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

Seeing Bai Yuan's surprised expression, Liya rolled her eyes at him cutely, then took out the Azure Phoenix Mask from her bosom.

"I had this specially designed. Isn't it beautiful? It's a pair with yours."

As she spoke, Lia twirled around in front of Bai Yuan. She was dressed in a smart shirt and jeans, radiating youthful energy.

"Beautiful, like a forest sprite."

Bai Yuan was immediately mesmerized, and the image of the other person sneaking into his bed a while ago flashed through his mind. It seemed that some progress could be made.

"Hehe, that's a must!"

Hearing Bai Yuan's praise, Liya's face immediately lit up with a smile, and she was very happy.

She originally participated in the competition just to add to her resume, but she never expected to meet Bai Yuan here. How lucky she was!

“Teacher Leah…”

Upon seeing the visitor, Yoshino Yuuki and the others immediately greeted him. The visitor was also a teacher from the midterm exams, who had left a deep impression on them.

"It's you guys. But to be honest, even though you're wearing masks, people who know you well can still recognize you at a glance, because the feeling is just too strong."

Lia spoke meaningfully.

Because she had been by Bai Yuan's side for many years, she had a deep impression of Nakiri Erina and others, which was why she was able to recognize them at a glance even when they were wearing masks.

"Why do you all have masks? I feel isolated. Can I have one too?"

Seeing herself surrounded by a group of masked people, Kawanishika suddenly felt like an outsider, so she looked pitifully at Bai Yuan and begged for a mask.

"This is the symbol of our dark cuisine world; it's not something you can just give us whenever you want."

Seeing the fish take the bait, Bai Yuan's lips curled up slightly, but he still pretended to be serious on the surface.

"Then I'll just join the world of 'dark cuisine'."

Kawanobi gave her a look that said, "You're an idiot."

"You think you can just join like that? Our Dark Cuisine world has its own unique set of standards. Even top-level chefs have to pass the top-level chef test before they can join."

After Bai Yuan finished speaking, he shook his head and ignored Chuan Linghua. No matter how much she wanted the mask, he would not give in and walked straight towards the competition arena.

"Let's take the assessment after the competition ends. We all went through extremely rigorous assessments before joining the Dark Cuisine world."

Alice Nakiri stepped forward, patted Hibiki Kawahira on the shoulder, and said to her with a smile.

She wasn't lying. Before going to China, they were gathered together by Bai Yuan and thoroughly investigated before joining the Dark Cuisine World.

"This is too much trouble... Alright, I'll wait until the competition is over before I go check out the Dark Cuisine World."

Kawanoka muttered to herself.

She had only said it casually, intending to get a mask to show off. But Bai Yuan's attitude actually piqued her interest in the world of bizarre cooking.

Let's go back and try that so-called assessment, see if it's really that valuable, and what kind of existence the world of culinary disasters truly is!

As everyone knows, when a woman becomes curious about you, that's the beginning of her falling for you.

Kawanobi Hana is in this state right now, with a strong curiosity about the world of dark cuisine, and this curiosity will inevitably push her into the embrace of darkness!

"Are you also from Region A, Boss Bai?"

On the other side, seeing Bai Yuan heading towards Division A, Lia's eyes lit up for a moment, and then she strode after him.

"Yes, you too?"

"That's right, I look forward to working with you from now on!"

"This is an individual competition, not a team competition, so there's no point in me giving you special treatment. Besides, with your skills, passing the qualifiers should be a piece of cake."

He flicked Lia's head with his finger. After half a year of training, she had successfully become a top-level two-star chef.

This is thanks to the training he received from a young age; only through years of hard work and accumulation could he rapidly improve by two star levels in just two years.

"Oh, these two things don't conflict."

Leah covered the spot on her head where she had been flicked, puffing out her cheeks and whispering.

"There is still some conflict, after all, once we get to the competition, we will be opponents."

As they spoke, Bai Yuan had already stepped into the gate of Division A. At this moment, there were less than ten minutes left before the start of the competition, and the chefs around him were in various poses.

Some wore masks like them, while others had striking eyebrows and bright eyes, giving them an extraordinary air about them. There were also many burly men!

Everyone was holding kitchen utensils, some conventional and some unconventional, making it dazzling and difficult to know who to focus on.

This youth chef competition is a golden opportunity for them to make a name for themselves and rise to the top. Everyone will bring out their best skills!

Chapter 234 The Radiant Cuisine Amazes Everyone!

"They all seem like tough opponents."

Leah glanced around and muttered to herself, "I've participated in a few competitions like this before, but most of them were at the city level. This is my first time at the provincial level."

However, she could clearly sense that these guys in front of her were not simple.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the crowd.

"It's him! The champion from last year!"

The young man strode confidently toward the venue, accompanied by a male and a female follower.

Those around him, seeing this, quickly made way for him, their faces showing subtle expressions. The person who had just arrived was the champion of the previous competition.

At the same time, Lia's voice rang in Bai Yuan's ears, her eyes filled with fighting spirit as she looked at the young man opposite her: "Liu Xiaotian, from Putian, Fujian, 26 years old, won the last final with a bowl of secret Putian braised noodles, his cooking is at the level of a special three-star chef."

The highest level of competition for young chefs is generally a three-star special grade dish, regardless of the province.

Only a very few exceptionally talented geniuses can perform beyond their usual level in the competition and create a dish that is rated as a top-tier four-star dish.

As for using luminous dishes to participate in competitions? Looking at the entire Chinese culinary world, it has only happened a handful of times in history, and every time it has happened, it is unrepeatable.

It combines favorable timing, geographical advantages, and harmonious human relations.

In the chef's words, it's about having high-quality ingredients, a good theme, and a good chef.

You can't be without any of the three!

"To be able to make a three-star special grade dish at this age is already considered exceptional."

Bai Yuan nodded, his gaze sweeping across the venue. Compared to the Guangzhou Master Chef Assessment, the cooking equipment for the Young Chef Competition was noticeably better.

Not only does it have a state-of-the-art cooking station, but the surrounding ingredients are also top-quality, allowing contestants to unleash their full potential.

"It is indeed very good."

Bai Yuan nodded. With Liu Xiaotian's appearance, most people's eyes were focused on him, some with fighting spirit and others with hostility.

"Judging from this, at least two qualifying spots for Region A have been taken. The remaining contestants will be vying for the other two. I wonder how it is in the other regions..."

Seeing Liu Xiaotian walk towards the cooking station, Liya muttered something under her breath. At that moment, the judges also came out from backstage and looked at the contestants on site.

Hearing the footsteps on the stage and feeling the gazes falling on them, the contestants all turned their eyes back, waiting for them to announce the theme of the selection competition.

"The theme of the dish is squirrel fish. Candidates modify the dish according to their own understanding and submit it to the judges for scoring. The top four dishes will advance."

The judges' voices came from the judges' panel, bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch. Everyone was eager to compete, even Liu Xiaotian.

"Squirrel fish? That's my specialty! I made it over a hundred times in a row for a while."

Now I can not only perfectly remove fish bones, but I can also make authentic sweet and sour sauce! This time I can finally enter the main competition!

Someone shouted excitedly, "As long as you make it to the main competition of the Young Chef Competition, your future will be limitless, and even major restaurants will be vying to recruit you!"

Because such chefs, when they grow up, can often become the head chef of a restaurant, helping the restaurant to live for decades longer.

In the culinary world, recruiting a master chef as the head chef of a restaurant is extremely costly, and they have little sense of belonging to the restaurant. They will waver and leave as soon as someone offers a higher price, which is far less desirable than training them from scratch!

For young chefs, being recruited by a large restaurant means they can initially work alongside skilled veteran chefs, then find jobs to work independently, and eventually become the head chef.

This is a win-win situation.

"1038, 1038..."

A gray-haired young man muttered to himself while holding his phone, his gaze sweeping across the kitchen counter before finally finding his own.

Each cooking station here is numbered. Contestants enter the cooking station by number and have ten minutes to write down the ingredients they need. Afterwards, someone will bring them over.

Since the first round is a selection competition, it mainly focuses on everyone's creativity rather than their ability to adapt to changing circumstances, so the requirements are relatively low.

"These are all I need, thank you."

Bai Yuan wrote down the contents and number on the slip of paper, then handed it to the staff member who came to collect the slips. His voice was gentle, and he had a faint smile on his face.

But there are no fish on this!

The staff couldn't help but complain. She could understand what ingredients the customer wanted, but the fish, the core of the dish, wasn't on the note!

"The contents of the note are fine. This is a squirrel fish dish without the fish. The key is the fruit. Just prepare it as I tell you."

Understanding the staff's concerns, Bai Yuan spoke with certainty.

As a top-tier seven-star chef, participating in this kind of competition requires setting a higher bar for oneself; otherwise, it would be like bullying a child.

"A squirrel fish that doesn't need fish? Can it still be called a squirrel fish? Is this kid trying to show off?"

Nearby, a contestant witnessed the whole thing, couldn't help but complain in his heart, then shook his head and buried himself in writing on the paper.

Liu Xiaotian, who happened to be behind Bai Yuan, saw everything. When he heard that Bai Yuan wasn't going to use fish to make squirrel fish and was focusing on fruit instead, a look of surprise flashed across his face.

Although I didn't think he could make anything decent, I couldn't help but wonder how he would make squirrel fish with fruit.

After the staff had gathered all the ingredients the contestants needed, Liu Xiaotian noticed the many fruits laid out in front of Bai Yuan.

Pineapple, cantaloupe, green apple, orange, lemon, half a mango, strawberries, a pomegranate (as needed), and mint leaves. These are the ingredients Bai Yuan used.

Apart from the fruit, there were no other ingredients on the cutting board except for some basic seasonings and a jar of honey.

"Is this guy trying to be funny? Bringing so much fruit, what's he planning to do?!"

The ingredients, completely out of place with the culinary theme, were all fruits, leaving one momentarily wondering what Bai Yuan was trying to do. Was he trying to grab attention? He certainly succeeded.

"You can't possibly make squirrel fish with fruit, that would be too absurd!"

Some people offered their guesses, but quickly shook their heads in self-doubt.

"It's not impossible, but without even the most basic fish, using only fruit, I bet it wouldn't taste good even if it were made."

At the scene, someone else thought of using the sweet and sour properties of fruit to simulate the sweet and sour sauce poured over the squirrel fish. Of course, all of this is based on the premise of having fish.