After returning to the arena from the commissary with their selected ingredients, the six food war combatants got to work on their dishes. As they began cooking, the judges took note of something very interesting. While the members of Central were all prepping, cooking, and worrying about only their own dishes, the Three Amigos were constantly communicating with each other, making sure that everyone was doing alright, and filling in the gaps of each other's processes when able and needed. Throughout the course of the match, each of them handed off something to each of the other two, looking like they had been working together for years instead of a matter of months.
During this time, Urara tried to downplay the Three Amigos' teamwork by hyping up how superior to the rebels the members of the Council were – that no amount of teamwork would be able to make up the difference. Suddenly, she got a whiff of something coming from chef Mom's station. Whatever it was, it suddenly caused Urara to be extra nice, sweet, and cutesy – more so than what was even normal for her. 'Dang,' Daniel thought, 'Whatever it is, it must be really potent to have that kind of effect.' Turning to Megumi to make sure she didn't get discouraged by this turn of events, he told her, "Don't pay attention to whatever she's doing. Just concentrate on what you want to do with your dish. Remember, we're right there if you need us." Megumi gave a determined nod, acknowledging what Daniel said.
A little more than two-thirds of the way through the allotted time, chef Momo was the first one to complete her dish and present it to the judges for tasting. Her dish – what she called a Queen's Apple Tart, was presented like a basket of pink roses, which enamored the judges thoroughly. For the tarts, she had peeled and sliced up the apples so that the apple slices looked like rose petals when arranged properly. To make the appearance even more rose-like, she had made a syrup using the apple peels as well as the extract of the petals from a damask rose, which not only gave the syrup a pinkish hue, but also gave off a sweet aroma that was the cause of Urara's sudden attitude change. Once she brushed the tops of the tarts with the syrup, the tarts all looked like damask roses, especially when arranged in the basket she presented them in, which was also edible, as she made the entire thing from bread dough. It was so realistic that the judges could help but comment on it.
As for the taste, the judges took one bite and felt the intended effects immediately. The apple slices were the correct texture, and the sweetness level of the dish was perfect as well. Plus, the tart crust was buttery and flaky – everything you would want in a tart crust. The judges all looked like they were completely blissing out and their minds seemed as though they were in a fairy tale fantasy – exactly as Momo had intended. Daniel couldn't do anything except shake his head in disbelief as he thought, 'I have to give her credit, she truly is an expert when it comes to desserts.' He could only hope that Megumi's dish would be able to charm the judges in the way only Megumi could do it.
A few minutes later, Megumi presented her dish to the judges. Unlike Momo's dish, which was not only sweet on the palate, but dazzling visually, what Megumi presented looked like a traditional dorayaki – a two-layer pancake dish with filling in the middle (as well as a signature stamp on top). Despite the lack of visual appeal, Histoire noted the history of the dorayaki as something to be admired for its simplicity, and that it was generally regarded as the precursor to the western pancake.
Looking at Megumi's determined look, the judges sensed that this wasn't an ordinary dorayaki, despite outward appearances. When they took a bite, they were able to taste why, as the pancake was so soft and fluffy – even more so than would normally be expected from a dorayaki. In addition, the filling was a white bean paste made with white kidney beans and sugar, along with the diced apples (Soma had prepared the diced apples, as Megumi was concentrating on the pancake component). When the judges asked about the pancake portion, Megumi explained that she had made it using the beurre monte method, which she had learned from chef Kojiro during her training. The judges were extremely impressed, as it usually took even an expert chef several years to perfect this method. In addition, the pancake contained apple butter, which accentuated the flavor of the theme ingredient.
While the judges commended Megumi for her creativity in using the apple for this dish, they still didn't feel as though the dorayaki measured up to Momo's tart. They were about to render judgment when Anne noticed that Megumi still wore a look of determination on her face – like the battle wasn't over yet. Anne then took another bite – one into the very center of the dorayaki, and her eyes widened in surprise. When Charme and Histoire asked Anne what was up, she told them simply to, "Keep eating." When they did, they figured out what had made Anne so excited. In the center of a dorayaki, the filling became an apple jam that was not only the perfect texture, but was accentuated using finely grated ginger (which Daniel had prepared for Megumi). This packed an explosive and unexpected flavor punch that really highlighted the apple flavor!
When the judges had finished and began to consider both dishes, it took them several minutes to come to a decision, as Megumi's dish had truly surprised them. In the end, however, Momo came out on top, but by a 2-1 split decision, which surprised the audience. While both Charme and Histoire had voted for Momo (though both had said it was close), Anne had voted for Megumi's dish. As Megumi began to tear up over her loss, Soma shouted, "Don't worry about it, Megumi! You did a great job!" Daniel added, "Yeah, we'll get that one back!" As she was then comforted by Erina on the sidelines, she shouted back, "Thanks! Go get 'em, boys!" While this was going on, Momo was making her way out of the main arena, mumbling to herself, "Not cute. Not cute. Not cute at all – Megumi Tadokoro."
Meanwhile, with Daniel's match against Eizan, he had been moving very meticulously, as the dish he had decided to make would require a steady hand and precision timing for certain elements. Eizan, meanwhile, was very confident in himself and continually tried to goad Daniel into reacting to him by making a number of snide comments. When he saw that Daniel wasn't playing along with him, he decided to reveal his devious plan when he saw that he would finish his dish before Daniel. "So, you've got about, what, fifteen minutes to go before you finish your dish?" Daniel finally responded, "Yeah, what of it?" Eizan then began to chuckle maniacally as he stated, "Then you're finished! I'll be presenting before you, and I have a special surprise ingredient in my dish that will make yours taste like garbage – artichokes!"
As the caged rebels began to wonder what Eizan was talking about, Alice explained that artichokes contained something called cynarine, which affected the taste buds so that the next thing the person tasted would be much sweeter than it should be. Yuki then yelled for the judges to disqualify Eizan immediately, which they rejected. After all, Eizan hadn't done anything that was against the rules. As the Polar Star gang began to despair, Daniel turned to them and said, "Don't worry – I've got this!" Eizen just chuckled evilly as he commented on how it was just wishful thinking on Daniel's part and that it was so mean of him to give his friends hope. Daniel then replied, "You know – your overconfidence will make this all so much sweeter when I kick your butt!" Eizan just smirked with a "Whatever."
Eizan then presented his dish to the judges – Roast Beef of Temptation, with the beef cooked to a perfect medium-rare and topped with a cream sauce that had horseradish, yogurt, and lots of artichokes, as well as a poached egg. As expected for a member of the Council of Ten, everything was cooked perfectly, and all of the components worked cohesively with each other, including the artichokes in the cream sauce. The judges were so enamored with The Alchemist's cooking that even Soma and Megumi were curious about it. Anne offered each of them a taste, and neither one could deny just how good it was – not that Daniel had expected anything less.
As the judges were finishing, Daniel was ready to present his own dish to them. It looked like a delicate, yet fairly simple dish – a ravioli stuffed with beef topped with what looked like a pesto sauce. In addition, there was a small layer of broth in the bowl with the pieces of ravioli. The pasta was very transparent to the filling, as Daniel had rolled the pasta dough extra thin to make it this delicate. Eizan smugly suggested that he have the judges take a sip of water before tasting, to which Daniel replied, "That won't be necessary."
As then judges began to dig in, the Polar Star gang in the cage began to despair, sure that the dish would taste off. However, to their surprise (as well as Eizan's), the judges thought that the dish tasted absolutely spectacular! Eizan couldn't believe that this was so, and demanded to know what was going on. At the same time, the judges noted that while the dish looked Italian, several of the flavors came from somewhere else entirely. Daniel then explained that the filling was inspired from Argentinian-style churrasco, as he had used chunks of short rib meat (as prepared by Soma), seared them, and placed them into a pressure cooker, along with some Argentinian malbec red wine and other aromatics used in Argentinian cooking. He cooked the meat until very tender, shredded it, and mixed it with pureed black beans, which he mixed with garlic and spices, for the filling. For the pasta, he had rolled the dough very thin, making it practically transparent – a technique he had learned from chef Mizuhara, who had also taught him to make the parmesan broth, which accompanied the dish and gave it a pleasantly salty element. The topping, as it turned out, was not a pesto sauce, but an herbaceous chimichurri sauce (which had been prepared by Megumi), all of which successfully combined Italian and Argentinian flavors into one cohesive dish.
"But how did you counteract the artichokes?" Anne asked. Daniel smiled as he held up the answer – a yuzu fruit. "I used the yuzu in multiple ways in this dish," he explained. "I used the juice both in the cooking liquid in the pressure cooker and in the broth, giving both a brightness and acidity that went well with the rich elements of the dish. In addition, I added the zest to the chimichurri sauce, and both the zest and just a little bit of the rind in the pasta dough. The sourness and bitterness of the yuzu counteracted the artichokes beautifully."
Eizan was still both confused and frustrated at the answer. "How could you have possibly known?" he asked. "I didn't decide to use artichokes until we all started cooking!" Daniel turned to Eizan and replied, "But I did know." As Eizan looked in confusion, Daniel elaborated, "Well, maybe not know 100%, but I was fairly certain. Mimasaka warned me about your food war methods – that you would try to do something like this to enhance your chances. Plus, while I may not be as well-versed in food science as you or Alice, I do have a decent amount of knowledge on the subject. You needed something that would have a very temporary effect on the taste buds – and the only ingredient that fit the bill in the commissary was artichokes."
As the judges were raving about his Argentinian Churrasco Ravioli – about the flavors Daniel brought, about the delicacy of the dish, and about the creativity he displayed in making this hybrid Italian-Argentinian dish, Eizan knew that he had been beaten at his own game. Furious that this had happened, his face turned red with anger and frustration as he said to Daniel, "You…punk first-year." Daniel just smiled, knowing that he had Eizan beat, and replied simply, "Up yours, Eizan." Moments later, the judges declared Daniel the winner of the second bout of the morning session by unanimous decision.
As Daniel pumped his fist in the air in triumph, the rebels in the cage and on the sideline (minus Erina) began to enthusiastically cheer their latest victory. As Daniel turned to head back to the sidelines, Soma called out to him, "Great job, man!" As Daniel gave him a thumbs up, Soma added, "I know that you're not normally a vindictive person, but you looked like you really enjoyed beating Eizan there." Daniel grinned and replied, "You're damn right, I did!" before turning back towards the sideline. When he got there, Erina greeted him with a "good job," before they both turned back and watched as the premier matchup of the morning session continued, with Soma facing his toughest challenge yet – the current fourth seat of the Council of Ten and third-year student Somei Saito.
How do like Daniel taking down Eizan like a boss and (figuratively) dropping the mic on him?! I hope you're all enjoying my take on the Regiment de Cuisine Arc so far and that you continue to read! In the meantime, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome!