If, before meeting Gordon, Bella still had some illusions about the state of the culinary world, then after meeting Gordon, every filter related to the culinary world that had once stood before her completely shattered across the floor.
Gordon's exaggerated style made Bella clearly recognize the darkness of the culinary world. And just as Atu rubbed her hands, wanting to comfort Bella—in Atu's eyes, this trip had deeply hurt Bella, who loved food—Bella had already returned to normal and said that she wanted to go to France and visit the legendary God of Cookery, Durand.
"Durand is a legendary figure in the culinary world. Not only has he won the God of Cookery title in the World God of Cookery Competition himself, he's also taught three World Gods of Cookery from different countries, including Gordon, who controls Hell's Kitchen."
"If even he thinks I have no talent to be a chef, then I'll return to the Cotswolds and properly become a village cook, and never think about the World God of Cookery Competition again."
"But if he thinks I have talent—"
"Hmph!"
"Then I'll use my pots and spatulas to tell them—"
"Cuisine!"
"Means delicious food!"
Bella's shout meant that the first act of The God of Cookery had officially come to an end.
At the same time, the clearly appearing new stage goal also meant that the second act of The God of Cookery had officially begun.
Since there was a transition between acts—
a cute scene appeared!
Perhaps because rude criticism made people unhappy?
Or perhaps because continuous discrimination filled people's chests with anger and the flames of revenge.
In any case, during the preparation for traveling from London to Paris, Bella and Atu didn't pay attention to Api's condition at all.
Only after the plane took off did the two discover in horror that they'd left Api behind at the airport.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Api probably leaned against some corner and fell asleep again!"
Atu's facial features squeezed together, her face full of anxiety. "That fool! Why is he still sleeping at a time like this!"
Bella, on the other hand, wasn't particularly worried about Api's safety.
Of course, worrying at this point was actually useless.
So she opened her mouth and comforted her, "Atu, Api is only a little dazed. It's not like he's stupid. So after discovering that we're gone, he'll most likely return to the Cotswolds on his own."
"Really?"
Bella's words made Atu feel a little more at ease.
"Of course!" Bella nodded and said, "Returning from London to the Cotswolds is actually very simple. He only needs to swim along the River Thames. That's Api's specialty, so that thick-skinned guy won't run into any accidents."
"Oh—true—"
Atu recovered.
But the next second, she said again, "Wait, Bella, do you think Api might change his ticket and come find us in France?"
"Although this guy usually only sleeps, eats, eats, and sleeps, he only gets dazed often over small things. When it comes to major matters, he's still very reliable. And you going to France to seek a master and learn cooking is a major matter, so—"
At this point, Atu suddenly froze.
This made Bella feel very strange. "So what?"
Bella's words were like an invisible hand, flipping the switch that controlled Atu's continued speech.
At the same time her words emerged, countless expressions of shock climbed onto Atu's face.
Atu grabbed Bella's wrist hard, kept patting her arm, and screamed, "Bella—look outside!"
"Api is flying!"
"Api is flying!!"
"Oh—my God, Api is flying!!!"
"???"
The abstract words made huge question marks appear above Bella's small head.
When she, seated by the window, turned her head and looked in the direction Atu was staring—
"OMG—what is going on—"
"My God? What kind of animal is that? Why can something that big still fly on a bird?"
"Oh—Mom—I saw an alien—"
"Damn! Is this the legendary flying squirrel??? This is too cool!!!"
"Oh! Shit! Why would such a huge animal appear beside the airplane? Flight attendant! Where's the flight attendant? Air marshal? Where's the air marshal? Which airline are you people from? How could you design a route that shares airspace with animals? Does this meet aviation safety regulations? I'm warning you! If anything happens to me! After getting off the plane, I'm definitely going to file a complaint!"
Because Atu's shouting was extremely wild, the ones who caught her scream right now were not only Bella, but also the other people on the plane.
Precisely because of this, the moment Bella turned around, the other people on the plane also saw everything outside.
Then—
For the first few seconds, people's expressions were blank.
This was not only because the scene outside surpassed their understanding, but also because they couldn't quite believe their own eyes.
But once everyone realized they weren't dreaming—
everyone, all of them, burst into high-pitched screams within an extremely short time!
Because they discovered that outside the airplane, high above in the sky, there was actually a person waving at them—ah, pui!
It was a huge pelican carrying a plump capybara and flying—
The moment this common-sense-defying image appeared, the passengers on the plane screamed wildly as if they'd seen a ghost!
However, the screams on the screen didn't bring fear to the people outside the screen.
Not only that, the ridiculous image instead made the audience outside the screen burst into laughter.
"Oh—Api flying on a pelican? What kind of crazy idea is this?"
"How can a pelican carry Api's heavy body? This image is just—"
"Hahaha—this shot is really interesting! If the pelican could talk, I think it would say, 'I'm carrying a mountain!'"
"My God! Why do I feel like the capybara is the funniest character in this animation? Although he doesn't have many scenes, his design is so fun! I really want to hug him!"
"Mom! I want to buy an Api!"
"Mom! I want Bella and Api!"
"Mom! I want Bella, Api, and Atu!"
The sudden desire that filled the theater in a short time made Isabella, sitting in the best viewing seat, very happy.
She shook her little tail—
Although she didn't want to be a vulgar person, at this moment, she still had to admit that the biggest thing she was thinking right now was that Bella, Atu, and Api might already be worth tens of billions.
Mm.
Even though the current her could unscrupulously do some pirate work, robbing had always been a temporary business.
It had never become, and could never become, a long-term business.
Wasn't that right?
Not to mention—
How could places without civilization understand success and fame?
Achievements had been obtained, and reputation had been gained.
As for money?
There was also a phrase called gaining both fame and profit.
I don't care about money, because money will come by itself.
No matter what kind of movie it was, the transition between acts was the little dessert inside the main story.
Precisely because of this, after adjusting the atmosphere of the story and blowing away the sadness; after adjusting the audience's emotions and giving everyone a relatively cheerful feeling; the narrative related to the second act of The God of Cookery officially began.
This section's plot was actually very simple.
It was relatively similar to Isabella's original concept.
After arriving in Paris and finding the restaurant of the legendary God of Cookery, Durand, the three little ones discovered that there was a notice pasted at the entrance of the old God of Cookery's restaurant. It said that the restaurant would operate until the end of this month, after which it would be closed forever.
This fact gave the three little ones a bad feeling. After they carefully slipped into the restaurant and explained why they'd come, the 82-year-old God of Cookery, Durand, personally received them and explained the reason for the closure.
"I actually don't want to close the restaurant. I don't want to leave the kitchen that has accompanied me for my entire life, but—"
"All stories have endings, and my story has already reached the end of its telling."
"Two years ago, I developed Parkinson's disease. This is a neurological disease."
"The symptoms it causes in me are muscle stiffness throughout my body, and my hands tremble uncontrollably."
"I worked hard and tried to control it for two years, but unfortunately, last month, I discovered that medication no longer had much effect on me. No matter how hard I tried, I could no longer firmly grip the chef's knife that had accompanied me for decades."
"When all of this appeared, I knew that God was telling me the era that belonged to me had ended."
"I could—"
"leave the stage."
The news that the God of Cookery was ill left the three little ones somewhat stunned.
Although Atu still wanted to say something and try to fight for a chance, before she could even speak, the restaurant staff had already served tea and sent the guests away.
The door closing again left the three little ones somewhat regretful.
And just when they didn't know where the road of learning would lead, the turning point of the second act appeared that very night.
The place where the three little ones were staying was right across from Durand's restaurant.
At night, when everything was quiet, Bella suddenly discovered that Durand's restaurant, which should have long since gone dark, was actually flickering with firelight?
Bella thought Durand's restaurant had caught fire, so she hurried over in a panic to rescue them.
But after she dashed into the restaurant, she discovered that the dancing flame she'd seen earlier was actually the God of Cookery, Durand, struggling to cook.
Because the old God of Cookery could no longer grip the handle of the wok firmly, the flame that should have burned evenly after touching the bottom of the pan instead danced, under his trembling control, a dance of fate called "unwillingness" but also "must accept."
And because the old God of Cookery could no longer hold the pan steadily, as he trembled, the ingredients inside the pan flew everywhere.
If Bella hadn't arrived in time, God of Cookery Durand might have been hit squarely by the pan in his own hands.
And precisely because Bella arrived in time, Durand decided to take her as his apprentice.
Yes.
In the second act of The God of Cookery, the plot where the God of Cookery passes on his skills was arranged this simply.
The "family dispute" from Isabella's original concept was completely cut by The God of Cookery's directors, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. This was not to say that the idea of a "family dispute" was vulgar. Uh—although that idea was indeed quite vulgar.
Rather, it was because the narrative length of animated films was very limited, and the target audience was usually younger children.
The former meant that limited runtime made too many twists make the whole film feel cluttered.
The latter meant that when children's thinking was still relatively simple and their brains couldn't process too much information, putting in too much plot would make the film exhausting for them. And this viewing feeling of being "tired" would affect the movie's word of mouth and box office.
This was also why people generally only said there were metaphors in a certain animated film, rather than saying animated films had direct exposition.
Of course, the disappearance of the old plot meant the appearance of a new plot. And the new plot was this: Bella's successful apprenticeship gave her the chance to show herself.
When she followed the legendary God of Cookery Durand's request and made a table of her signature dishes so Durand could understand her cooking skills, her smooth and flowing cooking techniques, along with the final result that was excellent in color, aroma, and taste, surprised Durand greatly.
In Durand's eyes, Bella's cooking skills were excellent.
Although she hadn't reached the true God of Cookery realm, her technique had already far surpassed ordinary people.
It was impossible for her to fail even the audition of the World God of Cookery Competition.
So he wanted to know whether Bella, when introducing herself, had been a little too modest.
The God of Cookery's recognition made Bella very happy, and made Atu even more excited.
She immediately shouted loudly that Bella had failed the audition because she'd suffered unfair treatment!
After Durand learned that both the audition judge of the God of Cookery Competition and his student, Hell's Kitchen God of Cookery Gordon, had labeled Bella as a pass without even tasting her cooking, the old man immediately became so angry that his whole body trembled, his fury blazing—
"These people are simply insulting cuisine! Insulting the identity of a chef! Insulting the title of God of Cookery!"
"They're not worthy of picking up a kitchen knife or a cooking pan at all!! They must get out of the culinary world!!"
"Bella, in the time that follows, you must properly learn cooking from me! I will teach you everything I've accumulated throughout my life! You must become, and have to become, the next God of Cookery!"
"When that time comes, I want you to tell those beasts who have already been alienated—"
"Cuisine can be defined, but the only thing that can define it is taste!"
"The meaning of cuisine's existence is to satisfy everyone's taste buds!"
"As long as you long to create better flavors, you can pick up a kitchen knife and cooking pan and become a chef!"
"As long as you love it, anyone can cook!"
The old man's roar gave the three little ones on the screen a sense of relief, because they'd been the ones suppressed earlier.
And now?
With the legendary God of Cookery backing them up, killing their way back was obviously going to happen!
The old man's roar also received cheers from all the audience members outside the screen.
Film was the art of light and shadow, but what it told was still a story.
If a story couldn't make people feel satisfied—
then in the commercial field built by capital, it was a failure.
The old man's roaring voice ignited Bella's flame of revenge.
In the time that followed—
perhaps because the scum in the circle had angered the old man?
Or perhaps because the power of the heart was the strongest.
When teaching Bella cooking, the old man directly overcame the pain of Parkinson's disease and picked up the kitchen knife and cooking pan again.
And because the old man was proficient in all kinds of culinary arts and could casually produce dishes from every school of cuisine, when Bella said she wanted to participate in the God of Cookery Competition as a British chef, the old man directly began teaching her the British culinary principles she desired most.
But at the same time, the old man also began correcting Bella's mistakes.
"Bella."
"Mm?"
"Do you know? All outstanding dishes in this world are actually created through fusion."
"What?"
"Do you know why I get angry when other people say fish and chips is an inferior dish?"
"Why?"
"Because fish and chips wasn't originally one dish, but two dishes. They were fried fish and chips."
As the sun set, legendary God of Cookery Durand, standing in golden light, revealed a smile full of memories.
"Chips as a dish actually originated in Belgium. Hundreds of years ago, Belgians had already made the chips we see today. Because they tasted good, they spread across the world through all kinds of ways."
"The reason chips became a classic dish in your Britain is because Britain is rich in potatoes."
"Excellent potatoes."
"And fried fish—"
"Although it's no longer possible to verify where the dish of fried fish truly came from, because any seaside civilization had the possibility of inventing this dish, the reason it became popular and could appear all over the world was because Britain invented the train."
"The appearance of steam trains changed the whole world. They made people's travel more convenient, and also made the transportation of goods more convenient. When people living inland tasted fish from the coast because of steam trains—"
"fried fish and chips finally combined with each other."
At this point, perhaps because he was tired, God of Cookery Durand suddenly stopped his narration.
But perhaps past memories had made him think of something else?
After pursing his lips, emotion rose on his face—
"Bella, I'm telling you these things because I want to tell you that cuisine is something that can constantly evolve and constantly change."
"There's a good idea in French cuisine?"
"Okay, then I can use that idea in Italian cuisine."
"There are special and interesting techniques in the cooking methods of the Americas?"
"Then why can't I use that technique to cook dishes from Oceania?"
"Blindly insisting that the cuisine of one place alone is orthodox is an extremely foolish act."
"Mocking the cuisine of other places doesn't make someone look high and mighty. Instead, it makes everyone think that person is arrogant and ignorant."
"So—"
"The judges of the God of Cookery Competition said fish and chips were bad?"
"Oh—in my eyes, that's simply denying Britain's contribution to the development of modern technology, mocking all coastal countries, mocking those who like eating fried fish, and mocking Belgian food culture, because chips were invented by them."
"When a person is extremely arrogant and doesn't respect the food in their hands, they can't make good cuisine."
"Of course, if your heart is full of hatred, and you only want to prove that other people's words are wrong, then—"
"you will also fall into a trap that seems like mist."
"I think—"
"you should understand what I mean?"
At this point, God of Cookery Durand finally stopped.
He tilted his head slightly and smiled at Bella.
That figure wrapped in sunset light—
was warm and tall.