Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 264 Xia Ming, who advanced with one foot in the top, only had a fairly sumptuous dinner (First Update)
So, what are the others doing?

[They're probably watching Natsume perform all by himself.]

I watched Bai Heng's company rise to prominence, and then watched it collapse. Although they're still second, their revenue is truly outrageous.

[Take a break for another round; there are still three rounds to go. Keep up the good work!]

[This is a joke, as if Xia Ge isn't participating in the next three rounds.]

[If you've already secured qualification, wouldn't it be too tiring to keep pushing yourself? Take a break!]

[You should tell Zheng Zeqian this. He has an amazing attitude. After realizing there were no orders, he went back to lie down. If there hadn't been no blankets in the food storage area, I suspect he would have slept on the floor!]

[Xia Ge doesn't seem like someone who takes breaks. After three such intense games, he barely sweated. I really want to find out how he works out!]

Like the judges, netizens also realized that this round was pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Just as most people feel an urge when they see a lottery shop set up on the roadside, diners are always more interested in the unknown.

Two hundred food bloggers ultimately consumed 89 of Xia Ming's hidden orders, with some also ordering à la carte.

When they were making the last few batches, they had even sold out of the raw materials for the blood-boiling recipe.
Xia Ming redid the dishes before serving them to the diners.
Lemonade sales were also very good, because this time the stock was replenished quickly and customers had higher spending limits, resulting in a pleasing repurchase rate.

Both buckets of the concoction sold out completely, and in the end, they had to cancel the orders, which made the other contestants extremely envious.

As the last food blogger left, the "Revenue Ranking" and "Review Ranking" on the field were updated in real time.

[Revenue Ranking]

[First Place: Xia Ming (43748 yuan)]

Second Place: Bai Heng (22140 yuan)

Third place: Du Jian (15714 yuan)

[Fourth Place: Luo Hui (9725 yuan)]

Fifth Place: Lin Chao (6152 yuan)

[Sixth Place: Jiang Chuanhong (4918 yuan)]

[Seventh Place: Chen Hongyu (3820 yuan)]

[Eighth Place: Hu Xing (2145 yuan)]

【.】

[16th Place: Yang Yanbin (1245 yuan)]

【.】

[19th Place: Zheng Zeqian (975 yuan)]

【.】

[32nd Place: Chen Xiaodong (532 yuan)]

【.】

[48th Place: Kang Xincheng (0 Yuan)]

[Top Rated Customers]

[First Place: Xia Ming]

Second Place: Bai Heng

Third Place: Luo Hui

Fourth Place: Jiang Chuanhong

Fifth Place: Zheng Zeqian

[Sixth Place: Hu Xing]

【.】

With the release of the two lists, anyone with a basic understanding of calculations could see that Xia Ming had completely surpassed the other contestants.

You could say that from now on, he can advance smoothly even if he does nothing and just lies down.

If other contestants were given the option, they would probably be very willing to immediately give the advancement spot to Xia Ming.

Xia Ming's terrifying aspect lies not in his being number one on both lists, but in his playing style that steals away all the diners.

This resulted in him receiving one-third of all the currently available consumption vouchers.

This is a truly alarming number, especially if it continues to spiral out of control like this.
The contestants didn't even dare to imagine how much of a difference there would be between the first and twenty-fourth place finishers when they finally advanced.

Although there are still 41 consumption vouchers left to be used, theoretically everyone else has a chance to turn things around.

However, most contestants are now trapped in a vicious cycle of "no revenue and no fame," and their first thought at this moment is to continue raising the prices of their dishes.

Xia Ming watched as the staff started changing the menu again and silently shook his head.

"Some players are on the verge of a mental breakdown at this moment."

"A rational analysis reveals that 'raising the price of dishes' is essentially a gamble on the probability of diners having free choice."

"It's essentially a tactic of trying to attract diners with unusual tastes by ripping them off as quickly as possible, using bizarre dish names or prices."

"Essentially, this has deviated from the original intention of generating revenue through the quality of the food; all they're thinking about is catching a big fish by luck."

Xia Ming does not deny that this operation may generate some revenue.

But he believes the Chefs Association certainly wouldn't want to see this scenario.
"Therefore, there will definitely be corresponding review measures, either adjusting prices that are too high or 'ineffective pricing'."

He is well aware of the difference between variety shows and formal competitions.

Variety shows need to create a compelling and exciting experience for viewers to watch, which will lead to high ratings.

However, the competition strives for objectivity and fairness. If viewers can't stand two hours of meaningless footage, they can simply switch to another video and come back to see the result later.

As long as the results meet the exam requirements and the entire process is transparent.

Even if someone exploits the rules to gain a spot in the next round, netizens still see it as a form of fairness.

After all, in a standard food competition, most of the time viewers are just watching for fun, and the scoring and advancement rights are in the hands of the judges.

Viewers, unable to taste the dishes on screen, can only imagine their flavors based on fragmented descriptions. If any judge shows bias, it will undoubtedly cause controversy.

Compared to the standard competition format, this long-term competition with rules and restrictions is actually considered "fairer" by netizens.

They can't eat it, but they can watch familiar people and bloggers comment on the food.

When everyone's evaluation criteria are similar, netizens can better understand what the dish tastes like.

This could also pique the interest of netizens and make the ratings look better, although Xia Ming felt that the higher-ups probably didn't have any strict requirements for ratings.

"But a competition is still a competition. Even if there is an element of luck, a mismatch between ability and result can still cause problems."

"So, the Chefs Association is somewhat like an overseas university."

"The policy is 'easy entry, difficult exit.' If a certain amount of revenue can be generated in the earlier rounds, even if the judges don't favor them in the so-called 'professional round,' they will still consider the opinions of the general audience judges."

"After all, the food is ultimately meant for the diners. The judges are just analyzing and weighing things from a professional perspective."

This stuff is somewhat similar to urban pop music.

Your professionalism is extremely high, your skills are superb, and you can make substantial breakthroughs in music, so advancing to the next round is only natural.

Conversely, if your professional skills are average but you become "popular," it means you are liked by the public. In this case, as long as your level reaches the baseline, you can also advance.

With no revenue and poor professionalism, why not just eliminate them and keep them around for the holidays?
Therefore, in Xia Ming's eyes, these players who hoped to stumble upon a dead mouse by sheer luck and wanted to simply use price increases to recover their disadvantages were no different from a slow death.

On the contrary, Kang Xincheng's choice has a possibility of being realized.
Just as he was pondering the program's arrangements, the fourth wave of diners walked in through the door.

They were elegantly dressed and behaved properly. Most of the women were beautiful, while the men, regardless of their appearance, all had a calm and composed demeanor.

At first glance, one can only judge them as having received a good education, or having a certain social status, or frequently attending high-end venues.

Upon closer inspection, Xia Ming quickly recognized several faces.

"If I'm not mistaken, this woman should be 'Bai Lu,' the one who acted in the TV series?"

"If that's the case, then the one in front of her seems to be 'Tang Yanran.' The one from the game JX3 (Sword and Fairy 3) from my childhood memories?"

"That face in the back looks so familiar, isn't it Grandpa Tengger?"

"That guy with glasses, 'Xue Zhiqian'?"

"Wait, Nicholas Tse is here too?"

In just a short while, he spotted the "actor," the "singer," and some acquaintances.
"So this is a group of diners mainly from the entertainment industry? No. The one next to them clearly looks more like a businessman."

"This is probably a mix of people from several fields; the labels would most likely be 'urban celebrities' or 'socialites'."

Just as Xia Ming was analyzing
Netizens have already seen the specific information about this group of people through the live stream.

[Chef's Hall Reception Competition]

Round: Round 4

[Diners: Two hundred top figures from various sectors who were invited to attend]

[Voucher Amount: 720 yuan]

The netizens were a little stunned when they saw the amount.

Although the food bloggers had already raised the price to 350 yuan in the previous round, doubling it all at once was still unexpected for them.

But upon closer examination, netizens realized that this level of spending was actually too restrained for these individuals.

These are all top celebrities; they earn so much every day, they must eat really well!

On the contrary, celebrities are very likely to eat boxed lunches when they have performances or other jobs.

I've heard that many celebrities have personal nutritionists and their meals are all based on scientific principles!

[A balanced diet of meat and vegetables, low in oil and salt—food prepared by a nutritionist is already quite good if it's edible; expecting to eat it happily is a long shot!]

That guy seems to be the CEO of a major conglomerate, wow, a big supplier!

[Is that the "big boss" in agricultural and food supply? Someone with such a high status probably doesn't need to eat a weight-loss diet!]

[Haha, they really don't need to eat weight-loss meals anymore, but they're picky! Ordinary food just doesn't meet their standards.]

[The topics in this round seem a bit complicated. Aside from all being high-end, the needs of these groups don't seem to overlap much.]

Like some netizens, Xia Ming also noticed this.

"Actors and singers, aside from income, are actually just entertainers with relatively good treatment."

"Any actor needs to be disciplined in their diet in order to maintain their figure."

"Of course, an occasional meal isn't that important. The problem is, judging from some people's expressions, they probably won't be going home to sleep later!"

Xia Ming, who had previously participated in a variety show with Nicholas Tse, had seen how busy he was.

They didn't even have time to eat properly, but they certainly ate very casually.
He had heard from Nicholas Tse that this was how it was in the industry.

"Many people only stay popular for a year or two. If you don't take advantage of this time to make money, there might not be so many job opportunities in a while!"

"So, when things get really busy, you'll find that most celebrities even sleep in their cars."

Xia Ming didn't have a clear feeling when he went there before, but now when he saw that several people in the crowd had dark circles under their eyes that even foundation couldn't cover, he realized that Xie Tingfeng's words were true.

"The problem now is that these people all have different needs, and these needs stem from their lifestyles and upcoming travel plans."

"Correspondingly, in the eyes of this group of people, price and positive reviews are no longer so important."

"They seek dishes that suit their tastes or lifestyle."

As he expected, although he topped the list of best-reviewed dishes, many people did not linger on his menu for long.

I basically glanced at it twice and then flipped through it.
For example, "Bai Lu" quickly found a "Suzhou-style sweet porridge" priced at 288 yuan, and also ordered a plate of "old-fashioned braised pork" for 279 yuan.

For drinks, they chose a cup of "hand-ground coffee" priced at 40.

As for the remaining 100-plus credit limit, she chose to forgo it.
In her eyes, the three things mentioned above are enough to satisfy her needs; eating too much would only affect the filming that night.
More importantly, she is not alone in making this choice.
The reason for this is that they are already the target users for chefs' daily menu pricing.

In their minds, rest time is precious, and spending seven hundred or a thousand yuan on a simple meal is not considered a luxury.

So compared to previous diners who were still considering the cost-effectiveness, they are now...
It was just a fairly lavish dinner.
(End of this chapter)