Going into the third and final year for Daniel and his fellow classmates at Totsuki, there were two things that occurred to mark the beginning of the new school year for him (aside from the annual entrance ceremony). First, Daniel was elevated to the seventh seat on the council (and all of the other rising third years on the council were elevated accordingly), as Isshiki, Kuga, and Nene had graduated and moved on to the next stage of their culinary careers. In addition, Daniel had been named as the chief of the Chocolate Research Society – voted in overwhelmingly due to the prestige he had brought to the club (in no small part thanks to his position on the Council of Ten). The new school year also marked the end of having Isshiki as the senior resident at Polar Star. Although Daniel wouldn't particularly miss Isshiki prancing around in nothing but his apron (even though that had long since been accepted as a part of life at Polar Star), he would miss his subtle wisdom and the brightness he always seemed to bring to whatever room he happened to be in at that moment.
For Miss Fumio, this was the time of what she would now refer to as "The Jeweled Age" of Polar Star dorm. After the BLUE competition, master Senzaemon had revealed his long-time "Age of Jewels" plan that he had put into motion to save Erina (and, hopefully, Mana as well) from the pain and misery that always eventually came with having the God Tongue ability – that he had scouted and gathered many of Erina's classmates years ago to come to Totsuki to help sharpen Erina's skills and show her that there was hope for fulfillment and joy in the world of cooking. Soma had been the last of these so-called "jewels" to enroll at Totsuki, but he was the most important one to the plan's success in Senzaemon's eyes. Daniel, on the other hand, had not been a part of this plan initially, but an unexpected find that helped move the plan forward in unexpected, but positive, ways. Daniel wasn't quite sure what to make of this revelation, but he was nonetheless still grateful that he had been given the opportunity to attend the school and make so many friends his own age.
As the new school year got into full swing and Soma was once again present as the first seat on the Council of Ten, Daniel decided to take it upon himself to make sure that he had Soma's ear to make sure that he didn't do something crazy or drive everyone else too crazy. For the most part, he was successful, particularly at preventing Soma from acting on his most reckless instincts, as he was one of the few people Soma would actually listen to. However, he still couldn't stop Soma from creating, and subjecting others to, his experimental squid dishes (which Daniel continued to shove back in Soma's face).
Through all of the craziness that was to be expected at Totsuki (particularly with Soma as the first seat of the Council of Ten), Daniel's relationship with Hisako continued to thrive. In fact, they became even closer as Daniel began to take on a similar role when it came to Soma as she did when it came to Erina. Although he was never a formal assistant to Soma like Hisako was to Erina, he did keep Soma calm for the most part, and advise him as best he could to prevent him from getting into trouble and to keep him focused when needed. In addition, both Daniel and Hisako had to step in on multiple occasions when Erina and Soma started bickering with one another, which gave them something very significant to continue to bond over.
This took an interesting turn one evening when they were all working late, and Daniel and Hisako went to get the foursome some late-night bites. When they returned to the office, they ended up interrupting a makeout session between the headmistress and the first seat. The sight was definitely a shock to actually see, and Soma and Erina immediately tried to back off from each other and deny it, even when they saw they had clearly been caught. Daniel was the first to recover as he grinned and exclaimed, "It's about time, you two!" When the other three looked at him in surprise, Daniel stated, "What? The tension between the two of them has been ridiculously palpable since Soma got back." With both of the new lovebirds blushing, Erina asked Daniel and Hisako to keep this incident between them. Daniel promised not to say anything, but also added, "Still, you'd better prepare yourselves for when Alice inevitably finds out. You know she will somehow at some point." The others couldn't help but nod at the comment, as past experience told them that Daniel was probably right. Nonetheless, Erina wanted to try to keep the relationship a secret until they graduated, so as not to create any unfounded rumors about any improper arrangements. For Soma, the most frustrating part of this was that despite the fact that he had somehow won Erina's heart, she still wouldn't say that his food was delicious (at least, not at this time).
Soon, the first-year training camp was coming up again, with the Council of Ten arranging for that year's guest instructors to put the new high school division students through the ringer just like they had gone through. Not only were they able to get some of the top alums who had taught in the past to come back, but they also managed to get some recently graduated students to join in, including Eishi and Rindo, who would really drive the first-years nuts. After successfully shattering the nerves (and, in many cases, the dreams) of the first years, it was time to organize the Autumn Elections, where the best could show that what didn't kill them made them stronger. This, too, ended up a success, with a variety of judges who were able to participate, and the cream of the crop from the new generation of Totsuki chefs rising to the top with plans on reaching the top spot in school.
Shortly after, it was time for the Moon Festival, and Daniel really wanted to show what he could do with one of these booths as the undisputed leader. As the chief of the Chocolate Research Society, he convinced many of the club members to join him on the project, and thanks to his position on the Council of Ten, Daniel was able to secure a spot in the high-end Mountain area. Now it was up to them to set up something worthy of being in that area. For that, Daniel proposed they do a high-end chocolate café, where they would serve a multitude of chocolate desserts, as well as different varieties of hot chocolate and coffee.
The café featured, of course, a few desserts Daniel had developed during his time at Totsuki, including his "Ultimate Chocolate Dessert" that he used to save the society in his first year, the s'mores pot de crème he made for his entrance exam, and the Mexican chocolate cake he had made for his Autumn Elections battle with Takumi. He also had other members submit recipe ideas to add to the menu, and with everyone's help, they were able to bring their idea to life and become a place where people could relax and enjoy something sweet during the festival. In terms of sales, the café ended up taking the top slot in the Mountain area, much to the delight of the club, who now had something to show for future generations of club members after Daniel graduated.
Despite the fact that Daniel had built a reputation within the council as someone who focused on serious matters, he also wanted to help create something that could being a lot of fun for future generations of Totsuki students. If the work he undertook during his second year was focused on strengthening the school's conscience, then he wanted the accomplishments of his third year to be focused on the pure joy and happiness people are supposed to have in creating delicious creations.
To that end, he worked with several people on the council, including Soma, to come up with an idea for a major event that would involve the second- and third-year students. While the first-year students had the Autumn Elections every year to show off their skills to the rest of the school in an exciting competition setting, second- and third-year students either had to take part in competitions off campus or engage in food wars. At first, Soma thought that the encouragement of those food wars would be enough, but Daniel thought it might give more students motivation if there were some sort of official event that really tested their skills without the fear of expulsion to worry about.
As he was thinking about how to go about this, Daniel suddenly came up with a few ideas while he was streaming a few of his favorite cooking competition shows. He then brought Soma into his room to show him what his idea was (as it would be easier to show him as opposed to telling him). As Daniel was showing Soma what he was streaming, Soma got that grin on his face that he gets as the wheels in his head start spinning. He then turned to Daniel and stated, "I like what you're thinking, my man! Let's do it!" When they took the idea to Erina for approval, she was definitely skeptical at first, not seeing what this had to do with top level cooking and only seeing it as a ridiculous distraction. Daniel then made the argument that it would really test how chefs were able to think outside of the box, as well as on their feet – both of which were skills that they would need to use effectively in their careers at some point. Plus, he pointed out that it would be a way to provide the second and third years with a way to display their unique skills similarly to how the Autumn Elections did that for the first years. Thanks to Daniel's persuasiveness, Erina ended up approving of the competition, which would take place after the new calendar year.
When the new event for second- and third-year students was announced, there was a rush to sign up for it – particularly among the third years, as it would be their final opportunity to show the school what they were capable of. For a number of weeks, there was a series of different culinary "games" in which each participant scored points based on how well they did (think in the style of, for example, Chopped, Guy's Grocery Games, and even the Great British Bakeoff – specifically the part where everyone has to bake the same item, but there are several parts to the recipe that are blanked out). After all of the games had played out, it was announced that the top two finishers were Soma and Daniel, who would face off against each other to determine the champion in an Iron Chef-style battle. For this final battle, there would be a theme ingredient, revealed at the start of the cooking time, from which each competitor would have to create five dishes. The three judges announced for this battle were Gin, Isshiki, and Rindo, who would definitely be ready and willing to criticize the young chefs.
In addition, each chef would be allowed to choose one other student to serve as their sous chef for the battle. This would be a very difficult decision, as there were a multitude of great chefs for each of them to choose from. It all came down to who they thought would be able to complement their style, and most importantly, work the best with them. For Soma, it was an especially tough decision, since Erina wasn't an option, as she wasn't participating due to the fact that she was the headmistress and would be serving in the "chairperson" role. In the end, he decided to choose Takumi as his sous chef, as he felt that Takumi brought the best of his competitive drive out of him besides Erina and Daniel. For Daniel, on the other hand, the dilemma was similar, but the choice for him was obvious – who else would he choose but his beloved girlfriend Hisako to join him on the big stage and help him to victory over his friend.
As the two chefs and friends stood face to face on the stage, Urara (who would be giving the blow-by-blow action during the match) temporarily gave the mic to Erina so she could announce the theme ingredient for the battle. As she stood there with a serious look on her face, she gave a subtle grin to both participants – one being her secret boyfriend, while the other was her friend and the love of her best friend – wishing the both of them luck in the battle. She then gave a dramatic pause before revealing the theme ingredient – Eggs. She then revealed a table at the center of the stage containing dozens of the highest quality eggs the school could procure. As both Soma and Daniel laughed at the irony of the ingredient, given their histories with it, the gong sounded, signaling for the cooking time to begin.
As they got started, Daniel discussed with Hisako how he wanted to approach the challenge, giving her an idea about what cuisines he wanted to bring in and why. While Hisako agreed with his choices generally, she also suggested ways she could provide her own unique skill set to enhance a couple of the dishes. Daniel grinned, knowing that she would be able to come up with something special here. With a game plan now in place, they went to work to create their five dishes. The two hours quickly went by, as each team worked furiously to get all five dishes prepared before time was up. When the gong sounded again, each head chef went up to present their dishes.
For Soma, this would be a demonstration of his Yukihira-style evolved into his current Soma-style cooking. To that end, he presented to the judges a scotch egg burger (a burger with a perfectly cooked, perfectly runny egg in the middle of the patty); an Italian dish known as Eggs in Purgatory (poached eggs cooked with spicy Italian sausage ragu – a nod to Takumi's influence) served with Spanish paprika-spiced potatoes and topped with a garlic aioli; an updated version of his Unscented Fried Rice; a curry omelet rice where the egg omelet outside was actually a souffle omelet; and, finally, as a nod to Erina, an updated version of his Eggs Benedict Bowl (using dashi stock to poach the egg before frying it and using a different type of pork).
For Daniel, his approach was similar in that this would show his overall culinary journey to this point in his life, but also added major points of inspiration from Hisako. As such, he presented to the judges chilaquiles (topped with a green chile pork stew enhanced by herbs suggested by Hisako, cotija cheese, and, of course, perfectly fried eggs); a pasta carbonara reinterpreted as a raviolo dish (the pancetta was placed at the bottom of the dish, topped with the raviolo with the egg in it, and a parmesan frico to top it off); shakshuka (a nod to his Jewish heritage – using lamb belly as the meat base, and adding Chinese herbs and spices to help prevent heartburn while enhancing the flavors); chawanmushi (the broth below the custard level was a curried broth containing the four pillars of Chinese medicine); and, finally, a reinterpretation of a chocolate egg cream (he froze the mixture using liquid nitrogen and topped it with orange curd in the serving dish). The judges were particularly amazed at the dessert, as it looked ordinary, but when they tasted it, the flavors burst forth, and they could also feel the effervescence of the carbonated club soda on their tongues (since Daniel was able to freeze it so quickly).
As the judges deliberated, it was obvious that it was going to be a close call. Both chefs had presented thoughtful and well executed dishes, and had brought in their skills and the knowledge they had obtained along the way. Most importantly, both of them had brought everything they had to competing against each other. Hisako whispered into Daniel's ear that she was proud of what they did no matter what the ultimate outcome. Soon, the points had been tallied and the verdict was in. While the judges expressed their pleasure with what had been presented and their view that both chefs had performed extraordinarily, there had to be a winner. By a slim margin, Soma was declared the winner, as they thought his creativity had been just a bit better than Daniel's. While he was thrilled at achieving the victory, Soma also expressed how impressed he was with what Daniel had come up before raising his arm along with his, showing how impressed he was. This caused the audience to give a standing ovation for both of them. While Daniel was disappointed at once again losing a one-on-one match with Soma, it was obvious that he was more than worthy of being where he was at that moment.
By the time graduation came in the spring, everyone could tell that Totsuki's 92nd graduating generation would be one to celebrate for years to come. Not only were the quality of the graduating chefs distinctive from years past, but the quantity of graduating students for that year was astonishing. At 25 graduating students (including Erina, even though she was also the headmistress), it was a new record by far for any year in the history of Totsuki. A larger amount of space had to be set aside for the ceremony as the size of the class would mean a very large audience would be present to see their friends and family. For Daniel, it was a mix of emotions for him. On the one hand, he was thrilled that he had accomplished something that was extraordinarily difficult and had met his own challenge of surviving the Totsuki gauntlet. On the other hand, he would definitely miss being with all of his friends and seeing everyone every day. After all the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony was over, the new graduates gathered together to celebrate their achievement as they all made plans for the future and went on their chosen paths into the vast culinary wilderness.