Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"Wait a minute, you came to Guangzhou not to take the master chef exam, but to prepare for it?!"

Hearing Bai Yuan and Master Baiyao's conversation, and recalling the master's unusual attitude towards him, Li Wanwan seemed to suddenly realize something and said in shock.

"You've finally realized it. I've felt something was off since just now. Your friend doesn't seem to be a simple character."

Beside her, Wang Wanqing couldn't help but complain as she watched Li Wanwan finally realize what was happening. This girl was really harmed by her own preconceived notions.

Bai Yuan is such a respectful person as Master Baiyao, and he even had a meal with him alone just now. How could he be a simple person?

"Participating in the top-level assessment... May I ask, how old are you now?"

Muttering to herself, Miyoko Hojo suddenly asked from the side, her eyes flashing with an inexplicable light, as if she had found someone to pursue.

"nineteen."

"Wouldn't that mean he's even younger than me?"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's age, Li Wanwan was somewhat surprised. This tall and handsome young man in front of her had only recently come of age.

"I like younger men."

Wang Wanqing, meanwhile, pinched her chin, her gaze sweeping over Bai Yuan's muscles. The younger ones were good at acting cute, and it just so happened that she was now at the age to have a boyfriend. If Bai Yuan could successfully pass the top-level chef assessment, then maybe the two of them could give it a try.

As for whether Bai Yuan would agree? You're kidding! Being a top-tier chef is nowhere near as appealing as living off a woman!

Just as the group was chatting happily, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open. They turned around and saw that it was Ma Wen himself who came in carrying appetizers.

"The first dish is raw marinated seafood from Chaoshan. Please enjoy."

The banquet ended in the early hours of the morning. Bai Yuan said goodbye to the group at the entrance of the restaurant and headed straight for the hotel.

Tianfu Restaurant lived up to its name. Although there was a minor mishap, there were still many commendable aspects after Chef Ma Wen gave it his all.

At least, the prices on the menu are fine.

"Ding Ding Ding"

On the way back to the hotel, Bai Yuan's phone suddenly rang. He looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Nakiri Alice. He couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Hey, did you miss me? Why are you calling me so late?"

"I miss you. Is it too late? It's only seven o'clock in the evening, isn't it?"

Lying on the soft, large bed with the door tightly closed, the girl wore an extremely thin nightgown. Hearing Bai Yuan's teasing, Nakiri Alice blushed with a hint of confusion.

"Oh, I almost forgot that Guangzhou and Denmark are six hours apart."

Upon hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Bai Yuan thought for a moment, then revealed a look of sudden realization: the region they were in had a time difference.

"Is that so? It seems I can't call Brother Bai Yuan after six o'clock anymore. It must be the middle of the night where you are. Am I disturbing your rest?"

After quickly calculating the time, Alice Nakiri realized that it was already past 1 a.m. for Bai Yuan. Her face flushed, thinking that she had disturbed his rest.

"No, I just finished eating and am on my way back to the hotel. Is something wrong at home that you're calling me at this hour?"

"No... I just wanted to hear Bai Yuan's voice. It's the first time we've been apart for so long, and I'm a little lonely..."

Hearing Bai Yuan deny it, Nakiri Alice breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she hadn't been disturbed, otherwise she would have felt guilty and couldn't sleep all night.

"Let's keep the call going. I'll tell you what happened today. You'll never guess who I ran into!"

Sensing Alice Nakiri's low spirits, Bai Yuan thought for a moment and decided to share what had happened that day with her.

Relatively speaking, he's having a pretty exciting and fulfilling time here.

"Yes! I want to hear it!"

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Alice Nakiri became excited. As she spoke, she raised her long, beautiful legs and hugged the long cushion with Bai Yuan's pattern on it tightly. She had rushed to make it today.

For the rest of the year, it will be my only companion!

"Let's start from boarding the plane..."

Three days passed in a flash. On this day, Bai Yuan carried the Seven Star Blade on his back and a kitchen utensil box full of various seasonings in his hand. He swaggered out of the hotel and headed towards the chef assessment site in Guangzhou.

Along the way, there were many men dressed in pristine white chef uniforms, embroidered with the words "second-class" and "third-class" chef, who looked quite energetic.

Bai Yuan, dressed in casual clothes, carrying several knives on his back and a kitchen utensil box in his hand, was unique and attracted a lot of strange looks as he walked down the street.

Bai Yuan remained calm and ignored all gazes, simply walking forward silently until he reached the place where Li Wanwan had contacted him by phone.

A teahouse less than 100 meters from the chef assessment site was packed with people, and the waiters were working non-stop.

These are all people who came to participate in the chef assessment.

Most of them sat down, while a small number who couldn't find seats stood and waited, ordering a special morning tea set from the teahouse to happily fill their stomachs.

It's worth mentioning that Bai Yuan also saw several foreigners inside, with blond hair and blue eyes, who stood out in the crowd.

"Bai Yuan, here, here!"

Just as Bai Yuan was wondering how to find Li Wanwan, a sweet female voice came from not far away. He looked up and saw Li Wanwan waving enthusiastically at him from the second floor, with Hojo Miyoko by her side.

When Hojo Miyoko saw him looking at her, she subtly looked away. She was now dressed in a pristine white chef's uniform.

"What? Is it required to wear the same clothes for the chef's exam? It wasn't mentioned in the exam requirements... Why is everyone wearing chef's uniforms?"

Upon reaching the second floor, Bai Yuan asked the question he was most curious about: why were all the people participating in the chef assessment wearing chef uniforms?

"Didn't you know? Dressing neatly can improve your impression on the judges, and chef's uniforms are the most effective."

Seeing Bai Yuan dressed exactly the same as he had been a couple of days ago, Li Wanwan couldn't help but ask in confusion. She had thought this was common sense.

"So, wearing a chef's uniform isn't a strict requirement, and it doesn't really serve any practical purpose?"

Bai Yuan stroked his chin as he returned.

"Isn't improving the judges' impression score a substantial benefit?"

Seeing Bai Yuan's suddenly indifferent expression, Li Wanwan couldn't help but complain, "This impression point could very well be the key to whether you pass or not!"

"Incompetent people always like to take shortcuts and instead of thinking about how to impress the judges with their culinary skills, they put their efforts into other areas, which is putting the cart before the horse."

Bai Yuan shook his head, disagreeing with Li Wanwan's words. Instead of wasting time researching the judges' preferences, he should focus on improving himself.

As long as you can make a dish that meets the standards, the judges will not deny your previous efforts just because you are not wearing a chef's uniform.

"Did you insult us too?"

Li Wanwan pouted and said with some dissatisfaction, "This guy's mouth is really venomous. He actually made a sweeping generalization without any regard for the whole picture."

She sounded like someone who was opportunistic and cunning.

Hojo Miyoko, however, seemed to be deep in thought.

"Don't worry about the details. Where are we? We've walked for so long, it's time to rest."

"I remember your hotel is less than two kilometers away from the test site, right? You can't even handle such a short distance? You're really bluffing."

Having just been mocked, Li Wanwan, not to be outdone, retorted after hearing Bai Yuan's words, getting her revenge on the spot.

"You only know if it's true or not by experiencing it yourself."

Bai Yuan shrugged, not paying any attention. Following the direction Li Wanwan pointed, he saw Wang Wanqing and Huang Ya.

Huang Ya was the last of the four people who were at the restaurant that day.

"Ugh! Pervert!"

Watching Bai Yuan's departing figure and pondering the deeper meaning of his words, Li Wanwan couldn't help but stomp her foot, mutter a curse under her breath, and blush slightly.

"Bai Yuan, you've finally arrived! We've been waiting for you here for so long."

Seeing Bai Yuan approach, Wang Wanqing took the initiative to pick up the teapot and pour him tea.

At this moment, she was wearing a white halter-neck mini dress, her cheeks slightly flushed, like a lotus flower just emerging from the water, looking incredibly beautiful.

"You've been waiting for a long time, haven't you? But isn't registration supposed to start at nine o'clock? Why are you here so early? By the way... are you also taking the chef exam?"

Looking at Wang Wanqing's attire, although there was no need to wear a chef's uniform, her outfit really didn't look like she was there to participate in a chef's assessment.

"Huang Ya and I aren't participating; we just came to see you off."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan's words, Wang Wanqing couldn't help but purse her lips. This guy is such a straight man. She dressed up so beautifully just to see him!

They even asked them why they came...

Perhaps that's why he became a top-tier chef at such a young age. Now he's even preparing for the special-grade chef assessment. His personality, in a way, is also a kind of charm.

"Oh, thank you very much."

Bai Yuan nodded without saying anything more, and instead looked out the window. It has to be said that this location was excellent, as the registration site was right outside.

In reality, the so-called registration site was just a place where chefs would enter, stand in this area, register via mobile phone location, be assigned to a corresponding examination room, and pay the registration fee.

This is also to prevent people from registering but not showing up, wasting a large amount of registration fees, and not being able to register again for three years because of this stain.

The registration site was now cordoned off. A dozen security guards patrolled inside to prevent anyone from sneaking in, while a few chefs stood scattered outside, ready to be the first to enter when the time came.

As for the other chefs, they were either still on their way or resting in nearby teahouses and taverns.

Because the registration period lasts for an hour, they are not worried about not being able to register.

Even those who aren't very good at using mobile phones can register at the manual registration desk. It's a bit more troublesome, but it's the same as registering with a mobile phone.

"Based on previous years, there are at least two thousand chefs ranging from top-tier to third-tier. Guangzhou seems even more bustling this year, and the number might increase further, which will likely lead to even higher requirements..."

"I feel that the chef assessment is a bit like the college entrance examination. Both are assigned to different examination rooms after registration. The only difference is that the scores are released on the spot here."

"Even without participating in the assessment, just looking at me makes me a little nervous."

The group chatted amongst themselves, enjoying the tea and snacks on the table. Bai Yuan listened attentively with a calm expression, absorbing useful information from their conversation.

Due to the large number of applicants, modern chef examinations are conducted in separate examination rooms for each test. In Guangzhou, the chef examination, as per past practice, has set up more than 50 examination rooms for candidates to use.

Each examination room is equipped with one chief examiner. For the first and second grade chefs, the chief examiners are all top-level chefs, while for the third grade chefs, they are all first-class chefs.

As for the special grade...

The image of Master Baiyao flashed through Bai Yuan's mind. Why would the other party suddenly appear here? Considering the chef assessment that had recently begun, he already had the answer in his heart.

The Guangzhou Special Grade Chef Examination has remained in the same location for many years: the Guangdong Provincial Chefs Association, right behind the registration area.

The association has a huge assessment venue, but due to the increasing number of chefs, it is now only open to top-level chefs for assessment.

"It's almost time. Let's go wait there. After registration, we still need to find the exam venue, and we don't have much time."

Looking at the time on her phone, Li Wanwan seemed a little excited. Hojo Miyoko immediately stood up, and Bai Yuan also stood up.