The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 178 The Second Round, a Gathering of Powerful Players
"Is it ready?"

Outside the kitchen, a rich aroma wafted from it, and Cao Dongdong and the other two looked on with anticipation.

Amidst their expectant gazes, Qin Lang calmly walked out of the kitchen, carrying a freshly cooked bowl of sweet and sour pork.

"Is this the dish called Guo Bao Rou?" Yu Zaozao asked, already pointing the camera at Guo Bao Rou.

Under high-definition close-ups, every detail of the sweet and sour pork was clearly visible to the fans in the live stream, and the chat exploded with excitement in an instant.

"Let me try it!" Without saying a word, Cao Dongdong picked up his chopsticks, grabbed the top piece of sweet and sour pork, and took a big bite.
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“Crack—”

Accompanied by a series of crisp crackling sounds, the ten judges on the preliminary judging panel all showed expressions of unfinished business.

The perfect balance of sweet and sour flavors is an absolute match for the crispy exterior and tender, juicy interior of the sweet and sour pork. Garnished with shredded scallions, green onions, cilantro, and radish, the dish is so appealing in both appearance and texture that it's impossible to find fault with it.

The only drawback is that the portion size is too small.

A single piece of sweet and sour pork was too big for the judges present, so each judge only got to eat one-third of it.

With his exceptional professionalism, Li Yuan, who was sitting in the third seat on the left, managed to suppress the urge to eat again. He leaned closer to the microphone and said, "If I remember correctly, you should have advanced from the fifth division in the preliminary rounds."

"Yes, Mr. Li Yuan." Standing calmly on the stage, Qin Lang nodded with a smile.

“Then I’ll give my comments this time.” Li Yuan smiled. “A simple dish like sweet and sour pork contains a lot of the cook’s thoughtful touches. If I’m not mistaken, it’s seasoned with tangerines.”

"In addition, the amazing taste of the pork tenderloin, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, also left a deep impression on me."

"Of all the pork tenderloin dishes I've tasted in my career, this one should be in the top five."

Upon hearing such high praise, enthusiastic applause and cheers quickly erupted from the audience.

"Mr. Li Yuan gave Qin Lang's Guo Bao Rou (sweet and sour pork) a very high rating. So, how many points will Qin Lang get in the end?" The host raised his voice, "Now, please welcome the ten judges to score Qin Lang's Guo Bao Rou!"

A ten-second countdown quickly appeared on the big screen, and when the countdown ended, the scores from the ten judges were clearly displayed on the big screen.

"We can see that among the scores Qin Lang received, the highest score was 97 points given by judge Luo Han, and the lowest score was 90 points given by judge Zhou Hong. The scores given by everyone were not low!"

"After removing the highest and lowest scores, Qin Lang's final score is..."

As the host finished speaking, the scores from the ten judges disappeared from the big screen, replaced by a single score.

"94.75 points!"

Amidst thunderous applause, the host invited Qin Lang off the stage, and the next contestant took the stage.

As Qin Lang returned to the stands, Cao Dongdong and Yu Zaozao, who had been waiting there, rushed towards him immediately.

"Qin Lang, you have the highest score so far!" Yu Zaozao shouted excitedly, attracting the attention of many people.

"Don't get excited, it's just for now." Qin Lang smiled calmly.

The second round is very different from the preliminary round. Starting with this match, all subsequent matches will be broadcast live, and tickets for the main stadium's audience seats will be available for sale.

To enhance the entertainment value of the competition while ensuring fairness, the format of the second round has changed somewhat from the preliminary round. The venue still features twenty-five standard cooking units, but unlike the preliminary round, contestants cannot appear on stage early. Instead, they are assigned different numbers and take turns cooking in the order of their numbers.

Qin Lang was very lucky, ranking 21st and becoming one of the first contestants to enter the standard cooking unit.

Therefore, Qin Lang was not excited at all about becoming the current number one in total score, since there were not many contestants who had entered the competition earlier than him.

"Has Zhao Qian already started cooking?" Qin Lang asked casually when he didn't see Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian's serial number is also quite early, number 40, while Cao Dongdong's serial number is number 213, which is much later.

"No, but number 39 has already entered the cooking unit, so Zhao Qian went backstage to wait in advance." Cao Dongdong said, pointing to the figure walking towards the newly vacated cooking unit in the distance.

"Look, it's just her turn."

"Okay." Qin Lang nodded, glancing at Zhao Qian from afar.

Seemingly noticing Qin Lang and the others' gazes, Zhao Qian glanced at the stands, then swung her fist into the air before entering the cooking unit.

While waiting for Zhao Qian, Qin Lang also took the opportunity to check on the other contestants who were taking the stage one after another.

Those who passed the preliminary rounds were generally quite capable. Apart from a few who failed because they weren't good at making sweet and sour dishes, the vast majority of them scored 85 points or higher in the final round.

"Qiu Lei's final score is 94.25 points!"

Accompanied by the host's enthusiastic voice, another high score was announced.

"Thank goodness, it's a little lower than Qin Lang's score." Cao Dongdong, who was standing next to him, immediately exclaimed with relief, "I was shocked when the judges gave him the scores. One of them actually gave him 98 points, which is higher than Qin Lang's score."

"This Qiu Lei is really impressive." Yu Zaozao, who was standing to the side, was constantly interacting with the live stream. Through the resourceful fans in the live stream, she learned some information about Qiu Lei and shared it in a timely manner.

"He comes from Qingyang City. Although he has never participated in any cooking competitions before, he is the young master of the best restaurant in Qingyang City. He has been exposed to culinary arts since childhood and has mastered a large number of dish types."

"It's normal for someone to have a higher score than me," Qin Lang said with a wry smile.

Sweet and sour pork is just a common home-style dish. It is a bit more difficult to make than fried rice, but that's about it.

He hadn't shown his full potential yet, so he never thought he could win first place in the second round.

It would be great if we could just make it to the round of 16.

However, Qin Lang still took a closer look at Qiu Lei on the field.

It was a young man with a red spiky hairstyle, a smug look on his face, seemingly very satisfied with his achievements. As if sensing Qin Lang's gaze, he cast a provocative glance at Qin Lang from afar.

interesting.

Qin Lang responded with a calm smile.

Soon, it was Zhao Qian's turn to take the stage. The food she presented also won the praise of many judges, and she ultimately scored 93.0, temporarily ranking third in this round.

(End of this chapter)