Guangdong Culinary Federation, a pitch-black room.
A faint candlelight flickered from the center of a square table, illuminating four faces, some mature, some aged. If Dylan were here, he would certainly recognize two of the four seated individuals: Master Baiyao and Granny Deft Hands. Each occupied one side of the table.
"Come in."
A knock sounded at the door. Granny Deft Hands glanced up and spoke softly.
The door opened, and a beautiful young maid entered carrying a tray. She first bowed to those in the room, then placed the tray in the center of the table.
On the tray was the Wine-Fragrant Mock Steak Dylan had made, though it was now cold.
"So this is the dish that young friend made? It looks quite ordinary."
Observing the unremarkable dish before him, one of the four—a round, chubby man with squinting eyes—remarked.
"Fatty An, this Wine-Fragrant Mock Steak may look ordinary, but it is anything but. Don't be fooled by its appearance! Even though it's a bit cold now, I guarantee its flavor is still no less than that of a luminous dish."
Hearing the chubby man's words, Granny Deft Hands snorted coldly. She watched the maid carefully divide the dish and place portions on their individual plates, then waved her away.
"I only said it looked ordinary, not that it tasted bad. You're as impatient as ever, Deft Hands."
Fatty An chuckled, not angered by Granny Deft Hands' nickname for him, merely refocusing his gaze on the plate before him with renewed scrutiny. From the outside, it looked like a very plain pan-fried steak, and he had only been given such a small piece—truly stingy.
"Alright, alright, now's not the time for arguing. Hurry up and taste young friend Dylan's cooking."
After their conversation that night, Master Baiyao's way of referring to Dylan had elevated from 'young friend' to 'younger brother'. The richness of Dylan's culinary knowledge had been quite an eye-opener, even for him. How could a boy barely twenty years old know so much?! Who on earth had taught him! And this dish before them did indeed look plain. If it hadn't been made by Dylan, he probably wouldn't have given it a second glance!
"I actually think it looks quite good. To interpret a mock steak to this degree, that fellow's technique is definitely top-tier."
A man in green clothes and a conical hat, with a scruffy beard and a wine gourd hanging from his waist, spoke up. He had a toothpick dangling from his lips. As he spoke, he reached out, picked up the entire piece of mock steak, popped it into his mouth, and closed his eyes.
"Zhang Xingyuan, pay a little attention to your image. You do realize you're one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Guangdong Culinary Federation, right? Looking like that, people will mistake you for some drunkard. It truly damages the Federation's image!"
Seeing the scruffy man's sloppy appearance, Granny Deft Hands frowned, quite displeased. This fellow had absolutely no sense of decorum!
"Why care so much about what others think? Living happily is what matters most. If you worry about this and that, time slips away before you know it. Where's the time to research cooking? To enjoy delicious food?"
"This really is quite good. It's just a shame it's cold. If it were hot, the flavor could probably be even better. But even cold, it's fantastic!"
Chewing the mock beef in his mouth, Zhang Xingyuan nodded as he savored the taste, feeling the aroma run rampant in his mouth. That sensation, like a child discovering treasure, brought back the joys of his childhood!
"I see now. He cleverly used fire and wine, no wonder the aroma was completely sealed within the mock beef. One bite is like opening a treasure chest of fragrance! What a treat!" Fatty An couldn't help but exclaim. Any lingering trace of underestimation he held for Dylan vanished without a trace, replaced by a faint sense of crisis. Because he was the weakest among the Four Heavenly Kings.
"Younger brother Dylan has actually reached this level. He truly cannot be regarded as an ordinary person. Judging by this dish alone, he possesses the skill of at least a Six-Star Special Grade Chef!" Master Baiyao stated his judgment. He had tasted the cuisine of many Six-Star Special Grade Chefs and could naturally discern the level of this dish.
"That's impossible! I don't deny his strength is formidable, but reaching Six-Star Special Grade at such a young age... thinking about it is still too outrageous!" Fatty An frowned, seemingly unwilling to believe a mere kid could be his equal. Even though the dish before him was of a high standard, that couldn't possibly mean he had reached the level of a Six-Star Special Grade Chef, could it!
"I only said this dish reached the level of Six-Star Special Grade; I didn't say younger brother Dylan is a Six-Star Special Grade Chef. Don't twist my meaning." Facing Fatty An's somewhat defensive reaction, Master Baiyao couldn't help but feel speechless. Still, younger brother Dylan truly gave him surprises. He either didn't make a move, or when he did, he presented a Six-Star level luminous dish!
"It's also possible he's even higher than Six-Star. No one said this represents his full strength. Whether it was pushing his limits or just a casual creation makes a huge difference." Smacking his lips, savoring the lingering taste, Zhang Xingyuan offered his perspective, a playful glint in his eyes. This dish, though delicious, lacked the chef's passion. In other words, it was likely a casual creation from Dylan.
"That's even more impossible! His age is right there! Even if he started cooking the moment he was born, he absolutely couldn't be Six-Star! As for Seven-Star, that's even more impossible! That's the level required for state banquet chefs!" Fatty An retorted bluntly. He wasn't happy about this kid being his equal; how could he possibly let him surpass him?
"Regardless, Dylan's status as a Five-Star Special Grade Chef is certain. He's definitely the strongest junior we've ever seen! Now, let's think about how to recruit him." Granny Deft Hands tapped her fingers on the table, preparing to discuss a recruitment plan with them. If they could get Dylan on their side, the Guangdong Culinary Federation could definitely experience a resurgence!
"How can we recruit him? We offered him a future spot among the Four Heavenly Kings, and he still refused." Fatty An pursed his lips. Recruiting a powerhouse was exceedingly difficult. For someone like him, gaining status wasn't hard, so using status as leverage would surely be met with obstacles.
"A spot decades from now? Anyone can see that's not sincere. For a genius who hasn't fully emerged, perhaps. But for a powerhouse who has already established himself, it's somewhat insulting. We need a new plan!" Granny Deft Hands rolled her eyes and retorted irritably. She didn't know if this fellow was genuinely clueless or just playing dumb. Offering a position potentially decades away as a bargaining chip to an already renowned powerhouse showed no sincerity at all! Perhaps Dylan refused them precisely because of this.
"Enough arguing. A genius of this level isn't meant for just one place like ours. He belongs to all of China, a national talent. Don't mention recruitment again." Seeing the argument escalating, Zhang Xingyuan slapped the table, his expression turning serious. This immediately silenced Fatty An, who swallowed the words he was about to say. Granny Deft Hands also sat up straighter and said no more.
"Just maintain a good relationship with him for now. When the opportunity arises, I will personally go and test him, see if he's truly as formidable as we think!" Delivering the final word, although Zhang Xingyuan's image wasn't the best, once he made a decision, no one present dared to object. Clearly, he was the leader here, otherwise, he wouldn't command such obedience.
"Meeting adjourned."
With that, Zhang Xingyuan stood up and left the room. The others exchanged glances, then also rose and departed one by one. Among them, Granny Deft Hands and Master Baiyao left together, while Fatty An went alone.
A week passed after the Special Grade examination. This week was a rest period. Dylan moved into the villa provided by Wang Wanqing. He also tidied up the spare rooms for Li Wanwan, Kinokuni Sonoka, Kakuzaki Taki, and Hojo Miyoko to move into. These four were his primary students. Wang Wanqing would come over every day at mealtimes, ostensibly to check on their practice, but actually to freeload meals.
This day.
"Although it's not the first time I've seen it, your basics are really too poor. How did you even pass the First-Class Chef exam? Are the standards in Japan really that low!" Observing Kinokuni Sonoka's unevenly cut vegetable shreds, which were worse than even an average Second-Class Chef's, Dylan couldn't help but frown tightly.
"Over there, the main assessment is the taste of the dish, not these fundamentals. Besides, for Western cuisine, knife skills aren't that important, right?" Because her primary focus was Western cuisine, which emphasized ingredient selection and processing, seasoning and sauces, and plating and presentation, fundamentals like knife skills, which required significant practice time, were generally treated with an "enough is enough" attitude, as long as they weren't terribly poor.
"That won't do. If you want to reach the pinnacle in any type of cuisine, to become the strongest, your fundamentals must be solid. Don't tell me Western cuisine doesn't need knife skills. Don't you need side dishes when making sauces? Don't you need to cut vegetables for plating? A small difference in detail might not change much, but accumulating many small differences becomes significant!" Seeing Kinokuni Sonoka dare to talk back, Dylan directly smacked her bottom with the bamboo stick in his hand, causing the girl to suck in a breath sharply from the sting. His own face remained utterly expressionless. When it came to teaching, he was always very serious!
"And you, stop snickering over there. While your knife skills are barely passable, your imagination is utterly lacking! You couldn't even pass the First-Class Chef examination, what a useless fellow! I already gave you hints for today's themed dish. If you still can't make it well, don't blame me for giving you a good thrashing with the bamboo stick!" Noticing Li Wanwan trying to stifle a laugh nearby, Dylan retorted irritably. This one's fundamentals were well-polished, but she lacked the necessary imagination of a chef. Kinokuni Sonoka, on the other hand, excelled in that aspect. Sensing this, Dylan felt quite speechless and spent a day devising targeted training plans for them.
As for Kakuzaki Taki and Hojo Miyoko, both their knife skills and creativity were decent, developing quite evenly without significant weaknesses. Especially Kakuzaki Taki, truly worthy of being the second seat at Totsuki Academy that year, possessing skills slightly above the mid-level of a First-Class Chef. However, at this stage, further improvement relied solely on polishing the details of her cooking. Thus, Dylan assigned her Fujian cuisine's "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall," a dish with incredibly rich ingredients, each requiring different handling methods! The dried abalone needed several days of soaking, the soup required over ten hours of simmering, and ingredients had to be added sequentially into the pot based on their cooking times. It tested a chef's skill immensely and was very time-consuming. It could be said that successfully completing "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" while ensuring its flavor would significantly elevate Kakuzaki Taki's culinary techniques.
Hojo Miyoko's task was to deepen her understanding of various fundamentals, master new dishes, and enrich her experience in the process.
Thus, everyone present had their tasks. Those who failed to complete them would receive a spanking from Dylan with the bamboo stick at the end of the day. There was an element of punishment involved, but also a touch of Dylan's mischievousness. After several days together, everyone understood Dylan's nature, but no one complained, clearly accepting it. While Dylan's handsomeness and their lack of dislike played a part, the bigger reason was that they genuinely hadn't performed well and needed a way to push themselves forward. Embarrassment was quite a good motivator!
"Move faster, don't let me see you slacking! Otherwise, don't blame my bamboo stick for being merciless! Miyoko, is salt free? Adding so much?! Take it back and remake it! Eat all the food first!" Looking at the dish Hojo Miyoko presented, Dylan tasted only one bite before sending it back, pointing out the flaw and telling her to remake it.
"Yes, Teacher Dylan!" Hojo Miyoko was highly motivated. After finishing the dish in her hand, she immediately returned to her cooking station and started cooking passionately again.
"Sonoka, your knife skills have improved quite a bit this time, but your wok tossing... forget it, let's not waste ingredients. Go practice tossing sand 1000 times first!" Walking over to Kinokuni Sonoka's side and observing the state of the vegetables in her wok, Dylan couldn't help but rub his temples, then had her start from the basics.
"..."
"If you 'eh' again, I'll smack you! Hurry up and go!"
"Yes! Teacher Dylan!"
Seeing Kinokuni Sonoka looking reluctant, Dylan showed no mercy just because she was pretty, instead raising the bamboo stick in his hand. In his kitchen, his word was law! Anyone who disobeyed would be expelled! Unless they could truly impress him with their reasoning, then he might even offer a reward. This was the role of a head chef, coordinating all the flavors in the kitchen! Otherwise, with a thousand people having a thousand standards, the quality of dishes reaching the customers would vary wildly!
Ding dong~
Just as Dylan was contemplating, a clear doorbell sound pulled his thoughts back.
"Is Wanqing here? It's not mealtime yet. She's early today."
Dylan glanced at Kinokuni Sonoka, who had picked up a wok full of sand and gone to a corner of the kitchen to practice wok tossing, then left the kitchen.
Soon, he arrived at the villa's main entrance. However, opening the door revealed not Wang Wanqing, but a middle-aged man around forty years old.
"Uncle, who are you looking for? Or did you come to the wrong place?"
Looking at the unfamiliar man with a serious expression, Dylan tilted his head in confusion, speculating inwardly.
"I'm looking for my daughter, Li Wanwan. She should be here, right?"
"In the kitchen. Come with me." Hearing the middle-aged uncle's words, Dylan slapped his forehead as if suddenly realizing something, then led him towards the kitchen.
The middle-aged uncle was momentarily stunned by Dylan's straightforwardness, then nodded and followed closely behind him.
Soon, he saw the young girls fighting hard in the kitchen, sweating profusely, trying their best to perfectly interpret the dishes before them.
"Dad, why are you here?" The middle-aged uncle had just appeared when Li Wanwan spotted him. She immediately put down the wok ladle in her hand and trotted over to him.
"Your focus in cooking isn't good enough. Looking around like this, how can you possibly cook well!" Dylan was about to speak when the middle-aged uncle preempted him, sternly reprimanding her, a hint of blame in his tone. As a chef, the biggest taboo was looking around while cooking. Lack of concentration made it impossible to cook well!
"I know! Dad, why did you come here?" Li Wanwan wasn't discouraged by his words at all, instead asking about her father's purpose in coming. As she spoke, she glanced towards Dylan, a trace of worry in her eyes.
"I heard you found a teacher, not yet twenty but already passed the Guangzhou Special Grade examination. I came specially to pay a visit. It must be this young man, right? Truly a fine-looking talent." As he spoke, the middle-aged man turned his gaze towards Dylan, cupped his hands slightly in greeting, but his eyes held a scrutinizing look. Such a young junior actually passed the notoriously difficult Guangzhou Special Grade examination!?
"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Dylan. May I ask your esteemed name?" Seeing the other party being so polite, Dylan naturally wouldn't give him the cold shoulder, also raising his arms in a cupped-fist salute.
"Li Xiang, currently the head chef of Xianglan Restaurant. I came this time hoping to have a culinary spar with you. Having just passed the Special Grade, you probably haven't competed against a Special Grade chef yet, right? A match with me can also help you understand what a Special Grade chef truly is!" Li Xiang stated his purpose. Hearing that his daughter had found a Special Grade chef as a teacher, he was initially worried she had been deceived. But after inquiring at the Guangdong Culinary Federation, he found there really was such a Special Grade chef under twenty. Still, he felt uneasy. So, after careful consideration, he came knocking. For a chef, the best way to gain trust was through a match, showcasing each other's skills and tasting each other's cooking.
"Spar with me? Excellent! I've been feeling stifled lately! Been wanting to find someone for a match! Since you run a Hunan restaurant, let's make Hunan cuisine the theme. You decide the specific ingredients. If I win this match, I hope you can answer a question for me." Dylan said excitedly. He had encountered so many people avoiding battle for various reasons these past few days. Finally, he could fight a Special Grade chef. Moreover, the other party had been in Guangzhou for so long; perhaps he knew the whereabouts of what he was looking for!
"Alright, let's do as you say." At this moment, Li Xiang felt this kid was unbelievably arrogant, so he decided to use his full strength to teach him a lesson, then take his daughter away. Such an arrogant kid definitely couldn't teach his daughter well!
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