Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 263 Wei Yan, completely unaware of his impending tragedy, is still looking forward (Second Update)

Commentary booth

"The situation seems to have turned one-sided!"

Yin Shengjiang looked at the revenue chart on the side, and then at the orders that kept popping up in Xia Ming's backend, and shook his head with a smile.

"Xia Ming perfectly utilized the advantage of the 'positive reviews' he had previously gained, turning the act of ordering itself into a means of generating random events, given a sufficient number of customers placing orders."

"Compared to attracting diners with 'culinary skills,' his approach has clearly risen to the level of psychology."

Tan Zhifeng, who was standing to the side, also nodded.

"Just like 'oumakase' holds appeal for some diners."

"Whether to choose 'a predetermined trip' or 'a trip with unforeseen circumstances' is a decision each diner must weigh."

"And with the gifts guaranteed to be virtually unique, as a food blogger, my core sense of 'surprise' was greatly satisfied."

Tong Song remained silent for a moment, and this time he did not mention the rules again.
Because he could also see that Xia Ming's choice mode was several times more difficult than the regular mode.

With nearly a hundred different complimentary dishes, if these were given to ordinary contestants, they would definitely exhaust them.

Even if some preparations were made at the beginning, it's impossible to consider all the dishes thoroughly; at least a large portion of them are obviously made quickly on the spot.

Unlike the Japanese oumakase, Xia Ming took the complimentary dishes very seriously this time, and almost all of them were made on the spot.

Of course, this is also thanks to the fact that the two dishes on Xia Ming's menu do not require much effort.

Furthermore, all the judges keenly noticed that while Xia Ming was continuously providing diners with hidden creative dishes, his unsold "pig's blood curd" was being consumed at an extremely rapid pace.

For ordinary netizens, this may seem like nothing, but in the eyes of the judges, it points to a very real problem.

Loss Rate

A term that can never be avoided in the kitchen of any restaurant.

The root of most "discounted dishes," the essential main ingredient of "employee meals," and a strong partner of "Pinhaofan"—"kitchen waste."

Whether it's vegetables left overnight in the refrigerator, leftovers from lunch, or food prepared in advance, it's all good.

For large restaurants, their value will plummet once the time frame has passed.

Many people have probably rushed to buy discounted vegetables before supermarkets close or purchased clearance items from bakeries.

Sometimes, when it gets too late, bakeries might even offer "buy one get two free" or "buy one get three free" promotions.

Essentially, this is a way to avoid waste, but the costs still need to be borne by the businesses themselves.

Of course, in most cases, after going through all that, the costs that businesses have to bear will ultimately fall on the consumers.
In the context of a competition, every mistake made in the early preparation stages will affect the chef's performance later on.

After all, not everyone is as energetic as Xia Ming. Wasting the prepared ingredients is a waste of time and energy.

This is why the "Chef Association" only gave the contestants a nominal 3 hours to prepare!

Because the "Chef Association" hopes that the contestants in this exam will have extremely high comprehensive qualities, they need to think clearly about how they should face various unknown exam questions from the very beginning.

And based on this, develop adaptive solutions.
This relates to the overall strategy for the subsequent "exchange competition".

Currently, the Chefs Association has only locked the "raw material purchase quota" and hidden the diners' information in advance, but many chefs already feel restricted.

If the Chinese team falls into a passive position during the "exchange competition," they will need to prepare dishes that are almost impossible to complete under various extreme conditions. What should they do then?
Surrender?
Of course not.
Therefore, "being able to resolve the impact of any scenario and turn it into one's own advantage" is also one of the questions the Chefs Association posed to this group of chefs.

Just as Tong Song remained silent, Cheng Xieyun slowly spoke up.

"I heard that Xia Ming has experience running a shop before?"

Tan Zhifeng coughed twice.

"Yes, after graduating from university, he ran a barbecue restaurant, which was quite popular at the time."

Tan Zhifeng only said nice things; in fact, his private investigation revealed that apart from the handsome owner, Xia Ming's barbecue restaurant had no other highlights.

Subsequent investigations yielded the same result.
Just like what netizens have said.
If he hadn't been reported, Xia Ming might have really spent half his life working at that barbecue restaurant.
However, Cheng Xieyun had not done any special investigation. When she heard Tan Zhifeng say that he had run a store, she subconsciously assumed that it was a relatively famous and large store.

"That's not surprising. As both the head chef and the owner, he must be extremely concerned about the waste rate."

"This is a good thing; being able to 'turn waste into treasure' is rare and commendable among chefs of this age!"

All the judges understood that Xia Ming's performance would definitely earn him a spot in this year's "Exchange Competition".

The difference lies in his capacity for participating in the "exchange competition".
It's important to understand that the "country" in "international exchange competitions" isn't actually fixed.
This year it might be in China, next time it might be on the "Island of the Rising Sun"—it's fluid.
It just so happens that this year's event is being held in China.
At that time, each team will send an "exchange delegation" to the host country. The typical composition of this "exchange delegation" is as follows.
[Team Leader] [Coach] [Regular Team Member]

The official team members are divided into three teams: Team 1, Team 2, and Team 3.

Each team can bring a maximum of 10 members.
Although it's called three teams, the "third team" is basically just the atmosphere-building group.
Aside from matches within their own group, they almost never get to appear on the "main stage," mainly to give newcomers a taste of the atmosphere of a world-class tournament.

The "captain" and "vice-captain" of Team Two are considered reserves for Team One. Under special circumstances, they can be replaced by Team One.
The remaining members of the second team share the right to be called up twice.

You can temporarily select a member from the "second team" to assist or cook for the first team, but both the time and the specific details are very limited.

The purpose of the second team is actually to showcase the diversity of our country's cuisine and the spirit of the younger generation to the world.

Most of its members are chefs who have just entered middle age, and their certification levels are generally between "Hua Level 5" and "Hua Level 6". In the eyes of the Chefs Association, they are the future top-notch reserve force in the culinary world.

The competition for spots at this stage is fierce, with both older and younger chefs having a chance. The spots are basically awarded to the strongest chef.

Finally, there's Team One.

Over the years, the standards for the first team have become very clear.

Team leaders are usually top-notch chefs in their country, with the lowest level being "West 8".

If you can't even produce a single "West Level 8" character, then even if you form a team, you'll basically just be cannon fodder.
Currently on the list of the world's most culinary countries.
【Huaxia (Chinese Cuisine)】

【Gallic (French cuisine)】

【Sunrise Island (Japanese Style)】

Turkey (Halal)

【Enoria (Italian)】

【Thai style】

【Eagle (American Cuisine)】

More mainstream
【Borneo (Indian style)】【Athens (Mediterranean)】【Mexican (Mexican cuisine)】. They also followed closely behind, while other countries were slightly weaker.

Of course, South Korea still believes its cuisine is unparalleled.
Originally, according to Yin Shengjiang's idea, Xia Ming's age and abilities made him extremely suitable to be the captain of the second team!
On the one hand, it makes substitution easier, and on the other hand, given Xia Ming's personality, he will definitely lead the second team to a resounding victory in the match!

Yin Shengjiang couldn't fathom how those young foreign chefs could withstand Xia Ming's ruthlessness.

But as Xia Ming repeatedly defied Yin Shengjiang's expectations, Yin Shengjiang began to waver regarding this arrangement.

He felt that Xia Ming was actually capable of starting for the first team, and might not even be the last number.

That's right, the team is also numbered, somewhat similar to the ten seats in "Food Wars!".

Generally speaking, the number represents the contestant's strength; the earlier the number, the stronger the contestant.
However, when it comes to cooking skills, it's impossible to completely compare them when everyone is at the same level, so sometimes this default rule can become a point of confusion for the enemy.

The general consensus is that the top five are always ranked according to their strength, while the rankings of the later players may be related to their individual competitive tendencies.

Don't underestimate the difference between a substitute and a starter. Regardless of treatment, the level of attention from other countries, the fame gained through exchange matches, and finally, and most importantly, the "world ranking," they are all different.

Of course, world rankings are still a long way off for Xia Ming.

Although Yin Shengjiang believes he has the absolute strength of a "Level 7 Hua" (a high-level academic qualification), the limitations of the grading exam still exist.

Unless there are extremely special circumstances, a "Level 5 Chinese Chef" will absolutely not be able to make it onto the "world ranking list".

It's important to understand that world rankings don't include any "potential lists"; they look at pure, undeniable culinary dominance.

The lowest-rated person right now is "Ding Luca" at "West Level 7", a female chef from "Enolia", ranked 299th (out of 300 in the world rankings), and only 21 years old, younger than Xia Ming.

In a formal competition, she defeated a veteran chef who was rated "West Level 8" by relying on molecular gastronomy, despite being rated "West Level 7".

Although the veteran chef was not in good condition that day, he still lost the ranking.

However, I heard that she will fall soon because someone even more powerful has reportedly set their sights on her.

It's normal for the bottom 200 of the world rankings to fluctuate wildly every six months, and people are used to it.

However, the rankings of the people ahead are still very stable!
At this moment, looking at Xia Ming who was still busy, Yin Shengjiang had a bold idea pop into his mind.

"How about we just assign him to the home team? Tan Zhifeng definitely won't refuse. Bai Susu, though, is a bit difficult to deal with."

"The most crucial question is, now that Xia Ming has taken over, someone needs to go down and write applications to assign who to the post."

After reviewing the initial shortlisted candidates, Yin Shengjiang pictured that defiant and argumentative figure.
"Wei Yan's temperament is still a bit too poor. How about we send him to the second team for another training session?"

Wei Yan, completely unaware that he was about to be relegated to the second team to be a "nanny," was currently at home watching Xia Ming's game on his mobile phone.

"This guy is insane! He's boosting his own power level, isn't he?!"

"Arrogant, truly arrogant!"

"I wish I could challenge him to a match sometime! By the way, we should be going to the 'Internal Training for the Exchange Tournament' soon, and Xia Ming looks like he's a shoo-in for the second team."

"When the time comes, I'll start in the first team, then go and train with the second team, pretending to have some special training. That should make it a natural way for me to have a match with this kid."

(End of this chapter)