Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　Then there's the red yeast rice, which you didn't add a single drop to. It represents the color of the lychee flesh, a dark reddish hue, telling people that the lychees are ripe.

　Bai Yuan briefly explained the drawbacks of the lychee flesh in front of him, and Liu Yu nodded seriously.

　She didn't ask Bai Yuan why he knew so much about Fuzhou cuisine, because in her mind, the leader was an omnipotent person.

　"Then, regarding these seven-star fish balls, I once ate at a pretty good one in Sanfang Qixiang. Yours wasn't stirred long enough, so it wasn't very springy... When stirring the fish, you need to use force and keep stirring, and add an appropriate amount of starch to increase elasticity."

　The last of the drunken spare ribs...

　Although Liu Yu had never cooked Fuzhou cuisine before, Bai Yuan's explanation was very professional, providing a thorough and insightful analysis that greatly benefited her.

　"I see. I misunderstood from the beginning. No wonder I could never do it well. Even though I broke through to the first-level cooking level, I was still stuck at the first-level cooking level."

　Liu Yu muttered to herself, then nodded seriously. Bai Yuan's vast knowledge had indeed taught her a lot; she really didn't know how he learned it...

　"It's good that you understand. First, you have to choose the right path before you have any reason to continue on it."

　Bai Yuan said meaningfully, "To learn to cook, you either follow a recipe or have a master chef guide you. Having a master chef guide you is the best, because recipes often hold back some details and don't explain things in great detail."

　Bai Yuan is now that old master.

　Chapter 242 Soma Yukihira's Creativity!

　"Liu Yu's opponent in this match is actually him."

　At the Youth Chef Competition, the host, microphone in hand, was enthusiastically creating a lively atmosphere. In the audience, Bai Yuan was momentarily stunned when he heard the host call out a name.

　The drone hovered in the sky and soon landed on Liu Yu and a red-haired boy.

　Sitting in the audience, Yoshino Yuuki and the others stared in astonishment, their mouths agape. Who else could it be but Yukihira Soma on the field?!

　"Ah! It's Yukihira! He's here to compete too! No wonder I haven't seen him for a while, he came to China to compete!"

　Yoshino Yuuki gazed at that familiar figure, and couldn't help but point in his direction, her voice filled with surprise, clearly not expecting him to appear here.

　"Indeed, after the semi-finals, Yukihira disappeared without a trace, even skipping several classes. I never expected him to come to China."

　Ryoko Sakaki was equally surprised, as they had initially speculated that Soma Yukihira's departure from Totsuki Academy was due to the blow of defeat.

　It now seems that he was indeed dealt a significant blow, which is why he traveled all the way to China to participate in the Young Chef Competition in hopes of redeeming himself.

　"Go for it, Yukihira! You lost to her in the semifinals, you can't afford to lose again this time! Show that girl what you're made of!"

　Takumi Aldini raised his hands in the audience, his face flushed with excitement and his handsome features radiating warmth.

　It was as if the person competing on stage at that moment wasn't Soma Yukihira, but him.

　"We meet again, Liu Yu."

　As the host spoke, Soma Yukihira looked at Liu Yu with a complicated expression, his voice somewhat restrained, but his face was filled with surging fighting spirit!

　Losing to her in the semifinals, a defeat by a significant margin, has been a source of pain for him for the past few months.

　During this time, he had been holding back a lot of anger and constantly honed his culinary skills, which is why he has grown to where he is today.

　Now, he is fearless!

　"It is true that we meet again. I never expected to see you here. You even passed the selection competition and entered the main competition. But you are destined to be my stepping stone!"

　Looking at Soma Yukihira, Liu Yu said coldly that she had a reason not to lose the match, and no matter who her opponent was, she would win!

　"Let's see who's a stepping stone after the competition. Just because you beat me once doesn't mean you can beat me every time!"

　Hearing the other party's arrogant words, Soma Yukihira clenched his fists, knowing that whatever he said would be powerless, after all, he had lost a match before.

　He was never afraid of failure; if he fell, he would just get back up, even if it meant getting a little dirty and tired. But he truly hated failure; that feeling of resentment would linger in his heart forever!

　"I admire your fighting spirit; that's the kind of vigor a young person should have. But some things can't be won just by having a high fighting spirit."

　"There's no point in saying more. Let's discuss the specifics after the competition!"

　After a heated debate, neither of them could convince the other. The only way to settle their minds now was to compete in the arena and determine a winner.

　Who will go up to draw lots?

　Looking at the roundabout not far away, Liu Yu said.

　"Let me do it."

　Without any hesitation, Soma Yukihira strode over to the place where the spinning wheel was, raised his arm, and used all his strength to make the wheel spin rapidly.

　The clear lettering gradually became blurry, and the speed suddenly increased.

　Quickly, it slowly descended and finally landed on the "pork".

　Seeing the two big characters on the turntable, Liu Yu's eyes lit up. She had just learned how to make lychee meat under Bai Yuan's guidance yesterday, and this might be a good opportunity!

　She had never underestimated Soma Yukihira. He was no weakling, and neither was she, so this was destined to be a fierce battle.

　Although using dishes prepared under Bai Yuan's guidance is suspected of being cheating, she must win this competition in order to make a name for herself, to make her father regret his actions, and to take everything from him!

　The flames in his eyes burned brighter and brighter, a surging fighting spirit that was almost solidifying. Liu Yu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were clear.

　Although she had a significant advantage in cooking, she did not forget that she could only choose ten ingredients in this competition, and three of them would be taken away by her opponent.

　In this situation, she must not let the other party discover her purpose, otherwise, if the ingredients she needs for cooking are taken away, she will have to find another way.

　At that point, her chances of winning will decrease exponentially.

　This kind of thing must not happen!

　"The theme of this competition is pork, a very common theme. It can be seen that both contestants are ready to go and are eager to try."

　Seeing the two guests locked in a fierce argument, the host smiled and then, holding the microphone, spoke passionately.

　At the same time, the staff also brought up the ingredients prepared for this dish.

　There are ten different kinds of pork alone, representing various cuts of meat from different parts of the pig. Pork belly, tenderloin, shoulder, thigh, ribeye... you name it, they have it.

　In addition, there are plenty of various vegetables, as well as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tomatoes, potatoes, and everything else you could want.

　It can be said that this is the most abundant battle the contestants have ever fought since the start of the Young Chefs Competition. Even if each person selects ten items, there are still quite a few left over.

　"I want pork belly."

　Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Yu chose pork belly, which she had used yesterday. Because it hadn't been aged properly, it was a bit greasy.

　However, now that we know about aging, we can overcome this shortcoming, perfectly interpret the dish, and thus get high scores from the judges.

　"Then I'll take the tenderloin."

　Instead of making a choice immediately, he looked at the ingredients in front of him and pondered for a moment. His brain worked quickly, and he soon came up with a dish.

　"Horse hoof".

　Seeing Yukihira Soma make his move, Liu Yu also sprang into action, quickly grabbing another crucial ingredient, water chestnuts.

　"Pork tenderloin...that's it, next up is the preserved egg!"

　Looking at the pork tenderloin that he had already taken, Soma Yukihira suddenly had a flash of inspiration and immediately took the preserved egg from the kitchen counter.

　"Century egg? What are you going to do with this...?"

　Liu Yu was puzzled, but her expression remained unchanged as she reached out and took the potato starch. Yukihira Soma, on the other hand, took the cornstarch from the side.

　Garlic, scallions, ginger, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and other seasonings became the subject of endless disputes between the two contestants. If you chose garlic, I'd take scallions; if you took ginger, I'd take balsamic vinegar...

　Back and forth they went, and soon both of them had obtained ten ingredients, entering the anchoring and mutual selection phase.

　What Liu Yu didn't notice was that after she finished selecting the ingredients, Soma Yukihira seemed to have confirmed something, and a smug smile appeared on his face.

　The ingredients she chose were so specific that even if he didn't notice it at first, he couldn't figure out what dish she was going to make.

　But after carefully observing the ingredients and seasonings Liu Yu chose, he still discovered the secret.

　Lychee pork, a famous dish from Fujian, is no stranger to him. He has tasted quite a few of them recently, some good and some bad.

　As for his methods, he had personally experienced them and knew their core secrets, which is why he was so confident at this moment and could make his own calculations.

　"The ingredient selection process is now complete."

　Contestant Soma Yukihira received pork tenderloin, preserved egg, salted duck egg, cornstarch, pepper, MSG, garlic, ginger, chicken egg, and goose egg.

　Yu, a contestant in the realm of bizarre cuisine, chose pork belly, water chestnuts, potato starch, balsamic vinegar, scallions, sugar, sesame oil, salt, peanut oil, and white vinegar.

　Now, both contestants should each select three ingredients, and then proceed to the mutual selection phase.

　The host walked around in front of the ingredients chosen by the two contestants, gave them a brief introduction, and then stood in the middle to begin the next segment.

　"That red-haired kid picked out so many eggs—chicken eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, even preserved eggs! Isn't this a pork-themed dish?"

　During this process, the audience saw that Soma Yukihira had selected a lot of eggs, and they couldn't help but discuss it, all curious about the dish he was going to make.

　"That contestant from the dark cuisine world seems to be preparing to make Fujian-style lychee pork, and the ingredients he has chosen are all related to lychee pork."

　However, there aren't many truly authentic local dishes in our area. Only long-established restaurants can guarantee the taste, because the recipe has been passed down through generations of chefs. Does she really know how to do it? And would her competitors offer her such favorable conditions?!

　In the culinary world, skilled chefs often hold back some techniques when teaching apprentices. This is because in the past, the saying "teaching an apprentice will starve the master" held true, so masters were unwilling to teach wholeheartedly.

　Over time, everyone tends to hold back their skills, resulting in subpar dishes. This has led to the closure of many long-established restaurants.

　In this situation, some large restaurants are seeking solutions to avoid going out of business.

　The ultimate solution is to have apprentices treat their masters with the same respect they would show to their fathers, giving a portion of their wages to their masters so that the masters can support themselves in their old age.

　This is not just empty talk, but a written agreement with legal effect. The restaurant acted as guarantor, which is why the craft has been passed down.

　"Her performance was too obvious, so it's normal that she was discovered. Now we'll see what ingredients she chooses and whether she's left herself an escape route. The most interesting thing about the Young Chef Competition is its subversion of expectations!"

　Someone spoke these words with a face full of fervor and eyes brimming with excitement.

　"subversion?"

　Someone nearby asked, puzzled.

　"That's right, it's about subversion. By taking away the opponent's ingredients, we disrupt the dishes that the opponent has already planned, forcing them to make other dishes that they are not good at, or dishes that have just been developed."

　In other words, it's about subverting the other person's thinking by taking away the ingredients.

　Someone familiar with the rules explained that the main competition of the Young Chefs Competition tests a chef's ability to adapt to changing circumstances, not their ability to memorize recipes.

　Even if a dish is perfected, if the required ingredients are insufficient, it cannot be replicated according to the original recipe.

　If you don't have strong adaptability and can change the recipe in time to create dishes that surpass your opponent's, you will still lose the game.

　"Skilled chefs often leave themselves an escape route. Even if the ingredients they need are taken by their opponents, they can use the remaining ingredients to make a dish of similar quality, instead of putting all their eggs in one basket, which would make the dish too heavy."

　Another audience member spoke up, saying that this rule has an advantage for contestants from Fujian because they have prior knowledge of it and have relevant experience in handling it.

　This is also to ensure the province's qualification rate.

　Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing for our province to lose first place in a competition to someone from another province.

　"I see. When you reveal everything about yourself, that's when defeat is inevitable. It's hard for someone whose cooking is guessed to win."

　Upon hearing this, the audience, who had been puzzled, finally understood. This was the Youth Chef Competition, a place that truly tested a chef's skills! It was impossible to keep winning simply by memorizing recipes and knowing a few dishes.

　It tests a chef's creativity, whether they can fully master a dish, improve upon it, and turn others' creations into their own.

　"You should choose the object to anchor to first."

　Liu Yu also noticed the problem at this moment. Although she was very careful, her cooking was still discovered. A hint of panic flashed across her face under the mask, but she still tried to remain calm and wanted Yukihira Soma to choose the anchor first.

　This would give her more advantages.

　"Ladies first, please go first."

　Soma Yukihira was humble, but his eyes held a hint of shrewdness. The battle of wits between the culinary arts was a crucial part of the competition, even capable of determining the outcome.

　"These are traditions from many years ago; the new era doesn't emphasize these things."

　"How about this: let's take a piece of paper, write down the ingredients we're targeting, and then have the host read them out. No one should try to take advantage of anyone else."

　Seeing Soma Yukihira's expression, Liu Yu immediately understood that arguing with him was a waste of time, so he offered a fair suggestion.

　"I have no problem with that, let's do it this way."

　Soma Yukihira nodded in agreement without hesitation, saying that this was the most appropriate course of action at present, and that dragging it out any longer would only be a waste of time.

　Soon, the staff brought paper and pen, and both parties wrote down the ingredients they wanted on the paper and then handed it to the host.

　"It doesn't feel as smooth as before; it's so hesitant to anchor an ingredient."

　Seeing Soma Yukihira and Liu Yu like this, some viewers couldn't help but compare them to the previous two matches and started to complain.

　"You don't know anything. This is what a competition is all about. The previous ones were all underestimating their opponents. Under normal circumstances, the selection and use of every ingredient should be done with utmost care, since it will affect the subsequent dishes and requires careful consideration."

　"That's not entirely true. Perhaps the previous contestants were of a higher level and knew what they needed from the beginning."