Everyday Life Starting with Food Wars

"Dear students and audience! We have just received an urgent notification! The tiebreaker match in Group B has been officially upgraded to a Food War!!!"

"Wow—"

The audience erupted in excitement, and posts on the campus forum began to refresh like crazy.

"Food Wars? Isn't it supposed to be a tiebreaker?!"

"What are those two up to?!"

"What's the stake?"

"How interesting!"

On the audience side, the members of Polaris Dormitory also changed their expressions upon hearing this news.

"Takumi...why did he suddenly agree to the food battle?!" Soma Yukihira clenched his fists, worried. He had long considered Takumi a good friend: "Please don't lose, Takumi..."

“Something must have happened at the last minute…” Chen Yuxing also straightened up.

"After all, that guy named Mimasaka Subaru is a real piece of trash. He has no respect for ingredients or cooking utensils, only a desire to win."

“Ah-Xing is right,” Marui Zenji added from the side. “The reason he’s called the Tracker is because he’s like a stalker, figuring out all of his opponent’s habits and recipes before the match.”

"Then, on the field, I will make the exact same dish as my opponent and make improvements to the key parts in order to break down my opponent's mental defenses."

“He’s a dangerous guy.” Aoki Daigo and Sato Shoji stopped joking and were both looking seriously at the field below.

"Is Takumi in danger...?" Tadokoro Megumi looked down with concern.

“We have to trust Takumi. Maybe Subaru Mimasaka has studied Takumi, but we gave him special training yesterday…” Soma Yukihira said earnestly.

"Welcome to our two contestants!"

As Kawashima Rei's voice rang out, the spotlight focused on the contestants' tunnel.

The tall and imposing Subaru Mimasaka and the stern-faced Takumi walked onto the stage at the same time.

The two stood facing each other, and the air was thick with tension.

"Pick it up!"

Takumi pulled a white glove from his pocket and tossed it at Mimasaka Subaru's feet, saying coldly, "Let me teach you, you vulgar fellow, what a real duel is!"

"If the white glove is tossed to you, picking it up means you've accepted the duel!"

"what……"

A twisted smile spread across Mimasaka Subaru's large face as he bent down and slowly picked up the glove. "Takumi, don't forget, after I win, your precious crescent blade will be mine..."

“If you lose, I’ll make you kneel down in front of the whole school and apologize to me and my knife!” Takumi replied coldly, then turned and walked to his cooking station.

"clang--!"

"The theme for this food battle is open; you can choose any theme you like! The competition will last for two hours, now!"

"Game start!"

Chapter 70 Showdown

"Game start!"

Kawashima Rei shouted, igniting the atmosphere in the audience.

Takumi stood in front of the counter without rushing to start. He first completed all the preparations before turning to look at the ingredients he had prepared.

Just as he turned around, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Subaru Mimasaka's kitchen counter.

He knew what Mimasaka Subaru was thinking at a glance.

The amounts of eggs, flour, Sicilian lemons, sugar, and even the hazelnuts and almonds used for garnish are all the same.

Subaru Mimasaka's kitchen counter was set with the exact same ingredients as his, arranged in the exact same position and order.

"As expected..." Takumi gritted his teeth.

The day before, at the Polaris Dormitory, Chen Yuxing and Yukihira Soma had analyzed the situation for him and given him special training, but when he actually faced this imitator, he still felt an uncomfortable chill.

"What's wrong, Takumi?"

Subaru Mimasaka grinned, leaning against the counter and tossing a lemon up and down in his hand. "Don't the ingredients I prepared look familiar? Oh dear, it seems we're really on the same wavelength, even wanting to make the exact same dishes."

“Shut up, you despicable bastard,” Takumi replied coldly.

"Italian lemon chilled cake, right?"

Subaru Mimasaka didn't seem to care. He continued, "First, prepare the whipping bowl for the cream and freeze it for an hour. Then, prepare the lemon zest and juice."

"Then, separate the eggs to make the chilled layer, add the baked sponge cake, and the special flavor layer in the middle."

"What a classic Italian dessert..."

A chorus of boos erupted from the audience, with most people feeling disgusted by Mimasaka's behavior.

"This big guy must be a perverted peeping tom!"

"The recipe and steps are completely replicated!"

The people in Polaris Dormitory also looked at Takumi with concern.

"It seems like Subaru Mimasaka has figured out everything about Takumi, what should we do..." Yoshino Yuuki leaned on the railing of the stands, stamping her feet anxiously.

“This is indeed troublesome. Takumi originally planned to decide the winner with traditional Italian cuisine.” Soma Yukihira frowned as he observed the scene below.

Chen Yuxing wasn't in a hurry: "Although Mimasaka Subaru's tracking skills are indeed quite good, we warned him in advance about Mimasaka Subaru's style, so he must have his own plans."

Meanwhile, Takumi, sitting in the audience, closed his eyes, clearing his mind of all distractions. When he opened his eyes again, his confusion had dissipated, and he had regained his sharpness.

He ignored Mimasaka Subaru and turned to open the freezer, taking out the frozen mixing bowl.

At this point, a thin layer of white frost had formed on the outer wall of the mixing bowl, and when you took it out, you could see a noticeable amount of cold air coming out.

Takumi poured the heavy cream into a chilled bowl, then picked up an electric mixer and started beating the cream.

First, rotate the spoon at a low speed to slowly stir the cream at the bottom of the bowl until it foams. After a minute or two, you can switch to a high speed.

The originally smooth, liquid cream began to thicken under high-speed churning, and slight lines could be seen appearing on the surface.

Takumi kept a close eye on the state of the cream. When he picked up the whisk, the middle part of the cream was pulled up to form a small corner, while the cream as a whole was still slowly flowing.

The cream was just right at this point, so he put the whipped cream back into the freezer to chill.

Just as he closed the freezer door, a simultaneous sound came from the other side.

"boom."

Takumi looked up and saw that at the same time, Subaru Mimasaka was also putting the prepared cream into the freezer.

The muscular man, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, was separating two eggs.

His movements were incredibly delicate; the yolk tossed back and forth between the two halves of the eggshell, and the clear egg white slid down the edge of the shell into the bowl, leaving the yolk perfectly intact.

"I can't believe it, I feel a little nauseous..." In the audience, Mito Ikumi rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, unable to contain herself as she watched Mimasaka Subaru's movements: "That big guy, how come his movements are so..."

Takumi took a deep breath, forcing himself to ignore it, and began processing the lemons.

The sharp knife gently scraped across the lemon's peel, and Takumi only took the outermost layer of lemon peel, which was rich in aromatic essential oils.

Golden peel flakes fell into the small bowl, and the air began to fill with the aroma of citrus.

Next comes the key to making this dessert – sabayun.

Takomi first boiled the water in a pot, then reduced the heat to keep it simmering, and then placed a bowl containing egg yolks, sugar, and Italian limoncello on top.

The heat was transferred through the bowl, and Takumi started stirring with a whisk in one hand, while using a spatula in the other to scoop up the egg mixture from the bottom of the bowl to prevent it from cooking, curdling, or sticking to the bottom due to the high temperature.

As the egg mixture continued to be heated and stirred, its original color began to lighten, but at the same time its volume more than doubled, and the egg mixture became very silky.

"Oh dear, it's really hard to control the heat, but I've already cooked it, Takumi."

Subaru Mimasaka's voice came from the side, causing Takumi to pause in his movements.

He looked over the brick and discovered that Mimasaka Subaru's progress was actually much faster than his.

By this time, Subaru Mimasaka had already prepared Sabayon and started adding lemon juice and lemon zest.

"What's going on? Takumi's movements were already fast and perfect, so why is Mimasaka Subaru faster than Takumi?" Aoki Daigo looked down with disbelief.

“Yeah, why is that big guy so fast? It’s a copy of the recipe and process…” Shoji Sato also looked puzzled.

"Because he is making improvements, that's what makes Mimasaka Subaru so terrifying." Marui Zenji pushed up his glasses and said, "Mimasaka Subaru doesn't just copy and imitate. After he has thoroughly understood his opponent's recipe, he will make his own optimizations in the details to shorten the cooking time or improve the flavor, thus psychologically defeating his opponent."

"I see, what a terrifying fellow..."

Marui Zenji was absolutely right. Mimasaka Subaru did not use ordinary lemon liqueur; he used a high-concentration lemon liqueur that had been purified using a special technique.

Because alcohol has a lower evaporation point than regular lemon liqueur, it takes less time to brew a sabáyong.

"I've also prepared something else."

Subaru Mimasaka grinned, then took out a small jar, scooped out a spoonful of powder, and sprinkled it directly onto the whipped sabayun.

Takumi finally couldn't help but ask, "What did you add to it?"

"Want to know? I might as well tell you."

Subaru Mimasaka proudly shook the small jar in his hand: "This is my special salted lemon powder that I prepared for you."

"I made it by marinating lemon slices in coarse sea salt, drying them, and then crushing them. Italian-style chilled cake is indeed classic and refreshing, but it's not enough if it only has sweetness and sourness."

"The salted lemon powder I use adds a layer of saltiness to the cake, which not only enhances its richness but also provides a completely different impact when you taste it!"

He looked down at Takmi and said, "You're too traditional, Takmi."

"It's because you have that stubborn attachment to the traditional practices of your hometown that you can't bring yourself to destroy that feeling, but I'm not like you."

"I know everything about you: your personality, your cooking habits, and even your inner emotions."

"You might as well admit defeat now, Takumi. You can never beat me."

Many students in the audience were frightened by Subaru Mimasaka's scheme.

However, Takmi on stage did not show any surprise.

He simply lowered his head quietly and mixed the sabayun, whipped cream, and meringue evenly, stirring constantly with a spatula in the bowl to prevent the air bubbles from dissipating.

“You’re right, I’m a traditional and straightforward person.”

Takumi poured the mixed snow layer into the mold, put it in the freezer, and then turned around to look directly at Mimasaka Subaru.

"But I'm also the chef for the Aldini family! My pride is something you, someone who only knows how to copy others, can't possibly understand!"

The oven timer is beeping.

Takumi put on his heat-resistant gloves, turned around, and went back to continue cooking.

He opened the oven door, and a rich aroma of nuts wafted out.

Those were roasted hazelnuts and almonds, and some of the oil on their surfaces had seeped out during the roasting process.

On the other side of the stove, the white sugar that Takumi had prepared was melting in the frying pan, turning into an enticing caramel color.

He poured all the roasted hazelnuts and almonds into the pot and started stirring.

The caramel is evenly coated on each hazelnut and almond, revealing a hint of amber color.

After wrapping them all up, Takumi poured out all the nuts and let them cool. Once cooled, the nuts would harden, so he picked up a rolling pin and crushed them all.

Next is making the sponge cake base.

Add sugar to the softened butter at room temperature and beat until it turns white. Then add the egg liquid in batches, and finally sift in the flour and baking powder.

Once you've done all that, smooth out the batter and remove any air bubbles, then you can put it in the oven.

Subaru Mimasaka also completed the same process.

Time passed by, second by second.

With fifteen minutes remaining in the game, Subaru Mimasaka opened the oven, followed by Takumi.

The piping hot sponge cake is now ready.

Both of them started brushing the freshly baked cake with a sugar syrup mixed with lemon liqueur, which would keep the cake moist even after it was chilled.

And the sponge cake, just like a real sponge, absorbed all the sugar water like crazy.

Next came the cake assembly.