On the day of the competition, all 60 of those selected were gathered in the main arena where the logistical details of the competition would be explained. As they stood around anxiously waiting for the competition to begin, the Polar Star residents were joined in their chatter by Ikumi and the Aldini brothers. What surprised everyone was the fact that Isami was almost unrecognizable now, having lost a considerable amount of weight over the summer. Even more surprising was that Isami was very casual about it, saying that this happened every summer due to the heat, and that he would be back to his "big, beautiful self" by the end of the fall. 'That can't possibly be healthy,' Daniel thought to himself.
Takumi was once again trying to assert his determination to face Soma in a food war and crush him, but Soma wasn't paying attention. By the time Takumi was able to get Soma's attention, the lights were dimming, and Master Senzaemon was about to speak – Takumi's declaration would have to wait. After coughing up a bit of dust that was lingering in the air, Senzaemon began to address the contestants, reminding them of the importance of the room they were standing in and what was at stake for them in this competition before wishing them all luck.
The proceedings were then handed off to Urara, who explained how the preliminary round would work. As everyone knew, the 60 students there had been divided into two blocks of 30 students each. Everyone in each block would be competing against each other and would receive scores for their dishes. However, in order to move on to the main knockout tournament, a contestant would have to place in the top four scores in their block, meaning that out of the 60 contestants there, only 8 would move on to the main tournament – a tall order for anyone. The students were then directed to proceed to the venue assigned to their respective blocks, where each of them would be assigned a cooking station. All of the Polar Star residents and their outside friends wished each other luck as everyone got moving. Once everyone got to their assigned venues and cooking stations, and the stage was set, two hours were put on the clock and the cooking began in each venue.
The opening moments of the cooking time were a frenzy, as everyone rushed to set up their ingredients and equipment within their workstation. Several minutes after the cooking began, the judges were brought in to take their places at the long table placed conspicuously at the front-center of the room. As Daniel listened to the murmurs, he looked up and saw the person who got everyone's attention – a tall blonde who looked practically like a model, named Natsume Sendawara, whose company was very well-known throughout Japan for its curry. She was joined by four other judges who were also fairly well-known in the culinary industry, including a food critic named Shigenoshin Koda, and a food TV producer named Makito Minatozaka. Standing silently, but conspicuously, behind the judges was Etsuya Eizan, who was in charge of overseeing things in this block.
As everyone was busy cooking, seemingly frantic half of the time, Daniel (as well as several others he knew), looked over to Soma to see how he was doing. To their surprise, Soma was sitting on a stool seemingly asleep as a large pot was boiling in front of him. As Daniel looked at the very confused look on the various faces of the other contestants, he knew what they were thinking – 'What!? He's asleep!? How can he possibly sleep at a time like this?' Daniel, however, knew better, having been around Soma for more than three years now. "Don't pay it any mind," he called out. "He knows what he's doing – he's just fine." As some of the others looked at Daniel quizzically, Soma suddenly opened his eyes and lifted the lid off the pot, releasing an almost overwhelming and delicious aroma into the venue, which caught everyone there by surprise. Daniel just grinned and said, "I told you – nothing to worry about."
Although Daniel could feel the pressure of the moment, he was determined to be as patient as possible and think the entire process of making and putting his dish together through – one step at a time and in the correct order. Of course, he also had his Irish coin with him in his pocket – occasionally taking it in his hand to calm his nerves. By the time the cooking period was up, Daniel could definitely feel the work he had done as well as the stress he had been under, but he had completed six prepared servings of his dish – five for the judges and one for Soma, as was their routine in such situations.
As the judging began, Daniel noticed that it was not Urara who was the emcee for this venue (she was the emcee for the B Block venue), but the backup – another first year girl with brown hair and pigtails named Yua Sasaki – who was noticeably more timid than Urara was, and was just doing everything she could to keep everyone on the same page and relatively calm. She then began to explain how the judging would work – each judge would award each contestant up to 20 points each, with the scores of all five judges added up to get the contestant's total score.
As the contestants began to present their dishes, it became clear to Daniel that not only would this be more difficult than he imagined, but that he was right on the money in thinking that an ordinary curry and rice dish would not come even close to impressing these judges. Even for such dishes that seemed to have been done quite well, the judges' totals weren't even breaking 30 points. The stingiest of all of them was Natsume Sendawara, who went through about two-thirds of the contestants' presentations without awarding so much as a single point to any of them.
The tide finally began to turn when Ryo Kurokiba presented his dish – a French Curry Lobster with rice that had been mixed with the curry sauce. During the cooking, Daniel had noticed a very strange part of his personality. When he had been doing the initial prep work, he seemed disinterested and out of it. However, he then put on a red, flamed bandana, and immediately turned into a raging cook full of energy. He went through this again, as he wore a bored look on his face as he presented his dish to the judges, but then put on his bandana and turned into a totally different person. 'What's with the Jekyll and Hyde routine?' Daniel wondered.
Nonetheless, the judges began to dig in, and, for the first time, reacted positively to one of the contestants' offerings. In fact, the judges began to uncharacteristically scarf down the curry dish, which, in addition to the French influence, was also infused with a very high-quality cognac. While the judges seemed pleased, Ryo wasn't done yet, as he instructed the judges to take a dropper filled with cognac (which he provided) and put it into the lobster brains before slurping it down. Natsume was a bit hesitant to do this, but followed the other judges, who gobbled it all down without a second thought, providing a look of overwhelming pleasure to their faces. When Ryo's scores were tallied, he received a total of 93 for his dish. 'Woah,' Daniel thought. 'This just got real.'
Ikumi was the next contestant to present, as she unveiled her dish – a Dongpo Pork Curry Bowl. Ikumi's treatment of the pork was excellent – as expected from her – with the judges giving high praise for its flavor and tenderness despite it being quite a thick cut of meat. In addition to including vegetables that accompanied the pork quite well, the rice was also treated so that it would interact with the meat and veggies to bring balance and cohesion to the dish, making the judges want to just consume it entirely (despite the fact that there were several dishes they still had to judge). The judges commented that her treatment of the meat was so good, she should be known as the Meat General. In the end, the judges awarded Ikumi a score of 86 for her dish. 'Huh, so she did learn something from Soma,' Daniel thought as he saw Soma complimenting Ikumi.
Next up was Ryoko, who presented the judges with a Curried Soy-Natto, with rice and green onions. Although it looked fairly plain at first, the judges soon discovered that it was anything but, as they had never tasted natto that was as good as what Ryoko had presented, which came as a huge surprise to all of them. Ryoko explained that she had created the natto using charcoal-fire fermentation, and that she had enhanced the dish's umami flavor through the use of soy sauce koji, which she also created herself. Even Daniel, who was not a fan of natto at all, was tempted to ask Ryoko for a sample of her dish. This impressed the judges enough to award her a score of 86, tying her with Ikumi.
Zenji was the next to present, though the audience wondered how he got selected in the first place, as his stamina and skill level weren't the highest, to say the least. However, similar to Daniel, he was extremely intelligent, and used that intelligence to absorb food knowledge from a vast range of sources – not only various cookbooks, but also including essays, biographies, and even classic literature. With all of this knowledge in hand, he presented the judges with a White Potage Curry Udon. It didn't look like too much at first, but as they tasted it, they began to inhale it as they couldn't get enough of the smoothness and delicate spice embedded in the noodles, but also the roux, which was fashioned after a French vichyssoise. The judges were impressed with Zenji's depth of knowledge, so much so that they gave him the nickname The Great Professor of Taste, and enough to award Zenji an 88 for his dish, putting him ahead of Ikumi and Ryoko.
Following Zenji was Shun, whose dish was about the polar opposite from Zenji's. While Zenji's dish was smooth, gentle, and mellow, Shun's was full of bold, pungent flavors thanks to his smoking techniques. For his Special Smoked Curry, he smoked everything in the dish, including the meat, eggs, potatoes, and even the salt he used to season the dish. While all of this gave a very strong aroma, the flavors surprisingly didn't clash with each other or overwhelm the palate. The judges were so impressed by Shun's smoking ability that they gave him the nickname, the Prince of Smoke. They ended up giving his dish a score of 88, tying him with Zenji.
Next was the contestant that the entire audience had been anticipating all day – Akira Hayama. Apparently, his abilities with spice and aroma had become well-known throughout the student body. Akira presented his dish to the judges, which was served in a ramekin with naan baked on top. He also served a dish to Soma, so he could taste and compare it to his own. As Soma and the judges used their spoons to break through the naan layer, the main part of the dish was revealed to be a Fish Head Curry that was an absolute flavor and aroma bomb when the naan layer was broken, making it even more enticing to the judges. The curry was done absolutely perfectly, with enough heat and flavor to keep the judges coming back for more. What impressed the judges most, however, was that Akira was able to use holy basil to enhance the flavor of his dish – something that was exceedingly hard for even seasoned chefs to do.
At this, Natsume Sendawara was so impressed that she smiled at Akira seductively and offered him a ridiculously high salary on the spot to come work for her company. Akira immediately declined, saying that he would only fight for Professor Shiomi's sake – something that Daniel had to admit was both noble and admirable. Impressed with Akira's background working alongside Professor Shiomi, and especially at the dish he had created, the judges awarded Akira a score of 94 – with two of the judges awarding the full 20 points – putting Akira atop the leaderboard, and, unfortunately, eliminating both Ikumi and Ryoko from advancement to the next round.
While Soma was impressed with Akira's dish (as was Daniel, quite frankly), Soma was undeterred as he was next to present to the judges, to whom he presented what looked like a fluffy omelet. In addition to the five servings for the judges, he had also made one for Akira to try and one for Daniel, which he accepted with much gratitude. "Thanks, man!" he shouted, "All of the work we did along with all of these delicious-looking dishes was making me really hungry!" As Soma grinned, he took a spoon to Akira's omelet and released an aroma and flavor bomb of his own before handing the spoon to Akira. The omelet turned out to be a rice omelet, as the egg was filled with a curried rice risotto.
The egg was cooked perfectly, and while the risotto was nice and tender, and had all of the classic flavors of both a risotto and a curry dish, there was something else present that gave it an extra depth of flavor – something that allowed it to go blow for blow with Akira's dish. Akira recognized the aroma and taste as mango chutney, to which Soma revealed he had made on his own specifically for this dish. Impressed with his creativity and robust flavors, the judges awarded Soma a score of 93, tying him with Ryo and putting him just one point behind Akira, much to the aroma master's shock. What was even more shocking, however, was that based on the scores each judge gave to each contestant, if the rules had been like that of a food war, Soma would have been the victor. While his dish was amazing, Soma looked disappointed and dissatisfied with the outcome.
Having finished his curried risotto omelet, Daniel then began to prepare his dishes for presentation when he suddenly heard some commotion going on in the background. One of the other contestants still hadn't gone and had interrupted Yua's dialogue to present his dish to the judges. While Daniel was too focused on his own final preparations to hear exactly what was going on, he could hear some excited murmurs coming from the crowd. When he was all set, he looked up at the scoreboard and saw that a 91 had been put on the board, eliminating Zenji and Shun from contention. He sighed as he thought, 'That just raised the bar significantly.' He then gathered his nerves and made his way to the judges' table.
As Yua announced Daniel as the last contestant to present, Daniel grinned and stated, "How appropriate that I'm the last to go. I hope you all saved some room for dessert!" As the judges looked on quizzically, but with intrigue, Daniel also handed his extra portion to Soma, who took it graciously. He then whispered to him, "Thanks for the omelet – it really hit the spot." Soma nodded in acknowledgement as Daniel began his presentation. "I present to you," he began, "a Cocoa and Chai-Spiced Bundt Cake with a curried rice pudding and white chocolate curry drizzle."
In front of each of the judges was an individual-sized Bundt cake that had a chocolate hue to it. Inside the empty middle portion was a rice pudding with visible specs of different spices, and on top was a sugar glaze drizzle that had a yellowish hue to it. As the judges tasted it, they began to moan in pleasure as the flavors began to mingle in their mouths. They were astounded that not only had someone thought to make a dessert for this challenge, but had also apparently made a flavorful dessert that definitely evoked curry flavors.
For the cake, Daniel had included some of the usual cake components, as well as cocoa powder. But what really made the cake stand out was the addition of chai spices, which was able to work well with the cocoa (Daniel had made sure not to use too much cocoa, so as not to overwhelm the cake with that flavor), as well as something else that was making the cake extra moist, which Daniel revealed to be medjool dates, explaining that he had pulverized and blended them into the batter.
For the rice pudding, he cooked the rice in a base of coconut milk and coconut cream. For spices, he used cinnamon, green cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, which gave the rice pudding almost a gingerbread feel to it. However, there was also something there that was cutting through the richness and giving an extra depth of flavor, similar to Soma's dish. At this point, Daniel revealed that he, too, had made and used a mango chutney in his dish, though his was noticeably sweeter compared to Soma's. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your idea, Soma!" he shouted as he turned towards his friend. Soma smiled back and gave a thumbs up as he replied, "It's cool with me, man!" The drizzle was a simple combination of melted white chocolate, ginger simple syrup, and turmeric.
As the judges praised him for his creativity, Daniel was just happy that they liked it as he watched them practically devour his dish. Once they finished and began to consider the scores they would award, Daniel could feel the pressure of the work he had put in come down on him. Although he was certain he would score well, he didn't realize until this moment just how much he wanted to move on in this competition. He then reached into his pocket and took a hold of his coin as he watched the judges' scores appear one by one: 18, 19, 18, 18, and…19 – a total of 92! He had actually done it – he had made it to the next round!
When his final score was posted on the scoreboard, Daniel was so happy that he leaped into the air in celebration while pumping his fist in triumph. He then walked briskly towards Soma to give him a big high five and bro hug. Soma just chuckled and said to Daniel, "Looks like we're both moving on – way to go!" As they were celebrating, they were soon joined by their Polar Star friends, who congratulated the both of them. However, unbeknownst to Daniel, both the previous contestant who had scored a 91, and chef Eizan, were glaring at him in angry disbelief.
A wave of joy and relief flowed over Daniel as they all exited the venue and met up with the rest of the Polar Star gang to get a recap of what had happened in Block B. Both Megumi and Yuki had acquitted themselves quite well, with Megumi earning the fourth slot to the knockout tournament from the block, and Yuki only finishing a couple of points behind. Daniel smiled, knowing that they would do well after trying test runs of both of their dishes as repayment for them trying his – a Duck Cutlet Curry for Yuki, and a Monkfish Dobu-Jiru Curry for Megumi. While Yuki was disappointed not to be moving on, Daniel told her not to be too distraught. While she didn't get to move on, she was apparently invited to join the next meeting of a high-level and exclusive culinary club one of the judges ran. "That's a pretty big feather in your cap," Daniel commented.
As for Megumi, he of course congratulated her, as now there would be three members of Polar Star going to the main tournament. In addition, he heard about how she had broken down an entire monkfish using suspension cutting, as well as how a bunch of surly fishermen from her hometown had shown up to act as her own cheering section. Daniel chuckled as he said, "I'm sorry I missed all of that. It almost makes me wish I could have been in your block just to see it. But then again, we would have had to compete against each other, which would have really sucked." As for the rest of the field, the other three contestants to move on from Block B were Alice, Hisako, and Takumi, with Isami also falling just short. 'No surprise there,' Daniel thought. 'This will be a tough field to go up against.'
Hi all! As you can see, we get a major deviation from the canon storyline at this point. Frankly, it had to be done, and it had to be done at Mimasaka's expense. However, he will be appearing again in the next chapter – stay tuned to find out how it plays out! As per usual, constructive comments and reviews are welcome.