"You brat, you already possess the strength of a Six-Star Special Chef, don't you!"
Looking at the stooped little old man before him, Master Baiyao placed his chopsticks on the already empty plate and asked with considerable seriousness.
"I reached that level three years ago. It's quite amusing, really. I had already given up, but unexpectedly, after letting go, I unknowingly reached this realm."
Hearing Master Baiyao's question, a wry smile flickered across Lei Tianci's face as he recounted his journey to promotion.
"Your nerves were stretched too taut, that's why you couldn't grasp the technique. However, your accumulated experience was sufficient. Now that you've relaxed, your culinary skills have naturally advanced significantly!"
Master Baiyao's voice was tinged with emotion. Sometimes, being overly tense isn't beneficial; a balance of work and rest is crucial for steady progress.
"It's not too late to understand that now!"
Lei Tianci stated with a carefree air. After years of setbacks, his outlook on life had undergone a dramatic transformation.
"Without a doubt, this is an exceptionally outstanding creation. Personally, I'd give it nine points, and that's no exaggeration!"
Observing Lei Tianci's unburdened expression, Master Baiyao raised his hand and penned a 'nine' on the paper before him. Setting aside all else, the dazzling golden light alone made this Lizhuang White Meat dish worthy of nine points!
Moreover, the Lizhuang White Meat itself was a testament to consummate knife skills; anyone with slightly inferior technique would find it impossible to produce such thinly sliced meat.
"I didn't expect you to have advanced to Six Stars as well. As much as I'd like to find fault, your dish is genuinely excellent. I also give it nine points."
Fatty An wasn't particularly surprised to hear that Lei Tianci possessed the capabilities of a Six-Star Special Grade Chef.
As a rival who could compete with him in the past, Lei Tianci inherently had extraordinary talent and strength. However, the previous defeat had been too great a blow, making him desperate to break through, which resulted in him being stuck at Five-Star Special Grade.
Now, it seemed he had finally moved past it, advancing even further from his original foundation to reach the same realm as Fatty An.
"But once this competition is over, you should hurry and take the ranking examination. If nothing else, the pension for a Six-Star Special Grade Chef is several times higher than that of a Five-Star Chef."
Granny Qiaoshou teased half-jokingly, then also inscribed a 'nine' on her paper. There were still two even more formidable contestants yet to present. Awarding a ten too easily now would make things troublesome later.
"Twenty-seven points! For all three Heavenly Kings of the Guangzhou Chefs' Alliance to award nine points! It's truly incredible! You know, the Chaoshan Yusheng earlier only received seventeen points! Just how amazing must a dish be for three Heavenly Kings to simultaneously give such a high evaluation?!"
Someone exclaimed, mouth agape in shock, their heart pounding. Twenty-seven points, merely three points shy of a perfect score!
"If I saw correctly, that was golden light just now, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it's normal for a Five-Star Special Grade Chef to create a dish that emits golden light, but this is the first time I've ever seen a dish actually glow!"
"It seems the champion this time will most likely be him! With such a high score of twenty-seven points, I really can't imagine any dish surpassing it!"
As soon as the score of twenty-seven was announced, the venue erupted with intense discussion, everyone beginning to fantasize about the dish's exquisite taste.
"Even though it's all chili peppers, I really want to try it! Argh! Why am I just an audience member? I want to eat delicious food too!"
"Unfortunately, this chef has already retired. But you could visit Tianlan Restaurant, where he used to work. Perhaps the current head chef there can make it too."
"That makes sense! I'll call and make a reservation right now."
"Damn it! Go to hell, you cursed tryhards!"
"I wonder what kind of dishes the next two contestants will present. They also performed exceptionally well in the ice sculpture assessment!"
As the atmosphere in the venue was thoroughly ignited, all eyes turned to the Uncle in Green and Dylan. At that moment, the Uncle in Green completed his dish, placing the cooked fish onto a plate.
"This dish is called Sanxian Deboned Fish. It belongs to Su cuisine. Simply put, the entire fish is deboned, then stuffed with 'Sanxian' (three fresh delicacies), and is primarily cooked by pan-frying and braising."
Carrying the plate, he approached the three Heavenly Kings. Glancing at their faces, the Uncle in Green couldn't help but avert his gaze, simultaneously pressing his bamboo hat lower in an attempt to conceal his features.
"No need to hide; we knew it was you long ago. Honestly, with such a flamboyant outfit, it's unlikely we'd find a second person like you in all of Guangzhou! Only those in the audience who've never seen you would fail to recognize you. For anyone who knows you or has seen you, who wouldn't recognize your true identity?!"
Watching Zhang Xingyuan's actions, Granny Qiaoshou retorted, exasperated. With his attire, it would be stranger if anyone who knew him didn't recognize him!
"Haha, I've been recognized! Who cares? In a cooking competition, it's the deliciousness of the food that matters. Identity and such are just fleeting illusions; don't worry about them!"
"To actually stoop to competing with a junior, you truly are..."
Looking at the Uncle in Green laughing heartily before them, the three judges were somewhat at a loss for words. They averted their gazes and focused on the Sanxian Deboned Fish.
At this moment, the fish was covered by a lid. Master Baiyao didn't hesitate, reaching out to lift it.
Instantly, a dazzling golden light burst forth from the fish on the plate, causing most of the audience to instinctively shut their eyes!
The golden light dissipated, replaced by a continuous, flowing radiance that enveloped the surface of the fish, instantly elevating its perceived quality!
In contrast to the audience, who were unaware of what this layer of flowing radiance signified, the three Heavenly Kings of the Guangzhou Chefs' Alliance were stunned, their expressions somewhat dazed.
"I never imagined you were so proficient in Su cuisine, and that you could even create the legendary 'Flowing Radiance Dish'!"
Fatty An's voice held a subtle hint of jealousy. This fellow! A dish of the 'flowing radiance' caliber, and he made it look so effortless!?
"'Flowing Radiance Dish,' hehe. For a dish of this level to appear in a 'Divine Knife Skills Showdown,' you've truly given it your all."
Words of envy and jealousy were no longer worth uttering. Zhang Xingyuan was indeed worthy of being the strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings; his skill was undeniable!
Poor Dylan. It seemed the match was lost for him before he even began.
"Regardless, let's taste it first."
Master Baiyao said, extending his chopsticks. Although the aroma of the dish before him wasn't overpowering, it felt like countless tiny hands constantly tugging at his heart, urging him to taste it quickly!
As their chopsticks touched the surface of the fish, even before they applied any force, the tender flesh yielded, revealing the Sanxian stuffing within.
And the fragrance, at the very moment the fish burst open, gushed out like a tidal wave, permeating an area hundreds of meters wide.
"It smells so good! Is... is this aroma coming from the judges' table? I'm tens of meters away from there!"
a woman, who couldn't even see the judges' table when standing on tiptoe, exclaimed in shock.
A rich fish aroma tantalized her nostrils. Sniffing carefully, she could also detect the deeper fragrance emanating from the Sanxian stuffing! The mellow aroma of pork, the oceanic umami of shrimp, the unique flavor of chicken gizzards, and the fresh scent of winter bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms.
The aromas of these ingredients had melded during the cooking process, forming a complex and rich fragrance that now permeated the entire space. This aroma combined the umami of seafood, the richness of meat, and the freshness of vegetables, causing the stomachs of everyone who smelled it to rumble. For a moment, the venue was filled with the "gurgle-gurgle" sound of hungry stomachs.
"The fish melts in your mouth. Its delicate texture, combined with perfect heat control, ensures that the fish retains its original umami while also gaining the aroma from cooking."
At this moment, Master Baiyao had placed the fish in his mouth. Closing his eyes to carefully savor its deliciousness, he couldn't help but begin to sing its praises.
"The richness of the pork, the umami of the shrimp, the crispness of the chicken gizzards, and the fresh fragrance of winter bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms intertwine in the mouth to form a wonderful symphony of flavors! The umami of these ingredients permeates each other, making the overall taste of the dish fuller and richer!"
Granny Qiaoshou also closed her eyes. Ingredients like pork, shrimp, chicken gizzards, and carp materialized before her, then merged to become this Sanxian Deboned Fish.
This dish wasn't overly difficult to prepare. The only challenging part was deboning the entire fish, ensuring not a single bone remained within its flesh!
This was more difficult than ordinary whole fish deboning because all the tiny fish bones had to be meticulously removed. However, it greatly enhanced the diner's tasting experience, because when eating fish, the most detestable thing is spitting out bones!
"What an enviable dish."
Fatty An said, somewhat grinding his teeth. Such deliciousness—he had only managed to create a few dishes like this in his entire life, and never so effortlessly. This guy, he truly inspired envy, jealousy, and admiration!
"For such a dish, I can't give any score other than ten points!"
Frantically, they devoured the Sanxian Deboned Fish before them. In less than three minutes, all the fish had vanished into their stomachs.
In the end, not even a drop of sauce remained on the plate; Fatty An had drunk it all!
The sauce of a 'flowing radiance' level dish—even if only used for dipping steamed buns, one could devour an entire basin! Tasting it directly, apart from being slightly salty, it had no other flaws. Its essence was fish soup.
"Then give it ten points! Because I can't give any other score either."
Master Baiyao nodded and also wrote a 'ten' on his paper. For such a dish, he couldn't award anything less than a perfect score.
A 'flowing radiance' dish, in itself, was already an achievement that surpassed a perfect score!
And so, the final score of Uncle in Green, Zhang Xingyuan, appeared before everyone, once again causing the audience to gasp in astonishment.
A perfect score of thirty! This meant that even if Dylan presented an even more top-tier dish, he could only achieve a tie. Zhang Xingyuan was now in an inherently unbeatable position!
"Competing with a junior like this, I really don't know what you're trying to achieve."
Although she had given a perfect score, Granny Qiaoshou couldn't help but complain. This fellow bullying a junior was truly shameless; even if he won, it wasn't a glorious victory!
"All I wanted was to have a match with him. In my eyes, he's not some junior, but a genuine chef! There's no need to award me the competition prize. The title of Five-Star Special Grade Chef is useless to me anyway."
"It's fine; we didn't plan to award it to you in the first place. Your prize will be passed down to the next person. Otherwise, people would definitely gossip."
Master Baiyao shook his head. One of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Guangzhou Chefs' Alliance participating in a competition organized by the Alliance and taking the first prize...
If word of this got out, it wouldn't sound good at all.
It would give the impression that they were sore losers or that the competition was rigged.
"That kid is ready too! I saw him handling a duck just now. I wonder what kind of dish he'll present? It's truly making one look forward to it!"
Zhang Xingyuan looked in Dylan's direction, a peculiar light flickering in his eyes.
Earlier, Dylan had bested him in the ice sculpture competition. He had been suppressing a surge of frustration ever since, so he had poured all his effort into making this dish. It was only when he had fully focused and exerted himself that he realized his dish had even developed a faint, flowing radiance.
"Sorry for the wait. Let this dish be the finale for today. Five-Nesting Duck, an improvement on the Huaiyang dish, Three-Nesting Duck. Please, enjoy."
Dylan approached the judges' table carrying a large clay pot, placed it on the table, and began to introduce his creation.
The simple description made the dish seem ordinary. However, the moment the lid was opened and the rich aroma assaulted their senses, they knew they were profoundly mistaken.
The aroma gushed out accompanied by golden light, and a flowing radiance enveloped the dish. They had already exhausted their words of envy; Zhang Xingyuan's ability to create a 'flowing radiance' dish was the result of years of accumulation. But Dylan... how could he possibly achieve this?
"How did you create a 'flowing radiance' dish?"
A wry smile touched Master Baiyao's lips. Something he had pursued his entire life without success—why did it appear so effortlessly in Dylan's hands?
Moreover, judging by Dylan's confident and composed demeanor, it was evident this wasn't his first time creating a 'flowing radiance' dish.
To reach such a level at such a young age—wasn't this a bit too outrageous? This was a 'flowing radiance' level dish! By passing the examination, one could become a Seven-Star Special Grade Chef!
Even if Dylan had started cooking from inside the womb, he was only about twenty years old. Yet, for Master Baiyao, seventy or eighty years had passed since the day he first picked up a kitchen knife. This world was truly unfair!
Alas.
"You just need to do your absolute best in everything you can, meticulously control all the details, and a 'flowing radiance' dish isn't actually that difficult. Unfortunately, the ingredients provided this time weren't top-quality; they were ordinary ducks. Otherwise, I feel this dish could have been elevated even further."
Dylan said with a genuinely regretful expression. Once he began cooking, his sole focus was to reach the highest peak and create the most perfect dish. Thus, he would naturally feel a twinge of regret for a dish that hadn't reached its absolute zenith.
"Do your best in everything you can, control all the details, and that's how you can achieve a 'flowing radiance' dish?"
"Even further..."
Hearing Dylan's humblebrag-like statement, the venue suddenly fell into a stunned silence.
Do you even hear what you're saying?
This truly echoed the sentiment: I poured all my effort into reaching that grand hall, I was just about to step through the gates and become one of its masters. Then, a calm voice drifted from within: "Oh, I'm really not very good at this!"
"In any case, let's taste the dish first."
Master Baiyao's voice cut through the silence. No matter what, the competition took precedence. Since the contestant had presented a dish, their duty as judges was to taste it.
"Three-Nesting Duck is a famous dish from Gaoyou, Jiangsu. The Gaoyou ducks there have tender and elastic meat with an excellent texture. Their aroma is rich and their flavor unique, possessing both the inherent umami of duck meat and a distinctive fresh fragrance."
Zhang Xingyuan's voice chimed in from the side, his eyes also wide with shock.
He had believed that by creating a 'flowing radiance' dish, he could definitively surpass Dylan. He never imagined Dylan could achieve it too! Moreover, observing the stable, flowing radiance on the duck, its quality was significantly higher than his own dish!?
Wasn't this simply too exaggerated!
"Not only that, the salted duck eggs from Gaoyou are also exceptional! They are renowned far and wide for their ruddy, oily yolks and tender, delicate whites."
Master Baiyao said, while using his chopsticks to separate the duck meat, a nostalgic expression gracing his features as he reminisced about Gaoyou's salted duck eggs. Just the thought of that taste was enough to make one yearn for it!
"The sauce is rich and deeply savory, the meat is so tender it falls apart, and the layers are exceptionally distinct! The domestic duck, forming the outermost layer, provides rich duck fat and succulent meat. The wild duck, with its firmer texture and unique gamey notes, enhances the flavor profile. The squab meat is tender and perfectly absorbs the broth seeping in from the outer layers. Further inside, the quail, even more petite and delicate, offers exquisitely flavored meat. The final layer of wild pigeon acts as the masterstroke, the perfect finishing touch, firmly locking in the essence of the preceding four layers. Simultaneously, its cavity is stuffed with diced bamboo shoots, diced ham, and diced shiitake mushrooms—a combination of flavors that overlay each other! The deliciousness is simply breathtaking!"
The chopsticks deftly took a little meat from each part. The broth and infused ingredients slowly oozed from the cuts, carrying a rich and abundant umami fragrance that instantly swept through the entire venue!
"Let me try!"
"So fragrant! I'm so hungry! I can't take it anymore! Let me have just one bite! Just one tiny bite!"
The audience below, having just endured the aromatic assault of the Sanxian Deboned Fish, were already at their breaking point. Now, as the aroma of the Five-Nesting Duck assailed them, many with weaker self-control uncontrollably surged towards the competition area.
If it weren't for the staff holding them back and the police cordon that had been set up in advance, the scene would have undoubtedly descended into chaos long ago!
"Truly astonishing! Five distinct flavors merge harmoniously, yet one can still discern and savor each individual taste. It's like appreciating an elegant symphony, where each instrument plays its vital role! Even if any single component were isolated, it would still be exceptionally outstanding!"
Granny Qiaoshou opened her eyes and slowly spoke, her description perfectly apt. Any single part of this dish, if judged alone, would already be at the level of a 'glowing dish.'
Of course, to combine these 'glowing dishes' and synthesize them into a 'flowing radiance' dish wasn't a matter of simple addition; it required an immense depth of experience!
"At your age, to be able to create a 'flowing radiance' dish—how on earth do you normally practice your culinary skills? Isn't that just freakishly talented!"
Fatty An bluntly voiced the thoughts of everyone present. All eyes turned to Dylan, eagerly anticipating his answer, hoping to glean some wisdom from him.
"How else to practice? It's a continuous dedication to the basics. Usually, when I see or eat a delicious dish that piques my interest, I go home and try to replicate it. Then, I analyze its strengths and weaknesses, master the strengths, and work on improving the shortcomings to further enhance the dish's flavor."
Dylan didn't hold anything back. After a moment's thought, he elaborated, "Firstly, it's practicing the fundamentals extensively every single day; this is the absolute bedrock. Secondly, one must possess an unwavering passion for cooking and a willingness to constantly experiment. As long as you have these two, your rate of improvement will be remarkably fast!"
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