The Successors and the Failures

In just a short while, Nanxu had finished processing the old hen, removing all the bones and chopping the meat into evenly sized cubes, which were then neatly arranged on a porcelain plate.

Immediately afterwards, he reached across the knife rack with his right hand, pulled out a small peeler, and with a few deft movements of his fingers, the outer shell of the bamboo shoot fell off, revealing the tender white flesh inside.

"He didn't use any knife skills, yet he processed the ingredients so quickly... His basic skills are very solid," Prefect Zhao remarked.

Ding Baozhen nodded, his tone filled with approval: "Compared to Jiang Yuqiao's Six Harmonies Knife Technique, his knife skills may seem simple at first glance, but they are superior in their clean and crisp movements."

"From this perspective, each has its own advantages and disadvantages."

"I'm more concerned about what he plans to do with all these ingredients," Gao Wenjie pondered. "Is an hour enough time for him to use so many different kinds of ingredients?"

"Look at that clay pot," Ding Baozhen pointed to the kitchen utensils on the table, "He's probably preparing to make soup."

Making soup?

Gao Wenjie and Prefect Zhao exchanged a glance, both seeing doubt in each other's eyes.

The broth made with so many rare mountain ingredients is indeed incredibly delicious, but the eighth-grade assessment only lasts for one hour, and even that takes time to prepare the ingredients.

Can the flavors of these ingredients really be fully blended together in such a short time for simmering?

Even if Nanxu mastered the Fire Refining Palm, a culinary technique that allows him to control the heat, he probably wouldn't have enough time.

Seeing this, Ding Baozhen waved his hand: "No rush, just wait a little longer and we'll see the results."

He then turned his attention back to the examination room.

……

In the blink of an eye, another half hour had passed.

While the examinees were still enthusiastically cooking, Jiang Yuqiao had already prepared the mandarin fish and was soaking and marinating it on the side.

On the other side, Nan Xu stood guard beside the casserole, meticulously controlling the heat.

The three examiners' gazes lingered on the examination room, looking rather bored.

Prefect Zhao stroked his beard and said, "Apart from Jiang Yuqiao and Nan Xu, the other candidates in this assessment all seem rather mediocre."

Ding Baozhen shook his head: "We still need to taste their dishes ourselves to make a judgment."

"Lord Ding is right..." Gao Wenjie was about to say something when he was interrupted by the clamor of the audience below the stage.

He turned his head and looked over, then smiled: "Isn't this a coincidence? The first examinee to finish cooking has already appeared."

As the group was talking, a bald, burly man walked up to the examiners' table.

He placed the tray on the table and said in a loud voice:

"These are my dishes. Please, gentlemen, taste them!"

He lifted the lid, and the dishes on the plate glistened with oil under the sunlight, looking quite tempting.

"It's Dongpo pork..."

Gao Wenjie looked at the glistening pieces of meat on the plate and nodded in satisfaction.

Judging from the presentation of the dishes, this candidate's ability should be quite good, and the taste should not be too bad either.

Ding Baozhen picked up a small piece of Dongpo pork and put it in his mouth.

After chewing a few times, he nodded almost imperceptibly: "Hmm, not bad."

After swallowing a piece of Dongpo pork, Prefect Zhao showed a satisfied expression: "The seasoning and cooking time are excellent. I can even taste a sweet and sour fruity aroma that balances the greasiness of the pork. What did you add?"

"It's plum sauce, I added plum sauce!" the bald, burly man said proudly.

"Your ability to come up with ideas and balance flavors is excellent; at least to me, you've passed the test." Gao Wenjie smiled.

Prefect Zhao and Ding Baozhen nodded in agreement, and soon, the voice of the first person to pass through rang out in the square.

"Look! That first guy who went up actually passed the test on his first try!"

"That's strange. According to the patterns I've observed, the first dish to be presented usually has a low probability of being approved..."

"What do you know? They were the first to submit, which shows they're confident in their abilities!"

The audience members below the stage were buzzing with discussion.

Perhaps encouraged by the first person to pass, another candidate soon brought out the dishes.

"Sizzling eel strips, please enjoy, sir!"

The visual and auditory effects of this dish are quite impressive. Hot oil is poured over shredded eel sprinkled with minced garlic and scallions, making a sizzling sound.

The three examiners did not speak immediately, but instead picked up a piece of food with their chopsticks and tasted it carefully.

Watching the three of them chew carefully, the examinee's heart couldn't help but jump into his throat.

After a long pause, Gao Wenjie spoke first, saying, "Your dish undoubtedly meets the eighth-grade standard..."

Upon hearing this, the examinee was about to be overjoyed when Ding Baozhen said from the other side:

"But... I will disqualify you!"

"That's right, that's what I think too," said Prefect Zhao, stroking his beard.

"I'm sorry, but I feel the same way." Gao Wenjie smiled apologetically.

"What?! Why...?" the examinee asked incredulously.

"The reason is simple," Ding Baozhen said seriously, "because your dish... doesn't have anything of your own."

"Although this dish barely reaches the eighth-grade level, it's not enough to just be this good."

"Do you know why the eighth-grade chef assessment has no restrictions on subject matter, and even allows applicants to bring their own ingredients?"

"Because the requirement for a ninth-grade chef is 'no obvious weaknesses,' while the requirement for an eighth-grade chef is 'having obvious strengths.'"

As he spoke, Ding Baozhen picked up a glistening strip of eel and handed it to the examinee:

"An eighth-rank chef should have at least one signature dish that can hold its own in a grand setting, serving as its specialty or unique characteristic."

"And any eighth-rank chef could make your dish taste exactly the same."

He shook his head and said, "If this is the result of you maximizing your strengths... then it proves that you are not qualified to be called an eighth-grade chef. Right now, you are just a ninth-grade chef who has touched the threshold of the eighth grade."

"You should go back and practice more before coming back for the next assessment."

The candidate nodded with a bitter expression and walked off the stage.

In the following period, several more candidates submitted their works.

However, the number of qualified candidates has remained below half.

There was even a wealthy young master of a merchant guild who used a valuable pheasant as an ingredient to cook an extremely delicious wild game dish, but it still received a "failed" rating.

Upon hearing this result, the young master of the chamber of commerce slammed his fist on the table in excitement: "Why?! My cooking should be much better than that garbage they make!"

Ding Baozhen simply said coldly, "You use so many better ingredients than them, shouldn't it be natural for you to make better dishes?"

"Don't assume that using rare ingredients will cover up your shortcomings in cooking."

Gao Wenjie, who was standing next to him, nodded in agreement: "That's right. High-quality ingredients may only need simple cooking to taste better than ordinary ingredients that are carefully cooked... But correspondingly, we are also more demanding of the cooks."

"Because failing to realize the full potential of rare ingredients is undoubtedly a huge waste."

He raised a finger: "So don't think that using rare ingredients is a shortcut. In fact, quite the opposite, it's much harder to gain our approval with rare ingredients than with ordinary ingredients."

"Whether it's an assessment or a cooking competition, simply piling up rare ingredients won't work. The best way to win is to use the ingredients that best suit you."