Chapter 593 The Disappearing Coconut
The public judging panel who was watching the competition was not happy when they saw the score.
Obviously the last four judges had never tasted that dish, but they all gave it 5 points. This shady thing was too obvious.
So the audience started to complain about Qi Shanzhu, who was ranked last.
Olet Huppert, as the representative of the judges, first explained why Qi Shanzhu’s dish only received 3 points.
“Chef Ki Son-joo’s dishes are very innovative and have a good balance of flavors. However, the theme of coconut is not prominent enough and is overpowered by the taste of red snapper and even cumin.
"After all, this competition is a theme creation. If it is divorced from the theme, no matter how good the taste is, it will be difficult to give high scores.
"As for why Chef Malu received full marks again, it's because his dish is unique and uses smell to interpret the theme. It not only closely adheres to the theme, but also has overwhelming advantages in creativity and technique."
Although Sun He said that delicious food is the most important thing, this dish of Malu does not strictly speaking provide food.
But the smell alone made many judges recall the food they had eaten before, tricking their brains and providing the illusion that they were eating.
This is why the four judges finally decided to give him full marks.
Moreover, this dish was extremely difficult. Ma Lu had single-handedly replicated the aromas of the other five opponents' dishes and found a way to seal these aromas away. No wonder he waited until the last one to submit his work.
This courage and confidence also made the judges have to give full marks.
They all wanted to see what kind of surprises Malu could bring next.
As the commotion at the scene was calmed down, Qi Shanzhu also left the cooking station.
However, she did not return to the room, but chose to stay in the banquet hall and continue to watch the next game.
Without any rest time, the remaining five chefs entered the third round of the showdown.
The director specially gave each chef a close-up, but except for Ma Lu, the other four people frowned.
On-site creation is very mentally and physically demanding, and the organizing committee also came up with a very weird theme this time, and only gave it two hours in total.
It can be said that from the beginning of the game, everyone was in furious mode.
Not only do you keep your hands busy, but you also have to keep your head running even when the judges are commenting in the middle, thinking about what to do in the next round, and never relax for a moment.
It's easy to feel exhausted under such horrific pressure.
At the end of the second round, Fan Yixin was already sweating non-stop, feeling that it was harder than cooking all day long.
When the third round started, she tried to get the knife, but she almost lost her grip and let the knife fall to the ground.
The other contestants were not much better. Luo Junkang, who is known for his stability in one task, actually made a mistake during the cooking process, twice in a row.
Kawano Zhengming, on the other hand, missed the ingredients and had to run to the food area again, wasting his little time.
Only Sun Mei and Ma Lu remained stable.
Although Sun He did not serve as a judge to avoid suspicion, he came to watch the competition today. He will also be responsible for awarding awards after the first, second, and third places are decided.
Qiu Lele on the side said, "Is it my imagination? It feels like Xiaomei's cooking skills have improved again.
"Although she cooked very well in the past, she seemed to be imitating you everywhere, just like a carbon copy of you.
"Although I can still see your shadow in her now, it's more of her as 'Chef Sun Mei'. Her whole person is more calm and self-consistent than then.
""End of the World" is her silent declaration to you."
Sun He snorted, "Her talent in cooking has always been very good, and it's even better than the younger me. That's why I don't agree with her to paint. This is a complete waste of resources." She obviously has the dream of all chefs. However, I don’t cherish the things that I have, and I squander them recklessly on the basis of my youth, and I am arrogant about everything.
"They were shouting about freedom, love and so on, and went abroad, but the result is that after so many years, they haven't done anything decent. It's just nonsense."
"But..." Qiu Lele said cautiously, "Although Xiaomei was winning all the time at that time, it seemed that he was really suffering.
"People should do things that make themselves happy. You should also hope that she can live a happy life."
Sun He was silent for a long time and sighed, "If she really doesn't like cooking at all, how can she make dishes like "Ends of the World", and why did she agree to return to China to participate in the competition?"
"Didn't you call her back through Uncle Sun? Xiaomei feels that as long as she wins this game, as agreed, she can repay you for teaching her skills and continue to do what she likes."
"But look at the way she is so focused now, is it really just for the promise she made with me?"
"…………"
Sun Mei no longer pays attention to what is happening in the outside world, and just concentrates on cooking the food in front of her.
What she plans to cook this time is duck breast, and the duck she chooses is Hainan’s local Jiaji duck.
This kind of duck is initially fed with fish and shrimp, and then caged with stuffed ducks. The ducks raised in this way have plump meat and are very suitable for frying and roasting.
Sun Mei took out the prepared duck breast and cut off a few pieces of duck fat to cook the morels, potatoes and onions as side dishes.
When the final product was served on the table, the four judges were stunned.
Gaggan Anand even turned over it with a fork, but couldn't find any coconut-related elements in this dish.
"Chef Sun Mei, did you forget something?" Rocky Chen reminded, "Your duck breast doesn't seem to come with sauce."
Sun Mei said, "I haven't forgotten that this dish doesn't have sauce."
"But in this case, wouldn't coconut be used at all?" Olet Huppert said, "Your duck is fried very well, but please don't forget that our competition is coconut-themed."
"I haven't forgotten." Sun Mei said calmly, "You will know after eating it."
The four judges looked at each other after hearing this, then picked up the knife and fork, cut off a piece of duck meat, and put it in their mouths.
Hajime Yoneda was surprised, "Wait a minute, this coconut smell... is smoke. Did you use smoke to process this piece of duck breast?"
Sun Mei nodded, "Yes, I used coconut shells as fuel to smoke the duck breast."
"But it only took you less than 15 minutes to make this dish. This time is not enough time to get the flavor." Gaggan Anand frowned.
"It's really not enough, so when I was making the first dish, I was working on this piece of duck breast."
"Huh?"
"Ah?!"
As soon as Sun Mei said these words, the four judges and the audience were shocked.
I thought to myself, wouldn’t this be equivalent to admitting that I had violated the rules? Continuing to cook after the timer has expired is not allowed in competitions.
As if he knew what everyone was thinking, Sun Mei explained, "I didn't break the rules. The rules were made very clear from the beginning. You can't touch any kitchen utensils after taking the timer. It doesn't mean that you can't do any cooking.
"For this reason, I specifically asked the staff and only did this after getting permission."
(End of chapter)