"Oh~ Durand said that so well~ This is what a God of Cookery should look like~"
"The meaning of cuisine's existence is to satisfy people's taste buds? That sentence is really too right!"
"Modern cuisine is all the fusion of cultures? Durand's insight is truly full of poetry!"
"Compared with Durand, the chefs who appeared earlier are all clowns! Clowns who only know how to grandstand!"
"Only a heart that can contain everything can make the best cuisine! Durand is the true God of Cookery!"
Most animated films have some kind of chicken-soup-style preaching in them.
There's also a reason for this design:
First, animated films also belong to the category of works of art, and everyone who does art more or less wants to add a bit of depth to their own work. Otherwise, they'll feel uncomfortable all over.
Second, the final runtime of animated films is even more fixed than live-action films. When the total number of frames in an animated film generally doesn't exceed 13,000 frames, expressing the core of the work through preaching is the depth display that best fits commercial planning!
For example, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda.
Many golden lines that movie fans, or rather audiences, like were all presented by Master Oogway through preaching.
Precisely because of this, when the production team wanted to add their own depth to The God of Cookery, directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois decisively embraced the iron law of the industry that their predecessors had summarized with their lives: animated films that choose metaphor generally don't have very pretty box office results.
If a movie's box office isn't good, that means the movie's spread is very limited.
And if a movie's spread is very limited?
Then even if the production team hides a pile of truths inside it, no one will know, right?
After The God of Cookery's production team clearly expressed the content they most wanted to express—that is, the whitewashing content of "British food is not bad"—the second act of The God of Cookery, "the God of Cookery passing on his skills," officially ended too.
Through a sharp and beautiful training montage, The God of Cookery welcomed its third act.
It was also the final act.
That was the God of Cookery Competition:
Bella, who was so absorbed in training that she couldn't extricate herself, directly forgot the time.
If Atu hadn't reminded her, she might have missed the 119th World God of Cookery Competition.
Although Bella ultimately arrived at the audition site in a frantic rush, right at the last moment, the haste along the way didn't affect her performance. She passed the audition with a beautiful bouillabaisse.
This was a classic dish in French cuisine.
It used European tuna as the main core, paired with other sea fish and shrimp, as well as garlic, onion, tomato, olive oil, fennel, saffron, thyme, bay leaves, and dried orange peel, all simmered together.
That's right.
Bella made French cuisine during the audition.
This action didn't mean that she'd abandoned her identity as a British chef.
Rather, Legendary God of Cookery Durand had said that cuisine had no national borders. Excellent cuisine could embrace all rivers and contain everything.
After the formal competition began, Bella, who drew the beef theme, made bistecca alla Fiorentina.
This was an Italian dish.
The steak was taken from the sirloin part of a Chianina young bull or heifer.
Put the bone-in loin steak onto the grill and roast it until medium rare, and that was okay.
The moment the warm, red steak appeared, Bella immediately received unanimous praise from all the judges.
"Oh—very good!"
"Fantastic!"
"This taste—it reminds me of an old friend—he was a legendary God of Cookery—"
"Yeah~ I also thought of someone~ That was the French God of Cookery, Durand—he hasn't formally appeared in public for a long time—"
Although Bella passed both the audition and the promotion round with full marks, the smoothness on the screen still didn't look satisfying enough.
Because the judge who had previously dissed Bella and the Hell's Kitchen God of Cookery who'd looked down on her cooking had still not recognized their mistakes.
And if the villains who'd stepped on the protagonist weren't overturned?
How could the audience watching the movie possibly gain emotional satisfaction and mental clarity?
So—
When the finals arrived, the audience beneath the screen discovered that Gordon was among the judges of the 119th World God of Cookery Competition!
Moreover, the host of the 119th World God of Cookery Competition finals was the judge who'd previously refused to taste Bella's cooking!
When this coincidence appeared—
Cough, cough, cough—
Those who understand, understand!
The audience below the screen immediately became energized!
Bella, or rather directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, didn't disappoint everyone either. The moment the competition began, Bella started cooking with a clean and efficient posture, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves!
Because the finals' topic was a dinner.
For the pre-meal appetizer, Bella chose smoked salmon from French cuisine.
The vertically rolled salmon stood on the toast like a tall tower.
The pitch-black caviar could enrich its texture.
The dill inserted at the top could provide it with a nutty aroma.
For the main course, Bella chose Beef Wellington. This was a classic British dish.
Beef marinated with salt and pepper would be extremely tender.
The mushroom sauce stir-fried together with onion, thyme, rosemary, and garlic would carry an aromatic feeling.
When the two were wrapped in puff pastry, the delicious meat pie that had been popular in Britain for several centuries appeared.
Finally, for dessert, Bella chose the very famous panna cotta from Italian cuisine. Panna cotta was made with milk, light cream, and gelatin sheets as its core ingredients.
With just simple heating, they'd merge together.
Then they'd be chilled until set.
Then drizzle on some caramel.
A crystal-clear panna cotta that made people drool was finished.
Because Bella exploded with her small universe the moment the whistle sounded, the instant she picked up the kitchen knife, she became the brightest star in the entire competition venue!
The aura that suddenly rose caused countless exclamations to appear inside the finals venue of the God of Cookery Competition.
"Wow—"
"Amazing!"
"That is—that is—that is the holy light sent down by God???"
Her clever and capable figure made all the audience below the screen reveal happy auntie smiles.
"Oh! This is glowing cuisine, right? It's glowing cuisine, right? This is really too interesting!"
"Bella is so cute when she gets serious! Although she's cute when she isn't serious too!"
"Okay! When Bella can cut out seven patterns with one stroke of the knife, this entire competition has already lost all suspense!"
Amid everyone's discussion, Bella completed her work.
At the same time she put down the cooking pan, the staff of the God of Cookery Competition also presented her dishes to the judges, letting everyone taste them one by one.
The vast majority of the judges of the World God of Cookery Competition showed full recognition of Bella's cooking skills.
Gordon, who had previously denied Bella, and the judge who'd discriminated against her during the audition—the current host—put on a face-changing show.
Their faces turned green, then purple.
It seemed as if they couldn't believe their own taste buds?
But it seemed even more like they had no choice but to accept Bella's strength.
In any case, after they slowly and painfully swallowed the dishes Bella had made, their faces were directly filled with awkwardness that was hard to hold in.
Probably because he wanted to maintain his authority?
After pretending to be a gentleman and wiping his mouth with a napkin, the host directly nitpicked while talking around the issue: "Contestant Bella, do you not know that in the field of cuisine, every major culinary school has its own unity and uniqueness?"
"After choosing Beef Wellington as your main course, I'd like to know why you also chose smoked salmon from French cuisine and panna cotta from Italian cuisine as your appetizer and after-meal dessert?"
"Do you not know that this kind of pairing doesn't conform to culinary-school standards?"
"Or should I say, you're not actually a—British chef?"
"You simply look down on your own country's British cuisine?"
The trap-filled words, packed with hatred, made Bella curl the corner of her mouth.
Bella shook her tail while lifting her chest and raising her head, looking around.
Finally, she met the eyes of the person who'd disliked her from the very beginning.
"Host, if I remember correctly, the competition I'm taking part in right now should be the World God of Cookery Competition, right?"
"The participant handbook of the World God of Cookery Competition doesn't seem to say that only chefs from one single school are welcome to take part, right?"
"So, an appetizer from French cuisine? A main course from British cuisine? A dessert from Italian cuisine? This kind of pairing—"
"shouldn't violate the rules of the competition, right?"
The moment this justified question appeared, the host's face instantly darkened!
Because the current him couldn't answer Bella's question!
"This kind of pairing certainly doesn't violate the rules of the competition!"
Seeing that his partner had been put on the spot by Bella and couldn't get off the stage, Hell's Kitchen God of Cookery Gordon quickly took over the conversation.
He stared sharply at Bella, speaking word by word as he helped one of his own: "However, all culinary schools are vast and profound. Any chef who wants to master one culinary school needs to spend their entire life grinding and studying it."
"Therefore, Bella, when you displayed French cuisine, British cuisine, and Italian cuisine to us at the same time in the finals of the World God of Cookery Competition, we have reason to suspect whether you, Bella, only know how to make these three dishes."
"If that's the case, then you can't possibly receive the title of God of Cookery!"
"If not—"
"Bella, your choice makes us feel very strange!"
"What does everyone think?"
Perhaps he knew that his words couldn't stand?
So he wanted to obtain some recognition from the other judges?
Or perhaps he felt that his own momentum was a little weak?
In any case, while throwing out his difficult question, the Hell's Kitchen God of Cookery also cast a help-seeking question toward the other judges beside him.
And this—
the other judges present looked at each other with wide eyes.
None of them understood why Gordon, a British World God of Cookery, wanted to make things difficult for a contestant from his own country.
Although everyone knew that if they helped Gordon eliminate Bella, then this year's World God of Cookery might fall to their country.
But—
"Gordon, our World God of Cookery Competition has always looked only at the result, not the process."
"If someone can rely on specialty dishes to kill their way into the finals and obtain our recognition, then even if he isn't proficient in any single cuisine, he can still receive the title of World God of Cookery, because he's walked a path that belongs to himself."
"So—"
"I think your doubt doesn't hold up."
A judge with a big head and thick neck, the sort who was either a tycoon or a cook, expressed his opinion.
And before his words had even fallen, the other judges also nodded one after another and voiced their support—
"I think the same."
"That's right. If a chef can gather the strengths of many schools and create his own distinctive cuisine, then he can also be a God of Cookery."
"A God of Cookery doesn't necessarily have to be proficient in Italian cuisine, French cuisine, or any other cuisine. As long as the dishes he makes are delicious, then he can be a God of Cookery."
"Yes! The meaning of cuisine's existence is to bring happiness to people! Not to be limited to a single technique!"
The denial from his peers made Gordon sigh!
The judges' support also made Bella smile!
At this moment, she felt that the World God of Cookery Competition, which had existed for a hundred years, was still fair.
The scattered darkness only meant that part of the system had become rotten.
So she smiled and answered Gordon's question.
"Judge Gordon, I can understand how you feel right now, but I don't agree with what you're saying right now."
"Admittedly, every cuisine in this world is complex."
"If one wants to touch its true essence, one must study it properly."
"But cuisine systems, good food, and cooking skill are three different things."
"In my view, a cuisine system refers to the dishes that the people of a certain place like to eat. It represents the classic flavors of a region."
"Good food refers to all delicious things in the world. It represents the mutual fusion of countless cultures."
"And cooking skill—"
"is how many delicious things a chef can bring to everyone."
"So, if we're now discussing opening a restaurant focused on a single cuisine, for example, a French restaurant, then of course I'd have to follow the dining habits of the French people and try my best to reproduce the flavors French people like in every dish in the restaurant."
"But if we're discussing good food, discussing cooking skill—"
"then we shouldn't restrict our vision to a single cuisine."
"We need to embrace broader possibilities."
"Therefore, you, and also the host, asked me why I displayed three cuisines in one dinner?"
"It's very simple."
"Because among today's judges, there are British people, French people, and Italian people."
"I only wanted to use my actual actions to tell everyone that in my eyes, the best cooking skill is making diners satisfied."
"My pursuit in cooking is to make delicious food."
"Whoosh—"
Endless applause rang out at the finals venue of the World God of Cookery Competition!
The premiere venue of The God of Cookery was the same!
As the screen darkened and the lights came on, the screening of The God of Cookery also reached its end!
After the main creative team went onstage to be interviewed, the huge theater once again became like a bamboo forest after rain, with countless spring shoots emerging.
"Hey! Isa! The God of Cookery is the best animated film I've seen this year, so can you talk to us about how this movie was born? Why did you think of making a movie like this?"
"Isa! First of all, congratulations on making another excellent movie! Then, I want to know, why did you suddenly think of making animation? Before this, you'd always been making live-action films!"
"Isa! Actually, as early as last year, after watching Prada, I was very surprised, because no one expected, no one expected that you'd insert the trailer for an animated film after your own live-action movie. So can you reveal where the idea for The God of Cookery came from? Was The God of Cookery born because you like animation?"
"Isa—I want to know, has Beaver Entertainment reached a deep cooperation with Disney? As far as I know, the directors of The God of Cookery, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, came from Disney?"
"Isa! How far do you think the box office of The God of Cookery can go?"
"Isa! Will The God of Cookery have a sequel?"
"Isa! Is The God of Cookery only holding its premiere in London? I didn't see any information about its American premiere!"
"Isa! According to my observation, there are no songs you created in The God of Cookery. Is that because filming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was extremely busy? You had no time to write songs for The God of Cookery?"
"Isa! Is Gordon in The God of Cookery Gordon Ramsay? If so—I want to know, do you have some prejudice against Gordon Ramsay? Because on the screen, he looks fierce and evil. Also, do you think that when Gordon Ramsay sees himself as portrayed by you in the movie, he will—get angry?"
"Isa—"
"Isa—"
"Isa—"
Although The God of Cookery wasn't an epic blockbuster—this was just a low-budget animated film. Isabella had only thrown a total of 125 million dollars into it, and this investment wasn't high in the field of animation.
But the current Isabella was a top star!
So, the moment the interview session began, reporters from all sides raised their hands one after another, scrambling to throw out their questions.
Facing everyone's questions, Isabella naturally said whatever there was to say.
She was already very familiar with interviews now.
So going through the whole session was relatively easy for her.
The only two difficult questions were the box-office estimate and the use of Gordon Ramsay's image.
Regarding the former—
Isabella thought for a moment and said, "Although I don't know how you all view The God of Cookery, if it doesn't earn 1 billion at the box office, I'll be very sad, because the groundwork related to it has existed for a very long time."
"My mini-disc, The Voice, Prada—The God of Cookery has appeared in all of these things."
"So—even if you think it's exaggerated, you can still write that my goal is to break 10."
"Of course, if it can break 20, that would be even better."
Regarding the latter—
Isabella smiled and said, "Gordon Ramsay is a chef I like. Although I've never eaten the food he makes, his witty language makes me feel that he's interesting. And Gordon in the movie is only Gordon."
"Gordon is just a pure God of Cookery."
"He may have Gordon Ramsay's characteristics, but he's not Gordon Ramsay himself."
Under normal circumstances, the press conference after a movie premiere lasted at most one hour. But today, perhaps because Isabella was too difficult to interview, everyone's enthusiasm directly drowned out the passage of time.
But there's no banquet in the world that doesn't end.
Seeing that it was about time, Isabella waved goodbye to everyone and embraced the pain of parting.
As if!
Work was finished?
Then people were happy!
How could there be pain?
Hehe~
With the end of The God of Cookery's premiere, the next day, reports related to it entered the public's view from every direction.
Almost all the media outlets that attended the premiere gave it full-score praise. All the film critics who'd obtained viewing opportunities were praising The God of Cookery's excellence. The overwhelming praise attracted the attention of everyone who liked entertainment.
Uh—
Fine.
There was a bit of a problem with this description.
Because the public's attention toward The God of Cookery appeared around the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Although The God of Cookery's global premiere was held in London, local British people didn't care about media reports.
As for the reason?
Very simple—
The end of The God of Cookery's premiere meant that The God of Cookery's British previews had begun.
And on July 21—
The God of Cookery earned a total of 7.21 million pounds from more than 1,500 cinemas in Britain!
After the time reached July 22—
"What did you say?"
"The God of Cookery's total preview box office is 14 million pounds?"
"It's already caught up with the previous Harry Potter film??"
West Coast time, July 23, nine in the morning.
Robert Iger had only just entered his office when he was stunned by The God of Cookery's preview results.
He raised his head in disbelief.
The secretary who'd come to report smiled and shrugged.
His meaning was very clear—
Yeah~ Boss, you heard correctly~