Over the next few days, the clubs, research societies, and seminars began to assess their options regarding whether to challenge Central using the new food war rules for clubs facing dissolution, which Isshiki had drafted. The most important points were that any club in this situation had an absolute right to challenge Central on their status through a food war, meaning Central had to accept such a challenge. Further, all judges used for these food wars had to be neutral and had to swear to judge each battle honestly and fairly, even if it meant that Central lost a particular battle. In addition, the clubs would be able to set an important term for the battle – namely, the theme, which would almost certainly end up being the club's specialty. Three days after Soma's battle with Eizan, Daniel received a text message from the chief of the Chocolate Research Society to discuss how the club would handle the situation.
That night at the club's emergency meeting, the chief informed them that the club leadership had decided to take the chance and challenge Central to a food war. The battle would be held the next day, in the first round of what Central was calling the Straggler Hunt, where more than 30 different clubs would be challenging members of Central for the right to continue operating. He also mentioned that their most likely opponent would be Momo Akanegakubo, who was now the third seat on the Council of Ten after Tosuke Megishima's dismissal. The plan was for the chief to be the representative in the battle. However, before finalizing that plan, he asked the present club members if anyone else wanted to volunteer for the food war.
Daniel's hand immediately went up, much to the surprise of the chief and everyone else, as no one else was particularly anxious to go up against the third seat in a battle that happened to play to her specialty. Nonetheless, the chief called Daniel up to the front, intrigued by having the option of sending someone that had not only done well in the club as a first year, but had also made the semifinals of the Autumn Elections – something that didn't happen often for the club. As the chief asked about his interest in this battle, Daniel brought out his black recipe book, saying, "There's actually something I've been working on for a while – the ultimate chocolate dessert, I like to think. I believe I've just about got it down, and it should work well for this food war." He then showed it to the chief and explained what exactly it consisted of.
The chief was even more intrigued after looking at Daniel's recipe and decided to give him a trial to see if he was up to the task. All the ingredients he would need were already in the club room. What Daniel would need to do is complete the dish within the allotted time they would be given for the food war, and then subject the finished dish for a taste test. As the club members looked on, they were amazed at how Daniel was mixing and matching different flavors and textures in his recipe. When he was finished, the time check was within the proscribed period. Now all that was left was the taste test. When the chief tasted it, he was blown away by the different flavors assaulting his taste buds that all seemed to work together in complete harmony with one another. He had the other club veterans take a taste, and they concurred with the chief – Daniel would be the one to represent the club in the food war!
The next morning, Daniel woke up early to head over to the food war venue and prepare himself for the upcoming battle. As he got up from the breakfast table and got his stuff ready, the rest of the dorm residents asked where he was off to. "We gotta make a plan to check out the different food wars, today!" Yuki exclaimed. "Actually," Daniel started, "I'm representing the Chocolate Research Society in today's food war." Many of the other residents' eyes widened in surprise, as Soma congratulated him on getting chosen to do battle. Before he left, Daniel called out to everyone else, "Let our other friends know where I'll be – and wish me luck!" As he walked over to the venue, he texted Hisako to let her know what he would be doing and where it would be.
As the time of the food war approached, Daniel got ready in the waiting room – changing into his chef's jacket and pants, and making sure he had all of the ingredients he would need, including having his Irish coin in his pocket. He then walked out into the arena, where several stages had been set up for the event. Apparently, they would be staging multiple food wars simultaneously, with the Western Cuisine Research Society battling chef Eizan right next to where he would be battling. When his opponent was introduced, it surprised nobody that it was indeed chef Momo whom he would be facing. Looking around the arena, he saw the section where the other club members were sitting and cheering him on. He also spotted four familiar and friendly faces at one of the railings – Soma, Megumi, Takumi, and Hisako.
Before the match got started, Daniel tried to be relatively friendly, as he held out his hand to wish his opponent a good match as he usually does, but Momo refused to accept it. This only served to fuel Daniel for the battle. As the gong sounded, and the cooking began, Daniel got to work on the various elements that would comprise his dish. He knew that he would have to be efficient in his time management if he was to get everything done on time. At one point, he looked over at chef Momo's station and saw that in addition to tearing off her cat plushie's paws and using them as oven mitts, as per her usual tactic to psyche out her opponent (Daniel just thought it was weird), there was a look on her face was not really into the match. It was as though she saw this whole thing as a nuisance that she had to just get through. There was no joy or excitement in what she was doing at all. After seeing this, he knew that he definitely had a chance to beat her, but would still need to execute his dish perfectly to do so. He then took his coin out of his pocket, put it on the counter beside him, and began to work even more furiously – a move chef Momo noticed.
Chef Momo completed her dish first – a chocolate cake made with different shades of darkness to create a checkered pattern on the inside. In addition, she had decorated the outside with a chocolate ganache and also molded some chocolate decorations that made the cake look like a fancy present. The cake was perfectly moist and fluffy, the ganache was layered on with the correct thickness, and the chocolate decorations were also perfectly tempered and shaped. Furthermore, all of the elements had the right level of sweetness so that the taster knew it was a dessert, but didn't overwhelm the palate with sweetness. No surprise that Momo received high praise for her cake.
After that, Daniel presented his dish – the one he hoped would be considered 'The Ultimate Chocolate Dessert.' He presented the final product – a multi-layered chocolate dessert consisting of three different chocolate mousse layers (one dark, one milk, and one white) with a dark chocolate brownie as the base layer. The dessert was in a perfect circle column, having been built using stackable ring molds, with a piece of candied orange peel on top. In addition, there were also four sample dishes alongside it, containing samples of each mousse and the brownie. As the judges looked on curiously, Daniel told them that he wanted them to taste each individual layer before tasting all of them at once in the finished product. He had them start with the top layer – the dark chocolate mousse. The judges gushed as they found that he had flavored it with orange extract and had also mixed in chopped toasted almonds for a textural contrast. Next was the milk chocolate mousse, which had been made with coconut cream, and mixed with chopped toasted hazelnuts. The white chocolate mousse's sweetness had been tempered by the cardamom Daniel had infused, along with the chopped toasted pistachios he mixed in. Finally, they tasted the brownie, which gave an intense dark chocolate flavor thanks to the coffee Daniel added. In addition, the judges found that it contained mini milk and white chocolate chips, bringing all three types of chocolate together.
Now the judges were very excited about tasting the finished product, where they would see if each of these layers would work together in harmony. When they tasted all of the layers together, they were overwhelmed by how the various flavors and textures interacted with one another. Daniel had somehow enhanced all of the different chocolates with his additions without having anything being overpowering. It was a delight that was sweet – but not overly sweet. At one point, they even detected a hint of sourness and tartness that was subduing what would have been overwhelming sweetness to create a balanced taste profile. When they asked what it was, Daniel explained that he had created a balsamic-strawberry compote that he placed between the brownie and white chocolate layers. He had reduced some balsamic vinegar into a syrup before adding some finely chopped strawberries, which countered the sourness of the vinegar while leaving the tartness of the strawberries along with enough sourness to successfully cut through the white chocolate's sweetness. The result was a chocolate dessert the eater couldn't help but go back for more of.
The judges were astounded at the level of thought and creativity Daniel had brought to the dish. Even Momo realized that this would be close, but was still very confident that she would win. In the end, however, the judges voted 2-1 in favor of Daniel's chocolate dessert, which left Momo and the other Central supporters in stunned silence, while the Chocolate Research Society and those that supported keeping the clubs gave a standing ovation and celebrated. This was the first defeat Central had been handed all day in a massive upset!
Momo was absolutely stunned at her defeat, wondering how this could even be possible. Daniel then went up to her and offered to have her taste his dish, as he had made extra. Although her eyes remained narrowed the whole time, she reluctantly accepted. As Daniel handed over the plate with the dessert to her, Momo took it slowly before finally digging in and taking a bite. Once she tasted it, she stood there wide-eyed for several seconds taking it in. Finally, she calmed down before putting the plate back on the counter, going up to Daniel, and saying, "I'll admit, you're an interesting one. Clearly, I underestimated you. Rest assured, that won't happen again." With that she stormed off the stage and straight to the hallways, looking to escape her embarrassment.
Daniel then went over to the Chocolate Research Society section to give them some high fives as they congratulated him on the win and thanked him for saving the club. A few minutes later, his friends reached the floor of the arena, with Hisako giving him a big hug and a peck on the cheek as she said, "Great job! You were amazing out there!" As Daniel was blushing, Soma came up next and exclaimed, "Nice work, dude! You were awesome!" Megumi then added, "You were terrific out there!" Finally, Takumi stated, "That was some dessert you made!" Daniel rubbed the back of his head in nervousness as he replied, "Thanks everyone! I'm just glad that the judges liked it. After all, chocolate is my favorite ingredient."
Daniel then got a pensive look on his face as he said, "But seriously – while this is definitely something to be proud of, I didn't beat Momo at nearly her best." When Hisako asked what he meant, Daniel explained that he could tell that Momo hadn't taken the match, or him, very seriously. "Her biggest mistake was that she thought she would automatically win on talent alone." Megumi then asked what Momo had said to him after the match. "She emphasized that she would not be repeating that mistake in the future," Daniel said.
After Daniel got changed into the school uniform and joined his friends back in the arena, a new round of food wars was ready to go, with Ryo's battle as the representative of the Cutting-Edge Research Society set to be center stage. With Alice looking on (as the club's chief), he took on a very cocky and obnoxious second year from Central named Rentaro Kusunoki. The theme for the battle would be salmon, which played to Ryo's strengths. However, Rentaro was no pushover, as he made Salmon Confit Flamme, wrapping cuts of salmon in bacon while cooking them in olive oil at precise temperatures using equipment that Alice was usually associated with.
Rentaro's expertise as heat techniques allowed him to cook the dish without anything touching the bottom of any pan, which meant all the juices and integrity of the ingredients remained intact, as they weren't subject to even minimal pressure at the bottom of the pan. He even went so far as to use the cryogenic grinder to make a salmon ice cream that had the perfect texture, yet was not sweet at all. This was the dish that had gotten him in with the powers at Central.
Ryo, on the other hand, made a Salmon Coulibiac – salmon filet covered by a layer of cooked grains (in this case, kasha and butter rice) all wrapped in a cooked bread dough. It was perfectly cooked, and the judges initially had a hard time deciding who the winner was. After going back multiple times, the judges finally awarded the victory to Ryo, as Rentaro was shocked, demanding to know why his dish had lost. Ryo then revealed that he had also included a spinach crepe right below the layer of bread, which was seasoned with various spices and bacon powder, providing layers of flavor in every bite that kept getting stronger.
After the victory was finalized, a slow, loud, sarcastic clapping could be heard throughout the venue. As everyone turned to see the source, they all saw Azami was the one doing the clapping – giving a congratulations (that he didn't really mean) to the Chocolate and Cutting-Edge Research Societies for their victories, as they were the only clubs who avoided dissolution that day. Daniel narrowed his eyes at him, while Alice wore a look that was clearly not amused. In fact, if it could kill, Azami would have dropped dead on the spot.
The two of them then started to debate the merits of Azami's so-called master plan, with Alice arguing that the day's results as well as the number of clubs challenging his edict should make him rethink. Azami, on the other hand, argued that she shouldn't be talking, as she had taken his 'precious daughter' away from him. 'How does he know about that?' Daniel thought. He sighed as he continued, 'I guess it was the logical conclusion.' In addition, he argued that as a Nakiri, Alice should be first in line to support him. Alice then made clear that she would never support his plan and that there was at least one thing she was certain of, before ending with a very anticlimactic and childish, "I hate you."
After Azami left the venue, Alice and the others noticed Erina standing in the hallway, watching the whole conversation unfold. Alice then walked up to Erina to talk to her about something, though Daniel and the others couldn't tell what. Whatever they said, they seemed to reach a reconciliation of sorts. After Alice finished up and left, Hisako went up to Erina, asking worriedly if she was alright. Meanwhile, Daniel looked around, sighed, and said to the remaining friends who were present, "At least we got two today. Azami now knows that we're not going to go away quietly."
I hope you all liked this chapter. I know I once again stretched the storyline's probability level, but I wanted Daniel to be able to save his club, like some of the others do with their clubs, and I hope that what I came up with was believable enough. As usual, please review with commentary and constructive criticism.
