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

At the competition venue, this national venue had already been divided into many areas, with hundreds of independent cooking stations placed within them.

Media from all over the country came here, their cameras and microphones aimed at the center of the field.

Looking up, you can see three seats placed on a platform not far away, with a long spiral staircase connecting the platform to the operating area.

Good morning everyone, I never thought we'd see each other again.

In the center of the judges' panel, an elderly man with white hair and beard smiled and bowed to the others.

This man is Gu Jingzhou, who has devoted his life to the study of Chinese cuisine and is a true master.

A woman was sitting to his left.

The woman, dressed in a green cheongsam, with a cool and aloof expression and beautiful makeup, is Xu Qinyun, the editor-in-chief of a top-tier food magazine. She is known for her impartiality and has had dozens of restaurants completely wiped out because of their taste.

Upon hearing Gu Jinzhou speak, Xu Qinyun managed a rare smile.

"Yes, Mr. Gu, it must have been a year or two since we last met."

"Yes, Mr. Gu, I've forgotten when we last met."

To Gu Jingzhou's right, a bald man dressed in fine clothes spoke with a smile.

The bald man, named Liu Jianye, clutched his Buddhist prayer beads. A cold glint flashed beneath his smile, as if he were hiding a knife; a glance at him revealed his sharpness.

"Mr. Gu, let me tell you, I specifically looked at the list of participants today."

"Look at that guy, his name is Steven. He's the head chef of a two-Michelin-starred restaurant abroad."

"Look over there, there's a man and a woman. They're both geniuses from the Nangong family."

"Oh, how interesting! So many geniuses have gathered here today. Looks like I'm in for some delicious food!"

A shrewd glint flashed in Gu Jingzhou's eyes.

After so many years of ups and downs, how could he not guess Liu Jianye's little scheme? He was saying this and that, but he would definitely suppress others later.

Sure enough, Liu Jianye spoke the next second.

"That guy doesn't seem very good, he's so young."

Gu Jingzhou snorted coldly.

"Old fox, he really does these things."

He cursed inwardly, but feigned confusion on the surface.

"Is there something wrong with that person? He seems to be preparing something."

Liu Jianye smacked his lips and frowned.

"That person is called Gao Yang. You probably haven't heard of him before, Mr. Gu. He has a terrible reputation."

"He used to be a gambling addict who owed money. Later, he somehow climbed up to the Su family and became a chef. After that, he had an affair with a Japanese woman."

"To be honest, if I had met this person earlier, I would have definitely kicked him out of our industry and wouldn't have let him pollute us."

Liu Jianye understood that Gu Jingzhou didn't usually watch the news and preferred to live in seclusion in the mountains to hone his culinary skills, so he deliberately did this to create an information gap.

But despite all his calculations, he hadn't anticipated this.

Two important figures in the capital have already sent letters to Gu Jingzhou, informing him of the latest news.

Therefore, to Gu Jingzhou, his words were less useful than farts.

Xu Qinyun, standing to the side, chuckled softly.

"Judging from what Boss Liu said, Gao Yang is quite despicable."

She changed the subject.

"But where did you get this information from when you first met?"

These words were like a fishbone stuck in Liu Jianye's throat, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Old Gu also turned to look at him.

Liu Jinye felt cold sweat pouring down her back.

"This, this is what my subordinates told me. You know, they're all people in the catering industry. The circle is only so big, but their reputation has spread, right?"

He secretly rejoiced that at the last moment, he could still shift the blame to his subordinates.

"Yes, I think you're right."

Gu Jingzhou nodded deliberately.

Xu Qinyun, standing to the side, glanced at Gu Lao and understood his thoughts.

"Then we should really appreciate Gao Yang's work. I just hope he doesn't die too badly."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianye's wrinkles seemed to smooth out, and he was secretly delighted, almost unable to hide his smug smile.

That way, the task is mostly completed, and the money will come in.

Gu Jingzhou and Xu Qinyun glanced at him, shook their heads, and found it amusing.

Never mind, we can just wait and see the results.

They looked at the large screen at the top of the venue, where the faces of chefs were scrolling across the screen, and the images were projected in real time onto various televisions outside the venue.

Qin Wanshan sat at home, watching Liu Jianye's fat face flash across the television screen, and sneered repeatedly.

None of them could have guessed that they had already bribed the judges.

"Gao Yang, Gao Yang, I'm going to make you die here today."

However, all of this has nothing to do with Gao Yang anymore.

Gao Yang stood in front of the platform, moving nimbly.

He had already decided what dishes he wanted to cook.

Creamy Mushroom and Arctic Clam Pastry Box.

He took out the butter and flour, quickly sifted the low-gluten flour, added cold water, kneaded it into a smooth dough, added the butter, and continued kneading.

Adding butter makes the dough smoother. Roll it out into a thin sheet with a rolling pin and cut it into squares with a knife.

Puff pastry boxes are very difficult to make; if you're not careful, they won't puff up properly.

However, Gao Yang's movements were very swift.

After pressing the dough into a 1-millimeter-thin sheet, brush egg yolk onto the dough plate, stack three layers of puff pastry, and press out a bottom using a mold.

He laid the bottom of the box on the parchment paper next to him, then cut out a slightly smaller edge than the bottom of the box and stacked it on top. He then used a fork to poke a few small holes in the bottom of the pastry for ventilation.

After doing all that, he put the puff pastry into the oven in a flash, taking no more than 10 minutes.

"Boss Liu, is this the gambler you were talking about? He's got that kind of speed?"

Xu Qinyun turned to look at Liu Jianye, concealing the disdain in her eyes.

"this……"

"Maybe this kid just got lucky; that's probably all the skill he has."

Liu Jianye remained stubborn and refused to admit that Gao Yang had done a good job.

Xu Qinyun withdrew her gaze and looked at Gao Yang below the stage, her red lips slightly parted.

"Luck? Who's lucky enough to have flaky pastry form so quickly? Is this something you can learn just by luck?"

This sentence made Liu Jianye break out in a cold sweat.

He was an amateur to begin with, and it took him a lot of money to get this position. After getting the position, he did not improve his cooking skills, but instead continued his path of making money.

He was speechless for a moment and did not answer. He looked away, his eyes flickering, and smiled twice.

However, Xu Qinyun noticed that he gripped the prayer beads even tighter, and the sinister look in his eyes became even more pronounced.

"Heh heh, you little rascal."

Xu Qinyun sneered inwardly.

At this moment, Gao Yang was completely unaffected on the field.

After finishing the pastry box, he immediately went to process the Arctic surf clams.

Gao Yang put some chopped mushrooms into the pot, stir-fried them over high heat, added some water, and then added clams.

As the broth was heated over high heat, it gradually turned from colorless to white, and a rich aroma immediately filled the air.

The aroma also attracted the host.

The host slowly walked forward, pointing the microphone at Gao Yang.

Can Gao Yang reveal what you're going to do today?

Gao Yang smiled faintly.

"I want to make a classic French dish: Creamy Mushroom and Arctic Clam Pastry Box."

Perhaps the dish's name was too difficult to pronounce, as the host had to repeat it twice before getting it right. He then continued, "Judging from the name, it's a Western dish. Are you confident you can win the judges' favor?"

At this moment, Gao Yang suddenly smiled and looked at the high platform.

"That depends on the judges."

His smile seemed to contain so much, it was so meaningful.