Yukihira Restaurant.
There was a concept that Sōma would find difficult to grasp in his lifetime.
Although Sosuke's appearance caused a "butterfly effect" throughout the original plot, a typical example being:
Erina, who was supposed to be the transfer student examiner, would have had a culinary clash of ideas with Yukihira Soma.
However, due to Rindo stepping in as the examiner, this was surprisingly avoided.
But!
Even if the two didn't meet.
From Erina's perspective, perhaps she still wouldn't approve of Sōma's cooking, and would still dislike his dishes.
One reason for her dislike could be his commoner's cooking.
But more importantly, their culinary philosophies were fundamentally different, even diametrically opposed!
Perhaps, for Erina,
a "common" Mapo Tofu was worthless.
And over the years, the dishes served at Yukihira Restaurant, run jointly by Jōichirō and Sōma, often lacked significant impact on diners.
The fact that it still hasn't gained fame in the culinary world since its inception shows that as the Chef of Yukihira Restaurant, Jōichirō Yukihira no longer emphasizes many dazzling techniques when it comes to cooking!
…
To be honest,
Jōichirō Yukihira back then was definitely a more talented Chef than Gin Dojima.
Now, 10 Erinas combined wouldn't be enough to beat him alone.
But why?
Over the years, after running Yukihira Restaurant, his dishes gradually became "mediocre," as if he only knew how to make commoner's food.
The reason for this wasn't that he was intentionally keeping a low profile, nor that he had become foolish.
Rather, he had come to understand that truly excellent cooking's most important aspect isn't a stunning impact, but rather that it should be acceptable to all diners!
In Erina's eyes, cooking only needed to be done according to her own will.
After all, with the blessing of her God Tongue, she was confident that she could conquer and "capture" diners with her cooking.
This culinary philosophy of self-expression was precisely what she most wanted to pursue in her life.
But for Jōichirō and Sōma, a dish not only had to be well-made but also had to be "accepted to the greatest extent" by diners.
In short,
the core plot of food wars!: shokugeki no soma is actually the clash of two different philosophies.
One is entirely self-centered, while the other, while self-centered, also needs to embrace other subjects and change for them…
This explains why Sōma, after tasting Sosuke's cooking, saw his father's shadow in him and felt that strong sense of pressure.
It was simply because the culinary philosophy he adhered to was exactly the same as his father's!
…
"Sōma."
"People's perspectives are always narrow at times."
"I don't know who your father is, nor do I want to know why he sent you to Totsuki."
"But what I want to tell you is that when you look to your father, never forget those Chefs who stand at the pinnacle of this prosperous world, always looking down upon all living beings!"
"Perhaps, as you said, Totsuki isn't that great, not as good as Yukihira Restaurant!"
"However, one day, you'll find that some things, some people, are more interesting to encounter after you've grown to a certain extent!"
Isshiki Satoshi's words left Yukihira Soma stunned for a long time.
To be honest, he didn't have grand ambitions; he merely wanted to hone his cooking skills by his father's side, inherit this small Yukihira Restaurant in the future, and finally marry a wife and have a few children.
Such a simple and ordinary life was happiness for him.
So at this moment, he completely couldn't understand or agree with Isshiki Satoshi's sermon.
"I've put drugs in the dish!"
This was a trick Yukihira Soma was particularly good at.
But in all fairness, the fact that he could lose 498 matches to Jōichirō Yukihira and still persevere is enough to show his tenacity!
To some extent, he is actually similar to Alice Nakiri.
Both want to challenge a certain person, a certain goal, and won't give up until they achieve it.
…
"Senpai, what level are you at now…?"
Yukihira Soma, having come back to his senses, showed no expression on his face, only a faint question to Isshiki Satoshi.
"Me?"
"I'm the current 7th Seat of the Elite Ten, I told you last time."
"Sōma, I'm not joking with you."
"With your current strength, it's absolutely impossible to shake the Elite Ten's position, so I advise you to give up on that idea for now!"
Isshiki Satoshi, mistakenly thinking Sōma wanted to challenge him again, couldn't help but frown, then quickly picked up a cup of tea wine and took a few sips.
"No, no, no, Senpai, what I mean is, what level are you at in the entire Japan?"
Pfft!
This sentence.
Caused Isshiki Satoshi to spray out all the tea wine in his mouth.
Then, he looked at Sōma with a face full of astonishment and unbelievably replied, "Are you serious?"
"I haven't even managed to establish myself in Totsuki, and you dare to ask me what level I'm at in Japan?"
"Let's put it this way, in the entire Japan, I can definitely be considered top-tier among my peers. But all things considered, I'm only at a third-rate level right now, no, maybe not even third-rate…"
"What? Only a third-rate level?"
Hearing this, Sōma was indeed a little surprised. He continued to ask, "Then, what about the Shopkeeper of this Izakaya?"
"I don't know, we haven't figured out his abilities yet."
"The only thing we can be sure of is that the dishes he makes are absolutely the most delicious and most convincing dishes we've ever seen in our lives!"
Isshiki Satoshi did not directly define Sosuke's level in front of Yukihira Soma.
Instead, he used two superlative descriptive words to indirectly describe his power.
"Is that so?"
Sōma paused.
After a while, he muttered to himself, "I really want to know who would be better, him or Dad?"
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