Era: You're asked to cook a home-style dish, but you cook Wellington.

The final competition was held the following day.

Welcome everyone to the finals!

The host's voice still resonated deeply, eliciting gasps from the audience.

As you can see, there are only ten chefs left standing on the field, but there are many more people in the stands.

Lin Xiaoyu sat above, coldly looking at Zhao Lei below, her eyes full of disdain.

Without Guo Yun's good fortune, it's like the West without Jerusalem; standing on the stage now is just a man in his thirties.

The man clearly lacked experience; before the competition even started, he was already showing signs of nervousness, looking left and right with a flustered expression like a startled rabbit, completely unable to maintain composure.

Zhao Lei, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned.

He was bribing the judges and was full of confidence, arms crossed, eyes indifferent.

"Today, we must take over the Alley Hotel, make Gao Yang hand it over obediently, and kick him out of Yuncheng for good."

He said bitterly.

Just then, the host spoke again, his voice loud and clear.

"This final round will test the chefs' authentic Yuncheng cuisine skills. There is a one-hour time limit, and no restrictions on the dishes. After the dishes are completed, the judging panel will taste and score them on-site. The chef with the highest score will win the championship!"

The audience cheered again.

With no restrictions on the dishes, every chef can showcase their best skills, so the competition is sure to be extremely intense.

Zhao Lei, however, continued to sneer.

"These idiots have no idea that I've already bribed all the judges for this competition."

He secretly rejoiced.

"The match begins."

With a loud shout from the host, the timer officially began.

The chefs on the field were chasing each other, each eager to reveal their trump card.

The ten chefs instantly got into action, pots and pans clattering, knives flashing, and flames rising.

The spectators in the stands leaned forward, their eyes fixed on the field, afraid of missing a single exciting moment.

The atmosphere was incredibly lively, with shouts of encouragement and cheers rising and falling.

Even though Lin Xiaoyu knew the judges would never cheat, she still couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

She looked at the competition kitchen at Hongyun Hotel, where the chef, who was in his thirties, was already in a state of panic and confusion.

Without Guo Yun's guidance, he had no signature dishes to offer and hastily chose a braised pork belly.

But just handling the pork belly was a chaotic affair. He couldn't control the blanching temperature properly, the pieces were uneven in size, and even the scallions, ginger, and spices were mixed up. Sweat streamed down his face, soaking his chef's uniform.

The panic in his eyes did not diminish at all, and he would occasionally turn his head to look at Zhao Lei, seeking instructions, but Zhao Lei was too busy being smug to even glance at him.

Let's take a look at the other chefs.

These truly skilled chefs had no time to spare; they were all focused on their own tasks.

Zhao Lei also noticed this, and his heart skipped a beat.

Damn it, I should never have let this guy go up there. He's so bad, and he even patted his chest and said he could do it.

He was filled with regret and quickly winked at the judges, then secretly made a money gesture, his eyes full of urging.

However, the three judges merely glanced at him briefly before turning their attention back to the competition, completely ignoring his hints.

A sense of unease rose in Zhao Lei's heart, but then he thought that he had given enough money and the judges would not go back on their word, so he relaxed and continued to watch coldly, constantly fantasizing that he could win the championship and make Gao Yang and Guo Yun get out of Yuncheng.

Time passed by, and the air was filled with delicious aromas as the dishes prepared by each chef gradually took shape.

Some dishes were stir-fried river shrimp, while others were braised duck in oil; each dish was exquisite, showcasing the refinement and sophistication of Yuncheng cuisine.

The braised pork at Hongyun Hotel was dull in color, the meat was mushy and misshapen, and even the sauce was bland, making it stand out from the other exquisite dishes.

The audience frowned and began whispering among themselves.

"What restaurant is this? The food is so awful!"

"This is the Hongyun Hotel. They won first place in the preliminary round yesterday, but they changed their representative today. I don't know why."

"It's said that their chef was wronged and that's why he quit. Today, they had no choice but to put this incompetent person on stage."

The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock."

As the timer slowly reached zero, the host announced loudly, "The competition time is up! Contestants, please stop cooking and present your dishes to the judges!"

Everyone stopped cooking, and dishes were served to the judges.

Looking at the exquisitely presented and delicious dishes, the judges' smiles gradually spread across their faces. However, when they saw the braised pork belly from Hongyun Hotel, their smiles vanished.

There is no other reason.

The color is dark, which means too much dark soy sauce was added.

There was no fragrance, only a faint smell of a dishcloth.

Hmm... is this really edible?

The three of them looked at each other, their faces showing signs of unease.

As top judges, they have tasted countless delicacies. Now, making them eat this mushy, dark, and mushy braised pork is worse than killing them.

Despite their discomfort, the three of them picked up their chopsticks and symbolically took a small bite.

The moment they tasted it, they immediately frowned and spat it out, quickly rinsing their mouths with tea, their disgust impossible to hide. The dish was salty, astringent, and bitter, utterly tasteless—a complete failure.

The judges took a deep breath, quickly pushed the dish away, ignored the braised pork, and turned to taste the other dishes.

"This is good."

"This one is good too."

When they tasted the other dishes, the three of them finally smiled, as if they wanted to release all the pent-up frustration from that braised pork.

Zhao Lei watched all this with his eyebrows twitching.

"No, no, this guy's cooking really is awful. I'll have to bribe those three when we get back. What a bunch of useless trash!"

"Never mind, as long as we win, that's enough. As long as we can take over the alley hotel."

He comforted himself in his heart.

At this moment, all three judges had tasted all the dishes and were giving their feedback one after another.

The three of them glanced at the plate of braised pork belly without prior agreement, then simultaneously looked away and offered their comments in a roundabout way.

Zhao Lei's heart sank completely into his stomach.

A slight smile played at the corners of his lips.

The reviews are pretty much the same for all the dishes. It seems like I've pretty much got the job. Alleyway Hotel, hehe.

Immediately afterwards, the three judges exchanged glances, handed their scoreboards to the host, and stepped aside.

The host glanced at the scoreboard, seized the opportunity to take two steps forward, picked up the microphone, and suddenly raised his voice.

"Distinguished guests, the results of the Yuncheng Culinary Competition finals are about to be announced! Before the results are revealed, please welcome Ms. Su Wanqing, the special guest judge of this competition and vice president of the Yuncheng Catering Association, and Mr. Gao Yang, representative of Xiaoxiang Hotel, to the stage to witness this final moment!"