Yukihira-Quality Curry Risotto Omelette

There is a brand of curry known as Curry Princess. Haubi Foods first put it on shelves in 1990. Since then, it has sold over 70 billion units, making it the highest-selling pouch curry brand in the world. The most well-recognized part of their packaging is the picture of the adorable twin girls on the front.

In the Preliminaries Block A, there are five judges but the Head Judge is Haubi Foods CEO, Sendawara Natsume, a legend when it's regarding Curry.

The Totsuki students in the stands paled at the sight of the blonde as she sat in her seat.

"NO WAY! They got one of those sisters to be the judge?!" Someone in the stands nearly shouted.

"Sendawara Natsume, the CEO of Haubi Foods and one of the queens of Curry," Marui said while sweating nervously as the woman was a legend in the food business.

Natsume took a mic into her hands as she coughs a bit.

"Listen, children. After the war, Japan's curry market saw a massive expansion, ripening into the powerhouse it is today where curry is recognized as the nation's comfort food. This unmitigated prosperity has left me, bored. What I'm looking for as a business leader and as a life-long lover of curry is a revolutionary new recipe that will change the future of Japanese curry! Show me a curry dish that will have my tongue dancing and delight." She announced out as everyone readied themselves to cook the curry dish.

Ikumi just kept cooking her dish, not caring who the current judges were. She was planning on having her dish satisfy the judges.

Ryo was in the middle of taking out his ingredients before he takes the bandana off of his hands and wrapped it around his head like Soma, the only difference is that his entire character changed into that of a savage berserker

Ryoko was cooking something up as she had some sort of sticky black substance in a jar and smiled at it.

Hayama however instantly filled the area with the scent of the spices as it turned into a bomb that strikes at everyone's noses

Ibusaki's entire kitchen station was filled with smoke but a spicy aroma filled nearby participants' noses.

Natsume placed an elbow on the table, placed the corresponding knuckle to her chin while looking amused.

"Well, well, it looks like this may be mildly amusing after all." She said before looking to Eizan who was beside her, " So, Eizan-kun? Who do you favor?"

Eizan put a thumb to his chin and looks around a bit.

"A good question. I wouldn't say I favor him... But," Eizan said before a gleaming cast over his glasses, "there is a certain someone whose skill I want to see for myself."

"What is Yukihira doing?" Ikumi wondered while prepping her dish before taking a glance at the redhead before gawking.

Erina watches from above and her face went deadpanned, "Seriously?" she said as she saw Soma on a chair by his kitchen station and was asleep.

"Hey, that transfer student is asleep." "Is he mocking this competition!?" "Damn cheeky transfer!"

Everyone started to comment out on what the redhead was doing before Soma's cooking pot started to seep out steam through the edges of the lid.

Soma's eyes instantly opened as he grabs the lid and takes it off, the moment the lid came off the pot, the sealed aroma in the pot instantly filled the surrounding air.

That curry scent hit Hayama's nose at full force as the man looks in surprise.

"Look at what's in the pot!" someone shouted out as inside Soma's pot was rice, vegetables, and spices, "If he's mixing them, that means... The transfer student is making Curry Risotto!"

"Hey, Hayama. I didn't know your kitchen was near mine." Soma said as he was looking at his pot while Hayama was behind him.

"What are you making?" Hayama asked as Soma didn't answer.

Hayama's nose sniffed the air before her smirks.

"Apple, Banana, and Carrots. You mashed them into a paste to make the risotto, clever," Hayama commented as Soma chuckled.

"You got some of it right but your nose forgot one ingredient of mine," Soma said as Hayama looks in confusion.

'I missed an ingredient?' Hayama thought as he looks to Soma's curry 'What could it be?'

Block B

Many students were doing their best to cook their curry dish as some were excelling in it.

Hojo Miyoko, a first-year student of Tostuki and one of the 30 students participating within the B Block of the Autumn Elections was skillfully cooking spices, vegetables, and rice in a giant iron wok while wearing a bright red, traditional Chinese chef work dress.

People in the stands were amazed by how she was able to fling such a heavy workaround like it weighed nothing.

Hojo Miyoko watched Megumi run out of the stadium to get her ingredients while panicking a bit as she pitied the girl.

After a couple of minutes, the country girl came back in with a Monkfish hanging from a hook by its mouth.

"Is that a Monkfish!?" "Is she planning to serve that thing!?" "Nearly butchering it is hard! How the hell are you supposed to serve that!?"

The crowds look at the country girl as Megumi took a deep breath before picking up her knife.

The next actions of hers took the crowds by surprise as in just 2 minutes, Megumi butchered the Monk Fish as the only thing remains is the head and the spine bones.

Hojo looks in surprise before she smirks as she finally sees the girl as a challenge.

Block A

Kurokiba Ryo, Mito Ikumi, Sakaki Ryoko, Zenji Marui, Ibusaki Shun, and Hayama Akira, all of them presented their dishes to the judges and got high scores as the one who is ranking on the top is Hayama Akira.

With his aroma bomb, he dominated the ranks as the Master of Spice with points of 94.

Everyone looks in surprise as the man's dish was so powerful that they can even smell it from afar.

"Next up is Yukihira Sōma! Please serve your dish!" the announcer spoke out as Soma takes his dish to the judges.

"I made enough for the two of you as well," Soma said as he made two more dishes for Ryo and Akira who looks at the man with a boring look.

"What's the meaning of this, Yukihira?" Akira asked as he looks at his covered meal.

"You're trying to prove something to us?" Ryo said as his hand reached for his bandana.

"Yeah," Soma said as he holds the lid on one of the dishes, "I'm proving who is on top," he takes off the lid and everyone looks to what the dish, he made.

"This is.." Sendawara Natsume looks at the dish as it was an Omelette, "an Omurice?"

"What happened to the risotto, he was making?" Ryo said as he could clearly remember that the redhead was making Risotto and not Omurice.

"Don't tell me.." Hayama looks at the omurice as his hand reached for a spoon.

Erina watches from the screen as she looks in hunger for the dish.

"It's not an omurice…." Erina muttered out as she knew exactly what the dish Soma made.

"Dig in," Soma said as Hayama, Ryo, and the judges cut the omelet and the cut they made unleashed an aroma bomb more powerful than that of Hayama's.

"An aroma…bomb!?" Hayama looks in surprise as Soma's dish had identical spices but his dish was more concentrated.

"The spices in this dish…is mixed together with something," Ryo said while looking at the inside as the Risotto shines.

"Cool right?" Soma asked, "I call it "Yukihira-Quality Curry Risotto Omelette. Just be careful, it's still hot."

Everyone who had a dish of the curry omelet took a spoonful, blew on it because it was still steaming, then ate it.

Hayama, Ryo, and the judges felt like a powerful knockout punch was sent flying to their faces as the flavor of the risotto and the spices made them nearly want to faint.

"I see!" one of the judges, Koda Shrigenoshin exclaimed out as he looks at the dish with daggering eyes, "While Hayama-kun's dish was a bomb going from no aroma to powerful aroma… This dish is instead an induced explosion! The different fragrances from the inner risotto and that out to her sauce come at you and waves, tempting you into the next bite."

Hayama chewed on the risotto as the flavor attacked his tongue like a missile.

'But that's not all. How did he make the flavor the deep? The strong aroma and a hint of bitterness mean he used cumin and cardamon. The sting on the tongue comes from cloves. I can smell the fragrance of several spices, but those are just surface things. Where is this full-bodied death that ties it all together coming from?!'

Hayama tasted the dish before his eyes widen in surprise "Mango chutney! There's Mango Chutney!"

"Chutney?! Is that all it took to give this dish such a deep flavor?!" Sendawara Natsume shouted in shock.

"Chutney; also spelled "Chatney" or "Chatni".Chutney is a South Asian condiment. Spices and herbs are mixed with mashed fruit or vegetables and then simmered into a paste. A wide variety of combinations are possible, resulting in chutneys that can be sweet, spicy, or even minty," Marui explained as the dish was unbelievable.

Soma had a jar in his hand as Ryo and Hayama look at it.

"This is my homemade special, Mango Chutney mix," Soma said with a grin.

'So he was hiding his secret weapon beforehand,' Ryo and Akira thought at the same time.

"The mango acts as an axle, running through it and connecting the disparate flavors of all the spices and giving a deeper, full-bodied flavor to the overall dish. In a way, it's practical, applied spice tech! In India where it originated, chutneys are always served on the side as condiments. It's only in Japan that chutney is added directly to a curry," Marui explained as everyone was surprised by how powerful the chutney is to the dish

"It's unconventional, to say the least, from the standpoint of original Indian curry. However, by using the chutney he massively improves the flavor and richness of the overall dish without resorting to using the access of oils or animal products," Roland said as he smirks

"He used such an amazing combination!" Shiomi said with a smile.

"Soma…" Erina looks at Soma with a smile as she was so happy for him.

"Fufufu..that is like Soma-kun," Isshiki said with a smile as he watches Soma who had weapons stored within his cooking arsenal.

'A chef who hides weapons in his sleeves while showing hilarious yet dangerous cooking skill, only one title fits you,' Isshiki thought as he imagined Soma wearing a clown's outfit with weapons in hone hand while sticking out his tongue, 'The Harlequin!'

The Harlequin Soma smiles while sticking out his tongue.

The judges ravished Soma's dish as the risotto was unbelievably delicious and was forcing them to eat it all.

"Yukihira…" Ryo and Hayama look at the red-headed chef while smirking as Soma sticks out his tongue to them.

The judges hit the score button as Soma's score was 94. The same score as Hayama's.

"A-a tie," the announcer muttered out in shock and surprised and so did everyone in the crowd as the possibility to get a tie score with another was very rare and unbelievable

"Happy to Serve!" Soma exclaimed as he takes off his headband before being applauded by the crowd.

His score tied with Hayama as he grins to his two rivals.

The three stared at each other before Soma got bumped in the back by someone huge.

"Oops, sorry, didn't you see there, transfer student" the giant man spoke before going to the judge.

What Soma sees next surprises him as the score 91 appeared and kicks out Marui and Ibusaki out of the top four.

"Who is he?" Soma said as he, Hayama, and Ryo looks to the giant man who smirks.

Etsuya Eizan, who was in the hallway smirks as the preliminary match confirmed the Top Four.