Food Wars: Starting with Equipping the Greedy Wolf Pot

The inspection began, and Hinako Inui reached out and picked up the white fish sushi at the very front.

There is a specific tasting process for enjoying sushi, following the principle of starting with the mildest flavors and gradually increasing the intensity.

Start with the mild-flavored white fish sushi, then move on to the red fish sushi, and finally enjoy the shellfish and sea urchin sushi. This way, you can bring out the original freshness of the ingredients to the maximum extent.

Mmm~

After taking a small bite of the halibut sushi in her hand, Hinako Inui put the rest of the sushi back onto her plate.

There was no need to continue enjoying the golden color and their sushi dish this time.

What's going on here?

Why did Senior Inui stop eating after only taking one bite of the flounder sushi he made?

The flounder they use in their dishes is not just any ordinary flounder, but rather flatfish (also known as toothed flounder), a recognized high-grade white-fleshed fish.

In an instant, the smiles on their faces froze, and a strong sense of foreboding rose in their hearts.

Now all they can do is hope that Xiang Ji's cooking will also fail.

……

"Can not be done!"

"Isn't there any more impactful dish?" Hinako Inui put down her chopsticks, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"I'm getting a little tired of your cooking."

"Is it because I set the passing score too low?" Hinako Inui tilted her head and looked at Shirogane.

"That's fine." Hinako Inui gently pressed her face against her palm and then patted it lightly.

"Now let's add another rule: even if the team wins the team food battle, only the head chef will get a passing grade if they don't present a dish that satisfies me."

"Are you kidding me!"

"Not only do you have to win the food battle, but you also have to prepare a dish that will satisfy Senior Inui?"

"How is this possible?"

"Yesterday, we didn't even get twenty qualified people in the project that Senior Gan was in charge of. We're doomed."

"Damn it, you bastard."

"Why did you choose such a complicated dish? Couldn't you have chosen something simpler?"

"Now I'm completely finished. Even if we beat our opponents in the food battle, I still won't get a passing grade."

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, we and our opponents have already decided the winner."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't get a passing grade in this project either."

When Hinako Inui added new rules, a chorus of wailing and howling immediately filled the cooking classroom.

The students who hadn't finished cooking yet, or whose opponents hadn't finished cooking yet, and whose winners hadn't been decided, all looked extremely grim.

Winning the food war and producing a dish that satisfies Hinako Inui are two completely different levels of difficulty.

……

"Huhuhu~"

“The situation is getting even more interesting now.” Hinako Inui took a sip of her green tea.

But the moment the green tea touched her lips, Hinako Inui's expression suddenly turned dangerous.

"One cannot understand a person without experiencing something firsthand."

“People’s first reaction to a problem often reveals their truest selves, which is exactly what’s happening now.” Hinako Inui’s gaze swept coldly over the students who were arguing.

"Faced with the sudden change, he became helpless and even began to question the chef."

"This kind of assistant is completely unqualified."

“Similarly, a chef who can’t even manage his own assistants is not fit to be a chef.” Hinako Inui slowly took another sip of tea.

"No matter which one it is, Totsuki doesn't need a chef like that."

"If we let students like these stay at Totsuki, it will only ruin Totsuki's reputation." In her heart, Hinako Inui had already sentenced those quarrelsome students to death.

After briefly glancing at the arguing students, Hinako Inui focused more on the students who were still working together to help each other.

Chapter 102 (The rest of the text appears to be a jumbled collection of characters and symbols, possibly from different sources, and doesn't form coherent sentences.)

"Damn it, it's all my fault. If only I had finished cooking sooner."

"Shut up, Kexing."

"I handed the head chef position to you earlier because I believed in your abilities. I believed that you could definitely produce dishes that would satisfy Senior Gan."

"Hehe~ I will prepare a dish that will satisfy you, Senpai, and lead you on this journey, Fukada."

That's it.

……

“I am the head chef and you are the assistant. Whether I lose the food battle or fail to produce a dish that satisfies you, it will not affect my score.”

"No matter how loudly you argue here, it will only affect your own grades, so shut up."

"I will lead you to a dish that will satisfy Senior Inui and win this food battle."

"It's my responsibility as the chef, and your responsibility is to cooperate with me, not to complain here."

"If you don't want to win, we can just admit defeat now."

……

"I will win."

"I will definitely prepare a dish that will satisfy you, Senior Gan, and win this food battle. Didn't you entrust the chef position to me because you trusted me?"

"So please trust me one more time, please, Oishi."

……

Teams that argue because of the rules added by Hinako Inui are basically the ones that have to compromise at the last minute because of time constraints.

Teams that had already assigned positions early on rarely had arguments, and even if there were, they quickly disappeared.

"Why is it that the assistant has to step up first when he's the head chef?"

"This kind of personality is not what a qualified chef should have at all. Should we give him some more time to see?"

"Whew~ That's a great choice."

"Cooks with such ruthless and decisive methods are indeed the most likely to survive to the last day in the accommodation training program."

"A hot-blooded idiot?"

“I suddenly have a bad memory.” Hinako Inui rubbed her forehead.

……

Just then, Xiang Ji's sudden voice attracted the attention of most people.

"Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot - Modified, please taste it, thank you senior."

"They're here, they're here."

"Is the transfer student's dish finally finished? Will his cooking satisfy Senior Gan?"

"Probably? Senior Gan invited the transfer student to work at her restaurant. How could the transfer student not even have that much skill?"

"That's not necessarily true. What if the transfer student isn't good at Japanese cuisine?"

"Are you kidding me? Senpai's restaurant, Kiriya, is a Japanese restaurant. Do you think Senpai would invite someone who isn't good at Japanese cuisine to work at her restaurant?"

Among the students who were discussing the matter, the most nervous person right now was Sano Ayane.

Whether Xiang Ji's dish will satisfy Inui Hinako will determine whether she can stay.

Besides that, there's also Golden, who serves as the head chef among the Xiangji team's food battle opponents.

As for the position being that of an assistant?

Regardless of whether their team wins or loses in this team food battle, he is destined to be eliminated, and he no longer cares about the final outcome of this team food battle.

"Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot?"

"Dishes that Liu Maoxing, the greatest chef in Chinese cuisine history, once cooked?" After hearing Xiang Ji's introduction, Inui Hinako's eyes showed strong shock.

What? Recipes left behind by Liu Maoxing?

Is the cuisine Xiang Ji cooked actually a recipe left by a top chef from the Chinese region? And it was none other than the most powerful top chef, Liu Maoxing.

Upon hearing Hinako Inui's words, Ayane Sano was instantly stunned and froze on the spot.

Then came ecstasy.

We've got it! We've got it!

Xiang Ji's cooking comes from a recipe left by a Chinese master chef, so winning this team food battle is a piece of cake.

Not only Sano Ayane, but the other students who heard Inui Hinako's voice were also surprised.

Xiang Ji actually knows the recipes created by the Chinese Dragon Chef. Could he be the heir of some culinary family in the Chinese food world?

But before Sano Ayane could even enjoy her happiness for a few seconds, Xiang Ji's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on her.

"Senior Qian, my dish is not the Treasure Mountain Flying Dragon Pot that Liu Maoxing once cooked and obtained. It is just a dish that I developed based on the legend," Xiang Ji explained lightly.

Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot.

In the lobster trio competition, Liu Maoxing took the place of Master Zhou Yu to cook the dishes.

It is a luminous dish that combines the flavors of mountain delicacies with a variety of wild mushrooms such as bamboo shoots, porcini mushrooms, chicken gizzard mushrooms, and matsutake mushrooms, along with root vegetables such as yam and burdock, and finally vegetables and lobster.

Xiang Ji certainly wouldn't know the original recipe, since he hadn't found the corresponding equipment either.

However, this did not prevent Xiang Ji from referencing Liu Maoxing's ideas and incorporating Liu Maoxing's cooking techniques using mountain delicacies such as bamboo shoots and porcini mushrooms into his own dishes.

Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot - Modified.

This dish is one of the dishes that Xiang Ji summarized through continuous experimentation with spice inequalities.

What?!

So it turns out it's not the real Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot, but a dish created based on Liu Maoxing's experiences?

After hearing Xiang Ji's explanation, the students who had just been wondering if Xiang Ji was a descendant of a culinary family in the Chinese culinary world couldn't help but curl their lips in disapproval.

That was really scary.

As expected, how could Xiang Ji, this transfer student, possibly be a descendant of a prestigious family in the Chinese culinary world? Now he's exposed himself.

Is this a recipe you're referring to?

The smile that Sano Ayane had just shown on her face vanished in an instant, at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The original recipes left by the Chinese Dragon Chef and the dishes created based on the Chinese Dragon Chef's recipes are completely different, not to mention the dishes created based on the Dragon Chef's story.

Let's just talk about creamy macaroni dumplings.

Countless chefs around the world have tried to replicate the world's most delicious dish, but none have succeeded.

The recipes of Chinese master chefs are simply beyond the ability of ordinary chefs like them to reproduce.

Unlike Sano Ayane and others who had a subtle attitude, Inui Hinako was really looking forward to Xiang Ji's Treasure Mountain Flying Dragon Pot - Modified.

……

"To recreate the dishes of a Chinese master chef?"

"Hoo hoo hoo~ Xiang Ji, your ambition is even more terrifying than I imagined."

"Then let me see what you can do?" After glancing at Xiang Ji, Inui Hinako reached out and opened the two lids of Baoshan Feilong Pot (modified).

Baoshan Flying Dragon Hot Pot - Modified.

Although Xiang Ji's idea for this dish came from Liu Maoxing's Baoshan Flying Dragon Pot, it is not a single dish, but a set meal of dishes.

A la carte dish.

In Japanese cuisine, this term essentially refers to a standalone dish that can be ordered separately and is not served with any main course.