Akira was the first finalist to present his dish for judgment, after a little more than an hour had passed since the gong sounded. His dish appeared to be an hors d'oeuvre dish – a pacific saury carpaccio to be precise. This caused some confusion amongst the crowd, as an appetizer was really not considered something that one would create and serve for the Autumn Election final round. Before the judges began to eat, Akira held them up, insisting that he finish off the dish with a blow torch, which the judges assented to. Although they didn't expect much, when Akira had torched the three plates, a wondrous aroma was released that enveloped the entire stadium, much to the shock of the judges.

As the crowd was commenting on the aroma and how the saury now looked incredibly juicy and delicious, the judges took their first tastes, which caused them the sport looks of ecstasy on their faces that surpassed what they had displayed over the aroma. It not only caused Senzaemon to bare his chest as his shirt shredded, but it also caused Leonora to stand up and begin describing the sensations she was experiencing in great detail – and in perfectly fluent Japanese! When Daniel turned to Erina and Alice for an explanation, they looked as though this was quite normal. "When my mother tastes something she thinks is really delicious, she's able to converse in perfect Japanese," Alice explained. "So, kind of how like your grandfather loses his shirt when he tastes something delicious?" Daniel asked, to which the two cousins nodded.

When the judges asked Akira what he had used to create such an aroma, he explained that he had brushed some Kaeshi over the fish before he brought it up, and that the torch was to caramelize it and release the aroma while keeping the flavor of the fresh fish intact. He did this by using only a single spice to create his dish – allspice – which was another surprise, as he was known for using many different spices to get the most out of his dishes. However, chef Dojima pointed out that Akira was not merely a master of using spice, but at manipulating aromas, which didn't always need multiple spices. As Akira explained it, "I took the conflicting concepts of aroma, and combined them into one dish." Daniel had to admit, he was really impressed by Akira here. 'He really knows what he's doing,' he thought. 'This is going to be a tough one for Soma to win.' Still, Daniel felt it was possible that Soma could pull it out.

Just as the moon was about to disappear from view as it crossed the open rooftop, Soma came up to the judges stand to present his dish. He came up and served it family style in a closed clay pot. When he opened it, the steam and aroma that was released revealed the dish as a Pacific Saury Takikomi Gohan – a rice-based dish using the pacific saury, along with mushrooms and crunchy pickled plums. Soma then dished out individual portions to the judges, who dug in and immediately felt the warmth of a familiar and cozy local restaurant, or even a homemade comfort dish, embrace them. They were the most intrigued by the fish, which Soma explained had been pickled in rice bran, which was a favorite method in Hokkaido.

While the judges were impressed with Soma's dish, Senzaemon had not shredded his shirt, meaning that he had not found it as delicious as Akira's dish. That's when Soma suggested that the judges have seconds, only this time he would pour some soup over it, which he held out in a pot. The judges were intrigued and agreed to a second helping of the fish and rice, after which, Soma poured a ladle full of the white soup into each bowl. After each of them tried the new version of the dish, the first thing everyone noticed was that Senzaemon shredded his shirt and bared his chest, indicating that he was on an even level with Akira. For his completed soup-style Takikomi Gohan, Soma had made a white soup with soy milk as the base, to which he mixed in white miso and parmesan cheese, creating an extra umami flavor and even enhancing the flavors of the other ingredients – namely the fish and the crunchy pickled plums. Leonora even commented that the dish reminded her of her courtship with her husband – two cultures coming together in love and harmony.

Daniel was smiling at all the praise that Soma was receiving for his dish. As he looked at Akira and saw a look of surprise and curiosity on his face, Daniel thought to himself, 'Soma definitely has a chance here.' He could also tell by the looks on the judges' faces that they were having a hard time choosing a winner. However, Senzaemon eventually stood up to deliver the verdict. First, he complimented both chef's for their performance in the finals, pointing out that while Akira was clearly superior in choosing the freshest and tastiest fish, Soma's creativity with aging the fish and getting more umami out of it had really closed the gap with Akira.

"Ultimately," he said, "the deciding factor here was whether we could see the face of the chef in their presented dish." When Senzaemon said this, Daniel initially thought that this could be used to describe either Akira's or Soma's dish – until he saw the look of confusion on Soma's face at Senzaemon's words, wondering what he meant by "the face of the chef." As chef Dojima and Leonora explained what exactly they meant by that phrase, Daniel got a feeling about the result that made him think, 'Uh, oh.' He snapped himself out of his thoughts in time to hear Senzaemon say, "The winner of this battle was the one who looked deep into his own self and asked, 'What is my cooking, and how can I best present that here?'"

Both chefs had determined looks on their faces as Senzaemon reached the ultimate reveal. "The winner of this year's Autumn Election tournament is…Akira Hayama!" As he heard Senzaemon call out Akira's name, Daniel leaned back momentarily and mouthed a 'Damn!' – disappointed over his friend's incredibly close defeat. He then heard the rest of the crowd cheering loudly and decided to clap in appreciation for the match and in congratulations to Akira for the win. He then made his way to Soma, who had a look of disappointment on his face over the loss, and gave him a big pat on the back before putting his arm around his shoulder and saying, "Great job, Soma. You did really well – there's nothing to be ashamed about in your performance tonight." Soma chuckled and gave a sad smile before stating simply, "Thanks, man."

Meanwhile, Akira had raised his fist in triumph and was smiling in satisfaction when Professor Shiomi came bounding out of the stands and over to Akira overjoyed that he had won. As she was telling Akira how proud and thrilled she was for him, Akira was uncharacteristically overcome with emotion as he suddenly gave Jun a big hug. The crowd then gasped, and the professor screeched out in surprise before Akira realized what he was doing and backed away slightly in embarrassment. To Daniel, however, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. He didn't see this as a traditional student-teacher relationship, or something else inappropriate, but that of a mother and son sharing a big moment.

Chef Dojima then went over to Akira to give him some words of wisdom, which Akira seemed to take in (though Daniel couldn't tell for sure). When chef Dojima had finished and walked back to the judges' table, Soma suddenly went over and demanded that Akira make him a plate of his carpaccio – to which Akira reacted with confusion, and Daniel reacted with some embarrassment as he sweat dropped at Soma's actions. Akira did eventually give in to Soma's ask, and when he tasted it, Soma had to admit that Akira had created something really good. As the audience continued to cheer and the judges looked on, they were confident that the future of Totsuki and the cooking world were in good hands with the chefs that had participated in the Autumn Elections, especially the two finalists.

Later on outside, as the Polar Star gang was making their way back to the dorm with Soma carrying his silver medal in his pocket, everyone else was talking about the big party they would have once they got back for the night. There was much to celebrate – three Polar Star residents had made the semifinals, and even though Soma didn't ultimately win, he only lost by the slimmest of margins. They had all made Polar Star proud and brought honor to the dorm's reputation – certainly worthy of celebration.

Suddenly, Soma received a call on his cell phone. When he looked, he saw that it was his dad and told everyone to go on ahead while he took it, though Daniel stayed a few feet away so that Soma could have some privacy in his conversation with Joichiro. Daniel could tell that Joichiro was ragging on Soma for the loss, as Soma was frustrated with his dad's reaction. By the end of the conversation, though, it sounded more like a normal father-son talk. Daniel still couldn't understand Joichiro sometimes, though. He wasn't a bad father by any means, but he was definitely one strange duck. As he hung up and the two of them continued to make their way back to the dorm, Soma kept muttering, "My food…what is my food?" As he was muttering, Daniel tried to cheer him up by saying, "Forget about that for tonight. Right now, it's time to par-tay back at the dorm!" Soma chuckled and replied, "You're right. Time to celebrate!"

A few days later, Soma and Daniel were in the Shiomi seminar room, where they were hanging out with Akira discussing the various intricacies of the completed tournament. Even Ryo had wandered in and sat down, taking a break from his duties as Alice's aide. Although he had lost in the quarterfinals like Alice, he was critiquing the dishes Soma, Akira, and even Daniel had made during the tournament as though he was better than them. While Daniel knew that Ryo saw cooking like a constant battle that he had to win – that he had to have the mindset that he could beat anyone – Ryo hadn't earned that at this point.

When Ryo once again began going on to Soma about how, "I can make that way better than you" regarding one of Soma's original creations, Daniel decided he had had enough. "Alright, then. Let's see it," Daniel stated. The other people in the room then looked at Daniel in surprise as this was somewhat out of character for him. Daniel continued, "You seem to know how we all made our dishes, so pick one and make it. Right here, right now." As Ryo looked at Daniel in shock, not expecting someone to actually call him out on his bravado, Daniel looked at Ryo straight in the eye and stated, "Come on, Ryo. It's time for you to either put up or shut up." Still in shock over Daniel's words, Ryo decided to shut up – for the time being.

As Daniel grinned at getting Ryo to back down, Akira started talking about how they all should show him some more respect, since the Autumn Elections had now created a 'hierarchy' among the first years, with him at the top and the rest of them below him. "This clearly makes me out as the better chef out of all you numbskulls," he added. At this, Daniel once again got annoyed and turned his attention to Akira as he retorted, "Oh, shut up Akira! You only beat Soma by the skin of your teeth and you know it! The two of you are practically even in terms of your skill levels."

Once again, everyone else in the room was surprised by Daniel's outburst. Seeing the looks of surprise, Daniel stated, "Look, everyone. I can be a really nice, mellow guy and your best friend most of the time, but I have a low tolerance for bullshit, and I will call all of you out on yours when you get all full of yourselves." At this, Soma chuckled and added, "It's true, you know. But that's one of the things that makes having him around so great – he's willing to keep everyone honest."

As the other guys were considering both Daniel's and Soma's words, Professor Shiomi came in with some tea and cookies for everyone. While Akira mildly protested Jun encouraging their presence there, the rest of the guys thanked the professor at some level for her hospitality. She then sat down and began a serious discussion of how they were about to go into one of the great challenges for the first years in about a week or so – the Stagiaire.

When everyone asked what that was, Jun explained that it was a period during a student's first year when they would all be assigned for one-week periods (two of them at two separate places) to different places throughout the food industry, where they were expected to help out the business that had requested them. She warned them that they had to take this very seriously. "Those who don't have been known to be expelled from Totsuki on the spot!" At this, Soma and Daniel sweat dropped as they thought, 'Of course they would. That's the M.O. around here.'

Akira and Ryo didn't seem too concerned about this, as Akira asked, "So as long as we don't cause any trouble and do our jobs, we'll be fine, right?" Jun then shook her head and said, "Again, it's not that simple. In order to pass your Stagiaire stints, you will have to leave a lasting contribution on the place where you worked." When Daniel asked what was considered a 'lasting contribution,' Jun couldn't give a definitive answer, saying that they would have to observe and figure that out themselves. Akira and Ryo continued to express confidence that they would have no problems getting through. Daniel and Soma, meanwhile, listened to Jun intently. When she was finished, Daniel turned to Soma and said, "Alright, buddy. The next challenge is here. We're both getting through this in one piece, right?" Soma nodded and replied, "Yeah! That's a promise!"