Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 199: Wasn't it supposed to be wild boar meat? Why did I taste Kune? (Bonus Chapter for 2K Players)

"No, is this player eating by himself?"

Seeing Xia Ming's actions, Yamamoto Huaiji (Japanese) felt a little uneasy.

Having grown up on the "Island of the Rising Sun," he is very particular about dining etiquette.

Because the so-called "kaiseki cuisine" is the ultimate embodiment of traditional Japanese food culture.

He wouldn't even dare to imagine something like the kitchen staff cutting a piece of meat and putting it in their own mouth before putting it in the customer's.

In particular, the thought that he might have to eat Xia Ming's leftovers made his face even worse.

However, Mina (Ya Zhong), who was standing next to Tan Zhifeng, did not have so many concerns.

He believes that the chef should control the diners' sense of taste and that the chef must taste the food before serving it to the diners.

"How can you expect diners to eat food that even you yourselves can't stomach?"

Therefore, she felt that tasting food was a way for the chef to show respect to the diners.

As for Grant (Eagle) and Tommy (Gallic), they did not comment much on this.

Their concept is
When judges evaluate dishes based on taste, the chef's personal behavior is not taken into account.

Furthermore, as Michelin chefs, the two of them didn't have much of an opinion on chefs eating their own meals.

The local judges were slightly displeased, as they considered food sacred in their local tradition.

The order of eating should respect the age of the person eating. If Xia Ming could conjure up another dish, that would be fine; consider it a personal act of tasting the food.

But if he serves up the scraps of food he's already eaten, he'll undoubtedly get five zeros.

At the rest area, Qiao Ruoning watched the live stream on her phone without being overly moved.

Because Xia Ming had talked with her for a long time last night about the food culture of "Mao Li Ren".

This means that Xia Ming knew perfectly well that the Maoli people did not like to eat other people's leftovers.

Of course, Xia Ming rarely ate working meals in front of the judges. Qiao Ruoning believed that he was probably calculating something when he did so.

After a moment's thought, Qiao Ruoning seemed to understand Xia Ming's meaning.

“I understand. He may have been eating his lunch, but he was actually testing the judges.”

"First, based on the judges' reactions to the aroma, he determined that the 'Hum Yi' dish was cooked to at least the local standard."

"Then, he kept testing the judges' reactions with lemon juice, cut flowers, and salt."

Qiao Ruoning knew that one thing that made Xia Ming different from everyone else was that he had moved his own desk out from inside.

This means that his workbench can be seen by the judges.

Because the judges were paying close attention to him as he was about to present his dish, he was given the opportunity to judge some of the judges' preferences by observing their expressions or certain keywords.

She clearly saw that Xia Ming had dug two holes, which meant that this was not the dish Xia Ming had prepared for the judges.

Although Tan Zhifeng did not know that Xia Ming had prepared two dishes, he understood that Xia Ming would never directly provoke the local judges.

Those who fall for his schemes usually have to slowly reflect on them before they can fully understand them.

Even if Xia Ming were to openly provoke someone one day, that provocation itself could very well be part of a scheme.

As expected, Xia Ming stopped what he was doing after trying some wild boar meat and potatoes.

Next, he wrapped the extra food in "Pukka leaves" and then turned back to the pit.

As the pit opened, Xia Ming fished out a meat roll that was even larger than before.

The moment Xia Ming unwrapped the meat roll, the entire room was filled with an explosive aroma.

McGrady, who was setting the plate, was completely stunned.

"Good buddy, the aroma is so strong it's practically filling my nose."

Carlyle spoke with an incredulous look on his face.

"That can't be right, can 'Hum' really make this taste?" Astor, who was still preparing eel, sniffed around after leaving his cooking area.

"Wild boar meat, eel oil, Sichuan pepper leaves, mushrooms, ferns, shrimp—my goodness, how many flavors has this guy managed to blend together?"

Astor's strength as a "foodie" lies in his more sensitive nose than ordinary people and his innate sixth sense.

At that moment, his nose told him that Xia Ming's cooking was absolutely delicious.

His sixth sense was reminding him that Xia Ming's cooking was hiding some secret.
"There are too many flavors; I can't tell them all off at once."

"In Chinese terms, this should be called a complex flavor."

Astor has been to China and knows that its culinary history is much longer than that of most other places. For the sake of food, people there can turn the impossible into the possible.

So as soon as Xia Ming's fragrance wafted out, Astor knew, "The big one is coming."

At this moment, his interest in Xia Ming reached its peak.

Because most of the gourmet hunters who persevere to the end become troubled by gourmet food as they get older.

Having seen too much, they have completely lost interest in ordinary food.

Therefore, it's not just chefs who need gourmet hunters; hunters themselves also need chefs.
"What an interesting kid. He'll definitely be an excellent chef in the future! Looks like I'll have to get to know him better in private."

"However, this kid's English seems to be not very good, that's a problem."

While Aster was pondering, Xia Ming had already prepared meals for the 11 judges.

As he raised his hand, the host came to his side with a food cart.

As soon as the host walked over, he smelled an extremely rich aroma of pork.

"The food was so delicious, I could smell it coming right up to my nose just by standing there. I wonder if I'll get to have this for lunch tonight."

"If there were, that would be fantastic!"

She made a joke to lighten the mood, and then led Xia Ming to the judges.

As each small bowl was placed in front of the judges, the host sensed a significant shift in the local judges' attitudes.

Their eyes clearly showed longing as they looked at the pork dish Xia Ming had prepared.

"My dish incorporates local specialties, combining ingredients like kawa kawa, shrimp, eel, and potatoes into 'Hum Yi'!"

"The shape of the pit roasting oven was optimized using the local Chinese 'Daqing pit roasting' technique, while the fusion of the ingredients was inspired by the famous Chinese dish 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.'"

"I hope you like it!"

After he finished speaking, the host translated Xia Ming's words. When they heard that the shape of the "pit oven" had been changed, a look of surprise flashed in the eyes of the locals.

They probably didn't expect that China also had research on digging pits.

As for "Mina" and "Grant", they were very interested in "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall", seemingly wanting to know how Xia Ming would combine two completely different things.

Sama couldn't understand all that; at that moment, in her eyes, Xia Ming's cooking was beautiful.

On a raised platform made of potato slices and sweet potato chunks, six pork flower shapes stand gracefully, with shrimp, small pieces of eel, a few mushrooms, and ferns as garnish.

On the two withered leaves of kava kava, there were two different colored sauces.

One variety is yellow, the other is orange-red, and a strip of fine salt is sprinkled next to the leaves, with half a lemon in the corner.

While the overall arrangement may lack the romanticism of French style, it certainly aligns with the aesthetic preferences of most Western judges.

For Sama, the wild boar meat, as thin as a cicada's wing, was something she had never seen before in her life.

After watching for a while, she finally prepared to eat. But after thinking about it, in order not to spoil the beauty of the flowers, she simply used her hands.

As the flower was tossed into Sama's mouth, she first tasted the pepper flavor traditional to her tribe, and then she began to chew.

The moment the teeth parted the petals, Sama's eyes suddenly lit up.

"How amazing! Isn't this wild boar meat? Why... do I... taste Kunekune!"

(End of this chapter)