Food Wars!: Delicious Food of the Heavens

Chapter 67 Slow-cooked Beef

"Erina-sama?"

"What's wrong?"

Hisako Shinto's voice suddenly rang out.

Those few words, like a breath of fresh air, jolted Erina Kiri from her staggering, drunken state.

"Lady Erina, your reaction just now was strange?"

Seeing the look from her assistant, Kiri Erina hurriedly tidied her hair.

"I'm fine!"

"By the way, Hisako, what was something else you wanted to say just now?"

Erina Nakiri's method of changing the subject was abrupt, but effective.

Hisako Shinomiya seemed to remember something and pointed to the door. "Lady Erina, Lin Yu is here too, he's right outside."

"Right outside the door?"

Erina Nakiri looked toward the kitchen door, hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed, deciding to have Hisako Shinomiya invite the person in.

Kiri Erina is an extremely proud person.

Although she didn't know how to get along with Lin Yu, in Kiri Erina's eyes, Lin Yu had helped her and Hisako after all.

Erina Kiri's pride made her feel that leaving Lin Yu outside was a "very impolite" act.

"Hisako, let him in!"

Upon hearing Erina Kiri's words, Hisako Shinoto visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, Lady Erina!"

outside the house.

After Hisako Shinto went in, Lin Yu stood at the door, waiting listlessly.

Lin Yu didn't know how much time had passed, but just as he was getting sleepy, the kitchen door was finally opened.

Hisako Shinto peeked out from under the door and, seeing Lin Yu still outside, breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned him in.

"Lin Yu, Lady Erina would like to see you."

The kitchen door was pushed open completely.

Lin Yu entered the room and saw a man standing in front of the stove with his arms crossed, looking serious and meticulous.

Feel the powerful aura emanating from Kiri Erina at this moment.

Lin Yu frowned slightly.

Is this... a show of force?

Hearing the sound, Kiri Erina shifted her gaze from the stove in front of her to the doorway.

Lin Yu and Kirie Erina's gazes met in the air, and an invisible wave spread throughout the room.

Looking at the two silent people, Hisako Shinto suddenly felt a sense of unease, as if the air itself had become heavier.

"I heard the whole story from Hisako."

Erina Nakiri spoke first, breaking the tense atmosphere.

Erina Nakiri looked at Lin Yu and nodded slightly. "First of all, I am very grateful to you for helping Hisako."

"This also allows my culinary research to continue."

"It was nothing, no need to be so polite," Lin Yu replied casually.

"However, I have a question," Erina Nakiri's voice followed.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and gestured for the other person to speak directly.

Why did you change my original spice recipe?

Erina Kiri was direct, revealing her true feelings, and her tone was ambiguous, neither harsh nor indifferent.

A single sentence startled Hisako Shinodo, who had been trying to keep a low profile. She trembled and her heart almost stopped beating.

"You found out so quickly?"

Lin Yu glanced at the kitchen counter and looked surprised. "You haven't tried making this yet, have you?"

"You seriously underestimate my [God Tongue]!"

Erina frowned slightly, clearly displeased that Lin Yu hadn't answered her question directly.

"Although the changes were very minor, I noticed them immediately."

She held up the glass bottle containing the compound fragrance powder.

Although I don't want to admit it...

"But based on what I know of you, your sense of taste doesn't seem to be much weaker than mine."

Erina Nakiri stared intently at Lin Yu, her tone somewhat stiff, clearly dissatisfied with his modifications to her formula.

"If you want a complete replica, it should be possible, right?"

"Why modify the recipe? It's unnecessary and redundant!"

Hearing Erina Kiri's words, Lin Yu took a deep breath and frowned slightly.

Besides the usual pride, Lin Yu also sensed a subtle sense of questioning in the other person's words, which made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

Lin Yu no longer stood on ceremony and replied curtly, "I thought it was better this way, so I made a slight adjustment."

"better?"

Erina Nakiri paused for a moment, seemingly finding the answer beyond her expectations.

Lin Yu spread his hands and explained, "On the way to the food warehouse with Shinho, she kept nagging and I accidentally let it slip."

"That's when I found out that your new dish is beef."

Erina Nakiri asked, somewhat puzzled, "So what?"

"I've tasted your original recipe for compound spices, and it's actually more suitable for poultry than beef," Lin Yu said.

Lin Yu's tone was equally impolite, showing no respect whatsoever to Kiri Erina.

Erina Kiri was so angry that she gritted her teeth, "You..."

"What do you mean, 'you'?!"

"You're not convinced?"

Lin Yu rolled his eyes at the other person and spoke first, silencing the other person.

"Erina, if I'm not mistaken, your compound spice blend has a prototype. The original recipe was probably some kind of spiced roasted chicken, right?"

The moment the words were spoken, Erina Nakiri froze, her eyes narrowing.

"It seems... to still be the style from North Africa?"

As Lin Yu's voice continued, Erina Kiri's heart trembled, and her pupils dilated sharply.

Deep within Erina Kiri's beautiful purple eyes lay unconcealed shock, and even her breathing unconsciously slowed down.

Clearly, Lin Yu was right.

The prototype for this blend of spices comes from a recipe that Kirei Erina obtained by chance some time ago.

An Egyptian-style spiced roasted chicken.

Even the details were described by Lin Yu without any error.

Erina Nakiri gritted her teeth, a strong sense of resentment rising within her.

Lin Yu's voice continued.

"Your original spice recipe wasn't a perfect match for the beef."

"I guess your research has been stuck in some kind of bottleneck for a while now?"

Erina Nakiri clenched her fists and remained silent.

Clearly, Lin Yu was right once again.

Erina Kiri didn't feel happy; instead, she felt a deep pang of pain in her heart.

"Sometimes, if one path is blocked, you have to try another, instead of stubbornly persisting in the same path."

Because Erina Kiri had her head down, Lin Yu didn't notice her emotions.

Lin Yu pushed the bottle of spices in front of Kiri Erina, his tone direct and somewhat stiff.

"This one will be better and more suitable for your research."

"You're welcome!"

Although Lin Yu correctly identified the source of the recipe.

However, given Erina Kiri's proud personality, she is clearly not the kind of person who is easily convinced by others.

Even though she was proud as she was, she had to admit that Lin Yu was a skilled cook.

Do not!

It should be said that it was precisely because Lin Yu was standing in front of her that Kiri Erina was unwilling to admit her defeat.

I still vividly remember the time I ate this guy's red wine stewed beef, and how I cried in front of him, feeling so ashamed I wanted to disappear.

How could Kirei Erina allow herself to fall into that awkward situation again in front of this annoying guy!

How embarrassing!

That despicable Lin Yu!

"Oh! Thank you?"

Erina Nakiri chuckled softly.

"Talking to yourself!"

Erina Nakiri's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Not only did they arbitrarily modify my recipe!"

"And they even put on an air of self-righteousness, saying it was better than my original recipe."

Erina Kiri pointed a finger at Lin Yu's face and shouted loudly, "What an arrogant fellow!"

Faced with Erina Kiri's rebuke, Lin Yu did not show much emotional fluctuation.

Too lazy to continue the endless argument, Lin Yu raised his hand, grabbed Erina Kiri's fingers, and pushed them aside.

"Speak properly and don't point fingers at people."

"That's rude!"

Erina Kiri was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lin Yu to be focused on such a matter.

Even when Lin Yu grabbed her hand, she was stunned for several seconds before she reacted.

"You...you...."

Erina Nakiri's voice was trembling; she was clearly furious.

Enraged and speechless, Kiri Erina gave up arguing and flung Lin Yu's hand away.

Emotionally agitated and with her fingers slightly out of control, Kirina opened the refrigerator, took out a tray, and slammed it down in front of Lin Yu.

Lin Yu glanced at it and his eyes lit up immediately.

A gemstone with snowflake-like patterns and pinkish texture lies quietly in the center of the tray.

wrong!

Lin Yu blinked, then came to his senses and realized that the tray didn't contain any pink gemstones at all, but rather a piece of beef with exquisite texture and quality.

In terms of texture alone, the beef in front of Lin Yu felt that it was even of a slightly higher quality than the A5 grade Wagyu beef that Mito Ikumi provided during their last food battle!

That's interesting!

Lin Yu's gaze fell on Erina Nakiri.

As expected of the young lady of the Totsuki Group.

Not to mention they managed to get this quality of beef.

More importantly, judging from their approach, it seems they are directly using this top-quality beef for research into new dishes.

How inhuman!

As Lin Yu gazed at the exquisite piece of beef, his eyes softened, and a smile unconsciously curved his lips.

This is a chef's natural, instinctive reaction when encountering top-quality ingredients.

Seeing the shock Lin Yu showed, Kiri Erina was clearly satisfied. She exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling a sense of triumph as if she had "turned the tables."

"how?"

Upon hearing Erina Kiri's words, Lin Yu instinctively replied, "Top-notch!"

"A true gem!"

Lin Yu looked up, his gaze shifting back and forth between the beef on the table and Erina Kiri in front of him.

Seeing the smug expression on Erina Kiri's face, Lin Yu raised his chin, his eyes filled with a hint of mockery.

"What advice do you have?"

"I wouldn't presume to offer guidance!"

Erina Nakiri's voice was noticeably more composed than before.

"You say your spice blend is more suitable?"

"I don't believe it!"

Erina Nakiri reached out and gently stroked the piece of beef in front of her, which was like a work of art.

"This is a top-quality A5 Wagyu beef!"

"Achieving this level of quality is extremely rare worldwide. Do you know how to cook it?"

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow at Erina Kiri's provocative gaze.

Are you provoking me?

Erina Kiri continued, "I also watched your food battle with Ikumi Mito last time."

"What advice do you have?" Lin Yu asked again.

"Fancy and overly complicated!"

At this moment, Erina Kiri's emotions had calmed down, and her voice had returned to its usual arrogance.

"Lin Yu, although you won..."

"But in my opinion, your method is nothing more than opportunism."

"It's like a flashy juggling trick; the cuisine is supported by its novelty."

"To pound A5 Wagyu beef, with its exquisite texture, into mince... Ha, your understanding of ingredients is completely inadequate!"

"Like the question I just raised."

Erina Nakiri pointed to the beef on the tray in front of her, "When faced with such a top-quality A5 Wagyu beef, do you know how to cook it to bring out its maximum flavor?"

Faced with Erina Kiri's aggressive questioning, Lin Yu did not show any panic or take any action. Instead, he revealed a smile with a complicated meaning.

"hehe!"

Erina Nakiri found the "hehe" sound rather grating.

"What are you laughing at?"

Lin Yu didn't speak, but instead turned his body to look behind Kirie Erina.

There is a machine that is running.

Lin Yu smiled faintly, "My dear lady, it's just slow cooking at 56 degrees Celsius. There's no need to look so smug!"

"Since you don't trust my changes, why don't you try them yourself!"

Lin Yu changed the subject, pointing to the bottle of compound fragrance powder placed on the worktable.

"Both of us are chefs, and we know all too well that words are sometimes utterly powerless."

"Since you can't convince yourself, then just talk to the food!"

Lin Yu met Erina Kiri's gaze.

"Erina, since you're revered as the 'God's Tongue,' you must have absolute confidence in your own taste buds, right?"

"No amount of words can compare to tasting it yourself with your tongue; that's the belief a chef should have."

"Aren't you right, Erina?"

Seeing the intense confidence in Lin Yu's eyes, Erina Kiri's heart trembled violently.

Erina Kiri had to admit that she was persuaded by Lin Yu.

She was also curious whether, given Lin Yu's skill, using the spices that Lin Yu had personally modified and blended in her new dish would be the icing on the cake or superfluous.

"OK!"

"But let me make this clear in advance."

Erina Nakiri raised her fist, looking coquettish.

"If your modifications are just superfluous and unnecessary, I won't hold back my ridicule!"

Lin Yu was also amused by Kiri Erina's words.

"That sharp-tongued girl!"

"Don't call me 'little girl'!"

Erina Nakiri swung her fist, which she hadn't yet lowered, and slammed it hard into Lin Yu's chest.

"How could you have the nerve to say such an old-fashioned word?"

"You're not good enough for me at all!"

Lin Yu clutched his chest, making a pained expression.

"Ouch~ That hurts!"