Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　At that moment, as if she had just thought of something, she lightly covered her mouth, her face full of surprise.

　"Shhh."

　Perhaps noticing Shiomi Jun in the audience, Hayama Akira raised his hand and made a shushing gesture.

　"As you expected, Jun. My cooking... only begins now..."

　As he sprinkled the holy basil into the soup pot, Akira Hayama's face revealed a determined expression. He wanted to prove his talent with this dish!

　"This aroma... is a slightly refreshing scent mixed with thick coconut milk."

　"It brings a refreshing feeling and stimulates the appetite."

　In the audience, many people swallowed hard, their faces showing longing as they smelled the rich yet refreshing aroma in the air.

　"In this venue filled with all sorts of smells, only the aroma from his pot stood out."

　"This is evidence that the spices are blended perfectly."

　Even though the judges were all famous food critics, they all looked like they were enjoying themselves.

　"Ah, this is a different scent, is it smoke?"

　"I see. Smoking is also a cooking method that can release aroma."

　"The air in the venue was covered again."

　He closed his eyes, savoring the aromas in the air, while providing commentary.

　The battle for fusion cuisine actually began the moment they stepped onto this stage.

　The air is filled with the intense aromas of various dishes, which can easily interfere with the chef's judgment.

　If you can't judge the state of your cooking, then you don't need to continue cooking; you can declare defeat now.

　"Dough and curry, that guy must be making puff pastry soup, a dish created by Paul Bocuse, a representative figure in French cuisine."

　However, while flamboyance is certainly a form of expression for curry, a restrained yet explosive approach might produce a better effect in the competition.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan."

　"Brother Bai Yuan".

　Upon seeing Bai Yuan suddenly appear in the VIP room, Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri stood up at the same time and greeted him in unison.

　"You can just sit here, don't worry about me."

　Seeing the two people get up, Bai Yuan waved his hand indifferently, stepped to the glass, and looked down at everything that was happening in the A venue.

　Especially Hajime Hajime, the owner of the Nose of God, undoubtedly possesses unparalleled potential, and his talent is exceptionally good.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, what did you mean by that just now? What do you mean by 'restrained explosion'...?"

　Sitting down again, Erina Nakiri asked with some curiosity.

　"It's about locking the aroma of the curry in the curry until it bursts forth the moment you swallow and chew it, so that the deliciousness can reach straight to the heavens."

　Of course, I'm not saying the following method is bad; if you're opening a shop, a strong aroma is more likely to attract customers.

　Objectively speaking, both cooking methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but Bai Yuan prefers the more understated approach.

　For him, deliciousness is the key.

　"To be able to sleep so soundly in that kind of chair, this transfer student is really a peculiar person."

　Just as Bai Yuan was lost in thought, Nakiri Erina's surprised voice rang out.

　Bai Yuan followed her gaze and found that Yukihira Soma was asleep in a chair, with his legs crossed.

　"It's probably because I was too tired from studying the dishes, and the waiting time was boring. Plus, I was too exhausted, so I fell asleep. This happens often."

　Looking at Yukihira Soma's appearance, Bai Yuan nodded with understanding. He had been in the same situation before, so he was not surprised, but rather felt a sense of familiarity.

　"It's now!"

　With a slight twitch of his nose, a rich aroma filled his nostrils. Soma Yukihira's expression shifted slightly, and he suddenly opened his eyes, lifting the lid off the pot in front of him.

　"Look, in that pot, rice, vegetables, spices, and mutton are stewed together!"

　In the audience, everyone looked surprised when they saw the dish in Soma Yukihira's hot pot.

　"You added crushed apples, bananas, and carrots to your pot, which gives the rice a thick consistency and makes it into an Italian-style lamb risotto."

　Beside him, Hayama Akira, who had been watching Yukihira Soma closely, sniffed, closed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then revealed the key to Yukihira Soma's cooking.

　"Yayama, not bad, you're right, you really have a good nose."

　In short, just wait and see; this is only the beginning of making a dish.

　Upon hearing Hayama Akira's words, Yukihira Soma smiled mysteriously, and his expression made the other party suspect that there might be something else hidden in the other party's dish.

　Meanwhile, at venue B.

　"The water buffalo grows its horns first, then its head; your mom bought you roasted mutton."

　Humming an unknown tune, Huang Mei kept her hands busy as she cooked mutton, adding peppercorns, scallions, and ginger.

　"The aromas of Hangzhou peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and wild chili peppers have come together to create a complex fragrance. Is this for spicy lamb chops?"

　Chihiro Orie sniffed, her gaze fixed on Zhang Chen in the corner, her eyes filled with curiosity.

　"That girl over there is also quite good. The meat in the pot smells so pure and delicious, with no impurities mixed in except for some vegetables."

　I remember a dish from the Hui people of China called hand-pulled mutton, which doesn't have many seasonings; you just enjoy the pure aroma of the meat.

　Beside the Senpyo-ori River, a chubby old man smiled at Wang Jing, or rather, at the mutton in her pressure cooker, his heart filled with anticipation.

　He has no other hobbies except eating meat; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to Totsuki as a judge.

　After tasting the contents of the pressure cooker—carrots, peppercorns, bay leaves, celery, and salt—Wang Jing closed the lid and stood aside to wait.

　She is from Ningxia, and her ancestors have been followers of Islam for generations. The cuisine she learned was all halal. She once ran a well-known halal restaurant in Ningxia, but was defeated when someone came to challenge her business, so she embarked on the path of studying.

　She started out with sincerity, but after witnessing too many amazing and despair-inducing technologies, she became desperate. Then she met Liu Yu, who had also been severely discouraged, and the two of them started to give up together.

　Of course, giving up is just an attitude; she still insists on cooking for eight hours every day, taking every dish seriously and improving her culinary skills.

　However, she could never recapture the passion for cooking she had in her youth.

　"Look at that little girl with braids! Could it be that she's thinking of... This really tests a chef's basic skills, and requires a lot of experience."

　"Is she going to dismember the sheep on the spot!?"

　Suddenly, the sound of wheels grinding came from above. Tadokoro Megumi pushed up the tools she had prepared beforehand, and a slaughtered and bled sheep was hung on it.

　A commotion erupted at the scene, and almost everyone's attention was focused on her. Even the chefs in her group looked over, wanting to see if she was just trying to attract attention.

　"What is that child planning to do?"

　Chihiro Orie's expression was subtle, her eyes filled with disapproval. Tadokoro Megumi, such a petite girl, was a stark contrast to the sheep.

　It's hard to imagine that such a frail woman would actually want to raise a butcher's knife against the sheep in front of her.

　"It's the hanging cut method, isn't it?"

　Isshiki Satoshi explained from the side.

　"I do know that. Because of their size, sheep are difficult to handle on a cutting board, so some herders use the hanging cutting method to process them."

　but..."

　Chihiro Orie didn't continue speaking. Looking at the confident gaze of the girl in front of her, even though she had just performed very ordinaryly, for some reason, she felt that the other girl could succeed.

　"Because the knife has to be cut while the object is hanging upside down, in an unstable state, this dismantling..."

　"This requires considerable skill; it's simply impossible to do without several years of experience."

　"On this grand stage, choosing this method to butcher mutton—is it courageous, or just a publicity stunt...?"

　As Tadokoro Megumi stood before the cutting platform, her hands clasped together, praying for the souls of the dead sheep, murmurs arose from the audience.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, are you watching me?"

　Opening her eyes, looking at the sheep hanging upside down in front of her, and then glancing at the audience, Tadokoro Megumi thought to herself, her face revealing a resolute expression.

　"I will become a disciple you can be proud of!"

　Donning white gloves, holding a kitchen knife, and with her eyes fixed on the bones and joints of the sheep, the girl began her movements with the intention of achieving the greatest results with the least amount of force.

　Those around her only saw her push and pull, the mutton in her hands was like a toy, being dismembered piece by piece, this was something she had specifically asked Bai Yuan to do.

　The other party didn't say anything at the time, but gave him a popular science encyclopedia on the dismemberment of common livestock. It clearly described the body structure of different livestock and explained in detail how to dismember them.

　She studied for three days, and in between, she spent money to go to the slaughterhouse to personally practice more than ten times. Now her skills are very proficient.

　"Teacher Bai Yuan, are you watching? That cowardly fellow you once recognized and encouraged is now capable of standing on his own!"

　"Disassembly...disassembly is complete."

　"She did it all by herself, with a whole sheep..."

　As the last piece of lamb liver was placed on the tray, Megumi Tadokoro let out a long sigh of relief, but the scene erupted in cheers. Disbelief filled everyone's faces; how could this young girl have done something like that?!

　"What kind of dish is that child planning to make?"

　Suppressing her shock, Sentawi Orie looked at Tadokoro Megumi and thought to herself, "What an amazing guy."

　"Xiao Hui, as long as you put in enough effort, you will succeed one day."

　In the audience, Bai Yuan appeared in the front row at some point. Looking at Tadokoro Megumi sweating under the stage lights, he murmured.

　"Xiao Hui did so well, I should too..."

　Watching Tadokoro Megumi being pushed off the cutting platform, Ryoko Sakaki showed a gratified expression. She had watched her grow up, from being fragile at the beginning to being strong now, so she felt deeply for her.

　While pondering, she looked at her work station and methodically began processing the ingredients on the cutting board.

　Beside her was Mito Ikumi, a girl calmly preparing mutton, but surprisingly, she hadn't even started yet.

　In front of her were several pieces of meat of varying quality, and she was busy cutting them.

　"What are they doing here? Why hasn't it started yet?"

　"I don't know, let's see what she does in the end."

　Mito Ikumi's actions were so baffling that no one at the scene could understand them. They wanted to offer their critiques, but were afraid of being proven wrong in the end, so they tacitly ignored her.

　Chapter 171 Eight-Ingredient Medicinal Cuisine Stewed Lamb Soup

　"Hojo finally put the lamb in, then sautéed the onions until fragrant, added the carrots, and finally the lamb, followed by Shaoxing wine, salt, and pepper..."

　Ketchup and tomato sauce? Why are they put together...?

　Many viewers looked puzzled as they watched Miyoko Hojo add tomato sauce and then ketchup to the pot.

　In their view, tomato sauce and ketchup are essentially the same, so there's no need to add ketchup first and then ketchup.

　This is like taking off your pants to fart.

　"The rich tomato flavor and sweet and sour taste of the tomato sauce itself can provide a basic tomato flavor for hand-pulled lamb rice."

　Tomato sauce, with its refreshing taste and rich seasoning, adds more layers of flavor to the hand-grabbed rice, making the overall taste rich and diverse.

　Adding both at the same time doesn't conflict; it only enhances the flavor of the dish.

　On the judging panel, the judges heard the audience's questions and looked at each other. As a professional in the food industry, Chihiro Orie began to explain.

　Although tomato sauce evolved from ketchup, it would be truly amateurish to confuse the two so easily.

　It's like treating the father and son as one person.

　"I see. To use such a subtle difference between tomato sauce and ketchup to cook lamb, what an amazing person! No wonder she's the daughter of Chef Hojo at the Yokohama Chinese Restaurant!"

　As Chihiro Orie provided an extremely detailed explanation, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience, their words filled with admiration for Hojo Miyoko.

　“I’m not anyone’s daughter, I’m Miyoko Hojo! An independent chef.”

　Hearing the praise from those around her, Hojo Miyoko was not very satisfied. She raised the ladle in her hand and shouted to those around her in a loud voice.

　Instead, as soon as she finished speaking, there was a moment of silence. Everyone looked at each other, and they all saw the awkwardness in each other's eyes.

　"Miyoko Hojo!"

　"Miyoko Hojo!"

　But soon, someone shouted something, and even more enthusiastic cheers followed.

　"Looks like this guy has quite a few fans outside, and he's such a big fan of Hojo-ro. Are they all Chinese food lovers?"