Too boring...
Not this one...
Not this, either...
I have to put my game face on today.
Maybe I'll go with this one!
To Sports Transfer Student to Be in a Shokugeki His Opponent is the Meat Master, Mito Ikumi!
Did you all hear about the Shokugeki today?
The Quiet Don, the Eloquent Don
Yeah, it's between Nikumi and Don RS, right?
I feel bad for Don RS, coming under Nakiri Erina's crosshairs like that...
Hey, did you read Totsuki Sports News?
There's been a swap!
See, Nikumi's gonna fight that cocky transfer student,
Yukihira Soma!
Here're the ingredients and tools you need for the match.
I got everything you asked for.
Yup! Thanks, Konishi-san!
Did you get any sleep, Yukihira?
Afterwards, I tweaked the sauce a little more.
Waiting Room
Well, I think I got about two hours.
So many people...
S-Soma-kun, d-don't get too nervous...
D-D-Don't get nervous, okay?!
F-For times like this,
you can write the "man" character on your hand.
Okay, sure.
On your hand, okay?
Why don't you go ahead and do that, Tadokoro?
Huh?
Aren't you nervous at all?
You're going to be cooking in front of that huge crowd.
Nope.
This isn't scary at all,
compared to when I have to cook in front of customers
with our restaurant's reputation on the line.
Isshiki Satoshi Room 206 Elite Ten, Seventh Seat
If I win against you now,
will I become the seventh best at Totsuki?
Ladies and Gentlemen!
The Administration has deemed this match an official Shokugeki!
Shokugeki
I am Kawashima Urara,
a first-year in the high school division.
Kawashima Urara First-Year, High School Division
I'll be your host for this event!
Cute
Super cute!
Urara-chan!
Hello!
Cute
Cute!
Now, the contestants will be coming in from each corner!
The first one to enter is...
Mi
Mito
Mito Iku
Mito Ikumi
...the Meat Master, Mito Ikumi!
Hmph! Quit brandishing your giant melons around,
you Holstein bitch!
I'm the only one who should have fanboys around here!
All right!
Here comes the other contestant!
Yuki
Yukihira
Yukihira So
Yukihira Soma
Die, dipshit!
Eat it!
Die, transfer student!
I still remember the shit you pulled at the opening ceremony!
The transfer student no one can stop talking about,
Yukihira Soma-kun!
Between him and Mito,
it's obvious who'll win!
Yeah, I can't wait to see him get expelled!
Hey, what's up with this huge crowd?
I'll never forget.
When I had a Shokugeki with the Stand-up Dining Soba Research Society,
there was no host, much less an audience.
There were only stray dogs attracted by the smell of food.
What's with this uproar?
Didn't you just transfer in this spring?
Why do you already have so many haters?
Dunno. I haven't done anything weird.
Too worked up to even set him straight
Mito Ikumi vs. Yukihira Soma
Allow me to run through the process.
There will be three judges.
Shake Shake
The theme is the don.
The main ingredient is meat!
If Mito-san wins,
the Donmono Research Society will be shut down,
and Yukihira-kun will be expelled.
If Yukihira-kun wins, Don RS's budget will be increased,
and their cooking facilities will be upgraded.
In addition,
Mito-san will join Don RS!
Hey, transfer student!
Today'll be the last day I ever talk to you.
If you have any last words, now's the time to speak 'em.
Oh, yeah?
We can still talk anytime we want
in the Don RS club room.
Hey, look.
It's Nakiri Erina!
Erina-sama...
Erina-sama.
Wow, seriously?!
Why?
Why would one of the Elite Ten
bother to attend a small-scale Shokugeki involving Don RS?
That's because Mito is in Nakiri Erina's faction, isn't it?
Really?
Is that the only reason?
All right, Yukihira-kun.
Show me how you lose in utter disgrace!
Erina-sama has come all this way to watch us?
Let us proceed!
Contestants, to your stations!
Everything is at stake
in this battle of the palates!
Let the Shokugeki... begin!
Shoku
Geki
Shokugeki
Transfer student!
I'll show you an ingredient that a low-life piece of trash like you
could never hope to touch for the rest of his sorry life!
Behold, the ultimate meat!
I knew she'd go for that!
It's A5 beef!
That's a cleaver for butchering the meat.
She's wielding that big knife with precision
to sever the tendons.
Her strength is incredible!
I've never seen marbling that fine!
Marbling
The shine of the fat and the meat itself is unbelievable!
That's a good boy...
There's a faint sweetness that tickles your nose.
As meat ages,
the quantity of umami factors like glutamic acid increases,
resulting in a sweet smell.
I'm going to prepare the finest meat
with my finest skills!
First, sear the surface
while basting it with butter!
The rich smell of butter is spreading through the arena!
The smell alone is enough to whet your appetite!
I've now built a wall around the meat
to trap the juices within.
Next...
Put the meat into the oven
and cook the meat through!
Now...
How's the transfer student doing?
As for Yukihira-kun,
it seems he has just finished mincing a large number of onions.
What could he be using those for?
Oh!
Looks like he's finally taking the meat out!
Let's see how his meat measures up to Mito-san's A5-grade wagyu beef.
Cheap or Bust! Discount Supermarket SENDAI
What?
Half Off Sirloin Steak from Japan
"Cheap"...
"Half off"?
Grin
I was lucky! They happened to be on sale!
Bullshit!
Oh, please stop!
Please stop throwing things!
Shake Shake
Yukihira, is this really gonna work?
I've seen enough.
You can just use the rest of the allotted time to pack up your stuff.
Can you tell what the foundation of her cooking is?
Could it be the sheer strength she has
that allows her to dissect a carcass with ease?
That's correct, as well.
But her true strength lies in the opposite direction.
It's her delicate sensibility.
64...
No, 65 degrees° C.
Okay.
The lips are one of our most sensitive body parts when it comes to heat.
Even so,
her ability to determine the actual temperature is unique.
Mito Ikumi's sensibility shines brightest when she handles meat.
You're right...
Look at her fingertips,
the depth of her affection toward the meat.
It's like watching a piano soloist in a flowing performance.
Can't you hear the heavenly melody?
The sonata of meat?
I will present this victory to Erina-sama!
Oh, you're still here?
Why've you grown quiet all of a sudden, transfer student?
What happened to all that bravado from three days ago?
Say something. You're pathetic.
I don't need to say anything.
My don will soon be telling an eloquent tale.
Huh?
Besides...
It's common knowledge that any chef who talks too much in the kitchen
can't be trusted to have actual skills.
A-Are you mocking me?!
What?
What's he trying to pull?!
Now, time's almost up!
Finish!
Cooking Complete
Kawashima Urara First-Year, High School Division
Cute
I love reading fairy tales.
*Note: Never actually read any.
I love romance movies, too.
*Note: Kung-fu movies, actually.
My dream is to become a bride!
*Note: . . .
We'll now begin the judging!
Mito-san's dish will go first.
Mine's a "Rôti" Don made with A5 wagyu beef!
Rôti is French for "roast"!
It's often used to denote dishes cooked in the oven!
Kuraki Shigeno President of the traditional Japanese restaurant Kuraki
The sliced meat is like a flower.
I'm honored to see such a beautiful don.
Thank you for the food.
It's so delicious, it's paralyzing!
This is it!
This profound umami is the the A5's true strength!
Bito Yoshiki Black Wagyu Critic
And this meat...
She's even calculated the angle of the cooking heat.
When heat is applied perpendicular to the grain of the meat,
heat spreads evenly,
and more juices are released.
The best chefs take even the grain of the meat into account!
And note what's beneath the "petals"!
Okamoto Katsunori TV Producer of Prime Gourmet
The garlic rice sautéed in beef fat and butter is exquisite!
I could eat three bowls of this rice alone!
This dish is fantastic, even seductive!
It's superb!
Do you get it now, transfer student?
This is the pleasure of meat!
It's a wash.
Just show us the transfer student's expression when he loses already.
Well, crap.
The crowd seems to think Mito-san's won.
Let's have the judges evaluate Yukihira-kun's dish next!
What would you call your don?
Well, how about the Yukihira-style Chaliapin Steak Don?
The Chaliapin steak, huh?
So you used onions to tenderize cheap meat.
But how would it measure up after what we just tasted?
Indeed, I'd just rather go home while savoring the lingering flavor of A5 beef.
W-Well, it looks more promising than I'd initially thought.
Guess we'll give it a try.
There's no way that cheap meat could turn into anything decent!
Why?!
I can't... I can't stop eating!
The meat is most tender, but it's the...
The sauce!
This special minced onion sauce is most excellent for the appetite!
What is it?!
This full-bodied flavor
must be from the red wine he added to the pan after the steak was done!
He deglazed the pan with it, then sautéed the onion in the sauce!
Thickened with potato starch,
the creaminess of the sauce coating the meat and rice is irresistible!
Not to mention, the flavors are rounded off with burnt soy sauce!
He leveraged the burnt soy sauce to deepen the flavor!
Yukihira!
Seems like he tweaked the onions, a key ingredient in the Chaliapin steak,
and the sauce to boot.
But is that all?
In the end, sauce is just sauce...
It's got nothing on my premium meat!
Even though the meat and sauce are both strong in flavor,
I only get hungrier with every bite.
It sure does feel like I can eat this forever!
This hint of acidity...
Could it be?
Yes, the trick's in the rice.
The rice?
I mixed handmade pickled plum paste into the don's rice.
It's Refreshing Plum-Flavored Rice!
I knew it!
The pickled plums were behind this refreshing aftertaste!
The texture of this steak is so light, yet the flavors, so fragrant!
The superb sauce with its signature creaminess!
And, the refreshing pickled plum-flavored rice!
Each component is heightening the others' flavor!
You just can't stop shoveling it all in!
Pickled plum... that's it?
He may have tweaked things,
but it doesn't change the fact that each ingredient is cheap!
Man, I'm already done!
How about seconds?
Can we have seconds?
The Rôti Don was fantastic, as well,
but this don is better at making you want to eat more.
What?
Wh-What about my garlic rice?
It's left half unfinished!
Oh, yeah.
I've been wondering what you were going to do about the rice
ever since Konishi-san said you'd be using marbled wagyu beef.
If you "beef" up the rice on top of amplifying the wagyu beef's umami,
they're just gonna compete.
Your dish may look like a don, but it's not a real don.
Don RS's leader said that the don has to be a complete package in one bowl.
Shut up!
I'm not interested in your twisted logic!
There's no way you can defeat my premium meat—
If you're not convinced,
why not have a listen, yourself?
Listen to the story my don tells.
Dig in.
Yeah, he's right.
This don talks to you.
"Shovel me in as much as you want!"
Happy ninth birthday, Ikumi.
Thank you very much, Mother!
Honey, please stop!
Shut up!
The Mito clan has no need for an heir with ladylike mannerisms!
Listen, Ikumi.
Be strong.
That's all you should think about.
Understand?
Shit. Why am I remembering this now?
It's because of this don.
This don's whispering to me that I can just be myself,
be who I really am...
Shit!
Bowl
Don
Yukihira Soma
What a surprise! The victor is Yukihira Soma!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Soma-kun's amazing!
He did it!
Yukihira!
What?
I lost...
I lost.
Erina-sama!
Have her return the kitchen we'd been providing to her.
As you wish.
Hey, Nikumi.
Let me try some of your don, too.
Who do you think you are?!
Don't you dare call me by that nickname!
Why not?
It's pretty cute when you write it out in hiragana.
Nikumi
H-Huh?
I'm looking forward to working with you,
Nikumi-chan.
Ba-dump
Wh-What did you say?
You idiot!
Don't forget to come to the club room.
Yukihira...
You're really something, man.
You're the only one who can lead the Don RS going forward.
You're the "don" of the new Don RS, Yukihira!
The Don of Don RS
WINNER Yukihira Soma 3-0
The Following Day
Donmono Research Society
It's pretty cute.
I... I'm coming in!
Oh, hey, Mito!
You're here.
Y-Yeah.
I... I guess Yukihira's not here yet!
I'm only here because he told me I had to be here, too.
Oh, well...
Huh?
I'm not joining Don RS.
What?!
Huh?
But I just wanted to check it out.
Well, but thanks to Don RS,
I came up with a new don menu
that I might be able to serve at our restaurant someday.
Well, good luck with that.
I'll come by sometimes.
That's what he said.
But since our budget was increased,
let's work together to build up Don RS!
You're the only one who can lead the Don RS going forward.
You're the "don" of the new Don RS, Nikumi!
The Don of Don RS
Shut up!
Don't call me Nikumi!
It's said that Mito Ikumi-san
became even more violent from that day forward.
To Be Continued
Preview
Training Camp Training Guide
Let's make a lot of memories!
Don't forget anything!
Next time on Food Wars,
the eighth dish:
Menu The Concerto of Inspiration and Imagination
"The Concerto of Inspiration and Imagination."
Looks delicious!
Cute!
What a demanding body you have.
I'm moe-moe-ed out.