Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 522 - 521: Crushing the Ingredients

Chapter 522: Chapter 521: Crushing the Ingredients

"I concede!"

After saying this seriously, Mars stuffed the microphone into the hands of the stunned female host.

Chiyoda Aichi is one of Neon’s top-tier professional gourmet hosts. She barely managed to respond, her voice trembling as she asked, "Chef Mars, are you, are you sure?"

"To concede is to accept defeat..."

"It means bypassing the judges’ voting process and accepting defeat!"

She finally regained her composure while speaking, her pretty face stern.

"Yes, I concede!"

Mars repeated.

Only then did the audience react, their exclamations nearly lifting the roof of the venue, turning the seats into a chaotic marketplace. Even the professional chefs in the VIP seats couldn’t believe it and were arguing loudly.

Backstage at Far Moon, Zhu Qing, Dojima Yin, and Saito Chiyokuro were shocked.

Backstage of the Orlando Team.

Lin Giant Dizani just stared at the bowl of egg liquid on the screen.

Elizabeth covered her face and collapsed on the sofa, exclaiming, "What is Uncle Mars doing?!"

She was full of confusion.

"Even if you lose, wait for the judges’ votes! There’s no reason to rush into conceding!"

The team’s primary special chef Madeline and secondary special chef Leon looked solemn.

"No!"

Madeline shook her head, "Mars is prouder than anyone. His conceding voluntarily means... he saw no possibility of winning!"

She emphasized her words.

The Danish chef with braided hair, Leon, muttered, "Madeline is right!"

"Then, what made Mars despair?" Elizabeth bit her lip, "He used Forbidden Ingredients, and Uncle Mars even brought out his strongest Forbidden Recipe... It should have been an evenly matched situation!"

At that moment, Lin Giant Dizani slowly shook his head and spoke.

"That bowl of egg liquid... is very strange!"

"What kind of egg liquid is it?"

At the same time, in the guest seats, research-oriented Lin Giant Lei Zhe suddenly stood up, eyes wide as he stared at the judging-surrounded cooking station.

Ghost Father couldn’t remain calm either, also standing up.

"How could Mars concede?!" Tiqie Ji’s face changed several times.

As a well-known figure in the United States’ culinary world and a key member of the "Gourmet Club," Tiqie Ji had interacted with Mars often and had even witnessed Mars’ Forbidden Dishes.

Indeed, when Mars got serious and brought out his Forbidden Dishes, Tiqie Ji had to be cautious; otherwise, he could face a setback anytime. After all, being at the peak of special chefs, no one had taken the crucial step, reducing the impact of culinary skills on victory or defeat. Instead, ingredients became increasingly important.

Could it be...

His heart suddenly constricted.

Tiqie Ji followed Lei Zhe’s gaze and looked at the bowl filled with egg liquid.

"Chef Mars, could you discuss the reason for your concession?"

Chiyoda Aichi asked, and the chaos in the venue quieted down within seconds, everyone all ears.

"Subpar ingredients cannot produce exquisite delicacies!"

Mars calmly looked at the camera, and his first sentence was a well-known saying from French cuisine.

"As everyone knows, French cuisine, or Western cuisine in general, places great importance on the selection of ingredients," Mars said, "In a contest where it’s not about competing with the Chef’s Heart Mark but with ingredients, my ingredients were inferior, by a very large margin, hence my dish was utterly defeated."

"Chef Xia and I, both at the topmost pinnacle in terms of cooking techniques, or culinary skills, have our respective strengths, matched equally. Therefore, ingredients are the key to victory!"

"Heh, at our level, no one foolishly piles up useless ingredients. Every ingredient used is part of creating the ideal culinary kingdom in one’s mind, combining the essences of ’control’ and ’application’..."

With that, Mars deeply gazed into the camera.

His words were straightforward, and the audience understood.

Boom.

The venue erupted again, turning into chaos once more.

Mars’ words undoubtedly acknowledged that his ingredients were inferior, not his culinary skills.

Defeat by ingredients!

"Bu-but, Chef Mars, you used two Fantasy Ingredients and one Forbidden Ingredient, right?" Chiyoda Aichi stammered.

"Yes, ’Rose Mushrooms’ and ’Golden Salmon Roe’ are Fantasy Ingredients!"

"Flame Horse Meat is a Forbidden Ingredient!"

Mars candidly spoke and self-mockingly chuckled, "Hmm... does it sound extravagant? Yet, all Chef Xia needs are ’Gem Meat’ and that egg dip to crush my dish!"

"Whether it’s ’White-haired Cinderella Beef’ or ’Five-Headed Bird Meat,’ I find them superfluous... I stand no chance without them," he shook his head, mocking himself.

"Mars, you are wrong!"

A voice unexpectedly interrupted.

The French Chief Judge, adjusting his tie, stepped forward, speaking into the miniature microphone hanging from his collar, "This is a barbecue feast, and without the other two types of meat, it’s just a solo performance of the Gem Meat."

"Ah, if it weren’t for the other two types of meat, I’d go crazy!"

Melissa stretched out her arms, touching her slightly covered belly with her red dress, and contentedly said, "Only after eating the remaining two types of grilled meat was my appetite satisfied."

"Cough!"

The other three judges, a Persian beauty, a North American cowboy, and a middle-aged man in a kimono, also stepped forward, appearing on camera.

"However, what Mars said is correct, his defeat was indeed due to being overwhelmed by the ingredients," Nois, the North American cowboy, wiped the sweat from his forehead and donned his brown cowboy hat, "In terms of culinary skills, there are no details to critique. The seasoning used for the barbecue was merely sea salt and pepper granules, aiming for the original flavor of the meat..."

"That’s not right!"

The judge in the kimono shook his head, "There are still many details to discuss..."

This middle-aged man looked steadily at Xia Yu.

"Chef Xia, could you tell me what special method you used when handling the ’Five-Headed Bird Meat’? Why does this obscure and rarely-noted Fantasy Ingredient, which isn’t stewed but just grilled, become so tender and delicious?"

"Actually, it’s similar to how you would prepare a stewed beef."

"Can you demonstrate it again for us?" Chiyoda Aichi immediately asked.

"A demonstration?"

Xia Yu scratched his nose tip, thinking of the remaining ingredients in the food box, then gladly agreed.

He went back to his cooking station to retrieve a piece of ’Five-Headed Bird Meat.’

The camera zoomed in for a close-up; the whole piece of bird meat was dark red. When Xia Yu placed the bird meat on the chopping board, he intentionally demonstrated the impact by showing how the bird meat collided with the board, sounding like rocks hitting wood, with a thudding collision sound.

"First, it’s about using muscle power to repeatedly hammer it, causing the fibers inside the meat to break..." Xia Yu said while rolling up his sleeves, his expression unchanging, as he punched the hard meat on the chopping board.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Listening to the dull sounds, Xia Yu clearly put in a lot of effort, and after a few minutes, he stopped punching and stepped back to motion Chiyoda Aichi forward; the camera zoomed in accordingly.

The female host, following Xia Yu’s direction, touched the area of the bird meat that had been pounded, then compared it with other sections, immediately exclaiming, "Wow, it really did soften a lot..."

She pursed her lips, "May I try it?"

"Please—"

Then the female host, frowning, swung a punch and ’pah’ hit down, followed by a pained grunt, turning back to the camera with tearful eyes, her little clenched fist had turned red and swollen.

Instantly, countless viewers gasped at the "hardness" of the Five-Headed Bird Meat.

"I forgot to remind you to go easy," chuckled Xia Yu.

The female host cast him a resentful look.

"How do you cut such hard meat?" she continued to ask, the judges watching avidly like diners, with Mars also among the onlookers, everyone enjoying Xia Yu’s explanation.

"This is a good question!"

Xia Yu opened his toolbox and pulled out an ice knife, flashing a toothy grin, "This knife is the secret!"

"Hmm?"

The female host tilted her head.

The young special chef adjusted his breathing, slightly took a deep breath, contracted his abdomen, and with his right hand holding a small and sharp "Jade Fragmentation Knife", only a hissing sound was heard. In the camera, only a tiny flickering silver light was visible, as if nothing had happened.

It took a full three to four minutes before Xia Yu stopped, withdrew the knife, stepped back, and with a smile, motioned the female host to see if there was any difference in the bird meat.

"It doesn’t seem to have changed much..."

Chiyoda Aichi whispered in surprise, her fair hand touching the dark red bird meat and suddenly, she finally found a very fine, easily overlooked cut and her pupils dilated.

Then, the female host excitedly waved to the camera, motioning it to zoom in closer as she curled the bird meat, exposing a tiny knife cut to the camera.

The cut was fine but deep enough.

What was even more rare was that the cuts followed the texture of the bird meat, each slice precise, clean, and neat, maximizing the preservation of the meat’s quality during the processing.

"How many cuts are there?"

In the camera, a whole side of dark red bird meat showed nothing but cuts, the audience gasped, not expecting Xia Yu to skilfully soften a piece of bird meat in just a few minutes with his knife skills.

"Probably, about 218 cuts," Xia Yu was not entirely sure.