Tong Jiaming had chickenpox all over his face, but luckily he had a strong will and he resisted scratching it no matter how it itched.
It takes about two weeks for chickenpox to heal completely, and during this time he had been on leave at home.
Tong Jiaxin stayed at home for a few days without getting sick, and soon returned to school to attend classes.
Before Tong Jiaming's chickenpox recovered, the cooking competition was suddenly moved forward.
I heard that a Chinese American was going to return to his country to visit his relatives in two months. This Chinese American was very special. He was a translator at the Chinese Translation Office of the United Nations.
China resumed its seat in the United Nations in 1971, and all Chinese documents produced by the United Nations had to be reviewed by this translator. In other words, his identity was very special and high-level.
The higher authorities had issued an order that the reception work must be done well.
Because time was tight, the cooking competition was moved up.
Tong Xuelu was also shocked when she received the notice, but fortunately, she had been preparing for this period of time, so she was not unprepared.
On the day of the competition, Tong Xuelu took Guo Weiping to the Red Star Hotel.
Yes, the venue of this competition was set at the Red Star Hotel.
Because the Red Star Hotel is high-end and the venue is large enough to accommodate many people.
This is another advantage for the Red Star Hotel. Competing in a familiar environment gives people a natural sense of superiority.
For Tong Xuelu, the Red Star Hotel is the biggest opponent in today's competition.
When she arrived at the Red Star Hotel, some participating hotels had already arrived, so Tong Xuelu was neither too early nor too late.
However, her arrival still attracted everyone's attention. First, she was the only second-tier hotel participating in the competition. Second, she was the only female chef who was also a manager.
In addition, she was so young and beautiful that it was impossible not to attract everyone's attention.
"Manager Tong, you are here. Everyone was just talking about you!"
Tong Xuelu curled her lips and smiled politely, "Really? I wonder what everyone said about me?"
A man said, "Everyone is guessing what dishes Manager Tong will bring to the competition this time? It won't be spicy hot pot and beef balls, right? Hahaha..." As
soon as these words came out, people around laughed.
Tong Xuelu's expression was indifferent when she heard this.
This was to use mental tactics to make her angry and collapse, so that she could not keep her mind stable during the competition.
Unfortunately, she was young, but her mentality was more stable than many people present.
The man who was speaking felt embarrassed when he saw that she didn't blush or get angry.
Some people also admired her for being so calm. No wonder she could be promoted to the manager position of a hotel at such a young age.
As time passed, all the leaders who were judges today came.
There were three judges from the Ministry of Commerce, one of whom was Minister Lin.
There were also three judges from the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, and there was an old man.
The old man looked to be in his seventies or eighties, with a white face and no beard. His hair and eyebrows were all gray, but his complexion looked very good. He sat there with a smile on his face, and looked very kind.
When he was introduced, he was only introduced as Mr. Gao, and the introducer did not say what his identity and origin were.
Everyone's eyes fell on this Mr. Gao, and they all guessed his origin.
No one present knew, let alone Tong Xuelu. She only took a glance and then focused on the competition.
The competition was divided into three groups and was carried out simultaneously. The order of the competition was determined by drawing lots.
Tong Xuelu drew number 10 and was assigned to the third group, which was the last group to participate in the competition.
The bronze bell was struck, announcing the start of the competition.
The first group of four hotels began to enter the tense competition.
Tong Xuelu watched the others compete with ease.
Among the masters in the competition, some were so nervous that they were in a mess and made mistakes from time to time, while some had good psychological qualities and performed very steadily.
Tong Xuelu watched with great interest, but Guo Weiping on the side was so nervous that his palms were sweating.
"Manager Tong, I'm scared."
Tong Xuelu turned her head and saw Guo Weiping's face was pale: "Why are you scared?"
Guo Weiping was so nervous that his teeth were trembling: "When I think about going up later, so many people's eyes are on me, I feel so nervous."
Tong Xuelu: "Comrade Guo Weiping, you think too much, you are just a helper, they don't want to look at you, they want to look at me."
Guo Weiping: "..."
Tong Xuelu: "Are you better now? Are you still nervous?"
Guo Weiping nodded: "A little better, but still nervous."
Tong Xuelu: "Come on, follow me and take a deep breath, inhale...exhale...inhale, relax, inhale with your stomach, not your chest."
Guo Weiping followed her breathing, his stomach bulging.
??? ?
The people around noticed them and were all confused.
What are they doing?
If someone didn't know, they would think they were giving birth.
After a few breaths, Guo Weiping relaxed a little, but at least he wasn't so nervous that his hands and feet were shaking.
Tong Xuelu: "If you're still nervous, just stand aside and don't move."
He could easily make mistakes if he was so nervous, and she would rather spend more time on herself.
Guo Weiping looked apologetic: "I'm sorry, Manager Tong, I'm really useless!"
Tong Xuelu: "It's not too bad to know that you're useless, so try to make yourself useful."
Guo Weiping nodded like crazy.
The content of the competition is to cook two dishes, meat, vegetable or snacks, you can choose freely.
But at this time, most people will choose to cook meat dishes, after all, there is less room for vegetarian dishes, and snacks as desserts after meals are not valued in this era.
An hour and a half later, the first group's competition time was up.
All the chefs stopped cooking, and one of them ruined two dishes because of nervousness. Later, he made a mistake in the ingredients, resulting in the second dish not being done well.
The master chef had a dejected look on his face, knowing that he had no chance.
Then the dishes of several master chefs were served one by one, and the seven judges began to taste and then give scores.
Each judge had ten points, and in the end, master chef No. 3 from the first group got the highest score, with a total of fifty points.
When master chef No. 3 came down, his face turned red with excitement.
Then came the second group, and the master chef of the Red Star Hotel was in the second group.
Tong Xulu's attention was immediately focused on the master chef of the Red Star Hotel.
As she guessed, the master chef of the Red Star Hotel was participating in the competition this time with fried crab roe and fermented bean curd meat, the hotel's specialty.
The master chef of the Red Star Hotel is worthy of being the heir of a family of chefs, and has the demeanor of a general. As soon as he went on stage, he forgot everything around him and focused all his attention on the food.
On the contrary, the assistant of the master chef looked somewhat smug. The assistant looked to be in his twenties, with delicate features, somewhat similar to the master chef, and might be the son or relative of the master chef.
Watching the chef cook is a kind of enjoyment.
Tong Xuelu watched this scene with appreciation and learning.
After more than half an hour, the first dish of fermented bean curd pork was ready.
Fermented bean curd pork is a dish made of pork belly and fermented bean curd. The method is not difficult, but it is not an easy task to make it delicious.
If the pork belly and fermented bean curd are not handled well, it is easy to make the finished product look dirty and greasy.
The fermented bean curd pork made by the master chef of the Red Star Hotel is bright red, as if it is coated with a layer of red light. You can see its softness and fatness from a distance.
As soon as this dish was cooked, it was served for tasting.
After more than half an hour, the second famous dish, fried crab roe oil, was also ready.
The crab roe was fragrant and bright in color. After it was cooked, a tempting aroma came out, making everyone present swallow their saliva.
With such a strong enemy, the other contestants in the second group were under great pressure.
Unsurprisingly, when the scores came out, Red Star Hotel got the highest score of 67 points.
The total score was 70 points, and Red Star Hotel got 67 points, which made everyone present exclaim.
"No need to compete, the first place must be the Red Star Hotel!"
"I think so too, the Red Star Hotel is worthy of being a time-honored brand, I heard that they were founded in the 19th year of Emperor Guangxu, it has a long history!"
"I also heard that they still have a lot of recipes, which are the hard work left by the ancestors of the Yang family."
Various flattering voices kept coming to her ears, and some people looked at her from time to time, obviously thinking that she would not win today.
Tong Xuelu seemed not to hear the sounds around her, and her face was still calm.
Guo Weiping was so nervous that he almost fainted.
He looked up and saw that Manager Tong looked calm, as if he had been stuffed with a tranquilizer. He took a few deep breaths and slowly calmed himself down.
Soon it was the turn of the third group to compete.
Tong Xuelu brought Guo Weiping to her competition platform.
She first asked Guo Weiping to check with her whether there were any problems with the ingredients, side dishes, and tools such as spatulas. If there were any problems, they should be raised now.
Otherwise, it would affect her score at the beginning of the competition. Fortunately
, no one dared to tamper with it in this situation. After making sure there were no problems, she started cooking.
The dishes she was participating in today were eight-treasure glutinous rice duck and steak.
The eight-treasure glutinous rice duck was to cater to the Chinese stomachs of the judges present, and the steak was to highlight herself.
This was the dish she decided on after consideration.
To entertain foreign guests, making steak is one of the necessary skills.
In later generations, many foreigners were attracted by Chinese cuisine, but in this era, the world does not understand China yet, let alone Chinese cuisine.
When foreign guests come to China, they are not used to eating Chinese food, and will eventually choose the delicacies of their own country.
Then it is crucial whether the hotel that entertains foreign guests can make steak.
She actually used a tricky method, but she didn't think she did anything wrong.
Everyone can understand making eight-treasure glutinous rice duck, but when it comes to making steak, many people present looked at each other in bewilderment.
What is steak?
Is it beef? Is it edible?
Only Mr. Gao, who had been silent on the judges' bench, had a flash of eyes.
Tong Xulu didn't care about the eyes and voices of others, and focused on the food.
The main ingredients of eight-treasure glutinous rice duck are duck, glutinous rice, lean meat, mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and raw duck kidneys.
The duck is slaughtered in advance, and the glutinous rice is soaked in advance, so you can start as soon as you arrive.
An hour later, a crispy roasted eight-treasure glutinous rice duck was ready.
The skin of the eight-treasure glutinous rice duck was crispy, and after the skin was broken, rich oil burst out from the inside, and the tempting aroma quickly spread.
The eight-treasure glutinous rice duck was carefully moved to the plate, and with a light slide of the knife, the duck was cut open, and the ingredients inside were exposed, and the taste was even more fragrant.
When the people present smelled the fragrance, they subconsciously swallowed their saliva, and their stomachs seemed to growl.
"It smells so good! It tastes just as good as the pork with fermented bean curd that the Red Star Hotel just made!"
"I think it tastes better than pork with fermented bean curd. After all, pork with fermented bean curd is too monotonous, with only pork belly and fermented bean curd!"
"I think so too. Look how good the roasted duck looks. I really want to have a bite!"
The master chef and apprentice of the Red Star Hotel looked gloomy when they heard what everyone said.
Several judges picked up a piece of duck with chopsticks and put it in their mouths. The duck skin was crispy and the duck meat was tender. It was eaten with glutinous rice and other ingredients, and the taste was even richer.
It makes people want to eat more!
Then Tong Xuelu made several steaks, medium-rare steak, medium-rare steak and well-done steak.
When the steaks were cooked, the people present were amazed again.
"What is Manager Tong doing? Did you see that beef still has blood on it? Is it edible?"
"You are trying to be different and too eager."
"That is to say, it seems that the old brands are more stable!"
The other judges did not dare to start when they saw the steak with blood streaks.
At this time, Mr. Gao spoke up: "How did Manager Tong know that this steak could be cooked rare?"
Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "I forgot which book I read that said foreigners drink blood and eat raw meat. I thought since they like to eat it half-cooked, I will try it."
In fact, this was completely nonsense, but if she didn't make up such nonsense, she really couldn't explain why she knew how rare it should be.
You have to know that in this era, you are not allowed to read foreign books, so she can only make up nonsense.
Mr. Gao obviously didn't believe her.
But some people knew that her target was a scientific researcher, so they guessed that she might have learned about this from the expert who returned from the United States at the base. It's
just because the other party's identity is more special, so she didn't say it directly.
Mr. Gao explained to everyone: "When I was young, I studied abroad and had Western steaks. Their steaks tasted like this. Manager Tong is so young, but he can make such delicious food. It is really admirable!"
When the other judges heard this, they realized that they were sitting in a well and looking at the world.
In order to show that they were not frogs in the well, they boldly tried the steak and followed Mr. Gao to give the highest score.
The total score was 70 points, and Tong Xuelu got 68 points, one point more than the Red Star Hotel!
When the results came out, everyone present was shocked, and the master chef of the Red Star Hotel was so angry that he left.
"Congratulations, Manager Tong, Manager Tong is really a leader among young people!"
"The disciple is better than the master, we have to admit defeat!"
Tong Xuelu humbly thanked everyone, and her heart was full of joy.
Winning first place means promotion and salary increase, and the hotel can also install telephones.
It's great!
**
The news that Tong Xuelu won first place in the competition spread quickly.
The business of state-owned hotels is even better, it can be described as booming.
After hearing the news, the brother and sister Sun Wuyang and Sun Manrou's faces were as black as the bottom of a pot.
Sun Manrou: "Third brother, Comrade Tong is too good, I think I'd better withdraw."
Sun Wuyang said: "Why do you always like to say such sad words? Don't worry, I have a way."
Sun Manrou's eyes lit up: "What way?"
Sun Wuyang said: "The Red Star Hotel that participated together this time should have won the first place, but Tong Xuelu won the first place by cheating, and the master chef of the Red Star Hotel was very dissatisfied."
"The master chef's son Yang Guojie is a friend of my friend. I have asked my friend to tell him to pursue Tong Xuelu. If he can pursue Tong Xuelu, the recipe in Tong Xuelu's hand will belong to their Yang family, and no one will compete with them for the first place in the future."
Sun Manrou raised her eyebrows: "Will that Yang guy be willing to do this?"
Sun Wuyang smiled and said, "Of course, he will go to the hotel every day in the next few days. As long as they have contact, it will be fine. Then we can tell the Wen family in front of her that she is two-timing. I don't believe Rugui will not mind!"
Sun Manrou almost couldn't control her laughter: "Third brother, you still have a way."
"Of course."
Tong Xuelu noticed that the apprentice of the master chef of the Red Star Hotel came to the hotel to eat every day since the competition.
At first she didn't care, but he always found ways to talk to her and said he would take her home.
Tong Xulu was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so she directly said that she would go to the police station to report it, and then he calmed down.
After Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin knew about it, the two brothers took the initiative to pick her up after work.
After knowing that she got the first place, Wen Rugui finally took a leave and came back a week later.
The day he came back happened to be Uncle Zong's birthday, so Tong Xulu prepared to go to the Wen family to cook a table of delicious food for Uncle Zong.
Who knew that as soon as she arrived at the gate of the military compound, she was stopped by Yang Guojie and Sun Manrou.
Sun Manrou looked indignant: "Comrade Tong, how can you play with Comrade Yang's feelings?"
Tong Xuelu raised her eyebrows: "What are you talking about? When did I play with his feelings?"
Sun Manrou: "Of course I did. Comrade Yang came to your hotel every day, and you talked and laughed. Many people saw it!"
Tong Xuelu: "Are you out of your mind or are you stuck in a door? If you are sick, remember to take medicine. If you keep talking nonsense, I will go to the police station to report you two!"
It was just time to get off work at noon, and many people gathered around when they heard the quarrel.
Seeing everyone coming over, Sun Manrou was very pleased. She said righteously, "Comrade Tong, please stop denying it. It takes two to tango. If you didn't agree, how could Comrade Yang come to your hotel every day?"
Tong Xuelu curled her lips, walked in front of Sun Manrou, raised her hand and slapped her hard on the face. "Listen, does it take two to tango ?" Sun Manrou was stunned by the slap. The onlookers were also stunned. How could
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