As the match got underway, Ryo immediately did his usual thing by putting his flamed bandana on his head in order to get himself fired up. Now that he was in 'beast mode,' he began by making the soup component – taking a variety of fish innards and cooking them down to create a stock. In addition, he was seen crushing a ton of shrimp and lobster shells like a madman. His aggressiveness came as a bit of a shock to the audience – even to those who had seen some of this behavior during the preliminaries when Ryo was interacting with the judges.
Megumi, meanwhile, was working carefully and methodically to create her soup stock. Both contestants were making a seafood ramen of sorts, but as Zenji pointed out, while Ryo was going for a rich and full-bodied stock, Megumi was going for a lighter, more transparent broth by using dried scallops as a seafood base and mixing it with a strained chicken broth. Yuki's optimism over Megumi's chances grew, as she pointed out the Megumi had been raised in a port city.
A familiar voice then joined in and said, "So, it's a battle of those who have been raised by the sea." As Yuki started to nod in agreement, the group realized that someone had just cut into their conversation. When they turned toward the voice, they saw Alice Nakiri, who had seemingly come from nowhere, sitting in their section watching the match with them. "Huh? What are you doing here?" Yuki asked indignantly. "Whatever I want," Alice replied in a slightly smug manner. Daniel just rolled his eyes and continued to watch while Alice explained how Ryo came from absolute hellhole cooking environments and was driven to be the absolute best because he felt his life always depended on it. "He refuses to give in to anyone or anything," she commented.
Yuki, determined not to let Alice's commentary get to her, increased the volume of her cheering, which apparently got the attention of both Megumi and Ryo, as Ryo started to say something to Megumi. Daniel couldn't make out what they were saying or what they were talking about, but it seemed to strike a nerve with Megumi. At one point, she got a look of angry resolve on her face and responded to one of Ryo's comments before cringing backwards at Ryo's resulting glare. Megumi then refocused herself on her dish and got back to it, while Ryo did the same.
Soon after, however, Megumi was momentarily caught by surprise again as the judges moved themselves from the table for the first time during the course of the competition to watch the contestants make their ramen dishes close up. They started by coming to Megumi's workstation, interested in the ingredients she had laid out and wondering exactly what kind of ramen she was planning to make. One of the judges, a short, older gentleman named Kakinoshin Oizumi, even commented that watching the chef up close like this was "part of the magic and experience" of sitting at a traditional ramen stand.
The judges' attention was then suddenly diverted to Ryo's workstation by the powerful aroma that was emanating from his direction. Ryo was just about ready to serve his ramen and it looked absolutely delicious. It was a French-Japanese hybrid Soupe de Poisson Ramen that featured his rich seafood stock with wide noodles. It was then topped with three types of cheeses, rouille, an aioli, some tempura batter bits, and some melba toast that had been slathered with butter infused with the flavor of the crushed shrimp and lobster shells.
It was a powerful soup that blew away four of the judges in an instant. Master Senzaemon was initially unfazed by Ryo's display, but Ryo was eventually able to wear him down and force him to shed his top through sheer will alone, which impressed his mistress' grandfather. In the immediate aftermath of this display, it appeared to many of the Polar Star contingent that Megumi would never be able to recover, as the crowd's energy and momentum had clearly shifted to Ryo. However, Daniel and Soma were able to see otherwise, pointing out to the others that Megumi looked to be just fine, as she continued to move forward with making and completing her dish.
As Megumi was working on organizing her toppings for the final presentation, the look on her face changed to one of slight confusion as she felt something unknown in her chef's coat pocket. As Megumi reached into her pocket, Daniel noticed her movement and smiled to himself and thought, 'Good – she found it. And not a moment too soon.'
Flashback: A Few Hours Earlier
As Soma and Megumi parted ways with their Polar Star friends in order to get ready for the competition, Daniel made sure to give Soma a big bro hug to send good vibes his way. Soma chuckled at the gesture, but accepted it anyway, knowing it was one of Daniel's ways of letting him know that he had faith in him. Daniel then offered a similar gesture to Megumi, who graciously accepted. Unbeknownst to Megumi, and unseen by anyone else, Daniel took the opportunity to slip a small object wrapped in a slip of paper into Megumi's chef's coat pocket for her to hopefully find later at the right time.
End Flashback
As Megumi pulled the mystery object out of her pocket, she saw to her shock that it was Daniel's coin, with a note wrapped around it. As she put the coin down on the counter, she unfolded the note, which read:
Megumi,
We all know that you've got this! But just in case you need it, here's a little something special to get you through the match with Ryo today. Knock him dead – I believe in you!
-Daniel
After reading the note, she looked for Daniel's face in the crowd, which she quickly found sitting in the section with all of her friends. Seeing his smile, she got a look of confident determination as she went back to finishing her dish with a noticeable renewed level of energy.
Once he saw Megumi spot him and give off her look of newfound determination, Daniel grinned and turned towards Alice. "Sorry, Alice," he began, "As good as Ryo is, and as superb as his ramen is, I'm going to have to say that Megumi is going to win this one." At this statement, Alice turned towards Daniel with her eyes narrowed in an amused, yet also annoyed, glare. "Oh, really?" she asked. "You think so?" When Daniel nodded confidently, Alice then gave a smirk as she followed up with, "Just how confident are you? Are you willing to wager that big wad of cash you have in your pocket?"
Now it was Daniel's turn to look at Alice with a glare as he asked, "How do you know about that?" Alice just continued to smirk as she replied, "I have my ways." After thinking about it for a few moments, Daniel decided it wasn't important how she found out about the cash, and instead decided to back up his confidence. "You know what? I'm game. After all, that money was just a bonus, anyway." The two then shook hands, formalizing their wager.
Soon, Megumi had finished her ramen dish and was ready for presentation. When the judges came over, they were still getting over the power of Ryo's ramen and wondered how Megumi's dish would be able to match it. When Megumi opened the lid of her pot, the broth inside was so pure, transparent, and elegant that the judges were moved by the very sight of it. When they took their first bites of the noodles with the broth, the strong flavor came as a huge surprise, especially considering how light the broth looked.
For her Kozuyu Chicken Soy Sauce Ramen, Megumi had not only used dried scallops and chicken broth, but also infused further umami by adding dried vegetables to the mix, which enhanced the flavor while keeping the dish light and gentle. In addition to infusing the flavor of the dried and preserved vegetables into the broth, the cooking process was also able to reconstitute them, allowing the judges to enjoy them as intended. She even used a soy sauce kaeshi to enhance the flavors of the ingredients even further. Megumi explained that she had used all of these ingredients from her hometown and had wanted to express not only the flavors, but also the emotions she held for her home in this soup, which moved the judges almost to tears.
They then noticed another topping which at first glance seemed to be out of place with the others, but was also somewhat common among ramen shops across Japan – a soft-boiled egg. However, the judges could tell by the outside color that this wasn't a plain egg. When they tasted it, they got a richness from the yolk, which was the perfect viscosity for the soup, as well as a variety of flavors from the exterior. Megumi then explained about the egg, which she had seeped in some tamari sauce, and had added a wide range of flavor profiles. She further explained that the egg was to give the soup a level of richness that she was currently unable to achieve with a full-bodied pork or seafood broth, but also complemented the rest of the ingredients as well as the broth that she did make.
The judges were surprised that she had been able to achieve this with just a soft-boiled egg and tamari sauce. When Ryoko and Yuki saw the egg, they were taken by surprise, as they had seen her prepare a couple of nights back, and hadn't seen eggs among the ingredients Megumi was using for her test dishes. Daniel, on the other hand, took a quick breath as he thought, 'Good – it worked when it counted.'
Flashback: Two Nights Ago
As Daniel returned to the dorm after practicing his Mexican Chocolate Cake in Isshiki's kitchen at the classroom building with Hisako, he found that Megumi was still in the kitchen trying to come up with a ramen dish that would be able to matchup with the one she presumed Ryo would make. Daniel walked up to her and asked how everything was going. Turning and seeing that it was Daniel who had addressed her, Megumi gave a small smile and said that she thought she was about there.
However, she was also slightly worried. "I feel as though what I've come up with is the very best ramen dish that I can make," Megumi explained, "But I am still concerned that it may not be enough to go up against Ryo's ramen. I'm sure that he will be making a full-bodied seafood broth, and I'm not sure my ramen can measure up to something that rich and potent." Daniel then offered to help her think of something, which Megumi accepted, although reluctantly, knowing that Daniel had his match the next day and would need a good night's sleep.
After waiving off her worries, since there was still plenty of time, they put their heads together to try to think of what they could do. While Daniel wanted to do whatever he could to help Megumi perfect her dish, he also knew that they couldn't make any major changes to the recipe at this point, as it would require many more hours of experimenting and redoing something that Megumi looked like she felt really good about otherwise.
After a good amount of serious thinking, Daniel finally came up with the idea of adding a soft-boiled egg as an extra topping, explaining that he had seen so many instances where either having or lacking a soft egg of some sort made a huge difference. Megumi thought about it and agreed that it could work, but that it would need to be elevated just a bit somehow. She then thought of something as she exclaimed, "I got it!" By the end of the evening, Megumi felt even more confident that she would be able to match up on even terms with Ryo.
End Flashback
As the judges continued to consume their ramen portions, Megumi asked them to add a bit of the paste in the little bowl beside them into the broth – as much as they liked. They did so, and went back in to find that the flavor profile had grown even tighter! When they asked what it was, Megumi stated that it was an aizu dressing, which added some sour notes to change up the flavor profile a bit without muddling the dish. As the judges were taking in the new flavors, Senzaemon suddenly felt something amiss underneath his robes – like something was being removed. Moments later, his shirt slipped off almost effortlessly as he was taken by surprise at the way he had been disrobed by Megumi's dish. The other judges were also astonished at the level of sophistication Megumi had put into her dish, particularly since it was derived from a set of otherwise humble dishes from her home region.
Even Ryo was curious, as he angrily demanded that Megumi hand over a portion of her ramen for him to taste. As soon as she gave it to him, Ryo started inhaling it before commenting, "You knew what I was going to make and decided to come at me with this little counterpoint? Well, aren't you a surprisingly feisty one. However, this still won't match the power of my ramen! See for yourself if you dare!" He then handed a bowl of his ramen to Megumi and tried it and was nearly overwhelmed by the powerful umami it contained. Still, she stood her ground, not wanting to concede.
As the two chefs stood face to face, the judges huddled together as they tried to determine amongst themselves who the victor was. The fact that a winner hadn't been declared immediately was already cause for buzz around the arena. Even Alice was concerned, as Daniel could see from the look on her face – realizing that there was a possibility that Ryo could actually lose the match.
Finally, the judges seemed to come to a decision as they broke their huddle and Senzaemon stepped forward to deliver the verdict. Ryo had a fierce and angry look on his face while Megumi had her eyes closed and prayed while holding both her achievement charm from home and Daniel's coin in her hands. Finally, Senzaemon declared that by a 3-2 vote, the winner was…Megumi Tadokoro! As the decision was announced, Ryo's face was stunned at being beaten by Megumi, while said girl had tears of shock and happiness flowing down her face.
Moments later, after bowing to the judges in gratitude, she went over to Ryo and held out her hand as a gracious winner would. Ryo hesitated momentarily before storming off the stage and into the hallway in anger over his surprise loss. Megumi, meanwhile, looked around the arena and took in the moment as the crowd stood up and cheered loudly – none louder than the section conspicuously decked in pink.
As the Polar Star gang continued to cheer at the top of their lungs in celebration, Daniel turned to Alice who was in absolute shock that Ryo had been defeated by Megumi, of all people. He grinned as he spoke to her. "I believe that you now owe me a bit of money, Alice. I hope you have it." While she glared in annoyance, Alice did have the money as she reached for her wallet to get it. As Alice handed it over, she narrowed her eyes as she asked Daniel, "How did you have such confidence that Megumi would actually win?" Daniel just grinned and replied, "If you must know, I slipped her an extra lucky charm for her to use today, and she found it just in the nick of time."
Alice was about to ask Daniel what he meant when she suddenly remembered from the training camp that Daniel constantly carried an encased coin with him – a coin that she had not seen him reach for all day. Her face started to sport a mischievous grin as she said to Daniel, "I see now." As she got up to make her way out of the arena and meet up with Ryo, she turned to Daniel and added teasingly, "It might very well have been worth it to lose that money to you today. Good luck!" While Daniel wasn't quite sure what that last comment was for, he brushed it aside as he turned his attention back towards Megumi, who was still standing in the center of the arena. For Daniel, it was a good day that brought a smile to his face, not only because of his friends' victories, but because of the big smiles each of them was sporting right now.
Hi all! I know this change in the storyline is a bit of a stretch, but I needed Megumi to win this one to set up a part of my storyline better going forward. Also, I couldn't have Megumi win with precisely the same dish as the canon, and I really couldn't alter it too radically as that dish is an important part of her character. Consider in all those cooking competition shows how often the judges say that an egg would have made the dish more cohesive or complete, or complimented the chef on using a soft egg of some sort. Hopefully, this wasn't too big a defiance of reality for you. I hope you've all enjoyed my story so far and that you continue to read on!
