It was undeniable that some food reviews were manipulated under the table. The organizers spent money to buy fame.
However, it was not the case this time. Or rather, no one bribed the judges in advance this time. The judges also came with a notarized attitude. Moreover, this was a very small gourmet challenge with only two people. The scale was not big. If it were not for the importance of the website's gourmet channel, it would not have reached such a scale.
Because of this, these judges would give the scores very fairly. However, no one expected that there would be a problem in the end. The problem was with the duck blood and vermicelli soup, their general manager.
Everyone else got five points, and he was the only one who got zero points. Not only did he pull down Gu Zheng's score, but he also made the competition unfair and made the comments of the other judges meaningless. It would be strange if these judges were not angry.
Elder Gao used to be a chef and had been in the Food Association for a long time. After he retired, he did not become a chef. Instead, he liked to taste delicacies everywhere and became a food critic.
He had been in the Food Association longer than the president and was a veteran. Moreover, he was also a person with a strong character. Even if the president did something wrong, he would directly point it out, let alone a general manager like this.
President Hua's expression was very ugly. He gave Gu Zheng zero points because of his selfishness. He did not want to lose and could not afford to lose.
However, it was not a big deal to lose a gourmet competition. The one who was not as skilled was the head chef. At most, he could change the head chef or be more humble and improve his cooking skills in the future.
However, the core of this competition was the battle of ingredients. If they lost, it would mean that Gu Zheng's article was right. It also proved that their ingredients were not good.
This was a fatal blow. For any restaurant, ingredients were very important. Once they gave people a bad impression of using ingredients, it would be difficult to change it. It would have a great impact on their business and future development. Therefore, he gave Gu Zheng zero points against his will. He could not let Gu Zheng win this competition.
He originally wanted to compensate the judges with red packets after the competition and increase the amount of red packets from the media. However, he did not expect Elder Gao to expose him on the spot and criticize him without holding back. He was completely embarrassed.
"Elder Gao, I'm sorry, but there are no six points in the rules. If you insist on siding with this person, I have nothing to say!"
President Hua cursed in his heart for a while and said softly. Since he gave a zero, there was no way out. He could only force it. At this moment, he also began to curse their head chef in his heart. Previously, he had guaranteed that he would definitely win. The other party was just a young man. His father was a famous chef, but his culinary skills were average.
Gu Zheng's cooking skills were average. How could he make such a delicious duck blood and vermicelli soup? If he could eat it somewhere else, he would definitely try to get Gu Zheng to work for him. Unfortunately, he couldn't do it now. He had to maintain his reputation first. He didn't rely on the taste anymore. Reputation was the most important thing.
"You say I'm biased? Who's biased? We're not fools!"
Elder Gao was so angry that he laughed. He pointed his finger at President Hua and shouted. A judge beside him hurriedly pulled him back and asked him to calm down. Elder Gao was more than seventy years old. It would be troublesome if he got sick because of anger.
"The highest score is only five points, but you want to give six points. If this isn't bias, then what is? The rules were set before. I didn't violate the rules by giving zero points, but you gave six points. If this is really the case, then it's better to let you judge alone this time. Anyway, you have the final say on what you like!"
Since he had already offended Elder Gao, President Hua simply let it go. His words were just short of directly saying that Elder Gao was taking advantage of his seniority and wanted to directly influence the result of the competition.
"You, you …"
Elder Gao was so angry that his face turned red. President Wu also walked over and persuaded Elder Gao in a low voice. Elder Gao and the others were invited by the website. If something happened here, the website couldn't bear the responsibility.
Gu Zheng stood there quietly. He didn't say a word before, but there was coldness in his eyes.
Winning or losing was actually not important to him. If he hadn't been egged on by the weapon spirit this time and won a good prize, he wouldn't have agreed to the challenge at all. However, since he had agreed, he would take it seriously. No one could take away what was rightfully his. If he really didn't do well, he would definitely not refuse to admit it even if he lost.
"Elder Gao, thank you for your protection. If you give five points, then do I also get fifty points?"
Elder Gao and the other judges all looked at Gu Zheng. There was a hint of regret in Elder Gao's eyes. He really approved of Gu Zheng's vermicelli soup. He hadn't seen someone with such good cooking skills in a long time.
This was a capable young man. It was a pity that the other party was pestering him endlessly and gave him unfair treatment.
"That's right. If Elder Gao gives five points, you also get fifty points!" It was President Wu who replied. Elder Gao was still catching his breath.
"Since we both get fifty points, then it's a draw. Since it's a draw, why don't we have another round? I won't make duck blood vermicelli soup. I'll use the existing materials to make my best food. Then we can judge!"
Gu Zheng said secretly. The other judges were stunned. They only thought that Gu Zheng did really well and should win. However, they didn't think that even if President Hua gave zero points, Gu Zheng still got fifty points. He didn't lose, but it was a draw.
Overtime. This reason was good. This young man could even make duck blood vermicelli soup so well. The other dishes must not be bad. Several judges still missed the food made by Gu Zheng.
"The proposal of not competing is very good. It's a draw. What do you think, President Hua?"
President Wu was the first to nod in agreement. He was very clear about Gu Zheng's culinary skills. He could make fried eggs so well and the duck blood vermicelli soup had such a taste. The other dishes must not be bad.
Overtime. This time, even if President Hua gave zero points, he wasn't afraid. If President Hua could give zero points to Gu Zheng, he could give zero points to the head chef. At that time, it would depend on the judges.
Now that they had offended Elder Gao and several judges, the result of the score could be imagined.
President Hua was a little hesitant. He could reluctantly accept a draw as long as they didn't lose. Or their duck blood vermicelli soup wouldn't lose. However, he wasn't willing to have an overtime. A person who could make duck blood vermicelli soup so delicious, he really didn't have the confidence that his head chef could win.
"President Hua, let's have an overtime. We think we should have an overtime too!"
One of the judges said. He was just an ordinary judge. At this time, Elder Gao was not willing to pay attention to him. The other judges also wanted an overtime. After all, the scoring system was agreed at the beginning. President Hua did not violate any rules. If they really let Elder Gao give Gu Zheng six points, that would be a violation. It would give people a reason to talk.
"That's right, President Hua. We also think we should have an overtime!"
After a round of whispers from the media, a reporter finally stood up. It was a tiebreaker and a tie was meaningless. What the readers wanted to see was not a tie, but news with a result. If it was a tie, the reporters would have a headache and the attention they would receive would be greatly reduced.
Just like a football match, the attention of the knockout round was a little higher than the regular season. To the neutral fans, an exciting football match with big scores and wins and losses was definitely more interesting than a 1-1 draw.
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