The strongest anime shop owner

"Does stewing beef require a charcoal stove!?"

"I have absolutely no idea what he's trying to do?"

By this point, Soma's chaotic handling of the situation was so confusing that it was impossible to tell what he was doing.

"So...it really was...he just thought of it...!" At this point, Hayatsuda was completely convinced that it was Soma's impromptu creation.

“Soma…I see…you really are that type…” At that moment, Mimasaka’s voice came from the other side.

"Which type... is that?"

"What do you mean?"

Many people were puzzled after hearing what Mimasaka said.

"Chefs who don't understand my thorough tracking technique... are helpless against my upgraded dishes... and end up defeated... or like Aldini Takumi, they might instantly transform a dish into their own based on a fleeting idea. But what strategies will chefs who know my methods employ!?"

Type 1: [Bluster] Deceptive Attack! They announce their dish beforehand, then bring out the complete opposite during the actual competition to disrupt my composure. This is especially common among those confident in their culinary skills...

Type 2 [Random Cooking]!! This is a type of game where you enter the battlefield without ever considering what you're going to do beforehand! By not thinking about anything, your ideas won't be stolen... although there's some truth to that...

However, most chefs would fall into terror and ultimately fail to produce a decent dish. "If it were you, you should be able to make a decent dish, right? Because you're not the kind of coward who would be scared halfway through and wet yourself..." Mimasaka said in a tone that suggested he had seen through everything. He believed that someone like Soma could produce a decent dish, but in his heart, he didn't think that something Soma made on the spot could surpass a dish he had carefully prepared.

"That's right...! Soma didn't even consider the specific dishes before the match started... Let's fight fire with fire!"

"The outcome is hard to predict now..."

After hearing what Mimasaka said, the Polaris dormitory members felt that Soma still had a great chance, after all, they had all seen Soma's cooking skills, even if it was just an impromptu dish.

"What's wrong? You actually... praised me?" Soma, who was diligently making something, turned around and said to Mimasaka after hearing these words.

“I do believe in you… I know everything about you… I even know that you went to the Aldini apartment this morning… and that you bought a lot of meat afterward…!” After hearing Su Luo’s words, Mimasaka closed his eyes and said this, as if he had seen through Soma completely after tracking and analyzing the whole process.

"If that's the case, then everything you've done is the same. You're far too confident in your cooking skills." At this moment, Su Luo, who had been standing by and watching, spoke up. He wouldn't agree with Mei Zuo's words, because even computers make mistakes, let alone humans.

"Su Luo, you're mistaken. I'm confident I'll win because I have everything under control." After hearing Su Luo's words, Mimasaka Ao didn't show any anger. Instead, a confident smile played on his lips. He then looked at Su Luo with a strange smile and said, "Compared to that, I think Su Luo should worry about yourself first! But seriously, you're quite wise. If you were to fight me in a food battle, you'd probably lose miserably!"

"Mimasaka, you really have an arrogant attitude. As for the food battle, heh, I think it's because some people can't gain trust." Looking at the self-righteous Mimasaka, Su Luo felt displeased, and a mocking smile appeared on her lips as she spoke inexplicably. This sentence might seem inexplicable to others, but Mimasaka understood exactly what it meant.

After a pause, Su Luo continued, "As for whether I will lose, what makes you so sure?"

"You..." Hearing Su Luo's pointed words, Mei Zuo's face clearly showed displeasure and resentment, but it was only for a moment. He must have a good grasp of his own emotions. Then he revealed a confident smile and said in a tone that seemed to have seen through everything, "Although you keep saying that you don't know how to research dishes, I will not give up. As I expected, you also chose the second method, which is to cook randomly. I know that you bought a lot of ingredients this morning. I suppose you were preparing for random cooking. Of course, there is also that thing."

At this point, Mei Zuo spread his hands and made this comment to Su Luo: "However, I know you have some fame, but don't you think what you're doing is a bit inappropriate? Although you should be able to serve up a decent dish, it's still far from being as good as some other things."

"What!? So it really is like that. I thought the rumor that Su Luo wasn't developing any new dishes was false."

"So what kind of competition is this, a random cooking contest?"

"Two people made such amazing moves in this match alone; I really don't know if it's due to skill or..."

When Misaka uttered those words, the audience immediately began to murmur amongst themselves, because this match was probably the most unique and casual one yet.

"This guy... to do something like this during such an important event, do you think this is an amusement park? Such recklessness is unforgivable. As expected... I still hate these two brothers the most..." Upon seeing this situation, Erina Nakiri's aura suddenly changed. She clenched her fist tightly, and her expression looked somewhat frightening.

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Chapter 211 Bone Broth

However, it makes sense. After all, although Erina Nakiri doesn't have much power among the organizers of this event, she is still one of the people in charge. She would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen in the event she manages. If this competition leaves a bad impression on others, then she will be partly to blame. Thinking of this, Erina Nakiri exploded. However, faced with this situation, she could do nothing but watch dumbly. Thinking of the behavior of the Su brothers, she wished she could chop them up and feed them to the dogs right now. However, at the same time, she had another emotion in her heart. She wanted Soma to fail so that he would lose his qualification to be a chef, but at the same time, she didn't want Soma to lose. So at this moment, her emotions were complicated and mixed.

"Huh!? If it's Soma, I've seen him, but Su Luo... well, I think he's so cute, he can definitely do it." After hearing this, Hinako Inui was clearly surprised by Su Luo's actions and behavior. She didn't know whether to call it arrogance or genuine ability, but that was just a fleeting thought. Then she held her cheeks and looked at Su Luo with a cat-like expression.

"That bastard Inui's illness has returned. Doesn't anyone have any medicine prepared for her?" Standing to the side, Kakuzaki Taki seemed to be deliberately trying to provoke Inui Hinako. Looking at the situation on the field, he crossed his arms and said.

"Okay, I'll remember tomorrow." At times like this, Mizuhara Fuyumi, with her calm demeanor and sharp tongue that seemed indifferent to everything, reappeared.

Speaking of Hinata Koko-san, are you sure Mizuhara-senpai is your true love?

"What's going on? I thought the little brother wasn't joking about not developing new dishes, but I didn't expect... Seriously, Su Luo is being corrupted by Soma! He actually did something like this. From now on, I must make sure Su Luo keeps her distance from Soma." Seeing that Su Luo didn't reply or show any reaction after hearing Mimasaka's words, essentially agreeing, Sakaki Ryoko immediately shifted all the blame onto Soma, saying angrily. Meanwhile, Soma, who was on the field, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.

"..." As for the other members of the Polar Star Dormitory beside her, they were speechless after hearing Ryoko Sakaki's words, and at the same time, they silently mourned for Soma for a minute.

"Heh, judging the winner? I don't think you're qualified. I think the final review results will give us the answer. So, before we know the final answer, it's best not to jump to conclusions. Be careful, the higher you fly, the harder you fall." Su Luo didn't reply to Mei Zuo's words, because what he did was improvised, at least that's how it appeared to others. So he didn't want to say anything more, standing there calmly, continuing to cook his dish while speaking indifferently.

After listening to Su Luo's words, Mei Zuoang didn't say anything more. After all, in the face of the final results, everything he said now was meaningless.

Su Luo first picked out the oxtail meat with the crispy skin, and poured the essence from the frying into a small bowl. Separating them was to ensure that the oxtail meat's skin remained crispy.

After doing all that, Su Luo took out her secret weapon, a small insulated box. After heating the pot, she poured out the contents. The liquid that flowed out was white like milk, but thicker than milk.

As the white liquid was poured into the already heated pot, it hissed and immediately billowed out in puffs of white smoke.

"What...what is this smell?! It's so strong."

"Mmm~ It smells so good, the aroma is really tempting, I wish I could have a sip right now."

"This is... bone broth..." As a meat expert, Mito Ikumi had this word in her mind almost the instant she smelled it. At the same time, this might be the 'thing' that Mimasaka Subaru mentioned earlier.

"Hey! Little brother, when did you make this? I didn't know that." When Ryoko Sakaki saw this, she obviously knew that the white soup was prepared by Su Luo in advance, but she obviously didn't know that Su Luo had made it.

"We don't know either." The other Polaris dormitory members shook their heads as they saw the look in Sakaki Ryoko's eyes.

"Although this child always seems indifferent to this kind of competition, he is actually very serious..." When she saw this situation, Mrs. Wenxu closed her eyes and smiled, thinking to herself, because Su Luo was making this soup when Mrs. Wenxu discovered it. This was the result of Su Luo's hard work all night.

“I see. Bones contain a lot of amino acids, and beef bones can be said to be the essence of the whole cow. Moreover, the bone broth, which has been simmered for a long time, has a richer meat flavor. This not only makes up for the collagen lost in the oxtail meat, but also makes the oxtail meat taste even richer. It’s quite clever… but…” Erina Nakiri stroked her chin, watching Su Luo’s actions. After making this comment, she looked at the ingredients for making cocktails on Su Luo’s table and frowned slightly. It seemed that she still hadn’t figured out what Su Luo was going to do with the cocktails.

The bone broth was already quite thick, so it quickly reduced. Then, Su Luo poured it into another pot, placed the fried oxtail on top, and finally brushed a layer of butter on the oxtail. He then poured red wine over the reduced bone broth, followed by a layer of olive oil. He wrapped the pot with aluminum foil and baked it in the oven at 100°C for 5 minutes.

"Look... he's about to mix a cocktail."

"I really don't know what he's trying to do... If it's a cocktail side dish, it doesn't seem to make any sense at all, does it?"

As Su Luo began mixing cocktails, a murmur of discussion arose. After all, even those who didn't know anything about cooking understood that red wine braised beef already had a sufficient alcohol content. Using cocktails as a side dish would be completely unreasonable. Moreover, no one had ever seen anyone use cocktails as a side dish in cooking.

However, Su Luo's actions soon revealed to them that the cocktail he was making might not be a side dish, because Su Luo didn't stop at all while he was mixing a cocktail.

"Although I don't know what he's doing, his bartending skills are really good."

"What do you mean by 'not bad'? I'd only be considered an average bartender."

"Don't forget, he's just a child..."

"Oh, you're right..."

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Chapter 212 Examination 1

Su Luo's bartending skills weren't as flashy as those of a professional bartender, but his movements were still quite fluid. This was the result of nearly seven days of work in the system space, and to achieve this level was already quite remarkable. After all, don't forget that his profession is chef, not bartender. Watching Su Luo's smooth bartending movements made some people forget his main job, so such comments are understandable.

Soon, Su Luo had prepared seven cocktails, and she only stopped after preparing seven. The seven cocktails were rainbow-colored, lined up in a row, and emitted a mesmerizing glow under the light.

After all that was done, the oxtail was almost done roasting in the oven. When it was taken out, the golden-brown oxtail was still sizzling, looking very appealing. The beef bones, due to the previous shrinkage treatment and the red wine at such a high temperature, remained as thick as before. Even if you turned it upside down, not a drop would spill out. It looked like jelly, only much thicker and heavier. Even with the addition of red wine, it didn't change the beef bone broth at all. Under the high temperature, it looked like a layer of wine-red coating had been added to the white beef bone broth, but it still subtly revealed a milky white color.

When making this dish, the ingredients are placed directly on a plate, then put into a pot and covered with aluminum foil, so you can simply serve the whole dish directly from the pot.

After serving the beef bone soup, slice two semi-circular lemons and arrange them neatly to one side, then place a sprig of mint next to the lemons. The whole dish instantly becomes more refined.

"Look!"

"He... he actually poured the cocktails into this prepared dish! Is he crazy? Doesn't that mix all the cocktails together? If that's the case, why bother making so many of those...?"

"Look, everyone!"

"So that's how it is. It uses the density of the liquid to achieve balance, so that they don't mix together. This is quite difficult in cocktail preparation. If this is really what he's doing now, it's terrifying."

"This is the first time I've seen a dish like this. I really want to try it!"

"Next is the last step." When she got to this point, Su Luo took a deep breath, and then carefully poured the seven cocktails of seven different colors into the glass, one by one, like the surface of a lemon cut open, arranging each color in a uniform fan shape. Finally, she poured the sauce from frying the oxtail meat earlier over it, and added a sprig or two of cilantro to finish.

While Su Luo and Soma were finishing up, Mimasaka Ono had already started preparing to serve the dishes.

"Let's start by reviewing the dishes from Mimasaka, who went first!" Dojima Gin's voice came from the stage as all the contestants were ready to serve their dishes.

"Waaaaaah!"

"The beef looks so tender and the bacon is so juicy!"

"It looks delicious!"

"Please enjoy your meal!!" After hearing Dojima Gin's words, Mimasaka Subaru brought out his dishes. On a clean white porcelain plate, in the center was a piece of tender and juicy oxtail, surrounded by a thick layer of broth. Next to it were two thick slices of crispy bacon, shallots, and fresh mushrooms. Overall, it looked simple and elegant, but not particularly refined.

"The side dishes are the bacon and fresh mushrooms I mentioned earlier, along with shallots cooked in butter!" After Mimasaka brought the dish to the table, Kikuchi Orchard immediately began to examine the side dishes. After saying this, she rubbed her mouth and leisurely began to show off her knowledge: "The etymology of 'cooked in butter' comes from the French word for 'frozen.' The glossy sheen gives the whole plate a rich feel. Even the legendary chef Escoffier emphasized the importance of side dishes!"

"Shut up! Stop showing off your knowledge! Hurry up and eat!" Kakuzaki Taki couldn't stand the incessant chatter from Kikuchi Orchard and kicked him hard, yelling.

"Ugh-!!!" After hearing Kakuzaki Taki's irritable and impatient words, Kikuchi Kayuan immediately shut up, picked up her spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and ate it. The moment she ate it, a delicious flavor filled the air, causing Kikuchi Kayuan to involuntarily let out an alluring moan. While exhaling hot breath, she said, "My tongue is melting!! It's so soft and fluffy!!"

"Not only that, he brought out the aroma of the mesona tree to such an extreme! The strong contrast of flavors almost brought tears to my eyes! This is an unparalleled delicacy!!" Even the hot-tempered tomboy Kakuzaki Taki showed a rather enjoyable expression, commenting as she ate.

"I anticipated all your thoughts, which is why I used this special bacon!! The so-called cooking - only with meticulous preparation can you have the last laugh! No matter how many tricks you make now, it's all in vain! It's all for nothing! But you should still remember this scene well, because this is the last time in your life that you will present your last dish in front of others!" At this moment, Mimasaka Subaru obviously thought of something and said to Soma, who was preparing to serve the dish. As he spoke, he picked up the bacon he had been using. Obviously, he believed that this was the secret weapon to deal with Soma. As he spoke, he seemed to have everything under control, and his face was confident and calm.

"It's just that there's no food battle, why are you ignoring me like this?" Upon seeing this, Su Luo, who had been ignored for a long time, muttered to herself with some dissatisfaction.

Well, it's clear that the other party doesn't take Su Luo seriously at all.

"The aroma of the warm, soft spices and the sweetness of the oil are a perfect match! It's like a fierce battle between two comrades in a wrestling ring, with sparks flying everywhere!!" Kakuzaki Taki thought to himself as he ate, closing his eyes to savor the experience.

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Chapter 213 Examination 2

"Here it comes! The final blow!!" After eating this dish, all the tasters felt as if they had entered a meatball arena, with the Minotaur holding their necks while the Pigman prepared for the final blow.

"No... I can't take it anymore!! This deliciousness... makes my body tremble uncontrollably! The beef and pork intertwined together—" That explosive power, that feeling, deeply stimulates every cell in my body, and I feel like I could be knocked to the ground by this smell at any moment.

"Take this! Combined Finishing Move! Cross Shockwave!!!" With the pigman's final blow, the inspectors could no longer withstand the intense and violent taste. They lost their fighting ability in the final taste, their stomachs completely conquered.

thump~

With the ringing of the bell, the inspection of the first dish came to an end.

"That was amazing!!!"

"Even the head chefs at the previous event raved about it!!"

Seeing the chefs' reactions after tasting Mimasaka's dishes, and considering Soma's cooking, even though they didn't know how the food would taste, the first impression was clearly not good. It was almost as if the probability of losing was greater than the probability of winning. The Polar Star members who had been watching Soma closely, as well as Aldini Takumi who was watching silently from behind, had their eyes dim when they saw this.

As for Su Luo, winning would be the best outcome, but losing wouldn't be a big deal, since he didn't participate in the Food Wars and the consequences wouldn't be so severe. Soma, on the other hand, would have to end his career as a chef here if he lost this time.

Upon seeing this, Su Luo appeared calm on the surface, but she was actually somewhat worried. Whether it was because of his status as a younger brother or a companion, this was the real world, not the original comics or anime, and many things could change.

"Just like you, I also...believe in you..." Soma said inexplicably as Mimasaka passed by.

"What...?" Misaku Subaru clearly didn't understand Soma's meaning.

"Don't be so formal, Mimasaka. I've been thinking about you all week too." Although Soma usually seems very casual, that doesn't mean he's stupid; he's clearly made thorough preparations.