As the chaos of tasting Erina's dish subsided, and everyone that had been stripped either got their clothes back or were given towels and other items to cover themselves, Daniel got back to work preparing his dessert dish. Meanwhile, Momo finished putting together her own dish and took the individual servings to present to the judges. After placing the servings in front of the judges, she went over to Daniel's workstation and placed an additional serving there, indicating to Daniel that she wanted him to taste it as well.
To each person, Momo had presented an individual-sized cake containing multiple layers. The contrast of colors of the different layers inside the cake was definitely pleasing to the eye. However, as usual, the flavors and textures were what fully brought the judges into Momo's world of cuteness. The different layers of the cake consisted of different types of desserts brought together into one coherent and tasty dish. The first cake layer consisted of a dark chocolate cake made with almond flour to give it earthy and nutty undertones. In addition, the cake was perfectly moist, aided in part by the syrup Momo had made for it, which contained Grand Marnier – an orange flavored liquor – as its primary flavoring agent. The next layer was a white chocolate-cardamom custard, which was followed by a layer of fresh cookie crumbles – cookies with hazelnuts and pistachios in them to provide a crunchy element. There was also a layer of mixed berries in the filling – macerated in the Grand Marnier – that gave a fresh and tart flavor to the dish. The middle cake layer was a lighter milk chocolate cake made with coconut milk, followed by another layer of the custard, cookies, and fruit filling. This led to another layer of the dark chocolate-almond cake again at the top. Further, Momo brought out her love of cuteness by covering the cake with a thin layer of mascarpone cheese frosting and then decorating each cake with a forest motif – complete with a deer in a clearing and mushrooms growing all around.
As the judges tasted it, they were brought back to the culinary Eden that Eishi's dish had brought them to, with added cuteness, as the dessert was not only delicious, but also complimented the two previous dishes served in Central's overall meal. The berries and the chocolate went very well with the venison and mushrooms that had been prominently featured in the previous dishes. Not only that, but the flavors were also perfectly balanced – not too rich despite the richness of the ingredients she used. She had tempered the sweetness of the white chocolate perfectly thanks to the use of cardamom, and the berries cut through whatever richness remained to create something that felt luxurious, but did not feel overwhelming. Similar to what happened with Eishi's dish, Azami's gifting wave was once again activated, and the female judges were once again stripped down to their undergarments.
Daniel could sense all of this in Momo's dessert, but he also sensed something else from it – something much more personal. As he ate several bites of the dessert, Daniel sensed just how high a bar Momo had set as well as the message she was sending to him. As Daniel gathered himself, Soma walked up to him and asked, "Did she just…?" Before he could finish the question, Daniel replied, "Yeah, she did," knowing exactly what Soma was about to ask. Erina then went up to the two boys and asked what they were talking about. Daniel then explained that Momo was calling him out directly. She was determined to prove that Daniel's victory in the Straggler Hunt was a fluke, and was doing so by creating an even better version of the dish he had made for that battle. Both desserts contained the same flavor profiles and were similar in style. However, based on the reactions of the judges, Momo's version was likely better than his was. "If she had made this during that battle," he said, "She probably would have beaten me."
However, Daniel also had something to prove. For one, he was looking to do the opposite of Momo and prove that his victory over her was not a fluke. Once the female judges had their clothes returned to them once again, he looked into the oven to check on his main component, which to his delight and relief, appeared to have turned out perfectly. He then prepared four plates of food for the presentation for the judges. Each plate consisted of three components - an individual-sized ramekin with the main baked component, a mini sauce boat with a lightly colored sauce in it, and a dish of ice cream (one scoop each) that was light tan in appearance. Daniel then returned the favor from earlier and prepared a serving of his dish for Momo to try. Further, he had an extra serving's worth (as the recipe he had made was for a half dozen servings) – which he decided to give to Urara, saying that she had worked hard as the emcee for the event (though the other rebels were confused by the gesture).
Daniel then began to explain the dish to everyone – the main baked component was a dark chocolate Guinness souffle with a light powdered sugar topping. Alongside the souffle was the sauce dish, which contained an Irish whiskey sauce that was primarily meant to go with the souffle once it was cracked open at the top, and a dish of Irish Cream ice cream. The ice cream was meant as a temperature contrast to the souffle and sauce, though the sauce could also be used to top the ice cream if the diner wished. All together, these components made up his Luck of the Irish Chocolate Souffle. The female judges were very anxious to try this desert, and Azami was at least intrigued enough that he was willing to try it. They all followed his instructions regarding the sauce, cracking the top of the souffle open with a spoon and pouring most of the sauce into the center, while leaving just a little to top the ice cream.
When the judges tried it, the flavors rushed through their mouths and hit their taste buds like a tsunami. It was a tsunami of contrasts. The flavors were very rich, yet it all felt so light – it wasn't heavy at all in their stomachs. In addition, the contrast between the heat of the souffle and the cold of the ice cream in addition to the various flavors brought everything together. To top it all off, the souffle and ice cream were both at the perfect consistencies, while the whiskey sauce was like a nice warm crème anglaise. Further, each component had just the right amount of the named alcoholic beverage to lend its flavors to the component without overpowering everything else. As they continued to dive in, they all felt like they were witnessing a live production of Riverdance – something traditional in origin, yet bold and modern in the execution, and they couldn't help but be completely enthralled by it.
A/N: If you haven't ever seen Riverdance and have a chance to see the show in person, I highly recommend it – it's really good!
After his first bite, Azami looked over at Urara and Momo, and saw that they were scarfing it down. Looking at his fellow judges, Azami was stunned to see that Anne, Decora, and Courage couldn't stop eating it, either. He then asked Daniel in a low growl, "Tell me, boy, have you made this dish before?" Daniel shook his head and replied, "Nope – I came up with the recipe for this just last night. I based it off of a really great brownie sundae I had at a gastropub in Dublin when I was eleven." Azami's eyes widened in disbelief. 'This boy is a complete amateur,' he thought, 'So how was he able to create something on this level practically on the fly?' Then, to his horror, all five women who were eating the dessert suddenly moaned aloud at the pleasure they were feeling in consuming it. Daniel then grinned, knowing that he had this.
As Azami was trying to hold back his frustrations, Erina came up to stand beside Daniel and spoke again to her father. "By the way father," she began, "I have decided that from now on, my cooking will be dedicated to the freedom that all chefs should be able to enjoy – the freedom they have to create dishes of their choosing, and of exploring new possibilities – for there is more than one method to achieve great cooking, which can only be achieved through freedom." Now Azami began to growl as he declared that this "freedom" Erina spoke of would only lead to despair and misery – that only by leading chefs to the one true culinary paradise he created could they be truly freed from the burdens that had been unduly placed upon them.
Erina would not back down, however. She was no longer a bird in a cage subject to Azami's whims, but an independent spirit forging her own path. Azami then became even more desperate, stating that she would only be suffering the cruelties and hardships by choosing this path – that it would ruin her, just like it ruined Joichiro. At this, Soma came forward and disputed that assertion. "You're wrong," he said, "When my father finally met my mother and was with her, he was truly happy. That much I know." As Azami was about to reply, he felt it again – his gifting wave going out of control. Although it wasn't quite as strong as after he had tried Erina's dish earlier, he was weakened from before and once again couldn't stop it. Not only were the judges all stripped of their clothing once again, but the wave made its way to both the rebels' and Central's sides of the kitchen stage, stripping Eishi, Rindo, Momo, and Urara of their clothing as well.
Daniel's grin got even wider, as he knew now that Azami's body found this dish to be even more delicious than Momo's, meaning the rebels had won when combined with the other dishes. Azami began to scream that he would not allow Erina to fall into despair due to the influence of, "these low lives that have sullied and tarnished you!" as he pointed to Soma and Daniel in particular, with his pointing hand lingering on Daniel in the end. At that point, Hisako came to the front, having escaped the cage, and stood in front of Erina and Daniel and declared, "She will not fall into despair! She will have all of us by her side! We will always look out for her – and we will all look out for each other! You can count on that!"
Azami then turned his anger on Hisako and shouted, "How dare you! A mere servant of the Nakiri family dares to challenge me!?" Despite the vitriol of his voice, Hisako stood her ground as she replied, "I am not just Erina's servant – I'm her friend!" Erina was a bit surprised by this declaration, though very glad to hear it from her. Hisako then added, "And I won't stand by as you belittle her, my friends, or my boyfriend!" Before Azami could respond, he finally cried out as he couldn't hold out his wave any longer and he was stripped of his own clothing. After this, even Azami knew he was beaten, and this was confirmed as the other judges voted in favor of the rebels, giving them the victory in the regimental food war.
As the shock of the rebels' victory began to wear off and the reality set in, the rebels rushed from the sidelines towards the three competitors near the judges table to give them a hearty congratulations on their victory as well as a massive 'thank you' for saving all of them from expulsion. As the celebration was going on, Azami gathered himself up, along with his clothing, as he accepted his defeat and made his way out of the arena. Meanwhile, the remaining judges stayed, needing to gather their own clothing and mentally recover from everything that had just happened.
After the judges were dressed once again, they observed the rebel celebration, and the pure joy they all displayed at just being allowed to continue on their culinary journeys. Once there was a break in the jubilation, Anne called out to Daniel. "Excuse me, Mr. Horowitz," she stated, "I noticed during your battles that you have something that you keep in your pocket for the most part, but take out from time to time. Tell me, what it is?" Daniel then took out the encased Irish coin from his pocket for her to see. When she asked to take a closer look at it, he obliged and handed it to her.
As she was looking at it from all angles, Decora and Courage became intrigued with it – particularly Decora, who took out a jewelers' loupe to inspect it even more closely. When she was finished, her eyes had widened in surprise as she addressed Daniel. "Tell me young man," she started, "Why exactly do you keep a coin of this rarity and value on your person at all times?" As Daniel looked at her in confusion, she continued, "This is quite a specimen you have here. A 24-carat gold coin with one of the finest inlays of Irish marble I have ever seen. Do you realize how much this is actually worth?"
Now it was Daniel's turn to have his eyes widened as he exclaimed, "You mean that coin is made of real gold!? Seriously!?" Anne then giggled as she asked, "You mean you never knew that?" Daniel shook his head as he explained, "The old shopkeeper who gave it to me literally gave it to me for nothing. I didn't think he would have done that if it were real gold." The judges giggled at the response as Decora stated, "Well, it is real, young man. And the quality and rarity of the piece makes it worth quite a lot of money." As she handed it back to Daniel, she added, "I suggest you be extra careful with it."
Once Daniel took back his coin from Decora, Soma came up to him from behind and surprised him by wrapping his arm around his shoulder as he exclaimed, "I guess you really did have the Luck of the Irish with you this whole time!" Daniel chuckled as he replied, "Come on – luck had nothing to do with it!" They both then started to laugh aloud as they headed back to the celebration on the main stage with all of their friends.
Amidst the rebels' celebration, there was a quiet murmur amongst the crowd as they began to wonder what would happen not only to the Totsuki leadership structure, but also to them, as they had constantly derided the rebels. After both Soma and Erina assured everyone that nobody would be expelled for siding with Azami and Central, the question then centered on who would take over as headmaster, and who would become the new first seat of the Council of Ten. For the latter, the speculation was that Erina would take that position. After all, she had been the rebels' team captain and had been the one to present the main dish in the final battle. Plus, her pedigree seemed to make her the logical choice.
As Erina pondered the question, she suddenly surprised everyone by suggesting that Soma be made the first seat of the new council. Erina then explained that Soma had contributed to the victory as much as anyone – perhaps even more so due to the other battles he had to face along the way from Eizan and Akira. Meanwhile, Soma looked frustrated, despite the fact that Erina was giving him what he seemingly wanted this whole time. However, he didn't like the fact that it was just given to him without having beaten Erina (or even gotten her to say his food was delicious) to obtain it.
The next order of business was to determine who would serve as headmaster. While Erina assumed that her grandfather would naturally come back to that role, Senzaemon declined, saying that he had already been humiliated once by losing the position. "Besides," he added, "I'm really enjoying myself in retirement." He then asked Soma to give his opinion as the new first seat on who should be headmaster. Soma then grinned as he replied, "Well, if anyone should be the headmaster, it should be Erina." This left Erina with her mouth gaping in astonishment at Soma's suggestion, with everyone else in the room murmuring in surprise. Sure, Erina was the God Tongue and was super-talented, but she was still a teenager.
Erina then began stuttering and suggested that her uncle Soe be named instead, to which said person appeared out of seemingly nowhere and declined. He even went further and endorsed Soma's suggestion to make Erina the new headmistress of Totsuki. When Senzaemon also agreed to this idea, Erina sighed and said she would agree only if Soma agreed to take the first seat, which Soma agreed to immediately. With that taken care of, Senzaemon formally introduced Erina as the new headmistress and Soma as the new first seat, which received a standing ovation.