"Well, it's good. The skin is crispy, the color is rosy, and the taste is delicious." Xia Tian picked up a piece and tasted it, giving a thumbs up in praise.
Liu Zhenxing also picked up a piece with his chopsticks, tasted it, and nodded. "Not bad, Lao Li, your cooking skills have improved again. It's obviously improved compared to before."
Old Li laughed and said, "Haha, I guess Master Xia put too much pressure on me, so I performed beyond my normal level this time."
After tasting Lao Li’s camphor tea duck, Liu Zhenxing used chopsticks to separate Xia Tian’s eight-treasure gourd duck.
Then he picked up a piece of duck meat with the stuffing inside and put it into his mouth.
After tasting the summer dishes, Liu Zhenxing's eyes widened instantly.
"Mm! It's great. This dish is really authentic. I haven't had such authentic Eight Treasure Gourd Duck in a long time."
Liu Zhenxing gave a thumbs up and praised while chewing.
Seeing Liu Zhenxing give such a high evaluation, Lao Li's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
But holding on to the last glimmer of hope, he picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece to taste.
After tasting it, Old Li shook his head and sighed, "This duck is absolutely amazing. I won't say much else. Master Xia lost to you today, and I'm convinced."
Xia Tian said modestly, "Master Li, there's no need to flatter me like that. I'm just a young man who enjoys cooking. I can't handle your praise like that."
"I've also tried the camphor tea duck you made. It's quite good. I think we should call this a draw. We cook our dishes differently, so it's normal for the taste to differ."
"After all, when it comes to food, everyone has their own unique tastes and preferences. Maybe someone who likes Eight Treasure Duck will think my dish is better, but if someone who likes Peking Duck comes to review it, they will definitely think your dish is better. It's hard to say for sure."
Everyone originally thought that since Xia Tian said this on his own initiative, the game should end in a draw.
After all, only if this round is tied will the next round be worth continuing. Yuanzun Hotel also has hope of winning a game thanks to Liu Zhenxing's culinary skills.
As long as Liu Zhenxing beat Xia Tian, the two sides would be tied. Although they didn't win easily, it was still acceptable. At least their star player Liu Zhenxing still withstood the pressure.
But to everyone's surprise, Yuan Zun's Executive Chef Liu Zhenxing was the first to object, saying, "No, a win is a win, and a loss is a loss. We're not as skilled as you, so we should go back and practice more. We absolutely can't rely on this kind of face-saving project to win. We at Yuan Zun aren't that bad at losing, and if we rely on this to tie with you, it would only make us even more embarrassed."
Xia Tian still wanted to persuade him a little bit. After all, he came here just to borrow a kitchen and had no real intention of challenging them.
"Master Liu, we're just exchanging ideas and learning from each other. There's no need to be so serious, right?"
"No! Since we've made an agreement and a bet, this is a formal competition. Chef Liu is right. Relying on other means to preserve our reputation will only make us Yuan Zun more embarrassed."
As Xia Tian finished speaking, a strong male voice came from the kitchen door.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man in a neat suit walking towards them.
Seeing the person coming, Liu Zhenxing immediately went up to him and said, "Mr. Zhang, why are you here?"
Mr. Zhang smiled and said, "Haha, I just heard the girl at the front desk say someone was coming to challenge us, so I came over to see what was going on."
Liu Zhenxing said with some shame: "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang, I've disappointed you. It's our fault that we didn't learn the skills well enough and brought shame to Yuan Zun."
Mr. Zhang smiled nonchalantly and said, "What are you talking about? How can I blame you? Every competition is bound to have winners and losers. There's no such thing as a guaranteed win. Since we've accepted the challenge, it means we're prepared to lose. As long as everyone gives their best, it's fine. We can afford to lose."
After learning the other party's identity, Xia Tian said embarrassedly, "Mr. Zhang, don't misunderstand me. I just heard that your dishes are very famous, and I want to exchange culinary skills with Chef Liu and the others. As for the talk of challenging the club, that was just a joke."
"It's mainly because I'm young. If I don't say that, I'm worried I won't be able to see Chef Liu."
Mr. Zhang came over and shook Xia Tian's hand enthusiastically. Then he smiled and said, "It's okay. Cooking exchange is a good thing. Whether you win or lose, we Yuan Zun welcome you."
"To be honest, I'd rather see you win. That means our kitchen still has a lot of room for improvement. After all, it's not scary to find a problem and just fix it; it's scary to have a problem and not even realize it."
"Then our competition won't affect their work, right?" Xia Tian asked Liu Zhenxing and others.
Mr. Zhang waved his hand and said, "Of course not. You know, I put a lot of effort into inviting Chef Liu and the others here. How could I possibly take my anger out on them just because of a PK defeat?"
"You're such a talented cook at such a young age. Are you interested in coming to Yuanzun to develop your career? If you're willing to come, I promise your salary won't be lower than Chef Liu's. Don't worry, I'm not trying to challenge you two. I'm opening a new restaurant in the next city in a few days, and I'm in need of an executive chef."
Xia Tian quickly shook his head and declined, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Zhang, but forget about going to work. Cooking is just a hobby for me, and I have other work to do."
Mr. Zhang also knew that if someone like Xia Tian wanted to work in the catering industry, he would probably have become famous long ago and would not be waiting for his invitation.
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