Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 63: A Dark Horse's Rating Settlement - You Seem to Live in Your Grandfather's Shad

Chapter 63 A Dark Horse Rating Settlement: You Seem to Live in Your Grandfather's Shadow
When this "crispy chicken with a brand new life" was served in front of the seven judges, a dark horse in the waiting room stood straight.

Indeed, the phrase "crispy chicken" perfectly encapsulates his life.

Born into a family of chefs, Kang Qin started handling kitchen knives with his father at a very young age. Around 8 or 9 years old, he began learning from his grandfather how to select chickens and how to massage them while cooking.

When he was 11 years old, he tried to improve his grandfather's crispy chicken for the first time. Although he failed, he won his grandfather's praise.

"Xiao Qin is great! She'll definitely become a fantastic chef in the future!"

At that moment, Kang Qin looked up at his grandfather.

Will he be as good as Grandpa?

Grandpa burst into laughter.

"Of course, the younger generation will always surpass the older one. Little Qin, you'll definitely achieve much more than Grandpa in the future!"

It was Kang Junhui's words that led Kang Qin down a path of almost obsessive dedication to crispy chicken.

He studied various techniques and collected recipes from home and abroad, all in order to go further on this path.

Now is the time for him to verify his results.

Many culinary giants, on par with his grandfather, tasted the fruits of his labor over the past decade. Nothing in the world could have excited Kang Qin more than this.

"Inside the Judging Room"

Looking at the glossy, perfectly roasted "crispy chicken" in front of them, the seven judges exchanged glances.

Ultimately, it was decided that "Nicholas Tse" and "Luo Yumin" would share the chicken together.

Just as Luo Yumin started to break open the crispy chicken, a unique aroma instantly filled the judging room.

It was a complex, multi-layered aroma, a blend of fruit and chicken fat. Although the scent was simple, it was incredibly alluring.

Upon smelling the aroma, Zheng Yongqi nodded, while Tan Zhifeng, standing to the side, merely smiled slightly, seemingly having seen through something.

Because this crispy chicken is extremely juicy, Nicholas Tse ultimately decided to forgo the knife and let everyone decide which part they wanted to eat, and then tear it apart by hand.

In this situation, Li Shanghu and Sui Wubai chose chicken breast, Xie Tingfeng and Zheng Yongqi chose chicken leg, Luo Yumin chose chicken wing, Tan Zhifeng chose chicken neck, and Zhang Yong chose chicken shoulder.

Nicholas Tse put the chicken in his mouth and found that compared to the crispy chicken he had eaten at the food street that day, this chicken tasted significantly more complex.

While maintaining the texture and flavor of the chicken, a more distinctive aroma has been added.

Nicholas Tse tasted it and quickly found the source of the fragrance.

"It's thyme!"

Just as he was about to nod, Li Shanghu and Sui Wubai, who were eating chicken breast, suddenly exchanged a glance.

"Little Sui, what do you think?"

Sui Wubai gave a simple, honest smile.

"You can taste the fruit, and the chicken is quite delicious too; the skin is nicely crispy."

Li Shanghu stroked his beard, unsure whether he agreed or disagreed.

Tan Zhifeng, who had just finished gnawing on a chicken neck, blinked.

"It's grilled very evenly; it's definitely good enough to be a signature dish in the restaurant."

Luo Yumin frowned, said nothing, but finished eating the chicken wing in her hand.

Inside the lounge, a dark horse smiled as he saw the judges giving him rave reviews. Just as he had thought, this dish was sure to win over the judges.

Upon seeing this, viewers in the live stream began congratulating the dark horse.

[I think we've got this in the bag. We've basically eaten all the parts we got, so this chicken must taste really good.]

[Being the first to finish should earn them extra points in the judges' impressions. This dark horse was a big hit during the previous food street competition; their crispy chicken was a bestseller, so it seems they really have a special skill.]

I'm wondering if his selection of dishes is becoming a bit monotonous. Using the same dishes in two consecutive competitions seems too limiting.

[Has nobody noticed Luo Bao's transformation? Luo Bao looks absolutely stunning in her black chef's uniform!]

Instead of focusing on the chef's uniform, pay attention to the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef; he's cooking earth! Not just earthy-looking dishes, but truly earthy ones!

[Hilarious! It's not even the end of the month yet, and they're already rushing to feed the judges dirt? It's like they're forcing themselves to do something they don't have.]

According to the rules, after the meal, all judges will score the contestants on a 100-point scale, and the results will be announced on the spot.

Viewers outside the arena can see the scores, but the contestants inside the arena cannot. This means that once a contestant enters the "waiting room," they are already disconnected from the competition.

As announced by the production team, a dark horse entered the judging room, bowed respectfully to the judges, and waited for them to give their scores.

After a while, Nicholas Tse wrote down the score first and then held up the sign.

"The crispy chicken is delicious. It's much more flavorful than the one I had at the food street before." He paused for a moment after saying this.

"However, the theme of this competition is 'life,' not a chicken dish, nor is it just a contest of culinary skills."

"The chicken was delicious, I could feel the deliciousness you were trying to convey, but after eating it, I was a little confused."

“I tasted an extremely delicious crispy chicken, but I didn’t feel the definition of life behind this dish, so I thought about it for a long time and felt that the pursuit of deliciousness is what you want to express.”

"Based on this, I would give this dish 84 points, and I hope it can be improved even further."

Upon seeing Nicholas Tse's score, the dark horse was stunned. He hadn't expected that after going around in circles, he wouldn't even pass 85. This start was a significant blow to him.

Fortunately, there are still 6 judges remaining.

After seeing Nicholas Tse raise his sign, Zheng Yongqi and Zhang Yong also wrote down their scores and chose to raise their signs as well.

Zheng Yongqi gave it 85 points, and Zhang Yong gave it 77 points.

Zheng Yongqi's reason was that he felt a dark horse's love for crispy chicken in this dish.

Zhang Yong's reason for giving the rating was that he shared the same view as Nicholas Tse, but he believed that what a dark horse wanted to express was not "the pursuit of deliciousness".

Zhang Yong put down the scoreboard and pushed up his glasses.

"If I'm not mistaken, you should have some connection with Chef Kang Junhui, whether as his disciple or grandson, but I can see Chef Kang Junhui's influence in your dishes."

"Our theme this round is not just about delicious food. It's an open-ended question that tests your understanding of cooking, your reflections on your past life, and your choices for the future."

"When I saw the crispy chicken, I was actually a little disappointed. I've tasted Chef Kang Junhui's cooking before, and he is indeed skilled at making crispy chicken, but that's not his whole life."

Upon hearing this, Sui Wubai, who was standing next to him, also picked up the microphone.

"Just so you know me."

"Xiao Qin, you make very good chicken, but your life is a bit monotonous. It's as if you're living in your grandfather's shadow. A chef who can stand on his own will not live in someone else's shadow."

“I believe you came to participate in this variety show to prove yourself, but judging from the current situation, you are still living in your grandfather’s past.”

A black horse, somewhat puzzled, finally opened its mouth.

"That's impossible. Although the crispy chicken recipe is inherited from my grandfather, this dish is full of my understanding of life! I figured out the sauce bit by bit."

Seeing the appearance of the black horse, Li Shanghu, who was standing to the side, felt a touch of emotion.

"It's a little hard for you to accept, but your so-called 'crispy chicken that transcends life' borrows elements from 'apple roasted chicken,' 'vegetarian marinated chicken,' and many other Western dishes. However, more than 20 years ago, your grandfather used similar techniques when he participated in the 'China-Foreign Culinary Competition.'"

"Although the sauces are different, the taste is actually not that different. Unlike your extreme research, your grandfather made that dish on the spot when the ingredients were unavailable."

Upon hearing Li Shanghu's words, the dark horse felt his breath catch in his throat. He never expected that what he was pursuing would be a cycle. After learning the most authentic family recipe for crispy chicken, he had always wanted to make breakthroughs and explorations, but more than ten years later, he almost replicated a dish that his grandfather had once made.

This is somewhat ironic.
Tan Zhifeng sighed as he saw the bewildered dark horse.

"As a chef, it is a good thing to delve into a dish, but to truly reach the limit of a dish, the chef must have rich experience and accumulated practice over time."

"The so-called 'drawing inferences from one instance to another' means applying what you've learned from other places to your cooking, not just focusing on the chicken in front of you!"

Luo Yumin, who was standing nearby, also offered her advice.

"I feel that your crispy skin glaze doesn't quite blend well with the chicken yet. You could consider replacing the steamer pretreatment with the 'steamed chicken' method from Yunnan; that would be better."

After all the judges finished their comments, they also gave their respective scores.

[Nicholas Tse: 84]

Zheng Yongqi: 85

Zhang Yong: 77

[Tan Zhifeng: 65]

[Luo Yumin: 70]

[Sui Wubai: 65]

[Li Shanghu: 65]

[A Dark Horse in the Cooking Battle: Overall Score: 511 points]

Just as the dark horse was still standing there, pondering the judges' words, the bell rang again.

"Chef Lai Chi-On has finished cooking and now requests the judges to taste his dishes."

"Cooking name."