The Seed of Ideas is the 18th chapter of the Shokugeki no Soma series.
Plot Summary[]
Sōma grabs Hinako's kaki seeds as an ingredient for the dish. He lends them to Takumi to hold onto before going with Megumi to gather ingredients outside. Takumi is left confused while standing with Isami and a depressed Hinako.
Outside, while Megumi has finished gathering the ingredients, Sōma is struggling with the hen before its egg. Back in the training site, Hinako tells the students to redo their dishes after tasting them that didn't satisfy her. Hinako is known and feared as the "Mist Empress" when she enrolled Tōtsuki Academy. While the students are feeling devastated, Hinako tells them to redo as many times before the time limit.
After asking Takumi how great it is to pass, Isami notices him getting impatient for Sōma's return in less than 20 minutes. Isami tells him it's okay as he'll win by default if the time expires, but Takumi says it's not since he wants a heated match. In Takumi's mind, he starts questioning about the kaki seeds he's holding onto being used for Sōma's dish. Suddenly, Sōma and Megumi come back.
Out of anger, Takumi tells Sōma he's late and only has 15 minutes left. Furthermore, he questions him for wanting to get disqualified and unintentionally crushes the kaki seeds before Isami tells Takumi what he did. So Takumi apologizes to Sōma, but Sōma tells him not to worry as he thanks Takumi. Sōma reminds Takumi that the clients would go home if they're waiting 15 minutes at a special-of-a-day-shop.
As they begin to cook, Megumi carefully cuts off the fatsia sprout skirt. Sōma tells her to separate the egg's yolk and white when she's done. Remembering being outside with Sōma, he talks to Megumi about making a deep fried dish with sauce rather than wheat flour. However, since fish have a lot of water, the sauce isn't suited for that, so the kaki seeds will be used as coating, much to Takumi's understanding. Sōma crushes the kaki seeds inside the bag, cuts the fish in two, dips them in the sauce, and covers them with the crushed kaki seeds. Just then, Sōma and Megumi prepare the dish for Hinako.
As Hinako tastes the dish, she is amazed. The sauce is made from tamago no moto and pepper tree buds. Tamago no moto is made by adding salad oil to egg yolk to mix as a seasoning. By mixing salt and minced pepper tree buds with the tamago no moto, they add a refreshing flavor. When Megumi asks Sōma how he came up with the idea, he answers that there's an okakiage in Japanese cuisine, a dish covering the ingredients with smashed okaki and deep frying them, and he mentions doing that at home sometimes. When Takumi questions Sōma for thinking of using kaki seeds to make a deep fried dish, Sōma confirms it. And Sōma calls the dish Char Okakiage.
In Hinako's thoughts, she acknowledges that Takumi had a wide vision and didn't overlook the aigamo, but Sōma was creative to make a dish that no one made. Despite being under a limited time, Sōma doesn't back down and makes his own dish, making him a professional. Hinako passes Sōma and Megumi.