Ye Tian returned to her room, grabbed her bag, and prepared to go to work with her master. As she reached the door, she realized she had forgotten to give the handkerchief she had embroidered to her master's wife.
So he hurried back to the room, took out the handkerchief from the suitcase and gave it to his master's wife, and then set off with his master.
Along the way, her cell phone kept ringing. It turned out that her master's wife started bombarding her with messages on WeChat.
“The handkerchief is so beautifully embroidered!”
"Tiantian, what else can't you do?"
"Not only do you cook delicious food, you can even embroider..."
"Ahhh! I love it so much!"
"Where did your master find this precious girl? She's like a daughter God sent to us!"
…
Ye Tian couldn't stop smiling when she replied: Master's wife is so cute, there must be a young girl living in her heart!
It was past 9 a.m., and although the morning rush hour had passed, the ring road was still jammed. Chef Luo drove calmly, even humming along with the music in the car, proving he was in a very good mood.
Ye Tian used her mobile phone to watch the downloaded competition video, and studied in advance which ingredients to grab quickly during the food-grabbing phase, how to preserve the essential seasonings such as oil, salt, and soy sauce during the food exchange phase, and then which things to take from the opponent to create difficulties for them.
This competition is not just about competing in cooking skills, but also about who can think faster, plan ahead, and control the situation. It is definitely a competition of comprehensive strength.
"Little girl, don't be nervous, your master is here. Your master is an old hand, and the little tricks of foreigners are child's play. They can't be difficult for me, so don't worry! Don't watch the video yet. It's easy to get carsick when watching mobile phones in the garage." Chef Luo glanced at Ye Tian in the co-pilot seat and thought that his little apprentice was a serious and good child.
At 9:40, Ye Tian and the master arrived at the first floor of the hotel. Unexpectedly, it took them 10 minutes to drive into the underground parking lot, circle the car several times, park the car on the third floor below ground, and then take the elevator to the restaurant floor.
Other staff members also arrived one after another. Everyone started to change clothes, tidy up, and make various preparations for lunch.
Chef Luo moved Ye Tian to sit in front of him and called out to the crowd, "Everyone, stop what you're doing and come over here. Let me formally introduce you. This is my apprentice, Ye Tian. She's quite young, so you can just call her Little Ye. She's also a member of our championship team and will be training with us for the next week. Everyone, welcome!"
The staff on the scene all smiled and applauded.
"Xiao Ye, this is Chef Zhang Li, a backbone of our Sichuan cuisine department. He's good at cooking meat and has amazing knife skills. This is Chef Lu Hao, whom we recruited from the hotel's Western restaurant. I don't know much about his soufflé, pudding, and desserts, but they're all amazing. It's rare that he has a basic understanding of Chinese cuisine and can do frying, stir-frying, and deep-frying." Chef Luo introduced the other two teammates.
They were all around 30 years old, in the prime of their lives. Knowing that Ye Tian was the last teammate, they were all surprised for a moment, then greeted her warmly, and Ye Tian smiled back.
"From now on, the four of us will be the competition team. We may not be able to take care of the restaurant work for the time being. The others will have to work hard for a while. I would also like to thank everyone for their support!" Chef Luo was very considerate.
“We are not tired and firmly support the participating teams!”
"Go team!"
"A great victory! Bringing glory to our restaurant!"
Everyone cooperated very well and even shouted slogans.
"I heard you shouting as soon as I came in. The enthusiasm is unprecedentedly high!" No need to guess, the person who came in was the Cantonese chef Master Yu Hai, and his little apprentice followed behind.
"Xiao Ye, have you also been deceived by Lao Luo? This guy has found three elite soldiers. This competition is a piece of cake. The championship is easy to win." Yu Hai said deliberately exaggeratedly.
"Don't brag about me. We still need your guidance these days." Chef Luo didn't argue with him.
"Oh, if I can help, I will definitely do it." Chef Yu also said seriously.
Chef Luo continued, "I'm just testing new products on the stove inside, trying not to disturb everyone. But if you have any questions, feel free to let me know. Restaurant work is more important, and the competition is just the icing on the cake!"
For the next few days, Ye Tian went to and from work with her master every day. The four-person team participating in the competition worked together to prepare menus in advance and develop several plans. They decided what main dish to make when they had spare ribs, and what other main dishes to make when they had pork belly, beef, or fish.
After everyone finalized their plans, they repeatedly tried them out to ensure they could be completed smoothly and within the allotted timeframe. Over the course of seven days, they demonstrated nearly ten different plans. Even if they couldn't find all the ingredients on hand, or if the ingredients were unpopular, Chef Luo was confident he could adjust and integrate the plans on the spot, creating the perfect combination.
…
After receiving the handkerchief from Ye Tian, the master's wife was in a dilemma. She wanted to give one to each of her two friends, but after looking left and right, she couldn't let go of any of them, so she had to ask Ye Tian for her opinion.
Seeing that her master's wife was too worried, Ye Tian said that after the competition, she would embroider one for each of her friends, and her master's wife could keep the one for herself. Only then did her master's wife stop worrying.
On the day of the competition, the production crew provided a car to pick up and drop off the two teams. Chef Luo's team, wearing their custom-made chef uniforms, confidently embarked on their competition journey.
The competition venue was located in the kitchen of a resort hotel in the suburbs of Beijing. In addition to the staff, there were 21 on-site judges invited by the organizers.
While waiting, Ye Tian also met her opponent, Thomas, the executive chef of the Michelin two-star restaurant "Fog City", and his three assistants. The three assistants were not all foreigners. One of them was Chinese, one was Chinese, and they were probably the chefs of the restaurant.
Thomas was in his 40s and, like Chef Luo, a bit overweight. However, the other foreign chef on the foreign team was a very handsome man, nearly 190cm tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, and an upright posture. His looks and figure were comparable to those of a male model.
He saw Ye Tian looking at him, and waved to her with a smile.
"You little girl, you stare at the handsome guy on the other side as soon as you get here. Don't be fooled. The game will be easy." Chef Luo teased her.
The other handsome guy, Leo, was also looking down and saying to his male teammates: "Did you see that? There's a little beauty on the other side. She looks really young, like she's in middle school."
"Chef Luo underestimated the opponent. He actually brought a little girl here. It's not just for the purpose of going abroad, is it? I don't believe what she can do." A male teammate said disdainfully.
The male host has already started recording the opening remarks, and then invited both teams to the stage.
"To my left is Thomas, the executive chef of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant "Fog City," and his three assistants. To my right is Chef Luo Zhongxi of the Royal Hotel and his assistants. Let's welcome them."
"Wow! Chef Luo's team actually has a very young female assistant, probably the youngest in all the previous participating teams. So, young chef, could you please introduce yourself?" The male host handed over the microphone. With so many assistants, she only gave Ye Tian the chance to introduce herself.
"My name is Ye Tian, I'm 19 years old, and I'm Chef Luo's assistant. Please support Chef Luo and the Chinese team. Thank you!" Ye Tian briefly introduced herself, mainly highlighting the team she was in.
The host took the microphone and said: "Okay, I hope both sides can treat the competition as an opportunity for communication, but also respect their opponents and work hard to achieve good results!"
"Let's begin the first phase: choosing ingredients. Here are the rules: Both parties can choose 10 types of meat and vegetables and 5 seasonings from the ingredients on site, but only one at a time. As a courtesy host, please allow the foreign party to choose first!"
Leo walked out first and took the steak directly without waiting for Thomas to make any arrangements.
Master Luo whispered in Zhang Li's ear. Zhang Li nodded, walked towards the ingredients, and took the pig intestines.
The two foreigners were very surprised that the Chinese team would be the first to choose such an unusual ingredient. After the Chinese chef on the team explained it, they realized that pig intestines are a very suitable ingredient for Sichuan cuisine.
During the second round of selection, the foreign team took butter. Following Master Luo's instructions, Lu Hao went straight up and took the milk he wanted. The foreign team was a little confused, not expecting them to take milk, and their rhythm seemed to be disrupted.
Next, the two teams each selected the 15 ingredients and seasonings they needed, one for each team.
The host announced, "Both teams have made their choices, so now we move on to the second round: take one ingredient or seasoning from the other team and give them another."
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