Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 164 The Chef's Cup is no easy place; the Round of 16 is halfway through. (3K Second Update)
"The Chef's Cup?"

Wen Zhixia was completely stunned when she heard Xia Yitian's words.

Although she had considered that Xia Ming could pass the Hua 7 level exam, she never thought of having him participate in the "Chef's Cup".

You should know that the "Culinary Cup" sounds glamorous, but it is actually a place that brings together geniuses, madmen, conspiracies, and scheming.

To keep the trophy in their own countries, each nation basically gives it their all, using every means at their disposal, both on and off the field.

It was because of the "Chef's Cup" that Xia Yitian disappeared for so many years, and only now has he recovered.

In Wen Zhixia's eyes, Xia Ming is a carbon copy of Xia Yitian, and even more talented.

But the more this was the case, the more afraid she became that Xia Ming would follow the same path as Xia Yitian.

Seeing Wen Zhixia's expression, Xia Yitian understood what she was worried about.

"Don't worry, that kid seems more promising than I was back then, he can definitely handle it safely."

Wen Zhixia shook her head repeatedly.

"Don't do anything reckless. That's what you told me back then. You said you could handle it safely, and then that whole thing happened."

Seeing the stubbornness in Wen Zhixia's eyes, Xia Yitian smiled casually.

"That's all in the past now~"

"Besides, this is just a guess. Whether he goes or not is up to him."

"Alright, let's not talk about this kid anymore. The person we're waiting for should be here soon."

Xia Yitian didn't want to bring up the "Chef's Cup" incident from back then, so Wen Zhixia didn't dwell on it and changed the subject to the present.

"Oh right, you almost made me forget, who are we waiting for here?"

Today's coffee shop wasn't arranged by Wen Zhixia, so she didn't know what Xia Yitian was up to.

Hearing Wen Zhixia's question, Xia Yitian smiled slightly.

Do you remember Liora Winters?

"Leola Winters?"

Wen Zhixia quickly got into the zone, searching her mind, and soon identified her target.

"You mean the little girl who used to be with 'Seraher'? I must say, she left a pretty good impression on me."

"After all, anyone would take a second look at a top chef in his fifties paired with an 18-year-old female assistant, right?"

Xia Yitian nodded.

“That’s right. Sera has passed away, and his son has inherited his mantle. Therefore, the battle I agreed to fight him can only be completed by his son.”

Wen Zhixia nodded, and was about to ask more questions when she sensed something was wrong.
"Wait a minute! How did you get her contact information?!"

Xia Yitian blinked, then chuckled.

"Oh dear, you've stumped me! How did I get her contact information? That's so strange!"

Wen Zhixia's entire demeanor changed instantly. You must know that Leora Winters was a beauty back then, and she stunned everyone when she first appeared.

It must be admitted that foreigners are better than domestic ones in some aspects. Even the young Wen Zhixia in the past can only be said to be beautiful in different ways.

Looking at Xia Yitian, who had been acting foolishly the whole way, Wen Zhixia thought he must be itching for a beating.

Just as a bloody incident was about to occur in public, Xia Yitian suddenly gently moved his face close to Wen Zhixia's.

Don't overthink it, it might just be a coincidence.

"Moreover, after all these years, you are still beautiful and charming, but she has changed and is no longer the same as she used to be."

"Under these circumstances, what else do you have to worry about?"

As he spoke, he reached out and touched Wen Zhixia's hair, his eyes filled with a gentleness unique to his temperament.

"Don't worry, you're the only one by my side. No one can take this position away from me."

"If Bai Susu is no good, then Leora Winters is naturally no good either~"

Seeing the incredibly gentle Xia Yitian before her, Wen Zhixia felt her heart pounding. She remembered that night many years ago, when she first met him, he looked exactly like this.
Hmm, something seems off.
Wen Zhixia blinked, then suddenly punched Xia Yitian in the leg.

"There's also Bai Susu involved! When did that little vixen start flirting with you?!"

Xia Yitian winced in pain, a conflicted expression on his face.

"No, it has nothing to do with Bai Susu. I remembered wrong, it's Shi Jin."

"?"

"No, no, it's only Leora Winters!"

"Xia Yitian, I think you're tired of living!"

Just as a tragedy was about to escalate, Xia Yitian suddenly pointed to the door.

"Wen Zhixia, stop fooling around. Leora Winters is here. I told you she's not as pretty as you, really!"

Hearing Xia Yitian's words, Wen Zhixia turned around with some doubt and found an elegant, beautiful, and dignified American woman entering through the door. The way her eyes and brows moved was enough to make any other man fall deeply in love and unable to extricate himself.

Although Wen Zhixia was confident in her appearance, time waits for no one, and compared to women who looked no different from those in their early twenties, she knew there was a difference.

Thinking that Xia Yitian was still not behaving himself, Wen Zhixia punched him hard again.

Seeing that Xia Yitian still wanted to argue, Wen Zhixia resorted to severe torture.

"Ah! Help! You've got the wrong person!"

"I'm not mistaken, I'm hitting you!"

"You're really wrong!" "You can't be wrong!"

The noise attracted the attention of other guests, but Wen Zhixia didn't feel embarrassed at all.

Just as she was about to increase the dosage, a woman who was somewhat overweight, with a round face, golden hair, and six or seven gemstone rings on her hands, came to their side with an elegant man.

The woman saw Xia Yitian crawling on the ground and spoke with a smile.

"Hey, it's been a long time! What's wrong with you?"

Looking at the woman in front of her, and then glancing at the beautiful woman who had just walked in and was now seated at another table, Wen Zhixia blinked.

"Oops, it seems like I really made a mistake this time."

Just as Xia Yitian suffered an "unwarranted disaster," other contestants were engaged in a heated competition in the arena.

Undoubtedly, even though Li Yushuo had the advantage of the question, he still couldn't beat Han Tianyan.

He was sent off in the game by a "crab roe tofu" (a type of spicy tofu dish).

There was little suspense in the match between Li Yuan and Jiang Botao; Li Yuan won directly with a plate of "stir-fried cabbage".

Qiao Ruoning's victory was extremely close. Her opponent, Jiang Yuwen, had a sudden inspiration on the spot, fusing French and Chinese cuisine. If it weren't for the slightly lacking taste, Qiao Ruoning's cooking would have exposed the flaw.

Qiao Ruoning should have been eliminated by now.

However, she also knew in her heart that if the current process continued, it was only a matter of time before she was eliminated.

Aside from their match, the most important match today is...
He He VS Fang Xu

One is a pastry chef with exceptional talent, and the other is a strategist who wins through intelligence.

The competition between the two began when they chose their topics.

Ingredients, cooking methods, side dishes...

He He went first, choosing "flour" as her ingredient, clearly aiming to make sure Fang Xu's pastries were inferior to hers.

Seeing this, Fang Xu was not to be outdone. After thinking it over, he chose "no side dishes" as the side dish option.

In other words, if they only have flour, they need to make the corresponding dishes.

This way, no matter what method He He chooses, Fang Xu will have room to maneuver and won't be passive.

Otherwise, as long as He He gets some side dishes, she can put together a lot of different things.

For example, you can make steamed buns by combining flour and yeast.

That's right, what people generally refer to as "live yeast" is actually "food," a type of ingredient.

The yeast used in seasonings is "yeast extract," primarily used to enhance flavor.

Although both are "yeast", their functions are very different.

The yeast commonly used in pastry making is "live yeast". Once He He gets his hands on this ingredient, the choice of technique becomes irrelevant.

Now that Fang Xu has fixed the zero-ingredient requirement, it's like everyone is starting from the same starting line as the flour.

Although a closer look reveals that Fang Xu still has disadvantages, it is still better than being completely passive.

After learning that he had no ingredients, He He pondered for a while and finally chose the "stir-fry" method.

Although Fang Xu was not an expert in storytelling, he still understood the basic logic.

Without yeast, using only salt and flour will only produce two types of dough.

"Scalded dough" vs. "Unleavened dough"

The former is suitable for making xiaolongbao wrappers, shumai wrappers, and shaomai wrappers.
The latter is better suited for making hard flatbreads, such as naan and baked flatbread.
Combining the two allows you to make "raw and cooked noodles".

This type of dough is mainly used to make "pancakes" that have a softer texture.

Once the pancake was ready, Fang Xu cut it open and added chili peppers, salt, and other seasonings, ultimately creating a "stir-fried pancake" without any side dishes.

The viewers in the live stream were stunned when they saw the dish with so many main ingredients.

Logically, the dish should taste fine, but something just feels off.
In contrast, He He did not make any pasta dishes. With only flour, he stir-fried the flour in oil, then added water and sugar, and then stir-fried it again.

This process continued in a loop, eventually forming small, golden-yellow clumps in the pot.

Xia Ming raised an eyebrow when he saw this.

That's right, He He is making an authentic Sichuan dish called "Eight Treasure Steamed Pot".

Of course, she didn't have the so-called "eight treasures" steamed dish. In reality, it's just a mixture of oil, flour, water, and sugar, and it's the kind of dish that's incredibly high in calories.

However, compared to stir-fried pancakes, this steamed dish without the eight treasures is obviously much more difficult to make.

Therefore, considering that all the dishes tasted pretty good, Fang Xu, which was easier to make, was eliminated due to its lower technical difficulty and final presentation.

Nothing happened that night, and the next day Xia Ming went to the lounge on time to watch the game.

At this moment, there are eight fewer people in the lounge. They are the contestants who were eliminated yesterday, and they have already received their rewards and left.

Today's match begins with Zheng Zeqian versus Han Siwei.

The gap in this group is actually quite large. Some bloggers on Douyin have analyzed that Han Siwei really only made it into the top 32 by luck; otherwise, he would have been eliminated at number 64.

As expected, Zheng Zeqian emerged victorious without a doubt.

Next up is Bai Heng vs. Su Zhe, another uncontroversial matchup, basically a complete rout.
After watching another group of competitors, the competition finally reached a small climax.

Qian Youdao VS Zhou Jing

(End of this chapter)