As the Polar Star gang walked through the lobby the next morning, suitcases in their hands and feelings of triumph in their hearts, they ran into several of the chef instructors doing the same. Among them was chef Kojiro, who was in a considerably better mood (for him, anyway). Soma immediately addressed him in his usual casual manner, as though the secret food war had never happened. The pink-haired, bespectacled chef commented on how the trio he had battled had managed to survive the camp, and then told them that he was going back to his restaurant in Paris to go for three stars in the next round of ratings – something that had never been done by a Japanese chef in France before.
As he also commented at how Soma would be welcome to come by his restaurant if he wanted to learn more from him – apparently, he had developed a level of respect for Soma – the other chefs in the group, all of whom had participated in the secret food war, began offering the same to Soma, as well as to Megumi and Daniel. At one point, chef Mizuhara whispered in Daniel's ear, "Hey kid, are you at all interested in Italian food?" Daniel had to admit, he was interested in learning more about Italian cooking (it was one of his favorite cuisines), and he felt that chef Mizuhara would be a good mentor for this as well as other culinary paths he might be interested in. He told her as much and said that he would very much consider any offer she would make, before heading to the waiting bus back to Totsuki with the rest of the Polar Star residents.
As they were boarding the bus, Soma suddenly realized that he had left his signature white cloth in his hotel room and asked Daniel to watch his stuff as he went to get it. "Alright, but hurry up!" Daniel shouted as Soma ran back to the hotel. About twenty minutes later, the bus with everyone on board except Soma began to move and pull out of the resort parking lot. Daniel had tried to call Soma a couple of times, but couldn't reach him. Finally, Soma picked up as the bus was getting on the highway. "Dude – you missed the bus! What happened?" As he listened to Soma explain his situation, Daniel listened intently, and then his eyes widened when Soma told him how he was getting home. "Oh, really?" he asked. He then listened for a few more moments before saying, "Alright, man. I'll see you back at the dorm."
He then hung up before turning to Megumi, who was sitting beside him, and told her that Soma had managed to catch a ride back with Erina Nakiri of all people and would be going back in a limo. This surprised Megumi, and impressed Ryoko and Yuki, who were sitting in the two seats across the aisle from Daniel and Megumi. "I wonder how those two will spend the ride home, alone?" Yuki asked teasingly. As they arrived back at the academy and gathered their stuff, they began to head back to the dorm when Soma caught up to them. After Daniel handed Soma his suitcase, they all headed back as a group to their collective home.
As they reached the dorm, they were greeted by Miss Fumio and Isshiki, who congratulated them on successfully completing the training camp, and also informed them that someone special was making dinner for all of them. When they entered the kitchen, they were met by the face of a red-headed pony-tailed male stranger – a stranger to everyone, that is, except Soma and Daniel. There, cooking several dishes at once, was Soma's dad – Joichiro. The two boys were just as surprised as everyone else to see him, but that was because they thought he would still be overseas. Fumio then introduced him as Joichiro Saiba, which confused both Soma and Daniel as they had always known his last name as Yukihira. Fumio also explained that he was a former dorm resident who had been the number two seat on the Council of Ten.
"Ah, Soma. Daniel," Joichiro stated as he noticed the crowd entering the kitchen. "Why don't you two come over here and give me a hand?" Soma then began demanding to know what he was doing there as the rest of their friends were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that a former number two seat was there cooking for them. When Joichiro continued to ask for Soma's help like they were back in the diner, Soma screamed angrily, "What the heck's going on here, dad!?" This shocked everyone in the room, save Daniel, as they exclaimed, "They're father and son!?" However, this explained in their minds how Soma was so talented.
As the girls demanded to know why neither Soma nor Daniel had mentioned anything before, Soma claimed he didn't know. However, he mentioned a couple things he noticed growing up, which, in Daniel's mind, should have given Soma a clue. As for Daniel, it didn't occur to him to even ask about such things in the time he knew Soma and Joichiro. Fumio then brought out pictures of Joichiro during his academy days, standing with chef Gin Dojima, who apparently had been Joichiro's best friend at Totsuki. The girls began to swoon as they looked through the pictures, wondering if Soma would turn out like his father.
Soon, the dining table was filled with many dishes to provide a spread for dinner that felt almost luxurious. As Daniel began to enjoy the various dishes, he spotted one that he suspected was one of Joichiro's "gag" dishes – and he meant gag in multiple ways, knowing both Joichiro's and Soma's habits. Sure enough, Zenji had the misfortune of being the first to try the dish, which, by the look on his face, tasted awful. Joichiro explained that it was chopped up snake that hadn't been prepared at all, and was just boiled – skin, bones, and all – as he was laughing about it. Soma then joined in the laughter as they began to discuss various awful dishes they had created in the past. As they were laughing together, Daniel thought to himself, 'Soma is definitely his father's son.'
The next morning, Soma and Daniel made their way to the kitchen after waking up, where they were met by Joichiro, who was putting on his apron. He then challenged Soma to a food battle. "Let's see how much you've grown – or how much you've fallen behind," Joichiro goaded. Soma, not being one to back down from a challenge – particularly his father, accepted with gusto, confident that today would be the day he would finally beat his father in a food battle. As much as Daniel has watched Soma get beaten by Joichiro over and over in these battles over the last three years, he felt that Soma should have a fighting chance this time – especially considering how much the two of them had learned even from being at Totsuki for just a short time.
Joichiro had arranged for this event the night before after asking Fumio's permission, so she served as one of the judges. Isshiki then walked into the kitchen out of nowhere wearing nothing but the loin cloth he used when working in the garden – he volunteered to serve as the second judge. Daniel volunteered to be the third judge, but Joichiro objected. "I know you want to see Soma win one of these, so I can't be sure that you would be completely unbiased in this one," he said. While Daniel was miffed at this, he knew he couldn't disprove Joichiro's claim, either. Seeing his disappointment, Joichiro added, "Don't worry. We'll both still make you a serving of our dishes."
While Daniel felt better that he would at least get to taste the dishes, there was still the matter of getting a third judge for this challenge. That problem was solved when Megumi walked into the kitchen in her nightgown, practically sleepwalking. Being half-asleep, she was easily influenced to participate as a judge before being led to a stool to sit down. As the father and son duo got started on their dishes, Megumi started to become more aware of her surroundings and asked what was going on. "Soma and his dad are facing off in another one of their frequent food battles," Daniel explained casually, as though it was an everyday occurrence (which it kinda was, from his perspective).
Megumi, however, was shocked that Soma would think that he had a chance at beating his father, who was once the second seat on the Council of Ten! Even more shocking to her was the fact that they had constantly been doing these battles since he was in sixth grade. She then asked Soma how many times he had beaten his father, Soma began to think as though he couldn't quite remember. Daniel then commented, "It's zero, you fungo! You haven't gotten a single win against him." Joichiro then chuckled and added, "That's right. I've beaten you 500 times without losing." Soma then turned to his dad and shouted, "It's 489 times, and you know it, old man!"
As they cooked their respective dishes, the delicious aromas began to fill the room. Even though he wouldn't be a judge for this contest, Daniel was still anticipating the delicious food that was sure to come from both competitors. For this particular cookoff, each was tasked with making a breakfast dish that would satisfy the appetite without being too heavy. Before they knew it, time was up, and it was time to taste and judge. Soma went first, as he presented his creation – an apple risotto served with bacon strips.
As Daniel and the three judges dug in, they were pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the rice, as it was tender, but also sweet from the flavor of the apple – chunks of which were mixed in with the rice. In addition, the strips of applewood-smoked bacon were the perfect savory complement for the apple-flavored rice portion – the apple elements in each component tying the dish together. They then noticed that the chunks of apple still had some crunch to them, giving them texture. This was surprising, as the apple flavor in the rice was quite strong, suggesting that the apple had to have cooked for much longer than the texture indicated. When asked about it, Soma revealed that he had used apple juice to enhance the apple flavor and cook the rice, while allowing the apple chunks to retain their texture.
Soma then told them to crack some black pepper over the dish and try it. The flavor profile would change, but it would be just as good, he assured. As they did so, they found he was right, as the dish took on a more savory flavor that was complemented by the sweetness of the apple and the smokiness of the bacon. Daniel had to admit, this was the most unique breakfast dish he had ever seen – but he would definitely order it if he ever saw it on a restaurant menu!
Next, it was Joichiro's turn, who presented what he categorized as a breakfast ramen. At first, this made Daniel and the judges quite weary, as ramen was generally not considered a breakfast food, even in Japan. Plus, the look of the ramen Joichiro had made was one that was thick and heavy – not necessarily a good thing at the start of the day. However, they all began to dig in, and as soon as they did, they found that the ramen was not heavy at all, but very light, with multiple textures featured in the various vegetables, as well as the tempeh Joichiro had used as the protein element.
The big surprise really came when Joichiro revealed that there weren't any animal products in this dish at all, making it a vegan dish! This especially surprised Daniel, as he had never tasted a vegan dish that was this good. He had to give Joichiro credit – he was on a whole different level with his cooking. Not only was it delicious, but it was also satisfying. Looking at the three judges, it almost appeared as though the ramen had a fountain of youth effect on all of them, as they all looked somehow revitalized.
It then came time to judge the dishes, and although the judges enjoyed both dishes very much, they were unanimous in giving Joichiro the victory, feeling that his dish was the more satisfying of the two, and also that it appealed to a wider range of appetites. Soma looked visibly frustrated at losing to his dad once again, though Daniel tried to console him. "If it makes you feel any better," he said, "I would have chosen your dish for the win on this one." Joichiro chuckled at this as he said, "I knew you were biased." Daniel shook his head and explained, "I actually very much enjoyed both your dishes. Yours especially was surprising, but I still think yours wasn't really a breakfast dish, which was part of the challenge. But that's just me."
Joichiro chuckled and nodded at Daniel's assessment. He then turned to Soma and said with a smirk, "That being said, this means that I've now beaten you 490 times." Soma growled in frustration as he retorted angrily, "Just you wait until next time, old man!" The two of them then took out identical notebooks and began jotting down their analysis of the match – something they did each time they faced off. Several hours later, Joichiro took his leave of his old dorm, proud that his son had improved his skills in the short time he had been at Totsuki, and also content that he was in good hands with Fumio, Daniel, and the rest of the current Polar Star residents.
As the summer approached, Soma decided to go home for a few days to, as his father suggested, "air out the shop." He invited Daniel to join him, but Daniel declined, as he decided to instead put in some time both at the Chocolate Research Society (as one of its newest members) and at Polar Star learning various cooking techniques from his friends. As he had only been cooking for a relatively short amount of time, he decided to take his own advice from the opening ceremonies, and learn as much as he could from those that would be willing to show him.
When Soma arrived back at the dorm, he told Daniel about how the Sumiredori shopping district had looked deserted when he had returned, and how he had to battle a popular new fried chicken chain to get the shops and the street buzzing again. He also told Daniel exactly what he had done – creating a new, unique fried chicken dish wrapped in a rice crepe – as well as whom he had worked with to get it done. This not only included Mr. Tomita from the bento stand, but also his childhood friend Mayumi, and even Ikumi had been willing to offer her services when Soma asked!
Soma also mentioned how he had been accosted immediately upon returning to campus and met with the ninth seat of the Council of Ten – a yakuza wannabe named Etsuya Eizan who was apparently annoyed that Soma's actions had cut into the profits of his latest venture – the fried chicken shop Soma had challenged. "We'll probably need to keep an eye on him," Daniel suggested as Soma nodded in agreement at his suggestion. "It sounds like he could, and will at least try to, cause problems for us."