Devotion (Shokugeki No Soma X Male OC)

Chapter 30: Dawn Will Come Again

Subaru pulled put a large piece of meat.

Subaru: Here's my twist!

Soma: ......!

The smell of the meat was reaching the whole arena.

Shoji: It smells spicy, but meltingly tender...

Daigo: What a unique, smokey fragrance...

Ikumi: That's bacon! But if he's trying to match Yukihira, he'd be using oxtail in his stew.

Megumi: What's the bacon for, then?

Erina: (Bacon in beef stew can only mean one thing... He means to use it as garniture.)

As Subaru was frying the bacon, he looked back at Soma.

Subaru: Yukihira Soma, your recipe is intended for a beef stew that has been strained. That'd make the dish a dull one, consisting of only sauce and meat.

Erina: (And that's why the garnish, or garniture, becomes crucial. Beef stew is said to have evolved from beef bourguignon, a stewed beef dish with red wine from the Bourgogne region in France. It also always comes with garniture: usually croutons, glazed pearl onions, sauteed mushrooms, and bacon.)

Daigo: The smell is sure mouth-watering.

Shoji: It's mellow, yet so striking!

Shun: He used mesquite wood to smoke the bacon. It's a tree in the legume family originally found in South America. It's virtually unknown in Japan as a wood for smoking meats. In Texas, home of barbecue, it's one of their favorite smoking wood chips. Because of it's sharp smell, it's used to smoke meats with strong flavor, and imparts a bright, golden color.

Subaru: In the brine, I used sage, nutmeg, and bay leaf, as well as my secret ingredient, brown sugar! The umami will be remarkably enhanced.

Yuki: Was Mimasaka that knowledgeable about smoking and curing? His knowledge and expertise are on par with Ibusaki's! What's going on!?

Shun: Asshole...

Sonoka: Yukihira-kun doesn't seem to be going for anything unusual with his garnish.

Taki: He probably didn't think of it as anything other than something on the side.

Miyuki: Did he, though? When it comes to beef stews, garniture is a critical component.

Taki: How disappointing. Yukihira Soma cannot win!

Hinako: Leaping to conclusions before even tasting his dish... Oh, how distasteful.

Miyuki: I must agree. I can't see a reason why somebody like you would be selected as a judge.

Taki: Look who's talking! The granny that spend the past several years doing charity work.

Miyuki got pissed at being called old.

Miyuki: *glares* What did you just call me!?

Taki: You heard me, granny!

Miyuki: For your information, I'm only in my mid 30's! My hair's always been this color!

Fuyumi: Tsunozaki, you can't bring up age to someone's face.

Taki: 'Kay, I understand, Fuyumi-senpai.

After regaining her composure, Miyuki looked at Soma's station.

Miyuki: (Mimasaka has profiled the critical ingredient in Yukihira-kun's dish, oxtail. And as a twist, he has bacon for garniture. Yukihira-kun's swimming in deep water right now.)