The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 182 Food War Begins

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

This food war, which cost Gan Jie his ninth seat, spread throughout the entire Totsuki Academy in a very short time.

From the senior to the junior divisions, almost all the students were talking about this food battle.

On one side is Eizan Etsuya, the ninth seat of the Ten Outstanding Talents, and on the other side is Jiang Yan, the champion of the Autumn Selection.

Not to mention that this duel also staked on a spot among the Ten Heroes.

Therefore, the food battle venue was packed with people before the food battle even started.

Everyone was looking forward to this food battle.

Kawashima Rei, the host, stood in the center of the venue, her face showing barely concealed excitement.

After adjusting the microphone and clearing her throat, Kawashima Rei began to speak.

"Next, please both sides enter the arena."

Footsteps echoed from the entrance, and Jiang Yan and Ruishan Zhizun entered the venue.

Jiang Yan stood with his hands in his pockets, looking indifferent, and even waved in the direction of the Polar Star Dormitory audience.

Meanwhile, Eizan Etsu was quite displeased with Jiang Yan's relaxed demeanor, but he didn't show it.

After the two took their positions, Kawashima Rei excitedly announced, "Welcome everyone to the Food War! This Food War features Jiang Yan, the Autumn Selection Champion, against Eizan Etsuya, the ninth seat of the Elite Ten. Their bet is on the supply of ingredients and their place in the Elite Ten!"

Upon hearing this, the entire audience erupted in deafening cheers.

"Next, let's welcome the three judges for this food battle!"

As Kawashima Rei finished speaking, the three judges walked in one by one.

Leading the way was Senzaemon Nakiri, the "Demon King of Food" and the chief instructor of Totsuki Academy.

Following closely behind was Roland Chapel, the head of the French cuisine department at Totsuki Culinary Academy, a lecturer known for his strictness and unsmiling demeanor.

And walking at the very back was Ann, the first executive officer of WGO.

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise on his face.

This food battle even had WG0's top executive, An Lai, as a judge.

-

He was somewhat curious as to why An was at Totsuki Academy.

What Jiang Yan didn't know was that, due to the special ingredients, An was now practically a permanent resident of Totsuki Academy, and was thus invited by Senzaemon Nakiri to serve as a judge.

The three judges took their seats, and the noise in the venue gradually subsided, with everyone's attention focused on the center of the competition.

Kawashima Rei took a deep breath and spoke again.

"Next, please have the head judge draw the theme for this food battle!"

Two staff members carried a sealed box to the judging panel.

The box contained hundreds of cards with different food themes written on them.

Senzaemon Nakiri reached out and pulled out a folded card.

He unfolded the card, glanced at its contents, and then handed it to Kawashima Rei, who was standing next to him.

Kawashima Rei took the card, read the words on it, gripped the microphone tightly, and announced it loudly with all her might.

The theme for this food battle has been confirmed!

"Theme - Western-style Pastries!"

Upon hearing the topic, everyone immediately began to discuss it.

The main problem is that the scope is too broad.

However, Eizan Etsuya's face lit up with a confident smile after hearing the topic.

He knew that Jiang Yan was skilled in Chinese cuisine.

He had previously studied Western pastry making in order to do planning, so this theme was very advantageous for him.

She glanced at Jiang Yan, her eyes filled with undisguised smugness.

Even luck was on his side.

He's bound to win this food battle.

Kawashima Rei waited until the commotion at the scene subsided before making a loud announcement.

"You now have half an hour to go to the Totsuki Academy's exclusive ingredient warehouse and select the ingredients needed for this duel!"

Half an hour later, the food battle officially began!

As Kawashima Rei finished speaking, Eizan Etsu did not hesitate for a moment and turned to walk towards the food storage area.

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Eizan Etsu also knows the Totsuki Culinary Institute's ingredient inventory like the back of his hand, and had even prepared several complete plans for different themes beforehand.

Now that the theme is decided and I have a cooking plan in mind, all I need to do is go and get the necessary ingredients.

Jiang Yan followed at a leisurely pace, his face still showing no sign of tension.

Upon arriving at the ingredient warehouse, Jiang Yan first selected some ingredients that might be needed.

After looking around, Jiang Yan suddenly spotted some canned yellow peaches and immediately thought of the dish he wanted to make.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

When the two returned to the venue, their respective carts were already filled with the ingredients they had selected.

The audience was curious to see what the two had chosen.

Kirisenzaemon looked at Jiang Yan and Eizan Etsuya in the hall, his loud voice carrying throughout the entire hall through the speakers.

"Cooking time is two hours."

"Now, the food battle begins!"

The moment the words fell, Jiang Yan and Ruishan Zhijin also immediately sprang into action.

In the audience, the members of Polar Star Dormitory were staring at Jiang Yan in the venue.

"Senior Isshiki, is Jiang Yan really okay?"

Ryoko's face was full of worry.

After all, Jiang Yan was facing one of the Ten Heroes, so it was impossible not to worry.

Isshiki Satoshi looked at Jiang Yan's busy figure in the center of the venue and said very seriously.

"Don't worry, Ryoko, Jiang Yan is very confident."

Isshiki Satoshi always felt that he couldn't see through Jiang Yan.

But one thing is certain: Jiang Yan must have had absolute confidence to accept Eizan Etsuya's food battle.

"That's right! Jiang Yan will definitely be fine!"

Yoshino Yuuki, who was standing next to her, immediately chimed in.

As she spoke, her hands clenched into tight fists, clearly indicating that she was extremely nervous.

"That's great—I also want to have a food battle like that with the Elite Ten."

Soma Yukihira had no worries at all. Looking at Jiang Yan and Eizan Etsuya in the venue, his face was full of envy.

At this moment, Yukihira Soma wished he could have a food battle with Eizan Etsuya.

Upon hearing this, Isshiki Satoshi turned to look at Yukihira Soma.

"Then, True Lord Chuang, you'd better do your best at the upcoming Moon Festival."

"If you can surpass Kuga Terunori's sales at the Moon Festival, he'll agree to a food battle with you, won't he?"

Of course, surpassing Terunori Kuga in terms of revenue is no easy feat.

"Don't worry, Isshiki-senpai! I've already planned everything!"

"I'm sure I'll beat my senior Kuga then!"

Soma Yukihira's face was full of confidence.

When it comes to running a business, he grew up in his family's Yukihira restaurant. He's confident that he can attract customers and make popular dishes without losing to anyone.

Seeing Yukihira Soma's confident demeanor, Isshiki Satoshi smiled and nodded, asking no further questions, but simply turning his gaze back to the center of the arena.

Inside the venue, Eizan Etsuya moved extremely quickly, but every step seemed to have been rehearsed thousands of times.

Mix cake flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar and eggs, beat until fluffy, then pour into a mold.

Bake at 170℃ for 25 minutes to get a dense, dark brown sponge cake. Let it cool and then slice it evenly into two pieces.

Mix roasted hazelnuts, almonds, and cashews into a smooth nut paste, then add melted dark chocolate and whipped cream to form a smooth nut mousse.

Pour the prepared nut mousse onto one of the sponge cake slices, smooth it out, and freeze it until semi-solid.

Then cover with another layer of sponge cake and freeze again to set.

While the leaves were frozen, Eizan Etsu washed the fresh mint leaves, added water and granulated sugar, simmered them, filtered them, added gelatin, and stirred until fully combined.

After the mint liquid has cooled slightly, pour it over the surface of the frozen cake to form a translucent jelly layer about 1cm thick. Then refrigerate it again until it is completely set.

On the other side, Jiang Yan was preparing his meal in an orderly manner.

Mix butter, cake flour, almond flour and a little sugar to form a crumbly dough. After chilling and relaxing, roll it out into a round sheet and place it into a ring tart mold.

Prick holes with a fork and bake at 160°C to form a solid caramel-colored tart base.

After removing the cake from the bottom of the tart, set it aside to cool.

While the tart base cake was cooling, Jiang Yan first poured egg yolks, granulated sugar, low-gluten flour, and fresh milk into a pot, then poured in a can of yellow peaches, and cooked them together into a thick yellow peach jam.

Pipe a generous amount of peach jam into the center of the cooled tart base cake, then use a ball-shaped piping tip to pipe the peach jam into even spheres, arranging them neatly around the edge of the tart base.

Cover the jam with a thin, crisp ring of caramelized sugar, butter, and flour, and pour some diced yellow peaches in the center.

Next, on one half of the caramel crust, squeeze out four balls of yellow peach jam, place them on top of tempered white chocolate, and shape them into crescent-shaped slices.

Finally, drizzle a drop of the special red sauce over the white chocolate slice.