The delicacies of the heavens begin with obtaining gem meat.

Chapter 133 Individual Competitions Where Everyone Shines

Ignoring everything around him, Jiang Yan was completely absorbed in cooking.

Stir-fry the spice sauce until it thickens and coats the spoon, add enough water, add the previously braised turtle meat, bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce to low heat and simmer.

The broth bubbled and simmered, the freshness of the turtle meat, the richness of the spices, and the sweetness of the onions slowly blending together.

Jiang Yan simmered the turtle for over an hour, until the meat was so tender that it fell off the bone with the slightest touch, before turning off the heat.

Use a fine strainer to carefully filter out the broth, removing all residue, leaving only a clear, golden turtle curry soup.

Take out a few cantaloupes, cut them open and hollow out the inside, pour in all the strained turtle curry soup, then put the whole cantaloupe into a steamer and steam it over high heat.

Inside the steamer, the sweet aroma of cantaloupe and the rich flavor of turtle curry soup slowly blend together in the sealed steamer.

Time passed slowly, and many trainees gradually stopped what they were doing, finished their curry dishes, and waited for the final judges to arrive.

The three hours ended quickly.

All the trainees have finished cooking, and the next step is the formal evaluation stage.

In order of completion, the students began to serve their respective curry dishes.

The review score is out of 100, with each judge giving a maximum score of 20.

However, the curry dishes served at the beginning received almost no ratings above 10 from the five judges, with most giving them 5 or 6 points.

Even Chiyana, who is extremely picky about curry dishes, gave it a zero.

As a result, none of these trainees received a final score higher than 30.

This puts a lot of pressure on many trainees.

However, the five judges also grew impatient with this curry dish, which was only slightly surprising, especially the picky Senpyo Natsume.

Just when Chiyana's patience was about to run out, Kurokiba Ryo served his dish.

The dishes on the plate exuded a luxurious aroma unlike any of the previous works, instantly attracting the judges' attention.

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"French lobster curry, served with rice steamed with saffron."

Kurokiba Ryo's face radiated an arrogant confidence.

The glistening, reddish lobsters curled up in a rich French curry sauce, while the saffron-infused rice grains were distinct and shimmered with a warm sheen.

The sweetness of the lobster and the richness of the curry intertwined to create an incredibly powerful aroma that instantly swept through the entire judging panel.

Chihiro Natsume, who was initially feeling impatient, was the first to pick up her cutlery, fork up a piece of lobster meat and put it in her mouth. The lobster meat was springy and juicy, and the curry sauce had perfectly seeped into the meat, making it rich but not greasy, with an extremely rich and layered flavor.

Even the usually composed and aloof Chihaya, who was always mindful of her manners, completely abandoned her pride and lowered her head to slurp the lobster's head roe in order to savor its plump and delicious roe.

The taste of the shrimp roe brought an unprecedented look of satisfaction to Qianyi Xiaya's face, completely disregarding the gazes of everyone present.

After a thorough evaluation, all five judges gave it extremely high scores.

In the end, Kurokiba Ryo scored a high score of 93 points, far surpassing those trainees who couldn't even reach 30 points, directly and forcefully taking the top spot, causing a stir among the many trainees in the audience.

Just as the judges were still immersed in the exquisite taste of Kurokiba's French curry lobster and their taste buds had not yet fully recovered, Mito Ikumi presented her dish.

A fragrant and rich Dongpo pork curry rice bowl with an enticing red and bright color.

Large chunks of Dongpo pork are stewed until tender and flavorful, with the marbled fat and lean meat glistening under the light, and the rich curry sauce coating every grain of rice.

The aroma of meat, soy sauce, and curry blends perfectly, and the visual impact alone is enough to make the five judges unable to resist, and they all picked up their spoons and began to enjoy the meal.

The Dongpo pork melts in your mouth, paired with savory curry rice, creating a warm and rich flavor with a lingering aftertaste.

Ultimately, Ikumi Mito scored 86 points with her Dongpo pork curry dish, temporarily placing her in second place.

Following closely behind was Ryoko.

Ryoko's dish is natto curry made with natto that has been cooked over charcoal.

Natto, which is slowly roasted over charcoal at a low temperature, loses its original fishy smell, leaving only a rich bean aroma. When this aroma collides with the spices in curry, it creates a wonderful chemical reaction.

The soft and chewy natto blends perfectly with the creamy curry, creating a unique and flavorful taste.

This unique natto curry also scored 86 points, tying for second place with Ikumi Mito.

The next one to appear was Marui Zenji, who was not favored by most of the trainees because of his poor physical condition and mediocre performance in the residential training.

His dish was a thick white udon curry soup.

It appears simple, but it actually contains hidden secrets.

The creamy white broth is smooth and silky, the udon noodles are chewy and springy, and the curry spices are perfectly blended into the broth. The flavor combination is impeccable, with each bite offering distinct layers and perfect harmony.

In the end, Marui Zenji came in second place with a score of 88.

Next up is Jun Ibuzaki's special smoked curry.

As soon as it was served, a strong yet not pungent smoky aroma wafted over, instantly whetting the judges' appetites.

Using homemade smoked salt, the flavors of smoked ingredients are perfectly harmonized with the richness of curry. The smoky aroma and the spicy fragrance of curry advance layer by layer, blending together seamlessly without any sense of disharmony.

This highly distinctive curry also scored 88 points, tying for second place with Zenji Marui.

The successive appearances of top-quality curry dishes, one delicious wave after another, made it difficult for even the extremely picky Chiyana to remain calm.

"Next up, Akira Hayama!"

As soon as the host, Sasaki Yui, finished speaking, Hayama Akira carried the dish to the judges' table, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Yan and Yukihira Soma below the stage, a confident smile playing on his lips.

"Curry—I even made enough for you guys!"

"What a coincidence, me too!"

Soma Yukihira looked at Akira Hayama and retorted without backing down.

Then, he subconsciously glanced at Jiang Yan beside him.

He knew Jiang Yan's true strength; he was an absolutely formidable opponent.

Jiang Yan raised his head and looked at Ye Shanliang with some confusion.

He had almost no prior interaction with Hayama Ryo, and in fact, Hayama Ryo had previously held him in some contempt.

But now, Hayama Akira clearly sees him as an evenly matched opponent.

It must be because Hayama Akira discovered something while he was making curry dishes!

It must be said that Akira Hayama has a very keen sense of smell.

"Then I'll have to look forward to it."

"Please try my curry later."

Since the other party has openly issued a challenge, Jiang Yan naturally will not back down.

Hayama Akira didn't say anything more, and turned around to serve his dish to the five judges.

The food program's production director, Makito Minato, had been observing the cooking process of many trainees at the competition venue.

I paid special attention to Hayama Ryo, who was quite famous among the trainees.

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He immediately spoke with great confidence.

"The dish is fish head curry, right? It's a luxurious dish that uses the whole fish head!"

He had seen Hayama Akira prepare fish heads before.

Hayama Akira glanced at Minato Sakamaki, then lifted the lid of the plate.

Minato Sakamaki's eyes widened, his confident expression instantly freezing, replaced by utter astonishment.

"What is this? It's such a small portion, it's definitely not fish head curry!"

Chihiro Natsume looked at the dish in front of her thoughtfully.

"Is the lid of the bowl made of naan?"

Veteran food critic Shigeyuki Koda nodded.

"It does look like naan. This dish has quite a secret."

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Hayama Akira didn't explain anything to the five judges, he just calmly mentioned how to eat it.

"Please use your spoons to break open the naan before tasting it."

Then, Hayama Akira tossed the spoon to Jiang Yan and Yukihira Soma.

"It's a little hot, please be careful."

""

Taking the spoon, Jiang Yan took the initiative and cut open the naan covering the rim of the bowl.

The next second, an extremely strong aroma exploded like a bomb, and even many students in the audience could clearly smell this rich, mellow, and complex fragrance of spices.

A hint of anticipation appeared in Jiang Yan's eyes.

Put a spoonful of curry soup into your mouth, and your taste buds will be instantly overwhelmed by the flavor of curry.

The freshness of fennel, the crispness of lemongrass, the richness of cinnamon—the aromas of dozens of spices unfold layer by layer in the mouth, while the dominant aroma of freshly picked holy basil perfectly blends and integrates all the fragrances.

Akira Hayama cleverly added yogurt, which neutralized the overly strong aroma of holy basil, bringing all the spices to a perfect balance, making each flavor distinct yet harmoniously unified.

In terms of the use and combination of spices, this dish has almost reached perfection.