The story begins in Food Wars, when Alice took him home.

Fish shop owner Ang watched the two men working on the fish with his arms crossed. One was the renowned chef of [Nuoyu], and the other was an unknown young man. Logically, the outcome should have been obvious, but for some reason, he felt that Bai Yuan would win.

Regardless of the various superb techniques he had displayed, just by looking into his eyes, Ang knew he was very capable.

He had only seen that look in his eyes when he participated in the second-level chef assessment; it was the look of extreme confidence in his own abilities.

A person with such eyes is either extremely arrogant or extremely powerful. Considering the techniques he displayed earlier, Bai Yuan is clearly the second type.

"I'm almost done. How do we determine the winner of this match?"

"Then let the spectators give their opinions. Each person should take two slips of paper, one red and one blue. Whoever's dish you think tastes better, put the corresponding chef's slip into the box."

Seeing that Bai Yuan was still focused on cooking, the fish shop owner pondered for a moment before turning his gaze to the onlookers in response to Jessie's question.

"Everyone, that's the situation. Anyone willing to try it?"

"I am willing!"

"I'm willing, or rather, please let me do it!"

The response was immediate and enthusiastic, with everyone's face beaming with excitement. For ordinary people like them, the opportunity to taste top-notch cuisine is rare!

"I have no problem with this evaluation method."

Jancis nodded and then began to finish up the dish. At this moment, his expression was extremely serious, completely unlike his initial frivolity.

Her hands moved faster and faster, her cooking skills were so dazzling that it was like watching a performance, drawing the attention of some of the audience back to her.

Clearly, his title as a master chef was not undeserved; he had truly fought his way through countless trials and tribulations!

the other side.

Bai Yuan was fiddling with potatoes. To outsiders, all they saw was a flash of silver light in his hand, and then the potatoes were cut into rectangular strips about one centimeter wide.

The rectangular strips, after being cut and trimmed, become oval shapes.

Stack the oval strips together and slice them into thin slices with a sharp knife. The slices fly off the cutting board and into the glass bowl. Then, add melted butter and potato starch and mix well to make it sticky.

Thus, the potato fish scales are complete.

Take the thickest piece of sea bream with the thickest subcutaneous fat, and layer thin slices of processed potato on top of the fish skin to create a texture similar to fish scales.

Next, place it in the fish shop's freezer for flash freezing to lock in the moisture and fix its shape, preventing it from falling off during frying.

"Please enjoy the spring signature dish of [Nuoyu] restaurant, sea bream with lemon butter sauce. We hope you will be satisfied."

To avenge the humiliation Bai Yuan had inflicted on him, Jessie put in 120% effort this time. This was also the first premium dish he had ever created in his culinary career. After years of continuous improvement and research, he had reached the edge of a luminous dish!

Therefore, he was absolutely confident that he could defeat Bai Yuan with this dish.

But then again, if he loses in his area of ​​expertise to such a young upstart, then he might as well give up on being a chef!

Chapter 29 Mountain Delicacies on a Golden Scale Plate, A Mysterious Old Man

"This is really good! The acidity of the lemon and capers blend perfectly, the chopped shallots add a touch of sweetness and enhance the flavor of the sauce, while the fennel seeds provide a balancing effect..."

A man who looked to be in his forties, dressed smartly, wearing a wristwatch, and who at first glance looked like a successful person, was the first to be assigned a dish. He cut and tasted it with a knife and fork, savoring the delicious flavor that slowly spread in his mouth, and said with a happy expression.

"This sauce would taste great even with the soles of slippers!"

Beside him, a young man who was also tasting the dish exclaimed exaggeratedly, his expression one of pure bliss, completely captivated by the deliciousness of the food.

"After pan-frying fresh sea bream, remove it from the pan without washing it. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice, chopped shallots, butter, and capers."

Mix these ingredients well to make a sauce, then add fennel seeds to harmonize the flavors and add a layer of taste to the overall dish.

Although it's just a simple combination of a few ingredients, it perfectly highlights the deliciousness of the sea bream—a dish that can only be prepared with fresh sea bream!

The old man who had previously commented on Bai Yuan spoke up again, judging the general method of cooking simply by the taste of the sauce.

For these sufficiently fresh ingredients, people generally don't add too many seasonings when cooking, but rather choose to savor their natural flavor.

From a chef's perspective, this dish demonstrates exceptional skill in controlling the heat, mastering the knife work, and identifying and utilizing the ingredients.

If you add some higher-end ingredients, it can be transformed into a luminous dish!

The old man's eyes gleamed with a sharp light, acknowledging Jancis's skill as a master chef; this dish perfectly reflected his spirit.

"This is my dish, a platter of mountain delicacies and golden scales."

On the other side, Bai Yuan also finished cooking and brought out a dish covered with a silver lid, then lifted the lid in the very center of the crowd.

In an instant, a dazzling golden light broke through the lid's restraints, and a rich fragrance spread the moment the lid was lifted.

"Glowing food! Mom, I'm so proud of myself! I've actually seen glowing food in my life. I thought glowing food was just a legend!"

"You know what, when I was reading the book, I was also thinking, how could food possibly glow? It's not like they added fluorescent agents! I never thought I'd actually see glowing food today! This kind of thing is actually true!"

"No, no, no! It smells so good! Give me the food right now, let me have a bite! Just one bite! I can't take it anymore!"

As the golden light slowly dissipated, the dish revealed its true appearance: golden scales covered the fish skin, and upon closer inspection, one could even see the layers between the scales. From the outside, it looked just like a real, live fish!

The appearance of the golden light brought the atmosphere to its peak, with everyone looking greedily at the golden scale plate of mountain delicacies in the center.

"This is... a live sea bream?!"

Looking at the golden-scaled sea bream in front of him, the old man's mouth gaped slightly. He raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. He wondered if it was just a hallucination, but he thought he saw the sea bream move slightly, as if it hadn't completely died!

"How did they do that? The sea bream has been dead for at least 30 minutes since the start of the match, and its spinal cord was completely destroyed. It shouldn't be able to move anymore, but it did seem to move just now!"

"It's just an illusion. No dead fish can move. Everyone, hurry up and try it. Now is the best time to taste it, with the sauce at the bottom of the bowl."

Bai Yuan smiled faintly, without admitting that he had already learned the rules of the competition from Alice Nakiri.

Simply put, the side whose dish is more widely recognized wins.

This type of competition is not uncommon in culinary contests, but it is mostly used for competitions between shops, such as the Guangzhou Dumpling Competition.

"Let me try it..."

Swallowing hard, the old man was certain that he had just seen the sea bream move, but the other party denied it. There must be something fishy going on!

Upon hearing the sound, Bai Yuan looked at the crowd and, without hesitation, borrowed several bowls from the fish shop owner, quickly distributing the food from the plate.

He left a piece only for himself and Alice, and didn't leave any for Jesse either. In his opinion, that guy didn't deserve to eat his food at all.

"What a powerful impact!"

With one bite, Alice Nakiri felt a strange warm current spreading through her body. Closing her eyes, she felt as if she were sinking into the deep sea.

At this moment, she seemed to have transformed into a sea bream, swimming freely in the vast ocean and enjoying its nourishment.

Suddenly, the scene changes.

Suddenly, the sea bream sprouted wings, leaped out of the sea, soared into the sky, and flew towards the mountains and forests!

Termitomyces, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes, burdock, bracken fern...

As she flew deeper into the mountains and forests, all sorts of mountain delicacies and wild vegetables appeared before her eyes, symbolizing the essence of the mountains. This feeling of soaring through the air and being free gave her a sense of liberation!

At this moment, all their troubles were forgotten, and they seemed to transcend, heading to a world without sorrow or grief.

"The sauce at the bottom of this dish, you used a combination of mountain delicacy soup and fish soup, right? The aftertaste has a hint of orange sweetness, so you must have added orange juice..."

It is this sweetness that perfectly harmonizes these two completely different flavors!

The fish meat was tender, while the crispy fish scales, made with fried potatoes, created a striking contrast with the softness of the fish meat. If I'm not mistaken…

The cooking technique is not frying but drizzling. The oil is heated to boiling point, the fish is placed in a strainer with the skin facing up, and the hot oil is poured over it again and again until the potato scales become crispy, while the fish is cooked to the perfect doneness.

This kind of cooking requires an extremely high level of skill in controlling the heat; otherwise, either the fish will be undercooked or the potato scales will be hard. To achieve this level of skill is truly impressive, especially with the unique flavor of the sauce…”

As the old man spoke, he closed his eyes and began to savor the sauce with his tongue. It blended perfectly with the sea bream, elevating its deliciousness to a whole new level.

"The freshness of the mountain delicacies, the richness of the fish soup, the sweetness and sourness of the oranges, and the addition of a little cream bring out the overall flavor."

Without a doubt, this is an excellent sea bream dish!

Opening his eyes, the old man looked at Bai Yuan with a complicated expression, never expecting that this dish was created by a young chef.

Such a bold combination is something that only those with decades of culinary experience would dare to attempt. Even if one were willing to try, achieving this level of skill would require an extremely high level of attention to detail.

To put it bluntly, the flavor of this sauce is completely ruined if you make even the slightest mistake, turning it into a failed sauce.

"Young man, can you tell me your name?"

At this moment, the old man's gaze toward Bai Yuan was no longer as yearning as before, but had returned to its usual indifference, as if he were looking at a fellow traveler.

"My name is Bai Yuan."

Old man, you don't seem like an ordinary person. You seem to know a lot about cooking.

It's unlikely that an average person would have so much culinary knowledge, let alone be able to describe the cooking method of my dish so precisely.

"You're a master chef too, right? If I'm not mistaken, you're probably one of the higher-ranked ones. How about we have a competition? Fighting these weaklings, even if I win, there's no sense of accomplishment. I'd much rather fight against the strong!"

From the beginning, Bai Yuan had heard the old man continuously commenting on the dishes.

Although what he said was somewhat different from what he thought, they were largely the same, and even coincided in many major directions, all of which proved that he was a very experienced old chef.

"I was just a chef for a few years when I was young. I retired a long time ago. Now I'm just an old man with nothing to do. Cooking for my family is the limit. So let's not talk about a competition."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's extremely warlike words, the old man gave a bitter smile, then moved his old arms and legs to show that he was powerless to do anything.

"Alright then, but judging from their appearance, they probably won't be able to vote for a while. By the way, may I ask your name?"

Seeing the old man's troubled expression, Bai Yuan didn't press him. Instead, he curiously asked for his name, intending to investigate further when he returned.

Around them, the audience who had previously commented on Jancis's cooking fell silent, standing there with happy expressions.

Each of them was so immersed in the culinary fantasy woven by the exquisite dishes that they were reluctant to wake up!

Chapter 30 So, are you going to kneel down and beg for mercy, or have a nasty mark branded on your head?!

"My name..."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's question, the old man paused for a moment, then looked up at the sky as if lost in some memory. After a while, he lowered his head and chuckled awkwardly.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Lancy Jon, the president of the European Culinary Research Society. Would you be interested in working for us? We offer the待遇 of a six-star chef."

"Old Master Lancy? I'm sorry, I don't like being controlled by others, so please forgive my refusal. Of course, I will visit him if I have the chance."

"Won't you let me explain my conditions first?"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's decisive refusal, Lancy Jon frowned and stared at his face for a long time, as if trying to see through him.

"No, no matter the conditions, I will not join any faction again."

Bai Yuan refused Lancy Jon's invitation without hesitation. No matter how generous the benefits were, he was unwilling to be controlled by others any longer.