Well, my gyoza was finished and I thought the char on these dumplings looked perfect to eat.
Like, I really think that I could win this. I just need to focus on what the judges might say about how the gyoza looks and how it tastes.
Still, I'm not calling this gyoza "authentic", I'm calling it "Japanese Style" or "Region Inspired". To me, this sounds more respectful than just putting random-ass ingredients together, call it "authentic" and call it a day.
After the judges tried Akira and Soma's dishes, it was my turn.
Urara: そして今度は君の名は！ さあ！ (And now it's Y/N's turn! Come on up!)
The students cheered as I put a little Japanese flag next to the dish, for a little decoration and I thinly sliced some spring onion for a garnish on top of the Gyoza.
As I brought the gyoza up, Gin, Senzaemon, and Leonora Nakiri, Alice's mother, were looking a bit skeptical on what I cooked for them.
Senzaemon: 餃子？ (Gyoza?)
Y/N: はい、でも味見するまで待ってください。 それはあなたの心を吹き飛ばすでしょう。 保証します。 (Yes sir, but wait until you give it a taste. It's gonna blow your mind. I guarantee it.)
Senzaemon: 私はあなたの言葉を信じます、若い男。 (I'll take your word for it, Young Man.)
As they each picked up a gyoza dumpling with their chopsticks, they took a bite, and they looked like they wanted to keep eating, but I had to stop them.
Y/N: ちょっと待って、必ずソースを試してみてください！ (Hold on, be sure to try the sauce!)
Senzaemon listened and dipped the dumpling into the sauce, but after one bite, he bared his chest!
That told me he loved it!
Senzaemon: あなたの名前は、どうやってこのディップソースの味をとても美味しくて風味豊かにしました! (Y/N, how did you make this dipping sauce taste so delicious and flavorful!)
Y/N: サンマの出汁をソースに加えたとしましょう。これが MSG です。 私はすべてをできるだけ風味豊かにしたいと思っていました。 (Let's say I added the Saury stock into the sauce, where that is our MSG. I wanted to make everything as flavorful as possible.)
Leonora: そうか。 屋台料理に挑戦したい若者には、さんま入り餃子が海辺の屋台にぴったり。 海の近くに座って、この餃子を食べて、素晴らしい時間を過ごしている自分を感じることはできません! (I see. For a young man who wants to try street food cooking, this gyoza with the Saury is perfect for an oceanside stall. I can feel myself sitting down near the ocean, eating this gyoza and having a wonderful time!)
Gin: 確かに、この餃子は戸月の基準に達していないかもしれませんが、これらの味をどのように引き出したかは十分です. (I agree, this gyoza may not be up to Totsuki's standards, but how these flavors were brought out are enough.)
Y/N: そして味だけでなくさんまの旨味も忘れてはいけません。 ほら、食感を保持するだけでなく、肉のうま味を引き出すために、MSGで肉を乾燥熟成させる必要がありました. (And let's not forget that the flavor is not just from the taste, but also the Saury as well. You see, I had to dry age the meat with MSG to not only retain the texture, but to bring out more umami to the meat.)
Senzaemon: あなたは魚をダブルMSGしましたか？ (You double MSG'd the fish?)
Y/N: かしこまりました。 私が行った調査によると、さんまの筋肉が壊れ始めるのに 5 時間から 10 時間かかるので、私が行ったことは、筋肉を損なわないように粉末を使用して筋肉を切り始め、次に乳鉢と乳棒を使用して壊すことでした。 骨を取り除いた後、それはすべてです。 (Yes sir. Based on the research I've done, it takes 5 to 10 hours for the Saury's muscle to start breaking, so what I did was use the powder to keep the muscle intact as I start filleting it and then using a mortar and pestle to break it all up after removing the bones.)
Gin: とても素敵なテクニックです。 それは私が決して考えられなかったことです。 (Very nice technique. That is something I could never think of.)
Leonora: 教えてください、息子よ、このトーナメントで優勝しようと思った理由は何ですか? (Tell me, son, what made you feel so motivated to try and win this tournament?)
Y/N: 問題は、奥様です。 このすべての数か月前に、母が亡くなりました。 彼女は私の心の支えであり、親友であり、私が料理の世界に携わるためにこの学校に来た主な理由でした。 オフですが、私たちが持っていたもので十分でした。 学校から帰ってくるたびに、「ママ、お腹すいた」って言ってた。 そして、気が付くと30分後にはフルコースの食事に。 この料理で彼女の遺産と、彼女が私に与えた影響の大きさを定義したいと思います. (The thing is, ma'am. A couple months before all of this, my mom died. She was my rock, my best friend, the main reason why I'm here at this school to be involved with the culinary world, but before all of that, we didn't have much money, we didn't have much to live off of, but what we had was enough. Every time I come home from school, I would go, "Mom, I'm hungry." And before you know it, thirty minutes later, we'd get a full course meal. I want this dish to define her legacy and how big of an impact she had on me.)
Leonora: 苗字さん、もし彼女が今ここにいたら、あなたが若い男になったことを誇りに思うでしょう。 この料理は、あなたがキャリアにどれだけの労力を費やしているかを示す良い例です. あなたは私の尊敬を得ました、若い男。 (I promise, Mr. L/N, if she were here right now, she'd be so proud of the young man you had become. This dish is a great example of how much effort you put into your career. You have earned my respect, young man.)
The students applauded as I looked down, trying to hold it all in. I think Erina noticed and wanted to come over and hold me in her arms, but I think she wanted to stay professional, which I understand.
After the judging, it was time to find out who won this tournament.
I want this win so bad. Everything I have done to get this far is
Senzaemon: まず、よくやった。 決勝戦にふさわしい激突で、あなたはそれぞれの独自の強みをうまく表現しました！ まず、料理の技術に関しては、3 人とも互角です。 次に、素材の良し悪しを判断する能力についてですが、雪平と葉山は明らかに優れています。 彼らはサンマを選ぶ際に完璧な選択をしました。 しかし、姓は彼の創造性によってギャップを埋めました。 3人の中でも彼の創意工夫は格別！ (First, well done. You represented each of your unique strengths well in aclash befitting the finals! First, regarding your cooking techniques, all three of you are in par. Next, regarding your ability to judge ingredient quality, Yukihira and Hayama are clearly exceptional. They made the perfect choices when selecting their Pacific saury. However, L/N has close the gap through his creativity. His inventiveness is exceptional among the three!)
I saw that everyone was in awe and I didn't blame them.
Senzaemon: さらに驚いたことに、3 つの料理の味はほぼ同じでした。 ただ、シェフの個性がどの程度反映されているかが決め手でした。 (Even more surprisingly, all three dishes had flavors that were nearly equal. However, the deciding factor was to what degree the dish was a reflection of the chef as an individual.)
Leonora: それは正しい。 一口食べるだけでシェフの姿が浮かび上がる、オリジナリティあふれる一品です。 (That's right. A dish brimming with true originality allows you to picture the chef in your mind just by tasting the dish.)
Gin: 別の言い方をすれば、そのシェフしか作れないオリジナリティのある料理です。 そのような料理をシェフのスペシャリテと呼び、敬意を表しています。 (Put it differently, it's a dish with such originality that only that specific chef could've created it. We call such a dish the chef's specialty, as a sign of respect.)
Senzaemon: 勝つのは自分の料理を一番追求した料理人！ 料理のあり方を真に求めたシェフ！ そしてその人の名前は... (The one who deserves victory is the chef who best pursued his own cooking! The chef who truly sought what his cooking should look like! And that person's name is...)
As we all kept quiet, I closed my eyes, and just looked back at the times I've had at this school.
I'm so proud of what I've done in my cooking career. Even though there were times that didn't go according to plan, I kept moving, showing that it didn't matter what people thought of me. I wanted to stand out from the rest of the pack and be an inspiration.
When I opened my eyes, the name was proclaimed...
Senzaemon: 葉山明！ (AKIRA HYAMA!)
Everyone had lost their minds when Akira's name had been announced as the winner.
Senzaemon: さんまの炙りカルパッチョ。 名物と呼ぶにふさわしい一品でした。 (Seared Pacific Saury Carpaccio. The dish was worthy of being called a specialty.)
I never wanted to kill myself so much in my life.
I really think after everything I've been through, I should've won, but of course, I'm casted aside.
I've always been treated as an outsider and I never had any friends back home in New York. I was always kinda an introvert. I'm still improving on that with the dorm, but I still feel that way.
Now, when Akira's name had been announced, everyone had cheered. Me? I felt like I wanted to go into my bed and not be a part of the party the dorm's having.
I just got on my knees and covered my face with the floor as I had my hands around my head, but I didn't cry. I just felt so angry that I lost the food war.
I didn't want to act out or anything because that was the last thing I wanted to do, but I felt like I needed some time alone, so I walked towards the other exit.
~Erina POV~
I've never seen Y/N this upset. He probably wanted to win more than Akira and myself.
You know, I have to give him credit, he was adapting so many street food recipes to his own version and trying out so many different ideas on how to make them delicious.
I mean, his gyoza recipe was ingenious. He put a lot of work into it to make it stand out above the others and for him to lose is not something he should be ashamed of. Y/N worked so hard and while he came up short, he still gained a lot of respect from the students of Totsuki.
Also, I know him walking out wasn't a sign of being a sore loser. He just wanted to win at least once in his life. What I'm saying could be controversial, but what I'm explaining is whenever Y/N puts his mind to something, he does whatever he can to achieve that goal, but of course, life takes a puzzle that's almost completes and then punches a hole through it in the name of unpredictability.
Before I could even get to Y/N and find him, Hisako came down and wanted to know from me if she could bring my Y/N back out here for the award ceremony.
Hisako: エリナさん、彼をつかまえてほしいですか？ (Miss Erina, you want me to grab him for you?)
I shook my head...
Erina: いいえ、放っておきましょう。 彼には時間が必要です。 (No, leave him alone. He needs some time.)
I saw that Grandfather was a bit concerned for Y/N as he walked away, but I think he knew how much he wanted to win for Maria. I can't even blame him for not winning.
After Soma and Akira trying each other's dishes, they were given medals to celebrate their places in this tournament, but Y/N didn't show up.
I thought he didn't want the medal, so I offered to take it for him and find him so I could give it to him.
After I was given Y/N's medal, I walked around, looking for him, until I found my boyfriend leaning up against the wall, just trying not to go crazy.
I know he had a temper and I had to be careful.
When I got close to him, I held up the medal in front of him.
Erina: Grandfather wanted me to give this to you, after all the hard work you put in.
I couldn't believe what Y/N did next. Instead of taking it...
Y/N: GET THAT SHIT OUT OF MY FACE!
...he slapped it out of my hand, breaking it!
Seeing the medal broken into pieces pissed me off as I turned him to me and I slapped his face as hard as I could, snapping him out of it.
Erina: Why would you do that?! You earned it!
Y/N: I didn't earn jackshit, Erina!
Erina: You came in third Y/N, that a good reason-
Y/N: Fuck third place, I came all this way for nothing!
Erina: Take it back right now. You know that is not true.
Y/N: I wish I did, but I can't.
Erina: Y/N, Maria is looking down, proud of what you have done and what you have accomplished! You think she would be mad at you for coming in third place?
Y/N: What I've accomplished meant nothing after what happened! I wanted to win that for her! Did you forget about me saying that!
I slapped him again as it looked like he wanted to hit me, but he held himself back, and I can understand his frustration.
Erina: You might have not won first, but the experience is worth more than what you think! Did you forget THAT!
Y/N: You think I wanted any of this? To me, third or second place don't mean anything until you're standing at the top.
Erina: That may be, but did you also think I did not want you to win? I also wanted you to win first place because I know that you could do whatever recipes you come up with. You even do research on specific dish for Gods' sake! Why would you want to quit now? It only just beginning for you.
Y/N: So what happens if anyone doesn't agree with what I cook?
Erina: Listen, Y/N, you deserve all the support from everyone in this school, including your peers because to me, you deserved to be called a legend. You are incredible, you are so talented, you know how to cook. Your story is an inspiration for many people that say, "I don't have great cooking skills. I don't have any experience in cooking. I don't even have right techniques to cook." I mean, your area of Japanese cooking is an example, that it's all in the head, and you show everyone out there, in that arena, that, with cheap ingredients, anyone can cook dishes that are simple, yet delicious.
Y/N: Why are you saying this when you clearly despise street food?
Erina: Because of how passionate you are about it. I will admit to this, normally, for traditional gyoza, the bottoms are not as golden brown as they should look, but the char, that chā, it was beautiful as the way it was. It was just perfect.
All of this was getting to him as I had to keep talking.
Erina: Y/N, do not feel down that you came in second or third. You have a chance to win the top seat again in the future and the medal you broke was proof of that. Please, pick up the medal and bring it back to your dorm, just for me.
He looked at the medal and I think he was thinking differently now.
What I'm saying about Y/N's area of cooking is true. I've talked with so many of the students to get their opinions on his street food style cooking and not only were they impressed, they also approved of what he cooks because he knew the takeaways of cooking like gas, water, electricity, all of those come down to how the food is made.
Even I approve of this area of cooking because although not everything he does is traditional, Y/N knew the fundamentals and was experienced enough to, and I don't mean this in a negative manner, cut corners and use less expensive ingredients to make outstanding dishes.
This is why I love him. He is so good at cooking where he can use many different techniques and recipes to make it more palatable for the school's standards.
So, all in all, because of the area of cooking he wants to be around, I have to give him the nomination of joining the Ten. Y/N knows his stuff, and he does whatever he can to make the food he cooks as authentic as possible, especially when he doesn't call the food he makes authentic. He stays respectful towards Japan's 10,000 year old food history by calling the food he makes "Japanese Style" when putting his own twist to a very traditional recipe.
After looking at it, he put it in his pocket and looked at me.
Y/N: I'll take it.
Erina: Good.
Y/N: For now, though, I just need some time.
Erina: It's okay, I understand. Come back out when you're ready.
Y/N: I will. Love you.
Erina: I love you too.
We kissed and I turned to leave, but I said this to him...
Erina: You lost the food war, but you won the night in my eyes.
Y/N: Arigatomasu.
I came towards him, kissed his cheek and hugged him, before leaving him alone for a while.
~Y/N POV~
So, let's recap on this story:
My mom and I left America after my stepfather died in a car accident, I worked for Gin Dojima's sushi restaurant to support my mom and I's financial situation, I made it to Totsuki Culinary Institute by impressing the girl who would become my girlfriend throughout this year, Erina Nakiri, made some friends at Polar Star Dormitory, surviving hell week at a hotel, challenging Kojiro Shynomia to a food war after he threatened to expel Megumi for not following his recipe, my mom dying of cancer, and that motivating me to make it through the Fall's Selection, which I came up short in.
Everything that I have experienced was worth telling a story, as I want this to be inspiring for people. I've gone through so much that I want people to understand that no matter who they are, they can still reach their goals without the fear of failure.
To me, failure is essential to success because if you don't learn from your failures, you won't make it in life, not just in a career you want to pursue.
Although this story sounds inspiring and interesting to learn about, what will come in years' time would be one of the worst things that has ever happened to Totsuki.
(A/N: And that's our story!
The remake of "Professionals" is done and I can't wait to get started with the sequel coming out very soon, "Anarchists".
I have so much planned for the next story that I really think all of you are going to love it, but I won't love is how the fifth and final season is not what it should be.
I've heard so many people saying that the fifth season was the worst because of Erina's half-brother or whatever wanting her to be his wife and the story wasn't that well written and executed very well. So, I'm just gonna do myself a flavor (pun intended) and not watch it to finish the story because of that reason alone.
I'm a man of culture, and I listen to people who tell me to take their word on, let's say a movie that hit the theaters and it turned out to be awful. They'd tell me to not watch it, and take their word for it.
If they do tell me to not see a horrible movie they don't want me to watch, of course I'm not gonna watch it because I just want to save the time that could've wasted if I actually did the opposite.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the story and if you did, be sure to slap the vote button before your partner/spouse slaps you. Be sure to hit the follow on my page and you'll get some stories you'd probably want to read for yourself.
I wanna say sorry for the long delay, I just had to get my phone replaced and I had to wait for everything to re-emerge on the new one I have now. It was just a pain in the ass to deal with. I had everything on there and not just the app, but the drafts of my stories.
You see, I always write everything on my notes app before I copy and paste everything I have onto Wattpad and then I do last minute editing before I publish a chapter. I mean, I still have to get used to my new phone, it's an iPhone 14, but I'm up for the challenge.
Anyhow, here's a survey:
1. What did you like about the story?
2. What did you not like about the story?
3. Favorite insult?
4. Favorite chapter?
5. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this story?
6. Would you recommend it to anyone who love Shokugeki No Soma?
That's it for this story, and I'll see you guys later.
I'm out.
Also, here's a little reminder of what's to come in the sequel.)