Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

　"This is unlikely, because the organizers will use data analysis of all the contestants' competition videos to determine their style and characteristics."

　Then, consciously remove topics that give them a significant advantage and choose a moderate one; this will ensure the fairness of the competition to the greatest extent possible.

　Someone who knew a lot about this spoke up, his eyes revealing a hint of profundity.

　This is because they are worried about drawing a specific topic.

　If one side has too much of an advantage, even putting the other side at a disadvantage, thus widening the gap significantly, then the match becomes completely uninteresting, and the audience won't be interested.

　"The players have finally entered the arena. It seems that what happened yesterday won't happen again today."

　As Alice Nakiri and Wang Qing entered from either side of the contestant entrance, the lively atmosphere momentarily froze, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the two of them, filled with intense curiosity and scrutiny.

　These are the two contestants who advanced to the finals of the Fujian Youth Chef Competition. At such a young age, they have already reached the level of master chefs, and they can be considered strong no matter where they are!

　"My palms are starting to sweat, I'm so nervous!"

　"Me too! Even though it wasn't me competing on stage, my body was shaking with excitement! It's such a wonderful feeling!"

　"Have the organizers brought out the lottery bucket? Are they ready to draw a theme? This round's theme is..."

　The audience was particularly excited as they watched the two people standing in front of their respective cooking stations, seemingly exchanging glances that sparked between them.

　Finally, we can see the match they've been looking forward to for so long!

　"Ladies first, you go up and draw first."

　Looking at the lottery box in front of him, Wang Qing raised his hand and gestured for Nakiri Alice to enter, a gentle smile on his face.

　"Just say you're lazy, don't beat around the bush."

　Faced with Wang Qing's modesty, Alice Nakiri just pursed her lips speechlessly, without saying much.

　He strode onto the stage. This round of the draw would no longer use an electronic screen, but instead a draw box, giving the contestants a real tactile experience.

　Furthermore, such a lottery is very difficult to manipulate behind the scenes.

　"The theme for this round is the four seasons."

　As Alice Nakiri pulled out the slip of paper, her expression froze when she saw the words inside, and then she read them aloud.

　After speaking, she turned her gaze to Zhang Zhong, who was resting with his eyes closed on the judges' panel, awaiting his interpretation.

　"The theme of the four seasons is to use the four seasons as the theme, use ingredients and plating to show the changes of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and use dishes to reflect the four seasons throughout the year."

　Perhaps it was the burning gaze of Alice Nakiri, or perhaps it was time for the commentary, but Zhang Zhong stood up from his chair.

　"Using a single dish to express the meanings of spring, summer, autumn, and winter!?"

　"It sounds so difficult, just thinking about it makes my scalp tingle."

　How can the four seasons be represented by food, and combined into a single dish? Is it even possible to create a dish like that?!

　Upon hearing Zhang Zhong's answer, the room erupted in discussion. The topic was very insightful, and everyone's face was filled with anticipation.

　After all, they are spectators, not players.

　How to cook this dish is something the contestants should think about; as spectators, they only need to watch and don't need to think too much about it.

　"Spring, summer, autumn and winter."

　With Zhang Zhong's words still echoing in her mind, Alice Nakiri fell into deep thought.

　This topic is neither particularly difficult nor particularly easy; it falls somewhere in the middle.

　However, it is easy to create dishes that express the four seasons, but it is more difficult to integrate the theme of the four seasons together.

　Although the competition didn't require this, the two of them tacitly worked towards it, because it's the most basic thing to win a competition.

　Beside him, Wang Qing rested his chin on his hand when he heard the theme of this round of the competition.

　"Sakura shrimp, winter melon, sweet potato, oysters, that's right, these..."

　Muttering to himself, images flashed through Wang Qing's mind, quickly settling on scenes related to seasonal cuisine, including the cooking methods and the final taste of these dishes. He then left the competition venue without stopping.

　He wanted to buy all the ingredients that came to mind before his memory faded!

　Wang Qing was confident that this would be the best dish he had made in three years. Now all he had to do was turn what he had in mind into reality!

　As soon as Wang Qing ran off the field, Alice Nakiri's gaze was fixed on his back, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

　Instead of rushing to buy the dish that was already in her mind, she kept her eyes glued to the screen in the sky. At that moment, the film crew had already left with Wang Qing and filmed all the scenes they encountered along the way.

　The photos also show where he stopped and what ingredients he bought.

　"As expected of last year's runner-up, he solved such a difficult problem in just a few minutes. It seems that this victory is definitely his!"

　"Don't be so sure of yourself, it would be embarrassing if you lost."

　The most exciting part of a cooking competition is precisely the tension and excitement of never knowing whose dish will be better until the very last moment!

　"That makes sense, but look at the contestants from the Dark Cuisine World, they've been standing still without making any moves since the beginning."

　I've been keeping track of the time; ten minutes have passed so far. Do you think she gave up because she couldn't think of anything to do?

　Because Alice Nakiri has not taken any action for a long time, now...

　Many audience members looked at her and began to whisper among themselves.

　Ignoring the noise, Alice Nakiri was focused on the large screen in the sky, watching the figure as he went to the market to buy various ingredients.

　Based on Wang Qing's performance in these matches, Alice Nakiri knew better than anyone that her chances of winning were extremely low.

　This is a significant gap in terms of strength.

　Therefore, if she wants to win, she needs to find another way.

　Bai Yuan's specialized training gave her more confidence in winning the competition. The next step was to watch Wang Qing's entire process of buying ingredients and then make her own purchases based on the ingredients Wang Qing bought!

　Although it was suspected of being cheating, she was willing to do it in order to win the competition without any regrets!

　Although it may be criticized afterward.

　But by then she had already returned to Japan and could no longer hear those rumors. Besides, the person who was being criticized was Ai from the Dark Cuisine World, not Alice Nakiri from Totsuki Culinary Academy.

　"What's wrong with Alice? Hasn't she figured it out yet?"

　With no action taken for a long time, not only the spectators watching the show, but even the group of people around Bai Yuan couldn't help but speak up.

　Especially Yoshino Yuuki, who was blinking her big eyes and supporting herself on the chair with her hands, was full of doubt. It shouldn't be like this for Nakiri Alice's level!

　As chefs, they began to create dishes in their minds when they saw the competition theme.

　Although the topic was quite challenging, they gradually came up with the answers, and now seeing Alice still standing there, they were naturally puzzled.

　The possibility of an unexpected answer is very low; perhaps knowing their own abilities are weaker, they want to create a more perfect dish...

　"I don't know, maybe they're preparing some big surprise."

　Erina Nakiri shook her head slightly, her eyes revealing a complex emotion as she looked at Alice Nakiri on the stage.

　Although she didn't know what the other person was doing, they were a master who had defeated her, so they couldn't possibly not have come up with the recipe. They must have had their own reasons for doing this.

　"We just need to watch. After all, Miss Alice is the best here."

　Hisako Shirato also spoke, her eyes filled with respect as she looked at Alice Nakiri.

　The opponent is a master who defeated Lady Erina in a head-on match, which shows how formidable their strength is!

　"What's going on? Wang Qing is coming back soon, but this guy is still standing there without moving. The match has been going on for almost an hour!"

　As time went by, Wang Qing, who had gone out first, had finished purchasing all the ingredients and was jogging towards the competition venue.

　Alice hadn't moved yet, her eyes fixed intently on the big screen, until Wang Qing entered from outside the arena, at which point she finally took a step.

　"Is this a relay race? Isn't it a bit too late to start now?"

　Alice Nakiri's movement immediately attracted a lot of attention.

　Some of those who had been watching her showed a relieved smile on their faces when they saw her move, but they still couldn't help but say something.

　"She actually moved! I thought she had given up. She wasted an hour right from the start. I don't know how to evaluate this."

　"Let's just keep watching anyway. There might be some unexpected surprises. This kind of thing has happened before in previous competitions."

　"That's true. Something's definitely fishy. Let's wait and see."

　Because Alice Nakiri has taken concrete action, and there is still plenty of time, not many people at the scene are pessimistic about her.

　Those who made it to the finals are all exceptionally talented geniuses. There is no such thing as giving up the competition; everything they did was purposeful.

　Now let's see what kind of cooking Alice Nakiri will figure out by staying in one place for an hour and observing Wang Qing's constant movements.

　Will this dish be worth the hour-long wait?

　"This guy..."

　Wang Qing returned from outside the arena, and Alice Nakiri left from inside. The two almost brushed past each other, and when he noticed this, his expression immediately became subtle.

　The other party only came out now, so they must have already seen his purchasing process and may even have guessed what kind of dish he was going to cook. This is not a good thing.

　The thought crossed Wang Qing's mind, and he immediately became uneasy, feeling as if his entire body had been exposed.

　"Don't overthink it. Relax and focus on cooking well; that's the most important thing right now!"

　Just as Wang Qing was feeling somewhat confused and uneasy, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped his face hard, quickly bringing his wandering thoughts back to his senses.

　What he needs to worry about now is not Alice Nakiri, whose return is uncertain, but the dish in front of him.

　Since the other party has specifically studied him and wanted to target his cooking style, wouldn't their research be useless if he performed exceptionally well?

Chapter 284 Under the Spotlight: A Platter of Fried Food from All Seasons

　"Green apple? Is this guy planning to make a mix of fruit, vegetables, or meat?"

　"Logically? Unripe apples do fit perfectly with spring."

　Through the large screen, more than half of the people in the audience were watching Alice Nakiri.

　Everyone's face was filled with curiosity, wondering what kind of dish she would finally serve after an hour of preparation.

　The group that interests the most is the Far Moon Travel Group centered around Shirabuchi.

　As professional chefs, they would simulate each ingredient that Alice Nakiri picked up in the video in their minds.

　Think about what kind of dishes you could make using these ingredients.

　This is also what Bai Yuan requires of them.