"Ratatouille, a dish that brings together rich flavors and summer's freshest produce.
It's made with a roasted sweet pepper and tomato sauce base, with zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes sliced thinly and layered on top...
Recalling the recipe he had just seen on the blackboard, Okabe picked up the Seven-Star Knife: Wu Qu beside him.
A silver glint flashed. The red and yellow bell peppers were properly handled; Okabe deftly removed their cores, placed them on a baking sheet, and slid it into the oven.
While waiting, he returned to his cooking station, pulled two tomatoes from a basket, and with another flash of silver light, their skins were peeled off.
"Amazing!"
Beside him, Megumi Tadokoro couldn't help but exclaim at the sight, her eyes filled with shock.
Normally, to peel a tomato, you would score a cross on the bottom and blanch it in boiling water. That's how you separate the skin from the flesh.
But Okabe? He simply tossed the tomatoes into the air, and as the blade slid rapidly over them, their skins were completely peeled away...
She had never seen such a technique before.
Is this what chefs from Tokyo are like? So strong! What he said earlier must have just been humble words to comfort me. He's such a kind man.
"It's nothing. But you should probably pay attention to the tomatoes in your pot."
Hearing Megumi Tadokoro's voice, Okabe glanced over and noticed the boiling pot in front of her, where two tomatoes were bobbing up and down.
"Ah! They're overcooked!"
Megumi Tadokoro reacted belatedly, fumbling to retrieve the tomatoes and place them in a pre-prepared ice bath to cool down.
Once they had cooled to a normal temperature, she took them out of the ice water and peeled the skin away along the cross she had scored on the surface.
The peeled tomatoes were then chopped and set aside.
Next were the onion and garlic.
Okabe placed a pot on the stove, poured in olive oil, and sautéed the onion and garlic until fragrant, adding the tomatoes just as they were about to brown but hadn't yet colored.
Megumi Tadokoro, next to him, was a bit slower but proceeded in an orderly fashion.
She would occasionally glance up at Okabe while cooking, and a look of relief would cross her face after confirming their steps were the same.
And as they cooked, the people around them weren't idle either, beginning their own dishes one after another.
For a moment, the air was filled with the fresh aroma of roasted bell peppers.
Okabe kept track of the time in his head. When he felt it was about right, he went to the oven and took out the bell peppers only after seeing their skins had turned a dark brown.
This wasn't a failure, but a characteristic of the dish.
As a sauce with a unique flavor, the tomato and roasted bell pepper sauce needed this charred aroma.
He removed the slightly blackened skin from the peppers, diced the flesh, and then put it in the saucepan.
After stir-frying on low heat for about five minutes to mix well with the onion, garlic, and tomato, he added fresh basil, blended it into a paste, and spread it on a baking dish.
He sliced the zucchini, eggplant, and tomato. For the zucchini, Okabe chose two colors, one green and one yellow, to enhance the dish's visual appeal.
Color, aroma, and flavor.
Color is the most important aspect of a dish.
It determines whether a dish will be accepted by the masses.
He layered the thin slices of four different colored vegetables, arranged them neatly in a circle within the baking dish, filled in the center, drizzled them with olive oil, and sprinkled a small amount of thyme for garnish.
Once finished, he covered it with aluminum foil and placed it in the oven to bake at 150 degrees for 1 hour.
After completing this step, all that was left for this dish was to wait.
A very standard French homestyle dish.
However, Okabe was honestly not satisfied with just this level.
But this dish required about an hour and a half from start to finish.
In other words, although making a ratatouille that satisfied the judge was enough to pass the exam, the time limit meant that each contestant only had one chance. Even if they failed and wanted to start over, there wouldn't be enough time to finish.
However, there were some clever people on site.
After making one ratatouille, they immediately started on a second, using the experience from the first attempt to make the final dish more perfect.
Because the interval between preparations was short, they could just barely finish before the end of the competition.
But those who planned ahead were ultimately in the minority.
Because the exam dish was so simple, many chefs from families that owned French restaurants looked around smugly after putting their ratatouille in the oven.
They had absolute confidence.
Such a simple dish was at a level where even a novice chef would hardly fail.
"Traditional ratatouille is a combination of a uniquely flavored sauce and seasonal vegetables. The sauce enriches the flavor of the vegetables, and the vegetables provide freshness to the sauce, achieving a win-win situation."
Okabe lowered his head and pondered for a moment.
Improving a dish doesn't mean completely overturning the original theory, but rather making refinements on the existing foundation. The most fundamental aspect is to ensure the flavor profile remains unchanged.
"Looking at the sauce. This dish is led by a savory umami, with a sweet and sour backbone, and a rich aroma of herbs."
He twitched his nose, taking in the rich fragrance wafting from the oven. The Flavor Image Projection began to work, and the prototype of a new dish appeared in his mind.
Without much hesitation, he began a new round of cooking.
"Okabe-kun? What are you...?"
"I'm just trying something extra. I want to see if I can enrich its flavor without changing it."
Hearing Megumi Tadokoro's surprised and doubtful voice from next to him, Okabe showed a carefree smile.
As he spoke, the zucchini and eggplant turned into uniformly thin slices.
Unlike before when they went straight into the baking dish, this time Okabe set up a frying pan.
He poured in olive oil and added the thin slices of eggplant.
Once one side was fried to a golden brown with slight charring, he removed and plated them. This would provide a bit of resilience to the dish.
Although a crisper, fresher texture is very good, vegetables baked in the oven will inevitably gain some resilience. What he was doing now was to strengthen that resilience, making the overall mouthfeel more prominent.
"Researching..."
Hearing Okabe's reply, Megumi Tadokoro fell silent for a moment.
Here she was, still worrying about whether her dish could pass the entrance exam, while Okabe on the other side had already started researching an advanced version.
Is this what chefs who grew up in a big city like Tokyo are like? The gap is just too wide!
"It's actually nothing amazing. It's just about understanding the characteristics of the dish and adding a little something. Just like that, the flavor can change dramatically..."
Hearing Megumi Tadokoro's muttering, Okabe explained in a calm voice.
As he spoke.
He chopped the onion, and also chopped the unpeeled garlic, and put them in the pot.
Before they could color, he added the tomatoes, the charred bell peppers, and...
"I'm finished. This is my answer for the exam: Japanese-Style Ratatouille."
Removing the hollow mold used to hold the vegetables in place on the plate, the thick sauce immediately dripped down slowly along the mold's edge.
Erina Nakiri picked up the dish and was the first to arrive before Roland Chapelle.
The difference from a traditional ratatouille was that.
The vegetables in this Japanese-Style Ratatouille she presented were semi-circular. The vegetable slices were cut even thinner, and they were packed more tightly together.
"Japanese-Style Ratatouille? Indeed, it looks distinctly different from the traditional version. To dare to create an innovative dish in the entrance exam... she truly is that man's granddaughter."
He pulled out Erina Nakiri's file from the information sheets he had just collected.
Roland Chapelle looked at the ratatouille before him and couldn't help but nod in praise.
"Please, have a taste, Chef Chapelle."
Erina Nakiri bowed slightly, making an elegant gesture of invitation.
"Then let me have a taste."
He glanced at the respectful Erina Nakiri.
Roland Chapelle picked up the knife and fork placed to the side, cut off a piece, and put it in his mouth.
Instantly, his eyes widened slightly.
The expected rich, sour aroma of tomato and herbs did not arrive first. The first thing his tongue felt was a clear, deep umami flavor.
Following that, the natural sweetness of the vegetables, baked at high heat, was slowly released. The clean sweetness of the zucchini, the richness of the eggplant, the slight acidity of the tomato.
These flavors were distinct, yet they harmoniously blended together.
And because Erina Nakiri had cut them into semi-circular slices, the vegetables didn't go limp during the baking process like round slices would have, but stood firm.
The bottom was soaked in sauce, giving it a relatively soft texture, while the middle and top maintained a certain crispness.
The feeling was like soaking in a perfectly temperate Japanese hot spring in winter.
Despite the snow outside, the hot spring remained warm, and the body completely relaxed.
The spring water was like invisible hands, gently massaging every inch of skin, every joint. The fatigue and stress accumulated from daily life slowly drifted away with the rising steam. The mind went blank, thoughts slowed down, and all that remained was the gentle embrace of the water.
"It's kombu dashi, isn't it? When you made the tomato and roasted bell pepper sauce, you added traditional Japanese dashi to it!"
Sensing the elegant and distinct flavor of the sauce under the vegetables, Roland Chapelle opened his eyes from the illusion and asked Erina Nakiri.
And his words also caused the surrounding candidates to exclaim in surprise.
"Adding Japanese dashi to ratatouille? That's too amazing!"
"Who is that girl? To dare such a bold attempt in the entrance exam..."
"You don't even know her? Well, it's true that news about her has been scarce these past few years, but a few years ago she was hailed as a top genius, the kind Japan sees only once in a century!"
"That's the granddaughter of the Gourmet Demon King, the one who possesses the epic-level talent, God's Tongue, Erina Nakiri!"
"So it's her! I remember now. But I haven't heard anything about her for three years. Where did she disappear to, and why did she suddenly show up at Totsuki's entrance exam?"
"I don't know, but it's certain that her skill level is extraordinary."
Quite a few people were focused on Erina Nakiri, and after hearing Roland Chapelle say she had added Japanese dashi to her ratatouille, they couldn't help but start discussing it.
And with this discussion, Erina Nakiri's identity could no longer be hidden.
Fortunately, she had no intention of hiding her identity anyway.
"Yes, Chef Chapelle."
"I believe the essence of ratatouille is a hymn to vegetables."
"And in Japanese cuisine, especially the philosophy of 'Kappo,' the specialty is precisely to highlight the original flavor of the ingredients."
"I used a Japanese dashi extracted from kombu and bonito flakes as the flavor base, replacing the role of some of the olive oil and herbs."
"It can better entice the sweetness of the vegetables, rather than covering them with strong flavors."
Ignoring the clamor around her, a confident smile played on Erina Nakiri's lips.
During her three years at Ryōzanpaku, she had set aside everything from the outside world to diligently study Japanese cuisine, integrating everything she learned on her travels into her very foundation.
This Japanese-Style Ratatouille was the culmination of her last three years!
"Erina Nakiri, I give you an A-grade evaluation. Your dish is outstanding. This evaluation isn't just for the entrance exam; even if you presented this dish in my class, I would still give you an A."
He gently placed the spoon in his hand on the edge of the porcelain plate.
Roland Chapelle looked at Erina Nakiri and spoke seriously.
As the head examiner for this entrance exam, he was quite lenient with these prospective students. As long as they completed the dish by the book, they could get an A-grade evaluation and pass the exam to enter Totsuki.
But even so, there were still people who couldn't make a dish that satisfied him.
Such people were undoubtedly mediocre and not fit for great things.
Even if they were lucky enough to enter Totsuki, they would only be wasting precious time in their lives.
However, the girl in front of him had presented a dish that would still be considered excellent even in the High School Division. Her talent was evident.
"Thank you very much, Chef Chapelle."
"There's nothing to thank me for; it's a credit to your cooking. If you hadn't made a dish that satisfied me, I wouldn't have given you an A-grade, even if you are that man's granddaughter."
Looking at Erina Nakiri thanking him, Roland Chapelle nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to the candidates behind her: "Next candidate, bring your dish up!"
Perhaps because of his attitude toward Erina Nakiri, many people came up right after finishing their dishes.
However.
Just as they thought they would also receive a round of praise, Roland Chapelle, who had been pleasant just a moment ago, saw his expression instantly darken upon tasting the next candidate's dish.
"The charred flavor of the bell pepper in the sauce is too strong. Not only the skin, but the inside has been tainted as well. Plus, the onion and garlic were browned during sautéing. Go back and redo it!"
"The vegetables are cut unevenly. You haven't even polished your basic skills. Go back and do it again!"
"Your vegetable slices are too thick; the texture is completely off. If your technique is poor, spend more time on it."
"Fail!"
"You're also completely useless. You can't even make such a simple dish properly. Come back next year."
One chef after another took the stage, only to be judged as failures.
Watching as an angry expression gradually appeared on Roland Chapelle's face, the crowd, which had been so eager, stopped in their tracks, cold sweat breaking out on their backs.
And the chefs he had condemned returned to their cooking stations and immediately started cooking again at top speed, hoping to complete another dish before the exam ended.
But due to excessive nervousness and lack of time, they made even more mistakes.
The smell of burning immediately began to spread through the hall.
"Ding~"
The oven made a crisp sound, and Megumi Tadokoro took out her perfectly cooked ratatouille.
She removed the foil and looked at the well-presented dish, but her face was filled with anxiety.
So many skilled local Tokyo chefs had gone up, yet none had passed the exam except for the very first one. This made her so nervous she felt sick.
If she hadn't put this dish in the oven before the others went up, she would surely be making frequent mistakes right now.
"Don't worry, I watched you cook."
Although there was nothing remarkable about it, there were no obvious mistakes either. Passing this exam shouldn't be a big problem. Have a little more confidence in yourself.
Beside her, Okabe noticed Megumi Tadokoro's nervousness and offered a smiling encouragement.
This was true. She had followed his lead the entire time, and he had even intentionally slowed down his cooking to wait for her, so it was natural that there were no major flaws.
As a chef from a small town coming to Totsuki for the first time, it was within his expectations that she wouldn't dare to be boldly innovative and would just complete the dish by the book. After all, that was Megumi Tadokoro's personality.
"Thank you, I'll go up then."
Hearing Okabe's encouragement, Megumi Tadokoro seemed to have finally found her confidence.
She quickly plated the ratatouille from the baking dish using a mold, and after taking a deep breath, she walked briskly toward the judges' table.
At that moment, there was still a girl with pinkish-purple hair in front of the judges' table.
"Yam and lily bulb? The yam makes the sauce thicker, and the lily bulb has a gentle, sweet flavor. Adding both to the tomato and roasted bell pepper sauce makes it more complex without affecting the taste. Of course, the key is the feeling it gives the body..."
"After eating this dish, the irritation I felt from tasting so many failed dishes has miraculously calmed down. There's a warmth in my stomach, and my body feels light!"
Closing his eyes, Roland Chapelle felt as if he were embracing a soft cloud.
This heartfelt sense of release brought a contented expression to his face.
"There's also fuling. Both lily bulb and fuling have calming and soothing effects, which can help alleviate inner anxiety. I thought it would be very suitable for you today, as you'll be presiding over many exams."
Hisako Arato stood with her hands clasped in front of her, her voice gentle.
"Without affecting the overall flavor of the ratatouille, you've given the dish a calming and lightening effect, which shows your exquisite skill in medicinal cuisine. Being considerate of others during the cooking process is also a very fine quality. You are excellent, and this dish of yours is also excellent."
"Without a doubt, an A-grade dish!"
Roland Chapelle's voice was full of admiration, and his gaze toward Hisako Arato softened.
All these other people here were just thinking about whether they could pass the exam.
Only Hisako Arato had thought of him, which moved him quite a bit.
"Thank you, Chef Chapelle."
Hearing that she had received an A-grade evaluation, a sweet smile appeared on Hisako Arato's face. She then looked toward Erina Nakiri, who was also watching her with a gentle gaze. She immediately went to her side and stood there quietly.
At this moment, Megumi Tadokoro also brought her dish up.
____
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