HP: Wizards at Hogwarts

Chapter 80 Food Festival

The Study Club's activities take place in the afternoon and evening, while the Sports Club's activities run from morning to night.

Fortunately, the former had Cedric, the vice president, and many senior students to help with teaching, while the latter did not require Elaine to supervise the whole time. Therefore, he could still squeeze out some time in his busy schedule to go to the kitchen to watch the house-elves learn new dishes.

Saturday afternoon arrived in the blink of an eye.

One by one, the young wizards who had paid their banquet admission fees and registered for the cooking competition gathered in the Hogwarts Dining Hall, creating a lively atmosphere.

Upon arriving at the scene, everyone was immediately shocked by the unprecedented food laid out on the table.

On the first table, various famous dishes were laid out.

There are Peking duck, Dongpo pork, West Lake fish in vinegar sauce, Mapo tofu, spicy chicken, braised lion's head meatballs, and four-happiness meatballs.

A dazzling array!

On the second table, there were various snacks.

There are pan-fried buns, hot dry noodles, braised noodles, mille-feuille pastry, double-skin milk pudding, salt-baked chicken feet, shrimp dumplings, siu mai, egg tarts, beef offal, red rice rolls, cart noodles, takoyaki, and duck blood vermicelli soup.

A riot of flowers!

On the third table were hot pots.

Spicy, sour soup, mutton, clear soup, beef —

A wide variety of flavors!

The colors tantalize the eyes, and the aromas stimulate the taste buds.

The little wizards were so tempted by the sight of the wizards that their hearts pounded and their mouths watered.

"What...what kind of dish is this?"

"Food from a distant ancient country in the East—Chinese cuisine!"

Elaine stood in front of the table and explained to everyone, "This is something the house-elves of Hogwarts learned from afar in a foreign land!"

Just as human wizards can communicate across borders, house-elves also have a unique way and channel to contact their kind in other countries.

Over the past two weeks, some of the house-elves at Hogwarts, at Elaine's request, have gone to learn Chinese cooking from other members of their family.

On the professor's chair.

Upon hearing Elaine's words, Professor McGonagall immediately turned to Dumbledore: "Dumbledore, are you aware of this?"

House-elves of Hogwarts are part of the property of Hogwarts.

Under normal circumstances, they should obey the orders of the current headmaster of Hogwarts, and their departure or stay must be approved. Elaine, a mere junior wizard, is not qualified to move them around at will.

Dumbledore was about to touch the food on his plate when McGonagall's question startled him so much that he immediately withdrew his hand, looking adorably flustered.

"Ah—yes—"

"I know, a while ago a little elf named Jerry came over and told me about this."

"At the time, I heard that it was Elaine who asked him to learn how to cook Chinese food, and I approved it without thinking twice."

"However, I didn't expect him to come back so quickly, and to have learned so many good things—"

Dumbledore glanced at the food on the table and smiled with satisfaction: "It seems I've made another absolutely correct decision!"

Professor McGonagall was relieved after hearing Dumbledore's answer.

As long as the whole thing goes through the normal process, there's no problem.

Just then, Elaine arrived at the teachers' table.

Before he could speak, Dumbledore said, "Has the feast not started yet? I can't wait to taste this food!"

Upon hearing this, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout all nodded in unison.

Elaine gave the group a strange look.

"Professor, your task this afternoon is to serve as judges for the young wizards' cooking competition!"

"If we eat these things now and the flavors mix later, what if people say our scoring was unfair?"

The four people froze upon hearing this, as if struck by lightning, their expressions instantly frozen on their faces.

"What—what do you mean by this?"

"There's so much delicious food here, can't we eat it all?"

Is there anything in this world more painful than having delicious food in front of you, but not being able to eat it?

Elaine had no doubt that if he dared to say "no," these professors would immediately refuse to be judges.

"Oh, Professor, of course!"

"I just wanted to remind you to eat less and save room for the little wizards' competition entries later!"

"You know, they've been working tirelessly these past few days to hone their culinary skills so they can cook a decent meal for you. Several of them even got burned and had to go to the school clinic to see Mrs. Pomfrey for emergency treatment."

"They would be very disappointed if you were too full to eat their cooking."

Elaine paused, then said, "The house-elves of Hogwarts can cook all the food on the table, so you can eat it whenever you want."

"But this is a one-time opportunity to taste the young wizards' cooking; miss it and it'll be gone!"

"Sigh—you guys decide for yourselves."

After Elaine said that, the professors fell silent instantly.

Yes!

The chance to taste the young wizards' cooking might only come once in a lifetime, so how could they possibly miss it?!

Most importantly, they simply couldn't bear to disappoint the young wizards!

"Dumbledore, I think Elaine is right."

"You're not allowed to eat anymore!"

As Professor McGonagall spoke, she reached out and moved the food in front of Dumbledore to her own side.

Dumbledore's mouth dropped open: "No—why?"

"As the principal, you should set an example!"

"Besides, you're older and your digestion isn't good. If you eat this now, how will you be able to eat anything later?"

Professor McGonagall looked at me with an air of "I'm doing this for your own good."

"So, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, and I will be responsible for eating these things."

"The three of us are still young, we can handle it!"

Dumbledore fell silent:

'

Saying that?!

How dare you, Minerva?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Elaine arrived at the spot between the student dining table and the professors' table, the very place where they had held their Sorting Ceremony.

"Attention everyone!"

"Everyone who participated in this afternoon's event has arrived. There are a few things I need to inform you in advance."

7

"Please feel free to eat and drink as much as you like on these three tables!"

In fact, some young wizards have already started eating it.

"As for the contestants who have signed up for the cooking competition, please take the ingredients from the Ravenclaw long table and then move to the open area outside to cook. We have prepared the kitchen utensils and seasonings you may need there."

Everyone then realized what was happening.

No wonder there are four tables in the cafeteria, but only three of them have food on them, and the last table only has various ingredients on it. So that's why.

"Another point to remind everyone is that we are all supervisors of this competition, so please do not cheat or try to substitute ready-made food for your own creations!"

Several people immediately showed expressions of disappointment.

"Finally, I declare—"

The First Hogwarts Food Festival has officially begun!!