Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 226 The Ancient Recipe Restoration Site, The Number One Person Below the God of Cookery, Knife Like a Banana Leaf, Leaf Cutting Through Lotus Flowers (Bonus Chapter)
After leaving the Culinary Association, Xia Ming met up with Qiao Ruoning, who was waiting outside.

Qiao Ruoning was a little puzzled when she heard that he wanted to forge an ice blade.

"What kind of dish is this that requires ice skates? They melt so fast."

Xia Ming turned his head and glanced at Qiao Ruoning.

"You've used ice skates before?"

Qiao Ruoning coughed twice, then blinked.

"Of course, but I didn't use it to make a kitchen knife. There was a cosplay exhibition, and I asked someone to make one for me to use as a prop."

"Props~"

Xia Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Props are fine too, as long as we can make the prototype quickly, I can do the rest myself."

Qiao Ruoning was taken aback when she heard this.

"Huh? You want it now!"

Xia Ming nodded. He needed to try and see if he could achieve his goal of "one fish, three ways".

Qiao Ruoning frowned upon hearing this.

There are indeed professional cosplay prop makers, but the more professional they are, the more orders they get.

It would be very difficult to get a finished product in just one day like this; we need to see if any teachers happen to be available.

Xia Ming knew that Deng Xiaowen could definitely fight with this, but the distance was too far. As an ice blade, it wouldn't be worthwhile to ask him to take action due to time constraints.

"By the way, I wonder what's going on with the remaining knives."

According to the timeline, more than three months have passed. Since he obtained the "Blood Taotie" and "Blood Hybrid" last time, he has not received any further news from Deng Fangqing.

"Logically speaking, some of the remaining knives should have been forged."

Although that's what he thought, Xia Ming wasn't in a hurry. First of all, he already had five knives undergoing blood refining, so even if more knives arrived, they would have to wait in line.

Secondly, five knives are more than enough for him to use in the short term.

However, since he had thought of it, Xia Ming still mentioned it to Qiao Ruoning, saying that if he had time, he could help ask about the situation over there.

Qiao Ruoning nodded and then made sure to remember the name Deng Fangqing.

After about 20 minutes of communication, Qiao Ruoning breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's all settled. A teacher happened to be available and had made ice skate molds before. I told him I was in a hurry and offered to reimburse his airfare, so he came by himself."

Xia Ming nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then please arrange the ice again."

Qiao Ruoning said that it wasn't a big problem, as her family had a supplier that specialized in making edible ice.

"Xia Ming, you may not know this, but a few years ago, even pure ice would have been hard to find."

"But now, people like to buy ice cups, so major manufacturers rushed into this market in the past two years. Now you can find any quality you want."

Qiao Ruoning understood that although they were ice skates, the water quality and the freezing method would affect the melting time.

Since Xia Ming intended to use this to recreate ancient recipes, he naturally needed to use the best.
"the next day"

Xia Ming arrived at the Culinary Association carrying a "medical deep-ice freezer".

Based on his request, Sui Wubai invited some senior members of the Culinary Association to the tasting room in advance.

Compared to Sui Wubai, Tan Zhifeng, Yin Shengjiang, and others, these seniors are clearly much older.

Some of them even looked older than Mao Xianzheng.

According to Sui Wubai, they are from the "Ancient Culinary Manual Restoration Office," just like Mao Xianzheng before them.

"Restoring ancient recipes is not like a cooking competition, but more like a cultural inheritance."

"Essentially, it's about the technique and the recreation of the scene; the taste of the dish is not the primary focus."

Since Sui Wubai is in charge of the broth, he started selecting and preparing the ingredients yesterday.

Compared to Xia Ming, his only problem was that the raw materials were a bit more complicated, but everything else was fine.

Xia Ming first greeted his seniors and then went into the menu.

Thanks to Sui Wubai's arrangement, Xia Ming was presented with radishes from all over the country, from different production areas, as well as some very fresh winter bamboo shoots.

As for deer tendon, beef, and camel hump, there are only a handful of options.

This is normal, since the use of the latter three should be considered in light of local conditions.

Standing in front of basket after basket of radishes, Xia Ming silently closed his eyes.

Then, the blood essence surged into his nasal cavity, and Xia Ming began to quickly discern the taste and texture of the surrounding radishes based on their aroma. "No, this isn't right either."

Different radishes have different water content and crispness depending on their place of origin. If you want to use ice skates, the radish itself cannot have too much water.

However, it can't be completely devoid of moisture, because without moisture, the white frost can't form on the radish net.

Outside the food stalls, Sui Wubai watched Xia Ming diligently selecting items and felt a little nervous. In his opinion, Xia Ming's actions, which resembled summoning a deity, were clearly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

"To distinguish them solely by smell without any tasting? Isn't that a bit too difficult?"

Because Sui Wubai's tongue is much more sensitive than others, he can imagine the general state of a sensitive nose, but even so, it is still too difficult to skip over the taste.

Just as Sui Wubai was still thinking, Xia Ming suddenly opened his eyes, picked up a short radish from the basket, and then turned to the side and picked up a basket of winter bamboo shoots.

After that, he quickly picked up the beef, camel hump, and deer tendon, and soon went outside.

Here, Sui Wubai's broth had been simmering for a while. Xia Ming opened the pot lid, took a sniff, and then scooped out a bowl of it for later use.

Seeing Xia Ming's actions, the old men opposite him narrowed their eyes slightly.

Then an old man on the far right, who had a somewhat pointed face and monkey-like features, showed a slight dissatisfaction.

"Wasn't it said that Xiao Sui was in charge of leading this recipe restoration? How come this kid came out?"

A kind old woman standing nearby smiled.

"I heard this kid is the champion of this year's New Chef Competition. He's not even 25 years old yet. Although his level isn't high, everyone who's met him says he's amazing!"

"Old Huang, shut up your temper, or you'll scare the kids."

Hearing the words coming from the side, "Huang Jiexun" snorted.

"Xieyun, you said the same thing to me about that Wei Yan last time, that once-in-a-century genius, but in the end, he was just so-so!"

Hearing Huang Jiexun's words, Cheng Xieyun glanced at him.

She knew that Old Huang was just like that, and there was no point in arguing with him.

However, this guy isn't just all talk; he's a descendant of the imperial chef Huang Jinglin.

Boiled cabbage in clear broth and braised pork in a jar are both made by "Huang Jinglin".

Huang Jiexun was a recognized prodigy back then, and Mao Xianzheng was no match for him.

Even the late culinary masters "Zheng Susheng" and "Shi Zhenliang" had to give him face.

He is also hailed within the Chefs Association as the number one person after the God of Cookery.

Of course, that was his reputation from over twenty years ago. Now he's nearly 90 years old and can no longer lift a kitchen knife.

But unlike most people who become more gentle as they get older, his unruly temper remained unchanged.

He believed he had seen countless geniuses in his life and was already tired of hearing the term "genius."

Seeing this, Cheng Xieyun naturally stopped talking, after all, this guy's genes are really good, he has a good grandson.

Huang Xiaoyi is only 34 years old, but he is already on the verge of being a Level 8 student in China. Compared to him, Wei Yan is indeed a bit lacking.

Shangguan Guowei, who was standing next to Cheng Xieyun, chuckled as he listened to the conversation between Huang Jiexun.

"Don't be so serious. Young people should be encouraged. Who knows, they might just soar to great heights!"

Even if it's not, as long as you calm down and accumulate experience, you can still achieve great things!

"Back then, Xiao Sui was almost 30 years old when he met his student, wasn't he just lucky?"

"By the way, I heard that Xieyun is going to be a judge for the upcoming 'Hua 5 Level' exam? I said we're old bones, let's leave this kind of thing to the younger generation!"

Hearing Shangguan Guowei's words, Cheng Xieyun smiled.

She would never tell "Shangguan Guowei" that her main purpose in becoming a judge this time was to eat Xia Ming's cooking.

She and Mao Xianzheng had always been on good terms, and all she heard from Mao Xianzheng about Xia Ming were words of praise.

Although she is not young, she is still very interested in this kind of cooking.

Actually, Huang Jiexun should have been in that position, but he was too lazy to go, so Cheng Xieyun took his place.

While the judges below were discussing the "restoration of the ancient recipe," Xia Ming quickly finished preparing the other ingredients.

He made an agreement with Sui Wubai: Sui Wubai would be in charge of the broth, while he would handle the knife work.

After finishing processing the radish in front of him, Xia Ming took a deep breath.

Then, a strangely shaped knife was taken out from the "medical deep-ice freezer".

The moment Shangguan Guowei saw Xia Ming knives, he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"The recipe definitely says ice skates? But the shape of these skates...looks like a banana leaf."

(End of this chapter)