After listening to the general's words, Daichi focused his attention on the field.
The competition was now in Group A, and there were several familiar faces among the contestants. Inui Hinako and the boy who specialized in beverages were both in this group.
Currently, it was still in the preparation stage. Forty students were sweating and working creatively to build their culinary masterpieces.
Under the witness of the entire school, they struggled and showcased their cooking ideas. Every year, many students caught the attention of culinary industry giants during this event, launching their careers to new heights.
As always, Totsuki had invited numerous prominent figures from the Japanese culinary world for the autumn election.
"Hello everyone, welcome to the 80th autumn election of Totsuki Academy. We are currently broadcasting the live coverage of Group A.
As in previous years, Totsuki invites authoritative figures in the culinary world to serve as judges. Today is no exception!
The five judges for Group A this year are...
Totsuki's 'Living Legend' - Gin Dojima.
Japan's largest vegetable supplier - Sawa Sakata.
W.G.O. First-level examiner - Mieko Okino.
The owner of Hokkaido's largest fishery 'Kitazawa Fishery' - Kitazawayama.
The head of the Fujiwara family, a Japanese kaiseki cuisine family - Kojiro Fujiwara.
Without further ado, consistent with previous years' requirements, the cooking time is two hours. Contestants must submit their dishes within this timeframe for the judges' review and scoring. The top four students in the final score will advance to the quarterfinals!
Let the countdown begin!"
With the host's command, a huge display screen descended from the central platform, and the two-hour countdown began to tick.
The contestants on the middle platform sprang into action.
Sitting in the second-floor box, Daichi marveled at Totsuki's business acumen.
First, they sold the broadcasting rights of the Totsuki Autumn Election to earn revenue from television stations. Only Group A's matches were available for free viewing. To watch Group B's matches, viewers had to purchase the day's recording.
The television stations gained ratings and advertising revenue, while Totsuki profited from the major networks.
Additionally, subsequent online videos required separate purchases, allowing Totsuki to earn another wave of online streaming fees.
Some judges came to Totsuki for their authority, while others came for publicity, generating additional advertising revenue.
Every year, through broadcasting various Totsuki events, they not only attracted a large audience but also generated substantial income.
This made the Ten Outstanding Totsuki of each session highly sought after.
It was like creating stars - but these were stars of the culinary world. Totsuki had become a culinary talent show.
Thinking about this, Daichi couldn't help but laugh. He felt he had a good business mind. Perhaps he and Eishi Etsuya could have an interesting conversation about this.
Erina, standing nearby, noticed the smile on Daichi's face.
She asked carefully, "What are you laughing at?"
Daichi looked at Erina, then turned to Senzaemon and Tsuki on the other sofa.
He shared his thoughts about the autumn election with Erina in a low voice.
Hearing Daichi compare Totsuki's autumn election to a talent show, Erina considered the professional commentary, judges, and the entire process of recording, video production, broadcasting, and streaming. It did seem accurate. She laughed and relaxed on the sofa.
Tsuki and Senzaemon, standing nearby, were both surprised by the laughter.
But their thoughts were completely different.
Senzaemon remembered Managi's childhood, when she was bright and cheerful. For some reason, Erina had left an impression of being cold and arrogant, rarely speaking much.
Tsuki grew even more angry. How could a tool have such rich emotions? For Tsuki, Erina only needed to be a good tool for food reviews. She didn't need the influence of emotions.
It seemed the two children got along well, and Gin's importance to Totsuki was undeniable. Perhaps they could communicate more in the future.
Thinking of this, Senzaemon decided to have a good discussion with Gin about arranging more outings for them.
Time passed quietly between the adults' silence and the children's laughter.
Soon, the first person to complete their dish appeared!
To commemorate this warrior, he had a supporting role's name: Hiroshi Nagano.
He presented a Japanese Tonkotsu Ramen, a very classic Japanese dish.
The judges praised his dish highly, one complimenting his soup choice, another his precise seasoning. Just when he thought he had secured his spot, his cooking dream was shattered by a score of 31.
Not only did Hiroshi Nagano find it incomprehensible, but some of his classmates also thought it was exaggerated.
Then everyone realized that 31 was actually a high score. The next student wasn't as good as Hiroshi Nagano. Although the judges gave high evaluations to each student, the highest score was only 49 points. Hiroshi Nagano's 31 points ranked second.
This was a boy with long black hair. He served a lemongrass grilled pork neck.
Just looking at the luster on the grilled meat was enough to arouse the diners' appetites. After tasting it, the judges gave it the first score above 80 points today.
The boy's name was displayed on the big screen - Kawa Ishikawa successfully took the top spot with 81 points.
Then, as if they were in a group, two people with 80 points appeared at once.
Hinako Inui served Udon and received a high score of 90.
A foreign exchange student named Jack Jones served a Double Beef Cheeseburger. He received a high score of 84.
After a while, the last girl served her own dish, a Colorful Ice Cream. Each layer was handmade by the girl herself and was frozen until just formed. There were nuts and fruit pieces mixed in, with each layer having a different flavor.
Finally, she successfully received 89 points and secured the last spot in the quarterfinals.
The final list of eight people and their scores were as follows:
Nozomi Hara - 93 points [Sashimi]
Hinako Inui - 90 points [Udon]
Kurosaki Ren - 90 points [Seaman's Chowder]
Nozawa Yamazaki - 89 points [Colorful Ice Cream]
Jack Jones - 84 points [Double Beef Cheeseburger]
Jiro Nagashima - 82 points [Mexican Tripe Soup]
Akira Kurosawa - 82 points [Tandoori Chicken]
Kawa Ishikawa - 81 points [Lemongrass Grilled Pork Neck]
These eight people would fight one-on-one in the future to win the championship of the autumn election.
After the game, the Nakiri group left first, leaving Daichi in the box waiting for Gin.
Looking at the names on the screen, Daichi knew that the one called Nozomi Hara must be the mysterious first class of the 80th term. She had managed to take the first class throne from Hinako Inui, who could only graduate as second class. It was clear how many unknown geniuses existed within Totsuki.