Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 36 White or Yellow? The score of the first land battle in the team competition was...
As Xia Ming finished speaking, many judges on the judging panel, who had rinsed their mouths and tasted the "Tartar beef," all pursed their lips.

He even saw two female judges in the corner quietly spitting the food out of their mouths without making a sound.

Yang Yanbin, the head chef, also noticed this.

"Xiaodong, I see there are judges."

Chen Xiaodong took a deep breath and then reached out to interrupt him.

"It's alright, I saw it too. But I can understand. It's normal that some food judges in China just can't stand raw food. Didn't you see? Most of the judges still ate our dishes."

"But."

"There's no 'but' or 'no' about it. We've all tasted the finished product, and there are no problems."

As he spoke, he quietly moved closer to Yang Yanbin.

"Variety shows are all about manipulating the audience's emotions, using techniques like building suspense before praise and vice versa. The judges are definitely cooperating with the production team, so don't worry!"

Just as Chen Xiaodong was comforting Yang Yanbin, all 100 judges on stage had finished tasting the food and made their final choices based on their judgment.

At the same time, the two teams of contestants also stood in front of the 100-person judging panel as instructed by the host.

Seeing the two teams step forward, Xie Tingfeng spoke with a smile.

"It was a fantastic match, and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. I have so much to say, but before that, could the two team captains please introduce the creative ideas and concepts behind their respective dishes? Let's start with the chefs!"

Upon hearing Xie Tingfeng's words, Chen Xiaodong nodded and then stepped forward one space.

"I'd like to share with you that 'Beef Tartare' is a classic Japanese dish, and I've combined it with the raw marinating techniques used in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen area to create a dish called 'Raw Marinated Potato Tartare Beef.'"

"This beef is a combination of tenderloin, sirloin, and chuck. When we process it, we use a low-temperature processing method, and then use a fruit-infused sour sauce to preserve the tenderness of the beef to the greatest extent."

"Furthermore, we creatively used potato wedges, which enhance the richness of the dish and make the overall flavor more diverse and harmonious."

"We believe that land represents the ultimate flavor of meat itself, and we hope to bring this flavor to everyone in its original form."

After listening to Chen Xiaodong's story, Xie Tingfeng turned his gaze to Xia Ming, who was standing to the side.

Xia Ming thought for a moment, then smiled and spoke.

"We make fried pork cutlets, a dish that is quite familiar to everyone. We hope to use juicy pork cutlets to let everyone feel the most primal thrill of food."

"The accompanying soup is called 'Five-Ingredient Mixed Soup,' made by simmering and blending five different internal organs, and it serves as a complementary broth."

"Compared to innovation and depth, we hope our diners enjoy their meals; that's probably the very meaning of food itself."

After listening to Xia Ming's words, Xie Tingfeng nodded.

"I admit it, I'm captivated by your soup!"

"I was a little skeptical when I first drank it, but because it was different from any other offal soup I'd had before, I wasn't sure. The combination with the pork chops was absolutely perfect; I experienced the kind of joy you described~"

"Of course, next time if it's like this, add more chili sauce, otherwise there won't be enough to eat later!"

Zhang Yong, who was standing nearby, laughed when he heard this.

"It's clear that Tingfeng really likes spicy food. Sichuan and Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef, your soup is very good, but the creativity is still a bit mediocre."

"On the contrary, I think the chef's dishes were better this time. While retaining the theme, he reformed a classic dish and presented a very novel taste."

Hearing Zhang Yong's praise, Chen Xiaodong nodded in agreement.

He knew that professional judges had a more precise grasp of food.

Zheng Yongqi, who was standing next to Zhang Yong, shared a similar opinion. He really liked the sauce that Yang Yanbin had prepared, as it achieved the balance he had always hoped for.

After listening to the three judges, the chefs' team looked much better, especially Chen Xiaodong. Recalling the initial discussion, he felt that sticking to his own ideas was the right thing to do.

After the three judges finished their evaluations, the host announced the voting results of the three judges.

[Nicholas Tse voted for: Mixed Vegetable Soup with Fried Pork Chop]

Zheng Yongqi and Zhang Yong voted for: Raw Marinated Potatoes and Beef Tartar.

Upon seeing this result, the contestants present were abuzz with discussion. "Experience is the best teacher; Chef Chen's dishes were definitely more in line with the theme."

"Personally, I prefer fried pork cutlet. I really don't understand what's so appealing about 'Beef Tartare'."

"It doesn't matter. In fact, from any perspective, fried pork cutlet is inferior."

"But I saw that the judges behind me ate quite a lot. If you say it's not tasty, the judges can't just hold their noses and eat something that tastes bad."

"I didn't say it was bad. Fried food can't possibly be bad. The main thing is that this is a competition, and the evaluation criteria are different, you understand?"

Just as the contestants were discussing, the host spoke up again.

"Very good. It seems that for the three judges, the raw marinated potato tartar beef, which brings out the ultimate meat flavor, is more popular. Of course, this does not necessarily represent the opinion of all the judges."

"Now, let's reveal the judges' scores!"

As the host finished speaking, the light screens in front of the remaining 100 judges began to flash rapidly, and after a few seconds, some more lights came on.

The audience looked towards the lights and were astonished to find that the number of white lights representing the contestants and the number of yellow lights representing the chefs were remarkably similar.

【9:9】

In other words, the seven judges behind him, like Zheng Yongqi and Zhang Yong, supported beef tartare with raw marinated potatoes, and the other eight, like Xie Tingfeng, supported mixed soup with fried pork chops.

Seeing the score of 9-9, the viewers in the live broadcast room also laughed.

[Okay, okay, so this is how the production team creates the effect!]

I thought they were going to announce everything at once, but it turns out it's still the same old variety show routine.

[I think the chef's team has already won. The food the contestants are making is something I can eat at any random restaurant on the street. What's so innovative about it?]

I still think it depends on what tastes good; what's the point of all those fancy fancy decorations?

I don't eat raw food anyway, so whoever wants it can eat it. I choose fried pork cutlet.

I'm from Guangzhou or Shenzhen, but I don't eat raw marinated food either. I'd choose fried pork chop!

Viewers in the live stream lined up to express their opinions, with most finding it difficult to accept the idea of ​​eating raw beef.

When Chen Xiaodong saw the score at 9-9, his heart jumped again. He instinctively felt that he wouldn't lose, but the score was different from what he expected.

He believed that although Xia Ming and his team's fried pork cutlet lacked creativity, it should still be quite palatable. The final score would likely be around 65:35, since even professional judges sometimes don't eat raw marinated pork.

But 9:9 is just too outrageous.
Could it be that the fragrant mixed soup was actually a mistake? Or was there something wrong with the fried pork chop?
Just as he was puzzled, the host, seeing that the atmosphere had been sufficiently lively, continued to announce the results.

Then, all the remaining lights in front of everyone started flashing wildly again, but this time for a significantly longer time than before.

The bald cook standing to the side clenched his fists and stared intently at the scene.

"We have to win! We absolutely have to win! I can't keep betting on the revival match every time!"

Just as his heart was racing, the lights in front of him finally slowed down, and strangely enough, they were changing in a single color.

All white.
All yellow.
All white.
All yellow.
All white.
All white.
"!"

The bald cook was taken aback. Just as he was silently counting in his mind, the lights in front of him had stopped working.

At this moment, the stage for the hundred judges was entirely white, except for a few yellow lights.

The bald cook blinked for a while before realizing that white was the contestant's color.

Just as he was staring wide-eyed in disbelief, the announcer's voice on the radio delivered the final verdict on the match!
[Team Competition, Land-Based Culinary Showdown!]

[The "Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef" team vs. the "Chen Xiaodong" team]

[Rating: 91:9]

Congratulations to the "Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef" team for their overwhelming victory!

(End of this chapter)