Chapter 137
Haruto entered the arena just as Alice emerged from the opposite side, her steps light and her white hair gleaming beneath the lights.
"What a shame," Alice said with a smile as she looked at him. "We finally have such a grand stage, yet everyone will only get to see your cooking once."
The theme of their match was dim sum, which gave Alice a considerable advantage.
Many modern confections involved the principles and techniques of molecular gastronomy.
Haruto calmly met her gaze.
"You can always watch my second match from the audience."
Alice’s smile immediately faded. Her expression turned serious as she stared directly at him.
"I don’t think that will happen."
"There’s no way you can surpass the most advanced field of culinary science."
She had complete confidence in the dish she was about to present.
This match would undoubtedly end with her victory!
Haruto could not help yawning as he listened to her.
"Oh my, did you not sleep well last night?" Alice asked, the corners of her lips rising again.
"It seems your dish was thrown together at the last minute. Compared with someone as thoroughly prepared as me, you’re clearly at a disadvantage."
"This match is already mine."
Haruto gave her a helpless look.
"We stayed up playing in Marui’s room last night. Before I noticed, the sun had already come up."
Although he was telling the truth, Alice did not believe a word of it.
As far as she was concerned, Haruto must have spent the entire night repeatedly testing his dish.
Haruto did not bother explaining further.
His expression suddenly became serious as he looked directly at Alice.
"Just remember to prepare an extra serving for me."
He had tasted one of Alice’s egg dishes during the training camp, but a dish made merely to pass an assignment could hardly compare with what she would serve in a tournament.
Haruto was genuinely curious about what she had prepared this time.
Before Alice could respond, Kawashima Urara’s voice rang across the venue.
"The theme of this match is dim sum, and the time limit is two hours!"
Haruto and Alice glanced toward the five judges already seated at the panel, then walked to their respective cooking stations.
"Cooking—begin!"
At Nakiri Senzaemon’s command, the fourth match of the Autumn Elections main tournament officially began.
...
Haruto removed a bright-red cut of beef from his ingredient box. Its grain was clearly defined, and the meat looked exceptionally fresh.
Using the Melk Knife, he sliced it into small, evenly sized cubes.
Every piece was perfectly square, with clean and orderly edges.
He placed the beef in a preheated frying pan and carefully controlled the heat, searing each surface until it developed a flawless brown crust.
As the temperature rose, the aroma of roasting meat gradually spread through the arena.
Once the beef was finished, Haruto brought out flour and eggs and began making dough.
He repeatedly pressed, folded, and kneaded it until the surface became smooth and pleasantly elastic.
By that point, several spectators had already begun to guess what he intended to prepare.
Their attention, however, was soon drawn toward Alice.
Compared with Haruto’s traditional cooking process, Alice’s station resembled an advanced scientific laboratory, and every movement she made held the entire arena’s attention.
She poured a red fruit purée into a transparent test tube, added several colorless liquid agents, and placed it inside a machine operating at high speed.
The device emitted a low mechanical hum.
Under the force of rapid rotation, the liquid spun violently, separating into distinct layers and becoming increasingly refined.
In the audience, Ryoko stared in amazement.
"It looks exactly like she’s conducting research in a laboratory."
Yuki nodded vigorously, then abruptly turned toward Marui.
"Marui! Explain!"
Marui helplessly adjusted his glasses and gave an awkward smile.
"Um... this is already beyond the limits of my knowledge."
"Are your glasses just for decoration?"
Yuki glared at him in open disappointment.
Marui was left speechless.
His specialty was classical culinary literature. He knew nothing about cutting-edge molecular gastronomy equipment!
His glasses had absolutely nothing to do with it!
Ibusaki Shun calmly spoke from nearby.
"That’s a high-speed centrifuge. It can precisely separate liquids with different densities, or separate solid particles suspended within a liquid."
Now that she had received an answer, Yuki gave Marui a contemptuous look.
Marui sighed helplessly. There was obviously no point trying to argue with her, so he simply turned his attention back toward the arena.
Time passed steadily, and the aromas filling the venue grew increasingly rich.
Haruto’s dish soon entered its final stage.
He wrapped the seared beef cubes in thin pieces of dough, then began frying them.
Alice moved even faster.
She had already completed her final presentation and carried her dish directly to the judging table.
Naturally, she had also prepared an extra serving for Haruto.
White mist swirled beneath the transparent serving dome, completely concealing what lay inside.
As the cover was slowly lifted, the fog dispersed and revealed the dish.
A beautifully crafted wooden box divided into twelve compartments rested on the tray.
Inside were twelve varieties of miniature cake, each small enough to be eaten in a single bite.
Every one resembled a delicate work of art. Their brilliant colors and immaculate presentation made them almost too beautiful to touch.
The four cakes in the top row progressed from left to right.
The first was a white cream cake topped with a single raspberry.
The second featured half a strawberry over whipped cream.
The third carried an entire strawberry.
The fourth combined raspberry and blueberry over a cream-covered base.
They were intended to be eaten in order, allowing the flavor to progress from a single fruit aroma into increasingly complex combinations.
Each piece precisely awakened the palate for the one that followed.
The middle row contained a pumpkin cream cup, a matcha cake topped with three pearl-like spheres, a mixed-berry cake decorated with two raspberries and one blueberry, and a mango mousse crowned with three soft-centered mango orbs.
Once again, they were meant to be eaten from left to right.
Rich sweetness alternated with refreshing flavors, while the constantly shifting textures created an astonishing experience.
The final four cakes were even more inventive.
The first used blueberries at three different stages of ripeness, creating clearly defined layers of sweetness and acidity.
The second was a pink cream cake topped with half a strawberry.
The third combined raspberry and matcha into a single miniature cake.
The final piece was made by crushing strawberries and raspberries, separating their juice in a centrifuge, then blending it with cream to create a mixed-berry vanilla ice cream cake.
It melted instantly in the mouth, cool and delicately sweet.
"These really do look incredible."
Haruto stared at the cakes in front of him and could not help swallowing.
Their appearance alone was extraordinary, and the fragrance drifting from them was enough to make his mouth water.
He picked them up one by one and tasted them in the intended order.
Every bite offered an entirely new experience.
The transitions in flavor were precise and delicate, drawing him deeper into the progression Alice had designed.
Yet for some reason, Haruto felt that something was missing from the otherwise exquisite dish.
At the judging table, all five judges had become completely immersed in Alice’s miniature cakes, expressions of bliss spreading across their faces.