The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 233 Abstract Level 2 Assessment
"Ah, comfortable."

Zhou Qing put down his chopsticks with satisfaction, his face full of contentment.

After finishing this boiled fish fillet, he felt that he would have a great appetite for everything he ate for the next period of time.

"Your cooking skills seem to have improved compared to before."

"This is probably the effect of the sauce," Qin Lang said with a smile.

During the cooking competition, he didn't have fermented bean paste when cooking boiled beef, so he chose the version without fermented bean paste.

Although the taste is similar, it's ultimately missing something.

This time, with the addition of fermented soybean paste, the boiled fish fillets perfectly replicate the flavor of Sichuan cuisine from its previous life.

"Sauce?" Zhou Qing was taken aback for a moment, then nodded in realization. "Adding some sauce can indeed enhance the flavor of a dish."

"This flavor, which has been refined over time, is difficult to completely replicate using ordinary seasonings."

“Therefore, many spirit chefs have their own researched and formulated special sauces.” As he said this, Zhou Qing looked at Qin Lang with more admiration in his eyes, “I didn’t expect that you had already reached this point.”

"There is still so much I need to learn," Qin Lang said earnestly.

"Haha, that's a good attitude." Zhou Qing's eyes showed even more satisfaction. "What are your plans next?"

"I have already obtained seven Level 1 Food Recommender badges. The next step is to find Level 2 Food Recommenders in Tianhua Prefecture and conduct assessments."

Zhou Qing suddenly realized, "You want to conduct Chairman Li's assessment?"

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded. "I just happened to be going home for a visit, and I plan to try to see if I can pass Mr. Li Yuantu's test."

"Then you'd better hurry," Zhou Qing said with a slight smile. "Because Chairman Li will be leaving Dongxia City soon."

"Leaving Dongxia City?" Qin Lang turned to look at Zhou Qing, his eyes filled with doubt and curiosity. "Is Mr. Li Yuantu going to take up a post elsewhere?"

“No, that’s not it.” Zhou Qing shook his head. “His departure this time is at most a business trip, not a change in position.”

"Speaking of which, this matter is somewhat related to you."

"Me?" Qin Lang was even more surprised. "What's the connection?"

Do you remember the exquisite lobster that was awarded to the top three winners of the competition?

"I remember." Qin Lang nodded.

“The premium Qili lobster comes from Qili Bay. Its production is extremely low. In previous years, it would never have been able to reach inland states like Tianhua Prefecture. After being consumed by several coastal states, very few are left.” Zhou Qing paused in his speech.

"But this year is a bit special. The production of both regular seafood and rare ingredients in the Bay of Elysees has increased unusually, which has allowed inland states to also get a share of the profits."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Qin Lang said subconsciously.

“Having more ingredients is certainly a good thing,” Zhou Qing said, then added, “but the reason for the abnormal increase in production must also be investigated.”

"Mr. Li Yuantu's trip was related to this."

"I see." Qin Lang nodded in understanding. "When will Mr. Li Yuantu depart?"

“Five days from now,” Zhou Qing said casually. “At that time, he will take the ‘Leaping Fish’ cruise ship directly to Mingjing State by water.”

“By the way, you seem to have used Leaping Lake Crab in the cooking competition.” Zhou Qing thought of something and looked at Qin Lang. “The destination of the ‘Leaping Fish’ cruise ship is Leaping Fish Lake, which produces Leaping Lake Crab.”

"So that's where it is!" Qin Lang immediately understood the origin of the name "Leaping Fish". "It seems I need to hurry up and pay them a visit."

"By the way, Mr. Zhou Qing, could you tell me the difference between the Level 1 Food Recommender assessment and the Level 2 Food Recommender assessment?" Qin Lang looked at Zhou Qing somewhat embarrassedly. "There are many explanations on the forum, but I'm still not quite clear about it."

“That’s no problem at all.” Zhou Qing smiled. “The first and biggest difference is the difficulty.”

"The difficulty of the Level 2 assessment is significantly higher than that of Level 1."

Qin Lang nodded.

This is inevitable.

“Besides that, the most important difference is the bias in the assessment.” Zhou Qing paused slightly. “Having been to so many places, I believe you’ve noticed it too.” “A Level 1 Food Recommender often has a fixed assessment focus.”

Qin Lang nodded upon hearing this.

He also deeply understands this point.

“But things change when you reach Level 2 Food Recommendation,” Zhou Qing continued. “Level 2 Food Recommendation has a broad range of interests and is no longer assessed in a fixed direction.”

"Compared to targeted assessments of ingredients, flavors, or types of cuisine, their assessments are ever-changing and lean more towards a kind of...feeling."

"Feelings?" Qin Lang's expression turned serious.

This sounds... a little abstract, doesn't it?

“Yes, that’s the feeling.” Zhou Qing nodded. “You need to understand one thing: the food recommenders themselves also have considerable culinary skills, and every second-level food recommender is a highly skilled spirit chef.”

"In the process of improving their culinary skills, they also gained their own insights and feelings about cooking. Rather than viewing the Level 2 Food Recommender assessment as an exam, it's more accurate to say that..."

"That's their process of finding kindred spirits."
-
"Looking for someone who can relate...?"

Qin Lang lay on the sofa at home, looking at a piece of paper in his hand.

Those were the test questions that Zhou Qing had compiled for him, the test questions that the three previous Spirit Chefs who had been tested by Li Yuantu had received.

Even with this real exam question, Qin Lang was still filled with confusion.

Find a random passerby on the street and search for the flavor hidden deep in their memory.

How can we create a dish that tells a story, and use the story behind the dish to move Li Yuantu?
After tasting Li Yuantu's cooking, how do you express your "feelings" after eating a dish?
The assessment of Level 2 food recommenders seemed even more abstract than he had imagined.

Qin Lang slowly folded the paper and tucked it into his pocket, then sighed.

"It seems I can only hope that Mr. Li Yuantu won't give me such tricky test questions."

"Gulu~"

"Chop~"

Danbao nuzzled Qin Lang's face as encouragement, while Lala decisively bit Qin Lang's arm.

Qin Lang said he's almost used to it.

After pulling Lala off his arm, Qin Lang slowly closed his eyes and entered a state of introspection.

The moment I sat down to fish on the banks of the Xiayun River, I had already successfully checked off the eleventh painting in the Traveler's Book.

However, his conversation with Zhou Qing later made him temporarily forget about the matter.

Now that I'm home, it's time to check my rewards for this check-in.

Excited heart, trembling hands.

Qin Lang excitedly flipped to the back of the eleventh painting, and then saw…

A piece of Chengxing Stone.

Okay, consider this a guaranteed reward.

With a sigh, Qin Lang then looked at the twelfth painting.

Then, his eyes widened involuntarily.

The twelfth painting depicts a boarding gate at a dock.

A very luxurious sightseeing cruise ship was moored at the dock.

Thinking of Zhou Qing and the "Leaping Fish" he had mentioned, Qin Lang's mouth slowly opened wide.

No way? !

(End of this chapter)