74 74 "Liars and Promises" (1/2)

”The winner of the Demon King's cooking battle general is--Kyo

As soon as the name is announced, you can hear the delighted voices of all the members on our side.

That's great!　That's my Lily's man!　Cultivation hero, great!

”I did it!　Kyou-sama, nice work!

”Congratulations, Kyou-san!

”Master!　That's great!

”Pop!　Congratulations!

I believed in you, brother.

Well, let's just say that's impressive, my son.

Each of them paid tribute and congratulated me, and all of them looked happy.

It was a great pleasure to be given the joy of victory, which I hadn't been able to get at the time of the big cook-off, and I was also filled with emotion.

You're going to be able to get a good deal more information about the company.

...... I don't agree with you.

However, there was only one person who complained about the results.

My cooking is better than yours!　Referee!　Appeal to the judges!

Significance!　to object to the gourmet master by pointing her finger at him.

The gourmet master quietly explains why.

I'll tell you why first. We consider Keogh's dish the winner because it best exemplifies the concept of this dish, 'Japanese Cuisine'.

”The purpose of Japanese cuisine is ......?

In Japanese cuisine, there is more than just technique. That is the gratitude of 'Itadakimasu' for food, and the other is 'Mottainai' for food.

To Helu, who is still puzzled by this explanation, the gourmet master gives a brief explanation.

Wasted means that the value of the object is not fully utilized. The people who live in the country called Nihon are very modest and polite, and they do not leave any wastefulness in their food, they cook it nicely”.

Then the gourmet master points to that uneven monster I dared to prepare.

”He dared to prepare an uneven monster. That's why. Because that is the very essence of the Japanese spirit of 'mottainai'.

At these words, Helle looks as if she realizes why I chose those ingredients.

”The taste of irregular-looking demons is actually not much different from ordinary ones. But a lot of things are discarded because of the importance of appearance, and that's why they're so misshapen. But the spirit of using such ”wasteful” items as ingredients. That is the origin of Japanese cuisine. His last uncle. Literally every drop of water from the wasted pot is eaten as an ingredient for a new dish. I have come to appreciate that this is the heart of Japanese cuisine.

Yes, if it were simple deliciousness, Helu would have won, just like the past cooking contests.

However, in Japanese cuisine, which values the most ”spirit” among all cuisines, this kind of spirit and feeling is the most important thing.

I would like to thank the gourmet master who noticed and appreciated the Japanese culture behind my Japanese cuisine.

But you're a good cook, too. Let's go again sometime.

With that, I held out my hand to Helu to end the battle with a bang.