Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 577 - Intimidation

This was clearly not a dish prepared entirely according to his previous recipes; as Sun Mei had mentioned before, it took into account the factors of season and provenance for a flexible variation.

Ultimately, the dish also secured 13 qualification cards, with independent food critic Zhang Yang commenting,

"The Early Spring Bowl uses the simplest cooking methods to preserve the utmost original flavors of the ingredients, but this doesn't mean it's a crude stack of raw ingredients on a plate.

"On the contrary, the contestants paid great attention to the pairing of ingredients, striving to create a harmonious and balanced state. When I tasted the Early Spring Bowl, it felt like strolling on the embankment of a field in spring.

"I could feel the warmth of the sunlight on my shoulders, and my heart was filled with tranquility and peace. This was a dish brimming with artistic conception."

Two contestants in a row receiving full marks brought considerable pressure to the other contestants, who couldn't help but hasten their hands once again.

Each judge has a limited number of qualification cards, and those who finish their dishes earlier undoubtedly have an advantage.

Conversely, those who finish later might encounter the awkward situation of the judges acknowledging the quality of their dish, but having no qualification cards left to give.

Moreover, as the judges' available qualification cards dwindle, they become more cautious with each card given out, necessarily considering the possibility of even better contestants later on.

Thus, some dishes that might have earned a qualification card may end up not receiving one.

Once the contestants realized this, the urgency in their hearts intensified; many chef's spatulas were spinning furiously, and during this period, some made mistakes in their haste, which only impeded their progress.

From then on, more contestants completed their creations: some received more than four qualification cards, while others were eliminated.

Sun Mei now had some admiration for Ma Lu, because even though the number of qualification cards was dwindling, he didn't seem to be in a hurry at all and was acting like a guest host alongside her, who had already passed the assessment.

Could it be that he truly believed his Roasted Steamed Bun would easily make the cut?

With this curiosity, Sun Mei finally witnessed the moment Ma Lu's Roasted Steamed Bun came out of the oven. But just then, a burst of amazement rippled through the crowd.

Sun Mei looked towards the chairman's stand and saw that the Seoul Magician, Cui Junxian, had completed his work.

Unexpectedly, he hadn't prepared his famous line of expression package series, but instead created a bouquet of roses, deliberately presented in a wooden box.

It looked just like real flowers.

But in reality, the flower, from leaves to petals, even to the stem, was edible—each part was crafted from different foodstuffs, right down to the dewdrops on the leaves and petals being soup.

Using molecular gastronomy's spherification technique, Cui Junxian encapsulated these soups to create dewdrop shapes.

As guests tasted the leaves and petals, these soups would burst in their mouths, creating an entirely new flavor experience.

This dish, named Fresh Flower, unsurprisingly received unanimous praise from all thirteen judges.

In fact, for a full three minutes afterward, no one submitted their works.

This was because it would form a very stark contrast with "Fresh Flower," and the judges, having just tasted Fresh Flower, had their appetites thoroughly whetted.

If one could not match or at least come close to the standard of Fresh Flower, it was feared they'd have a tough time getting a qualification card.

So now, even if there were chefs nearly finished with their cooking, none wanted to be the stepping stone for Cui Junxian.

Everyone was thinking of waiting for others to go first, to wait a few rounds until the competition normalized and the thirteen judges had almost forgotten about Fresh Flower, then they would present their own dishes.

Thus, the chefs, who had been racing against the clock, suddenly slowed their pace almost in unison.

With the grand hall originally bustling with activity, it suddenly became somewhat silent.

This was the awe-inspiring power of the Seoul magician at work.

However, this calm did not last long before it was broken as the waitresses, dressed in cheongsams and with graceful figures, carried the plates towards the judges' table once again.

Yet, when the camera focused on the contents of the plate, it caused a stir among the viewers both on and off the screen.

For there lay a huge... steamed bun.

Aside from that, there was nothing else.

Why would a steamed bun appear in such a high-level cooking competition? Who would dare to simply roast a steamed bun and submit it as a perfunctory effort?

Could this be a prank, or perhaps some sort of protest?

This was the collective thought in everyone's mind.

Only the female host was still dutifully reporting, "This is a creation from cooking station number 99—Roasted Steamed Bun.

"As everyone knows, a steamed bun, made from wheat, has a long history and is an indispensable staple food for the Chinese people, especially in the northern regions, it, it..."

The female host, reaching the end of her spiel, had no idea what she was talking about anymore, unable to find an angle to continue smoothly, she could only cast an apologetic glance at her temporary partner Ma Lu, signaling her helplessness.

Sun Mei was also wide-eyed with disbelief that Ma Lu had actually submitted thirteen roasted steamed buns, although the wheat aroma was quite rich.

But as the competition had progressed up to this point, the judges had already tasted many delicacies, and many among them were older folks, already with less robust digestion and seemingly unlikely to be able to stomach a steamed bun.

Not to mention the size of Ma Lu's roasted steamed buns was not small, with a diameter exceeding ten inches, larger than many pizzas.

"This is ridiculous," murmured Julian Roy, chef from the restaurant Odette, shaking his head, "I feel like this contestant has shown absolutely no respect for cooking."

"Is it just a joke?" asked Gaggan Anand's head chef in Indian-accented English.

"I think it's quite harmless, but I definitely wouldn't give a qualification card to such a thing either, it would be too unfair to the other contestants who are taking the competition seriously."

"Please remove it, just looking at it makes me full," another judge said.

However, it was then that Andrew, the editor-in-chief of "Gourmet & Travel," suddenly spoke up.

"Wait a minute, there's something interesting about these roasted steamed buns; didn't you notice? The shape and size of these thirteen roasted steamed buns are exactly the same, how is this possible?

"How did he manage to ferment and bake thirteen pieces of dough to be identical?"

His remark prompted everyone to realize the unusual aspect of these roasted steamed buns.

But then again, no matter how unusual, a roasted steamed bun was still just a steamed bun and did not seem a strong enough reason to advance in the competition.

It wasn't until Zhang Yang noticed the spoon placed next to the roasted steamed bun.

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Why a spoon? Zhang Yang wondered, as steamed buns would clearly go better with chopsticks, or at the very least a fork to poke and eat with. The steamed bun was so big, a spoon simply wouldn't be able to scoop it up.

He picked up the small spoon, and suddenly, an idea struck him; he tapped it against the crust of the steamed bun.

In the next moment, the crispy outer shell, already baked to a golden crisp, collapsed under the tap, revealing a hole.