Chapter 346

Ding!

The oven chimed.

Erina slipped on a pair of heat-resistant gloves and opened the door.

A wave of rich fragrance immediately burst into the kitchen.

There was the deep, mellow aroma of butter after baking at high heat, carrying the slightest hint of caramelized sweetness; the earthy richness of porcini and button mushrooms, layered with the spice of black pepper and thyme; and beneath it all, the unmistakable aroma of the beef tenderloin itself.

What stood out most, however, was the faint fragrance of lotus leaf weaving gently through all those heavier aromas.

It cut through the richness of the fat just enough to give the entire dish a lighter, livelier character.

Erina removed the baking tray and set it on a heatproof mat.

The Beef Wellington resting in the center looked like a work of art. Its golden puff pastry had risen into countless delicate layers, while the diamond pattern scored across the surface remained crisp and even, gleaming with a warm amber sheen.

The edges of the pastry curled upward slightly, browned to exactly the right degree.

Erina picked up a sharp kitchen knife.

Lowering her wrist, she aligned the tip with the center of the Wellington and pressed down with a smooth, controlled motion.

Crack.

The pastry broke with a crisp sound, scattering tiny flakes across the porcelain plate.

The blade passed through the puff pastry, mushroom duxelles, Parma ham, and finally the tender beef within.

With a slight turn of her wrist, Erina eased the thick slice aside and revealed a flawless cross-section.

The tenderloin was a beautiful, even cherry-blossom pink, with every fiber of the meat clearly visible.

Rich juices slowly seeped from the cut surface, carrying wisps of warm steam.

The dark mushroom duxelles clung tightly around the beef, providing a striking contrast against the pink center.

Just as Erina began plating the Wellington, a soft hiss came from the fryer nearby.

Haruto’s Lotus Blossom Pastries were ready at almost exactly the same time.

To make them, Haruto had combined cake flour with bread flour to create the outer dough, adding warm water and melted butter before kneading repeatedly until the dough became smooth and supple.

For the shortening dough, he mixed cake flour with chilled lard and added the smallest amount of red yeast rice powder.

Using the warmth of his palms, he slowly worked everything together until the originally snow-white dough took on a soft pink hue, like a piece of sunset kneaded into pastry.

The lamination stage required the most precision.

Haruto rolled the outer dough into a round sheet that was thicker in the center and thinner around the edges, wrapped the shortening dough inside, sealed it tightly, then gently rolled the package into a long rectangle.

He folded both ends inward toward the center, folded it once more into quarters, wrapped it in plastic, and chilled it to relax the gluten.

He repeated that entire process eight times.

Once the dough had rested properly, Haruto placed it on the cutting board and divided it into uniform twenty-gram portions.

Using his thumb, he pressed a shallow indentation into the center of each one.

For the filling, he combined shredded coconut with cultured butter, whole milk powder, fine sugar, and beaten egg yolk, stirring everything in a single direction until smooth.

He then added dried, finely crumbled lotus petals and a tiny pinch of salt to deepen the sweetness.

The finished filling was soft and delicate, rich with coconut and carrying a faint lotus fragrance without becoming cloying.

Haruto spooned a small amount into the center of each pastry, gradually pushed the dough upward around it, pinched the opening closed, removed the excess, then rolled each piece into a smooth ball and shaped it into a compact bun.

Next, he cut a precise cross into the top of each raw pastry.

The blade stopped exactly halfway through the outer dough, slicing through all eight laminated layers without touching the coconut filling inside.

The cuts caused the pink-and-white pastry to curl outward slightly like petals, revealing a glimpse of the filling beneath.

Haruto then used a small brush to apply freshly rendered warm lard into the cuts, carefully coating every layer.

That way, when the pastries entered the hot oil, the laminated layers could separate without resistance and bloom into perfect lotus flowers.

The frying oil was kept at roughly ninety degrees Celsius.

Haruto placed each pastry on a skimmer and slowly lowered it into the oil.

There was no violent bubbling.

Only tiny streams of oil bubbles moved gently around each pastry.

As the heat gradually entered through the cross-shaped cuts, the laminated dough began opening like flower buds being awakened.

First, the four cuts separated slightly.

Then the individual layers slowly curled outward, one after another, becoming petals.

One petal.

Two.

Three...

The pale pink-and-white layers gradually took on a translucent sheen in the clear hot oil, their edges curling upward in a slow, elegant transformation beautiful enough to make anyone hold their breath.

The moment every petal had fully opened, Haruto lifted the pastries from the oil.

The fragrant, lifelike Lotus Blossom Pastries were complete.

Before long, every team had finished cooking, filling the kitchen with a mixture of aromas from all four sets of dishes.

According to the rules, each team would be judged by the three instructors not assigned to that group.

That meant Team Three’s dishes would be evaluated by Dojima Gin, Yukihira Jōichirō, and Shinomiya Kojirō.

The first dish was Kurokiba’s Creamy Seafood Soup.

Pieces of lobster, scallop, and mussel rested in the milky-white broth, looking almost irresistibly appetizing.

Dojima scooped up a spoonful and tasted it.

The rich creaminess spread across his tongue first, smooth and mellow as it flowed down his throat without the slightest heaviness.

Then came the lobster’s intense natural sweetness, followed by the softness of the scallops and the savory richness of the mussels, each flavor unfolding in sequence.

Every type of seafood remained distinct, yet the flavors blended together seamlessly.

The distinctive fragrance of saffron acted like the finishing touch, enhancing the seafood without ever overpowering it.

The soup had just the right body, warm and silky on the palate.

After swallowing, a faint lotus-root fragrance slowly rose at the back of the throat, leaving behind a long, pleasant finish.

"The seafood is cooked perfectly."

Dojima set down his spoon with obvious approval.

"Every ingredient is exactly where it needs to be, preserving as much tenderness and sweetness as possible."

"The amount of cream is excellent too."

"It adds richness without covering up the natural flavor of the seafood."

"And the lobster-shell stock has tremendous depth."

Jōichirō gently stirred the soup with his spoon, appreciation visible in his eyes.

"The lotus-root starch makes the texture even smoother, and that faint aroma works surprisingly well with the seafood."

Shinomiya nodded.

"A clever choice."

Having received unanimous praise from all three judges, Kurokiba gave a confident smile and instinctively glanced toward Erina with a trace of challenge in his eyes.

Next came Erina’s Beef Wellington.

The three judges each picked up a piece with their forks and took a bite.

Crack.

The crisp pastry shattered in their mouths, immediately filling their palates with the rich aroma of butter.

It was not a hard, brittle crispness, but a delicate, layered flakiness.

Each individual sheet of pastry was almost paper-thin, melting away without leaving any unpleasant crumbs behind.

Then came the earthy depth of the mushroom duxelles.

The mixture had been slowly cooked from porcini, button mushrooms, and shiitake, then reduced with black pepper, thyme, and red wine until the flavors became deep and concentrated.

The saltiness of the Parma ham blended perfectly with the intense umami of the mushrooms, adding another layer of complexity.

Then the beef itself took over.

The tender pink meat released a flood of rich juices as they bit down, filling the entire mouth.

It was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, tender and succulent without the slightest trace of dryness.

The salt and pepper had been measured with extraordinary precision, enhancing the beef’s natural flavor without adding anything unnecessary.

"Flawless."

Dojima closed his eyes and savored the dish for several moments before slowly opening them again.

"The pastry is crisp and beautifully layered, the beef is tender and juicy, and every flavor is balanced exactly where it should be. A little more would make it heavy, a little less would make it bland."

He took another bite.

"And the lotus leaf fragrance makes the entire dish much lighter."

"It blends unusually well with the aroma of the beef."

Dojima paused.

"But if the leaf was only used to wrap the meat while it chilled, the fragrance shouldn’t remain this pronounced after baking."

He looked toward Erina curiously.

He had noticed her wrapping the beef in lotus leaf earlier.

But that alone should not have left such a distinct fragrance after the Wellington went through the oven.

Erina lifted her chin slightly.

"I also added dried, crushed lotus leaf to the mushroom duxelles."

"I see."

Dojima immediately understood.

The final dish was Haruto’s Lotus Blossom Pastry.

Looking at the blooming pastries arranged on the white porcelain plate, Dojima could not help smiling.

"Lotus root, lotus leaf, lotus flower."

He turned toward Kurokiba, Erina, and Haruto.

"So that’s the thread connecting all three dishes."

"The lotus-root starch in Kurokiba’s Creamy Seafood Soup, the lotus leaf in Erina’s Beef Wellington, and finally Haruto’s Lotus Blossom Pastry."

"A complete meal built around the theme of the lotus."

Dojima reached out with his chopsticks and gently lifted one pastry.

There was the faintest crack as the outermost layer broke, as delicate and clear as a shard of ice falling onto a jade plate.

Tiny flakes drifted onto the dish like snow.

He slowly brought the pastry to his mouth.

The moment his teeth touched the petals, thin as cicada wings, the pastry seemed to melt like falling snow.

Countless fine layers scattered across his tongue.

The first flavors were the clean richness of lard and the mellow dairy fragrance of butter.

The two fats blended perfectly, neither too heavy nor too aggressive, spreading a soft, rounded richness across his palate without the slightest greasiness.

When he bit down further, the layers collapsed one after another with tiny crisp sounds.

This was not the hard crunch of brittle pastry.

It was a delicate, fragrant flakiness infused with fat, dissolving almost instantly without leaving a trace of crumbs behind, as though the pastry itself were dancing lightly across his tongue.

Then his teeth reached the coconut filling.

The texture was smooth and dense, with the delicate fibers of shredded coconut providing just enough structure without becoming rough.

The sweetness was perfectly restrained rather than overpowering, carrying the clean fragrance of lotus flowers like an evening breeze passing over a pond.

And the tiny pinch of salt sharpened that sweetness, giving it even greater depth.