Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 18 The Nine-Rank Chef System of China: The Trap "Michaels" Falls into
"Inside the competition venue"

All the contestants were stunned as they watched the results appear on the big screen.

"Are you kidding me? This guy won?"

"Balut? Soy milk? Come on, bro, pat me and see if I'm still half asleep!"

"This is outrageous!"

On the other hand, the chefs also looked shocked, but to maintain their composure, they didn't react as directly as the contestants.

After a while, Yang Yanbin, the youngest of all the chefs, suddenly burst out laughing.

"Handsome uncle, you and Uncle Li were right! This hairy egg is just so charming!"

Shuai Xiaojian's eyes narrowed slightly. Despite his initial pleasant words, he didn't actually believe that Xia Ming could overturn "Micahs".

Li Zhian, standing to the side, smiled and took a swig of wine.

"This is interesting. I bet even Micas himself didn't expect to lose here!"

Looking at the other contestants still competing below the stage, Chef Wang Qingrui raised an eyebrow.

"What a promising young man! I remember that Michael passed the Level 5 Western Cuisine exam a long time ago. He should be preparing to aim for Level 6 now!"

Shuai Xiaojian nodded.

"That's right. During the competition, he made a unique dish that blended Chinese and Western flavors. He's a very talented chef. He might have underestimated his opponent today."

"What a pity! I thought he would go even further!"

Wang Bing glanced up at the players opposite him.

"I don't know if the production team did it on purpose or what, but judging from the order of the challenges, all the promising talents in this group were put at the end!"

Yang Yanbin, who was standing to the side, also smiled.

"Wang Bing, be careful! Your opponent is 'Little Flower,' she works at Embroidery Red Flower, her skills must be amazing, don't mess it up!"

Wang Bing chuckled, a look of disdain in his eyes.

What a joke! He's a proper West 5th level, how could he be defeated by a West 4th level junior today?
Even if the ingredients he uses aren't the type he's good at, he'll never lose.

The chefs regained their composure, but the live stream chat had already exploded!

This is outrageous! A level 5 Western cuisine chef lost to a barbecue restaurant owner? The show's rigging is way too obvious.

[Exactly! Do they really think the Chefs Association's rating is that easy?! It's a rigged exam! A rigged exam!]

[So, does this mean chefs are also rated?]

[Isn't that obvious? What profession doesn't have ratings? Even in League of Legends, there are professional and world-class levels!]

[For your information, Chinese chefs are divided into 9 levels, from lowest to highest: Qualification Level, Junior Chef, Intermediate Chef, Senior Chef, Level 3 Special Chef, Level 2 Special Chef, Level 1 Special Chef, Honorary Special Chef, and the title of God of Cookery.]

Western cuisine chefs are divided into 10 levels, with an additional beginner level (level 1). This means that Michaels, as a level 5 Western chef, is equivalent to a senior chef in China.

[Let me add something for the person upstairs: if you find the titles too cumbersome, you can use simplified ones. For example, Michaels is simplified to West Level 5, and the handsome chef who defeated the bald cook is China Level 6.]

[Does that mean Shuai Xiaojian is a Level 2 Special Chef? Does that mean he has such a high status?]

[Just kidding, this show has a huge budget. Besides Shuai Xiaojian, who is a Level 6 Huashu student, Wang Qingrui, Zeng Huaijun, Li Zhian, and Dong Jiaqi are also Level 6 Huashu students!]

Wow! The chef is amazing! How are the other contestants supposed to compete? They might as well just surrender!

[Just kidding, do you think the contestants are easy? Bald Cook is West Level 3, Little Flower is West Level 4, and the strongest one is Xia Yuxingye, he's China Level 4, the same level as Yang Yanbin!] [What a pity, I thought Xia Yuxingye would win. I've eaten his cooking, it's incredibly delicious, he's really no worse than Yang Yanbin!]

[Hey everyone, what level is the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef? I think he could even beat Mikes, so he should be at least a Level 3 Hua!]

【.】

【.】

A single comment from a netizen instantly brought the previously lively live stream to a freezing point.

What level is the "Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef"?
"So, this guy really is 'unrated'?"

On the second floor, "Lolo hummed" curiously looking at the "dark horse" next to him.

"I thought he was joking when he mentioned a barbecue restaurant in his profile! I didn't expect him to actually run a family-run restaurant?"

The "dark horse" from the "Hua 3rd grade" squinted at the "Luo Luo Heng Heng Ji" from the "Xi 3rd grade" in front of her. She always felt that the girl's current innocent and cute temperament was an act.

However, he wasn't lying.

Before the competition, his boss gave him a list of the top 86, which included information on all the players.

He remembered clearly that the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef was "unrated," meaning he did not graduate from a culinary school, because culinary school graduates would definitely receive a "certificate," which is a Level 1 Chinese culinary certificate.

If it's "unrated," it only means that his cooking skills are self-taught or taught by his family.

Of course, there is another possibility: he didn't actually take the certification exam, because opening a barbecue restaurant doesn't require a chef's certification like applying for a Michelin-starred restaurant or a top-tier hotel in China.

After all, there are so many restaurants on every street corner in China, and a large portion of their owners are themselves "unrated".

The older generation doesn't care much about this; as long as they have good skills and customers around, that's enough for them.

Just like the previous "Old Man with the Stove" who made spicy crab his whole life, he was also "unrated".

Therefore, the rating only represents a certain level of a chef's relative skill, and does not necessarily represent the full level of that person's culinary skills.

Looking at the "dark horse" with a thoughtful expression in his eyes, "Lolo hummed" and turned his head to look at Xia Ming, who was walking out of the blind tasting room below, revealing a sly look.

"Oh~ Is there another surprise? But how exactly did he defeat 'Miccus' so cleanly and decisively? I'm really curious! I wish I could see the judges' comments!"

Xia Ming was unaware that he was being watched. After placing the food cart in the designated location, he returned to his stove to tidy up.

Xia Ming packed the "live pearl sauce" into a large glass jar he had prepared earlier, and then put the remaining ingredients on the table onto a plate to pack up and take away.

While packing his things, he discovered that he still had one of the "miracle fruits" he had prepared earlier left.

Looking at the bright red peel, which resembled the color of a cherry tomato, Xia Ming smiled and put it in his mouth.

Miracle fruit has almost no flesh, only a thick skin with a slightly sweet taste, and it tastes somewhat similar to the skin of a low-sugar, low-acid cherry tomato.

After carefully feeling the texture of the peel with his tongue, he spat out the entire pit.

Then he smiled and glanced at "Micahs" across the street, who had already finished cleaning up.

It was obvious that "Micahs" was furious. Even though he managed to tidy up the things on the table with the last bit of his sanity, he couldn't help but miss some things.

At that moment, a lemon slipped off his desk without him noticing and rolled over to Xia Ming's side.

Looking at the green lemon in front of him, he bent down, picked it up, and then swung the cleaver, splitting it in half.

Then, he stuck out his tongue and licked the juice of the fresh lemon; a sweet sensation instantly spread in his mouth.
(End of this chapter)