As Megumi stood there seemingly helpless, Kojiro began to work on his dish with absolutely no doubt in himself that it would be delicious. Daniel also heard the chef comment to him and Soma about how "sorry" he felt for them that their futures were in the hands of "a dimwit." If he could have gotten away with it, Daniel would have been tempted to kick his ass right then and there – though it seemed the other chefs understood Daniel's sentiment based on the comments they made in response.

As Megumi continued to stand there shaking – both frozen and frantic at the same time – Daniel thought of a way she could be snapped out of it. He then told Soma in a low voice, "Do the thing," as he simultaneously brought his hands together to indicate exactly what "thing" he was talking about. Soma then nodded and walked up to Megumi, and had her put her hands together in front of her body. When she did so, Soma slapped his hands on hers with a loud "smack!" This startled everyone else in the room, as Megumi said, "Ow! That hurt." Soma then scratched behind his head in slight embarrassment and said, "Yeah, sorry. The problem with that is you can't do it on your own." He then got a serious look on his face before saying, "Look, my dad taught me that in these situations, you just have to stop everything and start all over one step at a time."

As Megumi began to express her worries about going up against chef Kojiro, Daniel came into the conversation and stated, "Forget about him and what he's doing. Make something that you would want to eat. Chefs are at their best when they make things that come from the heart, regardless of what others may be saying or doing. Besides, you have something he doesn't." Daniel then put his arm around Soma's shoulder to emphasize the point as he continued, "You have the two of us, who will support you all the way." Megumi seemed to take comfort in this as she sighed and appeared visibly calmer. As she looked at the available ingredients, she stated, "I think I know what I want to make." As she explained what she was thinking with the boys, Soma said, "Interesting. Alright, then – let's get to it!" Daniel grinned in agreement and added, "Yeah, tell us what you want us to do, chef!"

As the trio got started, they realized that this dish would be difficult to make, as there were a number of steps they had to go through in order to create it properly. Luckily, with the three of them working together – and with Megumi's directions and Soma's instincts, they were able to go through the steps efficiently, providing Megumi enough time to complete the dish. As they were doing this, the judges became curious and started to look through both Soma's and Daniel's files, as they were the only two transfer students in the first-year group. They were surprised that Soma's experience came from a seemingly ordinary diner, but they were even more surprised to find that Daniel's only real experience was working under Soma in that same diner. While he had done some traveling and immersed himself a little bit in other cultures, his culinary experience was quite limited. Further, the fact that Daniel had already graduated from the regular high school system also surprised them, as they wondered what convinced him to come to Totsuki in the first place.

Before long, Kojiro had finished his dish, and presented portions for each of the judges. They seemed surprised at what he ended up serving them – a Chou Farci. In this case, it was chicken breast stuffed with foie gras mixed with various vegetables, including morel mushrooms and asparagus, with a wrapping of savoy cabbage and a couple strips of bacon. He made one each for Mizuhara, Donato, Sekimori, and Dojima. When chef Inui asked where hers was, he stated bluntly, "You don't get one – you'll have to share with Mizuhara if you want some." While she was annoyed by Kojiro's lack of manners, she had to admit (once she got a taste from Mizuhara) that what he had made was absolutely delicious, as did the other judges, based on their reaction. Mizuhara even commented to Kojiro, "If I could just forget it was made by you, it would be perfect."

The other judges agreed that this showed why Kojiro was known as "The Legume Magician," but also expressed their surprise that he would make something like this and not one of his specialties from his restaurant, to which Kojiro responded, "Please, if I did that against a couple of students, it would just humiliate them. Come on, would I really be that cruel?" In the background, Daniel (who had overheard the conversation) suddenly deadpanned loud enough for everyone else to hear, "Yes, you would." The comment caused the judges to chuckle a bit, while Kojiro was just annoyed and shouted back, "Shut up and concentrate on your own dish, you pissant!"

Shortly after, Megumi was ready to present her dish – a seven-layer vegetable terrine, though unlike chef Kojiro's version, Megumi utilized preserved vegetables, which she mixed with potatoes and chicken livers into seven layers of different colors, explaining that back home, she and her mom would preserve vegetables every year to use later in the ryokan's dishes. In addition, she had also provided two different sauces on the side – one citrus based, and one herb based – to help vary the flavors a bit.

As the judges dug in, much to Megumi's surprise, they began to praise it, with chef Donato finding it "absolutely delicious." They commented how the flavors of each layer stood out, yet worked very well together, and that the two sauces worked well with each layer as well, providing for fourteen different possible flavor combinations. As Donato, Sekimori, and Hinako were arguing amongst themselves about what kind of magical or cute mythical creature they should associate with Megumi, she began to cry again – this time with tears of joy at seeing a number of chefs that she had a high level of respect for enjoy and praise her dish. Daniel then gave her a soft pat on the back and said to her, "I told you that you were a good chef. Way to go!"

When the judges were finished, Megumi and Kojiro stood at either end of one of the tables, with a small plate in front of each of them. Chef Dojima then instructed each of the judges to place a 500-yen coin on the plate in front of the chef they thought was the winner. Megumi, Soma, and Daniel closed their eyes and prayed that they would get at least two of them. As they heard three clinks, they opened their eyes only to see that all three coins had been placed on Kojiro's plate. "Unfortunately, as delicious as Megumi's dish was," Mizuhara commented, "The difference in skill level between the two was readily apparent."

At this, Daniel's heart sank, though not as much as Megumi's, who was brought to her knees once again in despair at the realization that she had lost the battle and would now be expelled from Totsuki. Daniel and Soma tried to comfort her, telling her that she had done a terrific job, though they couldn't shake the same sad feeling of knowing that they, too, were about to be forced to leave Totsuki. It seemed that this would be the end of the road for the trio – except that it wasn't. As chef Kojiro turned to leave, the sound of a coin clinking on a plate could be heard and everyone turned to see chef Dojima placing a coin of his own on Megumi's plate.

As chef Kojiro asked Dojima what he was doing, Dojima asked Kojiro to try Megumi's dish to see for himself. As Kojiro tried to mock the idea, he was hit hard with the next reality Dojima confronted him with – that he had plateaued as a chef and didn't know where to go next. Now that he had won that prestigious award in France, he was at a standstill and was frustrated by his inability to move forward. 'So, he was taking out his frustrations on us students?' Daniel thought, 'Jeez, what an ass!' Kojiro then became angry at what Dojima had said, shouting, "What do you know!? You're just a poor chef hired by his old school at the Totsuki group!" Chef Dojima just stood there steadily and said, "Then try this for yourself and tell me it's not true." Frustrated, Kojiro took the plate from Dojima's hand and tried Megumi's terrine.

As he tried it, he began to point out its flaws, questioning whether the other judges had lost their minds in praising it, when he suddenly stopped cold. His eyes widened, and despite his criticisms just moments before, he took another bite of the terrine. As he swallowed, Daniel (as well as several others in the room) were very surprised to see him shed a tear. He then surprised them again by placing a coin of his own onto the plate in front of Megumi.

He then gathered himself up as he addressed Megumi, asking if there was allspice in the mix. When Megumi confirmed there was, the judges guessed that it was to offset the smell of the chicken livers. "That's not the only reason, is it?" Kojiro asked Megumi. Although surprised that he had guessed as much, Megumi explained that it was also because she wanted to give them something that would be gentle on their stomachs, as they had been tasked with trying many rich foods the last couple of days. At this, Hinako teared up at how thoughtful Megumi had been in her cooking. As the others nodded in agreement, Hinako took out her own coin and placed it into Megumi's dish. "There!" she shouted, "Now the match is a draw!"

At this, Dojima asked Kojiro whether he was okay with Megumi, Soma, and Daniel staying in and retaining the status quo. Kojiro shrugged and said, "Whatever. This whole thing has been irregular from the beginning." As he left the kitchen annex, chef Dojima commented on how Megumi's dish screamed 'hospitality,' and that Megumi should channel that hospitality as she continued her time at Totsuki and beyond. As Megumi smiled and nodded at the compliment and advice, Dojima took the three coins from Megumi's plate and told the trio, "Consider these coins an initial investment in your futures."

Daniel then chuckled in appreciation and said, "Thanks – I appreciate the gesture." He then reached into his pocket and took out his Irish coin before adding, "But I've already got one of my own." As chef Dojima and the other Totsuki graduates began to look in curiosity, Mizuhara said, "I saw you with that during the session today, didn't I?" When Daniel nodded in response, she asked to take a look. As Daniel handed it over, Mizuhara began to look at it from several angles, with chefs Donato, Sekimori, and Inui trying to get a look from just behind her. "An interesting specimen," Mizuhara commented. "What is it, a good luck charm?" Daniel casually shrugged and said, "I don't know about that, but it did seem to work today, at least." As chef Dojima chuckled at the response, Mizuhara gave a small grin and handed the coin back to Daniel. "Well, best of luck to you and your friends the rest of this week, at least."

As the trio left the annex building, a wave of relief hit them, as the reality hit them that they were going to continue on for the time being. As Megumi was thanking Soma and Daniel, her phone buzzed. When she looked at it, she realized she had a ton of messages from Yuki, Ryoko, and the rest of the Polar Star gang. Daniel then told her to run ahead and meet up with them, that he and Soma would catch up in a couple of minutes. After she was out of sight, Soma pounded the side of his fist against the nearby wall, frustrated that they had technically lost the food war. While chef Kojiro was at a completely different level from them, Daniel could see that Soma had every intention of winning outright.

Daniel then took him by the shoulder and tried to calm him down. "Don't worry," he said, "The important thing right now is that we're still here, which means you'll get another shot at him one of these days. Once that day comes, you'll be better prepared to face him." Soma sighed, knowing that his friend was right, and said as much. Daniel then grinned and said, "Come on – let's forget about that loss right now and enjoy ourselves with our friends back at the hotel!" Soma chuckled and replied, "Thanks, man. I needed that." Daniel smiled back and said, "Anytime."

When they got back to the hotel, they immediately went to Zenji's room, as that's where they figured everyone would be gathered. When they entered the room, they were immediately met by a slap in the face each from Yuki, who was yelling at how stupid they had been for challenging chef Kojiro and putting themselves at such risk. Megumi then explained that if they hadn't done what they did, then Megumi would have been expelled for sure, which caused Yuki to start sobbing in relief and gratitude, as everyone else stated that they were really glad that they had made it through alright. Daigo and Shoji then declared it was party time in Zenji's room, to which Zenji cried for mercy, as he wanted to get some sleep. Feeling like giving Zenji a break, Daniel offered up his room for the party, which everyone took him up on, and Zenji thanked him profusely for.