A few more weeks went by, and Daniel settled in to life at Totsuki. The curriculum was definitely more intense and complex than he had ever imagined – possibly what it might have been like in college. In addition, he did end up finding a research society to join. While Kanichi's offer to join Bowl Club was…tempting, he didn't feel it was what he wanted; and while he thought it might be fun to join Megumi in the Regional Cuisine Research Society and learn about the various cuisines of Japan, it, too, wasn't quite his cup of tea. In the end, he joined the research society that worked primarily with his favorite ingredient of all time – the Chocolate Research Society, which was more than happy to welcome a new member to their ranks.
Just as Daniel was getting into a rhythm with school life, he came back to the dorm one afternoon with everyone gathered around the dining table discussing something. Apparently, there was a mandatory training camp coming up soon for all of the first years. While the pamphlet said it was to promote camaraderie and friendship, it was notorious for being a hellish experience and for weeding out a significant percentage of the first years every year. 'So it begins,' Daniel thought to himself. Feeling like he still had nothing to lose here, he added in his thoughts, 'Bring it on, Totsuki.'
As he was watching the various reactions of his dorm mates from worried to downright terrified, including a (somewhat melodramatic in Daniel's view) fainting spell from Megumi along with Yuki's cries of loss, Soma tried to get everyone to calm down. "Even if half of the class gets expelled, we just have to make sure we're in the half that makes it through." Daniel tried to back him up, adding, "He's right. We can do this. If you have the skills to pass Miss Fumio's entrance exam, you can get through this." Their words seemed to boost everyone else's confidence as the mood in the room took a sudden uptick.
About a week later, all the first-year members of Polar Star dorm were waiting in the Totsuki parking lot to board the luxury bus arranged by the school to take them to the training camp site. When they arrived, they found to their amazement that the training camp site was, in fact, a luxury hotel/resort run by the Totsuki Group, where the rooms would normally go for around 800,000 yen per night (between 600-800 U.S. dollars, depending on the exchange rate). Daniel whistled in amazement, wondering if he should take pictures of his room to see how his parents would react.
After everyone had dropped off their suitcases in the lobby, everyone headed to the main conference room for the introductory speeches. Before things got started, Soma saw Ikumi and decided to chat her up, much to her chagrin. However, Daniel was able to make out her warning for Soma to watch his back there, despite her using a low voice. Moments later, the microphone sounded on the stage as chef Chapelle brought out the instructors and judges who would be working with the students for the week – all of whom were past graduates of Tostuki!
All of his dorm mates were gushing and nerding out about all the well-known chefs who were standing right before them. At one point, Megumi was directly approached by two of the chefs – one a blonde-haired male chef who just went straight to flirting with her, while the other was a brown-haired female chef who initially looked like she was saving Megumi…but then took her hand and commented on how cute she was. 'That's…inappropriate,' Daniel thought. 'It's a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.' Still, the two backed off when chef Chapelle glared at them.
What happened next took Daniel off guard, as he suddenly heard one of the chefs on stage, a pink-haired male with glasses, call out and point to someone in their vicinity. Based on the description he gave, Soma initially thought it was him, but the guy shook his head and pointed to the male student standing to Soma's right (Daniel was on Soma's left). "You," the pink-haired chef stated, "You're expelled. You can leave now." The student look devastated with a look on his face that asked "Why!?" The chef then explained that he was wearing a citrus-scented hair product that would interfere with the other senses in the kitchen, even glaring daggers at him for daring to question the fairness of the expulsion.
As Daniel was thinking that this was overly harsh, even by Totsuki standards, Zenji identified the chef as Kojiro Shinomiya, the former No. 1 seat on the Ten and the first Japanese chef to win France's Pluspol award. As accomplished as he was, Daniel took out his coin and prayed that he wouldn't be placed in a session with this guy during the course of the week. He could deal with tough just fine, but not a complete and utter jackass like him!
Then came the keynote speaker – an alumnus from the 69th generation who was one of the best students in the history of Totsuki and was currently the head of the Totsuki Group, chef Gin Dojima. He then proceeded to give an overview of what to expect, including the instructors having the ability to expel students on the spot like they had just seen. "You will be treated like employees, and they are your employers," he explained. "If you're seen as not cutting it, you're out," he said as he made a throat-cutting motion.
Everyone was then broken into various groups, each one with a different alumnus leading it. Daniel ended up in the group that also included Soma and Megumi – they were taken to a far end of the resort, where there was a kitchen in the middle of an enclosed wilderness space. There, they were greeted by chef Hinako Inui, a former No. 2 seat, graduate of the 80th generation, and the female chef that had approached Megumi earlier. While she gave a calm and friendly aura, Daniel knew things could possibly turn weird again if they weren't careful. The class was then divided into teams – the same ones that they had formed on the first day of the year, meaning Daniel, Soma, and Megumi would form the Three Amigos once again.
Chef Inui then gave her instructions to the class – they were to make a Japanese-style dish using the ingredients they could find outside in the enclosed area, though they would have access to most basic pantry staples in the kitchen area. This immediately threw everyone for a loop, as they began to panic in trying to determine what kind of dish they could do, and what kind of ingredients they could gather.
The trio was then approached by a pair of boys, one of whom had brown hair and a larger build, but a calmer and friendlier looking face, while the other one had blonde hair, with a build similar to Soma, and was, in fact, looking at Soma with a look of determination. He introduced himself as Takumi Aldini, along with his brother behind him, Isami (which took the trio by surprise, as they didn't look that much alike). Takumi commented about Soma's speech during the opening ceremony. Needless to say, he didn't appreciate it, as he and his brother had, in fact, worked the kitchen line for years before coming to Totsuki, like Soma.
Takumi then challenged Soma to a food battle, even going so far as to ask chef Inui to provide her "unbiased judgement." When she deadpanned that it wasn't part of the exercise, and that she wouldn't, there was a brief silence, followed by laughing coming from Isami at how ridiculous Takumi was looking. Isami then dragged his brother outside to get started while Takumi continued to shout incoherently at Soma. The three of them then got started as Soma volunteered to do the fishing for the main protein, while Daniel and Megumi gathered wild vegetables and other such items.
When they returned to the kitchen – Soma having triumphantly caught a couple of fish – they were met by the Aldini brothers, and Takumi immediately mocked Soma for using fish like everyone else. He then revealed that he and his brother had obtained a whole duck, which caused everyone else to groan in frustration, knowing that it would be even tougher to make their dishes stand out. As Daniel, Soma, and Megumi watched in amazement, the Aldini brothers got to work on their dish.
They were like a machine! They broke down the duck perfectly in minutes and worked quickly to both get the duck cooked, and prepare the accompaniments for it. As they were cooking, Daniel noticed in particular how they were using and sharing a unique chopping knife with two handles called a mezzaluna, as it looked like a half-moon. Before long, they had completed the dish and presented it to Hinako for judging. She completely swooned over the dish, and although the rest of the class complained that the sauce was a salsa verde and not a Japanese sauce, Hinako pointed out that the sauce was made using Japanese ingredients – a Japanese version of an Italian sauce, making the dish fall within the specified parameters.
After she declared that the brothers had passed the assignment, Hinako then got back to Takumi's earlier request, saying that she would judge Soma's dish side-by-side with Takumi's if it would be equally delicious. She also set the terms of punishment for whoever lost – making the loser get on all fours and act like a submissive dog to the winner. "But you don't have to do it, like these silly boys," she commented to Megumi. "Hey!" Daniel exclaimed as he pointed towards Soma and Takumi. "I didn't agree to this! Don't lump me in with those two!"
Soma then grinned and accepted Takumi's challenge before pondering what he was going to do. He then noticed something and asked Hinako if anything within the boundary was fair game. When she said yes, he then grabbed her rice cracker snack bag and handed it to Daniel for safekeeping. Soma then explained that he wanted to go back out to get more ingredients, handing a list of things he wanted Megumi to gather, while he asked Daniel to stay and set up the mise-en-place.
As Daniel was preparing the station for Soma and Megumi's return, he began to think of what Soma had in mind. Looking at the snack, he finally came up with a reasonable guess, as it was the only thing he could think of that made sense. He then tried to make small talk with Takumi and Isami, saying, "He's not a bad guy, you know – he just doesn't always think about how his words come off to others. Besides, he does have the ability to back up his bravado. I know – I've been around him constantly for the last three years." While Takumi didn't say anything, he did nod, at least acknowledging that he admired Daniel's loyalty to Soma.
When Soma and Megumi returned, everything was ready at their station, and Daniel's suspicions were confirmed when Soma revealed he had gathered three eggs. They were going to coat the fish, bread it, and fry it with some vegetables. Soma was even able to use the egg yolks and pepper buds to make a great dipping sauce! When Hinako tasted it, she was blown away not only by the taste, but by the ingenuity Soma showed by choosing to fry the fish, as that was a rarity when she had given this exercise in years past. She then declared that the dish passed the test, to which Daniel raised his fist into the air in celebration, while Megumi was just relieved that they had passed.
Meanwhile, both Soma and Takumi awaited Hinako's decision as to whose dish was better, she seemed to go back on forth as to which one she would choose as the winner. Before she could make a definitive decision, however, she received a call on her cell phone from chef Shinomiya, yelling at her and demanding that she get the students packed up and back to the main hotel on the double. She was so panicked that she declined to declare a winner and decided to hold off judgment for another day.
Both Soma and Takumi – but especially Takumi – were quite frustrated by this turn of events, though Soma quickly got over it. Takumi, meanwhile, declared that this wasn't over. "I will defeat you in a food battle," he exclaimed. "Until next we meet!" A few minutes later, Daniel was sitting next to Soma on the bus, while Takumi and Isami were sitting in the seats right across the aisle from them, with Takumi sporting an embarrassed look. "Looks like we meet again," Soma said with a grin. "Shut up!" shouted Takumi, as both Isami and Daniel began laughing at the whole sequence of events.