Chapter 495: The Wild Way to Score is Great
Bungarus, coral snake, cobra, king cobra? Zhao Xiaojing blinked blankly.
Although as a chef, killing chickens, fish, shrimps, etc. is necessary to ensure the quality of the ingredients, it is still a bit shocking to hear a few poisonous snakes as the first thing he said.
"Sister Xia, you are really strong..." said Zhao Xiaojing.
"Well, when it's her turn, not to mention poisonous snakes, even wild snakes can't be killed. I'm afraid it's even a question whether she has eaten it before. I just feel a pity. After all, it is Taishicai's signature dish. After all, so many years have passed, and they haven't found a replacement. Now they have simply changed the name and the recipe to become Phoenix Soup, and it's not even served on the most high-end table." The fat man sighed.
"But even if this dish can't be made, the other dishes aren't bad either. That handmade golden crab box may look small, but the production process is very complicated. It requires a lot of care and patience to make it well. You have to choose the best pork fat and cut it into two thin slices that are so thin that they are translucent. It also needs to be marinated with sugar overnight. Then you have to separate the crab paste, crab meat, and shrimp paste, and mix them with the chopped pork to make the filling. Finally, use the pork fat that has been marinated overnight as a skin to wrap it, and then deep-fry it. The oil temperature is quite difficult to control. If it is too low, it will be greasy, and if it is too high, the pork fat will burn. After frying, the oil temperature must be adjusted twice to force the fat out of the pork fat to ensure it is fragrant but not greasy. In addition, the filling method is also unique. It is said that more than a dozen ingredients are needed.
And there's that winter melon steamed crab claw. They say to keep it fresh, they can't boil it or steam it, but instead, they just disassemble it whole! I couldn't even disassemble the claw, but they actually managed to disassemble the third section!
"Taishi cuisine is indeed intricate and complex. I already thought Sister Xia's glass prawn balls were incredibly detailed last time, but I didn't expect this was just the beginning..." Zhao Xiaojing was even more astonished. "Have you tried all of these? You sound very familiar with them."
"I guess I have eaten it..." the fat man hesitated.
"What do you mean by considered?"
"There's an old restaurant in Guangdong Province. It was opened by a chef from the same clan as Master Guan Yingxia, but that chef has now retired. I've eaten at his apprentice's restaurant."
"Is it not tasty?" Zhao Xiaojing guessed based on the fat man's expression.
"Not really. I just feel that although they are from the same clan, they are still a long way behind Hong Kong City. The Hong Kong City ones should be the authentic ones. Ours always feels like a gimmick, not as good as Guan Yingxia's dry fried beef noodles."
Zhao Xiaojing nodded in confusion.
While the two were chatting, the judges had already completed all the scoring for Wen Xinyuan's team.
This team did not cause any trouble, and the judges' scores were much more normal. Except for one comment when calculating the profits: "Health is the capital of revolution, there is still a long way to go, and young people have opportunities." It seemed like it was specifically said to Guan Yingxia. The other comments were very objective and normal. Finally, they gave extra praise to the team's comprehensive environment and services, and gave it the first high score ever in this area, a full score of 20 points.
In the end, their team received 231 points from the public judges and 86 points from the professional judges, for a final score of 187.5 points.
Next are Mao Tingxiu's team and Luo Junlang's team.
Both teams made three sets of seats.
Although the contestants discussed the rules of the competition lively as soon as they were announced, and everyone said firmly that they could only make two sets, but they were obviously old foxes, and what they said was completely different from what they actually did. They all wanted to play it safe and try harder. Making one more table would increase their competitiveness, but no one wanted to make four sets of seats.
After all, the dishes need to be served at the same time and they also need to win the guests' good impression. Three sets are already considered compact, and if there are more, the service quality and dishes will be reduced.
But no one expected that with only ten people in each team, two of the teams would have internal conflicts, and the internal conflicts would push their strength to the limit. Moreover, these were the two strongest teams.
Although the judges gave these two groups the lowest scores, they still accounted for the majority of the points given by the guests. While everyone was complaining, those with quick minds had already begun to think things through and regretted it.
"I did it, but it was a mistake. The idea was wrong. I put the cart before the horse!" A contestant in the front row of Zhao Xiaojing slapped his thigh while looking at the screen.
"What's wrong? What's putting the cart before the horse? Should we also cause division?" The contestant next to him was puzzled.
"The emphasis is on the wrong thing! When we are preparing for the banquet, are we considering more about the theme? Is it the profit? Is it the competition?" The contestant who slapped his thigh grabbed the arm of the contestant next to him.
"Of course, isn't that what we're competing for?"
"No, that's not what we're competing for. We're competing for scores! Look, take a good look. Which group's scores carry the most weight in the final score? It's the public judges! The guests!"
"Yeah, aren't guests the ones eating the food? ... Hey, loosen your grip a little, it's making me so hot!"
"That's right! It's the customers who eat the food, and the ones who give the most points are also the customers. But customers don't care about the profit theme, cooperation, or hygiene. As long as they enjoy the food, they will give points! Look at Yu Yiyuan's group's "Flowers and Full Moon". It doesn't fit the theme at all. There's no service at all. They just rely on the quality and taste of the ingredients to get high points. Don't the customers still give high scores?"
"You mean..." The contestant next to him gradually widened his eyes.
"We all focused on the professional judges. We met the judges' requirements and scored higher than both of their teams, but it's useless! If I had figured it out earlier, I wouldn't care about the theme or the profit. I could save some time and energy and make an extra set of tables. As long as I find out the preferences of the good customers, I will simply and crudely make it high-end and luxurious, even if there is no profit, even if I lose money. It's just a deduction of 20 points! Professional judges only account for 30% of the total score. Even if they give full marks, the actual score is only 30 points! I really should have recognized the situation from the beginning!" The contestant who slapped his thigh began to slap his thigh wildly as he spoke.
After hearing this, the people around understood and immediately felt remorseful.
"Don't say that. Although it's a bit unconventional, it doesn't make sense..." The fat man started to think.
"Thinking about it this way, isn't Pei Yeyu from Gu Yanghui and Yu Yiyuan's team a smart guy? Aren't they taking this kind of unconventional approach?" Zhao Xiaojing said.
"But if that's the case..." The fat man turned his head and looked at Gu Yanghui and his duo in the corner. "If we each count our own points, they won't get many points, right? But his thinking is really advanced... Never mind. This match is over anyway. For the next one, we must study the rules carefully!"
"Yeah, no matter whether it's a legitimate path or an unconventional one, as long as it can earn you points, it's a good path..."
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