The beginning is only when you become a chef

Chapter 111 Zhou's Food Carving Technique (Two chapters in one)

The next day, Xia An got up, and early in the morning, director Gao Shengqi called:
"Boss Xia, the two silver-level fantasy ingredients you need are also out of stock in Shu. You need to transfer the stock from Guangzhou or the Magic City, or even from the Imperial City."

Xia An said, "It's troublesome."

Gao Shengqi: "How can that be possible? It is the program crew's job to prepare properly for the celebrity chefs."

Xia An didn’t understand it last time, but after knowing it this time, he will definitely use the fantasy ingredients prepared by the program team.

Fortunately, the barred salmon and lychee sturgeon were not wasted last time. He can always ask the program team for compensation. After all, the Liu family and the Shu government are behind the program, and there are plenty of sources of goods.

I just finished my call here.

Liu Shimeng posted a new message on WeChat:
"(Looking pitiful) Boss Xia, can you give your little cook a hint?
What fun and exciting recipes have you prepared for tonight's show's theme of "The Future"..."

Xia An: "For the theme of the last issue of Noodles, I came up with a modified fantasy recipe, and this issue actually follows the same idea."

Liu Shimeng: “(ω)!”

"learn!"

"I made a fake noodle bowl tower last time, and I put all my energy into it. This time I can only present a completely original fantasy recipe!"

"(Tearful eyes) If only I had your understanding of ancient recipes and dishes, Boss Xia, I could take an ancient recipe and improve it, making it future-proof and in line with the general trend of the food industry..."

Just when Xia An was about to turn off the prestige.

Doodle.

Liu Shimeng sent another message:
"And, at the very end!"

"Boss Xia, be careful about that Shiomi Jun. I looked up the information and found that there are many experts on the Internet who have popularized the science. I'm afraid that Professor Shiomi Jun is already very close to the special grade!"

Seeing this message, Xia An's mouth curled up slightly.

Close to special grade?
But unfortunately, as long as he is ruthless, he doesn't want to stay in the "fish pond" of the nine-star cooking show any longer.

Just click on the panel and you can upgrade to the special level with one click.

However, if your foundation is not solid, you will still receive a special education even if you are promoted. It is better not to be promoted and wait for more time to settle down.

"Dong dong!"

Lu Jiaxin and several team members knocked on the door: "Are you up? It's time to start shooting short video materials!"

Now that the team has expanded, worker Su Yan has been directly promoted to team leader of the photography group, directing two young new employees, a man and a woman, to carry equipment.

Xia An opened the door, but did not rush to take pictures. Instead, he called the WeChat number of the live-in caregiver.

Although she was called "Auntie", the woman who appeared on the video call was in her early thirties and did not look very old.

She was introduced by Lu Jiaxin. She is a relative of the Lu family and is quite professional and certified. She has now been assigned to Xia An's team and is responsible for taking care of the boss's daughter Lan Xiaoxi around the clock at home.

"Aunt Lu, where's Xiaoxi?"

"Xiao Xi is having breakfast." Aunt Lu walked to the dining table at home in Lijiang City with a smile, "Xiao Xi, your father called."

Hearing this, Lan Xiaoxi swallowed her nutritious breakfast in one gulp, with food crumbs still on the corners of her lips and face:

"dad?"

Take a closer look at Xia An on the video screen.

Lan Xiaoxi seemed to have remembered some agreement, and said seriously:

"Dad, I'm eating well. I'll go to school well and listen to the teacher when I get to school!"

Xiaan funny joke:

"That's good. As long as you are obedient, Xiaoxi, Dad will always play with you and teach you cooking."

Lan Xiaoxi's face was full of a certain brilliance, and she laughed slyly:

"When mom comes back from abroad, I will definitely show off my cooking skills and surprise her!"

Xia An's mouth twitched slightly. This kid is so smart. He's still so young, but he already knows how to find her mother to pretend to be a fresh and refined cooking expert.

By the way, we won’t raise a female bully, right?
hang up the phone.

Xia An no longer had any worries in life and cooperated wholeheartedly with the team to shoot the footage.

At noon, just after the photo shoot, Lu Jiaxin handed a package to Xia An mysteriously, as if offering a treasure:

"Boss Xia, the goods from Lingyue Province have arrived! Beep, please check!"

Xia An: ? ?

He suddenly didn't react.

"What kind of goods?"

Lu Jiaxin blinked: "Deposit!"

"A deposit for the cooperation between Lingnan and Guangdong provinces to launch a night market parade in the three cities!"

Xia An paused for breath.

I got off the plane last night and just learned about the cooperation intention and conditions of Lingnan Province.

Today, someone has delivered the "deposit" to your door?

"What kind of efficiency is this!"

"Hehe, so there must be an expert in Lingyue Province. He has a clear mind and knows that he can't delay any longer. He will feel at ease if he makes a decision right away."

"Who knows, there may be other provinces or cities that offer sky-high prices to snatch you, Boss Xia, away from home!"

Xia An: “…”

This is indeed a possibility. After all, it was just an intention to cooperate before and no contract agreement was signed.

If other places offer conditions such as "complete golden recipes" or "complete golden skills" that Xia An cannot refuse, then the priorities of his schedule will definitely change.

The team members left the room, leaving Xia An to open the package that was expedited from Lingyue Province.

After opening it, a thick book appeared.

This is obviously a modern copy, not an original antique.

However, Xia An has no hobby of collecting. Instead of collecting ancient books, he might as well learn all the unique skills and ancient recipes and become a human-shaped self-walking food museum.

"Zhou's Food Carving Technique, the first half?"

After reading the words on the cover, Xia An opened it and read it carefully.

Once, twice, three times...

until 5 p.m.

Lu Jiaxin knocked on the door again, reminding him to change his clothes and go out to the Juxialou show.

Ding!
Finally, the familiar panel sound effect rang in Xia An's ears.

[Unique Skill: Zhou's Food Carving Technique, Volume 100 (%)]

[Grade: Rare (Purple)]

[Progress: Unable to learn! ]

[Since the two volumes of this unique skill are complete and belong to the gold grade]

[Learning Condition ①: You need to master any rare purple skill to the point of 'great success' to obtain enough Qi energy (achieved)]

[Learning Condition ②: Need to practice "Basic Knife Skills" to perfection (already achieved)]

[Learning Condition ③: Need to practice "Basic Plating" to perfection (not achieved)]

"Hiss~ This learning condition has one more item than the White Snake Chain Transformation?"

“Condition ② is to replace ‘basic pastry making’ with ‘basic knife skills’.”

"This condition ③ requires the 'basic plating' to be perfect?"

It was just that I spent an afternoon reading through Master Zhou Yu's inheritance book.

Although it is only the first half of the book, Xia An has already mastered the field of "food carving" from literacy to a certain extent.

Let’s not talk about culinary skills for now. “Food carving” requires great artistic attainments and a strong foundation in art.

This is three-dimensional sculpture on the dinner plate. If you don't have a certain level of artistic skills, no matter how hard you practice, it will be in vain.

It would be fine if the carved delicacies were all the same, but if you wanted to slightly change the shape, you would be at a loss as to what to do.

Therefore, the field of "food carving" can be regarded as a discipline that combines art and culinary skills!
It is all-encompassing, nothing can be sketched, and nothing can not be expressed in the form of food carving!
“Coincidentally, excellent food carvings have a strong sense of structure and space.”

Xia An said secretly in his heart.

"This is also the most demanding aspect of plating. After all, plating is an art and a science!"

This way.

Improving [Basic Plating] is equivalent to improving artistic attainments, and enhancing his understanding and cognition of art.

It's so damn reasonable.

Moreover, by coincidence again, Xia An used 2 attribute points to forcefully invest them into [Heart of the Nanny’s Kitchen] to upgrade it to blue.

Currently, he still has one free attribute point that he has not yet spent.

No krypton at this time.

When will you stay?

I just read half of Zhou's Food Carving Technique.

Xia An has already glimpsed a magnificent and all-encompassing world of gourmet food!
【Consume 1 attribute point.】

[Dishes (great success) → Dishes (perfection)]

[Evaluation: People need clothes, and dishes need to be beautiful. You have an artistic heart, and your sense of structure and space is greatly enhanced. The dishes you build on the plate are full of artistic beauty.] So, through "氪点", 3 learning conditions are immediately met!
Xia An was full of anticipation, and said silently in his heart:

"Learn a special skill!"

Suddenly, completely different panel information appeared:

[Unique Skill: Zhou's Food Carving Technique, Volume 100 (%)]

[Grade: Rare (Purple)]

【Progress: Beginner】

Boom!

Xia An's mind exploded.

Historical time and space, Guangzhou, in the courtyard of Yangquan Restaurant.

A calm male voice said:

“The art of carving and cooking is not something that can be achieved overnight.”

"first!"

"You need to practice carving techniques in a targeted way!"

Scorching sun.

In the yard, the cicadas' chirping was very shrill.

Xia An quickly woke up from his abnormal state, looked around, and found that he had turned into an apprentice of Yangquan Restaurant.

There were dozens of other apprentices around, standing in neat formation, concentrating on each table, practicing their carving knife skills.

In front of everyone.

There is a big winter melon on each one.

Master Zhou Yu, a historical figure in the food world, stood with his hands behind his back in front of a notice board that looked like a blackboard.

Xia An looked closely and saw a decorative ancient lamp hanging on the bulletin board.

Then look at the apprentices around who are busy carving winter melon shapes.

"In this class, we are going to carve winter melons into ancient lanterns?"

Soon, Xia An was eager to try his hand at work.

During the process, Master Zhou Yu's voice continued to echo throughout the practice field:
“The basic techniques of carving can be summarized by words like cutting, shaving, carving, engraving and chiseling.”

"Of course, it is also important to be familiar with the characteristics of the ingredients. Only in this way can you know what kind of knife grip to use and what degree of knife force to use when carving different ingredients..."

Time passes quickly.

Xia An was shaken awake and forced to stop the mysterious spiritual meditation practice.

"Boss Xia, Ju is coming downstairs!"

Lu Jiaxin called out to the team members to get off the car first and shoot short video footage of Xia An getting off the car and entering the venue.

And at the same time.

A group of media reporters who were waiting at the main entrance of Juxia Building were also excited.

"It's Boss Xia!"

"Boss Xia came pretty quickly today!"

"Boss Xia, I'm a reporter from CCTV's food channel. Can I ask you a few questions?"

CCTV is CCTV. The reporters were standing openly on the road that Xia An had to take to enter the garden. There was no way Xia An would not answer.

He smiled slightly: "Excuse me."

Of course, the CCTV beauty reporter is very pretty, and her beautiful eyes stared at Xia An:

"It's six o'clock now. In just over an hour, what kind of dishes will you present on the second episode of 'Chrysanthemum Downstairs Competition'?"

Xia An smiled humorously and said:
"I can't reveal the spoilers, or Director Gao will beat me to death."

The beautiful CCTV reporter smiled and immediately changed the question:
"As everyone knows, this episode is about the Future."

“Netizens are discussing that you, a re-creator of ancient dishes and recipes, are clearly at a disadvantage in this topic.”

"What do you think? Will this "Future" theme put you at a disadvantage in a cooking duel?"

Xia An said casually:
"I have also seen those comments, and my fans have similar concerns."

Afterwards, Xia An looked directly into the interview camera, his dark eyes full of seriousness.

"But tonight, I will let the dishes speak for me."

“Tell the audience that I will always be able to present different types of fantasy dishes!”

Hearing this, the beautiful reporter's eyes lit up:
"So this is your stage declaration, will you continue to present fantasy dishes in the second show?"

The beautiful reporter was not foolish enough to question whether the fantasy dishes fit the theme of "The Future".

Fantasy dishes cannot represent the "future".

What is the future of the food industry?

End the interview.

Xia An walked through the garden and came to the interior of Juxia Building.

He did arrive relatively late this time, as only Liu Shimeng, Chalmers and Shinomiya Kojiro arrived earlier.

Just as Xia An came to his kitchen, picked up a radish head, and enthusiastically practiced carving.

The replacement player Shiomi Jun has arrived.

……

Pole Star Dormitory!
The brothers Takumi, Isami and Mito Yumei visit this old European-style villa again.

"The guests have arrived."

Isshiki Hui smiled with narrowed eyes and brought the three people to Marui Zenji's room.

As for why they had to hold the party in Zenji Marui's room.

This has long been a habit in Polaris Dormitory. After all, although Zenji Marui is a study nerd, he is the most diligent person in the dormitory. After every tea party, he can always clean up his messy room.

Fumio and Saiba Shiroichiro also joined the young people's gathering.

"It's past eight o'clock here, and it's past seven o'clock in Shenzhou. The show will start soon."

……

Nakiri family residence.

Sisters Erina and Alice, and Mr. Senzaemon.

There are also the couple Nakiri Soe and Nakiri Leonora, who just returned to Neon from Europe today.

This couple is Alice's parents. They came back because they were going to be judges for the elimination round of this autumn's auditions.

"Mom, the show is about to start!" Alice pulled her mother to sit down.

Leonora is a beautiful woman with fair skin, tall and plump figure, and long straight white hair.

Leonora touched her daughter Alice's head:
"Yes, yes, let's see how amazing and powerful the cooking skills of our master are, who has helped Alice's cooking skills improve by leaps and bounds in such a short period of time."

……

Xia An didn't know that in this foreign and prestigious institution in Japan, so many people were watching the show on time just to see him show off his cooking skills.

The clock reads 7:30 p.m.

There is only half an hour left before the show officially starts.

"Start broadcast——"

Following the order from director Gao Shengqi at the main control console.

The live broadcast source was actually opened in advance.

There are seven kitchens in total.

The situation of each famous chef in his or her respective kitchen, whether resting or practicing in preparation for competition, is clearly displayed on the split screen.

The most popular Kitchen No. 7 is the place that attracts the most attention from the live audience and the viewers in front of the live broadcast screen.

"What is Boss Xia doing?"

Wu Zhu stared at the seat on the second floor inside Juxia Building.

Xiang Shilin and Jing Nina stared at the live broadcast screen with wonderful expressions on their faces.

The camera sweeps over from the perspective of Kitchen No. 7.

It was a bunch of exquisite and lifelike carvings of ingredients in various shapes!

and.

Xia An still had his head down at this time, a faint smile on his lips, and was holding a carving knife steadily, carefully and meticulously carving a very wide piece of white radish on the plate.

Gradually, the image of a single wing took shape on the white radish slices.

"Boss Xia is also good at food carving?"

In Polaris Dormitory, the room where everyone gathers, you can hear a pin drop.

After a while, it was Ichiro Hayashi's surprised voice that awakened the students who were immersed in the art of sculpture, including his son Soma Yukihira.

(End of this chapter)