Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 248 The Difference Between Kitchen Mode and Snack Stall: Let's Start with Some Water (Second Update)

[This is too harsh on the contestants! 12 hours without sleep and no help, with such a short preparation time. It might be okay for the younger ones, but won't the older ones collapse?]

[A legitimate competition wouldn't have such a strange thing happen; there must be additional rules in place!]

I initially thought that once you made it into the top 48, it would become a 1v1 competition, but holding it as an individual tournament is already quite fair!

[This feels just like a food street; to become popular, both pricing and cooking speed need to keep up.]

[Something's not right. These rules are completely different from those of a food street!]

While netizens were discussing the rules, Xia Ming looked at the rules on the big screen and smiled slightly.

"12 hours straight? 3 hours of preparation time? I'm exhausted!"

"You're overthinking it. For some athletes, these 12 hours might actually be rest time!"

Xia Ming is least afraid of long-term solo cooking in the kitchen. You should know that there is no place in the world as strict as the kitchen of the Blood Blade Sect in the Nine Provinces Continent.

After all, in the city, the worst that can happen is losing a job, but for the Blood Blade Sect, it's losing their lives.

With the support of the Blood Soul, Xia Ming could cook for 24 hours straight without any problems.
"At first glance, it does seem unfriendly to older chefs."

"But upon closer inspection, this question contains many implicit rules!"

Xia Ming reached out and touched his chin, raising a slight brow.

"First of all, this is a standard banquet hall, and there are no kitchen facilities whatsoever."

"This is normal. The organizers would never set up 48 open stoves here for the sake of venue maintenance."

"After all, this isn't like an exhibition hall. Exhibition halls are all steel structures, very durable."

"The decoration here looks expensive and high-end. It's really not worth making some minor renovations just for a competition."

"Therefore, this place is completely different from a food street because diners have lost their first impression."

Xia Ming knew that there were generally two reasons why the food at the snack street needed to be made to order most of the time.

1. To maintain the temperature of the food and provide customers with an "order and eat" experience.

Therefore, the dishes served on the food street are generally not too difficult to prepare, and the proportions are kept as simple as possible. In order to keep the food fresh, most of the ingredients are prepared in advance before the stall opens.

Second: In order to attract customers.

"Whether it's spicy, sweet, or fragrant, presenting the food to diners like shumai is the biggest advantage of a food street."

"This improves the efficiency of customers' selection, and combined with the ready-to-eat nature, it implicitly guarantees sales speed and table turnover rate."

"But just like different regions have different tastes among diners."

"Different places present dishes differently, and the first challenge the contestants face is the 'kitchen'!"

Don't underestimate the simple transition from the spotlight to behind the scenes; it's just like being a "celebrity" or a "songwriter."

Although most of the snacks are inexpensive, the chefs stand in front of all the diners, much like "celebrities" with a performance element.

Placing the chef in the kitchen means that from the very beginning, the diners and the chefs are both in the dark.

At this moment, the chefs are like "songwriters," perhaps they can compose the most exquisite music in the world.

But that doesn't mean they'll be remembered by the listeners.

After all, it's already quite difficult to remember the singer when listening to a song, let alone the lyricist and composer. It's really asking too much of the listener.

The same applies to the culinary world.
No matter how much importance China places on chefs in recent years, there's one thing that live streaming can never achieve.
Even viewers of variety shows or competitions cannot personally smell the aroma of the food or taste the flavor of the dishes.

Therefore, the vast majority of netizens have no concept of the vast majority of chefs.

Like Bai Susu, if she hadn't been a judge in this competition, she wouldn't have caused public controversy on short videos due to her personal issues.
How many netizens would recognize her?

Not to mention that netizens cannot represent the general public. Although the internet is well-developed in cities, there are still many people who do not like surfing the internet.

When you go to a restaurant, how many people would specifically ask the chef's name?

Even if you eat delicious food, all you'll remember is the restaurant's name.

"And this is the first obstacle set up by the competition organizers."

"How do you pique a diner's interest in your cold menu and get them to place an order when you've removed the aroma and color of the food? That's a real art!"

Of course, Xia Ming did not believe that the production team would actually start the "double-blind" mode.

Because that would be too random.

"Although most chefs may spend their first day at work in the kitchen, facing cold orders and constantly making dishes with flavors that have been predetermined in advance."

"But this is the 'Level 5 Chinese' exam venue. Theoretically speaking, all 48 contestants present, including myself, are qualified to become head chefs at a large hotel."

"The exam standards will most likely be based on the models of star-rated hotels, Black Pearl hotels, and traditional old-brand hotels."

"That is, when chefs face diners, they will make a basic assessment of them."

"Age, clothing, behavior, and their own notes on their taste preferences are all sources of information about diners' culinary preferences."

"Therefore, the production team will most likely put a large screen in the kitchen so that the chefs can make corresponding strategies based on the customers who order their dishes."

Xia Ming was quite confident in this deduction.

After all, the Chinese Chefs Association is not a variety show; they need chefs with real skills, so they won't deliberately create conflicts or do anything to create variety show effects.

In their eyes, each of the 48 contestants has their own strengths and weaknesses. What they need to do is to select the better contestants from among them, just like sifting soil.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Xia Ming had expected.
After the host announced the rules, he did not answer the questions asked by the contestants below.

"I know you may have a lot of questions about the details of the rules, but there's no rush."

“We have equipped all 48 kitchens with professional AI equipment. The contestants can simply use voice control to let the AI ​​drive the AI ​​to complete the instructions you need.”

"For example: poster design, categorization of ingredients, and management of overall kitchen equipment."

"This is also convenient for our older chefs, but please remember not to touch anything related to the plugs and power supply, so as not to cause the equipment to malfunction or stop for a short time."

"If the equipment malfunctions due to the chef's personal reasons, the competition organizer will only be responsible for repairing it as soon as possible. The contestant will be responsible for any time lost in the process."

After this was announced, the host had everyone draw lots on the spot. Xia Ming drew number 44.

Afterwards, he was led into his room by a staff member.

"The chef's hall, Gou (Dui above Kun below)"

As Xia Ming walked to the door, he raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at the divination image in the courtyard.

Seeing this, a staff member standing nearby smiled and said...

"Don't overthink it. The chef's hall in the Beijing area is allocated rooms according to the sixty-four hexagrams in the I Ching."

"Besides the two central 'Qian' and 'Kun' kitchens, which are large 'collective kitchens' capable of accommodating fifty chefs working together."

"The four halls—'Tun,' 'Meng,' 'Xu,' and 'Song'—can each accommodate around 20 chefs, making them medium-sized kitchens."

"The remaining 58 rooms are all small kitchens with only one person in each room."

"These 58 individual kitchens are completely identical in terms of interior decoration, except for the different orientations they face."

"As for the meaning of each hexagram, it really just serves as a number here, since the number four isn't always considered auspicious."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ming simply smiled and waved his hand.
There is naturally no content about the I Ching in my memory, since it is not taught in compulsory education now.

However, when Xia Ming was trying to find spiritual energy, he actively watched some of the content of the Xuanmen (Mysterious Sect).

According to the Book of Changes, the Gou hexagram represents "unexpected encounter," which is not a good omen. It is necessary to wisely withdraw when necessary to protect oneself.

But for Xia Ming, the so-called urban metaphysics seemed rather laughable in the face of demonic cultivation.

"I don't care what your divination result is, you think you can stop me with that?"

With a chuckle, Xia Ming pushed open the door to his kitchen under the watchful eyes of the staff.

The first thing you see is a huge display screen in front of you.

At this moment, the large screen was divided into several parts, precisely corresponding to the "main view of the banquet hall" and the view of each individual table.

"You know, that's quite thoughtful!"

Just as Xia Ming was thinking to himself, the AI ​​voice system beside him also started.

"Hello, Xia Ming, I'm your personal consultant for this match. You can call me 'Xiaodou.' Now, I can answer all your questions about this round of the match and about this room."

"But remember, there are only 3 hours and 10 minutes left until the 'menu presentation' stage."

"In other words, you only have 10 minutes of consultation time that doesn't take up your own match time."

"Of course, I will still answer your questions once the competition starts."

Seeing this, Xia Ming also asked directly.

"How should I present the dishes I've prepared to the diners?"

AI answered this question without hesitation.

"There is a conveyor belt in front of you, and five different types of glass domes are placed next to it. When you finish cooking and take an order, put the food into the appropriate glass dome, and our staff will deliver it to the designated customer."

Upon hearing this rule, Xia Ming raised an eyebrow.

"You're quite thoughtful, aren't you? Okay, second question: the rules clearly state that only 6 'priced dishes' can be served. If I want to order a free hidden menu item, or a dish that's available for free, will it be counted as one of those 6 dishes?"

Xiaodou answered Xia Ming's question almost without hesitation.

"Of course not, but Xia Ming, I need to remind you that your initial 'total amount' isn't plentiful. If you spend too much on giving away dishes, while it might attract some customers, you might eventually face the risk of running out of ingredients prematurely."

"Furthermore, we also have restrictions on dishes that are not priced in the table."

"First: The actual value of complimentary dishes should not exceed that of the dishes themselves."

"Second: Each menu can only contain four dishes other than the 'priced dishes'."

Upon hearing this answer, Xia Ming's pupils constricted.

"Each menu, you mean I can have multiple menus?"

Xiaodou's screen flickered.

"No, each contestant's menu is the same size and dimensions, double-sided printing is allowed, and the first customized menu is free. If you want to modify the menu later, you will need to pay the corresponding 'initial total amount'."

"The initial total amount is a fixed 4000 points, distributed at the start of the competition, and cannot be obtained through any means."

"If you want to modify the menu, you will need to pay 500 points the first time and 1000 points the second time. You can only modify it twice. When you modify it, you must ensure that all the dishes on the previous menu have been ordered."

Upon hearing that the order could be modified, Xia Ming pondered for a moment before continuing to ask Xiao Dou questions.

In 10 minutes, he asked about almost all the points that needed attention. After confirming that there were many deliberately left loopholes in the rules, the countdown on Xia Ming's big screen finally ended.

At that moment, the sound of an announcement rang out in the venue.

[The communication period has ended. Contestants are now free to explore the kitchen, the "food storage" connected by the kitchen corridors, the restrooms, and other locations.]

[Countdown: 00:03:00]

The moment the broadcast ended, Xia Ming rushed to the stove and placed his knife box there.

Then they took out all four kettles and two electric kettles from underneath, and also took two large soup pots.

Unlike the other contestants who went directly to the food preparation room, his first step was to fill a water bottle with water from the tap and then start boiling it in the corresponding container.

This step took very little time. After Xia Ming finished preparing, he turned around and gave Xiao Dou some instructions.

"Add two free dishes to my poster, namely..."

"Free boiled water"

"besides."

Hot water for free.

(End of this chapter)