Chef Hua
Chapter 356: Episode 202: Cooking Battle (Part 3)

Chapter 356: Episode 202: Cooking Battle (Part 3)

The surrounding spectators, most of whom were familiar with Hua Xiaomai, saw Han Fengzhi, clad in white and exuding a gentle and refined air, for the first time. They gathered around, whispering among themselves, only to suddenly fall silent upon hearing that the contest was about to begin. In the spacious hall, not a sound was to be heard all at once.

"I feel the same way. Since both people and materials are ready, there’s no need to delay," Hua Xiaomai smiled at Han Fengzhi and casually took the apron Chun Xi handed to her and put it on. When she turned around, she saw that he was still leisurely rolling up his sleeves, even carefully dusting off his spotless white garment.

Hua Xiaomai held her tongue for a while but finally couldn’t resist. She crept closer and lowered her voice, "There’s something I’ve wanted to ask since last year’s Eight Treasures Conference, and I hope you won’t find it abrupt—do you not worry about getting your pristine white clothes dirty when cooking? Isn’t it hard to clean them?"

Han Fengzhi was momentarily startled, then smiled, his lips pursing as he raised his hand beside his face and whispered, "It can’t be helped. Competition is fierce in Provincial City. You have to come up with something to make an impression and attract customers. This white outfit is my signature. Honestly, I find it cumbersome myself, but there’s no helping it!"

"Pfft!" Hua Xiaomai couldn’t help but burst out laughing, then realized how inappropriate their laughter was for such a tense moment and quickly cleared her throat, resuming a serious tone, "I haven’t yet asked you what the rules of this contest are, exactly?"

Han Fengzhi also put his smile away and nodded, "For a chef, the most important skills are knife work, heat control, and seasoning. I will compete with you on these three elements. We will use the same ingredients and follow the same processes. It will be clear at a glance who is superior and who is inferior."

With that, he signaled a servant who had come with him from Fuzhe County to bring up the vegetables and meats to the table, adding, "As for the stakes of this culinary showdown, there should be something wagered, don’t you think? How about this? The loser, decided by us, will pay for the ingredients. Does that sound good to you?"

Hua Xiaomai glanced at the table, reassured by the variety of common, non-exotic ingredients, and confidently said, "I can’t compare with Boss Han in terms of wealth, but I can just about afford these ingredients. Let’s do it this way."

"Very well," Han Fengzhi nodded and smiled, "Then let’s start with knife skills. Use the Horse Ear Knife Skill for the mushrooms, the Elephant Eye Knife Skill for the ham, chop the scallions and ginger finely, slice the squid ornately, and as for the cucumber, you surely know without me saying, to handle it with the Suo Yi Knife Skill. We’ll see who can finish first without time constraints. Whoever finishes first wins this round."

As he spoke, he picked up a brilliantly sharpened kitchen knife, spun it in his palm, and with a couple of swift movements, he made the metal gleam, as if dancing blossoms of light.

"Incredible..." Zhou Yunyun, who was standing behind Hua Xiaomai, stared in awe, tugging at Hua Xiaomai’s sleeve and whispered urgently, "Master, you must know this skill too. When will you teach me?"

"...Shut up." Hua Xiaomai turned and gave her a sharp look, then without wasting more time, grabbed a knife and placed a squid on the cutting board.

In the following moments, to describe the hall as filled with "flashes of blades and shadows of swords" might not be an exaggeration.

Han Fengzhi, whose knife skills seemed to have been honed from an unknown source, moved with extreme grace and beauty. His kitchen knife flew through the air like a butterfly, accompanied by a flashing white light. Soon, the bench was piled high with neatly chopped ingredients;

Compared to him, Hua Xiaomai’s movements were undoubtedly more pragmatic. From start to finish, her knife never left the cutting board, her speed equally fast, and the crisp "tick, tick, tick" of her knife was incessant as various vegetables and meats transformed under her hands, quickly stacking up in thick layers.

The onlookers felt their eyes weren’t fast enough, watching one and missing another, their gazes shuttling between the two competitors, their eyeballs nearly popping out. Ke Zhenwu, sitting nearby, stretched his neck and dared not blink, Meng Yuhuai stood behind him, his brows knitting and then relaxing. As for Chun Xi and La Mei, they had covered their mouths, fearing that they would accidentally shout out loud at a crucial moment.

Around half a stick of incense in time, both competitors nearly stopped their movements simultaneously. If one were really to scrutinize, Han Fengzhi was perhaps a fraction quicker.