"Now then, that concludes the power category. Up next is the long-awaited 'Cooking Battle'!"
A stir ran through the stands, quickly swelling into a massive cheer from the spectators.
Everyone here really loves cooking... Jin thought to himself.
"Everyone will prepare the same dishes simultaneously. The results will be tasted and evaluated by spectators selected at random by a lottery."
"Since it's nearly noon, the timing is perfect."
It was just past 11:00 AM. Once the preparation time was factored in, the food would be ready exactly at lunchtime.
"The menu is... white rice, grilled fish, and miso soup!"
"A wide variety of ingredients has been provided, so selecting the right ones will be the first test of skill."
"...They actually went to the trouble of building a cooking station for every participant," Sion remarked, sounding impressed by the setup.
"The time limit is one hour... Ready, begin!"
At the signal, everyone headed for the rice. The organizers had provided both newly harvested rice and aged rice; the ability to distinguish between the two was the first point of evaluation.
"Oh, every single one of them chose the same rice!"
"That's the new rice. As expected of this group."
Aged rice wasn't necessarily of poor quality, but if stored incorrectly, the starch could deteriorate. Furthermore, since the moisture content changed over time, it was difficult to cook to perfection without practice. In a single-attempt contest like this, choosing the new rice was the safest and most logical bet.
Everyone began washing their rice, placing it into either the provided kama pots or earthenware pots.
"The choice between kama and earthenware pots seems split right down the middle."
"Indeed. It will be fascinating to see how the flavors differ based on the vessel."
"I'm starting to get hungry," Sion admitted.
The master of ceremonies and the two commentators—three people in total—were the designated head judges.
As the rice began to cook, the participants simultaneously moved on to the miso soup.
"I see a lot of variation in the ingredients now."
"Aburaage, daikon, green onions, satoimo, wakame, tofu... I suppose the choices reflect the masters' personal preferences?"
"That seems almost certain," Sion agreed.
Reiko began preparing a miso soup with aburaage and okara without a moment's hesitation. Her reason was simple: it was Jin's absolute favorite.
Rubina's Alice used daikon and satoimo, while Lordtoss's Momoko opted for wakame and tofu. Each participant chose something different, ensuring no two soups would be identical.
"Come to think of it, most of the food names on Onogoro Island follow Jin's naming conventions, don't they?"
"They are the descendants of Jin-sama and his group, after all."
For example, while green onions were typically called "shalots" in Ars, any ingredient discovered or introduced by Jin or the Jin Family generally retained the name Jin knew. Wakame, kombu, and wasabi were all examples of this.
"Oho, Natalia's Nave is making asari clam miso soup."
"Oh, those are wonderful," Sion said, leaning forward as if she couldn't wait to try it.
"Marikka-sama's Hanako... appears to be making potato and onion miso soup."
Stayhart used the terms "potato" and "onion" rather than the local names, Devil Bulb and marunegi.
"Those are delicious too... especially if you sprinkle in some agedama."
"Wait, what is that!?" Luckhart asked, intrigued by Sion's comment.
"You know what agedama is, don't you? They're the pea-sized bits of fried tempura batter. If you put those into a bowl of hot buckwheat noodles, it becomes tanuki soba."
Since Jin was originally from the Tokyo suburbs, his definition of "tanuki" involved agedama, while "kitsune" referred to the version with aburaage.
"Ah, that sounds quite appetizing."
"I can't wait to try them all..."
While the MC and commentators chatted, the cooking progressed. Some participants began grilling their fish.
"Most seem to be going with a simple salt-grilling."
"Marikka's Hanako appears to be trying a miso-grill."
"There is certainly no rule against using fillets and seasoning them that way."
"Lady Reiko is skewering her fish with metal before putting them over the heat."
"Doing that allows the hot metal skewers to cook the fish from the inside as well."
"I see. A clever technique."
A savory, delicious aroma of grilled fish began to drift through the stadium. The rice finished cooking and was moved into its final steaming phase. Almost simultaneously, the contestants added the miso to their pots. Finally, the grilled fish reached perfection.
The timing was impeccable across the board. If miso soup is boiled too long, the delicate aroma vanishes, and if grilled fish is left to sit, it becomes cold and tough.
And then...
"Time's up!"
Every single participant had finished their preparations just seconds before the signal.
"Now, it's time for the tasting!"
Before the MC had even finished speaking, Sion was out of her seat and heading for the arena. Luckhart and Stayhart followed with wry smiles. At the same time, the ten spectators selected by the lottery made their way down from the stands.
"Please taste and compare the dishes as you like, then provide your scores," Luckhart instructed.
For this portion, he had set aside his voice capacitor magi-device and was speaking with his natural voice. The judges nodded and began their rounds.
"Oh, this is wonderful..."
Sion went straight to Reiko's station first. Between the rice and the miso soup, the flavors were identical to what she had grown accustomed to at Jin's House and laboratory. Her expression relaxed into a smile. The grilled fish was ayu, a species recently imported from Mitsuho and now being farm-raised on Hourai and Onogoro islands.
"This is exquisite!" Stayhart exclaimed as he savored the miso-grilled sawara prepared by Marikka's Hanako.
"D-Delicious!"
Similar shouts of praise echoed from all directions.
"It's a shame we can't eat our fill since we have to judge every entry," Luckhart remarked. It was a sentiment shared by everyone present; they had to save room to evaluate every single dish fairly.
"I've never had this before, but this shellfish miso soup is incredible!"
"This grilled fish is so fragrant!"
"I can't believe how fluffy and perfect this rice is!"
"The wakame is great, but the tofu in here is so rich and flavorful."
"It pairs perfectly with the white rice."
"This is amazing! Is... is this called 'kabayaki'!!?"
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive across the board. The final results would be announced after the lunch break.