Chapter 99. I don’t accept the final score!!!
At this time, all the contestants' dishes were ready. Looking at the rows of dishes on the scene, various dishes were competing with each other for attention. The overall level was much higher than that of the provincial competition.
The judges began to taste the dishes one by one, recording their feelings and writing down the scores they wanted to give, preparing to review and score them together at the end.
After the judges had finished tasting, it was finally time for the most important part of the competition.
"Hello everyone, this is the finals of the National Youth Cooking Skills Competition sponsored by [Good Kitchen] seasoning. The competition has now reached the final scoring stage. We would like to invite the judges to begin commenting and scoring in the order they just drew lots. At the same time, please invite the first contestant to come on stage." The host returned to the stage and quickly announced GG, showing off his professional hosting skills.
"Let's look back at the video. Contestant No. 1 was very lucky. He got the ingredients: Australian lobster, marbled beef, and black-bone chicken. Let's see what he produced," the host continued.
The camera also focused on the dishes on the table: baked lobster with cheese, black pepper steak, and black-bone chicken soup. They were clearly made from readily available ingredients, lacking any striking creativity. His strength lay in the quality of the ingredients; with simple preparation, the flavors wouldn't be too bad.
The judges began their comments into the microphone, "Contestant, all of your dishes are excellent. The baked lobster with cheese has a milky and cheesy aroma, and the lobster meat is firm. The steak is cooked to medium-rare, just the right amount of fat and lean. The chicken soup has been trimmed of the fat, making it delicious and not greasy. None of the dishes have any flaws, but neither do they have any significant drawbacks. The ingredients are excellent, and overall, they're typical of a star-rated restaurant!"
"Then let's ask all the judges to raise their placards!" The host gestured with his hand.
"9 points, 8.8 points, 8.5 points, 8.6 points, 9 points..."
In the end, the average score of the first player was 8.7 points.
Next up was contestant number 2, a serious-looking, nervous young man. His ingredients were also quite good, including grilled lamb ribs, braised yellow croaker, and chicken soup with matsutake mushrooms. However, perhaps his cooking skills were slightly inferior to the first contestant's, resulting in an average score of only 8.1. Upon hearing the score, he seemed somewhat disappointed, his fists unconsciously clenching.
The final score for No. 3 was 8.4 points.
Contestant number 4 was Xiao Zheng. He had the perfect timing and location, and the dishes he was given were perfect for him. He made pan-fried cod and abalone, something he'd already mastered. Since soup is a specialty of Cantonese chefs, he used the bitter melon and pork ribs he was given to make bitter melon and pork rib soup.
"Contestant No. 4's abalone is truly amazing. It takes considerable skill to make fresh abalone taste this way! The cod is golden in color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside; the soup is also very refreshing, with a hint of bitterness. It makes people feel less anxious when drinking it. It's very good!" The judges in charge of the review gave it a high evaluation.
After the judges finished scoring, the host announced, "Contestant No. 4, his final score is 9.2 points, which is the highest score so far!"
The corners of Xiaozheng's mouth curled up slightly, and everyone could see that he was in a good mood.
In the audience, Master Yu Hai was so excited that he kept clapping and was about to stand up from his seat. But Chef Luo stopped him. "Don't steal the spotlight! Sit down!"
Next up is contestant number 5, contestant number 6...
Contestant No. 19 is Ye Tian.
After Xiaozheng, the contestants before her all scored below 8.7 points, and none of them surpassed Xiaozheng and the first contestant.
"Contestant No. 19 handed in her paper too early, hahahaha... So, let's review the video now. She was the second to last to choose the ingredients, and she got cabbage, tofu and eggs, which were very simple. Her products were Qianlong Cabbage, Mapo Tofu and Cabbage, Tofu and Omelette Soup, which are also simple dishes. Next, let's invite food connoisseur Mr. Wang Dawei to comment." The host's voice was pleasant.
Teacher Wang excitedly took the microphone and said, "I took the initiative to comment on Contestant #19. This contestant was very bold. She took the least expensive ingredients and prepared the most common dishes, very simple, without any fancy touches. But she used the phrase 'the great way is simplicity', which I think is very well expressed. I dare say that her cooking has reached this level!"
"She can use the simplest of dishes to bring the most genuine warmth to people. I almost cried after eating them. I dare say her dishes are perfect!" After saying this, he held up a 9.9-point sign. "I didn't give it a 10 because there were too few dishes and I didn't eat enough!"
I also wanted to say a few words. Another female judge, around 30 years old, took the microphone and looked at Ye Tian: "I also want to ask contestant No. 19, Ms. Ye, how can she be so beautiful and cook such a great dish? The two dishes and one soup looked bland, but as soon as you put them in your mouth, you can tell what realm is. I can't believe this is a dish made by a young beauty. I want to confess my love to her! I'm also a variety show producer and have seen several of her appearances before. I thought everyone was exaggerating when they said her dishes were delicious, but after eating them today, I know it's not the case. It's truly delicious! I'm really looking forward to working with Ms. Ye in the future."
The other judges also nodded with a smile.
The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became excited, and many people in the audience began to discuss in low voices.
"Now, please raise your scoreboards, judges!"
The contestants and the audience looked towards the judges' table excitedly, wanting to see what the score would be.
9.7 points, 9.7 points, 9.5 points, 9.9 points, 9.8 points, 9.6 points, 9.7 points.
"The final score of contestant No. 19 is 9.7 points! It is the highest score in the whole competition, 0.5 points ahead of the second place. Now we have the last contestant, and I will play back the ingredients he has chosen." The host's voice was also full of excitement.
This is the guy who got the pork tenderloin. He made sweet and sour pork tenderloin, scrambled eggs with green peppers, and tomato and egg soup. The dishes were all very simple. After all, there were only a few ingredients there, and he didn't have much room to play with.
However, his control over ingredients and cooking temperature could not compare with Ye Tian, so his final score was only 8 points, and he was still ranked at the bottom.
The host announced: "The first round of judges' scoring has now been completed, but this is not the final score for the contestants. We still have 20 public judges, and they also have half the weight. We will add up the two scores in the end to get the final score of this competition!"
"Okay, now please ask the public judges to pick up the scorers in their hands."
The score on the screen jumped.
Player No. 1's score is 182 points, which divided by 20 people is 9.1 points. Then, adding the previous 8.7 points, the final total score is 17.8 points.
Player No. 2 scored 16.5 points.
Player No. 3 scored 17.2 points.
No. 4 Xiao Zheng scored 18.8 points
No. 5, No. 6...
Player No. 19, 19.5 points!!!
After the public judges' scoring, the order of the top three remained unchanged: Ye Tian ranked first, Xiao Zheng ranked second, and contestant No. 1 ranked third.
At this moment, the master and his wife were very excited. They held each other's hands and waited together for the host to finally announce the result which was already very obvious.
Ye Tian's expression remained calm and confident, as if she had guessed the result long ago.
The host had just walked to the center of the stage and picked up the microphone when a voice suddenly rang out from the audience.
Contestant No. 2, the serious young man, broke down and cried out in tears:
"I don't accept it! There's something fishy going on with your show. You've known contestant #19 for a long time and you deliberately made her eat the simplest ingredients! This is all a gimmick!"
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