The Game of Life-Chapter 832 - 831 Really Puzzling
Chapter 832: Chapter 831: Really Puzzling
Chapter 832 -831: Really Puzzling
Jiang Feng was the last contestant to arrive at the competition venue, and he didn’t even have time to do his makeup; a simple foundation was hastily applied before he was rushed to the backstage area to prepare for the competition.
In fact, makeup or no makeup, it was all the same since the cameras had built-in beauty filters, and among his competitors, there were none who felt ashamed to be on stage without makeup like Zhang Guanghang; there were only contestants like Chef Arno, the big bearded man whose sight alone could send shivers down one’s spine and make them want to walk away.
It seemed that the contestants from New York Light were already getting jittery.
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Chef Arno was clearly not in a good mood today.
Nobody needed to know why he was in a bad mood, as Chef Arno had plenty of reasons to be upset every day. Ingredients not being fresh enough, his idiot boss calling him again, some dim-witted food critic from across the ocean writing a scathing article about him, or trivial issues such as an unsatisfactory breakfast or inept kitchen staff could anger him.
The reason didn’t matter; everyone just needed to know that Chef Arno was not happy today.
When Chef Arno wasn’t happy, the show was guaranteed to be spectacular.
The cameramen were all ready, just waiting for the competition to start so as to fully capture Chef Arno berating his underlings with a barrage of “shit” on camera.
“How is it? Did the staff mention the rules of the competition?” Jiang Feng arrived late and was immediately taken to the makeup room to hurriedly apply what barely even looked like makeup, missing all the announcements made by the staff.
“They did, the rules are quite simple,” Wu Minqi said. “There’s no limit on the theme, but each team can only present two dishes, a main course and a dessert, with the competition time still being from 12 PM to 6 PM, a whole six hours.”
Jiang Feng nodded, indeed the rules were quite straightforward.
One main course, one dessert, four chefs, six hours—it was more than enough time; the only real restriction was that making a rich broth would slightly limit the performance of Chinese cuisine chefs.
Given ample time, which Chinese cuisine chef wouldn’t want to show off their skills by preparing one or two sophisticated broth-based dishes, just to show the big-bearded chefs what the essence of broth really is?
With a lengthy competition time comes its benefits; many gourmet flavors and delicious dishes require extended periods to slowly simmer to perfection, and this is true for both Chinese and Western cuisine. A long competition format may impact the viewing experience, but it maximizes the chefs’ space for expression.
This might also be the reason why the production team chose such a large venue yet did not set up any audience seats.
All the competing chefs were waiting backstage as the judges had already taken their seats at the judging panel. The host also began to address the empty studio as if there were an audience present, emotively introducing the 16 contestants and 4 judges of this round.
To sum it up in one sentence, the judges and contestants in this competition were highly skilled; this culinary contest was serious business.
After a lengthy introduction, which lasted more than ten minutes and would probably be edited down to a few minutes, the 16 contestants walked onto the stage (which was also the competition area) under the spotlight, as rehearsed, and took their positions in front of their respective cooking stations, waiting for the competition to begin.
As the massive electronic clock on the big screen commenced its countdown, the semi-finals of the Good Taste Sino-American King of Chefs competition officially started.
The ingredients area was to the left of the stage. Compared to the semi-finals test, the selection was even more abundant, to the point where any ingredient imaginable, and unimaginable, was available. Jiang Feng could clearly see live water snakes coiled inside the bamboo baskets on the second row.
The competition began, yet no one moved.
Each team of contestants gathered behind their cooking stations, discussing which dishes to prepare for the semi-finals.
The greatest difficulty of the semi-finals was that the theme was announced on the spot, so all contestants had to decide what two dishes they would make—a main course and a dessert—in a very short time. This seemed like a wide range to choose from, but if one wanted to win elegantly and decisively, they needed to bring out their special techniques without revealing them all.
There was still the final round to think about.
Saving the secret weapons for the final contest was essential.
“I’ll take care of the dessert; Jiang Feng, you decide on the main course. Jikai will help me, and Wu Minqi, you go help Jiang Feng,” Sun Maochai made the final call.
Although when it comes to desserts, most people think of Western cuisine first, in reality, if one truly considers the variety and ways of consumption, Chinese cuisine is definitely at the top of the list.
When it comes to Chinese desserts, Cantonese cuisine is particularly renowned.
Having Sun Maochai take charge of the dessert was unquestionably the best choice.
“What do you plan to make?” Jiang Feng asked.
“Crystal sugar ginseng bird’s nest.”
Jiang Feng: ?
Although bird’s nest with rock sugar could be considered a dessert no matter how one looked at it, Jiang Feng still felt that Sun Maochai was cheating.
When other chefs made Black Forest cake, brownies, or puddings, they at most added some caviar or sprinkled some gold leaf to hike up the price.
But Sun Maochai went ahead and used bird’s nest as the main ingredient for dessert.
Is this what top Cantonese chefs are like? Love it.
After confirming a dessert that could outshine ten others, Jiang Feng began to worry about the main course.
He was now very confident in Jiang’s Sea Cucumber Soup, but it was his trump card, which he must save for the final round to dazzle everyone. With the dessert being bird’s nest with rock sugar, he needed something impressive for the main dish—he wasn’t just worried about overshadowing other contestants’ dishes, but even his own dessert.
What to make?
Sun Maochai and Sun Jikai had already gone to pick out vegetables while Jiang Feng was still squatting behind the prep station, pondering what to cook.
Wu Minqi kept silent; her task that day was to assist Jiang Feng. Whatever Jiang Feng said, she would do, and if Jiang Feng said nothing, she wouldn’t either.
After thinking for about five to six minutes, Jiang Feng finally made a decision.
He would make the Phoenix Egg.
In terms of difficulty, making Phoenix Egg was extremely challenging, far surpassing the bird’s nest with rock sugar. It demanded a lot from the chef in terms of fire control and other skills. As for rarity, it certainly was a dish not inferior to the signature dishes of head chefs from major restaurants, hardly found in Chinese restaurants nowadays because it was too much hassle and not profitable. If made successfully, it would definitely make Si Weiping take notice.
Jiang Feng had previously learned from Peng Changping and had seen Jiang Chengde make it in his memories, aware that the greatest difficulty of this dish lay in the big spoon flip.
He had recently been painstakingly practicing Jiang Family’s Unique Big Spoon Flip and made significant progress.
A skilled big spoon flip would definitely add brilliance to the Phoenix Egg, stunning everyone present.
In a competition, after all, the most important thing besides taste is impact. A dish that is unfamiliar, visually appealing, novel, and delicious has more attraction and advantage over a dish that everyone has seen and knows is good.
“Qiqi, we’re going to make Phoenix Egg,” Jiang Feng decided.
“Okay,” Wu Minqi nodded. “Tell me what ingredients we need, and we can go pick them out separately.”
“Hmm,” Jiang Feng fell silent.
The only problem with the Phoenix Egg was that it was served too quickly.
Even starting from scratch with the preparations, it would take at most two hours to finish.
The competition was a full six hours long.
“Let’s wait and see what others are cooking,” Jiang Feng said, looking around and noticing that there were actually four chairs tucked under the cooking station.
He wondered why he hadn’t seen the chairs under the cooking station during the rehearsal; perhaps the production team had thoughtfully provided them in case the chefs got tired from standing too long during the competition?
No matter why the production team had prepared chairs, it was a good thing. Jiang Feng quietly pulled out two chairs, one for him and one for Wu Minqi, gesturing for Wu Minqi to sit down for a while.
“We can finish Phoenix Egg in at most two hours, and it needs to be served hot, so let’s start picking up the ingredients after 3 p.m. It’ll be perfect timing to serve it straight from the stove,” Jiang Feng explained.
Wu Minqi expressed understanding and sat down with a flop.
Jiang Feng also sat down and leisurely watched the other contestants picking their ingredients in the food area, some even sweating profusely with anxiety.
Seeing this scene, the filming teacher: ?
What kind of new tactic is this?
The contestants this year are truly baffling.
