Chapter 2674

There were fifty-five people present, and they were all representatives of their respective countries. There was definitely a difference in their cooking skills, but it was not too big.

Occasionally, the difference was too great, but it was also an extremely rare case. For example, Yuan Zhou and Turkey’s tiek, who had always been very low-key and calm.

Tiel was 79 years old this year, and this would be his last time cooking on stage. In the next meeting, he could be promoted to a judge. As for how many judges there would be, it would depend on how much vitality everyone could bear.

The 79-year-old definitely did not only look old, but also had good skills. He was the one who had swept across the European cooking world and was famous in the Asian cooking circle. Back then, he was called the right hand of God, which meant that his right hand had the effect of turning something rotten into something magical. No matter what ingredient was in his hands, it would amaze the world.

The peak of his era was 20 years ago. After that, because tiek did not appear often, his story had become a legend. Of course, until today, many of the older generation’s cooking Masters knew his name.

Zhou Shijie also knew about it. However, no one knew whether he was still alive or not. This was because this year, tiek had been very low-key. He was almost not active, and there was no news about him. When Zhou Shijie told Yuan Zhou that he was a famous chef in Asia and Europe, he never mentioned tiek.

It didn’t affect Yuan Zhou at all. No matter who the opponent was, cooking every dish well was a sign of respect to the opponent.

Obviously, this was what tiek thought as well. When he was choosing the kitchen range, he was also very calm. He was the second last one to choose. His kitchen range and Yuan Zhou’s were both located in the innermost area. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were facing each other from a distance.

He could see Yuan Zhou’s movements just by raising his head. The distance was about 10 meters. If one didn’t pay attention, they wouldn’t be able to see it clearly.

In order to prevent the chefs from interfering with each other while cooking, the organizing committee had also put in a lot of effort. This cooking venue occupied a large area and was on the top floor. However, the entire floor was filled with food, so it was definitely not a small space.

This was to prevent others from being disturbed by the fragrance of the dish cooked by someone. To a certain extent, this also prevented tiek from seeing the details of Yuan Zhou’s cooking.

However, even if he couldn’t see the details, he could still tell that Yuan Zhou was a formidable opponent just from the occasional glance. Obviously, he still cared a lot about Yuan Zhou, an opponent who was too young.

“Sure enough, you should go all out every time you cook.” Tink muttered.

He was the most popular candidate for the champion of this meeting. Almost everyone present had dealt with him before, and they all knew that despite his old age, his cooking skills were recognized by even the picky ju man Li.

Of course, there were many people who were familiar with Yuan Zhou’s capability who had different opinions. They didn’t know who would win or lose. Yuan Zhou’s capability was also unfathomable, especially after being influenced by Yuan Zhou’s delicacies for a long time. He had to find an excuse to go to ju man Li restaurant in Chengdu, China every now and then. Therefore, they were more inclined to Yuan Zhou in private.

Of course, no one said anything about it. They were all blind people who ate tangyuans. However, when they thought about it, ju man Li couldn’t find a reason to praise Yuan Zhou even if he wanted to.

Tiek stopped looking at Yuan Zhou from time to time and concentrated on cooking. This time, he chose the mutton. He had started to develop this dish after the last meeting and then began to perfect it after the last meeting. It could be said that it had taken him almost ten years to make this dish. He was not only familiar with it, but also had a deep understanding of it.

Unlike tiek who was full of confidence, Sakata, who was standing on the stove in front of Yuan Zhou, was a kind of torture.

Sakata was already 69 years old. This was his first time attending this meeting. He felt that if it wasn’t for the fact that Oishi and Yuan Zhou had only been together for a short period of time, he probably wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Unlike Sanada, Sakata had been to Chengdu before and had personally tasted Yuan Zhou’s dishes. Therefore, he was quite familiar with Yuan Zhou’s strength. The moment he thought of the Grandmaster cooking behind him, he couldn’t control the primitive power in his body and wanted to turn around to watch Yuan Zhou cook.

However, as the representative of Japan, he had to fight for the honor of his country. Even if this year’s conference was just to test the waters, he still hoped to get a good ranking.

Every country that was selected would have some benefits, and that was the benefit of the masses. The rewards would definitely be different from the ones for the first and second place. That was why Sakata wanted to give it a try. Even if the first place was a Grandmaster, the second and third places could still work hard.

It had to be said that Sakata himself was still very confident. Other than martial grandmasters, he was fearless! This confidence was definitely not given by Sanada.

Time passed by slowly. Everyone was focused on cooking their own dishes. There was no time limit, but no one deliberately slowed down. Instead, they followed their own pace, step by step. If they were done, they could directly serve it to the judges to try.

This competition was very Grand. After all, the rewards were generous and it was a matter of national importance. It was also very simple because the head chefs were all doing their own work. There were no kitchen helpers, waiters, or emcees. There was no one else other than the cameraman. This ensured the greatest level of mystery and confidentiality.

The main thing was that the rewards were indeed a lot, so they had to put an end to all possible cheating and ensure fairness. Thus, they simplified the complicated things and did many things themselves.

It was not the first time for most of the people present to attend the meeting, so they naturally knew the rules. They did not seem to be in a hurry. For Sakata, Ivan, and the others who were attending the meeting for the first time, they had all practiced under the guidance of Sanada and the others.

As for Yuan Zhou, he had always been cooking alone since the opening of the restaurant. He was always cooking alone, no matter if it was the selection of materials, washing, cutting, or preparing other condiments. Even if it was a solo exhibition or a competition, he was always cooking alone. However, Yuan Zhou alone could be regarded as 10 people, because he was really fast!

It had just passed lunchtime and Yuan Zhou had already finished cooking. Moreover, the dishes he cooked required a long time to simmer and it took him a lot of time to cook on the spot. Otherwise, he would have finished cooking in the morning.

Having been looking forward to Yuan Zhou’s food all the time, the three people of Badhan’s group didn’t even have a good lunch and just ate some food casually. When they saw Yuan Zhou carrying a large tray with a lid and walking towards the judges, their eyes all lit up and they appeared to be very expectant.

It couldn’t be helped that his god-like cutting skills had given them a critical blow. After that, whether it was when he was shaking the spoon or dealing with the other side dishes, Badhan and the other two were dazzled, as if they were not watching cooking, but some kind of performance. After all this, they could see the finished product immediately. The image and the like could be put aside for now.

Even if they didn’t blink their eyes, they couldn’t imagine how the dish would look like after being fried, stewed, steamed, and stir-fried.

“As expected of a martial Grandmaster. I have to continue working hard.” Sakata happened to be washing the steamer that he needed to use for a while and saw Yuan Zhou passing by him with a plate. He could only admire Yuan Zhou.

“Ta ta ta”

He walked deftly on the marble floor without making too much noise and did not attract too much attention. After all, the kitchenware at the scene kept making ‘ding ding ding’ sounds.

“Creak”

After placing the plates in front of the three judges, Yuan Zhou didn’t pretend to be mysterious. Instead, he directly opened the plates.

……