Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 44: After four consecutive rounds, the title of Black Label Master is in place, Three Delicacies Rice Ball Sandwich.

"Two minutes ago, Hell's Kitchen"

The innocent and fiery girl stood on the judging panel, watching the waitress next to her take away the "oil-splashed cold instant noodles" she had made, her eyes full of anticipation.

Unlike Xiaohua, he believes that the key to this revival competition lies in "taste" and "timing".

Convenience stores mainly sell semi-finished products. No matter how you combine them, you can't make the food fancy. In this case, the simplest choice is often the most effective.

Therefore, he decided to make a type of instant noodles using the method of making oil-splashed noodles in Hunan.

To this end, he took "chili oil" and "pickled cowpeas" from the packaged snail rice noodles, combined them with "pickled cabbage" from the pickled cabbage beef noodles, "scallions" from the dried vegetable packet, and crab sticks to make an oil-splashed topping.

Then, hot oil was poured over the aromatics to release their fragrance.
Next, rinse the cooked instant noodles in ice water to make cold noodles, and then serve them with a hot oil topping to remove the greasiness.

He felt that with this combination of ingredients, the food couldn't possibly taste bad.

He was even secretly pleased when he saw that Chef Tan was making plain noodles for the advancing contestants.

"Yangchun noodles are great in every way, except they're a bit bland. My 'oil-splashed cold instant noodles' are perfect, they're sure to be salty enough to satisfy them!"

Just as he was looking at the screen with anticipation, Lolo below was humming and looking at him like he was an idiot.

"This guy doesn't think he can get away with just instant noodles in a convenience store cooking showdown, does he? This cooking showdown isn't that simple!"

The rest of the people were largely unaffected by the innocent little chili pepper and were busy preparing their own dishes.

Because her back was to everyone, the innocent little chili pepper couldn't see the expressions on their faces; she was just staring at the screen.

But when he saw that Xia Ming hadn't even eaten any food and had already given him a "disgusting" rating, his face immediately darkened.

"Why? Why can this guy make a judgment without even eating the food? That's not fair!"

Just as he was getting furious, in the banquet hall, the host was also taken aback when he saw Xia Ming throw out the "unpalatable" card.

"The Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef, you haven't even taken a single bite. Isn't that a bit hasty in your judgment?"

At this moment, some viewers in the live stream also shared the same thought.

[This combination and pairing, I feel it's impossible for it not to taste good! This Sichuan-Chongqing "Ice and Fire Chef" is too pretentious!]

[Due to limited ingredients, most of the products are semi-finished. It's already quite good that it turned out this well; otherwise, would you expect to taste delicacies?]

Although the method is a bit simple, the taste should be good; we can't be so hasty.

[I've made it too, and I think it's pretty delicious~ Why does the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef seem to have a hostility towards instant noodles!]

No matter what the live streamers say, Xia Ming's judgment will not change. At this moment, after hearing the host's words, he almost laughed out of anger.

"Hasty? I don't think so! Because this so-called 'dish' is a combination that's a complete failure."

"Instant noodles are already deep-fried, so after cooking, they naturally have a slightly oily texture. You can rinse them in ice water to make cold noodles, but that would be overcooked!"

"Overcooked instant noodles become even softer after being rinsed with water, completely losing their original texture. Just by smelling this thing, I know it tastes awful."

"Not to mention the terrible combination on this plate: pickled cowpeas, chili oil, sauerkraut, and dried shallots. These are all pre-packaged foods, right? In order to stimulate the taste buds with small portions, these pre-packaged foods are usually made to have a stronger flavor than regular foods."

"Pairing incredibly sour pickled green beans with extremely sour pickled cabbage, and finally combining it with chili oil and hot oil to further enhance the sourness—did the person who researched this food not have a nose?"

As Xia Ming spoke, he picked up the plate and placed it in front of the host.

"Smell this, isn't the side dish on top sour?"

The host was stunned when he saw the plate being handed to him. He hadn't expected to be asked a question in return. However, upon closer inspection, the plate did indeed have a sour smell.

But as the host, he was supposed to be absolutely neutral; even if he sensed something, he couldn't say it directly and had to remain silent.
Looking at the silent host, Xia Ming shook his head.

"And how many times has this happened? Are you deaf or just not smart enough? Cold noodles with hot splashed sauce—if there's too little oil, the sauce will congeal on the noodles; if there's too much oil, it's inedible. The vegetable bowl that comes with hot splashed noodles doesn't have any, and the sauce bowl doesn't have any either."

"They just throw together some instant noodles and a few ready-made meal kits, and call that a new type of semi-prepared dish? When McDonald's develops a new burger, they know to change the proportions of fixed ingredients. This thing just gets a little oil poured on and called 'oil-splashed noodles'?"

"Why don't you have people from Daqin District come over and try it? Interview them and see what they say about it?"

Hearing Xia Ming's reasoned and forceful critique, the host gave an awkward smile. "No, it's a new dish, there are always oversights."

Xia Ming frowned upon hearing this.

"I'll say it again, this thing is at best a failed carb mess, it has absolutely nothing to do with food!"

"Yes, yes, thank you to our Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef. Now let's continue our interview with the chef."

The host silently wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Standing in front of Xia Ming, he had a sense of oppression, as if he were being watched closely by a dangerous force. Although Xia Ming was still handsome, he felt that the "Chuanyu Ice and Fire Chef" had a sinister aura that brought him considerable pressure.

"That's strange. It feels like I'm being watched by a wolf or a tiger. It must be my imagination."

He let out a breath and thought he would interview the chefs again. The chefs were quite accommodating and at least tried the food, but looking at the black plaques on the table, the host felt there was no need to continue asking questions.

"Ahem, alright then, it is hereby announced that the first new dish: oil-splashed cold instant noodles, has received a unanimous vote of being unpalatable and has not passed the review."

"Everyone, have some water to relax. There are other dishes coming up."

The host politely stepped aside, and the viewers in the live broadcast room who saw this scene started chatting.

[Wow, this Sichuan-Chongqing "Ice and Fire" chef is amazing! He hasn't even tasted a bite, yet he described the recipes perfectly. He seems to really have some skill!]

Anyone who has ever been a chef should be able to do this; these ingredients are very common, and you should all remember their taste.

[Don't talk nonsense upstairs. Chefs have varying skill levels. It's not easy to figure out how to cook a dish at a glance, even something as simple as instant noodles.]

"What's so difficult about it? I've eaten more instant noodles than rice. I can tell the difference just by looking at it, without even smelling it. And you call yourself a chef? Is this all the chefs are capable of?"

I also think it's not difficult to solve this, but doing it this way makes the instant noodles the worst-tasting dish in the entire competition, so it's unlikely they'll get a chance to be revived.

Hell's Kitchen

The innocent-looking girl, seeing all the black cards on the table, gritted her teeth.

He really wanted to say that with such meager ingredients, cooking instant noodles was already quite good, so stop complaining, but in front of the camera, he ultimately didn't say it.

"It's just a lousy variety show anyway, what's so great about it!"

He snorted coldly, turned to look at the other contestants, cursing them all for failing to revive, and then left the arena without looking back.

Perhaps the resentment of the innocent little pepper really had some magic power, because after his failure, the next three contestants also failed.

[Fish Fairy's Dish: Crab-Flavored Crispy Fried Dough Sticks]

Xia Ming took a sniff and found that the instant noodles were burnt, and the crab-flavored broad beans on top smelled wrong, so he refused to taste them and immediately blacklisted them.

[Dish: Fried Ice Cream Toast]

Xia Ming smelled it and realized that the toast was overcooked and too dry, so he refused to taste it and immediately blacklisted it.

[Jin Hongnan's dish: Salted fish, three-layer soda crackers, and sparkling water]

Xia Ming didn't even smell it. He glanced at it and found a layer of jujube cake among the three layers of filling, so he immediately rejected it.

Thanks to his clean and efficient techniques, viewers in the live stream gave him a new nickname: "Black Label Master".

The main criticism was his decision to throw away the black card without even eating it. Although his choice and the final result were the same, it didn't stop most viewers from disliking his behavior.

[Even professional chefs at least take a bite, but you've done this four times already. You just throw it away without eating it. What, do you think this is your house?]

[It feels like they're just trying to stand out and attract attention!]

There were many similar comments, but Xia Ming really didn't want to waste his time on garbage. He'd rather savor the plain noodles he had just eaten.

Just as the audience was placing their bets on whether Xia Ming would keep refusing to eat and throwing away the black card, the fifth dish was brought out by the time the judging ended.

[Fifth New Dish: Three Delicacies Rice Ball Sandwich]

(End of this chapter)