Era: You're asked to cook a home-style dish, but you cook Wellington.

Master Ma sneered, grabbed the plump bighead carp from the water, and slammed it hard onto the cutting board.

"Papa"

The fish struggled slightly.

With a flick of his wrist, the cleaver spun in his hand, gleaming coldly, and the blade slid down along the fish skin.

"Swish, swish, swish."

Remove the scales, gut, and debone.

His knife skills were incredibly fast, like a top master in a martial arts movie; with a flash of cold light, a whole fish fillet was separated.

His movements were clean and efficient, the fish fillets were spotless, and not a single strand of fascia remained.

Immediately afterwards, he leveled the blade, kept his arm still, and only his wrist moved up and down at an astonishing frequency.

"Knock knock knock".

The sound of the knife striking the cutting board was crisp and frequent, with an astonishingly steady rhythm.

With each stroke of the knife, the fish slices flew out like pages of a book, so fast that only afterimages remained.

Everyone stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the scene.

Upon closer inspection, the fish slices were cut as thin as cicada wings, translucent, and of uniform thickness, without a single tear.

"Amazing, absolutely amazing! This is the first time I've ever seen such exquisite swordsmanship!"

"How can this Grand Hotel possibly win?"

"Exactly, Gao Yang is just a kid, what makes him think he can compare to Master Ma?"

Among the crowd, several chefs watched all of this with fascination, unable to help but exclaim in amazement, their eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

Master Ma naturally heard the praise as well.

He curled his lips into a smile, dipped the sliced ​​fish into the ice water, and then gently shook it.

The fish slices shrink instantly upon cooling, their edges curling up slightly, and unfold layer by layer on the white porcelain plate, truly resembling budding dark orchids.

"It's so beautiful, absolutely stunning! This is simply the most beautiful work of art I've ever seen!"

Long Ge's smugness deepened, and he raised his chin as he looked at Gao Yang with a defiant gaze.

Master Ma gently scalded the orchid-shaped fish fillets into the boiling broth.

As the fish slices heated up, they slightly expanded, their color changing from transparent to tender white, and their aroma instantly spread, tantalizing the taste buds of everyone present.

He then poured on the pre-mixed golden abalone sauce, and garnished it with a few red pepper strips and cilantro leaves.

A plate of exquisitely presented and beautifully presented orchid-shaped fish fillets is now complete.

"enjoy your meal."

Master Ma carried the plate and gently placed it in front of Old Lin.

Old Lin was quite surprised, never expecting that Chef Ma's dishes would be prepared in less than ten minutes.

Can you cook food at such a fast speed?

He looked at the fish meat on the plate, which was as white as jade, with a hint of scrutiny and suspicion in his eyes.

However, judging from its appearance, it's not bad.

With some skepticism, Mr. Lin picked up his chopsticks, took a slice of fish, and put it in his mouth.

The fish fillets have a smooth and tender appearance, with a slight gelatinous texture that stimulates the palate. The fish meat is springy and has a unique chewiness; it breaks easily with a gentle bite.

In an instant, the delicious flavor exploded in my mouth. It wasn't the bland, fishy taste, but the purest flavor of the bighead carp, mixed with the richness of the golden abalone broth and a hint of sweetness, layer upon layer, without a trace of impurity.

The rich broth did not mask the tenderness of the fish; on the contrary, it brought out its freshness even more. Every taste bud was enveloped in this ultimate smoothness, warm and lingering, with a pleasant aftertaste.

"tasty!"

Old Lin's eyes lit up, filled with the delightful surprise of finding a treasure.

"How did you make it? The fish is so springy!"

Master Ma smiled slightly, his arrogance evident.

"This is my exclusive secret recipe, and I will not reveal it to anyone else."

Old Lin was taken aback for a moment, his brows furrowed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and his smile remained unchanged.

"Not bad, not bad. Your knife skills, cooking time, and seasoning are all near perfect. Even though I've eaten fish for so many years, your Orchid Fish Fillet is definitely in the top five. If I hadn't tasted it myself, I would have doubted whether this dish was the limit of what ingredients can be mastered."

Upon hearing Mr. Lin's evaluation, the audience erupted in cheers.

"Look, look! Old Lin's evaluation is so high!"

"I never expected the Golden Dragon Hotel to find such a master, someone so incredibly skilled. What will happen to the Grand Court Hotel?"

"Look at Gao Yang, his fish are still soaking in the water."

The whispers reached Brother Long's ears.

Brother Long arrogantly raised his chin, pointed his nostrils at Su Wanqing and the others, raised his hand, and made a gesture across his neck as if to say "I'll kill you all."

Zhou Guodong's face turned ashen.

This guy surnamed Ma is really too strong. Can Gao Yang deal with someone so powerful?

Lin Ran was on the verge of tears, clinging to Wang Biao's arm.

"Look, look, the evaluation is so high. What are we going to do? If Gao Yang loses, then we won't get any stars."

Wang Biao took a deep breath and clenched his fists tightly beneath him.

He didn't dare to look away from Gao Yang's figure for even a second.

In his mind, Ma's various skills were already at their peak, and his finished product had received such high praise from Master Lin. Gao Yang was bound to lose this match and was doomed.

What should we do?

Su Wanqing, however, remained expressionless, sitting silently in her chair and watching Gao Yang's retreating figure.

At this moment, Gao Yang did not show the impatience they had expected.

He calmly took the fish fillets out of the spiced water, placed them on a rack to dry, and covered them with a transparent lid.

"boom."

As the sound of ignition rang out, the cedar wood slowly burned, and wisps of white smoke rose up, quickly filling the entire lid and completely covering the cod fillet.

"This is smoked!"

Old Lin's voice rang out.

Smoking is a very common method, often used in places like Sichuan and Chongqing when making sausages and cured meats.

"But wouldn't using it on such high-grade cod meat ruin its original flavor?"

Old Lin frowned; it was truly hard to imagine the final flavor of the finished product.

Upon hearing this, Brother Long could no longer suppress the urge to smile.

"Aren't you a head chef? Didn't you say you used the best ingredients? How can you at Haoting cook fish like this? Do you even know how to cook?"

Master Ma crossed his arms and joined in the mockery.

"The best-tasting fish is its natural flavor, not your fancy techniques. You're only courting disaster with these methods."

He shook his head.

Upon seeing this, the reporters all raised their cameras and aimed them at Gao Yang, flashes going off one after another, capturing his calm profile in the frame.

The discussion below the stage stirred up another wave, with sarcasm and doubts surging towards the Grand Hotel like a tide.

Brother Long laughed so hard he almost fell over, pointing at Gao Yang's back and loudly proclaiming it to the people around him.

"Look, this is just a cheap trick for young people to attract attention; it's not worthy of serious consideration."

Master Ma stood by the stove, arms crossed, his eyes practically overflowing with contempt.

In his more than 30 years in the industry, he has seen countless chefs who pretend to be sophisticated, but in the end, all the dishes they make are flashy but not substantial, far inferior to his own solid knife skills and cooking techniques.

He had even begun to plan how he should gracefully accept this inevitable victory after Old Lin rejected Gao Yang's dishes when they were served.

Zhou Guodong's face was extremely pale, and his forehead was covered with a fine layer of cold sweat.

Lin Ran's eyes reddened, and she bit her lip tightly, not daring to make a sound.

Even Wang Biao lowered his head, unable to bear watching the outcome.

"Don't rush."

Su Wanqing calmly and slowly began to comfort everyone.

"He hasn't shown his true abilities yet."

At this moment, Gao Yang made a move. He lifted the lid, took the fish heads off the shelf, and arranged them in order.

He then took out a packet of pure black powder and sprinkled it evenly on the fish.

Old Lin was even more puzzled at this point, and he couldn't understand this guy's actions anymore.

"Hey Gao Yang, what are you doing?"

Gao Yang looked up and smiled.

"I want to make marble!"

"Oh, marble."

?

"marble?"