"The taste of the squid, the taste of the squid …" Wang Xiang said while chewing.
"Don't talk about the taste. Stop eating when you talk!" Zhang Yan found Wang Xiang felt uncomfortable talking while eating.
"The squid tastes very good." Wang Xiang had to respect Chairman Zhang. Therefore, after swallowing a squid tentacle, he finally gave his evaluation.
Now, those who ate Yuan Zhou's food had basically learned a skill by themselves, that was, to speak fluently while eating.
For example, Wang Xiang had learned this skill. The key was that he could speak while eating without affecting his eating.
That's right. Now, the four judges had entered the mode of eating.
"Of course. The squid is so delicious. Otherwise, why would I like to eat squid?" Bai Xiaoxiao had just snatched a squid tentacle and said contentedly.
"I don't like squid tentacles, but the squid tentacles cooked by Yuan Zhou are still worth eating." Zhou Shijie spoke unhurriedly, but the speed at which he moved his chopsticks wasn't slow at all.
After all, Zhou Shijie often went to Yuanzhou shop. He had long been familiar with this skill. Therefore, he was more leisurely when doing it.
Zhang Yan, on the other hand, maintained his usual style of speaking less and eating more. He had learned this when he was selected as the exemplary restaurant.
Therefore, he was eating and tasting the dishes in silence.
"That squid seems to be very popular?" Although he couldn't hear what the judges were talking about, he could still see the situation. Therefore, Ao Pi couldn't help asking Chef Li.
"It's normal for one or two dishes to be popular. After all, he's quite famous despite his young age," Chef Li glanced at Yuan Zhou and then said calmly.
"But that dish is almost finished," Ao Pi said discontentedly.
"That's normal. My creeping prawns are also finished," Chef Li said complacently. But then, he took a look at Ao Pi who was still frowning and added, "The conch is also finished."
"That makes sense." Ao Pi was relieved and continued to wait for the evaluation.
Speaking of scoring, each dish had a ten-point system. Zhou Shijie and Zhang Yan had three points, while Bai Xiaoxiao and Wang Xiang had two points each.
Therefore, the full score for a dish was ten points. There were seven dishes in total, and the total score was seventy points. The team with the most points would be the winner.
Yuan Zhou had always been good at cooking. This time, he made even fewer dishes. In fact, this was also for the sake of the judges.
After all, this was a competition. Not only would they be eating his dishes, but they would also be eating his opponents' dishes. Therefore, this amount was only enough for four people to have a taste.
As a matter of fact, the Eight-Clawed Flaming Mountain had already been finished. Even the side dish, the onions, were not spared.
They also said that onions had high nutritional value, and that it was also part of the test of cooking skills. Then, they all rushed to finish it.
Looking at the plates that were cleaner than their faces, the judges were a little embarrassed. Zhou Shijie was more experienced. His expression didn't change as he spoke.
"Next, let's taste the seafood alliance's Flaming Squid," Zhou Shijie said.
"That's right. It's time to try it," Zhang Yan said sanctimoniously.
Bai Xiaoxiao and Wang Xiang, who were slightly less experienced, also nodded and sat down to eat the squid.
"Please wait a moment." The waitress brought the squid over and took out a lighter.
That's right. The squid made by the seafood alliance was also Flaming Squid, but it was different from Yuan Zhou's.
The squid was skewered on bamboo skewers of the same length and thickness. The skewers were wrapped in silver foil. The waitress poured a high alcohol content around the skewers and lit them up with a lighter.
"Boom!" Flames surrounded the tin foil wrapped around the squid on the white plate. The transparent flames carried a hint of blue, and a strong aroma of wine filled the air.
"It's my turn now." Liu Jie, who was standing at the red kitchen counter, looked at his work confidently.
"How do you feel, Head Chef Liu?" Chef Li turned his head and asked with a smile.
"I'm very confident." Liu Jie smiled.
"That Yuan Zhou's dish was finished. What do you think, Head Chef Liu?" Chef Li asked.
"His portion is small, so it's normal for him to finish it. It might taste good, but it's definitely not as good as mine," Liu Jie said.
"Haha, I'm relieved to hear that, Head Chef Liu." Chef Li laughed and nodded.
The two chatted for a while before falling silent. The judges had already started eating.
The flame on this side burned for about 20 seconds before automatically extinguishing. At that moment, steam came out of the hot foil, and the aroma of squid wafted out.
The waitress pushed the foil aside and gestured for them to start eating. "Um. Who's first?"
"Um, who will go first?" Zhou Shijie turned his head and said modestly to the three judges who were slightly behind him.
"Of course, Chairman Zhou," Wang Xiang said.
"You first," Zhang Yan said.
"Chairman Zhou, please have a taste," Bai Xiaoxiao also gestured.
"Okay, I'll start," Zhou Shijie said with a smile on his face, but he was cursing inwardly.
These crafty people must be thinking that I'll be full after eating this inferior dish, so that I won't be able to eat Yuan Zhou's delicacies anymore. How cunning, Zhou Shijie thought as he picked up a squid skewer humbly.
From this point of modesty, this Flaming Squid was far inferior to Yuan Zhou's Eight-Clawed Flaming Mountain.
Not to mention, when the foil was removed, Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly smelled a very subtle fishy smell.
The smell wasn't the smell of the sea. Instead, it was the fishy smell of seafood that hadn't been processed well. If Bai Xiaoxiao hadn't eaten Yuan Zhou's perfect squid first, he wouldn't have been able to smell the fishy smell mixed with the white wine.
However, this was the situation that Liu Jie had described earlier.
As a matter of fact, Liu Jie's squid was quite good. Squid had to be eaten hot, and heat control was very important. This Flaming Squid was not only served as a novel way of serving, but also because of heat control.
That's right, Liu Jie's squid wasn't completely cooked. He wrapped it in foil when it was about 60% done and cooked it with the white wine when it was served.
The heat control was just right, and the temperature was just right. However, he hadn't considered the problem of the fishy smell not easily dissipating.
"I've never eaten Boss Yuan's Eight-Clawed Flaming Mountain before. Otherwise, I wouldn't have liked it," Bai Xiaoxiao lamented inwardly while eating.
That's right. This was Liu Jie's famous dish that he loved to eat in the past, but now, he despised it. Bai Xiaoxiao felt that compared to Yuan Zhou's squid, this was only at the level of an apprentice.
Fortunately, Liu Jie didn't make a lot of squid. After one skewer for each person, there were only four skewers left. It seemed that Liu Jie had prepared two skewers for each person.
However, the four people tacitly ignored this matter and started eating the next dish. Looking at the remaining four skewers, Liu Jie felt embarrassed.
Chef Li even patted Liu Jie's shoulder and comforted him. In his opinion, the success or failure of one or two dishes wasn't important. In any case, it was fine as long as the final score was higher than Yuan Zhou's.
For the following dishes, they would taste Yuan Zhou's dish first. Therefore, in the eyes of Chef Li and the others, they were leaving the best dishes for later. As for Yuan Zhou, he felt that the judges were just like children, eating the best dishes first.
Therefore, the same thing could have completely different meanings when viewed from different perspectives. In fact, it might even be completely opposite.
One dish after another, they soon reached the last dish, the Big Crab Dumplings. Strictly speaking, this dish was the most difficult one in terms of cooking method and ingredient handling.
"Let's start with Head Chef Yuan's dish," Wang Xiang said expectantly.
"This crab looks pretty good," Zhang Yan nodded.
"I had these Treasure Crabs flown over from California. Each and every one of them is big and fresh. Most importantly, the crab meat is 60% of the crab meat. It's very fatty," Bai Xiaoxiao said proudly.
"I heard they are twins," Wang Xiang teased.
"Then I'll have to give it a good taste," Zhou Shijie said.
"Next up is the last dish of this competition, Head Chef Yuan's Big Crab Dumplings and Seafood Alliance's Rolling Crab Dumplings. The first dish to be tasted is Head Chef Yuan's Big Crab Dumplings," the host announced.
…
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
