Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 14 My God! I can't believe my eyes! This egg is glowing!
[Oh no! It seems the chefs are completely overwhelming the contestants! This is totally a one-sided affair!]

[It seems like the contestants are having a tough time. The chefs are so knowledgeable and their use of ingredients is masterful. The contestants still have a lot of practice to do!]

[I can only say that the chef truly lives up to his reputation; he's incredibly skilled!]

[I think Chef Da has a sure win in round seven. Look at that Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef, what kind of rubbish did he make? Balut (fertilized duck egg), who would eat that?!]

[Yes, I just saw that "McKas" has already started plating, it's so exquisite! No wonder it's a chef's dish, it looks delicious!]

As the chat exploded with discussion, the countdown to the seventh group's match began.

Xia Ming kept a close eye on "Micahs's" every move across the table. Before he could finish plating, he covered the plate with the ostrich eggshell and then pressed the bell.

"Ding~"

With a crisp sound echoing through the arena, his dish was finally completed.

On the other side, after hearing Xia Ming ring the bell, "Micahs" also looked up at the cart next to him and saw that there were three ostrich eggs covered on the white plate in front of Xia Ming, a soup bowl next to it, and a rose-red dessert on the other side.

The overall presentation was rather plain; it would be the kind of dish that would be looked down upon in a slightly upscale restaurant.

"Miccus" smiled and glanced at his side, where there was a small circle in the middle of the large white plate on the table.

At this moment, a perfectly grilled golden fish is placed on the plate, which is divided in a golden ratio. Three-colored round beans are evenly spread on the bottom, and there are mountains of instant noodles on both sides.

Paired with a carefully prepared tart made of soy milk foam, the whole dish looks harmonious and wonderful.

Seeing this, "Micahs" smiled and shook his head.

"I told you you couldn't win, you're still too green!"

After saying that, he added the last touch of cream and then rang the bell.

Since they finished around the same time, the two pushed their food carts and started walking towards the "blind tasting room" at the same time.

Watching Xia Ming's departing figure, the chef, who had just won over the "bald cook" handsome Xiao Jian, spoke up.

Do you think the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef has a chance of winning?

Hearing what Shuai Xiaojian said, the other chefs were stunned for a moment, and then Chef Huang Qiyun smiled and spoke.

"It's really difficult~ I saw him deep-fry the eggs when he made them. You know, fermented mung bean juice changes its flavor when deep-fried, which completely ruins the theme. Even if he did manage to match the theme, achieving a balance of flavor between balut and fermented mung bean juice is obviously very difficult~"

After Huang Qiyun finished speaking, the chef Yang Yanbin, who had just returned, nodded in agreement.

He shares a similar view with "Huang Qiyun," believing that it's almost impossible to find a balance between douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) and balut (fertilized duck egg).

Just then, Chef Lai Chi-On, who was stroking his beard, smiled.

"You can't say that. It is indeed difficult, but to come up with this solution in such a short time, this young man called Ice and Fire Chef is quite impressive!"

"Besides, we haven't even tasted it yet, so it's not certain who will win or lose."

Everyone turned to look at "Li Zhian" but didn't say anything. After a while, Shuai Xiaojian also shook his head with a smile.

"Old Li, this is difficult~ I certainly couldn't make this dish. If this Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef really wins, I'd really like to try what it tastes like."

Li Zhian and Shuai Xiaojian exchanged a glance and then laughed.

"Times have changed, we should trust young people more. We went through the same thing back then. See? Maybe not. I just think his idea is interesting."

As he spoke, Chef Lai Zhian picked up a beer can covered with white tape and took a sip in front of the camera.

Seeing Li Zhian's appearance, Shuai Xiaojian laughed. This old friend still loves to drink!

On the other side, Xia Ming and "Micahs" pushed their dishes to their respective rest areas. After placing the dishes on the conveyor belt, they both looked at the large screen in the rest area.

There are actually two large screens. The first screen shows the live feed of the conveyor belt, which serves as proof from the production team that they did not tamper with the conveyor belt during transport.
The second segment showed the judges' and the live stream's perspective, where Nicholas Tse was complaining to the other two.

"It's finally here; there's no escaping it after all!"

Seeing his utterly dejected expression, Zheng Yongqi, who was standing next to him, also smiled.

"Tingfeng, do you really dislike the taste of douzhi (fermented mung bean juice)?"

Nicholas Tse shook his head so hard it was like waves, almost messing up his hairstyle.

"I don't like it, I don't like it at all!" Seeing Xie Tingfeng's expression, the viewers in the live broadcast room also laughed.

[Fermented mung bean juice is really hard for anyone to like!]

This feeling of despair is just like the helplessness I feel when I have an exam coming up but have no idea how to study.

[It seems Xia Ming's dishes completely missed the mark. Aside from the soup which looked like it contained some soy milk, the other two dishes made absolutely no sense!]

[Keyboard warrior, you've got it all figured out now. Someone just covered the main course completely with an eggshell, and you think you can just go online?]

[The person upstairs must have just come in. Everyone in the live stream knows they're making "fermented mung bean soup with balut," how can they make it so fancy?]

I don't know how good the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef is at cooking, but he's definitely good at creating drama. In the second half, the other groups weren't even on camera; they were all filming him and "Michaels."

[Let's get some screen time, there's no next game anyway, might as well go all out!]

Just as the comments section was filled with skepticism towards Xia Ming, the serving dish slot next to the three judges was slowly raised.

Seeing this, the judges also sat up straight and looked in the direction of the conveyor belt.

At first glance, the three eggshells were particularly eye-catching, but they only noticed the other parts when the plate floated closer.

Zheng Yongqi glared at him, then spoke half-jokingly.

"Pretty simple, haha."

Although it was a joke, it was clear that Zheng Yongqi obviously felt that the "color" aspect of the dish wasn't quite satisfactory to him.

On the other hand, Nicholas Tse felt it was fine; when it comes to plating design, simplicity is also a valid approach.

Zhang Yong then took a serious look at the plate in front of him.

The dish is called "Out of the Eyes," which is quite an interesting name.

However, the presentation was indeed much worse. The main plate in the middle was just a white plate with an eggshell on top, and there was no decoration around it. It seemed that the eggshell was being used as a "table lid".

A small bowl of soup was placed in the upper right corner. It was a very simple white bowl, and the soup inside was a light white color. Zhang Yong raised his hand and fanned it, and you could smell a faint aroma of soy milk and umami.

"Chicken soup for the soul? Doesn't seem like it."

After taking a sniff, not quite sure what the main ingredients of the soup were, he turned his attention to the small desserts on the other side.

It's a very simple little transparent cup with two layers of dessert inside. The bottom layer is a light milky white, while the top layer is a rose red and is garnished with some fresh fruit peel.

The smell was easy to distinguish; Zhang Yong immediately recognized it as hawthorn.

Nicholas Tse was in much better condition at this moment, because when the three dishes were served, judging from the smell, there was not a very strong smell of soy milk. Even the soup had a fresh and fragrant flavor that complemented the soy milk flavor.

However, he noticed something quite unique.

"Weren't the cutlery served? Did they forget, or..."

Zheng Yongqi, standing to the side, pointed to a corner of the soup.

"These are gloves, aren't they?"

Zhang Yong was also amused.

"Looks like the main course is meant to be eaten with your hands. Let me guess... the egg... it's not an ostrich egg sandwich, is it?"

Nicholas Tse also smiled.

"That's so unoriginal!"

As he spoke, he paused to warm himself up, then smiled and glanced at the two judges, who immediately understood.

Three hands were placed simultaneously on the ostrich eggshell in the middle, and the next second, they opened the main course.

The moment the eggshell was picked up, the light shone in, and a golden, iridescent light suddenly flashed in the center of the plate. This light was as dazzling as gold dust, and it instantly caught the eyes of the three judges.

The three of them stared wide-eyed at the gleaming main course in front of them.

"My God! I'm not seeing things, am I?! This egg is glowing!"

(End of this chapter)