Because this assignment did not allow teamwork, Soma Yukihira had no way to carry Megumi Tadokoro. By the time the adorable country girl realized what was happening, the remaining ingredients were nothing but defective scraps and leftovers.
Especially the cauliflower everyone else had passed over—it was no longer merely poor quality, but defective produce that had oxidized and faded.
In French cuisine, plating and visual appeal could be even more important than flavor. If she used cauliflower containing such impurities to make French jelly, it would inevitably fail in terms of color.
Just as Megumi Tadokoro was about to cry from anxiety, a figure suddenly walked up to her, snatched the cauliflower from her hands, and stuffed several heads of excellent-quality cauliflower into them.
"Seiya, what are you...?"
That was right. The person who had exchanged his good cauliflower for Megumi Tadokoro's defective cauliflower was naturally Seiya.
"Take it. The rules for this assignment only say that others aren't allowed to give hints or whisper to each other. They don't prohibit people from exchanging ingredients."
Shinomiya Kojiro, who was seated some distance away, did not speak up to stop Seiya when he saw what he was doing.
After all, the defective cauliflower had been deliberately mixed in by him in the first place, with the purpose of limiting the number of students who could pass.
Cauliflower oxidized easily, was easily damaged, and was difficult to cook. Any chef who lost their composure and failed to notice that was unqualified.
If someone else had used ingredient exchanges to help Megumi Tadokoro, Shinomiya Kojiro would probably have expelled both of them.
But hadn't Seiya said it himself before? A true chef could make outstanding food regardless of the adversity or environment they faced. This time, Shinomiya Kojiro wanted to see how he