Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

After that, other students served their curry, but the highest score was only 19 points, and many of the others were zero points.

The atmosphere in the entire venue was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe, and even ordinary students were hesitant to bring their curries up.

"boom!"

At that moment, Ryo Kurokiba placed a golden lobster curry on the judges' table.

"Ise lobster curry".

He stared fiercely at the judges in front of him, without saying anything more.

Chihiro Natsume was intrigued by his appearance and picked up a spoon to take a bite.

With just one bite, her eyes widened in surprise.

The dish is made with French lobster broth, where the rich seafood flavor and the spiciness of curry blend perfectly. What's even more amazing is that Ryo Kurokiba dripped a few drops of Napoleon Cognac on the lobster's head, and the aroma of the wine complements the sauce and saffron rice.

“This violent power…and the unique cooking methods and ingredients…” Chihiro Natsume covered her slightly flushed face, “It’s like encountering a storm while sailing on the high seas!”

"Kurokiba Ryo, Ise Lobster Curry - 93 points!"

An astonishing number was displayed on the big screen.

The audience erupted in cheers; this was the highest score ever achieved by venue A.

"With such a high score, they've already secured their place in the next round!" The students in the audience began to discuss enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Kurokiba Ryo, who was on stage, pulled off his headscarf and walked off the stage looking like he hadn't woken up yet.

Following closely behind is Soma Yukihira.

"Yukihira-ryu Curry Omelette Risotto! Enjoy!"

Soma Yukihira brought the plate to the judges' table and opened the lid.

This is a golden omelet on top of the risotto. Soma picked up a knife and gently sliced ​​the omelet.

The semi-solidified egg liquid slid down the cut to both sides, like a golden waterfall, completely covering the curry risotto underneath.

There is also a special sauce on top of the omelet.

The aroma bursts forth with a blend of the sweet and sour flavors of mango, the umami of chicken broth, and the complex fragrance of spices.

"Another omelet, but this time it's paired with curry rice. It looks delicious, Yukihira-kun."

Sitting at the far end of the judging panel, Shigeyuki Koda still vividly remembered the omelet he had played during his previous residential training.

He picked up a spoon, scooped out a large mouthful, and put it in his mouth.

"Well!"

The fluffy egg yolk has a milky aroma, the rich broth, the complex spiciness of curry, the salty aroma of oyster sauce and the sweetness of honey in the special sauce, all of which coat the rice and spread completely in your mouth.

"What a powerful impact! And behind that impact, the sweet and sour taste of the mango cleverly blends all the flavors together! What a wonderful feeling!" another judge suddenly exclaimed.

Chihiro Natsume, who was in the very center, didn't say anything, but simply ate all the curry rice spoonful by spoonful.

"Soma Yukihira, Curry Omelette Risotto - 93 points!"

Soma Yukihira's final score was the same as Ryo Kurokiba's, also achieving one of the highest scores of the game so far!

Soma Yukihira grinned at the result, then turned and gave a thumbs-up to Chen Yuxing and the others from Polaris Dormitory who were still at the cooking station.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the middle of the hall.

Chapter 65 Curry Beef Brisket

A sudden, loud commotion broke out in the middle of the hall, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"What...what is this smell?"

"What a strong aroma!"

"It feels like my nose is going to be pierced through."

It was an extremely strong fragrance, like a sharp sword cleaving through the entire A venue.

The students in the audience couldn't help but cover their noses; even from such a distance, the aroma of spices was still strong.

The source of that aroma was Hayama Akira's cooking station.

At this moment, Hayama Akira turned off the stove. On his cooking table were five delicate little soup bowls, and the surface of the soup bowls was covered with a layer of golden and crispy dough, like a small cake.

He slowly took off his apron and placed all the soup bowls on the tray.

After doing all this, he looked up at Chen Yuxing. The two exchanged a glance, and Ye Shanliang's lips curled into a confident smile.

"Watch closely, Chen Yuxing. This is true cuisine at the pinnacle of spices."

Chen Yuxing stood by the kitchen counter, listened to Ye Shanliang's provocative words, and twitched the corner of his mouth before continuing to process the curry in his hands.

Hayama Akira carried his dish and strode towards the judges' table.

"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."

Akira Hayama placed five soup bowls covered with flaky pastry in front of the judges one by one, saying, "This is my dish—curry fish head soup with naan bread."

"Oh? I thought you'd serve a hearty curry with such a big sea bream head, but it looks so... small and delicate?" Minato Sakamaki, one of the judges, leaned closer for a look and said with some surprise.

"Is it made like French puff pastry soup? And this layer of puff pastry used to seal it... is that the naan you mentioned? That's really interesting."

Shigeyuki Koda gently tapped the golden-yellow dough sealing the opening with a spoon, producing a crisp "click-clack" sound.

“That’s right, this is a fish head curry soup with naan bread made with yogurt as the crust,” Hayama Akira replied confidently, and gestured to the judges, “Just use a spoon to press the naan bread on top into the soup below, and eat it with the soup.”

"The idea is quite good, but that alone is not enough." Chihiro Natsume, sitting in the middle, snorted and then picked up a spoon and poked directly at the pastry on the surface of the soup bowl.

"Crack!"

The moment the crack appeared, the aroma that had been sealed inside the soup bowl burst out like a volcanic eruption.

"Well!"

Chihiro Natsume was so overwhelmed by the fragrance that she couldn't help but lean back slightly.

"What...what is this smell?!"

"Fennel... lemongrass... cinnamon... and this bright, spicy aroma that hits you right in the head!"

Even the well-traveled Chihiro Natsume stared wide-eyed. She hadn't smelled anything before the pastry broke, but the moment it was broken open, the aroma of more than a dozen spices blended perfectly together, like an aroma bomb, whetting everyone's appetite.

Not only the judges, but even the audience members sitting in the last row could clearly smell the fragrance.

Chihiro Natsume swallowed hard, then eagerly followed Hayama Akira's instructions, scooping up a spoonful of puff pastry soaked in curry sauce and putting it in her mouth.

"It's so delicious..." Shigenobu Koda couldn't help but groan. "The naan has perfectly absorbed the essence of the curry sauce, and the sourness of the yogurt has just the right amount of neutralizing the spiciness of the spices."

"And the broth made from sea bream heads has all the collagen from the fish bones completely infused into it, creating a rich, sauce-like flavor. It's truly amazing!"

“Not only that! There are also a great variety of spices!” Minato Sakamaki added from the side.

"With the use of a variety of different spices, they did not clash with each other, but rather blended together and complemented each other, without even one flavor being masked!"

Chihiro Natsume suddenly put down her spoon, her beautiful eyes fixed on Hayama Akira: "The core of this aroma... the spice that connects all the flavors—it's holy basil, isn't it!"

"Holy Basil?"

The other judges also realized what was happening at this point.

"I see, it's the holy basil that's called 'divine herb' in India. No wonder it smells so refreshing!" Shigeyuki Koda exclaimed in realization. "But I remember that the aroma of holy basil is very strong. If not handled properly, it can ruin the spice balance of an entire dish. I didn't expect that Akira Hayama could use it so perfectly?"

“It’s the yogurt used when kneading the dough, right?” Chitowa Natsume glanced at Hayama Akira. “The richness of the yogurt masks the overly sharp aroma of the holy basil, which is why it becomes the soul of this dish.”

"This is truly a flawless dish."

"Yayama Akira, would you like to join my HUB Food Group? I can offer you ten times... no, a hundred times the salary of others! As long as you make curry just for me!"

Faced with the curry queen's offer of recruitment, Hayama Akira simply shook his head calmly, then looked at Shiomi Jun in the audience behind him: "I'm sorry, I'm fighting for Jun, and that's the only reason I'm standing here."

"It's a shame. If you change your mind later, you can always come to the HUB to find me." Chihiro Natsume said with some regret, "Then let's start the rating."

"drop--!"

The numbers on the big screen jumped wildly, finally settling on a number that astonished everyone present.

96 points!

"It's here! Surpassing Kurokiba Ryo and Yukihira Soma! The highest score in Group A so far! 96 points!"

Kawashima Rei's voice cracked with excitement, "And she's the first contestant to get a perfect score from Chihiro Natsume!"

Thunderous applause and gasps of amazement erupted throughout Hall A.

96 points!

Under such strict standards, it's almost certain that they've secured the championship in this preliminary round and a ticket to the main competition.

Hearing the cheers, Ye Shanliang turned to look in Chen Yuxing's direction.

As the competition time ticked away, venue A soon entered its peak period for submitting dishes.

Following closely behind Hayama Akira were the three from Polar Star Dormitory and Mito Ikumi.

Mito Ikumi served a Dongpo pork curry rice bowl. The large chunks of Dongpo pork, stewed in curry and a secret sauce, had an amber-like color and a melt-in-your-mouth texture that was rich but not greasy.

Although it wasn't as aromatic as dishes by Hayama Akira or Yukihira Soma, this dish, which brought out the charm of the meat's fat, still won over the judges' palates and ultimately earned a high score of 88.

"Damn it, only 88 points? Looks like I'm still a long way off..."

Mito Ikumi bit her lip in frustration. Although the score was already quite high, it was still a little short of what she wanted to achieve to catch up with Yukihira Soma.

"The Flesh Demon... has it grown so powerful already...?"

"Woohoo—!"

"Mimi! Daddy's watching you!" A middle-aged man with a pompadour shouted to Mito Ikumi from below, his eyes brimming with tears, just like a father watching his daughter's sports meet.

Mito Ikumi's initial resentment was completely dispelled, and she turned around with a slightly flushed face.

Ignore him... Ignore him... Ignore him...

Following that, Hayao Miyazaki also served his special smoked curry, using smoked bacon, potatoes, and eggs as ingredients, along with thinly sliced ​​smoked apples and seaweed salt. It scored 88 points thanks to its unique smoky flavor.

Ryoko Sakaki used homemade, charcoal-grilled, aged natto paired with soy sauce koji, fully demonstrating the essence of fermentation and adding a unique flavor to the dish, ultimately earning her a score of 88.

Marui Zenji's white curry udon soup was even more amazing. With his textbook-perfect proportions and replication of the recipe, he used a broth similar to Vichy cream soup to make udon noodles, cumin, dill, and hu tart powder, topped with a soft-boiled egg, mashed potatoes, and hot cheese. The resulting udon had a very rich texture and scored a high score of 90 points, making him the fourth contestant to reach 90 points so far.

Everyone from Polaris Dormitory performed exceptionally well, and their high scores changed the audience's perception of the team once again.

"Everyone is so amazing, but Hayama Akira's score is just too terrifying."

Daigo Aoki wrapped his arms around Shoji Sato's neck and looked anxiously at Chen Yuxing, who was still at the kitchen counter: "Why isn't Xing ready yet? Time's almost up!"

At this point, only ten minutes remained in the game.

On the scoreboard in Venue A, Hayama Akira has 96 points, Yukihira Soma and Kurokiba Ryo both have 93 points, and Marui Zenji has 90 points. The top four positions are currently as follows.

"almost."

Chen Yuxing glanced at the time, and then poured in a bowl of coconut milk before reducing the sauce.

With the addition of coconut milk, the curry's originally pungent spiciness instantly disappeared, replaced by a milky aroma.

The fish balls kept absorbing the aroma of the golden curry.

He then turned off the stove, took five plates from the side, poured two large spoonfuls of thick curry beef brisket and potatoes onto one side of each plate, and placed five or six round, golden curry fish balls on the other side. Finally, he sprinkled some cilantro in the center of the plate as a garnish.

Chen Yuxing placed all the plates on the tray, picked them up, and walked towards the judges' table.

"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting."

Chen Yuxing placed the plate in front of the five judges at once, saying, "This is a flavorful dish—Hong Kong-style curry beef brisket with curry fish balls."

"Curry fish balls? And beef brisket?"

Shigeyuki Koda paused for a moment, then said, "Isn't this the most common street food in Hong Kong?"

Chihiro Natsume frowned as she looked at the curry on the plate. The curry was a thick, golden-yellow color, with large chunks of beef brisket and plump white fish balls arranged on either side.

Do you really think that this kind of cheap, common food can satisfy our taste buds?

“The value of food is not determined by its origin.” Chen Yuxing gestured for everyone to try it first before making a decision.

Chihiro Natsume picked up the spoon with a cold expression.

She decided to scrutinize the curry using the most stringent standards.