cod fillets. First, gently soak them in lightly salted water to remove any fishy smell, then pat them dry with kitchen paper towels. Brush the surface with olive oil, sprinkle with a small amount of sea salt, and let them sit for a while to allow the flavors to meld.

On the other side, Erina Nakiri was also working hard, currently frying salmon.

The cooking was in full swing, and watching the two little ones' incredibly skillful operations, the judges couldn't help but start discussing it.

"Erina truly lives up to her reputation as the top student in the elementary school division. In terms of both ideas and skills, she is not much different from the Elite Ten of Totsuki Academy."

Roland Chapel looked at Erina Nakiri's cooking and couldn't help but praise it. Her dishes were undoubtedly of the French style, and they incorporated much of what he had taught her.

"Alice is the same. It's obvious that she's been working very hard to hone her culinary skills in Northern Europe. I just don't know what kind of dishes she'll end up with."

I haven't yet experienced the unique aspects of molecular gastronomy.

Senzaemon Nakiri looked at Alice Nakiri, his voice unusually tinged with doubt. Since she was skilled in molecular gastronomy, why didn't she use it?

"what is that?"

Dojima Gin's voice rang out, and as he spoke, he turned his gaze to Nakiri Alice.

Then the three of them saw two people dressed as staff push a mostly steel device into the food battle arena.

"I finally made it in time. It was worth the extra money and expedited shipping. Now, let me show you my true power, Erina!"

As two staff members carried the molecular gastronomy machine onto the food battle stage, Alice Nakiri muttered under her breath.

Since the goal is to strike at Erina Nakiri, it's necessary to go all out and make her realize the vast difference between them, thus earning her complete respect.

This time, I'll make you say the word "delicious" yourself, Erina!

Thinking about this brings back the memory of that phrase from my childhood: "It tastes awful."

Alice Nakiri gritted her teeth and returned to the kitchen counter, where she met the gaze of Erina Nakiri, who was looking at her because of the commotion. She then gave her a relatively friendly smile.

"Is this what they call molecular gastronomy? Are you going to use this huge machine to cook next? But what's the point of this machine...?"

Such thoughts crossed Erina Nakiri's mind. At this moment, she also had doubts, after all, it was the first time she had seen so-called molecular gastronomy technology.

"However, I will not lose!"

He shook his head and refocused his attention.

Smash the spoon forcefully against the plate, breaking up the thick sauce made with heavy cream, salt, and butter to create a visually disruptive effect.

For French cuisine, plating is also an extremely important aspect.

After finishing this task, Erina Nakiri took out the frozen fish jelly from the refrigerator, cut it into three pieces with a knife, and then put it on a cart and pushed it in front of Senzaemon Nakiri and the others.