Chapter 514: The Pressure Shifts to Han Shi
After the judges successfully tasted Han Shi's Tomato Beef Brisket, their earlier disdain vanished instantly.
Cooking was a skill that required extensive practice. Although different chefs had their own specialties, there was no such thing as an unskilled chef suddenly creating one peerless dish by chance.
Therefore, the ability to prepare Tomato Beef Brisket at this level was enough to prove that Han Shi was fully qualified to compete against Bright Court Pavilion.
This was not the one-sided match most of them had initially imagined. Instead, it was shaping up to be the most exciting and highest-level culinary showdown imaginable.
Thinking this, the judges' eyes filled with anticipation.
Only a small handful of people wore conflicted expressions at this moment.
Did they really have to tamper with the voting results in a culinary showdown like this?
…
Qi Han accepted the Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin brought over by the visibly nervous Chef Song.
"Chef Qi, please offer your guidance." Chef Song did not address Qi Han as "Boss Qi," but instead referred to him as "Chef." His eyes carried respect, and his expression became even more solemn.
"Alright." Qi Han nodded and began carefully observing the Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin before him.
The dish consisted of a palm-sized piece of beef tenderloin sliced to about a finger's thickness. After undergoing a special cooking process, it had been drizzled with a reddish-brown sauce and plated neatly on a spotless white dish with a few decorative garnishes around it.
At first glance, it resembled a Western-style steak from Earth.
However, after lightly scraping away some of the reddish-brown sauce with his fork and examining the slightly charred brown surface of the beef beneath, Qi Han immediately dismissed that idea.
This dish only looked like steak—it was not pan-fried.
Instead, it clearly had its own unique cooking process.
The charred brown coloration looked far more like the result of open-flame grilling.
The real question was how it tasted.
Thinking this, Qi Han gently cut off a small piece with his dining knife.
Beef tenderloin naturally contained the least connective tissue among all cuts of beef. It had very little sinew, making the texture especially tender and soft.
A properly prepared tenderloin should be easy to cut with a knife and easier to chew as well.
That was why many steak guides described filet mignon as the most suitable cut for elderly people and children.
This serving of Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin perfectly embodied those characteristics. The cross-section revealed a neat, even light pink color.
This pinkness was evidence of the beef's rich myoglobin content. If the entire interior were cooked into the grayish-white color of fully done meat, both the value and texture of the beef would be greatly diminished.
Without hesitation, Qi Han placed the piece of tenderloin into his mouth and began chewing slowly.
With each bite, a special flavor he had never experienced before gradually seeped out from between the fibers of the beef, saturating the meat in his mouth.
Meat juices?
No—not just meat juices.
Although tenderloin was indeed juicy and tender, it could never naturally contain this much liquid.
Qi Han raised an eyebrow slightly, suddenly understanding something.
It had been braised.
Before being grilled over open flame, this tenderloin had first undergone a brief braising process.
That braising step must not have lasted long—just enough for the specially flavored broth to seep into the loose muscle fibers of the tenderloin. Then the meat was grilled over open fire, charring the outside into a lightly crisp brown surface that sealed all the juices inside.
During the second heating process, the trapped braising liquid continuously fused with the beef under the stimulation of heat, ultimately allowing that unique savory flavor to merge completely with the taste of the meat itself.
It sounded simple, but in reality, it was anything but.
First of all, beef could not be overcooked. Its ideal state was actually medium-rare or medium. To first braise it and then grill it while still maintaining precise doneness and heat control was far more difficult, requiring long-term experimentation to discover the right balance.
On the other hand, instantly sealing in the braising liquid during the grilling process required extremely precise temperature control over the flame. Given the current level of cooking tools on the Sun Moon Continent, they probably had to rely on spirit tools to regulate the fire temperature.
Of course, this was only Qi Han's rough speculation.
There were certainly several crucial steps in the process that he could not fully comprehend at a glance.
That special sauce carried a rich beef aroma, while savory, umami, sweet, and sour flavors slowly blended together within it. The complex and layered taste profile was somewhat reminiscent of the fish-fragrant flavor style found in Sichuan cuisine. These flavors fused perfectly with the beef, creating an exceptionally wonderful texture and taste.
After swallowing the bite, Qi Han's expression grew more serious.
He truly could not underestimate the chef of this world.
Although Tomato Beef Brisket was not the most delicious dish he had mastered, it had been one of the very first dishes he ever obtained. After such a long period of practice and refinement, the flavor of this Tomato Beef Brisket had naturally reached a completely different level compared to before.
Even though it had already reached the Perfect rank when first introduced, Qi Han's fundamental culinary skills had grown much stronger since then, allowing him to further elevate the dish's flavor.
And yet, even under such circumstances, this Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin had still managed to approach the level of Tomato Beef Brisket. Even Qi Han found this rather surprising.
So…
Such delicious beef tenderloin definitely couldn't go to waste.
Qi Han swiftly moved his fork and knife, finishing the entire serving of Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin before contentedly patting his stomach.
Thirty percent full.
He actually found himself looking forward to what Bright Court Pavilion's remaining two dishes would be.
"The judges have finished dining. Next, we will begin the anonymous voting process!" Director Zhang announced loudly, interrupting Qi Han's thoughts.
Each judge's seat already contained two voting cards labeled Bright Court Pavilion and Han Shi. The cards would be placed face-down into the ballot box, meaning that aside from the judges themselves, nobody would know who they had voted for.
Once all forty-nine judges had cast their votes, the ballots would be counted publicly. Since the number of judges was odd and abstentions were not allowed, one side was guaranteed to receive more votes.
Whichever side received more votes would be declared the winner of the round.
There was nothing wrong with the rules themselves, but as the vote counting began, everyone in the arena gradually wore strange expressions.
Throughout the counting process, Bright Court Pavilion and Han Shi remained neck and neck in the first theme, constantly overtaking one another. By the time forty-eight votes had been counted, the result stood at twenty-four votes each.
Which meant the final outcome would be decided by a single vote?
Who would win?
Wu Henian frowned slightly.
In theory, Han Shi's Tomato Beef Brisket should have been more delicious than the Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin. However, the gap between the two dishes was extremely small. The Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin also had the advantage of being served first, as well as the prestige and influence carried by the Bright Court Pavilion name.
Taking everything into consideration, the result truly was difficult to predict.
He glanced at Ye Ansheng, the Culinary Association president responsible for announcing the votes, and couldn't help rolling his eyes.
This guy… why was he dragging out the final vote for so long?
At this moment, everyone in the arena held their breath.
Even Qi Han had become slightly nervous, while Zhao Yangfan beside him was already holding his breath entirely, his heartbeat accelerating rapidly.
If the final vote went to Han Shi, it would mean Bright Court Pavilion had lost this round. And in the next fruit-themed round, Bright Court Pavilion stood almost no chance of victory.
If that happened, Bright Court Pavilion would truly lose the entire showdown.
Thus, the person under the greatest pressure in the arena was Zhao Yangfan.
Looking at the murderous gazes directed at him from all around, Ye Ansheng gave an awkward laugh and finally stopped dragging things out. He flipped over the final voting card in his hand.
"Bright Court Pavilion — one vote!"
Zhao Yangfan's body trembled. He barely managed to steady himself as his expression instantly relaxed.
They had won this round!
But immediately afterward, a trace of disappointment rose in his heart.
A narrow victory by just one vote.
If he had not made certain arrangements beforehand, Bright Court Pavilion might not even have been able to win this round.
With Bright Court Pavilion victorious in the first round, the pressure had now shifted onto Han Shi.
Qi Han let out a soft sigh, feeling somewhat unwilling to accept the result, but he said nothing.
The difference between the two dishes truly had not been large. The judges naturally had their own preferences, so losing by a single vote was perfectly normal.
However, this meant he would need to prepare even more seriously for the next two themes.
The fruit category was one thing.
But for the vegetable category…
He might need to change dishes.
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
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