Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 361 - 360: The Debate on Philosophy

Chapter 361: Chapter 360: The Debate on Philosophy

"Did it pass?"

Upon hearing the young chef ask this question, everyone pricked up their ears.

"Pass?"

Qiushan Hong, Indira, and Shinohara Shigetaro were taken aback and shook their heads simultaneously.

"What’s going on?"

Xia Yu remained calm, but the audience certainly did not, causing a stir, especially among the Far Moon student and teacher groups, many of whom were already in distress, covering their heads.

However, the guest seats were unusually silent.

Professional chefs understood better—had the dish that indulged the judges so addictively actually fell short?

Yuchuan Ayaka stood up and seemed in no mood to sit back down; the chefs around her no longer cast respectful glances her way. Everyone held their breath, fixating on the young chef on stage, as steady as Mount Tai.

"I don’t want to give your dish its final evaluation right now..."

Qiushan Hong shook his head, met Xia Yu’s probing gaze, and smiled with interest, "I’m more curious about how you integrated the ’Almond Cabbage,’ a fantasy vegetable, into the medicinal porridge without a single trace of vegetable leaf..."

Upon hearing this.

Xia Yu was taken aback, "Isn’t it rather simple? I first chopped up this fantasy vegetable, wrapped it securely in a clean cloth, and when the porridge was set to simmer on low heat, I then dropped it into the pot."

Hearing this explanation, the three judges looked at each other.

"Is it strange? When cooking vegetable broth, to avoid the hassle of filtering out ingredients, it’s also quite common to use a mesh cloth to bag the ingredients before adding them to the pot, right?"

With a twitch of his lips, Qiushan Hong said, "Just that simple? No secret to the integration? Mind you, I’m talking about integration. Why were you so bold as to incorporate such a fantasy vegetable into your medicinal recipe?"

"’Almond Cabbage,’ a type of wild vegetable, belongs to the cruciferous family."

Xia Yu casually mentioned the medicinal properties of the cabbage.

"Just like ordinary cabbage, it’s neutral in nature and sweet in flavor, attributed to the spleen and stomach meridians, with a high value in dietotherapy; it nourishes bone marrow and moisturizes the organs. Moreover, regularly consuming cabbage is beneficial for skin beauty, preventing skin pigmentation, reducing freckles in youth, and delaying the appearance of age spots. It ranks second in the food materials recommended by the World Health Organization..."

Listening, Qiushan Hong’s forehead began to show a dark line, and he hurriedly gestured to cut off Xia Yu’s lengthy discussion.

"Stick to the main point!"

"The point is, how did you integrate ’Almond Cabbage’ into the porridge?"

He was on tenterhooks, his gaze towards Xia Yu tinged with some reproach.

Astute audience members and professional chefs were beginning to sense something amiss. Qiushan Hong suddenly focused on the ’Almond Cabbage,’ seemingly completely forgetting about ’Jile Rice,’ the primary ingredient.

"Four Gods Porridge, with coix seeds, lotus seeds, gorgon fruit, and poria, added with cabbage and almond flavor, how did you blend them?" In his impatience, Qiushan simply got straight to the point.

"Structure!"

Xia Yu uttered these two words, "Lord Qiushan, its integration, just like with ’Jile Rice,’ follows the same principle!"

"That’s not right!"

Shinohara Shigetaro interjected from the side, "The way you subdued ’Jile Rice’ relied not just on structure, but also on that extraordinary pastry chef technique and your consistently superior control of heat..."

"Exactly! The violent flames, the adept White Snake!" Indira chimed in, "It was truly subdued by skill! Structure was secondary!"

"No, no!"

Qiushan Hong shook his head, "In my opinion, the structure is the brightest highlight of this medicinal porridge dish!"

Indira and Shinohara Shigetaro argued their points forcefully.

At this juncture, the three judges on the review panel clearly divided into two camps.

Yet strangely, the judges were not arguing about the dish’s qualification, but rather, insisted on their own critiques, vehemently debating what they considered the brightest highlight of the medicinal porridge.

"Fire control and stirring techniques are the Dragon Subduing Stick!" Indira scoffed.

"Structure!"

Qiushan Hong was feeling a bit agitated, uncharacteristic for the usually graceful man. His right hand’s fingers were tapping back and forth on the judging table, constantly shaking his head, "Techniques cannot be replicated! But structures can! This is also the biggest highlight of Chef Xia’s medicinal porridge. Even if other chefs don’t possess Chef Xia’s skills, they can still recreate the dish to the greatest extent possible by following the structure of the recipe!"

"I said..."

Indira was annoyed.

A male and a female Lin Chef, on the verge of bursting into an argument, ready to engage in a culinary battle at the slightest disagreement.

Xia Yu and Chiyoda Aichi looked on from the stage, dumbfounded.

Originally Shinohara Shigetaro was part of the debate as well, but when the two Lin Chefs took over the main melody, he could only quietly back out, exchanging perplexed looks with Xia Yu.

"Let’s stop here!"

Suddenly, a dull and aged voice stopped what was about to escalate into a massive conflict.

This was a battle of philosophies.

Qiushan Hong clearly stood on the side of culinary structure, taking a more holistic perspective.

And Indira, known as the contemporary Spice Empress, naturally emphasized techniques and experience first, then formulas and structures; she naturally stood on the side of technique.

"General, sir!"

Chiyoda Aichi exclaimed with surprise.

The Far Moon Commander, the ’Food Demon King’ of Neon Food World, had unknowingly appeared, arms crossed, standing below the judging platform.

"This old man..." Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

With the leading figure of the Neon Food World stepping forward, the situation was easier to control.

Sure enough.

Qiushan Hong and Indira had no choice but to stop and slightly bow their heads to Tiqie Xianzuowen.

Muttering with lips moving quickly, Qiushan Hong also knew his recent behavior was unbecoming, but he believed he was not wrong—just as during the Warring States period, thriving philosophies battled; what was a debate or a culinary duel in comparison? It was all too common.

Fortunately, being in the same organizational system, they did not tear each other apart. If the opponent had been a Lin Chef from the ’Gourmet Society’ or the Dark Cuisine World, Qiushan Hong might not have been able to control his desire for a culinary duel.

Hmph!

Indira snorted coldly, turning her head away.

For the audience, the sight of a panel of judges, originally united but disassembling over a single bowl of porridge, left them utterly baffled.

The venue had fallen eerily silent.

Tiqie Xianzuowen shook his head, his wooden clogs tapping crisply against the floor.

He walked straight to the cart where a clay pot was placed, lifting the wooden cover that sealed it.

"Wow—"

Smelling the scent bursting out like an angry dragon, Tiqie Xianzuowen’s eyes twitched, the scar running through his right eye appearing more ferocious.

"May I try it?" asked the Far Moon Commander, giving Xia Yu a sparkling look.

"Of course, please do!"

Xia Yu was slightly taken aback, then quickly made a welcoming gesture on the stage.

Immediately, a female staff member from the kitchen utensil management rushed over, handing Tiqie Xianzuowen a clean bowl and spoon, ready to scoop up the porridge for the Far Moon Commander, but was stopped by a wave of his hand.

"I’ll do it myself."

Tiqie Xianzuowen took the large spoon, scooped it into the clay pot, and soon a large spoonful of condensed milk porridge filled the porcelain bowl.

Hmm?

His hand trembled, and the large spoon dropped into the clay pot.

The porridge that came out of the pot had transformed, and Tiqie Xianzuowen bowed his head to observe closely, his eyes filled with a color named astonishment.