Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　Finally, place a small amount of caviar on top of the apple puree to enhance the flavor of the dish and mimic the delicate appearance of heather buds.

　"Please taste it."

　After wiping his hands with a warm towel, Bai Yuan brought forward a dish with a very European-style plating.

　European cuisine emphasizes exquisiteness and small size, with extremely high requirements for plating. Often, a small plate can sell for an exorbitant price.

　This is similar to the concept of "color, aroma, and taste" in Chinese cuisine, which focuses on providing an excellent visual experience to increase anticipation for the dish.

　"It looks really good. If I hadn't seen you cook it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that it was actually cooked using molecular gastronomy techniques."

　Looking at the dish in front of her, Leonora Nakiri's expectant expression was palpable, and Alice Nakiri also ran over, her big eyes filled with longing.

　"Try it! This is the first time we've used molecular gastronomy. Please feel free to point out any shortcomings."

　That's what he said, but Bai Yuan's face was full of confidence.

　"This bubble..."

　Leonora Nakiri held a spoon in her hand and scooped up some of the foam around the foie gras. Before officially tasting it, she wanted to experience the magic of the foam.

　In my memory, Bai Yuan left this...

　It takes a lot of effort.

　"This is a foam base carefully crafted with milk and soy lecithin. It lightly covers the foie gras, and it is like a gentle ray of sunshine in winter, instantly blooming on the tip of the tongue."

　Moreover, the foam is infused with the subtle fragrance of heather flowers. Although the fragrance is very faint, it goes exceptionally well with the foam!

　What would it be like to combine this flavor with foie gras?

　The thought suddenly popped into Leonora's mind. She swallowed hard, and the intense anticipation in her heart led her to reach out with her spoon towards the foie gras surrounded by foam, putting the foam and foie gras into her mouth.

　"As the foam slowly melts in your mouth, the delicate and rich flavor of the foie gras gradually becomes apparent."

　Slow-cooked foie gras retains its original tender texture and rich fat content, making every bite an ultimate temptation for the taste buds.

　Closing her eyes to savor the moment, an alluring blush rose to her cheeks, and Nakiri Leonora placed her hand on her chest without anyone noticing.

　In her conscious space, her clothes had long been destroyed by the powerful impact of the food. She was in a Nordic forest, with sunlight shining on her, and could fully enjoy the freshness and tranquility of nature.

　What an absolutely fantastic experience!!

　On the other side, seeing her mother like this, Alice Nakiri turned her gaze to the apple puree in the corner of the plate, preparing to taste it first.

　"The sweetness of the apple puree, with a hint of smoky sea salt, adds a unique layer of flavor to the dish. The addition of ark shell juice makes the taste even richer and more diverse!"

　Close your eyes and savor the apple puree in the corner of the plate. The sea salt, smoked using a smoking technique, adds a smoky flavor, while the addition of ark shell juice makes the whole dish even purer.

　Images of the ocean formed in her mind. Looking at everything in front of her, Alice Nakiri was deeply shocked. She couldn't believe that molecular gastronomy could achieve this!

　"What is the name of this dish? And how did you come up with the idea to cook it? Can you tell me the recipe, Brother Bai Yuan?"

　Leonora Nakiri's cheeks were flushed, her eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Bai Yuan, and her heart was beating faster.

　"Of course, this dish is called 'Foie Gras Foam Love Song.' The flower language of heather is loneliness and happiness, and the theme of my dish is the transformation from loneliness to happiness."

　Foie gras, as the main ingredient, symbolizes the sweetness and depth of love with its delicate and rich flavor.

　The aroma of heather represents a touch of tenderness and hope amidst solitude. Combined with apple puree and ark shell sauce, it adds even more layers of flavor and visual interest to this dish.

　Bai Yuan, without batting an eye, started rambling. He said that cooking is all about exaggeration. As long as you make it sound high-end and it tastes good, the dish can give people a very impressive feeling.

　"This name... while it does fit the appearance and cooking techniques of the dish, something still feels a bit off."

　Hearing Bai Yuan's words, Leonora Nakiri's expression became somewhat subtle. She looked at the food and then at him. Could this guy be terrible at naming things?!

　But never mind, the important thing is the dish, not the name.

　"Master! I want to learn this!"

　Just as Bai Yuan was discussing with Nakiri Leonora, Nakiri Alice appeared beside him without him noticing and hugged his waist with open arms.

　"Okay, but we've run out of materials, so we need to go buy some first."

　Looking at the petite girl in front of him, Bai Yuan reached out and rubbed her head, a strange feeling welling up in his heart.

　The way she acted coquettishly towards him really resembled a younger sister towards her older brother.

　Having such an adorable little sister, even just having her by your side would make you smile. She'd call out "Brother, Brother," and you'd gladly agree to even the most outrageous requests.

　"Okay, let's go together!"

　"Iris Nakiri said with a look of excitement."

　"Let's go together then. Let me teach you some tips on choosing high-quality ingredients."

　Because his mind was filled with "brother, brother," Bai Yuan subconsciously uttered those two words before he could finish speaking, and by the time he came to his senses, it was too late.

　"Brother? Does Master like being called that?"

　"I don't really like it that much, but I feel that the title 'Master' is too formal. We can be a little more casual with each other."

　Looking into Alice Nakiri's innocent eyes, Bai Yuan coughed awkwardly twice, then quickly tried to cover it up.

　"I understand. From now on, I'll call you Brother Bai Yuan!"

　"It's not impossible. I don't care about these trivial matters. Just shout whatever makes you happy."

　Hearing Alice Nakiri's sweet voice, Bai Yuan was immediately charmed and couldn't suppress the smile on his face. In the end, he took her hand and left the molecular gastronomy research lab.

　Leonora Nakiri saw all of this and a meaningful smile appeared on her face. Childhood friends are so wonderful!

　Chapter Fourteen: Harbor Restaurant, Kurokiba Ryo

　"Speaking of which, we are located in the port area, but we have been here for so long and have not yet tried any of the seafood dishes here."

　Sitting by the window of a harbor restaurant, gazing at the distant sea and enjoying the evening breeze on his face, Bai Yuan said with a touch of emotion.

　A year has passed since Alice Nakiri returned from the molecular gastronomy research institute, during which time she has shown a great interest in molecular gastronomy.

　Based on the principle that interest is the best teacher, Bai Yuan began to systematically study molecular gastronomy and imparted his knowledge of this subject to Nakiri Alice.

　Because it was something she was interested in, Alice Nakiri would get up before dawn every day to hone her culinary skills, and based on this, she won many international awards for molecular gastronomy. She even became a second-class chef through her expertise in molecular gastronomy.

　"By the way, since we've come all this way, why don't we go and say hello to the head chef of this restaurant?"

　"What's the point of greeting the chef at a small restaurant like this? The best thing you can do for a chef is to eat all the dishes he serves!"

　Hearing what Alice Nakiri said beside him, Bai Yuan shrugged indifferently, telling him to go and greet the head chef of the small restaurant was really putting him in a difficult position.

　"After all, we're on someone else's turf, so it's better to be polite."

　Alice Nakiri's face lit up with excitement. She then stood up from her seat, intending to ask a waiter who the restaurant's head chef was.

　"When did you two sneak in? It's break time now, the shops are closed, go somewhere else to eat."

　Suddenly, a voice, both childish and serious, came from not far away. Bai Yuan looked up and saw a boy wearing a black T-shirt on his upper body and a white apron around his lower body, with dark circles under his eyes.

　Seeing the two uninvited guests, the boy lowered his eyebrows slightly, looking very angry, and his voice was full of reproach.

　"It's okay, we can just wait until the restaurant opens."

　A gentle evening breeze was blowing, and ships were constantly docking at the harbor. There wasn't much time left before dinner, and finding a new restaurant now would be much more troublesome than waiting here.

　Bai Yuan recognized the black-haired boy in front of him as Kurokiba Ryo, Alice Nakiri's follower in the original work, who was skilled in seafood cooking.

　In the original work, the opponent's strength at that age was not as good as Alice Nakiri's, and he only barely managed to defeat her two years later. However, since Kurokiba Ryo was able to become the head chef of this restaurant at that age, he must have some skills.

　"Wait if you want, but don't wander around the restaurant and disturb other people's work. If you dare to cause trouble, get out!"

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Kurokiba Ryo didn't say anything more. After leaving those words, he returned to the kitchen to prepare dishes for the upcoming guests.

　The peak time is half an hour later!

　"What! What an rude person!"

　Watching Kurokiba Ryo's departing figure, Nakiri Alice's cheeks puffed up, and then she looked at Shirai and bluntly complained.

　"Looks like a chef with a unique personality. Chefs like that usually produce pretty good dishes. We can look forward to it."

　Bai Yuan said with a smile, a hint of anticipation rising in his heart. He didn't think much of the other party's attitude, after all, there were plenty of people with strong personalities in the world of dark cuisine.

　Rather, it's more accurate to say that every great chef has a strong personality, and those who are all the same simply cannot excel in cooking.

　"Such an impolite guy can't possibly cook good food, and judging by his age, he might be the head chef's son."

　"No, he is the head chef of this restaurant."

　"Huh? How could that be? He looks to be about my age!"

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Nakiri Alice couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, her words revealing a hint of disbelief, because Kurokiba Ryo was really quite young.

　"You can tell from his aura that the chef's presence is different in his own shop, and the taste of the food will be much better than when he's out."

　"Is it really that mysterious?"

　"You can think of it as confidence. Confidence is a good thing. It can make people perform beyond their usual level and make dishes that far exceed their own abilities."

　The two chatted back and forth, and soon the doors of the Harbour Restaurant opened, and customers poured in one after another, instantly making the scene lively. At this moment, the waiter came to them with the menu.

　"One order of boiled squid, one order of steamed sea bass, and two orders of seafood pasta for the main course. I hope the seafood in the seafood pasta will be shrimp."

　After glancing at the menu, Bai Yuan quickly made a decision. The dishes he ordered all relied heavily on the freshness of the seafood, which was a unique advantage of seaside restaurants—they could obtain the freshest ingredients!

　"OK, just a second."

　After writing down the menu, the waiter nodded in response and then busied himself attending to the next guest, while Bai Yuan and Nakiri Alice observed the restaurant.

　"This

　The restaurant seems to have a lot of customers, so the food must be pretty good.

　Looking at the noisy guests around her, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but say expectantly.

　"After all, it's located in a prime location near the port. It would be abnormal if there weren't even this many customers. Look at the queue at the door, there are no more than three people, which proves that this restaurant is not that hard to replace."

　However, the fact that they were able to keep these guests proves that the chef has some skill.

　After drinking the plain water served by the waiter, Bai Yuan slowly said, "Don't be fooled by the large number of customers in this restaurant; the real test of a chef's skill is the customers queuing at the door."

　The restaurant's popularity is just a facade; the real reason is probably its prime location. For example, they found this restaurant because they saw it as soon as they arrived in the port area.

　"That's true. Although there are quite a few customers at this restaurant, everyone's expressions are very calm, with only a few people looking expectant."

　After being reminded by Bai Yuan, Alice Nakiri also noticed that something was off about the atmosphere in the restaurant. A restaurant in a good location is worth as much as a top-notch chef.

　Ten minutes passed.

　"Enjoy the boiled squid, steamed sea bass, and seafood pasta you ordered!"

　Because he cared deeply about Shirai and Alice Nakiri, Kurokiba Ryo cooked their dishes first and brought them to them.

　"Just leave it here."

　Bai Yuan smiled faintly, pointed to the table in front of him, and Kurokiba Ryo put down the dishes, gave Bai Yuan a deep look, and then went back to the kitchen.

　He had a strange feeling that the guy in front of him was very powerful.

　There was no particular reason, it was just a chef's intuition!

　"Smooth and tender! The squid is briefly blanched in boiling water, which preserves the most essential original flavor and delicate texture of the fish."

　With a simple touch of scallions, ginger, and garlic for aroma, and a little soy sauce or steamed fish soy sauce for seasoning, the fish has a slightly crisp texture and is cooked to perfection!

　I picked up a piece of squid with my chopsticks. High-end ingredients only need simple cooking methods. For squid that has just been caught, blanching is undoubtedly the best way to cook it!

　Chapter Fifteen: The Challenge and Alice's First Battle

　"This steamed sea bass is also very good; the flesh is firm and elastic!"

　Bai Yuan enjoyed boiled squid, while Nakiri Alice ate steamed sea bass. For such fresh fish, steaming was definitely the best way to prepare it!

　"but..."

　Setting down her chopsticks, Alice Nakiri hesitated as she looked at the steamed sea bass in front of her. Then she looked up at Bai Yuan and saw him pick up his chopsticks, take a piece of fish, and put it in his mouth before she spoke.

　"Brother Baiyuan, this steamed sea bass must have been marinated with salt, right? You can taste a little bit of the base flavor."

　However, I remember you said before that it's best not to marinate steamed fish with salt, as it will worsen the texture of the fish. But this steamed sea bass clearly had salt added, yet the tenderness of the fish remained unaffected.

　"It's not salt, it's scallion, ginger, salt, and lemon water. Brush a thin layer onto the surface of the river fish, then brush lard onto the surface of the fish so that it can be heated quickly in the steamer. The lard helps to lock in the moisture and counteracts the effect of the salt."

　In response to Alice Nakiri's question, Hakuyuan began to explain.

　"I taught you before that to ensure the fish is tender and not dry when steaming, you don't need to add salt, just add scallion and ginger water to remove the fishy smell, but that only applies to sea fish."

　River fish, because they mostly live in mud and sand, have a muddy smell, much stronger than sea fish. Adding a little salt water is acceptable, but not too much. Therefore, he also added lemon water to remove the fishy smell.