Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"Indeed, there are white spots inside the mushroom."

Amu looked at the white spots in the mushrooms, his voice becoming lighter, because this meant that Jin Lanyu's dish had a flaw, and the score would definitely be lowered.

"These mushrooms are so delicious, and after so many cooking steps, they're still not fully cooked?!"

Kakuzaki Taki looked up and down in disbelief, and when he confirmed that there were indeed white dots on the mushroom, he gasped.

"How could that be? I braised it for more than half an hour, and I even fried it before braising and then grilled it again. Why wasn't it cooked through?"

Looking at the white residue on the mushroom skewers in Bai Yuan's hand, Jin Lanyu's face showed a hint of disbelief. How could the mushrooms not be fully cooked after she had been working for so long!

"It takes quite a while to cook mushrooms thoroughly, and the cooking time varies for each type of mushroom, as does their size."

Otherwise, people in Yunnan wouldn't put alarm clocks in mushroom hot pot restaurants, because uncooked mushrooms really can cause hallucinations.

Bai Yuan said this, but his praise remained. He said that the mushrooms not being fully cooked would only affect the taste and aftertaste, but not much else.

Undeniably, this is an excellent dish! He liked both the creativity and the taste, and the seasoning sprinkled on top was also very fragrant.

If we keep exploring, it could definitely become a great specialty dish.

"The tasting continues, and next up is French chef Lia."

Hearing Bai Yuan's evaluation, the skillful old woman nodded silently and then called for the next contestant to take the stage.

It seems that he not only has superb cooking skills, but also can objectively evaluate other people's dishes, which is very rare!

Some skilled chefs, despite their exceptional culinary abilities, are so engrossed in their own world that they cannot offer fair and objective evaluations of others' dishes. Such chefs are unlikely to go far in the long run!

"Go for it, Leah."

When it was his sister's turn, Aiden clenched his fists behind her, unconsciously praying for her to win.

"This is a famous French dish that I'd like to bring to you, and it's also a dish that perfectly fits the theme of beef and non-beef: French-style baked snails!"

Lia stood up gracefully, bowed to everyone present, and watched as the staff brought the dishes to the table, then took the initiative to introduce them.

"This is a must-have dish at French banquets, made with snails, garlic, butter, white wine, and special snail shells. The taste will absolutely exceed your expectations, so come and try it!"

Lia launched into a long explanation, her face flushed with excitement. As long as her cooking was well-received, the competition would be a sure thing!

And French-style baked snails happen to be one of her signature dishes!

but...

The situation on the scene was somewhat unexpected.

Why...is no one touching their chopsticks?

After the introduction, Lia waited to the side, but after listening to her introduction, everyone leaned back in their chairs, closed their eyes to rest, and no one was willing to pick up their chopsticks to taste her dish.

The atmosphere remained silent until she uttered those words.

"You idiot!"

"There's no need to eat the food you made. You're finished."

Upon hearing the question, Bai Yuan opened his eyes and looked at Liya's pale face, which had turned slightly pale after hearing his words. He then reprimanded her mercilessly.

"what?"

Lia frowned, her voice filled with doubt and a barely perceptible tremor, somewhat puzzled as to why Bai Yuan said that.

"Although snails contain the word 'cow' in their name, they are not beef. The two are completely different and have no resemblance whatsoever."

If we're just talking about the theme, using snail meat is definitely fine, and it's actually a pretty good ingredient, if you can use snail meat to bring out the flavor and texture of beef.

But your mistake was that you made French-style baked escargot!

Bai Yuan's voice was stern. There was nothing wrong with snails as ingredients; the problem was that she was making snail dishes!

"Because I made French-style baked escargot?"

Lia muttered to herself, and combining this with what Bai Yuan had said at the beginning, she seemed to suddenly understand something, and collapsed to the ground.

"You haven't grasped the meaning of the topic at all. You're just doing what you know how to do, thinking that as long as you put what you're good at on the table, you can get good results, while ignoring the most important thing: thinking!"

Bai Yuan bluntly stated Liya's thoughts, and it was easy to guess what she was thinking.

It's simply because I'm good at this dish, and this French-style baked snails and the beef-but-not-beef dish are very similar in theme, so I was momentarily confused and lost my mind.

"I overlooked the most important consideration..."

Lia repeated Bai Yuan's words in a low voice, biting her lower lip, looking lost and dejected.

"That's right. In the end, snails are not beef, so there's no problem with the subject matter."

But instead of preparing the snails in the shape of beef, you made a dish with snails as the main ingredient—that's your problem! You underestimated this test!

The skillful old woman also spoke up at this moment, her eyes revealing a rare seriousness.

If even something like this can pass the assessment, then the assessment is far too insignificant and completely meaningless!

"You should feel ashamed of your unoriginal dishes, which you try to cover up with your superb skills."

The skillful old woman spoke sternly.

Throughout history, there have been many chefs like this: they have a solid foundation, but lack the creativity expected of a chef.

Such a chef can become a pillar of the culinary world, and the culinary world needs such a chef, but he will never become a master chef!

"You should see more of the world instead of being confined to the small world of the kitchen. There's really no need to critique this kind of cooking. Go back and hone your skills for another year before coming back to challenge it!"

Looking at Leah who had fallen to the ground, the skillful old woman's voice was devoid of any emotion. She had seen this kind of thing many times before and was already used to it!

Chapter 70 Who is the ultimate winner?

"This dish has no problem in terms of taste. It is a very traditional French baked snail. The skill is even better than that of many veteran chefs who specialize in this dish."

Before your next trip to China, remember to learn Chinese well. The theme "Beef that isn't beef" means making a dish that tastes like beef using ingredients that aren't beef. In other words, you've already misunderstood the concept from the start.

Picking up his fork, Bai Yuan tasted the dish in front of him. The taste was passable, with no major flaws, and it reached the top-grade level.

Logically speaking, a chef like this should have accumulated a considerable amount of culinary experience and shouldn't be able to get even the most basic culinary theme wrong.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Yuan re-explained the true meaning of the assessment theme to her in French.

When Leah heard his voice, she looked up, her eyes already streaked with tears, and her expression was slightly surprised.

Do you speak French?

"I was bored and read some books to teach myself a little bit. In short, that's it. Your cooking has completely gone off-topic."

Bai Yuan shrugged and finished off the remaining French-style baked snails on the plate.

Snail meat has a unique sweet and slightly chewy texture, neither too dry nor too greasy, making it a perfect match for sauce.

The French-style baked snails in front of me have perfectly absorbed the essence of the sauce, resulting in an incredibly rich flavor and a truly delicious taste.

No wonder Leah was so confident that her dish would definitely receive the highest score. Judging solely by taste and attention to detail, her French-style baked escargot was absolutely the most perfectly executed dish of the day!

"I see. When you said you lacked thought, did you mean I didn't seriously understand the questions for this top-level assessment before starting to create it?"

"That's right, with your abilities, you shouldn't make such a basic mistake."

Bai Yuan quickly replied in French that if the opponent could correctly understand the question and create a dish that resembled beef but wasn't, their chances of advancing weren't low.

After all, she and her brother had both passed the French Grand Chef exam.

After hearing Bai Yuan's words, Liya silently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and her whole being became clear-headed.

Chinese is a very difficult language. She and her brother studied it for a year and only mastered the basics. This time, the theme is beef, but not beef.

The moment she saw it, the image of French-style baked snails popped into her mind, and she immediately went to cook it without delving into the deeper meaning of the title, which led to such a big misunderstanding.

"I understand! I will continue to study Chinese and carefully study the meaning of the questions. I will come here again next year."

If you still can't pass the exam, then try again the year after! You'll keep trying until you pass Guangzhou's top-level exam!

Hearing Bai Yuan praise her abilities, Liya blushed slightly, then looked up at the boy's face, her heart beating a little faster.

A strange idea popped into her mind.

"That's how a chef should be. When faced with difficulties, you should rise to the challenge instead of giving up. You already have the true soul of a chef. I hope you can achieve great results next year!"

Hearing Lia's words and seeing her determined expression, Bai Yuan nodded with great satisfaction.

Correcting a child who has gone astray little by little, and seeing her improve, brings a sense of accomplishment that comes from within, which is truly irresistible!

"Um... I have a request, and I hope you will grant it."

Brushing the dust off her skirt, Lia stood up from the ground and jogged over to Bai Yuan. Looking at his handsome face, her fingers unconsciously twirled the hem of her clothes, and her face flushed slightly.

"Huh? What request...?"

Small lips, a high nose bridge, dazzling blonde hair like sunshine, flawless white skin, and a height of around 1.6 meters is the most suitable height for output, very good!

Although he knew he shouldn't think in that direction, seeing the girl's shy appearance, Bai Yuan still felt a sense of anticipation, but he remained calm on the surface and maintained his aloof persona.

"I'd like to borrow yours for a bit..."

"can!"

"A dragon-shaped armband. I haven't finished speaking yet, and you agreed so readily?"

Tilting her head and pouting slightly, the girl looked at Bai Yuan in surprise, then smiled. Clearly, his agreement had improved her mood considerably.

"We Chinese are very generous, and we usually won't refuse such a small thing. If you want to wear it, then go ahead and wear it..."

Bai Yuan turned his head away with a deadpan expression and said that he had already guessed it. Since the other party was so eager for the Chinese dragon-shaped armband, it was only natural that they came to borrow it.

Just as he expected, yes, that's exactly what he was thinking.

"That's great! Thank you, you're such a kind person!"

"That's what Lia said from the bottom of her heart."

Bai Yuan not only answered her questions but also lent her the dragon-shaped armband, making him a truly kind and handsome person.

"You are welcome."

After saying this, Bai Yuan shifted his gaze from Liya's face to the skillful old woman not far away, who immediately understood.

"The review continues, now it's Amu's turn at Chaoweifang."

At the same time, after hearing what the skillful old woman said, Amu immediately stood up to prepare to introduce the topic, and Liya also sat down next to Bai Yuan.

However, Bai Yuan's attention was no longer on her at this moment; his eyes were fixed on a plate of something that looked like beef jerky in front of him.