The strongest anime shop owner

"Didn't you think that cutting technique you just used was amazing?"

Clearly, Tadokoro's move immediately silenced those who had been gossiping about him. After Tadokoro prepared the monkfish, many people began to speculate about what kind of dish he was going to make, since monkfish seemed to have nothing to do with curry.

"Tadokoro Megumi... she seems... completely different from before!"

"What's going on...?"

"She's probably just a bottom-of-the-class student..."

Upon seeing this, Isshiki, standing next to Senpyo Orie, smiled.

"Very good...that's it! You are one of the members of Polar Star Dormitory recognized by me, Fumio..." Standing in the audience, arms crossed, he said with great satisfaction after seeing this scene, clearly having already discovered Tadokoro's extraordinary qualities.

"Huh? Why is that guy still so leisurely?" Yoshino Yuuki looked towards Su Luo when she had almost finished preparing the soup and there wasn't much time left. However, she was dumbfounded after seeing him and didn't know what to say. Su Luo was still leaning there, preparing the ingredients. If he continued at this pace, it would be strange if he could finish before the time was up, since some people were already almost plated.

"Hey! Su Luo, what are you doing? Cheer up!!" Upon seeing this, Yoshino Yuuki, Su Luo's companion, naturally wanted to cheer him on.

However, Yoshino Yuuki's voice was really loud, jumping around so energetically that Su Luo immediately turned her head away after just one glance. Damn, she felt incredibly embarrassed, as evidenced by the angry eyes around her. At the same time, she silently chanted, "I don't know her, I don't know her, I..."

"This contestant, please do not interfere with the other contestants' matches." A staff member rushed over and said this while Yoshino Yuuki was shouting.

"Alright." After being told that, Yoshino Yuuki had no choice but to obediently prepare her dish, since there wasn't much time left.

"I misjudged the previous one, so..." Sitting in the examiner's seat, Chiyo Orie felt insecure about her first misjudgment of someone, so she was unsure about Su Luo and kept staring at her. However, seeing that time was about to run out, she propped her head up and said hesitantly, "But... time is almost up, there shouldn't be any room for struggle, right?"

Just as Senpyo Orie was thinking this, Su Luo began to make new moves. He set up a soup pot and a frying pan, first pouring a spice into the soup pot, and then adding different spices at different times. Soon the spices gradually disappeared. After all the spices were in, he added carrot juice. At this point, he took out a jar from the bag, which contained white powder.

"Hey! Look, he just poured all the spices directly into the water..."

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Chapter 173 A Tense Moment

"Hmm? What's that white powder in that jar? Could it be flour or something? Even if it is, it seems like there's no time to make it."

"It looks like it was made in a hurry! This thing is just white powder poured into a pot!?"

At this point, many people were confused. However, as time went on, a fragrance gradually wafted from Su Luo's pot. It was a very fresh smell, without any special aroma, and it seemed quite ordinary. But the moment they took a breath, they were instantly refreshed. Many people began to greedily inhale, because the fragrance seemed to carry an alluring magic that instantly invigorated their spirits.

"Hmm? Is it because of that white powder? I really want to go and see." After smelling the odor, Chiyo Orie, who was sitting in the examiner's seat, felt as if she had been reborn. She originally wanted to go and see, but seeing the staff who had not yet left in the distance, she felt very unwilling.

However, Senpyo Orie turned to Isshiki and asked, though she felt a little embarrassed about it, given what had happened before: "Isshiki-kun, what's that person's name?"

"Su Luo." Yi Se was still watching the arena, but a smile appeared on her face, as if she was very satisfied with Su Luo's performance.

"What!? Su Luo!?" Well! Upon hearing this name, Chipyo Orie clearly remembered something. Su Luo had helped her sister before, although Chipyo Natsume had handled it discreetly. But secrets don't stay hidden forever. After learning about it, Chipyo Natsume was severely reprimanded by her grandfather. She never expected to run into Su Luo in such a situation. However, seeing Isshiki's still smiling face, Chipyo Orie thought he already knew but hadn't said anything. So, she said resentfully to Isshiki, "If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have said that. It seems like he's playing a trick on me." But this was purely her own thought: "Isshiki-kun, you're so mean! I hate you!"

Just then, Kawashima Rei's voice rang out from the arena: "The judging is about to begin. All contestants, please begin serving!"

"Time's up!" Soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of the time. Kawashima Rei walked out, playfully pointed to her cheek with her index finger, and said cutely, "Next, we'll move on to the review stage. I, Kawashima Rei, am the host!"

"There are five judges in total, and each of them has 20 points. That means the total score for the dishes is 100 points. The top four scorers will advance to the official competition! First, please welcome the first one!" Kawashima Rei walked to the judges' table and began to explain the scoring method before inviting the first one.

"Please have the judges review your dishes," Kawashima Rei said after the first contestant presented her dish to the judges.

"Mmm, it's delicious!" One of the examiners, after tasting the dish, immediately recognized its origin and said, "This dish is based on the representative curry of North India, the spicy and sour chicken curry."

"The blend of specially prepared chamasala spices, with its pronounced sourness, creates an irresistible aroma. And the chicken isn't prepared like tandoori chicken, but rather as [Tika Curry Chicken]. Unlike tandoori chicken, Tika Curry Chicken is boneless, so you can even eat it with a spoon! Your research into the dish is incredibly meticulous, and you've even considered the taster's needs." After tasting the dish, he quickly gave his evaluation, which seemed quite positive. At the end, he added, "As expected of a student of Totsuki Culinary Academy."

"Thank you for your compliment!" After hearing such praise, the student smiled confidently, since the evaluation seemed quite positive.

"333 points?" Although the evaluation seemed very good, the student was stunned after the score was released. He couldn't believe what he was seeing because it only showed 33 points, which was a perfect score of 100.

"And what about you judges? Each of you doesn't have ten points, but twenty points, okay?" Even Kawashima Rei, who was standing to the side, was stunned when she saw this. She thought the judges had misunderstood the rules and couldn't help but ask.

“We understand that, of course,” one of the examiners, wearing glasses, said with an unchanged expression after adjusting his glasses.

"33 points? My dish? Wait a minute! What's going on?" Upon hearing this, the student's face turned ugly. His previous confidence was replaced by a ferocious expression. He simply couldn't understand why he would receive such a low score, especially since it was so shockingly low. He had prepared this dish with great care, and he couldn't possibly accept such a score. So he yelled at the group.

"Who do you think we are?" Faced with the student's hesitation, the slightly overweight judge who had given the earlier comments said this. His words and the imposing aura he exuded immediately stunned the student, whose face turned somewhat ugly. He clearly understood what their identities represented.

“We are faced with dishes made by experienced experts every day. Saying that you are good is only in terms of a student level. But just the fact that we are willing to give you a score is already very good.”

"That's true. I think we'd be lucky to get 50 points at most, right?" After hearing the examiner's explanation, everyone clearly understood why the score was so low. After all, this was no ordinary person they had invited.

"So that's how it is. In other words, it's not just the Qian sisters who are difficult to deal with." This statement made many people realize that the Qian sisters were not the only ones who were difficult to deal with. After all, the people invited this time were all people who were used to the experts' dishes. The reason why they only knew that the Qian sisters were difficult to deal with was because their reputation was relatively high.

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Chapter 174 Nao Saezuka's Bizarre Cuisine

The previous chubby examiner: Kita Shuji - Only the most elite individuals and those with connections in the financial world can join the Kita Gourmet Research Club he founded! A man who uses the power of money to plunder all sorts of delicacies onto his own table!

The bespectacled censor: Shingo Anto – a writer and essayist whose expertise spans the entire culinary world! It's said that a single piece of his writing can determine the rise and fall of a restaurant!

The five judges are all characters who have greedily tasted all the delicacies in the world, and their experience in acting is far beyond that of ordinary people!

"28 points"

"31 points"

"8 points"

When the next few people went up, they didn't even get 40 points. But the main problem was that the dishes they had served before were all very well done, so it was really disheartening that they only got such a score.

"The very strict scoring process continues! So, what's the next dish? Hmm?" Just as Kawashima Rei was about to order the next dish, a stench suddenly hit her. Before she could even finish speaking, Kawashima Rei covered her mouth and nose, because the smell was just too awful.

"Ugh...ugh...smells...!" Upon being hit by the stench, Chipyo Orie almost instinctively covered her mouth and nose: "Where is this stench coming from?!"

"Please use... This is Nao Satsuka's special - [Jet Black Lasa Curry]..." At this moment, Nao Satsuka carried her dish up, placed it on the table, and then opened the lid, releasing an even stronger stench.

"Ughhhhhh! It stinks!"

"What is this?"

"It stinks like a concentrated ditch."

"A pitiful wail! Wails echoed from the audience! It's unbelievable that a food festival is being held here! The scene is like hell." Kawashima Rei covered her nose, at a loss for words at the sight.

"Lasa... originated in Southeast Asia. Its characteristic is a smooth noodle dish, and its dark color should come from squid ink, but..." Shingo Anto elegantly covered his nose with a handkerchief, but after looking at the dish, he quickly made a judgment.

"This pungent, strong stench... could it be..." Although he didn't want to describe the kind of stench, Kita Shuji could still smell it from the beginning, and he made a guess based on this smell.

“【Dried salted fish】…!” At this moment, Nao Satsuka revealed the answer herself.

"I knew it! What kind of horrible thing did this girl take and make curry?! You idiot!!" Upon hearing this answer, Kita Shuji immediately roared at Satsuka Nao.

Salted fish jerky: A specialty of the Izu Islands, salted fish jerky is made by marinating sardines and other blue-backed fish in a liquid called "salted fish sauce" and then drying them. It has a very strong odor.

"This is the kind of dried food that your neighbors will come over to complain about if you just put it on the grill for a little while."

"Ugh... the stench after boiling is incredibly potent..."

"And this is my special... salted fish jerky made with flying fish and stinky scorpion, and I used a salted fish juice that I carefully cultivated during the pickling process..." Nao Satsuka extended a finger, making a strange giggling sound as she explained.

"Luckily, I anticipated that this might happen, so I prepared a gas mask in advance..." At this moment, Alice Nakiri cleverly used the gas mask she had prepared in advance. But seriously, girl, you are really amazing that you could even prepare something like this in advance.

Actually, Su Luo was also wearing one. He knew the plot well, and he put it on when he saw Nao Satsuka was about to serve the food. This drew disdainful looks from the people around him, making him look like a lunatic. But now you all know how clever I am, right?

"Zero points! Zero points! Although I've eaten all sorts of rare foods, this is simply inedible!" Kita Shuji couldn't even stand it before he even tasted it. He stood up and slammed his fist on the table. However, when he saw Chiyo Orie holding chopsticks as if she were about to test for poison, he was immediately stunned and asked, "Miss Orie... do you want to eat this?"

"As a sponsor of the selection tournament, I was just doing my duty." Although Chipyo Orie said this, she was already terrified inside: "Ugh... a mixture of astringent, sour, and fishy smells... like an uncleaned toilet..."

Although she was already reluctant, she couldn't resist her sharp tongue, so she had no choice but to go through with it. After picking up the pitch-black noodles, she hesitated for a moment, then closed her eyes and ate them, mentally bracing herself for being tricked. However, after eating them, Chiyo Orie was stunned and said, "So...delicious...? But...it smells so bad...ah! But...but...it's so delicious!"

"But it smells so bad!" After eating it, it didn't taste like what Chiyo had expected. Instead, it tasted really good. After taking the first bite, she started eating big bites again, as if she had eaten something delicious. She really didn't understand why this was happening. What had happened?

"This is... a similar idea to Thai shrimp paste, a condiment made from fermented shrimp... using salted dried fish with an aroma several times stronger than shrimp paste to make the flavor even richer, and the broth made from fish paired with laksa dishes is also outstanding, it makes perfect sense..." After eating it, Chiyo Orie realized that this dish was not what it seemed on the surface, and the ingredients contained within were exactly what made the dish.

"...!! The freshness of the seafood spreads in the end... an indescribable deliciousness! The more you chew, the more tempting that pungent smell becomes!" After seeing Senpyo Orie's reaction, Kita Shuji abandoned what he had said before and took a bite with a try-it-out attitude. After taking a bite, it was indeed completely different from what he had imagined. The rich freshness was simply too delicious.

"The lemongrass and other spices, along with the coconut milk, add breadth to the flavor of this dish! She used dried salted fish as the main ingredient... which amplified the deliciousness of the curry several times over!" Shingo Anto looked at them and also took a bite with a try-it-out mentality, but after taking the first bite, he couldn't help but take a second bite.

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Chapter 175 Hisako's Dishes

Nao Satsuka excels at stewing dishes and has a deep understanding of strongly flavored ingredients such as dried goods and dried fish. Her private kitchen always exudes an ominous atmosphere that would make children cry and run away, causing several disturbances... Her nickname, "The Witch in Front of the Boiler," makes others avoid her like the plague.

"True aesthetics don't lie in dishes that are merely beautifully presented; the essence of gastronomy lies in the future of terrifying dishes!" This is Nao Satsuka's own philosophy on cuisine.

"What a novel idea... to make curry so delicious with salted fish?" www.txt80.com

"This dish...will definitely write a new chapter for curry..."

"I don't want to eat it! It smells awful! But I just can't stop myself... Ugh... I'm becoming... a prisoner of this stench..."

After tasting the dish, the examiners felt deeply attracted, as if they had been captivated by it.

"The results are in...! The score is -84 points! Oh my god! The 80-point mark! Sadatsuka... has surpassed 50 points first! She's tentatively in first place!" This result was obviously surprising to many people, including Kawashima Rei, who had broken the record of 50 points. After all, none of the previous dishes had scored more than 50 points.

"Ah... I really hope that one day... Miss Erina can also try this curry..." Seeing that everyone had a high opinion of the dish, Nao Satsuka crossed her hands, looked up, and said with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Okay... While the room is being ventilated, let's continue the judging! Next contestant! Please bring out your dish!" Kawashima Rei said opportunely after the judges had given their scores and announced the results.

"I've been looking forward to this for so long... to be able to beat you to a pulp in public..." Nao Satsuka thought to herself as she watched the next person arrive.

This person was none other than Hisako. Two years ago, they had a food battle in order to be able to stay by Erina Nakiri's side. However, Nao Sadazuka lost that food battle, but she was still very unwilling to accept it.

"My lifelong dream has always been to be by Erina's side and listen to her scold me mercilessly... Just thinking about her using that divine tongue to reprimand me... hehehe... hehehe..." Nao Satsuka said this after watching Hisako bring up her dishes.

But seriously, does this sound like he has some kind of masochistic tendency?

"The answer to this matter has already been given, hasn't it? Because I won that food battle." After hearing this, Hisako naturally understood what she was talking about and simply said it.

"Yes... After that... I could only pay my respects to her through binoculars, and send her about 30 letters every day." The reason why Nao Satsuka did that strange thing was because of that food battle. If Hisako had won, then Nao Satsuka would have had to stay within a 50-meter radius of Erina.

After hearing Nao Satsuka's explanation, Hisako couldn't stand it anymore and regretted her past actions, thinking to herself, "...I should have added this to the list of prohibited items as well."

"But if I can surpass you on the stage of this autumn selection competition, then perhaps Ms. Erina will change her mind..." It seems that the position of Erina's personal secretary has already given Nao Satsuka a twisted mindset; how much determination does that take? "She will definitely keep me by her side...hehehehehehe..."

Hearing Nao Sadazuka's near-madness, Hisako couldn't help but tremble; she simply couldn't stand this kind of person anymore.

"Next up is Hisako Shirato's dish."

"She is, after all, Ms. Erina's secretary! She'll definitely bring out something she'd love to offer!"

As Erina's secretary, many people would naturally say that, but in reality, if one always remains in this position, one can only be subordinate to Erina. Even if one surpasses her, it would be difficult to shake off the reputation. Therefore, if you are someone who wants to reach the top, you would not choose such a position, because when others mention it, they will basically say things like "so-and-so's so-and-so," which is a very embarrassing thing, and can even be considered a stain.

"Please use—" Hisako said to the examiners after pouring soup into the casserole.

In the clear broth, sliced ​​carrots, lamb slices, onions, and other ingredients are arranged in a volcanic cone shape, with fragrant cilantro filling the crater. The neat arrangement of the ingredients and the clean broth make it look quite appealing.

"Hmm...? The sauce doesn't look very thick, and it's quite watery... Is it a dish similar to soup curry?" Chiyo held up a finger to her lips, looking at the dish in front of her, and she was fairly certain that there was some truth to it.

"The ingredients include scallions, carrots, onions, and cabbage, etc... The gamey smell of mutton is stronger than that of lamb, but you used spices to completely remove the gamey smell... Ah..." Kita Shuji stroked his chin, looking at the ingredients in the casserole, and said.

"...A foul smell..." However, upon seeing this, the examiner's reaction seemed somewhat indifferent, and it was unclear what had happened.