"Looks like they're all tough characters."
Liya's gaze swept across the surroundings as she muttered under her breath. She had participated in a few competitions like this before, but they were mostly at the municipal level; this was her first time at a provincial one.
However, she could clearly sense that none of the people before her were simple.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the crowd.
"It's him! Last year's champion!"
A young man strode toward the venue with a confident gait, flanked by two followers, a man and a woman.
Seeing this, the people around them all parted to make way, their faces showing subtle expressions. The newcomer was last year's champion.
At the same time, Liya's voice sounded beside Dylan's ear, her eyes filled with fighting spirit as she looked at the young man opposite them: "Liu Xiaotian, from Putian, Fujian, 26 years old. He won last year's final with a bowl of Secret Recipe Putian Lor Mee. His cooking is at the level of a Three-Star Special Grade."
For a competition of this level, the Youth Chef Competition, the general upper limit was Three-Star Special Grade cuisine. This was the case in any province.
Only a very small number of exceptionally talented geniuses could surpass their limits during a competition and produce a Four-Star Special Grade dish.
As for using Luminous-grade cuisine in a competition? Looking at the entire history of the Chinese culinary world, it had only happened a few times, each one an unrepeatable event.
It required the perfect convergence of timing, location, and people.
In a chef's words, it meant the ingredients were of high quality, the culinary theme was fitting, and the chef was in peak condition.
Lacking any one of the three would make it impossible!
"To be able to make a Three-Star Special Grade dish at this age already makes him one in a million."
Dylan nodded, his eyes scanning the venue. Compared to the Guangzhou Special Grade Chef Examination, the culinary equipment at the Youth Chef Competition was clearly a cut above.
Not only were there state-of-the-art cooking stations, but the ingredients were all top-shelf, allowing the contestants to display their skills to the fullest.
"Indeed, it's very impressive."
Dylan nodded. With Liu Xiaotian's appearance, most people's eyes were now fixed on him. Some faces were full of fighting spirit, others full of vigilance.
"Looking at it this way, at least two of the advancement spots in Zone A are taken. The rest will have to fight for the other two. I wonder what the other zones are like…"
Seeing Liu Xiaotian walk towards a cooking station, Liya muttered under her breath. At that moment, the judges walked out from backstage and looked at the contestants on the floor.
Hearing the footsteps on the stage and feeling the gazes upon them, the contestants all looked back, waiting for them to announce the theme of the qualifying round.
"The culinary theme is Squirrel Fish. Contestants will make improvements based on their own understanding. After completion, submit it to the judges for scoring. The top four will advance."
The judge's voice came from the judging panel, bringing the atmosphere to a climax. Everyone was rubbing their hands in anticipation, and Liu Xiaotian was no exception.
"Squirrel Fish, is it? That's my specialty! There was a time I made it no less than a hundred times in a row."
"Now, not only can I perfectly debone the fish, but I can also mix an authentic sweet and sour sauce! This time, I'll finally make it to the main competition!"
Someone shouted in excitement. Just by reaching the main competition in the Youth Chef Competition, one's future would be limitless. Even major restaurants would scramble to recruit them!
This was because such a chef, upon reaching their full potential, could often become the head chef of a restaurant, helping it to thrive for decades to come.
In the culinary world, the price to recruit a Special Grade Chef as a restaurant's head chef was extremely high, and they often had little sense of belonging to the restaurant. They would be tempted to leave as soon as someone offered a higher price, far unlike one cultivated from the beginning!
And for a young chef, being recruited by a major restaurant meant they could learn from skilled, veteran head chefs in the early stages, find a job and stand on their own in the middle stages, and become the boss of the kitchen in the later stages.
It was a win-win situation.
"1038, 1038…"
A young man with gray hair muttered to himself while holding his phone, his gaze constantly scanning the cooking stations in front of him before finally finding his own after a long search.
Each cooking station here had a number. Contestants found their station via the number and had ten minutes to write down the ingredients they needed, which would be delivered by staff later.
Because the first round was a qualifier, the main purpose was to see everyone's creativity rather than their ability to improvise, so the requirements were relatively low.
"I'll just need these, thank you."
Writing the contents and his number on a slip of paper and handing it to the staff member who came to collect it, Dylan's voice was gentle, a faint smile on his face.
"But there's no fish on here!"
The staff member couldn't help but retort. She could understand any ingredient he requested, but the core of the dish, fish, wasn't on this slip of paper at all!!
"There's no problem with what's on the paper. This is a Squirrel Fish that doesn't need fish. The focus is on the fruit. Just prepare what I've written."
Understanding the staff member's concern, Dylan spoke with a confident tone.
As a Seven-Star Special Grade Chef participating in this kind of competition, he had to add some difficulty for himself, otherwise it would just be bullying children.
"A Squirrel Fish without fish? Can you still call it a Squirrel Fish? This kid must be trying to show off."
Nearby, a contestant who had witnessed the entire exchange couldn't help but complain in his mind. He then shook his head and buried his face in his paper to write.
Liu Xiaotian, however, happened to be behind Dylan and saw everything. When he heard that the other person didn't plan to use fish to make Squirrel Fish and was focusing on fruit instead, a flash of astonishment crossed his face.
Although he didn't think the guy could make any decent dish, he couldn't help but ponder in his heart, wanting to see how he would use fruit to make Squirrel Fish.
After the staff had gathered all the ingredients the contestants needed, Liu Xiaotian noticed the numerous fruits placed in front of Dylan.
Pineapple, cantaloupe, green apple, orange, lemon, half a mango, strawberries, a moderate amount of pomegranate, and mint leaves. These were all the ingredients Dylan was using.
And aside from the fruits, there were no other ingredients on the cutting board, only some basic seasonings and a jar of honey.
"Is this guy here to be a clown? Bringing all this fruit, what is he trying to do!?"
The ingredients were completely unrelated to the culinary theme, all of them fruits, making people wonder what Dylan was up to. If he was trying to grab attention, then he had succeeded.
"He can't possibly be making Squirrel Fish with fruit, can he? That's just too absurd!"
Someone voiced their guess but quickly shook their head in self-denial.
"It's not impossible, but without even the most basic fish, just using fruit, I bet it won't taste good even if he makes it."
On site, someone else had also thought of using the sweet and sour properties of fruit to simulate the sweet and sour sauce drizzled over Squirrel Fish. Of course, the foundation for all of this was built upon having fish.
It could be said that fish was the key to this dish.
"Never mind him, it's more important to finish our own dishes. Someone destined to be eliminated doesn't deserve so much attention!"
Someone waved their hand and complained dismissively.
"But this theme really is... everyone's ideas have collided. There really aren't many people being original. Looks like it's going to be a knife fight!"
After another round of discussion, thinking about the upcoming assessment, the crowd retracted their attention from Dylan and refocused on the ingredients before them.
If it weren't for the fact that the ingredients Dylan chose were so bizarre and looked nothing like what one would use for Squirrel Fish, no one would have wasted time to specifically comment on him.
"Fruit Squirrel Fish? What a novel dish! Fruit can also be used to make Squirrel Fish... As expected of Boss Dylan! He easily does things we can't!"
Liya was also surprised, but she didn't complain like the others.
If it were anyone else, she would have just called them an idiot. But if this person was Dylan, her attitude changed, and she would only feel great anticipation.
Such a clever idea, using fruit to simulate Squirrel Fish. Truly befitting a Seven-Star Special Grade Chef, his thinking was not something mortals like them could keep up with!
And what about Dylan?
Using fruit to make Squirrel Fish was partly a way to challenge himself, but besides that, it was also just for fun. Even using fruit to make Squirrel Fish, he could still crush everyone present. Isn't that interesting?
Talented but without virtue, it was personified in this moment.
"That contestant is rather interesting. Does he want to use fruit to make Squirrel Fish? This tests not only seasoning, but also knife skills and presentation!"
Because of the commotion Dylan was causing, an elderly man over sixty on the judging panel also noticed him. Upon seeing that his cooking station was filled with nothing but fruit, he looked surprised and then commented.
"Fruit Squirrel Fish? I've never heard of such a strange method. What a show-off!"
Next to the old man sat a middle-aged man with bulging muscles and a beard. He just gave Dylan a cold glance and spat out these words.
"I, on the other hand, find it quite creative. No one has ever tried it before. In a way, he could be considered a pioneer. I just wonder how it will taste."
The last judge was a voluptuous, mature woman. She looked at Dylan with appreciation, not for his cooking, but for his aura.
Although he wore a mask, it was not hard to tell from Dylan's figure that he was a handsome young man, exuding a cool and aloof feeling.
As if thinking of something, her full, rounded thighs crossed and rubbed slightly, her finger gently tracing her lips. The mature woman's eyes were practically shimmering with interest.
This mysterious and cool feeling was exactly her type!
It had been a long time since she had seen such a handsome man of this type.
"Stop acting crazy here."
The middle-aged man glanced at her and muttered with some disgust, then turned his gaze to the other contestants, no longer paying attention to Dylan.
"Not bad, the contestants in this year's qualifying round are all quite skilled. Especially that kid, Liu Xiaotian. Should I say, as expected of last year's champion? His proficient technique is not the least bit inferior to some veteran Special Grade Chefs!"
"Everyone knows he's your nephew, so you don't have to brag. His technique hasn't improved much since last year. I'm more optimistic about Lin Renduo."
"Last year, he lost by only one vote. But because of that defeat, he went to the deep mountains for arduous training and secluded himself for a year. Now he has returned, having achieved mastery."
"Xiaotian just isn't good at handling fish. He specialized in meat dishes last year."
"He is now qualified to touch upon Four-Star Special Grade cuisine. Last year, under a state of high mental concentration, he even produced two Luminous dishes! It attracted quite a bit of attention!"
"Luminous cuisine? Just a fluke, probably."
The voluptuous mature woman rolled her eyes at the middle-aged uncle. Once a chef's skill reached the Special Grade, they had the ability to produce Luminous cuisine.
It's just that the probability was pitifully low. Succeeding once in a hundred, or even a thousand, attempts was considered good.
A Four-Star Special Grade required at least a 10% success rate. When facing their signature dishes, they could even reach a 50% success rate.
Like Wang Zhi, whom Dylan faced at the entrance of Shōkei-en, his strength was at the peak of Four-Star Special Grade. When fully focused on his research, his chance of producing a Luminous dish could reach 70%-80%.
It must be greater than 80%.
From Five-Star to Six-Star Special Grade was another huge threshold. Almost every star was a new world, and the gap between them was very large and difficult to overcome.
"No matter what, this year's champion will definitely be Xiaotian's again!"
The middle-aged uncle snorted and then fell silent. Seeing him like this, the others couldn't be bothered to argue with him, merely scanning the venue for outstanding chefs.
And the voluptuous woman's gaze, for some reason, lingered on Dylan and wouldn't leave. The more she looked, the more she felt that this person was very familiar.
Who could he be?
The mature woman's mind was filled with doubt.
Then she saw Dylan spring into action. His hands moved swiftly, first dicing the pineapple, green apple, and mango, and halving the strawberries to set aside.
Next, he set up the juicer, crushing the orange and lemon. Guided by the sweet and sour aroma spreading through the air, he placed the juice in a pot and added honey to increase its sweetness and gloss.
During the heating process, the Lianzhen Knife appeared in Dylan's hand. Then, at a speed no one present could follow, he cut the cantaloupe on the table into large pieces, laying them flat on a plate. He once again raised the Lianzhen Knife, and with swift cuts, he carved out the silhouette of a fish's body.
This carving was to shape the large pieces of cantaloupe into the classic form of a Squirrel Fish: 'head raised, tail curled high, and sizzling when the sauce is poured'.
Cantaloupe has a delicate texture and moderate water content. Its pale yellow flesh could simulate the color of fish meat, and its texture was soft, much like that of fish.
He took another pineapple, sliced it into small, round, thin pieces, and then arranged them like fish scales all over the "fish body," connecting with the carved cantaloupe underneath.
Once the pineapple scales were in place, judging by appearance alone, apart from the different color, the Fruit Squirrel Fish before them was almost indistinguishable from a real one.
And at that moment, Dylan lifted the sauce he had prepared in the pot and poured it evenly over the Fruit Squirrel Fish. The instant the two made contact, the heated sauce released an extremely enticing aroma!
The entire dish used only fruits and honey, with no other seasonings, yet the flavor it presented was complex and profound.
And in that instant of pouring the sauce, a faint golden light rose from it, then spread out in all directions, making the other contestants stop what they were doing.
Even if the dishes in front of them were ruined, they did not avert their gaze. Every person's face showed varying degrees of astonishment.
"A Luminous-grade dish?!"
The middle-aged uncle shot up from his seat, his eyes filled with disbelief. How could this be a Luminous-grade dish? Is this something a young chef could make!?
You have to know this was just a qualifying round, and the theme was given on the spot, with the contestants having less than half an hour to prepare. How could anyone possibly make a Luminous-grade dish!!
Unless…
The three judges thought of a possibility.
Could this person before them be a Five-Star Special Grade Chef?!
"The light is lingering, it's lasting... This is a genuine Flowing Light Cuisine!"
The voluptuous mature woman suddenly exclaimed, because after the dazzling golden light faded, a layer of flowing light still lingered around the Fruit Squirrel Fish, looking exceptionally dazzling!
"How can it be Flowing Light Cuisine? There are only a few people in all of China who can make Flowing Light Cuisine. Senior, who might you be? Please stop toying with us!"
Looking at the stable, flowing light on the Fruit Squirrel Fish, the middle-aged uncle's tone became somewhat uncertain. He then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect toward Dylan.
Such a scene naturally left the surrounding contestants dumbfounded, but no one found it unreasonable. Instead, they felt the judges were being too casual.
As chefs, they naturally understood the difference between Luminous Cuisine and Flowing Light Cuisine, and knew even better the high status of a chef who could produce the latter.
Thus, they changed their previous disdain for him, and their gazes towards Dylan were filled with reverence.
"I'm no senior. The organizers should have seen my photo and information when I registered for the competition. I'm just a young man in my early twenties."
Dylan's voice was not loud, but it shocked everyone present.
This "senior" before them was actually just a young man in his early twenties? How was that possible?! Is it not some mischievous senior who came to mess around?!
"Senior, please don't joke. Making a Flowing Light-grade dish in your early twenties doesn't fit the script at all. It's basically a fantasy!"
Sweat appeared on the middle-aged uncle's forehead. A person who could make Flowing Light Cuisine showing up at the Youth Chef Competition—isn't that as absurd as someone who can build a nuclear weapon showing up at a college entrance exam?!
Is there any point in continuing this competition? Hasn't first place already been decided…
"There's nothing that doesn't fit. To have such skill at twenty years old, a true hero emerges from youth. It's incredibly admirable!"
The only elderly man among the three judges stood up. Though his body was thin and withered, his eyes were sharp. He now walked up to Dylan, and after confirming that the dish was indeed Flowing Light Cuisine and not a trick of their eyes, his gaze towards Dylan became even more reverent.
Regardless of age, this was the specific respect a low-star chef shows to a high-star chef.
"Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you say. I was just cooking normally."
Feeling the stares of the people around him and the humble attitude of the old man, Dylan couldn't help but scratch his head.
He suddenly felt that he had greatly underestimated the influence of a Seven-Star Special Grade Chef in the culinary world. It was an explosive existence!
This was not just a culinary rank, but a representation of the top masters of various countries, an unspeakable absolute power that shouldn't be participating in a competition that cheapens their status.
"Say no more. Although it's a bit against the competition rules, please allow this old man to use his reputation and take the liberty of saying one thing. I'd like to ask you to please come back for the finals."
"Come back for the finals?"
Dylan muttered, understanding the old man's intention. He was probably afraid that he was too strong, making all subsequent matches devoid of suspense.
"That's right. With your performance in the Youth Chef Competition, you are fully qualified to skip all matches and advance directly to the final."
The old man continued. He already believed Dylan was a young man, because no other Seven-Star Special Grade Chef would be so bored.
And as for the identity of the youth before him, the old man had a guess in his heart.
Looking at all of China, a Seven-Star Special Grade Chef of this age seemed to be only that one person.
But that person had suddenly vanished a year ago for some reason, and their reappearance was at the Youth Chef Competition. What an incredible fellow!
Thinking that the other party had such strength at just over twenty, the old man felt the world was absurd.
He too was once a genius, winning third place in the Youth Chef Competition in his youth, but now he was stuck at Four-Star Special Grade with no progress.
"Alright then, it would be rude to refuse."
Although he wanted to continue participating in the competition and enjoy the feeling of being the center of attention, since the other party had this attitude, it would be inappropriate for him to insist.
"Leader, you're actually here!"
A slightly excited voice sounded from beside the old man. Dylan tilted his head in confusion and saw a sexy, mature, and beautiful woman.
"You are... Madame Xianglan? I didn't expect to run into you here. How did you end up being a judge here?"
Dylan recognized the person and his face also showed surprise.
The person was named Madame Xianglan. A year ago, she had joined the Dark Cooking Society and, under his guidance, became a Three-Star Special Grade Chef. He never thought she would now be a judge for the Fujian Youth Chef Competition.
"Isn't it because the pay is high? I thought I had nothing better to do, so I came."
Madame Xianglan was a bit embarrassed.
She was just out to earn some extra money. Who would have thought she'd run into the Leader?
This guy really had no shame, a Seven-Star Special Grade Chef participating in this kind of competition.
Although there were no issues with his age or skill, isn't this a bit too ridiculous? The two sides were not on the same level at all, okay!
"Extra money? Is the Dark Cooking Society very poor right now? Is the salary no longer enough for you all to use…"
Dylan asked with some doubt, thinking he should check on things after the competition. He had been away from the Dark Cooking Society for a year and didn't know how it was developing.
Those underachievers who were eliminated from Totsuki, I wonder how much they've all grown by now?!
"The regular salary is more than enough, but I like to buy luxury goods, which can cost anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of yuan, so I can never save any money in my account and need to take on jobs."
Madame Xianglan smiled embarrassedly. As a fashionable city woman, she spent a lot on luxury goods every month.
If she didn't take on endorsements or serve as a competition judge, it would be difficult to maintain her lifestyle.
"That must be tough on you."
After listening to her explanation and seeing her embarrassed face, Dylan shook his head and didn't say anything.
Everyone has their own choices, and prying into them is a very disrespectful act.
"Not tough at all, not tough at all. On the contrary, I feel very fulfilled now. And I'm really very lucky to be able to eat your cooking here, Leader!"
As she spoke, Madame Xianglan looked at the dish Dylan had brought up. Just smelling its fragrance made her body start to fidget uncontrollably!
______
🔥 New chapters are up! 🔥
✅ Read 40 chapters ahead of everyone else.
✅ Get cool exclusive stuff and updates!
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!
🚀 80 MEMBERS = 5 extra chapters on all stories for supporters!
👻 P - Walnutchan