Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 459 - 458: The Sparkling Ideal Ingredient

Chapter 459: Chapter 458: The Sparkling Ideal Ingredient

Everyone gathered around.

A large pot of seafood soup was encased in thick fog. After a few minutes, when the fog had somewhat dissipated, everyone leaned in to look.

Xia Yu was momentarily stunned.

The color of the soup was not the bright and transparent one might expect, but rather the red of a tomato.

Since it had just been taken out of the oven, the soup at boiling temperature bubbled up vigorously inside the pot.

The heat hit them in waves, causing one to sweat profusely. Even Xia Yu appeared slightly dazed, as if in a moment he had arrived at the mouth of a violently churning volcanic crater. A half step forward and he’d be in a rising torrent of molten lava soup.

"Molten Lava Seafood Soup!"

"This is my ideal dish, my life’s menu!"

Sekiya Takashi took off his chef’s hat and bowed slightly.

Thus, everyone was given a bowl of the soup, and Sekiya Takashi, holding a bowl and spoon, personally served a bowl to Xia Yu. In the large bowl were fish fins, kelp, shrimp, clams, mussels...

An array of ingredients soaked in tomato-red broth.

"Try it!"

Sekiya Takashi said sternly, "Let me tell you, beyond the ’killer dish’ there exists an ideal recipe, one that’s called a ’life menu’. It’s something beyond what you at your age can have!"

"A senior is still your senior, and you still have a long way to go!" Sekiya Takashi huffed, clearly very concerned about having previously lost face by presenting a failed dish.

"A life menu, huh?"

Clutching the large bowl,

Xia Yu inhaled the fragrant aroma, instinctively closing his eyes in blissful indulgence. This was the natural reaction of a chef, a gourmet evaluator when faced with delicious food, regardless of the opponent, and irrespective of culinary competition. It was a sign of respect for the food.

The ocean tide!

Ingredients like shrimp, clams, and mussels intertwined to form the tide of the ocean, immediately enveloping Xia Yu who stood on the rocky shore.

But beneath that tide lay a deep vortex.

A powerful suction pulled at Xia Yu’s spirit, dragging him in.

Snap, snap, snap!

Long strands of kelp bound his limbs. It was ’Mitaseru Kelp’, and around the vortex, the shadows of schools of fish faintly appeared. Countless large flagfish swam in the deep sea. With one gulp of the soup, his eyes became windows to the ocean, flashing past numerous ingredients.

Yet, among the star-like ingredients, only a few shone with resplendent brilliance.

The ’Four-finned Bannerfish’ was one such ingredient.

However, only the fins of the flagfish were glowing, the rest appeared rather dim.

"Gifts from the deep sea?"

Xia Yu finished the soup, then moved on to savor the ingredients.

There wasn’t much to say about the fish fins, mostly bone with little meat.

But the ’Mitaseru Kelp’ was different. The multiple processed dried kelp had finally become tender after being stewed multiple times, and taking in just a small piece, the subtle salty and savory flavor was incredible. It was the ultimate flair of Special-grade Fantasy Ingredients. Xia Yu marveled internally, thinking, "If I used this stewed kelp to make a salad, a three-ingredient dish, or something like a spicy and sour kelp salad, it would taste amazing!"

His thoughts unintentionally wandered.

After a while,

breaking free from the world of gourmet food, Xia Yu wiped away his drool.

He awoke to find the atmosphere eerily quiet, with everyone watching him.

Keiru Kuushou checked his watch and said, "Instructor Xia, you have 30 minutes left to think."

"I understand."

Xia Yu replied, turning his back on the executives and went by himself into the glass compartment, eagerly watching the post-autumn selection competition interviews.

"Is he planning to give up?"

Kikuchi Musashi laughed, and the rest of the executives laughed too.

The giants of the Tiqie lineage, after learning that ’Molten Lava Seafood Soup’ was Sekiya Takashi’s personal life menu dish, clearly lost confidence in victory. A tie would be a miracle for them.

And the opposing giants were quite satisfied with how Sekiya Takashi rallied to save face.

"Very good!"

Even the prudent Kasuga Shigeru patted Sekiya Takashi on the shoulder, lowering his voice, "I’ll report this matter to the higher-ups. A draw is not a disgrace. At least we’ve figured out his bottom line, and regular Shokugeki will be easier to handle in the future, hmph!"

"Right, next time he won’t have the upper hand!" Kikuchi Musashi said.

"The menu of life!"

Yuchuan Ayaka’s eyes shone with longing.

The ideal ingredients, forming the ideal recipe.

She was much like Xia Yu, even standing at the pinnacle of the special-grade pyramid, but compared to the old hands who had been stationed here for a dozen or twenty years, she still lacked many things.

At least, she hadn’t found her ideal ingredients, nor had she created her ideal recipe.

In other words, both her and Xia Yu’s ’menus of life’ were blank.

"It’s about over."

Tiqie Zongwei said, only to discover Dojima Yin and Tiqie Helinai, with their brows knit in concern.

Even the Far Moon Commander was in a contemplative state.

Eh?

Blinking, Tiqie Zongwei, full of questions, sensed there was still more to come.

Half an hour later.

Sekiya Takashi stood beside the dining table, pointing to the empty pot, "Are you satisfied with my ’Molten Lava Seafood Soup’?"

"Very satisfied!"

Xia Yu said.

"Then, let’s call the Shokugeki to an end," Sekiya Takashi said, turning and taking a step to leave.

"Wait!"

"I haven’t made any suggestions for improvement yet!"

"Huh?!"

The gathered magnates cast a surprised glance at the young man.

Tiqie Xianzuowen finally showed a smile.

Xia Yu wasted no words, "The guidance on the cooking process will proceed as normal!"

Meanwhile, a recipe named ’Molten Lava Seafood Soup’ was taking shape in his mind.

The stages involving ingredients, as well as knife skills, heat control, seasoning, and other details, formed into tangible fragments of imagery. With a mere thought, he could pull out any fragment for closer examination. Unbeknownst to the magnates and even Sekiya Takashi himself, Xia Yu had already copied a ’menu of life,’ turning it into a recorded recipe.

From now on, this recipe was his.

"How many parts in my ideal recipe have you found that can be modified?"

Sekiya Takashi asked patiently, turning around.

His gaze towards Xia Yu carried a hint of challenge.

Ha!

Finding flaws in an ideal recipe? This recipe had been perfected by him to the utmost, any further progress would make it a ’killer’ ideal recipe!

The magnates also turned their attention to Xia Yu.

"Hmm, how many parts can be modified?" Xia Yu counted on his fingers, "First, the knife skills are not quite right, but with your knife skills, that’s as refined as they can get, a pity for the gift from the sea that is the Flagfish..."

"Then, there’s the marination of the fish fin. Marinating with just salt and pepper powder indeed preserves the original flavor of the sea ingredients to a great extent, but wouldn’t it be better to slightly fry the fin for about 3 to 5 minutes and then add it to the stew?"

"Also, let me emphasize this point, you’ve got a real problem with how you handled the ’Fantasy Kelp’. The soaking stage for the dry kelp is impeccable, but during the cooking stage, the heat was insufficient, and the vinegar was a tad too much. Even more importantly, your processing method for ’Fantasy Kelp’ was completely wrong. If it were me, I would use a steamer to steam it over water..."

"Oh, and by the way, after steaming the kelp over water, it’s even better to soak it in rice washing water!"

He spoke, counting on his fingers, and without realizing it, he had counted all ten fingers.

Phew.

Having spoken all in one breath, Xia Yu looked up.