Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 127 directly exposed the chief judges – this doesn't make sense, how could they not have reacted? (Bonus chapter for 2K readers)

Looking at the name tag hanging on the person's chest, which read "Chief Judge: Yin Shengjiang"...
Xia Ming smiled, then stood up, walked to the glass, and opened the door.

"Since the chief judges are here, why would I mind? Please!"

After glancing at the not-so-large makeshift kitchen, Yin Shengjiang asked Wei Yan and You Zhangwen to wait outside while he and Tan Zhifeng stepped inside.

He looked up and saw Xia Ming's stove.

The stove was now very clean, and the cutting boards on the side had been put away.

On top was a bowl of untouched rice, along with three side dishes and a soup.
With a slight sniff, Yin Shengjiang smelled a very refreshing plum scent.

Tan Zhifeng's gaze, however, was drawn to the empty jar of "salted plums".

When Xia Ming saw the two of them come in, he reached out to his lunch and said something.

"It's still warm, try it and give me your feedback!"

While he was being polite, Xia Ming actually understood that he had attracted the attention of the competition organizers because of some of his unusual actions.

To put it nicely, invite them over to try it; it'll give you a better chance to showcase your talents.

To put it bluntly, I just wanted to check if he had cheated!

After all, he had heard Qiao Ruoning mention before that there had been instances of cheating in the New Chef Competition.

But Xia Ming wasn't afraid. Although it was somewhat miraculous, the dish itself definitely wouldn't show any problems. Since the dish itself was fine, how could he possibly have a problem?

Seeing Xia Ming's open and honest attitude, Tan Zhifeng smiled in a friendly manner.

In his view, although Xia Ming's approach was a bit off, he wouldn't make any fundamental mistakes.

While I may have used the competition format and dishes to influence my opponents during the competition, I always used dishes that complied with the rules.
He felt that Xia Ming must have solved the problem of the rigidity period through some method, rather than hiding something like "tenderizing powder".

At this moment, Yin Shengjiang showed no politeness. He pulled out a pair of chopsticks from underneath, hesitated for a moment, and chose to start eating the cabbage first.

As the stir-fried cabbage entered his mouth, Yin Shengjiang raised an eyebrow slightly.

"A seemingly simple stir-fried cabbage dish, yet the chef's mastery of heat control and the characteristics of the ingredients has resulted in such a high level of skill; their fundamentals are truly solid."

Although Xia Ming's stir-fried cabbage was basically seasoned, Yin Shengjiang could clearly feel a refreshing sense of "returning to simplicity".

Those with a strong palate might find it a bit bland, but Yin Shengjiang naturally sees further ahead.

"The control over stir-frying has almost reached its peak, resulting in a crisp texture and plenty of juice."

"A genius even more outrageous than Wei Yan, and more importantly, his arrogance is hidden in his bones."

"Compared to Wei Yan's outgoing personality, she'll have more audience appeal and a brighter future."

He took a deep breath and picked up another piece of "Lemon Plum Hand-Shredded Chicken". Compared to the previous stir-fried cabbage, this dish seemed more casual and was obviously made from scraps.

That makes sense, though. Even if he doesn't eat it, all of this stuff will be packed up and thrown in the trash later anyway.

Rather than doing that, it's better to eat just a little bit; that way, it won't seem wasteful.
After tasting the two dishes, Yin Shengjiang had a basic understanding of Xia Ming's culinary skills.

In his opinion, Xia Ming's skills have surpassed the average standard of "Hua 5 level", and his seasoning is about the same.

Creativity is hard to maintain, but judging from these few rounds of the competition, he is absolutely a genius among geniuses.

"If you've been cooking since birth, this is probably the best you can do."

In that instant, a figure suddenly flashed through his mind.
“He’s even more talented than Xia Yitian, and he realized his talent even earlier than Xia Yitian. The only difference is that his apparent level is insufficient.” Yin Shengjiang knew that this was the least of his problems as a chef. Not to mention that most chefs on the market don’t even have this so-called grading title, and even if they do, it’s just for reference.

"Level 8 Hua" truly possesses comprehensive strengths, but you can't say that "Level 4 Hua" is necessarily incapable of overtaking others.

Some people care about rank, some don't; ultimately, everything depends on how the dish is presented.

I took a sip of the water I brought with me, which washed away the taste in my mouth.

Yin Shengjiang reached out with his chopsticks to pick up a piece of twice-cooked stir-fried pork. As he put the pork into his mouth, his gaze sharpened.

Perhaps because he was only eating a little bit himself, Xia Ming didn't prepare it in a complicated way.

However, the fusion of the base oil and the aroma of chili peppers is perfectly achieved.

The moment you take a bite of this meat, you can feel its aroma without being greasy. The slightly curled edges even provide a richer texture to the stir-fried meat.

Not only did the meat harden during the rigor mortis period, but there was also none of the expected fishy smell.

It was so clean that Yin Shengjiang even thought it was a piece of meat that had just been cut off and put into the pot.

The thought of having been looking at Xia Ming the whole time made him feel a little amused.

"The technique is standard, but the processing is top-notch. If it's not done with scallions and ginger, then it's most likely that the vegetables' own aroma is used to subtly mask the pork's flavor."

"Fruits soften the tough texture of pork, while plums remove any trace of blood and fishy taste."

It sounds simple, but in practice, determining the right combination, the appropriate quantity, and how to make reasonable adjustments based on the type of fruit all require skill.
Humans are not machines; they need to follow the fundamental laws of matter. To be able to use one flavor to eliminate another, and to do it to this extent, definitely requires a great deal of practice.
Or perhaps, they are exceptional geniuses whose innate sensitivity to smells has reached an extreme level.

Xia Ming is very likely the ultimate embodiment of the fusion of the two.
In the culinary world of China, there is a peerless genius, a talent rarely seen even once in five hundred years. He is not even a sapling, but a young man who has already taken deep root, waiting only to grow into a towering tree.
For a moment, Yin Shengjiang even felt that giving him 95 points was still too conservative on the part of the judges.
He picked up another piece of stir-fried pork to savor, and then walked over to Xia Ming with a smile.

"The food was good, keep it up!"

After saying that, he let Tan Zhifeng try a piece of stir-fried pork, and then called Wei Yan and You Zhangwen in to eat as well.

Seeing their shocked expressions, he calmed down a bit and then led the three of them away from Xia Ming's makeshift kitchen.

The viewers in the live stream were initially speculating whether Xia Ming had used some methods, prompting the production team to conduct a follow-up investigation.

Now it seems they've clearly come to show their support!

[Wow, that's awesome! They revealed it to the chief judges ahead of time. Now it's no surprise that Xia Ming is the strongest dark horse!]

[Holy crap, Yin Shengjiang, wow, his mentor is Wang Yijun! He praised him right off the bat, awesome!]

[Don't panic. Han Tianyan hasn't made a move yet, Bai Heng should be almost done, and Miss He He isn't someone to be trifled with either. There's more than one genius here!]

The first two are alright, but He He is out of the question. He's good-looking, but his skills are lacking.

[You beast, who gave you the right to disrespect Miss He He? Draw your sword!]

Just as the virtual PVP was taking place in the live stream, Qian Youdao brought his fish into the judges' room.

After putting the fish into slot number 7, he smiled and looked at the judges' reactions.

"I used a variety of compound vegetables to completely transform the flavor inside the fish, and combined with natural flavors, it will definitely win over the judges from aroma to presentation."

However, after he entered the room, Qian Youdao noticed that many of the judges did not show any particular excitement about his cooking.
Although there were still quite a few lights, they were very different from what he had imagined.

"This doesn't make sense! How could there be no indication? Could it be that there's something wrong with my fish?"

(End of this chapter)