Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 509 - 508: The Essence of Simplicity (Part 1)

Chapter 509: Chapter 508: The Essence of Simplicity (Part 1)

"Please, everyone cast your votes!"

The professor who called for the vote fell silent immediately after speaking and waited for several minutes, prompting Chiyoda Aichi to remind aloud.

Unexpectedly, the five judges remained seated without moving, each with their eyes closed and a contemplative expression on their faces.

Each judge’s face bore a serious look.

Clearly, deciding a winner between the "Rebirth Spring Rolls" and "Golden Smiles" was difficult for the judges, requiring a tough and prudent choice.

During this time, Xia Yu remained quiet, while Tang Yuqiong also bit her lip slightly to calm herself.

The atmosphere in Venue A suddenly froze, and the audience voluntarily silenced themselves. The massive venue, filled with tens of thousands of people, was now as quiet as a silent corridor, where even slightly heavier breathing could be clearly heard.

Far Moon Team.

"Is that sauce from the ’Dragon Pot’?"

Zhu Qing’s eyes showed a hint of dread, and her mouth twitched with bitterness as she whispered, "A seafood sauce that normally takes dozens of days to simmer is made in an instant by the ’Dragon Pot.’ This is indeed the most powerful move of a person acknowledged by legendary cooking tools. Even Lin Chefs must be cautious, let alone chefs of the same caliber..."

"If Yu loses, it wouldn’t be unfair!"

At the same time, several members of the Chinese Delegation, including the Lin Giant, watched this tense scene, thinking to themselves:

"He’s not losing to chefs, but to the ’Dragon Pot’!"

Dragon Town Restaurant competition team.

"Aqiong even brought out the concentrated sauce brewed with the ’Dragon Pot,’ why are the judges still hesitating?" Tang Jingtiao clenched his fists, his forehead veins bulging in anger, "That’s a sauce from a legendary cooking tool, enough to elevate the quality of a dish by a huge margin!"

Hearing this, several special chefs of the Tang Family looked at each other speechlessly, while Lin Giant Tangshan shook his head.

"Legendary cooking tools, after all, are just tools," Tang Shan said, stroking his beard, "Tools are always cold!"

With a sigh, he seemed to see the reason for the judges’ hesitation, which was also a weakness in Tang Yuqiong’s dish.

Far away in the Imperial Palace in Beijing, White Jade Tower.

The elderly man with white hair stood up, and the head chefs and disciples also stood up to see him off.

"Leader, are you not continuing to watch?"

The head chef of the White Jade Tower sent the elderly man to the door and couldn’t help but ask.

The elderly man glanced back, "The result has already been decided!"

"The battle between ’Rebirth Spring Rolls’ and ’Golden Smiles’."

This heated battle seemed somewhat inexplicable in the eyes of the ’research faction’ and ’Orlando Faction’ gourmet chefs.

"Sea bream minced meat spring rolls? Fish skin for spring roll wrappers?" Elizabeth tapped her lips with her finger, a look of doubt appearing in her eyes, "...and what about those fried buns, from flour to filling, all just ordinary ingredients... That laughter, though, is quite creative, like a super dessert, isn’t that a bit exaggerated?"

In a sense, the chefs of ’Gourmet Assembly’ are supremacists of ingredients.

For, ’Gourmet Cells’ are the tools these chefs use to master high-quality ingredients.

They believe that the higher the quality of the ingredients, the more precious the dishes cooked from them.

Just ordinary?

Mars just shook his head, with a somewhat distant look in his eyes, as if he had gone back to Xia’s Restaurant several months ago...

For a long while.

No one expected the standoff at the venue to be broken by a child’s crying.

The clear wailing spread.

Tens of thousands of people were stunned as they all simultaneously turned their attention to the VIP area near the stage. This area was filled with affluent and noble spectators; a middle-aged woman in a dignified business skirt was ceaselessly comforting a little girl in a western dress who was nestled in her arms.

"Little Love, shh!" Noticing the gathering eyes, the middle-aged woman flashed a helpless look and gently patted the little girl’s back.

The little girl, burying her head in her mother’s embrace, hadn’t noticed the strange atmosphere. She sniffled, her small head squirming about, her legs in white cotton socks kicking and thrashing about as she whined in a coquettish tone, "I won’t, I want to eat that golden dessert... it even smiles!"

"I want to eat it!!"

"..."

The middle-aged woman’s smile stiffened.

At the side of the stage, the executive director waved to the camera, and immediately, the focus shifted that way. Many Japanese, watching the live broadcast, were stunned to recognize the middle-aged woman as Ishino Harumi, the Governor of Hokkaido—a forceful female politician, the highest official in the region who had been re-elected several times, especially during the increasingly severe invasive species issues in Hokkaido, a testament to her capabilities and authority.

The little girl, who was about seven or eight years old, was Ishino Ai, the beloved jewel of the Governor of Hokkaido.

The executive director paused, then looked towards the stage intending to signal the chef who made the laughing dessert to cooperate. But when the director looked up, the young special chef had already turned and was walking towards his cooking station.

There were still about a dozen uncooked white buns left on the cooking station. Of course, Xia Yu hadn’t forgotten to brush them with egg yolk.

Click.

The stove reignited, and amidst the quiet atmosphere, Xia Yu calmly waited a bit, feeling the oil temperature was just right before starting to fry the remaining buns.

After a while, he turned off the valve, drained the oil from the cooked desserts, and meticulously used kitchen paper to wipe away the last trace of oil. Then Xia Yu casually walked over to the VIP area with the plate.

Smelling the approaching enticing aroma, Ishino Ai, with wide-open eyes, sat in her mother’s lap, intently staring at the plump golden buns on the plate, her eyes filled with visible curiosity and desire.

"Why aren’t they smiling now?" Ishino Ai cocked her head, her delicate little face scrunched up.

"Hmm, like this!"

Xia Yu grabbed a bun that was still quite hot, held it in his hand, and gently squeezed it, allowing steam to burst through what looked like a mouth, and a squeaky, comical laughter ensued.

Ishino Ai was stunned, her big eyes unbelievably wide, then she burst into laughter:

"Ha—"

"Hahaha!"

Feeling the bun’s skin had cooled down about enough, Xia Yu stuffed the dessert into Ishino Ai’s hands, her crisp, bell-like laughter ringing out, and her laughter infected many in the audience, bringing smiles to their faces.

The amusing dessert was appealing not just to children but to adults as well.

"Ma’am, would you like to try some?"

Xia Yu, unaware of the identity of the middle-aged woman and the little girl in front of him (since he paid no heed to political affairs), also handed a fried bun to Ishino Harumi with a slight smile. The Governor of Hokkaido hesitated for a moment, then took a bite and froze, her previously tightly furrowed brows unexpectedly relaxing during the tasting, revealing a bright smile...

"Who else wants some?" Xia Yu held up the plate, several more desserts remaining on it, his gaze sweeping across the seats near the stage.

"I do—"

"I’d like to try!"

"Please!"

After distributing all the treats, Xia Yu calmly returned to the stage and met Tang Yuqiong’s gaze, which was fixed on him; he smiled.

"Sigh—"

The chief judge mused as he glanced at the audience section emitting laughter, "Happy and simple."