Chapter 96 Chapter 96 Comments. (First update)...

In the warm room, the deputy heads sat around the table, with plates of freshly delivered fruits in front of them.

Just as the official said before, there was no marking on each disc of work, including the venue A or B, or the contestant information. The deputy leaders only needed to take a look and taste it to easily tell the difference.

The bald chef took the lead and picked up a scorched-edge pancake. He pinched the edge with his fingertips and gently broke it, letting the crispy crumbs fall out. He frowned, but instead of eating, he handed it back to the attendant. "How dare you serve it up here in this state? Take it."

"I'm afraid it's Venue B's doing again." The cook, stroking his long beard, shook his head and tapped his fingertips on the edge of the table. "I heard that Venue B went to test the kiln temperature in advance."

"That's outrageous." The elderly cook sitting next to him shook her head. "Young people these days don't even bother to put in that much effort."

As they were talking, someone picked up a piece of stone pancake that was as thin as a piece of paper, put his nose close to it and sniffed it: "Is there a scent of tea mixed in this cake? It's quite elegant and a bit ingenious."

"It's really good." "The baking time and flavor are just right, but it's a bit too bold."

"Put it on pending."

"Can."

After everyone had made their decision, an officer took the pancake away, and another officer brought another dish.

When Cook You, who was sitting next to Cook Cui, saw the newly served glutinous rice cakes, she reached out to take them.

But as soon as her fingertips touched the glutinous rice cake, her face darkened: "You dare to participate in a competition with such skills?"

She handed the glutinous rice cake to everyone and said, "Look at the crust. It's still grainy. It's obvious that the flour wasn't ground finely enough!"

"Maybe he's a chef who specializes in red meat dishes and isn't as skilled at making dim sum," someone said to smooth things over.

"This is because your basic skills are not solid!" Chef You said in a more serious tone, tapping the glutinous rice cake with her fingertips: "Even if you come from a small shop or stall, you should lay a solid foundation."

Several deputy leaders sitting next to her smiled when they heard this. Although that was true, most of the contestants who came from street vendors came from poor families and relied on their skills to make a living. It would be good enough for them to master one dish, so how could they master everything?

Soon, another plate of crab cakes was served. As soon as someone picked it up, they smiled and said, "This must be made by Chef Xia."

The others came over to take a look, nodded at first, then shook their heads: "It's really accurate. It's exactly the same as what they made in their shop, even the pattern hasn't been changed."

Cook Cui picked up a crab roe pastry and bit into it. The aroma of crab roe wafted out, but she still shook her head: "The taste is the same. Although winter crabs are not bad, they are not as good as those in the golden autumn season."

"Did you?"

"But." Cook Cui shook her head.

Immediately afterwards, several deputy heads also shook their heads. Everyone was full of expectations for Chef Xia, hoping that he could stand on the shoulders of giants and give a better answer.

For example, Chef Xia must know that although the crabs in winter are plump, they cannot compare with those in the golden autumn of October, but he still has no intention of changing the recipe.

But he just stuck to the old recipe and didn't move forward, which meant he would either advance or retreat.

As the tasting progressed, the atmosphere in the warm room grew increasingly grim. The deputy leaders were either served fruit that had been copied from the old recipe or pastries with unbalanced seasonings. Even if they chose the best ones, they still felt infuriated.

"Is this... Flower-folded goose cake?"

"Hasn't this recipe been lost?" Upon hearing the name, several people stepped forward and carefully examined the pastry before them. The pink dough, blooming like petals, enclosed a meatball. The aroma of meat and rice blended perfectly, making one's Adam's apple roll uncontrollably.

Once you take a bite, the taste is even more rich.

Cook Cui frowned and said, "It looks good, but the meat filling is a bit dry and the taste is a bit ordinary."

"But being able to improve upon ancient books and come up with your own ideas is already pretty good." Chef You said with a smile.

"Yes, pass it."

"I agree, pass it."

"But at this level, it cannot be presented to... higher up." Someone mentioned it quietly. He spoke vaguely, but others understood what he meant. The higher up he was talking about was the Lantern Festival banquet.

"It's better than the rest."

"Approve it. We'll help adjust the recipe later."

Then, the servants brought up two more fruit dishes. The second-in-command didn't even look at the last one, and simply took it away: "It's irregular in shape and smells burnt. Who are you trying to fool?"

As for the former, everyone's eyes lit up. The pastry was as white as jade, with a firm and delicate texture, and the patterns on it were intertwined, which was very beautiful.

"Finally, someone has come up with something decent." Cook Cui picked up a piece and smiled. "It looks more solid than the milk cake, and has a stronger aroma."

"It's called... Plum Blossom Jade Dew Cake?" someone read the note next to the plate. "Try it first."

Cook Cui smiled as she placed the pastry in her mouth. The outside of the pastry was as smooth and tender as a milk cake, melting in the mouth. Before one could even exclaim, the filling, with its aroma of fermented glutinous rice and plum blossoms, burst into the mouth, making the tip of the tongue tremble.

“Is there fermented glutinous rice in it?”

"It also has the scent of plum blossoms."

The chefs who tasted the cake were all surprised. The fermented glutinous rice filling perfectly neutralized the sweetness of the cake. The aroma of wine, rice and sweetness were perfectly blended together. It is undoubtedly the best so far.

What Chef Cui didn't say was that she felt the taste was a little familiar. After thinking about it, she thought it might be Chef Wei.

As Cui thought of this, a complex thought flashed through her eyes. She had heard of Chef Tang's exclusion of dissidents at Juyoulou, but she had no outstanding talent in her family, and Chef Zhou's culinary skills and talent were far inferior to Chef Tang's.

After saying that, he left. After Tang Chu left, the fall of Juyou Building was irreversible.

Chef Cui did not do nothing about this. She had selected talented young people to learn from Chef Tang, hoping to have some backup. However, she did not expect that Chef Tang would not even tolerate young people. Those young people were rejected or ran away, which greatly reduced the reputation of Juyoulou. Young people with a little talent did not dare to come.

Later, Chef Wei was slandered by Chef Tang because he refused to hand over the recipe. It was only after she stepped in to suppress the situation that Chef Wei was able to leave.

Because of this, Cui, the chef, felt regretful and wanted to take over again. However, it was easy for her to retreat, but it was difficult to move forward. The soup kitchen had already gained the upper hand, and most of the people in Juyoulou had defected.

After that, he became more and more radical in his actions. Just because of Chef Zhou's thoughts, he was impatient to eliminate the risks. In the end, he hit a wall and did something irreversible.

However, Chef Tang and many people from Juyoulou were thrown into prison. Even if he took back the management of Juyoulou, it would be difficult for him to keep it going for long.

Chef Cui closed her eyes, pulled her thoughts back to her senses, and looked at the plum blossom and jade dew cake in front of her again.

At the same time, the bald chef noticed that there was very little sand left in the hourglass: "The time is coming..."

Before he could finish his words, the inspector pushed the door open, panting, and said, "There's another fruit!"

Everyone looked up and saw the inspector move aside, revealing an officer holding a flower basket behind him.

From afar, the crowd saw the vibrant blossoms in the bamboo baskets, seemingly filled with fresh flowers. It wasn't until the guards approached and a rich, sweet fragrance filled their nostrils that the crowd realized the delicate flowers were actually delicate pastries, stacked layer upon layer, even more alluring than real flowers.

"This is--"

“What beautiful pastries!”

The deputy leaders, who had just shown little interest, came over in twos and threes, staring at the food in front of them in surprise: "Is this covered with puff pastry? It's amazing that it can be made to such a delicate level!"

"From a distance, I didn't even realize it was fruit!"

"Who made this? Among the chefs we invited this year, there's actually someone with such skill in pastry?"

"Don't make a fuss, try it first." Chef Cui asked everyone to calm down, then reached out and gently pinched a magnolia flower pastry.

Her movements were gentle and careful, and she didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she felt the hardness in her hands. Then she burst out laughing: she actually mistook it for a real flower, and was afraid of breaking off the petals by using too much force.

As soon as my teeth touched the crust, I heard a crisp sound, and then the crispy crust fell on the tip of my tongue. First, there was a light salty fragrance, followed by the sweetness of the custard filling, mixed with a hint of the mellowness of coconut milk, the distinct layers were so clear that they were eye-catching.

Cook Cui's eyes widened in amazement. "This taste, this taste...it's amazing!"

Hearing Cui's exclamation, the bald chef also picked up a peach blossom cake and took a bite. He was immediately shocked: "The crust is crispy but not greasy, and the filling is sweet but not greasy. It's even better than the plum blossom jade dew cake just now!"

Chef Wu also picked up a camellia pastry and took a bite. The richness of the jujube paste and the crispy pastry blended in her mouth. "Jujube paste filling? That's quite special."

"Hey? Mine has custard filling, right?"

"Mine is filled with powdered tea!"

"Mine has red bean paste and salted duck egg filling..."

Several people looked at each other, their pupils trembling. Different flower cakes actually used different fillings, which meant that this was not a temporary ingenuity, but a mature and well-crafted fruit.

The other vice-chiefs also took up the flower cakes to try. For a moment, the warm room was filled with admiration: "This skill... is better than the pastry chefs in many large restaurants! Who is this from Venue A?"

Some people like the refreshing taste of the powdered tea filling, while others prefer the sweetness of the rose filling. Even the pickiest cook, You, couldn't help but say after trying it: "This flower pastry not only looks great, but also tastes amazing. Even the frying temperature is just right, without any greasy feeling."

"Could it be Chef Gu? Her pastries may not be well-known, but they taste quite good."

"No, no, no, if you ask me, it's Chef Jin."

"Maybe it's Chef Jiang? She was once a disciple of Master Zhao, so it's normal for her to have such skills."

The people in the warm room did not react indifferently and silently as before, but instead started to discuss enthusiastically and heatedly.

"Okay, okay, stop arguing."

"We'll know the answer in a little while."

Instead, the officers in the room had strange expressions on their faces. The deputy leaders didn't know, but they knew that the inspector in front of them was in charge of... Venue B!?

No way?

Could it be that the pastries in front of me were made by the contestants from venue B?

The Inspector knew the answer, of course, but he tried to hold it in. He hoped everyone would be just as shocked as he was just now, hehe.

So when the scores came out, he looked at the series of passes on the table, and the corners of his mouth almost cracked to his ears.

When the supervisor in charge of venue A saw the form, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and he gasped, "Oh my God!"

Is this——something going to change!?