Chapter 515: The Answer They Had Been Waiting For
"The first round of the culinary showdown has concluded! The winner of the first round is the Bright Court Pavilion!"
Director Zhang announced the results of the first round before continuing,
"The theme of the second round is fruit. Please have both competing chefs return to their positions. The dishes must incorporate fruit into the cooking process. Any method is allowed, but failure to include fruit will be considered a violation of the rules."
After speaking, Director Zhang gestured for both chefs to re-enter their kitchens. However, the way he looked at Qi Han was now vastly different from before.
Although Han Shi had lost the first round, the neck-and-neck vote count between the two sides was enough to reveal many things.
Even if Han Shi was slightly inferior to Bright Court Pavilion, it was absolutely not weak.
At this moment, as Director Zhang looked at Qi Han, it felt as though he were witnessing the rise of a new star in the culinary world.
He even felt a bit regretful that no Tomato Beef Brisket had been left over. Otherwise, he would have liked to taste for himself what Han Shi's dishes were like, to think they could actually rival Bright Court Pavilion.
Returning to the kitchen once more, Qi Han immediately began cooking Crab Stuffed with Orange using the ingredients he had already finished preparing earlier.
The defeat in the first round was closely related to the fact that Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin had been served more quickly.
If Tomato Beef Brisket had reached the judges before Secret-Style Beef Tenderloin, the voting result in the first round might have been entirely different.
Now that the result had already been decided, any complaints or unwillingness were meaningless.
But he could still learn from it.
Much of the tedious preparation for his second dish had already been completed, so it would not take much time.
This time, he would definitely finish before the opponent.
Losing the first round could be considered carelessness and underestimating the enemy, but if he lost the second round as well, even Qi Han himself would not be able to forgive it.
Thinking this, seriousness appeared in Qi Han's eyes.
Clearly, despite how calm he appeared on the surface, the loss in the first round had affected him deeply.
…
Inside the kitchen, Qi Han was now going all out.
Meanwhile, outside the kitchens, Wu Henian had kept his brows tightly furrowed ever since the first round's voting results were announced.
"What's wrong?" Ye Ansheng smiled faintly. "Still dissatisfied with the first round's result?"
"Indeed." Wu Henian nodded bluntly. "Although Tomato Beef Brisket took longer to prepare, I refuse to believe the other judges couldn't tell the difference between the two dishes. These gourmands have extremely discerning tongues. There's no way such a mistake should have happened. The voting result was quite different from what I expected."
"To be honest, this result wasn't entirely outside my expectations." Ye Ansheng spoke meaningfully. "Serving order was only one factor. Another thing… don't forget who Han Shi's opponent is this time."
"Brother Ansheng, are you implying…" As Wu Henian pondered the hidden meaning in Ye Ansheng's words, his brows tightened further. "Bright Court Pavilion resorted to underhanded methods?"
"I only heard a few rumors and can't confirm anything." Ye Ansheng lowered his voice slightly. "But even if Bright Court Pavilion did nothing at all, there would still be plenty of people willing to do them a favor, wouldn't there?"
"This is outrageous." Wu Henian's expression changed immediately. "If that's the case, then where is the fairness in a culinary showdown?"
"When the difference between two dishes isn't large, judging food is inherently subjective. Some people love spicy food, while others can't eat spice at all. So if you want concrete evidence proving there was a problem with the voting, there's simply no way to obtain it." Ye Ansheng shook his head. "However, if the difference between the two dishes were much more obvious, then this kind of situation wouldn't happen."
"A much more obvious difference…" Wu Henian shook his head.
Anyone could understand the logic behind it.
But for Han Shi to win, did that mean it needed to create dishes that were clearly far more delicious than Bright Court Pavilion's?
Qi Han was only in his twenties. The fact that he could already create dishes slightly superior to Bright Court Pavilion's was practically miraculous in itself. Yet now he was being expected to produce dishes vastly superior to theirs—wasn't that asking far too much of him?
Wu Henian could only hope that Qi Han had learned from the previous round.
If his guess was correct, Han Shi's dish for this round should be Crab Stuffed with Orange. Compared to Tomato Beef Brisket, this dish was even more delicious and possessed an extremely distinctive character of its own. If it could be served first, it would likely leave a very deep impression on the judges, greatly increasing Han Shi's chances of victory this round.
Then Wu Henian gave a bitter smile.
Even if Qi Han understood the importance of finishing first, what could he really do about it?
Cooking required strict control over heat and timing. It was not something that could simply be sped up at will.
If one rushed recklessly, the flavor of the dish would inevitably suffer greatly.
Yet in the very next moment, Wu Henian suddenly widened his eyes.
The green light above Han Shi's kitchen door burst into bright illumination.
I-It's already done?
From the moment Qi Han entered the kitchen until now, less than half an hour had passed. Could Crab Stuffed with Orange truly be prepared from start to finish in under thirty minutes?
In the next instant, staff members from the Culinary Association entered the kitchen and carried out portions of Crab Stuffed with Orange, delivering them before each judge.
Seeing the familiar Crab Stuffed with Orange, Wu Henian quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Han Shi should be able to win this round.
When he tasted it yesterday at noon, he had already been completely amazed by the perfect fusion of orange flesh and crab meat in this dish. Even he himself could not imagine how one could counter it. Wu Henian firmly believed that Bright Court Pavilion absolutely could not produce a better dish than this.
Confident in this thought, Wu Henian skillfully picked up a spoon and scooped out a portion of the Crab Stuffed with Orange, where the orange flesh and crab meat blended perfectly together, before happily placing it into his mouth.
Mm… the same wonderfully familiar taste.
"Oh?" Unlike Wu Henian, Ye Ansheng did not immediately begin tasting the dish. Instead, he first examined it curiously. Compared to the earlier Tomato Beef Brisket, this dish looked far more unique. Using an orange peel as the serving container was incredibly ingenious.
But upon closer inspection, he was instantly stunned by the exquisite and lifelike relief carving on the surface of the orange.
With Qi Han's Perfect-rank carving skills, creating a majestic landscape engraving was no difficult feat. And at this moment, that artistry delivered an overwhelming visual impact to Ye Ansheng.
It took him quite some time to recover from the shock before he finally began tasting the Crab Stuffed with Orange itself.
A spoonful carrying faint traces of wine aroma entered his mouth. As the fragrance of orange and crab instantly melted together on his tongue, while the savory crab meat intertwined with the refreshing sweetness of the orange flesh, Ye Ansheng's eyes widened immediately.
This…
As one of the optional themes in culinary showdowns, the fruit category had been drawn many times in the past.
However, fruits naturally carried strong fruity aromas, which often clashed with the flavors and textures of many dishes. Thus, whenever this theme appeared in previous competitions, the dishes presented were generally underwhelming. Voting had essentially become a matter of choosing the least mediocre option.
Yet this single bite of Crab Stuffed with Orange surpassed every fruit-themed dish from the past. It perfectly demonstrated how fruit could harmoniously blend with other ingredients.
That marvelous taste was exactly what Ye Ansheng had always dreamed of.
Very few people knew that it was actually Ye Ansheng himself—the current president of the Culinary Association—who had introduced the fruit category into culinary showdowns.
The addition of this theme had originated from a sudden whim of his.
He wanted to know whether fruit, like vegetables, could possess more possibilities beyond merely being served as an appetizer platter.
And now, at last, he had received the answer he had been waiting for.
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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.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 538: Walking Straight into the Trap?[1]
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[2] https://www.patreon.com/Avicebron/posts/becoming-food-in-160492301