The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 180 Grouping and Opponents

"Have we met that girl named Ellie before?" Cao Dongdong asked suspiciously, staring at the other person's profile picture.

"It seems so." Qin Lang nodded. "When we went to register before, you even bumped into her, didn't you remember?"

"Oh, so it's her!" Cao Dongdong looked surprised, then sighed, "I didn't expect her cooking skills to be so good."

"Zaozao, do you know anything about her situation?"

“I don’t know.” Yu Zaozao asked the fans in the live stream and shook her head. “But one fan said that her name and appearance don’t seem to be from Tianhua Prefecture, and she might not even be from Dongyun area.”

"You mean, she's from another region?" Cao Dongdong couldn't help but widen his eyes. "Another region came all the way here to compete?"

"Perhaps it's just a matter of fate," Qin Lang said, shrugging. "No matter who the opponent is, just do your best."

"The group assignments are about to begin."

Hearing this, Cao Dongdong stopped worrying about Ellie's identity and nervously looked at the big screen, "I wonder which group you two will be assigned to."

After the round of 16 is divided into groups, the order of all subsequent matches will be determined.

Therefore, this group stage match is crucial.

Qin Lang and Zhao Qian's expressions also turned serious. Under their tense gaze, the scrolling images on the big screen finally froze.

Group A: Du Ziyan vs. Zhao Qian

...

Group E: Ellie vs. Qu Sheng
...

Group G: Qin Lang vs. Pang Xin
Group H: Qiu Lei vs. Zheng Long
The moment they saw the group results, Qin Lang and the other two turned their gazes to Zhao Qian. Zhao Qian sat there blankly, gradually losing her color, like a salted fish that had completely lost its ideals.

"Why am I, the bottom of the top 16, being matched up against the top 16?!" Zhao Qian couldn't help but shout.

"It's okay." Cao Dongdong patted Zhao Qian's shoulder with a sympathetic look. "Think positively, maybe you'll draw a topic that the other person isn't good at, but you happen to be good at, and then you'll win?"

"You're dreaming." Zhao Qian glanced at Cao Dongdong with a sad expression, then hugged her legs and huddled in her seat.

This is basically a one-round elimination!

"No matter what, just do your best." Qin Lang comforted Zhao Qian and looked at his own group.

He was placed in Group G. If he wins the round of 4, he will play against the winner of Group H. If he continues to win, he will play against the winners of Groups E and F, and then the winners of the previous four groups.

But it's too early to talk about that now; he needs to focus on the upcoming Round of 16 match.

"The Tianhua Prefecture Youth Cooking Competition is about to enter the intense and exciting elimination rounds!" the host announced loudly. "Now, let's give a warm round of applause to our seven Level 1 Food Advisors who will be serving as judges in the upcoming elimination rounds!"

They are…

"Mr. Cao Feng, the 'Fruit Recommender'!"

Amidst enthusiastic applause, a slightly overweight middle-aged man wearing glasses walked onto the stage with a smile and waved to the audience.

"Ms. Ye Ting, the 'Vegetable Food Recommender'!"

Amid applause, a well-maintained, slender, and beautiful woman in a light blue dress walked onto the stage and nodded slightly to the crowd.

"Mr. Lu Suzhi, the recommender of grains!"

Lu Suzhi, whom Qin Lang and the other two had met before, walked onto the stage with a faint smile. Today, he had changed into a more formal outfit and looked gentle and refined.

"Ms. Xu Yueran, the 'Food Recommender of Flowers'!"

“Her title is the same as Ms. Song Hui’s!” Cao Dongdong couldn’t help but exclaim. “There are actually two ‘Flower Food Recommenders’.” “Not quite the same,” Qin Lang shook his head.

"Ms. Song Hui was assessed on desserts, but she was called the 'Flower Food Recommender' because she is the owner of Daisy Garden."

His gaze fell on the kind-smiling old woman who walked onto the stage with a cane. "This is Ms. Xu Yueran, and the subject of the assessment is flowers."

The food recommender continued to appear during their discussion.

"Mr. Pang Ju, the 'Food Recommender'!"

A burly man nearly two meters tall laughed heartily and leaped onto the stage, causing the stage to tremble slightly.

"Is that what feeds the animals?"

Zhao Qian also emerged from the frustration of being grouped and couldn't help but say, "It's said that the vast majority of meat ingredient assessments are conducted on his end."

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded slightly.

"Livestock" refers to domesticated animals, including poultry, pigs, cattle, sheep, and other common livestock. Therefore, Mr. Pang Ju's assessment topics cover a very wide range.

"Mr. Bao Heng, the 'Recommended Fisherman's Food'!"

A tall, thin middle-aged man then went on stage. His slightly grown beard and his long-term involvement with fish products gave him an unusual quality.

Fishing encompasses not only fish, but also various aquatic products such as shrimp and crab.

"Mr. Song Changtian, the 'Mountain Food Recommender'!"

The last one, who was also the youngest of the seven food recommenders, strode onto the stage. He looked to be no more than thirty years old. He first greeted the other food recommenders with a smile, and then waved to the audience.

Mountains are delicacies.

The food recommender's evaluation scope included various mushrooms and wild game commonly found in the mountains and forests.

With the appearance of seven top-tier food recommenders from Danju City, the atmosphere on the field reached its peak, and the second round entered its final stage.

That is, to draw up the theme for tomorrow's round of 16 elimination match!

"Now, Ms. Xu Yueran, the judge representative, will draw the themes for the top 16 elimination round!" The host's voice resounded throughout the venue. "Just a reminder, starting from the elimination round, the contestants will be cooking openly, and the cooking process will also be one of the judging criteria."

"In addition, the elimination rounds will not restrict the contestants' choice of ingredients. Besides choosing the ingredients provided in the standard cooking unit, contestants can submit their own prepared ingredients to the organizers, which will be used after inspection and approval."

"Now, let's take a look at the eight culinary showdowns that will be held tomorrow. What are the themes of each one?"

Xu Yueran smiled, raised the microphone in her hand, looked up at the large screen scrolling in the air, and quickly said, "Stop!"

The first line on the big screen froze as she spoke.

[Group A: Du Ziyan vs. Zhao Qian, Subject: Lamb]

"It's mutton!" Cao Dongdong clenched his fist and looked at Zhao Qian. "You can bring out the Thousand Flavors Mutton now!"

"If Du Ziyan can't cook mutton dishes, then you've won!"

Zhao Qian nodded, both amused and exasperated, knowing full well that the probability of Du Ziyan not knowing how to cook mutton dishes was practically zero.

But being able to give it your all is always good news.

One group of subjects after another was captured, and soon it was Qin Lang's group G's turn.

[Group G: Qin Lang vs. Pang Xin, Theme: Noodles]

(End of this chapter)