Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 412 - 411: Astonishing Learning Speed

Chapter 412: Chapter 411: Astonishing Learning Speed

All four judges had given their comments.

Ichise Hui, Kobayakawa Ryodan, Morioka Makoto, and Niho Hizaki were all shocked by the progress of Tiqie Eriina.

Her dish, the "Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage," was flawless in the mouths of all four.

Perfect culinary skills!

Paired with two entirely different kinds of Chef’s Heart Marks, a complete novelty in freshness!

In the end, including Tiqie Eriina, everyone turned to Xia Yu, who was pensively supporting his chin.

"Ahem!"

Xia Yu said, "Let me make the concluding remarks then!"

The system’s score for this "Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage" was 85, i.e., an 85% completion rate.

So, the dish wasn’t absolutely perfect.

"First, let’s talk about the problems with the culinary skills."

"Heat control!" Xia Yu raised a finger and said, "My recipe requires two separate heating processes, one for baking, another for steaming. The baking part had the right timing, but the heat wasn’t evenly distributed, as I felt the bamboo shoots were overly dried and lost their crisp texture."

Then he raised a second finger.

"Following the heat control comes the spices. In my recipe, the skill in handling heat and spices are equally important."

He looked into Eriina’s eyes, earnest and brimming with joy, as he commented with a smile.

In the realm of spices, you’ve already entered the door, and you’re rapidly advancing towards the level of a spice expert," he said, pausing for a moment. Xia Yu wasn’t quite certain, "However, it seems you’ve altered my spice formula by adding a soft spice to the mix, making the Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage an even more lingering taste while being chewed..."

"Yes, I added a bit of Dried Tangerine Peel powder, just a tiny bit!"

Tiqie Eriina proudly tilted her pale chin, clearly signaling Xia Yu to praise her.

"Dried Tangerine Peel powder?"

Xia Yu couldn’t help but clap. "A little Dried Tangerine Peel powder indeed doesn’t break the structure of the spices but instead enhances the aftertaste. It looks like I’ll have to update my original recipe with your small adjustment."

Don’t underestimate this tiny tweak.

It was a result of careful, painstaking trial and error by Tiqie Eriina who possesses the "Divine Tongue," with undoubtedly countless failures behind it to accumulate experience.

Xia Yu had a thorough command over the spice structure he imparted to his recipes, and because of this, he was genuinely surprised and pleased that his spice structure could be further strengthened and improved.

Aren’t recipes about those little modifications, those small steps forward?

It seemed that "Flame Dragon Roll Fish Fin Sausage" had the potential to reach the Special Grade Two Stars level, especially with Xia Yu’s "Bursting Flame" at the maximum purple rank and "Spice Inequality" also at a purple rank.

"Therefore, even though the culinary skills showed slight flaws, I give you full marks for ’innovation’!"

Xia Yu smiled and said, "And now for the Mark!"

Winking at Eriina, "One Mark I know is ’Queen’s Table,’ but what about the other? Makki was right, my heart’s burning hot, nearly melting..."

He teased, deliberately touching his chest and gesturing to Tiqie Eriina.

"You’re lewd—"

Tiqie Eriina rolled her eyes at him.

Seeing everyone looking her way, Tiqie Eriina said with a straight face, "I don’t know what to call my second Mark; it doesn’t have a name yet, nor does it need one."

"Oh."

Everyone drew out a long oh, with a hint of peculiarity in their gazes.

Morioka Makoto hesitated to speak.

She felt that this Mark seemed somewhat familiar.

Without delay, Xia Yu shifted everyone’s attention, "Next up is Yuchuan Ayaka’s ’Nine Feathered Phoenix’..."

Throughout the critique period, Yuchuan Ayaka appeared very calm and composed.

Upon hearing this.

She used her small knife to cut the string wound around the lotus leaf, and whoosh, it opened like a blooming flower. At that instant when the lotus leaf unfolded, a fire-red roast chicken splayed on top of it, appearing as if about to dance gracefully.

The aroma of the spices surged violently.

"Is this really not the original version?"

Taking a whiff of the scent, Morioka Makoto gasped, covering her mouth in astonishment.

Tiqie Eriina frowned, staring at Yuchuan Ayaka with disbelief, "You’ve had the recipe for less than two days, how did you master its essence?"

"Want to give it a try?"

Yuchuan Ayaka used a small knife, put on a pair of disposable transparent gloves, cut two fragrant pieces of chicken breast, and placed them on a small plate to hand over to Tiqie Helinai.

"I don’t believe—"

Tiqie Helinai said loudly, picking up a piece of chicken breast and putting it in her mouth.

Hmm!

Her eyes widened, and a fiery sea of flames appeared before her.

The key was that the flames were not the common orange-red color, but rainbow-colored!

A fantastical sea of flaming dreams.

"Here you go."

Yuchuan Ayaka passed a small plate to Xia Yu, "You try it too."

Her claim of credit was not as explicit as Tiqie Helinai’s, but those beautiful eyes brimming with a hint of pride made clear the psychological state of this woman.

Like a retainer, a servant, she was showing her worth to her master.

Relationships may vary.

But value is the capital she needs to receive respect and preferential treatment.

What a clever woman!

Xia Yu thought to himself as he took the plate.

The more she showed her intelligence, her ability to advance and retreat, and her worldly wisdom, the less Xia Yu understood why this girl chose the day of the Special Grade evaluation to challenge him so fiercely in front of live cameras, putting on an air of not stopping until she trampled him.

Not understanding it, Xia Yu could only chalk it up to Yuchuan Ayaka having a brain fart, getting too excited and losing her head, or perhaps, being a smart person fixated on the wrong thing, getting riled up by his news.

The others then successively tasted Yuchuan Ayaka’s Beggar’s Chicken.

Even Tiqie Helinai, as her competitor, let out a long breath and showed enjoyment in her eyes.

"Special Grade cooking!"

Xia Yu said, "Whether the cooking skills or the Chef’s Heart Mark, it’s definitely at a Special Grade level!"

"You’ve completely grasped my recipe!"

The system’s evaluation of Yuchuan Ayaka’s cooking was 90 points, 90% completion.

Sadly, it didn’t shine.

To this day, Xia Yu still couldn’t understand the principle behind the shining.

"You, did you really only study it for one day?" Tiqie Helinai’s voice trembled, the outcome was already clear, but she wasn’t quite ready to accept her defeat.

It was the same person’s recipe.

Why could she grasp the essence in just a short day, while I had to toil for two months.

"I am a Special Grade chef."

The response from Yuchuan Ayaka silenced Tiqie Helinai.

It seemed it should be this way.

"She’s a top-notch special chef who has mastered the ’killer’ recipes, looking back to study Special Grade One Star recipes, it’s a view from above, a much broader perspective than mine..." Tiqie Helinai sighed to herself, "And I, still some distance from Special Grade, facing difficulties studying Special Grade recipes is inevitable!"

Studying a lower rank, studying beyond one’s rank.

A world of difference in just one word.

"Alright!"

Xia Yu clapped his hands, placed two bamboo holders for chopsticks on the table; one chopstick represented one vote.

The result was Yuchuan Ayaka winning by a crushing score of 5 to 0.

After sending a group of summer interns to work, Xia Yu called Yuchuan Ayaka to the second-floor bedroom and closed the door.

"It seems I made the right decision appointing you as the head chef, an amazing learning speed, you will definitely be able to hold down the fort at Xia’s Restaurant in my place."

With his back toward Yuchuan Ayaka, Xia Yu rummaged through the bookshelf for his notes, "The first recipe is a freebie for you, consider it a welcome gift. Do you want to learn a second type of Special Grade Chinese cuisine? Either you use the results you achieve to exchange with me, or you trade a recipe of equivalent value with me..."

He quickly found a notebook.

During this time, Yuchuan Ayaka stared intently at his bookshelf, her eyes unable to conceal her desire.

Are those all recipe notes up there...