Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 504 - 503: The Duel of Ancient Recipes (Part 1)

Chapter 504: Chapter 503: The Duel of Ancient Recipes (Part 1)

"The theme is... Chinese pastries!"

Chiyoda Aichi breathed a sigh of relief and spoke into the microphone.

Chinese pastries!

Xia Yu was taken aback as he examined the topics on the board. Apart from the newly selected ’Chinese pastries,’ the other nine boxes were ’Japanese appetizers,’ ’Western soups,’ ’American desserts’...

In short, among the ten possible topics, only ’Chinese pastries’ was confined to the realm of Chinese cuisine.

For the audience, this topic seemed tailor-made for the two geniuses. As soon as the topic appeared on the panel, a whirlwind swept through the arena, and the sound echoed over Sapporo.

"A very fair topic!"

Tang Yuqiong glanced over the other topics on the board, her eyes gleaming. She looked sideways at Xia Yu, seeing his slight frown and thoughtful expression. She couldn’t help but smile, "What’s wrong? Are you dissatisfied with a fair showdown in the realm of Chinese cuisine? Or do you doubt your ability and hope to win with another unconventional topic?"

Xia Yu just shook his head.

"A fair... topic?"

He looked at the confident woman with a strange expression.

There was no choice.

That recipe had to be used early in the quarterfinals, and besides, the semifinals or the final of the A division might not present a suitable topic to exhibit that recipe. Thinking of it this way, Xia Yu thought secretly, "I must seize this opportunity!"

His gaze swept to the guest seats. When it landed on a middle-aged man dressed in dark colors, a hint of coldness appeared in Xia Yu’s eyes, and he licked his slightly dry lips, "Very well, I’ll show you so you can feel the threat. Let’s see how you stay comfortably in your position!"

"Your gaze makes me uncomfortable!"

Tang Yuqiong glared at him disapprovingly, "It’s like I’ve already lost!"

"Let me tell you, the sauce I’ve specially prepared for you is perfectly suited for... pastries!"

"The Tang Family’s first victory will be claimed by me!"

With that, Tang Yuqiong stepped away and instructed the staff near her cooking station to fetch the ingredients and bring her preparations onto the stage.

Xia Yu also headed to his own cooking station.

"Chef Xia Yu, please let us know your instructions," a polite young man wearing glasses, holding a notepad and pen, approached. He wore the red vest uniform of the event committee, with a nameplate pinned to his chest.

"I’ll do it myself."

Taking the pen and notepad, Xia Yu wrote down the ingredients he needed on a white sticky note.

"Eggs, all-purpose flour, baking soda, Kobe beef..."

The young staff took the note from Xia Yu, quickly glanced over it, and then showed a surprised expression. Seeing that Xia Yu had no further instructions, he couldn’t help but ask, "Chef Xia Yu, don’t you have any self-prepared fantasy ingredients?"

"Fantasy ingredients?"

Xia Yu shook his head with a smile, pointing to the note in the young man’s hand, "These are all the things I need."

The staff looked as if he had seen a ghost, his expression conflicted, as he left the stage.

Later, the young man handed the note to the on-site executive director of the event committee at the sidelines. The director’s hand trembled upon seeing the ingredients list, exclaiming, "He doesn’t intend to use fantasy ingredients?"

He couldn’t help but glance over at the cooking station. Just then, Xia Yu looked back, and the young special chef nodded at the director from across the distance.

"Very well!"

The executive director didn’t say much, turned on his walkie-talkie, and repeated the contestant’s ingredient requirements to the warehouse per the note.

This scene sparked a round of discussions among the audience.

Could it be that he was asking the event committee for some obscure, uncommon ingredient?

At the sidelines.

Tang’s Team from Dragon Town Restaurant, led by Tang Jingtiao, frowned, "...Does he have something special prepared? As far as I know, Aqiong has a sauce prepared for this match that’s perfect for the pastry theme."

Elder Tang Shan of the Tang Family also felt perplexed by Xia Yu’s behavior on stage.

"Chinese pastries..."

Sparkling thoughts flickered in Tang Shan’s eyes, "If Yuqiong uses that recipe, regardless of the opponent’s performance, the winner will only be our Tang Family!"

Conversely, on the Far Moon Contest Team’s side.

Zhu Qing sighed, covering his face, "A blind cat encountering a dead rat! What seemed like a battle between a dragon and a tiger, turned out to have its scales of victory completely unbalanced by the topic... What a disappointment!"

Disappointed?

Dojima Yin and Saito Chiyokuro were stunned.

Eriina also had a strange expression on her face, seemingly stifling a laugh. No one knew better than she and Zhu Qing how Xia Yu had locked himself up for the past half-month to study.

Fifteen minutes later.

The two cooking stations, laid out diagonally, were equipped with the requested or personally brought materials and utensils.

People focused their gaze on Xia Yu’s station, each filled with surprise.

Bags of flour, buckets of oil, small bags of noodles.

Baking soda, Kobe beef...

From flour to cooking oil, all the ingredients used in every step were so ordinary.

That’s right, ordinary!

’Kobe beef’ was the strongest beef under fantasy ingredients, but compared to fantasy beef, like ’ox-en bird’s meat,’ the gap was apparent.

"Why!"

"This is the final match of the A division quarterfinals, yet he made no special preparation, only requesting a bunch of ordinary ingredients. Does he plan to get by with just these?"

"He’s already lost!"

The audience erupted in chaotic noise, filled with voices of disappointment.

Affected by the commotion, Tang Yuqiong also cast her gaze towards Xia Yu’s cooking station, her delicate brows knotting in frustration, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes as she muttered, "Are you planning to face the challenge with just the most ordinary ingredients?"

Her heart was filled with irritation at being underestimated.

Boom.

At that moment, a seafood truck was pushed onto the stage by several staff members, and Tang Yuqiong withdrew her gaze, smiling, "Very well, my main ingredient has arrived. Even if you’re not using fantasy ingredients or have no special preparations, I won’t be lenient... The first win will be secured by me for the Tang Family!"

The camera followed the female chef’s movements.

When she stood before the seafood truck, a vibrant sea bream still alive in the clear seawater appeared on the large screen.

"Starry Sea Bream!"

A group of Polar Star Dormitory companions gasped.

"Isn’t this the ingredient Instructor Xia used for sea bream sashimi?"

Starry Sea Bream?

Hearing the exclamations on-site, Xia Yu looked up, furrowing his brows, "Using sea bream to make Chinese pastries... um, seafood dumplings? Wait!"

A sudden flash of inspiration struck.

Sea bream harmonized incredibly well with a spring roll recipe stored in Xia Yu’s memory.

"It can’t be!"

He took a deep breath. Given that Tang Yuqiong came from the long-established Tang Family, she must have access to ancient recipes from the glorious era of Chinese cuisine a century ago, when the Tang Family produced a rare genius not too different from Chef God like Liu Maoxing and Lan Feihong. It was natural for the Tang Family to preserve ancient recipes.

"But my recipe, in the realm of Chinese pastries, has reached perfection, returning to simplicity, reducing complexity... I won’t lose!"

With this thought, his heart instantly calmed, and Xia Yu’s eyes became even more serene.

"Clang—"

With all ingredients ready, as the golden gong resonated, both special chefs began their cooking rhythm at a leisurely pace.

Without another word.

The cooking station was cleared. He took out a bag of flour, poured some out, and mixed in an appropriate amount of salt and baking soda. Up next came the dough-making step, and Xia Yu used cold water.

But when leveling off the peak of the flour mountain, pouring cold water on it, Xia Yu didn’t use his powerful arms to knead the dough; instead... he reached into a toolbox he had brought to the stage and pulled out a pitch-black stick. This stick was about three feet long, approximately one meter. The length of Xia Yu’s toolbox was enough to fit even the [Greedy Wolf Knife] with its massive blade, let alone a stick like this.

"Noodle rolling pin!"