The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 480 The Heated Preliminary Rounds
"Congratulations to the three contestants for successfully registering for the competition!"

The staff at the registration point, with warm smiles on their faces, handed three contestant certificates to Qin Lang and his two companions.

"These are your contestant credentials. Please do not lose or damage them. You will need your credentials to participate in the preliminary rounds that will begin later."

"Okay." Qin Lang nodded and casually looked them over.

Although the registration was somewhat rushed, the contestant certificates included freshly taken photos of the three of them without head coverings, and they still looked quite presentable.

After handing the other two documents to Cao Dongdong and Zhao Qian, the three left the registration point and went to a place not far from the competition stage.

"Next, we just wait for the preliminary rounds to begin."

"I just studied the rules of the preliminary rounds carefully and found them quite interesting," Cao Dongdong couldn't help but laugh. "They're different from the youth cooking competitions we've participated in before."

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded.

Official cooking competitions often use a free cooking and multi-person judging process in the preliminary rounds. There are no restrictions on any cooking theme. As long as the dish is approved by more than half of the judges, it can advance to the next round.

However, the selection process for this cooking competition was different; it used a mechanism called "taste-based reverse selection."

Simply put, the organizers will assign multiple judges with different preferences and announce their respective preferences.

Contestants only need to choose one of the judges they are most confident they can impress, cook a dish that will impress the judge, and they will pass.

In addition, there is another point to note, which is speed.

There are only 16 spots available for advancing in the preliminary rounds of the cooking competition.

These 16 qualifying spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Once all the spots are filled, even if you can impress the judges with your culinary skills, you won't get a spot to advance; you'll only be eliminated.

Because the advancement process is relatively subjective and involves greater uncertainty, this mechanism is less fair than the previous one.

However, since it was a grassroots competition, it was not a serious matter.

"I'll go straight to the dessert judges later," Cao Dongdong chuckled. "With my dessert skills, I'm sure I can impress them and secure a spot in the next round."

"Just you wait and see."

"You already know before it even starts?" Zhao Qian couldn't help but purse her lips. "What if they didn't even include desserts?"

"How is that possible?" Cao Dongdong exclaimed in disbelief. "Such a big event, how could they not even have dessert..."
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"Really not?!"

Upon seeing the published list of potential judges and their corresponding preferences at the preliminary round, Cao Dongdong immediately showed a frustrated expression.

"What's with that judge who likes dishes with astringent flavors? Is he a fan of bizarre cuisine?"

"How come there are judges who like sour flavors?!"

"No way, this is ridiculous!"

"None of the twenty judges like sweets?"

"Is this competition fair?"

Zhao Qian, standing to the side, covered her mouth and chuckled, "I told you not to be so sure of yourself! Now look what happened."

"Good luck." Qin Lang patted Cao Dongdong on the shoulder, showing a sympathetic expression. "I'm going to get ready now."

For Qin Lang, choosing judges was not difficult, since he could basically choose whatever kind of dishes they liked.

Of course, this excludes those who prefer a slightly astringent taste.

Even Qin Lang couldn't think of any dish he knew that could satisfy their peculiar taste preferences. After parting ways with the two, Qin Lang stepped onto the stage.

On the huge stage, there were a total of twenty standard cooking units, but all of these cooking units were in an open state.

The "String Sound Cooking Performance Competition" has the word "performance" in its name because the entire cooking process is open to the public.

However, due to the prize money of up to five million, the competition still attracted hundreds of participants despite this limitation.

As Qin Lang took the stage, the other nineteen standard cooking segments had already been filled by contestants, and the audience was packed.

String Sound Square is already the square with the largest flow of people in String Fish City, and the time when the competition starts is the peak of the flow of people.

Such a grand spectacle is sure to attract many viewers.

After looking around, Qin Lang finally focused his attention on the cooking that was about to begin.

Although it is not yet certain whether the organizers have any issues, the timing of the fireworks display and the appearance of the rare spirits has raised suspicions that the organizers are connected with the rare spirit hunting team.

Therefore, before participating in the competition, he had already made up his mind not to use any rare ingredients here, in order to avoid any potential risks.

However, he doesn't intend to be overly low-key.

To gain the attention of the organizers and uncover the secrets behind the scenes, he needs to make a name for himself with his culinary skills.

and so…

"boom--"

Qin Lang grabbed a large piece of pork belly with the skin on, slammed it onto the cutting board, and the moment he raised the cleaver, he had already cleared his mind of all distractions and entered a state of cooking.

"Next, we'll make Dongpo pork."

He specifically chose a judge who preferred to eat meat.

This Dongpo pork, a dish that no meat lover can resist, will surely leave a lasting impression.

After carefully picking out the fine hairs from the pork skin, Qin Lang quickly took out the wok, heated it without oil or water, and placed a large piece of Dongpo pork directly into the wok with the skin side down. He pressed the center of the pork belly with his palm and rotated it vigorously, as if scrubbing a wok, to make the skin adhere tightly to the inner wall of the wok.

"squeak--"

With a series of soft popping sounds, wisps of white smoke began to rise from the pot, and a slightly burnt, bitter smell gradually wafted out.

At this moment, the preliminary rounds had just begun, and the other contestants were still in the food preparation stage. Qin Lang's move instantly attracted the attention of all the viewers, who gasped in surprise upon seeing his actions.

Many laymen laughed, thinking that what Qin Lang was doing would probably result in a culinary disaster.

However, some people with considerable culinary skills showed surprise and contemplation upon seeing this scene.

This is to force out the oil from the pork belly in advance, while also removing the fishy smell?

Soon, Qin Lang turned off the fire and carefully lifted the pork belly from the pot. The skin had turned black and the pork had shrunk considerably.

The whole piece of pork belly is placed in cold water to cool, and then the charred black on the surface of the pork skin is gently scraped off with a cleaver, leaving only an attractive golden yellow underneath.

After doing all this, Qin Lang took a deep breath.

The next step he needs to take is crucial in ensuring that every piece of pork belly has the same shape, and it is also the most essential step in the entire cooking process.

Shape and drain the fat from the pork belly.

(End of this chapter)