I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

The second round of the "Food Flying Flower Order" has ended, and the final list of advancing contestants has been determined, with three contestants advancing to the finals.

Li Zhibai scored the highest score with a plate of fried dough sticks and advanced to the next round in first place. Fang Guoping followed closely behind with his snowflake crab dish and took second place. The third person to advance was a young chef in his thirties named Zhou Yun, who was said to be a disciple of a national chef and whose strength should not be underestimated.

Su Su was disappointed to be stuck in eighth place and failed to advance, but she was quite satisfied with the result. After all, the participants were the top chefs in Jiangcheng, and it was already very good for her to make it to the second round in a competition of this level at her age.

The Jiangcheng Master Chefs Invitational Tournament has a very tight schedule. After all, it's not the kind of variety show that needs to be filmed for several days. It's just an annual skill exchange event for the local catering industry in Jiangcheng, so all the competitions will be completed in one day.

After halftime.

The host walked back to the center with the microphone and announced the rules for the third and final round of the competition.

"Congratulations to the three contestants for advancing to the finals! Next up is the ultimate showdown of this year's Jiangcheng Master Chefs Invitational Tournament—the Three Realms of Culinary Delight!"

"The first challenge is called 'Tracing the Origins.' Each of the three contestants will taste a classic dish and try to replicate it based solely on their taste and experience. This challenge tests the chef's basic skills."

"The second stage—[Go with the flow]."

The host walked up to a large square box and tore off the red cloth covering it. Inside was a huge transparent glass box containing various raw ingredients, such as chicken, duck, fish, meat, vegetables, fruits, and bottles and jars of seasonings.

And there were some colorful little balls placed among those ingredients.

"The three contestants will take turns blindly drawing ingredients from this ingredient pool. Each person can only draw one ingredient at a time, and each person needs to select a total of five ingredients, including main ingredients, auxiliary ingredients, and seasonings. You can only use what you draw, and you cannot use any other ingredients or seasonings. Ultimately, you need to combine these ingredients under limited conditions to create a complete dish. This second stage tests your adaptability and creativity!"

"Of course, I'd like to remind the three contestants that there are some small balls in plastic boxes in the box. If anyone draws a ball, sorry, that counts as one of your selected 'ingredients,' and you will have one less ingredient than others. If you draw two balls, you will have two less ingredients, and so on. This is a double test of luck and skill."

After the rules for the second realm were announced, the audience erupted in heated discussion once again.

"Holy crap! This is so exciting! It's all about looks!"

"If you're lucky enough to draw a lobster, you could practically get a high score with your eyes closed. But if you're unlucky and draw several balls in a row, or something like a chicken butt, then you're doomed!"

"Um... I meant to say that chicken butts are actually quite delicious, I really like to order chicken butts when I have barbecue..."

"????"

"Damn! You have pretty unusual tastes!"

"..."

Fang Guoping's lips twitched when he heard the rules. He thought to himself that the rules of this invitational tournament were getting more and more outrageous every year. What kind of nonsense was this?

Zhou Yun and Li Zhibai's expressions also turned serious when they heard the rules. If they were unlucky and drew two or three balls in a row, even if they had extraordinary abilities, they would have no choice but to accept defeat.

The host raised three fingers and announced the rules for the third dish: "The third realm—[Returning to Simplicity]—is to create a dish that the judges feel is worth a fortune using ingredients that cost no more than 10 yuan. This tests the chef's understanding of the essence of food and whether they can create the most moving flavor with the simplest ingredients."

"Three questions, three rounds of challenges, and the contestant with the highest total score will be the champion of this year's Jiangcheng Master Chef Invitational Tournament!"

Yu Shen and the others also found the competition format particularly interesting.

"This competition format is so exciting!"

"The first round tests basic skills, the second round tests luck and adaptability, and the third round tests the ultimate expression of food. The three levels are progressively more advanced, which is a bit like the challenge in a martial arts novel."

"I felt the second round was the hardest. If you were unlucky and drew two or three balls in a row, even a god couldn't save you."

"But why do I feel like Li Heizi has the upper hand?"

"I think so too. Making a 10-yuan dish feel like it's worth a thousand gold pieces is exactly what Li Heizi is good at."

"Li Heizi said, 'I do this problem every day. I can sell a piece of winter melon for over a hundred yuan.'"

"The person who set the questions for this competition must have taken bribes from Li Heizi; the third dish was practically a freebie!"

"..."

They had all witnessed firsthand how this guy turned a piece of winter melon into a 139-yuan vegetarian braised pork dish.

This question is the ultimate test for others, but for Li Heizi it's just routine. If he were shameless enough to actually make this dish, getting the highest score would be a sure thing.

…………

Competition area.

The host gestured to the staff to lift the lid, revealing the true nature of the first test question.

It was a dish made with fish, and it smelled of fermented rice.

"First Realm: Tracing the Origins!"

"This dish, called 'Old-fashioned Braised Fish Fillets,' was made by judge Teacher Cao. Each of the three contestants can have three bites, and then they must completely replicate it based on their taste memory within 30 minutes."

When the audience opened the door and heard that the dish was made by Teacher Cao, the atmosphere became lively again.

"Made by Teacher Cao? Wow! I never expected that!"

"So Teacher Cao not only knows how to eat, but she can also cook!"

"Isn't braised fish fillets a Shandong dish? I've heard that this dish is difficult to make, so it's truly amazing that Chef Cao can make it so well."

"..."

Sitting on the judges' panel, Teacher Cao saw the surprised looks on the faces of the audience. Although she appeared calm, she was secretly very pleased with herself.

Although he is not a professional chef, this braised fish fillet is a specialty he has mastered for many years. He always shows off his skills whenever guests come to his home, and everyone who has tried it gives it a thumbs up. Even Teacher Cai and Teacher Meng praised it highly after tasting it.

He has been making this dish for many years and has made improvements, adding some exclusive little-known recipes. Today, he is using this dish as a test question to let these chefs know that he, as a judge, is also very knowledgeable.

The three contestants were also surprised to hear that the dishes were made by Teacher Cao himself; this old man was quite secretive!

They then took turns tasting the food. Zhou Yun and Chef Fang each took three bites before returning to the stove to prepare for the replication.

When it was Li Zhibai's turn, he discovered the secret after just one bite of the fish slice.

"Teacher Cao, is your braising liquid made with Shaoxing fermented rice wine and three-year-aged fermented rice wine? You even secretly added a preserved plum to enhance the flavor, and you also added a little bit of lard when coating the blackfish slices. This improvement is quite interesting."

"....."

Teacher Cao's smug and aloof expression didn't last long before it crumbled instantly.

"No, how did you know?"

Adding preserved plums and a touch of lard were his personal habits, which he had never told anyone else. Yet, this kid figured it all out after just one bite.

He actually wanted to use this dish to show off in front of these chefs, wait for them to replicate it, then reveal the hidden recipe and enjoy their praise.

Before he could even start showing off, his true colors were exposed in public.

You must be a dog, kid. Your tongue is so sharp.

Li Zhibai retorted with a show of bravado: "Teacher Cao, these are all basic skills, nothing special! By the way, I wanted to remind you that there was a little too much vinegar in the fermented rice wine brine, which overpowered the aroma of the brine. Also, the heat was a bit too high when the fish slices were being poached in the oil. A lower heat would have made it even more perfect."

Teacher Cao: "..."

Who's the judge here, you or me? Don't I have any dignity?

The audience was laughing hysterically.

"Hahaha... Teacher Cao's expression changed again, a new meme is in the works!"

"Help! This guy is here to cause trouble, isn't he? He took one bite and told everyone the secret recipe, and now he's even criticizing the judges to their faces."

"Teacher Cao: I finally managed to show off a bit, but this kid stripped me naked instead! Don't I have any dignity?!"

"Teacher Cao: I should have added bitter melon in it! It'll make you suffer from the bitterness!"

"..."

Teacher Cao returned to the judges' table with a dark face, thinking to herself, "You just wait, if you don't cook as well as I do, I'll definitely give you the lowest score of the whole show."