Have you ever seen glowing food? That's why you draw a food-themed anime.

Just this one bite, and it costs 2,888?

The taste was indeed quite good.

The presentation is also very nice.

It tastes a bit like imperial cuisine.

Although he harbored resentment in his heart, he didn't say it aloud.

For the next few dishes, Xu Zhou felt a sense of familiarity, and the sous chef was talking enthusiastically.

"This is a jade cup inlaid with a hundred birds and a thousand threads, made from eggs and more than ten kinds of meat, mixed into various colored threads, blending together to form a landscape painting..."

"A hundred birds and a thousand threads fall onto a jade plate, green waters and golden mountains are inlaid in a jade cup. The meaning of our dish is also very auspicious. Golden mountains, golden mountains, eating it will bring a golden mountain home..."

"Isn't this just shredded egg? It mostly tastes like shredded egg," Xu Zhou thought to himself.

"This dish, 'Jade Pot with an Icy Heart Reflecting the Bright Moon,' is so delicious that flowers bloom in a teapot, just like a pure heart in a jade pot. It's also one of our signature dishes..."

"Isn't this just tofu cut into a flower shape? You dare to sell this dish for 8,800 yuan? The cost is only a few yuan." Xu Zhou clicked his tongue in amazement.

He glanced at it a few times; inside the beautiful jade pot was a perfectly cut, blooming chrysanthemum.

As the broth boils, the tofu and chrysanthemum-shaped fillings inside bloom as they simmer.

It is indeed very beautiful.

Every dish was beautifully presented.

It tasted pretty good, but there wasn't enough soup; the 2,800 yuan worth of soup was gone in just two sips.

The main flavor is light, fresh, and delicate.

From this perspective, this store is indeed quite good.

If we ignore the price.

...

After wolfing down a few bites, it was time for the last dish.

This dish is clearly the signature dish of the Su Family Imperial Kitchen, and also the dish that the sous chef Jiang Wen is confident in.

When the dish was served, and it appeared to be just a small bowl, Zhang Yinghong and Xu Yi's expressions turned rather sour.

Such a small amount, yet it costs several thousand?

The sous chef next to him was still proudly introducing, "The snow-melting soup you ordered today is made with seafood, oysters, broth, and porridge, blended into a top-quality white porridge that's as smooth as snowflakes, without any grainy texture..."

"From afar, it looks like a crescent moon; up close, it's like a blanket of white snow. Our work is very evocative."

"Moreover, this is very easy to digest. Every piece of seafood is infused into the flavor of the porridge; you won't taste any actual seafood meat—all the meat is in the porridge. This is our restaurant's best-selling product..."

Can't find any seafood or meat?

Then I ate this seafood porridge for nothing?

When Xu Zhou heard the word "oyster," he was taken aback. Oyster? Isn't this "melting snow soup" just a basic version of oyster porridge?

While listening to him boast about how amazing the dish was, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my parents didn't seem to have eaten enough.

After carefully taking a sip from their bowls, the two of them smacked their lips in confusion and instinctively leaned closer, saying, "Son, this looks a bit like the new dish you made?"

"Yeah, it's just not as good as yours."

Xu Yi took another sip, his brows furrowing deeply: "I feel like the oyster congee you sell is actually quite good."

"Is it going to taste better?" Zhang Yinghong was still not full and frowned at the thought of the price.

"That tastes much better than this!"

One bite, and the flavor was rather bland compared to the oyster congee I'd had before.

If it weren't for the amazing oyster congee that preceded it, this dish might have been quite delicious.

After eating Xu Zhou's oyster congee, both Xu Yi and Zhang Yinghong felt that this snow melting soup was not quite right.

However, this bowl of melted snow soup was presented very elegantly, served in a very delicate little porcelain bowl.

There was a heating device at the bottom of the porcelain bowl, and the bowl was filled with ethereal steam, making it look as if it were filled with moonlight.

It doesn't look like porridge at all; it's more like a white landscape painting with blank spaces.

After taking a few sips, the two glanced at the price and their hearts ached: "Son, I think this dish... well, next time you can just cook the porridge at home yourself."

Before Xu Zhou could speak, he heard the sous chef ask uncertainly, "A fellow professional?"

"Is there something you're unhappy with about the food at our restaurant?"

Jiang Wen, having reached the position of sous chef at a young age, naturally has great confidence in his culinary skills.

Since this dish became the signature dish of the Su Family Imperial Kitchen, it has received virtually no negative reviews.

Every customer who has dined here gives it a 100% positive review.

And at this moment, the first negative review has appeared.

This bothered him deeply.

"What do you think is wrong with this snow-melting soup? Is it simply because it doesn't taste good, or is it just because of the price?"

“Uh…” Xu Zhou hesitated for a moment.

The opinion that was kept in his heart was ultimately not voiced.

After all, they are customers today.

Seeing that the sous chef's expression wasn't good, Xu Zhou assumed he was afraid Xu Zhou wouldn't pay, so he added a comment.

"It's alright, we don't mean to return the food, we'll pay for it as usual."

"You're so young, what kind of restaurant are you working at? Have you become the head chef?"

Seeing Xu Zhou's embarrassed expression, Jiang Wen smiled and said in a rather domineering tone, "We also welcome friendly exchanges from our colleagues."

"May I ask which culinary school you graduated from, and which school of thought did you study? This isn't about the money. If you really don't like it, I can give you a free meal."

A barrage of questions came crashing down on him, and it was clear that the sous chef was unhappy.

The snow melting soup that I painstakingly made was criticized by this family?

Do they even realize the significance of becoming the sous chef of an eight-star restaurant at such a young age?

Jiang Wen was inwardly cursing, and almost couldn't maintain his smile.

"I am a customer today."

As Xu Zhou looked at the bill, he said in a nonchalant tone, "Does a customer have to tell you which school they graduated from just to give a review?"

On the bill.

The three of them spent 88,000 yuan.

The price is really not cheap.

He turned his head and glanced at the eager customers next to him, finally realizing the difference between an eight-star restaurant and a restaurant run by ordinary people.

I finally got to experience the economic power of ordinary people in this world.

It's like being at opposite ends of the spectrum between yourself and your own world.

Chapter 16 I'm a Realist

As Xu Zhou finished his meal and prepared to leave, Jiang Wen was still bothered by his earlier comments.

Seeing him about to leave, she grabbed a small gift from the shop and chased after him, her eyes asking, "Since we're in the same industry, I think I should try some of your products."

"Didn't you just say that this dish isn't as good as your restaurant's oyster congee?"

"What is the name of your store?"

Jiang Wen handed over the new bill: "By the way, I've already given you the Snow Melting Soup for free, this is a gift for you."

"So polite?"

Xu Zhou glanced down at the small gift he had brought out; it was an exquisite ornament. Seeing the resentment in Jiang Wen's eyes, he simply smiled.

"Our shop is just a small, scattered place called Ichizuru Izakaya. It's not far from here, just on the next street."

"A few scattered shops?" Jiang Wen's eyes showed surprise.

"Correct."

"..."

Jiang Wen searched for "Yizhou Izakaya" on his phone and found only a few results.

When he saw the few ratings, he frowned and searched for store ratings on two other apps.

What if there really are some hidden masters among those scattered shops?

When I saw that Ichizuru Izakaya had a rating of 2.5 on one app and 1.9 on the other, my lips twitched.

After glancing at the sea of ​​negative reviews in the shop, his expression instantly turned perfunctory: "Okay, thank you for your guidance."

I thought I had encountered some expert in the field.

Turns out he's just a pretentious brat.

...

On the way home after dinner, my parents were still feeling bad about the money they had spent on the meal.

When they were almost home, the two belatedly exclaimed, "Son, your porridge is even better than the sous chef's at that eight-star restaurant!"

"No wonder you sell it for 660 a bowl!"

"Absolutely! Our son is definitely a culinary genius!"

"I think that sous chef was quite resentful and looked down on our son!"

"That's because he hasn't tried our son's oyster congee. If he had, he definitely wouldn't be so arrogant!"

Xu Yi and Zhang Yinghong each patted Xu Zhou on the shoulder, their eyes filled with pride.

The atmosphere on the way back was wonderful.

As soon as Xu Zhou got home, he turned on his computer and received a signing notification text message as soon as he opened his author backend.

Congratulations! Your work, "Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma," has passed the contract review. To better communicate with you, please add your editor, Aoyama, on QQ as soon as possible...

"The contract has been signed?"

Xu Zhou's eyes lit up with surprise: "You've already signed a contract after only posting the second chapter?"

After he added Qingshan's QQ, the other party quickly sent him a message.

[Aoyama: Your manga series is doing very well, but it's also quite controversial.]

[Qingshan: May I ask, are all your upcoming recipes...original recipes?]

When Qingshan typed the words "original recipe," he felt he had been tactful enough.

In fact, this food-themed anime is far more than just controversial.

This is attracting countless attention from manga readers in the food-themed manga category!

When other comics are updated, comic fans exclaim: "Yay! An update! It's great! I love it!"

As soon as Xu Zhou updated this comic, fans exclaimed, "I'm not reading any other comics anymore. I want to see what outrageous things you can draw!"

A quick scroll through the comments section under the comic reveals nothing but a storm of bloodshed and violence.

[Why didn't the author update today? Where's the second half of chapter three? I'm still waiting to see your outrageous recipes!]

[Keep this abstract style! I'm always happy to see the comments section of your food-themed anime; I'm never this responsive when watching my favorite food anime.]

No, I'm really amazing! I actually saw these two recipes in a shop in Songnan City.

[Are you kidding me, upstairs? Is this some kind of "don't laugh challenge"?]

...

Seeing these controversies, Aoyama hesitated for several days about whether to sign the contract for the manga.

But the data is too good.