Food Wars, my food not only glows!

　During the stewing process, these oils permeate the entire dish, blending with the other ingredients to infuse every sip of the rich broth with a nutty aroma.

　As she savored the rich broth and the unique texture of the nut-based vegetarian beef, Jin Lanyu's face lit up with enjoyment.

　"These two go so well together! They complement each other perfectly."

　As Lia tasted it, she nodded in agreement. The dish was undeniably delicious; the flavor of the nut-based vegetarian beef blended perfectly with the broth, influencing each other to achieve a synergistic effect.

　"Boom~"

　A drumbeat sounded, and the scene instantly fell silent. The skillful old woman strolled over to the group, glanced at the dishes on the plates, and began to speak:

　"All tastings are now complete. We will now proceed to the scoring stage. Please score the work of your two competitors (excluding yourself) out of a maximum of 10 points and write your scores down."

　At the same time, several staff members came up and placed scrolls and brushes in front of Jin Lanyu, Amu, and Kakuzaki Taki, respectively, so that they could rate each other's dishes.

　As for Leah, because she misunderstood the question from the beginning, she did not participate in the cooking scoring and was directly disqualified from the competition.

　Logically, she should have left after the defeat, but Bai Yuan had just agreed to lend her the dragon-shaped armband, so she chose to stay and leave after the competition ended.

　Needless to say, Bai Yuan's cooking is beyond the comprehension of these people, let alone their ability to judge others. Frankly, it's not very meaningful.

　This assessment is more about evaluating each other among the contestants.

　It is important for master chefs to see if they can correctly understand themselves and have the ability to properly evaluate the work of others.

　"score..."

　Looking at the scroll in front of him and the ink-stained brush, Amu leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, a look of struggle on his face.

　"To properly evaluate others' work, both of these works are excellent. If that's the case, then I think this score is the fairest..."

　Without much hesitation, Kakuzaki Taki closed his eyes to savor the taste of the dish he had just prepared, and then opened them to begin writing on the scroll.

　"In that case, then..."

　Jin Lanyu closed her eyes and pondered for a long time before finally picking up her brush and writing a six on the scroll, and a four on the other.

　"Okay, now hand in your scores."

　After watching the three of them finish writing the contents of the scroll, the skillful old woman instructed the servants around her to collect all the marks and put them into a small box.

　"Please wait here for the announcement."

　After saying this, the skillful old woman left the competition venue with her two servants, leaving the others looking at each other in bewilderment.

　Do we really need to go back and tally these few scores separately? Is it just for the sake of ritual?

　"Kakuzaki-senpai, everything should be alright, right..."

　As the skillful old woman left, Kikuchi Sonoka, who had been watching from a distance, came up and looked in the direction of Kakuzaki Taki with a worried expression.

　Although Kakuzaki-senpai performed very well at Totsuki Academy, this

　After all, Guangzhou is the city with the highest level of difficulty in the special-grade assessment!

　Those who can stand here are all top-notch chefs; it would be incredibly difficult to defeat them.

　"Gudu..."

　Kakuzaki Taki swallowed hard, feeling extremely nervous. She wasn't even this nervous when she was competing with Yueyue for the first seat of the Elite Ten.

　The same applies to others; despite being very confident in their cooking, the waiting process is undoubtedly agonizing.

　This was also the skillful grandmother's purpose: to help the group recognize their own shortcomings while waiting, and through anxious anticipation, to recall their own deficiencies in cooking.

　After the recollection ends, you will make some progress, which can be considered the final reward of this top-level assessment!

　the other side.

　Bai Yuan was also resting with his eyes closed, but compared to the others, he appeared relaxed and at ease, because he already knew who the final winner would be.

　With his superhuman sense of taste, he could easily tell the difference between good and bad food, and the difference between the three people in front of him was not small.

　Chapter Seventy: The Crown of Kings, the Badge of Glory

　"Boom~"

　A crisp gong sound startled the crowd who were slumped over the table. They looked up and around, finally gathering on the city tower in the direction of the skillful old woman.

　"I will now announce the total scores of the three of you."

　As soon as the skillful old woman finished speaking, Kakuzaki Taki, Amu, and Jin Lanyu all stood up, their hearts racing in unison, their eyes fixed on the city tower.

　next moment.

　Three staff members dragged the white banner onto the city wall and then let go, causing the banner to cascade down like a waterfall.

　Jade Fourteen

　泷八

　Wood Eleven

　"Jin Lanyu, a Hunan cuisine chef, scores 14 points."

　"Chaoweifang Amu, eleven points."

　"Japanese chef Kakuzaki Taki, 8/10"

　The skillful old woman's voice came from the city tower, announcing everyone's scores from high to low.

　"Eight points? I only got eight points...?"

　Looking at the score in front of him, Kakuzaki Taki swayed, like a deflated balloon, and almost fell over, but was fortunately caught by Shiro in time.

　At this moment, her face was filled with resentment, but she didn't say much. She just looked at the other two people, wondering why her score was so low.

　"Your dish uses innovative nut-based vegetarian beef and also incorporates soybean pulp to enhance the texture."

　But you forgot the most important point: removing the beany smell from the soybean pulp. Only soybean pulp with the beany smell removed can be made into qualified vegetarian beef! Otherwise, it's just vegetarian meat that tastes like beans!

　Noticing the questioning look from Kakuzaki Taki, Jin Lanyu explained that this dish was excellent in every aspect.

　The only downside is the beany smell!

　Although very faint, even overpowered by other spices in the dish, a subtle discord can still be felt upon closer tasting.

　And that's why she gave it a low score!

　If this slight beany smell can be removed, the vegetarian beef will taste perfect.

　She could give this dish a score of six or higher, but as for a higher score... that's beyond what Kakuzaki Taki can achieve right now.

　The basic skills and craftsmanship are still lacking.

　"Beany smell?"

　"That's right. You probably just boil the soy milk and then use the soy pulp directly. That won't work; it will leave a lot of beany taste."

　Seeing the questioning look that Kakuzaki Taki gave him, Bai Yuan nodded slightly to indicate that Jin Lanyu was right.

　"Actually, it's simple to remove this beany smell. Heat the soy milk containing soy pulp to a boil and keep it boiling for a while. This will deactivate the lipoxygenase and cause the beany smell components in the soy pulp to evaporate."

　After boiling, skim off the foam using a fine-mesh sieve, then repeat the process several times by adding cold water and bringing it to a boil again to further remove the beany taste. Simply boiling it and using only the bean dregs will not remove the beany taste.

　After a simple explanation, Bai Yuan was somewhat surprised.

　After all, Kakuzaki Taki used soybean pulp to make vegetarian beef, so how could he forget the most basic step of removing the beany smell? It felt like a child who knows multiplication but doesn't know addition.

　"I see. It seems I was careless."

　Upon hearing Bai Yuan's explanation, Kakuzaki Taki suddenly realized what was happening, and a clear sense of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

　She learned the technique of making vegetarian beef from soybean residue from Jin Lanyu, but because of the distance, she only learned the general idea and did not learn the method of removing the beany smell.

　It seems that what is not hers will never be hers. After all, she doesn't have super vision, so it's impossible for her to grasp all of the other person's skills with just her eyes.

　Thinking of this, Taki Kakuzaki felt much better.

　She never had any ambition to achieve instant success; she just had some doubts. Now that those doubts have been resolved, she is completely at ease.

　"My score was actually eleven points, which is about what I expected. In this master chef assessment, I was indeed not as good as you."

　Looking at his score, Iron Arm Amu smiled bitterly as he looked in Jin Lanyu's direction, his eyes revealing a gloomy expression.

　Without a doubt, he lost this time.

　Although he really wanted to give Jin Lanyu a low score to make his own score stand out, he held back in the end.

　Because he didn't want to play this game.

　Such despicable means, even if he wins the final victory, will not make him happy, and it is not in line with his style!

　Although he wanted to win the honor of being a master chef, he wanted to impress the taste buds of the judges and his competitors with his honest and skillful cooking!

　"Your dish, while delicious and perfectly fitting the theme, is too ordinary and lacks creativity. The taste isn't so amazing that it makes people overlook this point."

　Therefore, I can only give you a relatively average score, which is the fairest evaluation I can give you.

　Hearing Amu's sentiments, Jin Lanyu couldn't help but explain that she gave scores based on reason and evidence, rather than giving them randomly.

　"I understand. In terms of creativity, I probably can't even compare to that little girl."

　This competition made me acutely aware of my lack of imagination. Next, I will travel, improve my skills, learn more techniques, and return in a year to participate in the top-level assessment here.

　Iron-Armed Amu slung his luggage over his shoulder and faced his failure with composure. Thinking about it carefully, perhaps this was the reason why the skillful old lady had them score each other.

　This will enable them to truly understand themselves.

　"Well said. It seems you have indeed gained a lot from this top-level assessment. I hope you will continue to work hard, improve yourself, and come back next year."

　The skillful old woman happened to come down from the city tower and then heard Amu's words. Seeing his calm acceptance of failure, she felt a little gratified.

　Throughout history, countless people have been blinded by this master chef's obsession, unwilling to give up no matter what. They have even resorted to despicable means such as deliberately giving low scores or poisoning.

　Thinking of some of the chefs who had come to the competition for the previous food contest, a complex expression appeared on the skillful old lady's face.

　In comparison, a chef like Amu, who is willing to admit that he is not as good as another person, is truly invaluable!

　As long as nothing unexpected happens, such a person will definitely become a master chef one day, because he has the qualifications.

　"I will, then I will take my leave now."

　Nodding to the skillful old woman, Amu left the competition arena through a side door with his luggage, without watching the awarding of the top chef title, as that would only add to his sadness.

　Watching Amu's departing figure, the people present fell silent. However, because of Bai Yuan, they did not leave and remained silently in place.

　At this moment, the sky was already beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

　"Chef Jin Lanyu, you have performed very well so far, so now I will give you two the final challenge."

　The skillful old lady's voice rang out at the scene, attracting the attention of others. Putting everything else aside, it's always good to gain some experience by watching the process.

　"The final question."

　Jin Lanyu clenched her fists, her face filled with determination, and looked directly into the eyes of the skillful old woman without any hesitation, waiting for her to ask a question.

　"I understand that you can rationally judge other people's work, so in the end, please give your own work a score."

　The skillful old woman glanced back at them calmly and said this.

　People are most likely to fail to see themselves clearly, and this is the most difficult question in the master chef assessment. If you answer it slightly wrong, all your previous efforts will be in vain!

　The moment she finished speaking, several staff members placed a table and chairs, as well as the vegetarian beef-flavored grilled meat made by Jin Lanyu, in front of her.

　Silence fell; the atmosphere in the room suddenly became quiet.

　Jin Lanyu sat down, crossed her arms and closed her eyes slightly, but kept tapping her fingers on her arm, proving that her heart was also full of complex emotions.

　Not only her, but the expressions of the people watching around her were also not so good.

　"The final stage of the top-level assessment is actually about scoring yourself! This question is simply against human nature. How many points do you need to score to pass?!"

　Kakuzaki Taki's face showed an ugly expression. He muttered to himself next to Shirai Ayumi, wondering what score he would give his own dish if he were in that position, and whether the score would be recognized by the Guangzhou Culinary Association.

　If one doesn't receive recognition, does that mean they directly lose the qualification to become a master chef?

　That's way too cruel!

　"Okay, give me your answer."

　"This time, you used soybeans to make a non-beef product, which was first fried, then braised, and then roasted. It perfectly simulated all the flavors of beef and boldly and successfully expressed the theme of beef that is not beef."

　The mushrooms sandwiched between two slices of vegetarian beef added texture to the skewer, and the crispy fried potatoes were simply irresistible.

　The skillful old woman walked up to Jin Lanyu, looking at the untouched dishes on her table with a hint of scrutiny in her eyes.

　"Jin Lanyu".