Chapter 63 - Entering the Finals, Advancing to Top Five (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

He saw through that person with his sharp eyes and knew that he was not the one he was looking for.

After giving him a score of three points, he commented, “The smell of the meat has not been completely removed. There are still some hair on it. You should roast it with fire and clean it before stewing it.”

The reason why the other judges gave low marks was the same. They found it smelling, and the fat was too greasy.

Finally, it was Xu Le’s turn. He watched as the waitress brought the tray over. For some reason, he began to feel nervous. His fingertips clasped the hem of his shirt.

Lin Shuwei had a good impression of him, and had high expectations for him. He picked up a piece of duck meat, and the smell of several spices entered his nostrils. The skin was glistening beautifully with oil. Whether it was dried air, smoked, or braised, it was just right.

Old Master Song stared at the smoked duck for a long time with his aged eyes. He didn’t move his chopsticks and turned to pick up the side dish.

The watermelon skin was crispy, refreshing, and sweet. The taste was very light and would be help with degreasing when eaten with meat.

“Why did you think of making this dish?”

Old Master Song asked.

Xu Le did not know what the other party was trying to do. He knew that if he said something wrong, he would definitely offend someone. However, since he could not figure out what the other party wanted to know, he answered with sincerity and explained seriously, “I didn’t think too much about it. The duck meat tastes the best when smoked. I don’t really know how to cook roast duck, and I don’t have any ingredients for roast duck and rolls. I can only make this.”

Old Master Song nodded. All the judges had tried it, but he had never touched his chopsticks. Instead, he ate several mouthfuls of the stir-fried watermelon skin.

His juniors all looked at his expression and didn’t dare to speak directly. The atmosphere was at a stalemate for a moment as question marks appeared in the live broadcast room.

It was Lin Shuwei who came out to save the situation. He took the lead and commented, “The texture of this dish is firm and delicate. The meat texture is a little like beef that has been braised. It’s very chewy. The only flaw is that the cooking method is not as large scale as those traditional restaurant’s, whereby the cooking process is complicated. Although there’s enough smoking, the unique dry fragrance from using wood to smoke is missing, but it’s already quite good to be able to achieve this.”

With that said, he was the first to score.

Nine points.

The rest of the judges also started to give out their scores. It was generally between seven points and eight points. In the end, only Song Deyue, who hadn’t touched his chopsticks, was left.

He was stunned for a long time before he said, “Before my wife left due to her terminal illness, she mentioned that she wanted to eat this dish, but before I could finish cooking and send it over, she left.”

Old Master Song played down his words, but it immediately made everyone understand his sadness. The host wanted to manage the situation but had nothing to say. He could only stare at the judges, hoping that nothing would go wrong.

Finally, Old Master Song picked up his chopsticks.

Before he could sink into the regret of time, the sensation on his taste buds pulled him back to reality.

The duck meat carried with it the fragrance of glutinous rice and sweet fruits. When chewed, the gravy was sweet and fragrant, and the meat felt firm. It was especially delicious and breathtaking!

Beautiful things always evoked good memories. The faint smile of his wife appeared in his mind. Old Master Song heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Not bad, very impressive.”

“Come here, kid.”

Song Deyue waved his hand at Xu Le and stepped forward with a smile. The two of them were separated by a table, and Xu Le’s height was just enough to rest his chin on the edge of the table.

Xu Le stood on tiptoe with a serious expression.

He did not know that his subconscious childish actions had made the judges burst into laughter as they looked at him warmly.

“You have a bright future ahead.”

“You’re indeed a great talent to nurture. After all, you have your parents’ superior genes.”

“Don’t give up cooking in the future.”