"Okabe, what are you doing here?"
Watching Okabe, who was still savoring the delicious flavor of the sugar-roasted chestnuts, Leonora Nakiri had appeared behind him at some point,
a hint of puzzlement in her eyes.
"Eating sugar-roasted chestnuts. They're pretty good. You should try some too, Aunt Leonora."
Startled by Leonora Nakiri's sudden appearance, Okabe immediately offered her the bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts in his hand,
wanting her to taste this delicious treat as well.
"Sugar-roasted chestnuts?"
Hearing Okabe's words, Leonora Nakiri was first confused.
But after taking the chestnuts he offered, looking at their golden luster and smelling the sweet aroma in the air,
an expression of understanding finally appeared on her face.
"I see. This is a snack made by stir-frying chestnuts with sugar in a wok, right? The mealy, sweet, and fragrant chestnuts combined with sugar syrup, no wonder it smells so sweet."
"That's right, but the sugar in sugar-roasted chestnuts isn't primarily for flavor, but to bind impurities and to enhance the color and aroma.
However, the ones we're eating are a little special.
The sugar here not only enhances the color and aroma but also makes them sweeter. The secret should be the small amount of honey the cook added."
Okabe recalled the flavor he had just tasted as his Gustatory Image Deduction activated automatically, beginning to play back the scene of the man in red using the Iron Sand Palm to make the sugar-roasted chestnuts.
Without the honey, the flavor of sugar-roasted chestnuts is relatively plain, their sweetness not particularly prominent.
But with the addition of honey, the flavor profile of the chestnuts was significantly elevated.
"I see. It is indeed a wonderful delicacy."
Feeling her teeth crush the chestnut and the sweet flavor that spread out from within, Leonora Nakiri's face revealed a look of bliss.
"You must be bored just standing here. Why don't you come with me for a walk over there?
Many skilled chefs have come today. After they finish their dishes, they will share them with the surrounding audience to taste, in order to gather votes for a chance to perform tonight."
As she spoke, Leonora Nakiri naturally took Okabe's hand, just as she had when he was a child.
"Okay. But what's this about gathering votes and a chance to perform tonight?"
Okabe looked at Leonora Nakiri with curiosity.
"That has to do with the two stages of the birthday banquet."
"The first stage is in the morning, which is now. Chefs from all over the world gather here to showcase their culinary skills to the invited guests."
"The second stage is in the evening, which consists of a judging session and a dining session.
The judging is done by a vote from the entire audience. Each person gets five votes to pick the five chefs they think are the best.
The five selected chefs will then go up to the central stage, each making one dish, and the audience will select the final winner."
Looking at the young chefs working hard at their cooking stations to attract customers, Leonora Nakiri slowly explained the basic procedure of the birthday banquet.
However, after listening to the whole explanation, Okabe felt that it was less a birthday banquet and more a large-scale selection competition.
These young chefs invited to celebrate the birthday were all contestants in a selection competition.
"Hah!"
Just as Okabe was pondering the nature of the banquet, a low shout came from not far away.
Immediately after, he saw a sturdy man holding a torch and some wine, spewing flames onto pan-fried dumplings on a griddle.
In the next moment, the surface of the dumplings was tinged with a golden-yellow hue.
A rich aroma spread in all directions, finally reaching the noses of Okabe and Leonora Nakiri.
"Flaming pan-fried dumplings? The direct contact of the flame with the dumpling skin removes all the moisture from the surface, making the whole dumpling crispy.
At the same time, the technique of spewing flames also attracts a crowd of onlookers."
Watching the sturdy man's cooking, this thought surfaced in Okabe's mind.
However, before he could think further, Leonora Nakiri led him to another cooking station.
Behind the station stood a young female chef with black hair, dressed in a simple, clean chef's uniform.
And in front of her, a properly prepared red sea bream lay quietly on a bed of ice.
Its eyes were clear, and its cut body still twitched slightly, clearly a fresh catch air-freighted from the docks just this morning.
"She's preparing to make sashimi."
Besides the sea bream, plates, and sauces, there were no other cooking utensils or ingredients on the station.
And for a saltwater fish like red sea bream, when it's sufficiently fresh, making it into sashimi is the most suitable choice.
"That's right, she's using a slicing technique. It mainly involves angling the blade into the fish fillet and using a skillful sawing motion to cut slices as thin as a cicada's wing."
Leonora Nakiri pointed at the female chef's hands.
At that moment, one of her hands was pressing down on the fillet, while the other held a yanagiba knife aloft.
Slices of fish as thin as a cicada's wing flew from her hand onto a plate placed by the bowl. The long-waiting audience immediately swarmed forward upon seeing this.
"I see. Aunt Leonora, Ikaros, for you."
Hearing Leonora Nakiri's words, Okabe also went forward and took a plate, offering the first bite to her, then to Ikaros, and finally taking one for himself.
"Thank you, little Okabe. You're already such a warm-hearted boy at such a young age~"
Looking at the chopsticks Okabe offered, and the slice of fish on them, Leonora Nakiri parted her vermilion lips and took a bite.
A flush appeared on her face as the deliciousness stimulated her tongue, and her eyes grew a little hazy.
"This person's knife skills are really good. The fish is sliced as thin as a cicada's wing and melts in your mouth."
As he placed the sashimi in his mouth, a satisfied expression appeared on Okabe's face.
The fish melted upon touching his tongue. An ultimate umami-sweetness bloomed in his mouth along with a fresh flavor like a sea breeze. It was delicious even without seasoning—this was the taste of extreme freshness!
"Let's go see how Erina and Alice are doing.
By the way, why is everyone making snacks? From the beginning until now, I haven't seen many chefs making main courses."
After tasting the sashimi, Okabe turned his gaze to the other chefs showcasing their skills.
He had a puzzled look on his face.
He clearly didn't expect so many people to choose to make snacks. Was there some unique appeal to them?
"Because snacks are relatively simple to make. To put it in plain terms, they're fast, which allows more people to eat them."
Unlike main courses with their complicated preparations, snacks can be made very quickly.
"Lan Kexin?"
The sudden voice made Okabe jump. He turned to look and was surprised to find that the person was Lan Kexin, the young woman who had put the guy making squirrel-shaped mandarin fish in his place on the stage yesterday. Why was she here?
More importantly, why was she talking to him...
"You've heard my name? I don't think I know you...
Seeing Okabe call out her name directly, Lan Kexin inexplicably felt seen through and immediately took a wary step back. However, she relaxed after seeing Leonora Nakiri holding his hand.
"What the heck, so Sister Nora is here. No wonder this guy could call out my name. You really scared me for a second. Is he your younger brother? But why does he have black hair?"
"Kexin, this is Okabe. You can think of him as my adopted younger brother."
Looking at the casually bantering Lan Kexin, and then at Okabe who was about as tall as her, Leonora Nakiri hesitated for a moment before making the introduction.
Although she wanted to say he was her godson, looking at Okabe's height, nearly matching her own, and his strong build, and thinking about his deceased mother, she just couldn't bring herself to say the words.
"An adopted younger brother, huh? No wonder. Want to walk around together? I don't know anyone else here..."
As she spoke, Lan Kexin walked over to Leonora Nakiri's side and, without waiting for an answer, intimately linked arms with her, showing that the two had a good relationship.
"Then let's walk around together. We were about to go check on Alice and Erina. I wonder what kind of dishes they've prepared for today."
Looking at the clingy Lan Kexin, Leonora Nakiri smiled and agreed.
"Alice, huh? How is she? It's been over a year since we parted in Denmark. I wonder if she's missed me."
She remembered the girl she met in Denmark back then, a small figure standing before a massive research apparatus, controlling every step with flawless precision.
Lan Kexin had been thoroughly shocked at the time. Afterwards, she even specifically asked her age, and upon learning she was only eight, couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration in her heart.
"She thinks of you often."
Leonora Nakiri replied politely, though in reality, since they had only met a few times, Alice Nakiri had all but forgotten who she was.
On the side.
Okabe watched the two women acting intimately without interrupting, simply following Leonora Nakiri's lead towards Alice Nakiri's station.
Before long, the three arrived at their destination.
A large crowd was also gathered around Alice's station.
She was currently standing in the center of the crowd, dressed in a white chef's uniform. Behind her was a massive machine, with electrical cords running along the floor back towards the main mansion.
"Every time I see it, I can't help but be amazed. To think she can create such wondrously flavored dishes with this kind of cumbersome machine. I wonder what it is today?!"
Lan Kexin murmured to herself, then squeezed through the crowd to the front, her gaze falling upon the dish Alice Nakiri had placed on the table, a look of surprise in her eyes.
There was a simple reason for it: molecular gastronomy is a very peculiar thing.
Not only does it look extraordinary, but its flavors are also incredibly novel, like the fist-sized vegetable basket currently placed on the plate before them.
"Okabe, Mother, you're here."
Seeing Okabe and Leonora Nakiri appear in front of her station, Alice Nakiri immediately showed a delighted expression and then opened the barrier to walk out.
"Aren't you forgetting to greet someone!"
"Mmm... Sister Kexin."
Seeing Alice Nakiri affectionately greeting Okabe and Leonora Nakiri, Lan Kexin snapped out of her fascination with the molecular dish.
Hearing the other girl call out only to Okabe and Leonora Nakiri, ignoring her, she reached out in annoyance and pinched her little cheek.
And to think she had brought her so many delicious treats back then! This girl didn't even greet her upon seeing her. It truly broke her heart!
"Sorry, Sister Kexin, I didn't see you just now..."
Fine, she would begrudgingly accept that explanation.
"What is this dish of yours? It looks like a miniature flower basket, but it has the aroma of food. Which parts of it are edible?"
"Everything is edible."
Hearing Lan Kexin's question, Alice Nakiri smiled and then trotted back to the station to begin introducing her dish to the three of them.
"This basket is made from potatoes and beetroots using a gelification technique.
First, the potatoes and beetroots are made into a vegetable puree. Using the naturally occurring starch and pectin in the puree, it's dehydrated over a long period at a low temperature to remove the moisture.
The remaining natural polymers can then bond tightly, forming a flexible and tough leather-like structure."
When it came to her area of expertise, Alice Nakiri spoke with eloquence and confidence.
Then, she pointed to the grayish-brown soil in the basket and said: "This part is made from mushrooms and nuts. I added a small amount of black garlic and Parmesan cheese and used a pulse machine to pulverize them until they formed a texture similar to sandy soil."
"Then there's the vegetation on top. I didn't innovate too much with this part. The carrots were scooped out with a melon baller and quickly pan-fried with butter and a little honey.
For the asparagus, I only used the most tender tips, blanched them and then plunged them into ice water to ensure the best possible texture. The cherry tomatoes were peeled and slow-roasted at a low temperature to concentrate their flavor, turning them into a tomato-style candied fruit.
Pointing at the uniquely shaped vegetables in the basket, Alice Nakiri introduced them excitedly. She had spent days thinking about these and had gone through many trials to create them.
It was all to give everyone a surprise.
Especially Okabe. After not seeing him for three years, she wanted him to know how much she, Alice Nakiri, had grown in that time. This molecular dish before him was her answer!
"What about the dewdrops? They can't be just simple water droplets, can they."
Not noticing Alice Nakiri's slightly fervent gaze, Okabe's attention was completely captivated by the dish in front of him.
As he spoke, he reached out and pointed to the inconspicuous little dewdrops on the vegetables in the basket.
"These dewdrops are essentially herb oil, made using the spherification technique from molecular gastronomy.
Simply put, you drop an herb oil containing calcium ions and a calcium lactate solution into a sodium alginate solution.
The moment it is dropped in, the herb oil will turn into a series of crystal-clear little spheres. When you bite down, it creates a bursting sensation, delivering an intense flavor impact."
Looking at the dewdrops Okabe was pointing at, Alice Nakiri briefly explained the production method, then personally picked up the dish from the station and handed it to him.
"Go on, try it. This should be your first time eating my molecular gastronomy, right? In that case, I'll gratefully take your first time!"
Looking at Okabe who had accepted her dish, Alice Nakiri spoke with a look of anticipation.
"Let me have a taste."
As he spoke, Okabe picked up a small spoon prepared for tasters next to the station and scooped up some of the grayish-brown soil from the tiny flower basket into his mouth.
The next moment, a variety of flavors exploded in his mouth.
"The richness of mushrooms, the oily fragrance of nuts, the fermented sourness of black garlic, and the salty, cheesy flavor of Parmesan cheese.
These ingredients have been transformed into a sand-like texture by the pulse machine, mixing together for a perfect fusion!"
Feeling the texture of the grayish-brown soil, Okabe couldn't help but praise it, inexplicably feeling as if he were eating a cookie.
"The carrot balls, pan-fried with butter and honey, have a caramelized, crispy shell.
When you bite into it, the inside reveals the carrot's natural clean sweetness and juiciness. The gentle sweetness of the honey and the creamy fragrance of the butter wrap around it perfectly, bringing a warm sweetness. It's a masterpiece!"
"Not only that, the texture of the asparagus tips is crisp and tender.
The cherry tomatoes, through low-temperature slow roasting, have had all their essence concentrated, making their tartness gentle and greatly enhancing their sweetness, turning them into a chewy dried fruit. Used in the dish, it makes the overall texture even richer."
Lan Kexin also picked up a small fruit basket.
Unlike Okabe who started with the soil, she scooped up the vegetable part of the garden. Although it was simple cooking, the flavor was extremely rich.
"The herb oil was made with basil juice, wasn't it? By blending at high speed, the cell walls of the basil leaves were broken down, allowing their flavor compounds to fully dissolve into the olive oil."
Sensing the lingering taste on her tongue, Leonora Nakiri revealed the secret hidden within the herb oil.
This girl, in order to give Okabe a surprise, didn't tell anyone while developing the dish, not even her own mother. Today was the first she knew of it.
"That's right. Basil leaves are rich in volatile aromatic compounds. This substance has an extremely distinct aroma, and the penetrating power of this aroma is very strong."
Alice Nakiri nodded, a look of pleasure on her face at having her little trick figured out.
"When the basil leaf is concentrated into an herb oil and spherified into a pearl, it's no longer just a supporting garnish.
The moment the taster chews, it bursts, and its powerful aroma instantly sweeps through the mouth, clearly taking the lead, integrating all the previous layers of flavor."
As she spoke, she unconsciously looked towards Okabe, her eyes filled with nervousness and expectation.
At this moment.
Okabe was using his spoon to scoop up the final part.
He brought the mixture of the crystalline spherified herb oil with a little soil and vegetables to his mouth.
And just as the spoon entered his mouth, his teeth broke the dewdrop.
With a "pop," the spherified herb oil ruptured.
An instantly rich and fresh basil fragrance, like a long-imprisoned spirit suddenly breaking free, swept across his taste buds with the silky texture of olive oil.
The richness of the mushrooms and nuts, the saltiness of the cheese, the warm sweetness of the carrots, the crispness of the asparagus, the concentrated sweet-tartness of the tomatoes.
All these many flavors were integrated together under this impactful herbal storm.
It was like a masterful conductor, making the originally distinct and brilliant sections finally merge into a harmonious and magnificent pastoral symphony.
All the flavors intertwined and sublimated in the mouth, ultimately leaving an incredibly harmonious, richly layered aftertaste, and a fresh basil aroma that filled the palate.
"It's like it began with nothing and ended with nothing, but in between, I experienced a true feast for the senses. So this is what they call molecular gastronomy..."
Okabe murmured to himself with his eyes closed, savoring the taste for several seconds before slowly opening them and looking at Alice Nakiri with unreserved praise.
____
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