Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 196 - 195: Completely Different Philosophies

Chapter 196: Chapter 195: Completely Different Philosophies

"President Dojima?"

Shigong Xiaoci Lang was taken aback as he looked at the newcomer, glanced over Xia Yu, pushed up his glasses, and said, "Instructor Xia, has the task on your side finished already?"

"Yes, my task was time-limited to two hours."

Xia Yu said, sweeping a glance over the kitchen and noting that every student at each cooking station was fully absorbed, some even glancing at him and Dojima Yin but then immediately disregarding them, immersed in their culinary world.

Tsk tsk.

Xia Yu had anticipated this.

To make a Nine Treasures Vegetable French Freeze in three hours was a tight schedule; the students would be seeing ghosts if they had the leisure to greet them.

"Chef Shigong, may I take a look at your recipe?" Xia Yu was quite interested in French cuisine, after all, he couldn’t afford to specialize too much. There’s a well-known saying: the stones from other hills may serve to polish the jade. Understanding and learning the culinary arts from other realms was definitely beneficial to him.

Shigong Xiaoci Lang passed him his own copy of the recipe.

"Indeed, it is quite intricate!"

Just by glancing over it casually, Xia Yu frowned.

The recipe called for nine types of vegetables: cucumber, okra, zucchini, carrot, green asparagus, white asparagus, baby corn, cauliflower, and cabbage.

Each vegetable required different handling. For example, the core had to be removed from the cabbage, boiled in a pot, stripped down to whole leaves, rolled out flat with a rolling pin to act as the outermost wrapping of the dish.

Chicken feet for making chicken broth, each vegetable cut into strips...

The most time-consuming step was chilling the dish in the refrigerator just before completion until the vegetables set.

Having read through it, Xia Yu estimated that he could make a qualified ’Nine Treasures Vegetable French Freeze’ within three hours following the recipe without any problem.

This was a test of the students’ foundational skills.

If the foundational skills were up to par, passing would be of no issue.

Another half hour passed, and students began submitting their dishes one after another, waiting for Chef Shigong’s evaluation.

Xia Yu and Dojima Yin were mere onlookers, with Xia Yu even pondering how to modify Chef Shigong’s recipe to make it his own.

That was until a voice startled him.

"Tanaka Hikari, not qualified!"

"Sen Tian Makoto, not qualified!"

Shigong Xiaoci Lang sat casually with his legs crossed on a small sofa, indifferently making his judgement, and then, setting down his fork, pointed outside the kitchen door, "Thanks for your hard work. The two of you, withdrawal—"

Tanaka Hikari and Sen Tian Makoto, holding their plates, both had blank expressions on their faces.

"Please...could I ask!"

Tanaka Hikari gathered her courage, her face covered in sweat, "Why, why is my dish not qualified?"

Sen Tian Makoto’s hands, holding her plate, were also trembling.

If this had been in the past, her performance might not have been better than Tanaka Hikari’s, but now, Xia Yu, who was standing behind the sofa, cast a reassuring gaze her way. Sen Tian Makoto suddenly realized that even if she really were expelled, she would not be lost and clueless as if the sky had fallen; at most, she’d just be back to the starting point three years ago. Similarly, someone was behind her, supporting her to move forward.

"Want to know why?"

Chef Shigong glanced sideways and said lightly, "You both have one problem—you altered my recipe without permission!"

"Altered... without permission?" Tanaka Hikari pursed her lips.

"You both used inferior cauliflower, and when you boiled it in water, you used ’white wine vinegar’, right?"

"A very nice idea, using vinegar, which has bleaching properties, to maintain the beautiful color of the cauliflower, and at the same time, the seasoning incorporated vinegar to make the sweetness of the cauliflower more prominent. The sweetness of the entire Vegetable French Freeze and the faint sourness of the vinegar blend into a harmonious flavor..."

Chef Shigong was not criticizing but lavishly praising, with affirmation evident in his tone.

"The two of you, both have flashes of similar wisdom, very good." He pushed up his glasses, lowered his head, yet the curve of his mouth was unusually stern.

"But why..." Tanaka Hikari’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

"Who said you could modify my recipe?!"

The tone suddenly turned harsh.

"Does any part of my recipe mention ’making use of sourness’?" Shigong Xiaoci Lang said coldly, "The dish you made is not at all what my recipe calls for. Since you have turned in something that doesn’t meet the topic’s requirements, you’re obviously ’unqualified’!"

"Are you convinced now?"

He glared at Tanaka Hikari and Sen Tian Makki.

"Convinced my ass——"

An inopportune voice interrupted the conversation.

Xingping Chuangzhen appeared from behind, "I can’t be convinced! It’s because the ingredients were mixed with subpar cauliflower that Xiao Hui and Morioka were forced to modify your recipe!"

"In the end, I think mixing the subpar cauliflower into the ingredients was a dereliction of duty on your part as the chef in charge!" Xingping Chuangzhen crossed his arms and looked at Shigong Xiaoci Lang behind the table.

"You brat, is that the tone you use to speak to me? Huh?" Shigong Xiaoci Lang angrily slammed the table and stood up, "It seems you don’t quite understand the situation of the task. Let me tell you the truth, the subpar cauliflower was indeed intentionally mixed into the ingredients by me to reduce the number of those passing. What about it?"

The cooking room fell silent in an instant. The students lined up at the back widened their eyes in astonishment.

It was too unbelievable.

To intentionally set a trap in the ingredients for the students to fall into.

Dojima Yin broke the silence, "Cauliflower exemplifies the characteristics of being ’prone to oxidation,’ ’easily damaged,’ and ’difficult to cook.’ It requires utmost care when handling."

Shigong Xiaoci Lang said, "Therefore, those idiots who couldn’t identify the subpar ingredients and those idiots who were too slow to get the good ingredients should all be expelled!"

"But Morioka and Xiao Hui exercised creativity to compensate for the flaws in the ingredients. You just praised them for it..." Xingping Chuangzhen frowned.

"Listen, I am the chef here; how could I possibly allow a kitchen assistant to freely modify the recipe I created!"

Shigong Xiaoci Lang glared furiously at Xingping Chuangzhen, "If you talk back to me again, I’ll use my authority as the chef to expel you too!"

"What did you say?!"

Xingping Chuangzhen was upset, not about to back down but ready to argue further.

"Let’s end this farce right now——"

Xia Yu, having watched the whole drama, finally spoke up.

"Hmm?"

Tanaka Hikari, Sen Tian Makki, Xingping Chuangzhen, including the irate Shigong Xiaoci Lang, all looked towards the young guest instructor who’d been silent all this time.

"Chef Shigong, I’m sorry, but I also question your evaluation of Tanaka Hikari and Sen Tian Makki," Xia Yu said calmly.

A vein popped on his forehead, Shigong Xiaoci Lang snorted, "Why?"

Xia Yu spoke leisurely, "Because as I see it, recipes are meant to be modified!"

"What!"

Shigong Xiaoci Lang stared at him.

"No recipe is set in stone," Xia Yu explained quietly, laying out his philosophy as a chef, "A recipe is nothing more than a crystallization of a chef’s wisdom, but the creator of the recipe is limited in their abilities, thus as the recipe is passed down, it will inevitably undergo changes by those who learn it. Even if we don’t include others, the creators themselves will look back and adjust their old recipes as their skills improve. Right?"

"There’s no supreme recipe, only the right recipe!"

"So starting from this point, my evaluation of Tanaka Hikari and Sen Tian Makki is completely opposite to yours. They’re not only qualified but will also be listed among my exceptional performers," Xia Yu said.

Heh.

At those words, Shigong Xiaoci Lang fell silent for a moment, then abruptly sat back on the sofa. He crossed his hands under his chin and a cruel smile curled at the corners of his mouth, "But I am the guest instructor of this class. I’m sorry, but my evaluation of them is ’unqualified! Expelled!’"

"So... challenge me to a Shokugeki (food battle)!"