"Hello, Head Chef Yuan, Chairman Zhang, and Mr. Fujiwara. I will not let you down today. I have prepared a very special delicacy."
"Thank you, Head Chef Yuan, Mr. Fujiwara, and Chairman Zhang."
"I hope I can get guidance from Head Chef Yuan. We have a lot in common."
"Thank you for your hard work, three chefs."
The four contestants greeted each other. Actually, many things could be seen from the way they greeted each other. First, the way they addressed each other. There was a big difference between "Head Chef", "Mister", and "Chairman". Of course, it was also related to the fact that "Jiayuan" couldn't be translated into English.
There were also four contestants whose personalities were on full display. According to Sucha, their greatest similarity was their handsomeness, and their words were rather arrogant. They were truly full of logos.
Dashi Xiujie and Ke Sen were more humble. The tall and thin Duponte directly threw out the special delicacy to raise the anticipation.
The three judges greeted them. The competition was about to begin and they couldn't chat much. The four contestants went to their respective areas to familiarize themselves with the kitchenware.
For the sake of fairness, the four kitchens were set in the east, west, south, and north respectively, with the judges and the media in the middle. Yuan Zhou thought for a while and decided that he had to turn his head and body to observe the four contestants. Therefore, he gave up on this method.
There was enough space between the four cooking stations so that they wouldn't affect each other. Reporters from various countries were interviewing their contestants. As for those who didn't make it to the finals, they could only follow others. Dashi Xiujie's side had the most reporters.
After all, the most famous contestants in Asia were Dashi Xiujie, Ruan Yimin, and Allan Modi. The other two didn't even make it to the top 10. They were all killed by the poison.
"Head Chef Yuan, Chairman Zhang, I'm very curious. Who do you think will win?" Fujiwara Jiayuan asked again after a moment of silence.
Yuan Zhou thought for a while and answered, "I think Dashi and Ke Sen will win."
Hearing Dashi Xiujie's name, Fujiwara Jiayuan revealed a smile and looked at Zhang Yan.
"All four contestants have their own advantages. Dashi Xiujie has excellent knife skills and plate presentation. Duponte has a good combination of Philippine and French cuisines. Sucha is proficient in the four major Thai cuisines and has a variety of seasonings. Ke Sen has inherited his father's skills," Zhang Yan said.
Well, this answer was equivalent to no answer.
Qin Kaili, Wan Li, and the others had already entered the final stage of preparation. They invited the reporters back to their seats. When they were free, Yuan Zhou also asked the system if the main mission had been completed. Just like last time, there was one more mission, but the progress was still (19/20). It was a little uncomfortable.
Yes, this was the Master Quest. Ever since the All-Bull Banquet, it had been stuck at the last position.
He didn't know when the last Master would admire Yuan Zhou.
Ten minutes later, everything was ready.
"Next, let's invite the chairman of the Green Chefs Association, the chairman of the Huaxia Famous Chefs Association, the director of the Huaxia Chefs Association, the honorary vice chairman of the Sichuan Cuisine Association, the honorary vice chairman of the Yunnan Cuisine Association, the specially invited consultant of the Jiangsu Cuisine Association, and the honorary vice chairman of the Chefs' Welfare Guarantee Association — Yuan Zhou. He will draw the final topic of the first International Youth Chef Exchange Conference for us." Qin Kaili read it out in one breath and almost stopped breathing.
Not to mention other things, Qin Kaili and the others had studied for a long time how to choose the titles hanging on Yuan Zhou's head. If they said too few, they couldn't show Yuan Zhou's greatness. Besides, it was not appropriate not to read it out on such an occasion. If they said too many, it would be too weak and people who didn't know would think they were speaking speed recital.
The video of the final should be saved. Wan Li decided to put all the titles that had not been read out on the screen.
There was no other way. Yuan Zhou also wanted to keep a low profile, but its strength didn't allow it. On the other hand, the current Huaxia chefs had been waiting for a "dominant" chef for too long.
The staff presented a tray with three envelopes on it. Yuan Zhou picked the envelope in the middle. He didn't like to be deliberately mystified, so he opened it and said directly, "The theme of the final is chicken."
After drawing the envelope, Yuan Zhou went back to the judges' table.
After that, he introduced the three judges. Because Yuan Zhou had introduced them just now, it was simpler this time.
"From selecting the ingredients to finishing the dishes, the four chefs have a total of three hours."
"After three hours, the dishes that are not finished will be invalid."
"Contestants, please pay attention to the time."
The rules were very simple. After saying the rules, Qin Kaili retreated to the backstage. Today's stage belonged to the chefs.
There were many dishes that used chicken as an ingredient in every country. Plus, the four chefs had prepared beforehand, so they determined their target very quickly.
After Qin Kaili finished saying the rules, the countdown started immediately. At the same time, the staff present sent a tablet to the hands of the four chefs. The ready-made space was not big, so they naturally couldn't display the ingredients they could choose. Therefore, the ingredients needed to be sketched on the tablet.
Within ten minutes after sketching, all the ingredients must be ready. To achieve this, the people of Green Chef's Association had made great efforts.
"Three hours is not to cook one dish. To be precise, it's one main dish, three side dishes, and four dishes without any assistant chefs. You have to deal with the ingredients by yourself. In terms of time, it's a challenge for the contestants," Zhang Yan said.
They had to cook for three hours and the camera was always facing them. They couldn't keep silent all the time. Therefore, the necessary commentary was still needed. It wasn't the first time that Zhang Yan and Tengyuan had been judges, so they were very familiar with it.
"On normal days, the restaurant's kitchen is more than enough to cook four dishes in an hour. But that's under the circumstance that there are assistant chefs. Besides, this is a competition. We have to consider the plate presentation and other aspects. It's definitely not easy." It was also time for Tengyuan Jiayuan to continue, "But considering that this is the final, it's understandable."
Yuan Zhou didn't say anything. What was assistant chefs? Besides, time was tight. If it were him, he would set an hour.
"Tengyuan Jiayuan has a deep understanding of Japanese cuisine. What do you think Oishi will cook for the main dish?" Zhang Yan asked.
"There are many dishes related to chicken in Japanese cuisine. But considering that Xiujie's hometown is Fukuoka and this is an important competition, he is most likely to take out the Fukuoka Chicken Sizzling Pot," Tengyuan answered. Then, he casually asked Zhang Yan what Ke Sen would cook.
"Ke Sen has dabbled in Sichuan Cuisine, but he is best at Guizhou Cuisine. As the saying goes, one depends on the mountain and one depends on the river. Guizhou Cuisine is especially good at cooking wild game and meat. There are seventeen banquets in Guizhou Cuisine: Beef Banquet, Mutton Banquet, Snake Banquet, etc. Coincidentally, the Chicken Banquet is one of the seventeen banquets." As the chairman of Sichuan Cuisine, Zhang Yan was quite knowledgeable.
"But Guizhou Cuisine has many variations. I think Ke Sen will cook the Chicken Banquet, but it is still unclear what kind of variations it will be," Zhang Yan concluded.
Between Tengyuan Jiayuan and Zhang Yan, one analyzed Dashi Xiujie, and the other analyzed Ke Sen. Both Sucha and Dubonte were very pitiful. In fact, it was not that the two of them favored one and discriminated against the other, but they really did not know much about Thai cuisine and Filipino cuisine.
Although Zhang Yan and Tengyuan had done their homework before coming, they really did not know what Sucha and Dubonte would do at this time and a half.
Among the Thai dishes, there were coconut chicken soup, green curry chicken, chicken salad, lemon cashew chicken, and so on. You could find a whole bunch of them.
"Below are the ingredients that the four contestants have declared in advance and approved by the judging panel." Qin Kaili was holding a name list.
At the same time, the ingredients and condiments selected on the tablet were all displayed on the big screen behind the judging panel for the convenience of the reporters.
"Contestant Dashi Xiujie: a handful of Fukuoka red onions, a handful of Fukuoka green onions, one catty of Jinya rice."
"Contestant Sucha: three Thai lemons, bird peppers, a number of Thai mangoes, a number of lemongrass."
"Contestant Dubonte: a number of Saba bananas, Filipino mangos, a number of Filipino pineapples."
"Contestant Ke Sen: a number of Lignum ginger flowers."
It was arranged by Yuan Zhou that the contestants could bring their own ingredients after reporting. That was because delicacies were always so strange. Sometimes, only local ingredients could bring out that kind of taste. Therefore, in order to let the contestants give full play to their strengths, this rule was made.
The restriction was that they could only bring ingredients, but not condiments or special sauces. Think about it, if a chef at the level of Yuan Zhou meticulously made a sauce for a delicacy, would there still be a need for a competition?
Of course, that was just an exaggeration. After all, Yuan Zhou's cooking skills had never been seen before. Yes, there was none.
In comparison, Ke Sen had the fewest. Gui Province was close to Sichuan Province, so all the ingredients required could be provided here. Initially, Dubonte had not planned to declare any ingredients. This was because Philippine cuisine was heavily influenced by Chinese and Western cuisines. Moreover, Dubonte's cuisine was a fusion of French cuisine and Philippine cuisine.
But when Dubonte found out that Sucha had shipped mangoes from Thailand, he couldn't sit still and declared a bunch of fruits as well. In his opinion, he could not lose in terms of his aura.
"He brought Fukuoka red onions and green onions. Among the condiments he chose was citrus vinegar. I'm not wrong. Contestant Dashi Xiujie is going to make Fukuoka Chicken Sautéed Pot. This dish is basically impossible to find outside of Fukuoka in Japan. It is an original dish of the Fukuoka region and has a history of over 100 years," said Fujiwara Jiayuan.
"Jinya rice was rated as the best rice in the world in 2016. It is the pride of Japan. Dashi Xiujie must be very determined to bring it here."
Just as Fujiwara Jiayuan finished speaking, he found a loophole in his words and immediately corrected himself, "Of course it's not as good as the rice used in Head Chef Yuan's restaurant. Jinya rice refers to the majority of the rice in the world."
Just now, Fujiwara Jiayuan had wanted to show off, but he suddenly remembered that Yuan Zhou was here. He had tasted The Kitchen God Rice before.
Yuan Zhou did not say anything. This was because Japan was indeed the world leader in high-end meat, fruits, and vegetables. As for the domestic food shortage, they had only been solved in recent years. Although they had the highest production in the world, they still had to import food every year.
After all, the country did not only consider whether there was enough food to eat, but also food safety, food storage, and many other issues.
In short, they had different needs. Japan had been focusing on high-end ingredients from the very beginning. Therefore, they had to nurture them meticulously. As for the domestic population, they had to solve the problem of quantity first.
While they were talking, all the required ingredients had been prepared and were served to the contestants by the staff. Not only that, there was also a staff member beside every preparation table. If there was a request, they could raise it at any time. For example, if there was a request for kitchenware, etc.
The first thing Sucha, Ke Sen, Dupont, and Dashi Xiujie did was to prepare the chicken. The chicken was a whole chicken with a clean chest. After all, it was impossible for the contestants to slaughter the chicken on the spot. If the chicken feathers were scattered all over the ground and the chicken crowed, it would be too unstylish.
The size of the chicken was decided by the contestants according to their own needs.
"Fujiwara Jiayuan's analysis is correct. My analysis is also correct. Looking at the ingredients, Ke Sen chose to make the Chicken Banquet," said Zhang Yan, "Head Chef Yuan actually knows more about Qianzhou Cuisine."
Zhang Yan directly passed the topic to Yuan Zhou.
"Ke Sen's dish is indeed from the Chicken Banquet. Moreover, it is the most famous dish of the Chicken Banquet of Qianzhou Cuisine." Yuan Zhou first affirmed Zhang Yan's statement. Then, he took a step further and found out the dish Ke Sen wanted to make.
When Zhang Yan heard that, he immediately noticed the size of the chicken Ke Sen had cut. The more he looked, the more he said, "That's right."
"Is it the Xi Feng Yang Lang Chicken that is known as the best chicken in the world?" Fujiwara Jiayuan, who was very familiar with Chinese cuisine, reacted instantly.
Yuan Zhou nodded, "That's right."
"If my understanding is correct, the famous Sichuan Cuisine's Chili Chicken was modified from the Xi Feng Yang Lang Chicken," said Fujiwara Jiayuan.
"Fujiwara Jiayuan is indeed worthy of being the Japanese who knows Chinese cuisine the best. That's right." Yuan Zhou nodded and continued, "Sucha brought over bird peppers and Thai lemons. His choice should be the Lemon Cashew Chicken. As for Dupont's specialty of mango, pineapple, and banana, I think it should be the special Adobo."
He also commented on Dupont and Sucha casually. Although he didn't receive any rewards for Thai and Philippine cuisines, he had seen too many things in the past two years and thus had some understanding of the cuisines of these two countries.
Adobo was not the name of a dish. To be precise, it was a kind of Philippine cuisine. To explain it in a way that the people were familiar with, it was called Northeast Chaos Stew.
That's right, the only difference between Adobo and Jumble Stew was that more ingredients were added during the stew. Common ingredients like bay leaves, garlic, and pepper were common ingredients, while the more skilled Filipino chefs would add fruits to enhance the flavor.
The core taste of Philippine cuisine was a combination of sweet, sour, and salty, and the Chaos Stew method was the most direct and could best reflect these three flavors. Dupont's choice was completely understandable.
Zhang Yan and Fujiwara Jiayuan were just not sure, but they were not completely clueless. Therefore, when they heard Yuan Zhou's words, they were able to draw inferences about other things.
After all, one was the chairman of the Sichuan Cuisine Association, and the other was the chairman of the Japan Famous Chefs Association. If they wanted to go global, they had to be familiar with the world.
The judges understood, but that did not mean that the media and the guests present understood. Therefore, after a pause, Zhang Yan and Fujiwara Jiayuan began to explain.
Time passed slowly, and the results were really as Yuan Zhou had analyzed. Sucha chose the Lemon Cashew Chicken, and Dupont chose Adobo.
…
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