A Bite of Douluo Continent

"The first round of the food competition has ended! The winner of the first round is Ming Tingque!"

Manager Zhang announced the results of the first round of the competition, and then spoke again, "The theme of the second round of the food competition is fruit. Both sides are to compete to see who can take their positions as chefs and incorporate fruit into their dishes. There are no restrictions on the method. Failure to incorporate fruit will be considered a violation of the rules."

After speaking, Manager Zhang gestured for both chefs to re-enter the kitchen, but when he looked at Qi Han, his gaze was quite different from before.

Although Hanshi lost the first round, the number of votes between the two was enough to tell a lot.

Even if Hanshi is not as powerful as Mingtingque, it is by no means weak.

At this moment, Manager Zhang looked at Qi Han as if he were witnessing the emergence of a rising star in the catering industry.

He was somewhat disappointed that there wasn't any tomato and beef brisket left, otherwise he would have liked to try the dishes of this cold food festival and see how they could rival Ming Tingque.

Back in the kitchen, Qi Han didn't hesitate to continue cooking the crab-stuffed oranges with the ingredients he had already prepared.

The fact that it was defeated in the first round by the secret-recipe beef tenderloin is undoubtedly related to its faster serving speed.

If the tomato beef brisket had been served to the judges before the secret-recipe beef tenderloin, the first round of voting might have yielded a different result.

The result is in, and any complaints or resentment are meaningless, but he can learn from it.

Qi Han's second dish had already completed a lot of tedious work and wouldn't take too much time.

This time, he will definitely be able to finish cooking the dishes before the other party.

The first round could be attributed to underestimating his opponent and being careless, but if he loses again in the second round, Qi Han himself will not be able to forgive himself.

Thinking of this, Qi Han's eyes became more serious.

Clearly, his defeat in the first round did not leave him as relaxed as he appeared on the surface.

...

Inside the kitchen, Qi Han began to give it his all, while outside the kitchen, Wu Henian on the judging panel had been frowning ever since the first round of voting results were announced.

"What's wrong?" Ye Ansheng smiled slightly. "Are you still dissatisfied with the results of the first round of voting?"

“Not bad.” Wu Henian nodded and said frankly, “Although the tomato beef brisket takes longer to prepare, I don’t believe the other judges can’t tell the difference between the two dishes. These gourmets have very discerning palates and it’s impossible for them to make such a mistake. The voting results are a little different from what I expected.”

"Actually, this result is not unexpected," Ye An said meaningfully. "The timing is only one aspect. On the other hand... don't forget who Han Shi's opponent is this time."

"Brother Ansheng means..." Wu Henian's brows furrowed even more as he pondered the deeper meaning in Ye Ansheng's words, "Ming Tingque used underhanded means?"

"I've only heard some rumors, I'm not sure," Ye Ansheng said in a lower voice. "But even if Ming Tingque does nothing, there are plenty of people in this world willing to give him face, aren't there?"

"This is outrageous!" Wu Henian's expression changed instantly. "If this is the case, how can there be any fairness in the food competition?"

“The two dishes are not that different. The appreciation of food is a very personal matter. Just like some people like spicy food while others don’t, it’s impossible to find clear evidence to prove that the voting results are wrong.” Ye Ansheng shook his head. “However, if the two dishes were more different, this situation would not have occurred.”

“Even more obvious…” Wu Henian shook his head.

Everyone understands the logic, but if Hanshi wants to win, it needs to make dishes that are significantly more delicious than those of Mingtingque.

Qi Han is only in his twenties. It's already a miracle that he can make dishes that are a step above Ming Tingque's. Asking him to make dishes that far surpass Ming Tingque's is asking too much of him.

Hopefully, Qi Han can learn from the lessons of the last round.

If his guess is correct, the dish served this round of the Cold Food Festival should be crab-stuffed orange. This dish is more delicious than tomato beef brisket and has its own very distinctive characteristics. If it can be served first, it should leave a very deep impression on the judges, and the probability of winning this round will be greater.

Gu Xuanji, Wu Henian, gave a bitter smile.

Even if Qi Han understands the importance of finishing the dishes first, what good will it do?

The cooking of dishes requires strict control of the heat; it cannot be accelerated at will.

If you rush things, the taste of the dishes will inevitably suffer.

However, the next moment, Wu Henian suddenly widened his eyes.

On the kitchen door where Hanshi (Cold Food Festival) was located, green lights burst forth with a bright color.

That's...that's all?

From the time Qi Han went in until now, less than half an hour has passed. Crab-stuffed oranges can be made from processing to completion in less than half an hour.

The next moment, staff from the catering association went into the kitchen and brought out servings of crab-stuffed oranges, which were then presented to each of the judges.

Looking at the familiar crab-stuffed orange, Wu Henian breathed a slight sigh of relief.

We should be able to win this game.

When he tasted it yesterday at noon, he was completely amazed by the crab-stuffed orange, which perfectly blended orange pulp and crab meat. Even he couldn't think of a way to make this dish. Wu Henian believed that Ming Tingque would definitely not be able to come up with a better dish.

With this in mind, Wu Henian picked up a spoon and skillfully scooped out a spoonful of crab-stuffed orange pulp, perfectly blended with crab meat, from the orange bowl, and happily put it into his mouth.

Hmm... it still tastes wonderfully familiar.

"Huh, the relief carving on the surface of this crab-stuffed orange..." Ye Ansheng didn't taste it directly like Wu Henian, but instead curiously examined it first. After all, this dish looked much more unique than the tomato beef brisket from before, as it was actually served in an orange peel, which was quite ingenious.

Upon closer inspection, he was instantly awestruck by the exquisite and lifelike reliefs.

With Qi Han's perfect level of carving skills, it was not difficult to carve the landscape painting in a magnificent and imposing manner, and this carving gave Ye Ansheng a visual shock at this moment.

It took him a while to recover from the shock and begin to savor the crab-stuffed orange.

As Ye Ansheng put a spoonful of crab-stuffed orange with a hint of wine into his mouth, he felt the orange and crab aromas melt instantly in his mouth, slowly blending together. The wonderful taste of the salty and fresh crab meat intertwined with the sweet orange pulp made Ye Ansheng's eyes widen.

This…

Fruit has been a frequently chosen theme in past food competitions.

However, fruits have a strong fruity aroma, which can clash with the taste and texture of many dishes. Therefore, restaurants that have drawn this theme in food competitions have always had unsatisfactory dishes, and the voting is just a matter of choosing the best among the worst.

This crab-stuffed orange dish surpasses all previous fruit-themed dishes, perfectly demonstrating how fruit should blend seamlessly with other dishes.

That exquisite taste was what Ye Ansheng had been longing for.

Very few people know that it was he, the current president of the catering association, who introduced the theme of fruit into the food competition.

The idea to include this topic came from a sudden inspiration of Ye Ansheng.

He wondered if fruit could have as many possibilities as vegetables, and not just be served as an appetizer.

And now, he has received the answer he wanted.

About the update

There will be another update at 8 PM.

Chapter 516 A Dish Overlooked by Everyone (Bonus Chapter for the New Helmsman Song Ruochen)

"Mr. Zhao, and the two head chefs from Ming Ting Que, would you like to try some?"

Qi Han took out three servings of crab-stuffed oranges and greeted them warmly.

It's only right to reciprocate; he just tasted the other party's secret-recipe beef tenderloin, so it's only proper to offer them crab-stuffed oranges now.

"Then I'll give it a try." Zhao Yangfan forced a smile and took the crab-stuffed orange that Qi Han handed him.

However, he was not in a good mood.

Although he had long anticipated that Ming Tingque would likely lose this round, Zhao Yangfan still harbored some illusions.

For example, there isn't that much difference between your own dishes and the Cold Food Festival dishes?

For example, if cooking crab stuffed orange takes a long time, can we repeat the previous process?

For example, what if Qi Han made a mistake and didn't cook the dish well?

However, all these "examples" shattered completely when Zhao Yangfan witnessed the judges' undisguised expressions of satisfaction after tasting the food.

There is no room for complacency; Ming Tingque will lose this round.

After carefully examining the crab-stuffed orange in front of him, even Zhao Yangfan had to admit that the landscape carving on the crab-stuffed orange was incredibly exquisite. Even in the imperial palace, one could not find such a lifelike sculpture.

While appearance isn't the key to a dish, a beautifully presented dish can certainly evoke a greater sense of appreciation.

Crab-stuffed oranges have clearly succeeded.

After scooping up a spoonful of crab-stuffed orange with a spoon and taking a brief taste, Zhao Yangfan couldn't help but sigh.

This crab-stuffed orange was indeed incredibly delicious, even better than Chef Song described.

As the person in charge of the Mingting Palace, Zhao Yangfan may not be skilled in cooking, but his appreciation of food is absolutely unquestionable.

He had tried their own lotus-scented fruit-flavored fish before, and the difference between the two was indeed significant.

Well, we can only try to win back a point in the third round.

He was quite confident about Chef Jin's Jade Dew dish.

The other party made this dish once at noon, and I even tasted it.

Putting everything else aside, the Jade Dew and this Crab Stuffed Orange are absolutely equally delicious.

He didn't believe that Qi Han could come up with a vegetable dish similar to this crab-stuffed orange in the third round.

Zhao Yangfan was feeling quite pleased with himself, but he didn't notice that Chef Song's expression changed slightly at that moment.

He suddenly remembered that there was something he had forgotten to tell Zhao Yangfan and the other two head chefs.

There is also a dish during the Cold Food Festival that appears to be made with fruit.

That dish is called "Poetry and Etiquette Ginkgo".

As one of the three most expensive dishes for the Cold Food Festival, Chef Song naturally took notice of the Ginkgo Biloba with Poetry and Etiquette, and he studied the description of this dish in detail.

Main ingredients: sugar crystals and ginkgo nuts.

Ginkgo trees are known as living fossils on Earth, but there is no trace of this plant in the Douluo Continent.

Therefore, in Chef Song's eyes, this ingredient was something he had never heard of before.

Because the dish seemed to feature a pine tree sculpted from sugar crystals as its main element, Chef Song selectively ignored it due to his lack of knowledge about the ingredients, and did not consider it when choosing the three dishes that might be used to compete for the Cold Food Festival.

After tasting the dishes of the Cold Food Festival, Chef Song became extremely worried about the food competition, and naturally put the matter of the Ginkgo Tree of Poetry and Etiquette out of his mind.

As he ate crab-stuffed oranges, he suddenly recalled this question and discovered a terrifying fact.

He had never heard of ginkgo fruit.

But apricot is a fruit, and since the name of this ingredient contains the word "fruit," it should obviously be a fruit.