Ch. 1231..1240
Chapter 1231: What Kind of Fairy Marriage is This_1 At that moment, Peggy Lewis remembered everything.
Including the intimate moment she shared with Lyke Zhekova last night.
Originally because the lights were not turned on in the room at night, only the moonlight lit the room.
She should not have had such a vivid image.
However, somehow, the image in her memory was extremely clear.
Just like under bright lights.
She could remember the blush on Lyke’s face, and the sweat on his forehead.
...
She even remembered his breath by her ear, which was so tempting.
It was as if Peggy Lewis returned to last night, her senses were infinitely magnified.
At that moment, the two of them were intimate and unabashedly embraced.
Peggy Lewis never thought she would have such an experience.
She carefully lifted her head from Lyke’s arms just to see him sleeping soundly.
This was the first time she saw Lyke Zhekova sleeping.
She had been living with him for quite a while but has always slept in separate bedrooms.
She has never seen him when he is sleeping.
Now looking at him, everything seemed novel.
She discovered that Lyke looked exceptionally good while sleeping.
The sleeping him even looks to have gotten younger by a dozen years or so.
Although not as exaggerated as appearing like a teenager.
However, he does look younger.
If Peggy Lewis could lift her arm now, she would even want to trace the outlines of his features with her fingertips.
Why does he look so good?
Usually, the Lyke Zhekova she sees is lively.
Most of the time, she does not dare to look him in the eye.
Seizing the opportunity that he is asleep, Peggy Lewis dared to take an detailed look at Lyke’s features.
Looking at him, Peggy Lewis was slightly taken aback.
She stared blankly at his features.
This person’s features, even though she looked at them closely and extensively, she could not find any undesirable area about them.
Peggy Lewis usually watches television and sees several male actors who are quite handsome.
But they get tiring to look at.
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After a long period, she would find some parts of them wearisome, and discover something about them that did not look good.
It is not that she finds herself particularly attractive.
It’s just like appreciating a painting.
It’s just a simple look.
But looking at Lyke now, she finds that she just can’t get enough.
Everything about him looks good, there was no part that she did not enjoy.
Peggy Lewis thought about all these as she looked at him and did not notice that Lyke had already woken up.
When she came to her senses and wanted to take a more detailed look, she saw that Lyke’s eyes were full of laughter.
Peggy Lewis blinked.
Did she see it wrong?
Had Lyke actually opened his eyes?
At this time, Lyke lowered his head and kissed her lips: “Good morning.”
Peggy Lewis finally came to her senses.
She had been so lost in looking at him that Lyke caught her red-handed.
Peggy Lewis buried her face directly into Lyke’s chest, like an Ostrich burying its head into the sand.
Lyke chuckled, and his chest moved along with the laughter.
Following that, she was once again pressed into his embrace.
This early morning!
As a result, she saw Lyke stretch out his arm and grab her mobile phone.
Then, the alarm on her mobile phone was turned off.
Only then did Peggy remember, she had not turned off the alarm.
So, was Lyke actually woken up by the alarm on her phone?
Lyke casually glanced at the time on Peggy’s mobile and said, “It’s time to get up.”
His voice still carried the huskiness from just waking up, which was very pleasant to listen to.
Instantly, Peggy felt that sharing a bed with Lyke came with the best benefits for waking up.
She can see Lyke’s handsome face as soon as she opens her eyes and can hear his low and husky voice.
Peggy Lewis was screaming in her heart.
What a heavenly marriage!
It’s too blissful!
“Are you tired?
Can you get up?” Lyke asked Peggy again.
“I am tired.” Peggy replied.
Upon speaking, she found that her voice was even more hoarse, “But I can still get up.”
After hearing her reply, Lyke let go of her.
Only to see Peggy quickly pull up the blanket and cover herself again.
“What are you covering for?” Lyke chuckled.
“I…
I am still not quite used to it.” Peggy said, “Give me a few more days to adjust.”
“Sure.” Lyke nodded with a smile, “However, your clothes are not here, they are in the next room.”
Peggy had forgotten about this.
She only remembered it when Lyke mentioned it.
“I…
I would go get…” Peggy said, but she was still hiding under the blanket and did not come out.
Lyke suggested with a smile: “How about this?
I get up to clean up first.
I need to take a shower anyway.
You can go back to the next room and change your clothes while I am in the shower?”
Peggy quickly nodded her head: “Okay okay okay.”
Lyke is too thoughtful!
She felt increasingly that this marriage was really amazing.
Is it always like this after marriage?
If so, she regrets not getting married earlier.
No, that’s not right.
If she got married earlier, she would not have met Lyke.
Indeed, only by marrying Lyke can she be this happy.
Unlike Peggy who was shy, Lyke got up immediately.
Peggy gasped and quickly closed her eyes.
But she was still a bit slow.
She saw everything that she should and should not have seen.
These images lingered in her mind and refused to leave.
Little Zhekova was too amazing!
Without getting his clothes, Lyke went straight into the bathroom.
Peggy quickly rushed back into the next bedroom.
After taking a shower and changing clothes, she was out.
She thought, actually it was quite convenient that she did not bring her clothes into Lyke’s room.
At least she can come back to change clothes without feeling awkward.
After changing, she walked past Lyke’s bedroom.
The bedroom door was still open, so Peggy went in again.
The bathroom was already quiet.
Peggy gathered her courage to take a peek inside the bathroom, no one was there.
She looked around the room and found their sleepwear scattered on the sofa.
Peggy quickly gathered up the sleepwear and decided to throw it into the washing machine.
Now it is confirmed, Lyke was indeed not in the room, he had already left.
Peggy opened the window to air out the room.
The smell in the room was truly…
Making her ears hot.
After she settled all these, she left the bedroom.
When she arrived in the living room, she heard noises coming from the kitchen.
Peggy walked over and saw that Lyke was already preparing breakfast in the restaurant.
Seeing her, Lyke turned his head towards her and said with a smile, “It will be ready soon.
Let’s have something simple this morning.
I’m toasting some bread and frying some eggs.
How about drinking chocolate milk in the morning?”
Peggy doesn’t like drinking milk, can’t stand the taste of it.
She likes fruit milk or chocolate milk with various flavorings added.
Cindy Clarke has complained more than once that this kind of milk actually has no nutrition.
But Peggy argued, as long as it tastes good.
She really can’t drink milk.
Lyke pampered her.
She does not like to drink milk, sometimes breakfast is rushed in the morning, and there is not enough time to prepare something else.
Chapter 1232: Being Single Can Hurt, Part 1 Lyke Zhekova simply bought every flavor of milk there was.
Fruit-flavored, chocolate-flavored.
Anything that Peggy Lewis liked to drink was fine.
“Sounds good.” Peggy said with a smile.
Who’d have thought that on their first day of marriage, it would still be Lyke preparing breakfast.
Lyke brought over the breakfast before asking, “I didn’t have the chance to ask you just now…”
Peggy, who was eating a fried egg, looked at Lyke, “What is it?”
Lyke rubbed his nose, asking, “Are you okay?
Feeling any discomfort anywhere?”
Peggy didn’t feel anything at first, but being asked by Lyke made her suddenly conscious of it.
...
She felt uncomfortable all over.
“I’m fine,” afraid Lyke would ask more, Peggy stopped him, “No more questions.”
Lyke: “…”
Lyke immediately behaved himself and didn’t dare question her further on the subject.
***
The Hearth Nation Team Selection for the International Culinary Competition, which takes place at Pingla Academy, began.
The auditions have been completed previously.
Now, the final team would be chosen.
Pingla Academy specially emptied its sports stadium, dividing it into six areas: A, B, C, D, E, F.
100 participants who passed the auditions draw lots to decide which group from ABCDE they would compete in.
There won’t be any repeated rotation of groups anymore.
If you are unlucky and draw a group with many strong contestants, then you can only blame your bad luck.
Cindy Clarke and others who participated and reached the top ten in the cooking competition, could directly secure team spots with Parker Honi, the first-place winner.
The remaining nine participants, although they didn’t have direct access spots.
They could bypass the group selections and directly enter the finals.
In the end, there were five competition areas, with twenty contestants each.
The top three from each area would be determined.
Ultimately leaving 15 competitors.
These 15, along with the 9 contestants who placed 2nd to 10th in the Pingla Competition from Cindy’s group.
A total of 24 people – this will theoretically be the representative team of the Hearth Nation.
However, 4 individuals amongst these 24, need to be selected as reserves for the expedition team.
In case someone from the expedition team gets injured, and there is a need for a substitute participant.
A suitable substitute can be chosen from the reserves anytime.
Even though there will be some loss in terms of ability level, at least the damage can be reduced to a minimum.
Then from the remaining 20 individuals, 9 will be selected to join the expedition team along with Parker Honi, to officially form the international competition team.
The leftover 11 contestants will remain at Pingla Academy and form the defensive team.
Pingla Academy is one of the Hearth Nation’s competition locations in the International Culinary Competition.
Contestants from various countries coming over would directly challenge at Pingla Academy.
These 11 individuals will naturally not all compete.
But since the defensive team doesn’t face as much pressure as the expedition team, this provides these 11 with more opportunities to hone their skills.
They could even take turns and face different challenges they haven’t encountered before.
Compared to the expedition team, the defensive team seems more like a learning-oriented team.
All of these 24 individuals would naturally have to compete to rank.
This allows the teachers to have a clear understanding of these 24 individuals’ abilities.
And they can then allocate them into the defensive, expedition, or reserve teams in an informed way.
Since Cindy and others don’t have to go through the selection process, they were pretty relaxed.
Pingla Academy has also started its vacation, specifically leaving the field for the selection.
However, the students didn’t go home.
Such a rare opportunity wouldn’t be missed, even if they failed to progress, they still stayed to watch the competition.
Because the competition was divided into five areas, each with different criteria, so they couldn’t watch directly from the bleachers.
It’s simply too far, and they couldn’t see anything clearly.
Consequently, Pingla Academy allowed the students on campus to watch directly from the perimeter of the competition grounds.
Anyway, there weren’t that many students.
The large stadium was enough for them to hover about.
Cindy was wandering around the perimeter of the competition grounds with Gladys Joy and others at this moment.
The areas for competition were divided and were cordoned off.
So, although they could watch at close distance, they didn’t interrupt the contestants’ competition.
“Have you thought it through?
Do you want to stay in the defensive team?” Leon Hernandez asked Cindy.
They had the same thought as Adrian Zhekova, with Cindy’s cooking skills, she would definitely secure a spot in the expedition team if she wanted to.
“Yeah, I think the defensive team is quite good as well.” Cindy said, “Just right, I can stay here.
If I had to follow the team and compete in various places across the country, Adrian Zhekova and Morgan surely cannot follow me.
It would be too hectic.
And when I compete, I wouldn’t be able to care about them.”
“And to be apart for so long, I won’t be comfortable,” Cindy said.
She hadn’t told Adrian that one of the reasons she didn’t want to travel with the team to compete is because she didn’t want to leave Adrian and Morgan.
“Do you actually fear about your husband misbehaving behind your back?” Bartholomew Bailey joked.
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Cindy was really over-thinking things.
Adrian Zhekova, the henpecked husband, would most likely fly to be by her side if Cindy really had to follow the team to compete abroad.
“Of course not, how can I mistrust him?” Cindy said, “It’s just that I can’t bear to be apart.
I’ll miss them when we’re separated.”
Seeing that everyone else couldn’t empathize.
Even the men like Parker Honi were rubbing their arms indicating that they felt goosebumps, Cindy laughed, “You singletons, you can’t understand my feelings.”
Yannick O’Brian: “We were having a good conversation, why did it suddenly turn to personal attacks?”
Cindy said with a laugh: “Anyway, when you all have someone you like, you will know this feeling.
Not wanting to be apart from the other person.”
“If I were to compete, it is also possible.
Adrian would definitely follow wherever I go.
But he’s so busy with work, and yet he needs to spend time following me flying around,” Cindy shook her head, “I can’t bear to see him so worn out.
Apart from Cindy, everyone else collectively decided to end the topic.
Singletons couldn’t stand it!
People always said that marriage is a besieged city, it’s a tomb.
Especially just after getting married, there would be a lot of friction.
The reason for sticking around isn’t because they adapted well, but because they couldn’t be bothered dealing with these frictions anymore.
They decide to keep to themselves.
But why is it so different for Cindy?
She just got married, and it felt like she had walked into a romantic drama.
Even Cynthia Florine and others envied her.
They don’t require their future husbands to have the same high attractiveness as Adrian.
Nor do they need to be extremely rich.
As long as he treats them well, that’s enough.
That’s all they ask for.
As long as they can find a person like this, they will be satisfied.
***
Since the competition was being held simultaneously in five areas, 15 contestants were determined by the end of the day.
Pingla Academy didn’t specifically arrange a stage for these 15 contestants to appear.
Chapter 1233: Cody Quinn_1 After they were selected, they were immediately…
Parker Honi received a notice and told the others, “Teacher Gordon has called us to gather in Study Room 1.
The 15 players who have just been selected are already waiting there.”
So, everyone hurried over.
As they entered the study room, they saw that all 15 players were already standing behind their cooking stations.
Cindy Clarke hesitated, wondering if this meant they were about to have another competition?
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Was the day’s schedule this packed?
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Wesley Gordon, Hunter Clarke, and Samson Zhekova, on the other hand, stood at the forefront.
Upon seeing Cindy and her team arrive, Wesley Gordon said, “Let’s all get acquainted with each other.
Although you’ll be divided into the Defensive Team and the Offensive Team, regardless of which team you’re in, you’re all teammates now.”
The 15 people introduced themselves.
When it was Cindy and her team’s turn to introduce themselves.
A participant named Quentin Woodridge said, “No need, we already know who you are.
After all, we’ve all watched the previous Pingla Competition.”
His words sounded ordinary and nothing seemed wrong upon hearing them.
But the problem was his tone, it was rather sarcastic.
Parker Honi couldn’t stand those who made prejudiced judgements and looked down on others without understanding them first.
Unable to contain himself, Parker Honi retorted first, “What’s that?
You don’t regard us very much, do you?”
Wesley Gordon raised an eyebrow; the three of them did not intervene in this minor dispute.
Even if they tried to mediate now, there would still be resentment between the teams.
If they become teammates in the future, they still wouldn’t be able to cooperate.
It’s better to resolve this as soon as possible.
This situation was analogous to animals jockeying for dominance.
Only by using strength to subdue the opponent and get them to recognize you as the leader, can the team truly become harmonious.
These people consider themselves skilled, so they don’t acknowledge each other.
Once they compete and are thoroughly defeated, all would be well.
“Not at all,” said Quentin Woodridge, “Just that it’s a pity our age didn’t meet the requirements, so we couldn’t participate in the Pingla Competition.
We didn’t have your good fortune where winning the Pingla Competition directly qualifies you for the International Competition.”
Cindy Clarke raised an eyebrow, “Since you’re so keen to bring this up, did you participate in the Pingla Competition when you were of age?”
Quentin Woodridge: “…”
In fact, he had participated.
But he had lost.
He didn’t even make it to the top ten.
However, he was young at the time.
And it let him realize that there were always those who are better, making him keenly aware of his shortcomings.
He was very proud back then.
But after losing the competition, he had a clearer and more accurate understanding of his own abilities.
Which made him focus on improving his culinary skills.
If he was initially proud of his cooking skills, it indicates that he truly was talented.
So, after immersing himself in learning, Quentin Woodridge’s cooking skills indeed became outstanding.
And in this competition, he took the lead.
However, his prideful temperament hasn’t changed.
If he sees himself as strong, he looks down on others.
Among the 15 participants present, there were certainly some with the same mindset, but they all held their tongues, and none were as vocal as him.
Yannick O’Brian pretended to think for a while, saying, “I’ve been following every competition, and I have a good memory.
It seems that none of the top ten in all iterations was named Quentin Woodridge.”
After a pause, Yannick O’Brian asked provokingly, “Isn’t that right, Uncle?”
Bartholomew Bailey and others couldn’t help but chuckle.
Quentin Woodridge was actually not that old.
Not even forty yet.
But compared to Yannick O’Brian and his group, he was quite a bit older.
When Quentin Woodridge was their age, he hadn’t even made it into the top ten once.
Now that he’s older and his skills have improved, he looks down on the younger ones.
He should take a look at his younger self and see if he had their abilities.
“Among your peers, you are strong,” said Quentin Woodridge.
“But you are only strong among them.
Chefs who are older than you also have just as much experience and knowledge as you do.”
“When the age range is broadened, you guys can’t really amount to much.” He thought they were merely basking in the glory of Pingla Academy.
“Why don’t we just have a match, and then we’ll find out?” responded Cynthia Florine as she casually checked her nails.
During cooking, she always takes off her nail polish.
It’s hygienic that way.
For the sake of being a chef, she has indeed sacrificed a lot, given her love for beauty.
“Yeah, a match will settle it.”
Of the 15 players in this team, 8 are students from Pingla Academy.
They have absolute confidence in their academy’s strength.
Hearing Quentin Woodridge’s dismissive words towards Parker Honi and his group, these eight were naturally displeased.
The one who spoke out was ranked first among the 15, a fourth-year student from Pingla Academy—Cody Quinn.
Cindy Clarke didn’t know him, but Gladys Joy quietly introduced him to her.
Cindy’s mouth twitched slightly, “…”
Could it be that this young man’s father was a fan of Initial D?
Otherwise, why would he name his son Cody Quinn?
Cindy almost added ‘drift’ to the end of her sentence.
“That’s right, a match will settle everything,” said Samson Zhekova, looking excited to stir up trouble.
“Since the International Culinary Competition is approaching, we need to decide on the team as soon as possible.
We need to leave as much time as possible for pre-competition training and to enhance the coordination between the players.”
“Firstly, I want to clarify one thing.
You are already confirmed members of the team participating in the International Culinary Competition.
You will be assigned to either the Offensive Team, the Defensive Team or as substitutes.”
“Let me explain the criteria.
The first-tier team is naturally the Offensive team, the second-tier team is the substitutes, and the third-tier team is the Defensive team.”
“Although this is how we divide the teams, members of the Defensive Team bear the responsibility of preventing other teams from scoring as many badges as possible.
The goal is to lower their final ranking as much as possible, or even keep the strong teams out of the finals.
So, being a member of the Defensive Team does not mean they have the weakest skills.”
“Selections must be tactical.
After our discussion, our intention is to have at least one outstanding player in the Defensive Team, whose skills are comparable to the Offensive Team or even the top player,” said Samson Zhekova.
Cindy Clarke: “…”
While others might not understand what he meant, the ten members on Cindy’s team knew exactly what Samson Zhekova was trying to say.
They all knew that Cindy Clarke had already volunteered to stay on the Defensive Team.
Samson Zhekova was taking this opportunity to promote Cindy Clarke.
When Cindy decided to stay on the Defensive Team, it would give everyone the impression that Cindy’s skills were on par with Cody Quinn.
While Parker Honi and the others definitely had confidence in Cindy’s skill, they couldn’t quite say that Cindy’s skill had reached that level.
“If anyone here wants to stay on the Defensive Team, you can skip this match and directly join the Defensive Team,” said Samson Zhekova.
Chapter 1234: Especially Troublesome Appearance_1 The only reason Samson Zhekova would say this is because, based on past experience, no one ever wanted to voluntarily stay in the Defensive Team.
They all wanted to go out and compete.
Some are for improving their strength, finding stronger opponents, seeking greater challenges.
Others are for gaining fame and prestige.
This year, only Cindy Clarke is an exception.
Having the capability, yet wanting to stay in the Defensive Team.
Samson Zhekova just wanted to say that it was all his older brother’s charm that led her astray.
...
It was clear that Cindy Clarke was reluctant to leave Adrian Zhekova to compete!
So, Adrian Zhekova wasted a great chef’s talents.
Really making a mess of things.
“So, those who want to directly join the Defensive Team, can come forward.” Samson Zhekova stressed again, “I want to emphasize once again, joining the Defensive Team does not mean your skills are weaker than those in the competing teams.”
“But the strength of both teams must be balanced.
The competing team must earn badges to enter the finals, that is important.
But the Defensive Team also plays a critical role in preventing other teams, especially strong ones, from getting more badges.” Samson Zhekova said.
“Even, if we could prevent other teams, especially strong teams, from getting as few badges as possible, to the point where they rank low, at least not getting a place in the finals.” Samson Zhekova looked around the room.
“In this case, the chances of the competing team winning are greater, even the chances of winning first place is also possible.” Said Samson Zhekova.
“Therefore, if you think you have the strength to stop the competitor teams from getting badges, you can also consider joining the Defensive Team.” Samson Zhekova said.
Samson Zhekova’s meaning was very clear, joining either team is very important.
Moreover, when they divide the teams later, although they need to consider their strength, it is not the case that the first nine people will all be assigned to the competing teams based on their rank of strength.
They need to make a comprehensive consideration.
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The strength considered is how to achieve a balance between the two teams.
It can’t be that all the slightly weaker ones are left in the Defensive Team.
When others come to challenge, they’re simply unable to put up a fight and fall into chaos.
However, even though Samson Zhekova made it very clear, no one among those present, except for Cindy Clarke, voluntarily joined the competing team.
People like Parker Honi were mainly looking to learn more from exposure to more nations, more cuisines, and more specialties.
But the teacher’s assignment was the final say.
If, based on various considerations, they were assigned to either team, they wouldn’t object.
Cindy Clarke stood out and said: “I volunteer to join the Defensive Team.”
Quentin Woodridge did not hide his disdain at all.
Although he didn’t speak out, his contempt was evident in his eyes, and his mouth couldn’t help but sneer.
Disdain, evident in every gesture.
If it weren’t for Adrian Zhekova, he would have openly criticized Cindy Clarke by now.
Just now she was so arrogant, but in the end, she still willingly asked to join the Defensive Team.
It’s clear that she knows her strength isn’t adequate.
He also watched this year’s Pingla Culinary Competition.
But he really couldn’t stand to watch it.
The entire competition was full of praise for Cindy Clarke.
It was clear that everything was set up for Cindy Clarke to rise to the top.
In the beginning, he was puzzled, who was backing Cindy Clarke?
How could Pingla promote her like this?
Later he found out, it was the boss’s wife.
No wonder they promoted her so much, letting everyone make way for her.
The judges praised her to no end.
Although the dishes she made were complex.
But those weren’t all techniques that a chef should master?
Was there a need to belittle others and exaggerate her achievements in order to promote Cindy Clarke?
What made him the most comfortable was the finals, finally there was an external judge who wasn’t constrained by Pingla, and directly gave Cindy Clarke a low score.
It resulted in her receiving a relatively poor ranking, but she was still in the top ten.
What does this illustrate?
It shows that the judgment of the external judge was the reality.
This increasingly confirmed his previous suspicion, Cindy Clarke’s cooking skills were not as excellent as the judges declared.
It’s just a facade.
After all, the audience can only see it, and not taste it.
They have no idea how the actual taste is.
The audience simply assumed she was very skilled just because it looked good and was complex.
In fact, it was all mere bluffing.
During the International Culinary Competition, everyone will be focusing on the finals.
If Cindy Clarke stays in the Defensive Team, even if her performance is not good, no one will notice.
Quentin Woodridge sneered, she really knows how to scheme.
Although Quentin Woodridge didn’t speak, his earlier comments drew the attention of Samson Zhekova and others to him.
As a result, they noticed his reactions immediately.
Samson Zhekova frowned.
Having such a person in the team would certainly harm the unity of the team.
How can they win the competition if they are not united?
If they are consumed with infighting and scheming, how can they make it?
However, besides Quentin Woodridge, Samson Zhekova was also unsure whether there were others who were not verbally expressing, but still did not surrender in their hearts.
So even if they really excluded Quentin Woodridge, it’s not guaranteed that there aren’t others who think the same way.
It will still be a problem later.
Therefore, all they can do is to win over them with strength.
It’s not just Samson Zhekova, Parker Honi and others also saw Quentin Woodridge’s reaction.
“What’s his deal!” Aiden Huxley said under his breath, “What is he so capable of that he looks down on us?”
“He especially looks down on Cindy Clarke, probably like some people, thinking that Cindy Clarke is overrated.” Parker Honi sneered, “But, this also equates to looking down on us.
If he doesn’t even think highly of Cindy Clarke, then what about those of us who have lost to Cindy Clarke, aren’t we equally incompetent?”
Cindy Clarke also saw it, she said: “Although I have applied to join the Defensive Team, I still want to participate in today’s competition.”
“If anyone thinks my abilities are inadequate, it’s all a facade, my name doesn’t match my skills, and also believes that the standard of this year’s contestants in the Pingla Competition is average, that those in the top ten cannot even match some who didn’t even make it to the top ten.
You can try it.
Not only tasting my dishes but I believe that tasting the dishes of us, the top ten contestants, they won’t object.”
“Yes.” Gladys Joy immediately said, “As long as you can stomach it, you can taste everything.”
“Right.” Cynthia Florine blew on her nails, “However, don’t demean it deceitfully even if you find it delicious.
In that case, you’re not worthy of being our teammate.”
It was very clear who they were talking about.
Quentin Woodridge didn’t pretend to misunderstand, he said directly: “I can do that, if the judges agree, I have no objection.”
In any case, there aren’t many contestants, just 24 in total, so it’s sufficient to distribute them.
Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke looked at Samson Zhekova, waiting for his decision.
Both Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke were of high status in the Pingla Academy and the culinary world.
Although Hunter Clarke was more approachable and didn’t put pressure on others.
Wesley Gordon, however, was different.
As long as he wasn’t smiling, he appeared incredibly serious and intimidating.
Chapter 1235: Showing Off_1 Standing there makes one feel especially nervous.
Especially when waiting for his reviews.
If he’s silent, you can’t help but wonder if perhaps your dish isn’t good enough?
Worrying that you may have made mistakes that left him unsatisfied.
And yet, these two individuals still found their resolve subdued by Samson Zhekova.
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Despite his youth, Samson Zhekova stood in the middle of them without seeming the slightest bit out of place.
...
Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke followed Samson Zhekova’s lead, and his aura never diminished in their presence.
People who saw this never thought Samson Zhekova was undeserving of his reputation.
“No problem,” Samson agreed decisively, “I’ll set the rules.”
“As judges, even if we each only taste a little, the dish may not have enough for all 23 of the remaining people here to try.” Samson explained.
“When reviewing, if any participant has suspicions about the judge’s assessment and believes the dish isn’t worthy of such high praise, they can voice their doubts and proceed to taste for themselves.”
“Whoever has doubts, speaks up, and they can do the tasting.” Samson stated, “How does this sound to everyone?”
“You don’t need to hold back.
This is how it works at Pingla.” Samson smiled, “Our academy operates under a competitive system.
Students’ rank based on their strength is updated monthly, and students later in the ranking are always welcome to challenge.
Those who succeed will have their rankings adjusted.”
“So, our students are not afraid of any challenge, and they never shy away from voicing their opinions and raising doubts.” Samson stated proudly, showing his pride for his students with every word and gesture.
Even Parker Honi, Cody Quinn, and others couldn’t help but exude an air of pride.
Samson Zhekova spoke the truth; they never feared any of this.
Take Quentin Woodridge, for instance.
He’d been quite arrogant before, but when he was told he could voice his doubts, he became somewhat timid and even asked the judges for their opinion first.
Quentin realized that Samson’s remarks were intended to bolster the students of Pingla.
“Now, the participants should go and prepare at their cooking stations,” Samson directed.
Everyone quickly selected their cooking stations and took their positions.
“According to the rules of the International Culinary Competition, the cuisines of the two competing teams must be from a third country, to prevent bias.” Samson explained.
For instance, if Hearth Nation competed against Des Moines, and the cuisine happened to be Chinese or French.
This would undoubtedly benefit one side and unfairly disadvantage the other.
Therefore, to ensure fairness, we choose the cuisine of a third-party country.
“To help everyone adapt to this rule as soon as possible, from now on, the dishes we practice will be foreign cuisine.” Samson clarified, “Because during the competition, you won’t have the chance to cook Chinese Cuisine.”
“For the competition now, the topic is unlimited.
Aside from Chinese Cuisine, you may choose any other type of cuisine you’re skilled at,” Samson added, “There is only one requirement: the dish must be hot and should be a main course.”
“The 15 participants have already familiarised yourselves with the surroundings on the way here.
The food storage room is next door and I believe you all are aware of this.
You will have 15 minutes to select your ingredients from the storage room now.”
“It’s currently 15:13.” Samson checked his watch, “You must all return to your cooking station by 15:30.
late participants will have to forfeit and only watch the competition.
You will not be eliminated but your score in this competition will be zero.”
“Alright, you may now proceed to the food storage room to make your selections.” Samson said.
Everyone hurried off without delay.
The external participants, in particular, showed a higher level of urgency since they were not on their home turf and thus felt slightly insecure.
They were the first to dash into the room, while, Cindy Clarke and others took their time.
As they spent quite a bit of time studying cuisine in the self-study area, they knew exactly where the ingredients were located and didn’t feel the need to rush.
Cindy selected beef tongue along with some condiments.
She was recreating a dish she had seen in the Japanese drama “La Grande Maison Tokyo”.
Although the show did not provide a detailed process or recipe, Cindy studied each frame and attempted to replicate the dish.
She had tested the dish on Adrian and Morgan Zhekova, and the feedback was quite positive.
Cindy and others had a clear recipe in mind and so knew precisely what they were looking for.
Despite entering later, they selected quickly, returned to their cooking station, and began to wait for the competition to start.
The external participants, though they were first to enter, were slow in comparison, hesitating in front of the vast range of ingredients in the large food storage room.
The variety of ingredients was so broad; it even surpassed that of their own kitchens in the restaurant.
Initially, they wanted a bit of everything and found it hard to leave.
Despite entering first, they ended up leaving much later than Cindy and others.
Fortunately, everyone managed to return before 15:30.
“Now, begin!” Samson announced.
Everyone else promptly began to work.
As they started cooking, Samson added, “The cooking time is one hour.”
A few people paused in their movements and looked at Samson, “You didn’t mention this before!”
“I didn’t, didn’t you all set a time limit for yourselves?
Since it’s a competition, you shouldn’t expect to have too much time.
You must be aware of this,” Samson responded, “Or did you genuinely think you would be allowed to cook a dish that takes three to four hours if I didn’t say anything?”
“In a competition, there might be unexpected situations.
Hence, today’s competition is not just for initial ranking, it also tests your responses.”
Wesley Gordon followed saying, “Don’t underestimate the students of Pingla Academy, assuming they’re less experienced and skilled because they are young.”
“Haven’t you guys noticed?
Not a single one of the Pingla Academy students disputed the Headmaster’s demands, and they calmly continue to prepare their work.
They have already presupposed a timeframe for a suitable competition dish with ample preparation time, rather than attempting the most complex cuisine.”
“The purpose of this competition is to win, not simply to show off your skills.” Wesley Gordon said coldly.
Upon hearing this, several people instinctively glanced around,
As expected, every Pingla Academy student focused on their preparations without a hint of surprise in their expressions.
Moreover, there weren’t many ingredients on their cooking stations, indicating that their cuisines were not overly complex.
Quentin Woodridge refused to buy it, reasoning that it was simply because these students were on their home ground and had become accustomed to it.
Chapter 1236: Don’t break their spirits_1 These people, they’re clearly picking on them because they’re new here and haven’t acclimated yet.
They’re using them to elevate the students of Pingla Academy, to elevate Pingla Academy itself.
That’s what the group led by Quentin Woodridge was thinking.
Yes, Samson Zhekova confesses, it was all deliberate.
Who wouldn’t go out of their way for some people who look down on those from Pingla?
Think that Pingla students are young and easy to bully, that they don’t have real skills?
Even though Quentin Woodridge is the only one who stood up, a few people looked on with disdain, contempt, or agreement flashing in their eyes.
...
Each and every one of them, Samson Zhekova did not miss.
He’s going to show these people the true skills of Pingla students, and win them over completely.
Additionally, Samson Zhekova didn’t do anything unfair.
The rules are the same for everyone.
Samson Zhekova didn’t secretly tell Pingla students about this beforehand.
They are competing entirely based on their own experience.
Aren’t the out-of-school participants looking down on Pingla students?
Thinking that they are young, and leaving their cooking skills aside for a moment, at least their experience and exposure isn’t as extensive as theirs.
But they don’t realize that the competition within Pingla is far more brutal than the places where they work.
In terms of experience, students from Pingla are not only not at a disadvantage but they probably even surpass them.
It’s not about work experience, it’s about experiences like in competitions.
What they must now participate in is a competition, not work.
So they must switch to a competition mindset.
When it’s time for the competition, the one leading must have ample competition experience.
But the Pingla students have a lot of competition experience, yet these out-of-school participants look down on them, and deep down don’t acknowledge them.
When the time comes, if there are disputes within the team, or even more than disputes…
Forget about winning, they probably wouldn’t even be able to continue the competition.
So they must seize the moment and win over these people first.
Hunter Clarke, who looks gentle and kind, spoke in a gentle yet irrefutable tone, “If you are unsatisfied and think it’s unfair, it’s better to change your strategy quickly.
If you think you can complete it within an hour, then focus on cooking.”
“If the dish you originally planned cannot be completed within an hour, then change your strategy quickly, either simplify the steps or directly change the dish.” Hunter Clarke said.
After being reminded by Hunter Clarke, several people snapped back to reality and quickly got to work.
“This is lack of competition experience, and poor capacity for on-the-spot adaptation,” Wesley Gordon commented at a normal volume for everyone to hear.
“I know, some of you think that Pingla’s contestants are still students, lacking social experience and experience, and think that as chefs for over ten years, can’t you beat people who just learned cooking for a few years?” Samson Zhekova spoke up, “But don’t forget, what you’re going to face is competition, not working in a certain restaurant.”
“The competition you’re going to face doesn’t need your social experience.
It will make use of your cooking experience, but experience is also a double-edged sword.
It can indeed be your advantage.
But it can also make you over-rely on experience, and lack flexibility and creativity.”
“When Pingla is teaching, during the cooking lessons, it never asks the students to follow a fixed recipe.
What we want is creativity, flexibility, not just relying on experience, thinking this is right, that is wrong.
Not relying on a fixed recipe, thinking this is how it should be done, doing it that way is wrong,” Samson Zhekova said.
“The Pingla students here are just like you, they know nothing about this competition.
They didn’t even expect there would be a competition today.
They don’t know the competition time or the rules, they found out at the same time as you.”
“Compared to you, their only advantage is that they know the food storage room next door better than you.
Aside from that, they’re starting on the same line as you.
And regarding this advantage, I don’t know how many of you noticed.”
“When they went to get the ingredients just now, not a single Pingla student rushed to the front.
They all waited for you to enter first before they went in to choose.
They willingly gave you the time first, wiping out their only advantage, to compete fairly with you.”
“So, there’s no need for any hard feelings,” Samson Zhekova said, “Of course, what I said, you can also disagree, not believe.”
“But…” Samson Zhekova grinned, “That’s your problem.”
He has that kind of confidence and assurance.
He has no need to prove anything to these people, anyway, what he says goes.
If these people are really unconvinced, then kick them out and choose new people.
To participate in the competition, they have to go through Pingla.
It feels good to reach monopoly.
There’s no need for anyone to feel hard done by, after all, Pingla has put in a lot of effort and paid a great price to reach monopoly.
If we don’t even get this in return, what are we doing this for?
“If you continue to question your teammates and can’t cooperate with each other, I won’t change our Pingla people, I will just change you,” Samson Zhekova said.
Seeing that Quentin Woodridge was the first to show signs of resentment on his face.
Samson Zhekova unashamedly said, “Don’t feel bitter, who makes the rules at Pingla?
Angry?
You just have to bear it.”
Cindy Clarke: “…”
Has Samson Zhekova always been this annoying?
Ever since Cindy Clarke started studying at Pingla, she hasn’t taken a class with Samson Zhekova.
She had no idea that Samson Zhekova was so…
arrogantly defiant.
Feeling it’s unfair that Pingla has the final say?
Well who made the others no good and fall short?
They didn’t even have the abilities to occupy a place in the international market, nor do they have any say,” Samson Zhekova said, “In the international market, both the say and the market share were fought for by Pingla on its own.”
“Competing with those foreigners, the fight for money and power, we definitely had it tough too.
So the say we have now was fought for by us.
Without us, you wouldn’t even have the qualifications or channels to participate in the competition.
So, just bear with it.”
“Don’t be arrogant in Pingla’s territory, looking down on our students while depending on our quotas,” Samson Zhekova said, “Let me put it this way, if we don’t want to, you won’t even get the slots to participate, we can totally just give it to Pingla students.”
Cindy Clarke: “…”
How long have you been holding this in?
You finally can’t hold back and blurted it all out?
“Cough!” Wesley Gordon subtly reminded in a low voice, “Don’t crush their confidence, we’re in the middle of a competition now.”
The participants are also not having it easy.
The Pingla students have long gotten used to Samson Zhekova’s arrogant chatter.
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He doesn’t act arrogant usually, but once he starts, he can’t stop.
Chapter 1237: Don’t be reluctant_1 Other students were used to it, but Cindy Clarke did not mind at all.
She is Samson Zhekova’s sister-in-law after all.
So whatever Samson Zhekova said, it would never be against Cindy Clarke; Cindy Clarke felt no pressure at all.
Even if Cindy Clarke confronted Samson Zhekova right in front of everyone, Samson Zhekova would just have to bear it.
Otherwise, Adrian Zhekova would have to deal with him.
As for the competitors from outside the school, they certainly were not used to this.
It really had a significant impact on their mindset.
...
Samson Zhekova finally cleared his throat and quieted down.
Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke watched everyone’s cooking process.
Cindy Clarke was seen preparing the beef tongue, cleaning and removing the skin off it, cutting it into a long piece, then using a rope to wrap it into a cylindrical shape.
She rubbed salt and black pepper on the surface of the beef tongue, then seared it in a frying pan until it turned a crisp, brown color.
She added water, peppercorns, onions, and bay leaves into an electric pressure cooker, then put the seared beef tongue in for high pressure stewing.
If she had enough time, she could stew it slowly in a pot, which would allow it to marinade better.
But given the time constraint, Cindy took this somewhat shortcut approach.
Speaking of which, one hour was really too short.
Normally, even for a main course, one hour is not enough.
She had to find a feasible substitute method.
However, Cindy actually preferred the more delicate method of slow stewing.
But a pressure cooker is indeed a quick and effective method; in no time at all, the beef tongue was stewed until it was very tender.
Due to being secured by a rope, even though it was tender, the beef tongue still maintained its cylindrical shape, with no deformity.
Cindy Clarke placed the beef tongue aside to cool.
She then heated oil in a pan, added fatty beef tendon and beef tendons, and stir fried them together.
The fatty part of the beef was fried until it oozed fat, the resulting aroma of butter was intoxicating, and the beef tendons became increasingly soft and glutinous, with it’s fat being stir-fried out.
She then added onions, garlic slices, celery sticks, radish chunks, minced bacon, and tomato chunks.
When all these ingredients were fried until they were soft, brown and tender, Cindy mashed increasingly soft onions, carrots and tomatoes with a wooden spatula until they turned into a paste.
The paste was so thick it seemed like it had been thickened with starch, akin to thick cream or melted ice cream.
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After sieving, all the vegetable bits were filtered, leaving only the thick sauce.
Finally, she added red wine.
In another pot, she heated and melted a chunk of butter, added wheat flour and stir-fried it until golden brown color, then added the just prepared sauce, and simmered it until it was so thick it almost solidified.
When the sauce was scooped up, it gradually thickened in the middle.
She did not require too much sauce, therefore Cindy just dished out a portion.
The remaining portion was added to the slightly stir-fried fruit radishes, broccolini, broccoli, asparagus, then seasoned with a little salt and pepper.
When the vegetables had not yet changed color and still retained their original colors, she quickly dished them out.
She then cut the cooled beef tongue in half, shaped it neatly into a rectangle and simultaneously searing it in the pan, she added red wine to deglaze the pan and allowed the beef tongue to absorb the aroma of the red wine.
Finally, she placed the beef tongue in a dish.
Next, she arranged the vegetables beside it as garnish.
She poured the prepared sauce evenly over the beef tongue.
The sauce had turned a dark brown color and looked like a thick chocolate sauce.
Last but not least, she cleaned the surrounding sauce with a cloth to make the plating neat and tidy.
Cindy just managed to finish within the deadline.
As Wesley Gordon announced the end of the time, Cindy had just finished.
With Samson Zhekova leading, followed by Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke.
Starting from the first cooking station, they tasted each dish.
Because Chinese Cuisine was not allowed.
So among the contestants, some chose to make French cuisine, while others chose to make Italian cuisine.
There were even some who made Tacco and so on.
“Your ravioli incorporated elements of Chinese cuisine.
If it was served in a Western restaurant in our country, it might be very well-received by our compatriots.
But this is a competition, and authentic taste is required,” Samson Zhekova said.
“The judges come from all over the world, each with their own preferred taste.
But there is one thing that remains consistent.
They will definitely judge based on the most authentic taste of the originating country of the cuisine.”
Samson Zhekova has been paying attention to Quentin Woodridge.
Finally, he came face-to-face with Quentin Woodridge.
Quentin Woodridge made Tacco.
“The cuisine you chose is good.
It’s interesting and quite clever,” Samson Zhekova affirmed.
Quentin Woodridge stood a little straighter, a proud expression appeared on his face.
He even looked around with a smug expression.
Samson Zhekova picked up the Tacco, examined it and said, “You didn’t manage your cooking time well.
The two sides of the pancake are still a bit over cooked, but the middle part, due to the stuffing, has softened and even soaked up the oil.”
Samson Zhekova pointed at his hand, “Now my hand is full of oil.
Maybe you thought the one-hour timeframe was too short, and were worried about not having enough time, so you chose this recipe.
This ended up with you finishing early, which led to the oil from the stuffing separating from it.
And the pancake isn’t crispy enough.”
Samson Zhekova tasted it: “It lacks a bit of spiciness.
Maybe it’s because it’s been left out for too long, the taste is not ideal.”
Samson Zhekova pointed out the top layer, “Look, there’s a layer of oil floating on top.”
Samson Zhekova put down the pancake, picked up a tissue, and wiped the oil off his fingers.
“It’s just because I have to critique and point out your shortcomings, that I have to eat this.
But in a real competition, the judges can be strict, they can choose not to taste your dish.
This is a failure of a dish, the judges can totally believe that serving this kind of unacceptable dish for tasting is an insult to their professional standards.”
Quentin Woodridge’s face turned red, feeling a slight sensation in his heart, as if Samson Zhekova was deliberately suppressing him.
His dish couldn’t possibly be as bad as Samson Zhekova made it out to be!
“Don’t be dissatisfied.
I’ve said it before, the work experience you have won’t help much in the competition,” Samson Zhekova said, “The most ideal state in a competition is to finish your dish right as the competition ends, in order to maintain the freshness of the dish to the highest degree.”
“Just like dining in a restaurant, the chef serves the dishes immediately after the cooking is completed and presents it to the customer for tasting than letting it sit for a while and lose its best taste.”
“Since you finished preparing your dishes early, you must have had time to observe the status of other contestants.
You might as well think about whether the students of Pingla all finished right at the deadline.”
“It’s not that they are panicking or running out of time, but they are effectively allocating the preparation time of the dishes.”
“There are many competitors but few judges.
Everyone is in line waiting for the judges’ evaluation.
Some people have to wait a long time.”
Chapter 1238: How Could It Be So Perfect?_1 “The longer the time waits, the more the flavor of the cuisine is affected,” Samson Zhekova said.
“But you can’t dictate the order in which the judges taste, and you can’t ask them to taste yours first.”
“So what you can do is, within your ability, try to maintain the freshness of the dishes and ensure they are still within their best tasting period when being tasted.”
“Your ability is to try to time it as closely as possible to the end of a round of cooking, preferably until the very last second.”
“What you’ll face is not social experience, but competition experience.
You may have a lot of social experience, but when it comes to competition experience, you are far behind Pingla’s students.”
“They experience such a competition every month, so they understand how crucial the control of cooking time is.”
Samson Zhekova casually tossed his cutlery aside, with no intention of tasting Quentin Woodridge’s dish any further.
“In other respects, they may still have much to learn.
However, when it comes to competition, you definitely have a lot to learn from them.”
Samson Zhekova then tasted dishes from a few other contestants from outside the school.
Some were really good, but the majority had problems with timing.
“Next, you must not only study foreign cuisines but also practice controlling your cooking time.
...
You can’t end up with incomplete dishes at the end of a round, neither should you finish too early while there is still a lot of time left.”
“If you’re just standing there with nothing to do, the judges won’t taste your dish earlier just because you finished sooner. You can only watch your dish get cold second by second, losing the taste it should have had.”
“So, you have to practice timing your dishes.
Even if it’s a dish that can be completed within half an hour, you should just finish cooking it right before the end,” Samson Zhekova said.
“Don’t think this sounds easy or that you can do it right away.
Assuming you’re an experienced chef with strong time-management skills, if you refuse to accept this, why not try to time it yourself and see if it’s really that easy.”
“If you don’t control it well and finish early, it’s still okay.
The worst-case scenario is not having your dish ready when it should have been, which would mean your points would be even lower than a completed but cold dish.”
“In the time ahead, there’s lot you need to do and learn.
There’s no time for you to scheme against each other.
If there is any sign of disunity in the team, I will eliminate the cause,” Samson Zhekova scanned the crowd, “Understood?”
Having said that, Samson Zhekova walked up to Cindy Clarke.
He had, of course, tasted Cindy’s cooking in their family mansion.
But Cindy’s dishes were home-cooked meals.
To taste Cindy’s cuisine in a competition setting like this was something new.
He had contributed some topics to the previous Pingla Competition, but he didn’t make it on stage as a judge.
Now seeing Cindy’s dishes, Samson Zhekova was particularly intrigued.
“So…” Samson Zhekova said, “everyone knows Cindy is my sister-in-law, so I won’t comment.
I will only taste, not comment.”
“Teacher Gordon, Teacher Clarke, would you please do the evaluation?” Just as Samson Zhekova finished his words.
Wesley Gordon was already eager to come over, almost pushing Samson Zhekova away.
“Please don’t push,” Samson Zhekova hurriedly said, “Though I won’t share my opinions, I still want to eat.”
Samson Zhekova was already being squeezed aside by Wesley Gordon.
At this point, Hunter Clarke squeezed in as well, pushing Samson Zhekova even further to the side.
Samson Zhekova stumbled a little.
Hunter Clarke said, “You and Cindy are family, you must have eaten her dishes frequently.”
“Look at what you’re implying,” Samson Zhekova hurriedly explained, “My brother cherishes my sister-in-law so much to not let her cook for us.”
“Well, then, double standard!”
Samson Zhekova glanced at Cindy and didn’t have the heart to say it out loud, afraid that Cindy would tell Adrian Zhekova.
Instead, Samson Zhekova used a more euphemistic phrase: “It’s just that my sister-in-law can cook for him, but not for others.”
Still a double standard.
Samson Zhekova looked earnestly at Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke, hoping they could summarize these words into three profound and accurate words.
Double standard dog.
It’s unknown whether Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke concluded this in their minds or not.
However, their apparent understanding expressions gave away nothing.
Samson Zhekova hoped that they share this understanding.
While the contestants were cooking, Samson Zhekova and the others had been observing.
Naturally, they knew that Cindy had chosen beef tongue as her ingredient.
But now the beef tongue was wrapped in a thick sauce.
It looked more like a chunk of chocolate cake.
The scent resembled curry, but not as overpowering.
Wesley Gordon cut a piece first.
The beef tongue was stewed until it was soft and tender, the knife went right through it.
He speared a piece with his fork, Wesley Gordon carefully observed the cut surface: “The texture of the beef tongue is smooth.
Looking at it from the cut surface, there are hardly any meat fibers, just a fine surface.”
Hunter Clarke also observed: “The surface is similar to foie gras, but it doesn’t look gritty like liver.”
“Exactly, the texture of beef tongue itself is also tender and smooth, unlike regular meat texture.
Eating it doesn’t give you the fibrous feeling of meat, but it is delicate and firm.” Samson Zhekova somehow had also cut a piece for himself, and gave a rating before even tasting it.
Wesley Gordon was not at all courteous: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t comment?”
“I said I wouldn’t score,” Samson Zhekova explained immediately, “but I can’t help commenting.”
Anyway, Cindy had decided to stay on the Defensive Team and didn’t need scoring anymore.
Even if none of the judges scored her, it wouldn’t affect anything.
What mattered was the judges’ evaluation, as long as it was good.
Once it was good, it would convince others.
Those who were not convinced could taste it themselves and then they would be.
Hunter Clarke didn’t bother talking with them, and took a bite first.
She closed her eyes, chewing slowly.
“There’s a faint scent of red wine in the sauce.
The taste of red wine and other ingredients in the sauce do not overshadow one another, fighting for presence.
Instead, they blend well, the taste of red wine is not abrupt, and the taste of the sauce ingredients is not sharp,” Hunter Clarke nodded and said, “Everything is mild and just right, not too overpowering for the taste buds.”
“Even after eating this main course, the next dish won’t be hijacked by the taste of this one,” Hunter Clarke said.
“How could it be just right?” Wesley Gordon wondered.
Chapter 1239: Strength is Everything_1 Wesley Gordon looked at the bottle of red wine on the cooking station: “Indeed the red wine is excellent, there’s no doubt about that.
But all it does is to not degrade the original flavor of the sauce.
Used poorly, red wine can actually diminish the taste of the sauce.
Yet, the taste of the wine is not drowned by the sauce, that’s quite peculiar.”
“The beef tongue was separately marinated with red wine.” Samson Zhekova said.
Wesley Gordon turned to Cindy Clarke.
Cindy nodded, “Yes, indeed.”
Wesley Gordon admired Samson Zhekova with respect.
What a genius chef, indeed impressive.
...
Samson Zhekova looked wise beyond his years: “I just noticed.”
Everyone: “…”
And to think that you were enlightened, knowing all of this.
“Actually, the red wine has already permeated into the flesh of the beef tongue.
Even with the sauce, it won’t obscure the aroma of the red wine,” Cindy explained.
Wesley Gordon nodded, “The beef tongue is tender to the point of melting in the mouth.
It’s notoriously hard to achieve such a texture with beef tongue.
But it is almost there now.”
“Very good,” Hunter Clarke said, “And as the Headmaster just pointed out about the control of timing.
Judging from the flavor of this dish, you did it right on time.”
“It’s been 15 minutes since we started tasting, and this dish is still within its optimal consumption time frame.
Any later, it might not be,” Hunter Clarke said, “This illustrates the importance of timing in cuisine.”
“Cindy Clarke was in the Middle of the line, there are still competitors waiting for us to taste their dishes.
The later it becomes, the more challenging it gets for the subsequent competitors,” Hunter Clarke addressed the previous competitors, “So I urge you all to pay attention to the timing of your cooking.”
“Judge, may I taste Cindy’s dish?” Quentin Woodridge asked, “Just now the Headmaster also agreed that if anyone disagrees, they can come and taste it directly.”
“Of course.” Without waiting for Samson Zhekova’s response, Wesley Gordon made the decision right away.
After all, everyone had just agreed on this.
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And Cindy’s cuisine was certainly not afraid of their tasting.
“If anyone else wants to have a taste, you can line up,” Wesley Gordon said outright, “Not much left, first come first served.”
“You can have the other piece if you don’t mind, it doesn’t affect the flavor, it just hasn’t been plated.”
Cindy had cut the beef tongue in half during her preparation.
She used only half of it for plating.
The other half is still available, and there is still plenty of sauce left.
All it needs is a drizzle of sauce.
Upon hearing this, the competitors who were originally hesitant, apprehensive of there not being enough, all lined up.
Parker Honi and his group were in a sorry state as they still hadn’t had their dishes evaluated by the judges, so they had to wait on the spot.
The other competitors from Pingla Academy were all upperclassmen.
From the third or fourth year.
They had not come in contact with Cindy before.
They had heard good things about Cindy’s cuisine but had not personally tasted it.
Now, given such a good opportunity, those who had already been evaluated by the judges were lined up.
Quentin Woodridge was the first in line.
He stood in front of Cindy, looking dubious.
He was always skeptical about Cindy’s abilities.
The judges’ previous praise made it seem as if there were no flaws.
This made him even more rebellious.
These two judges were probably saying nice things because Samson Zhekova was here.
Did they have to reserve a spot for a competitor with connections like Cindy?
What a waste!
“Please,” Cindy said confidently, even gesticulating towards the dish.
Quentin embarked doubtful but after putting a small piece into his mouth, he was completely silent.
He was lost for words, chewing awkwardly.
It was unusually delicious.
Just as the judges had described, there was no exaggeration.
He was even inclined to hasten his refusal, but he thought that would be face-losing.
As if he had no worldly experience.
So, he could only maintain his slow chewing speed, even though he was extremely eager to speed it up.
However, this self-inflicted predicament became a torment for him.
The people behind him were also orderly in tasting.
Quentin Woodridge said nothing but others were not stingy in their praises.
A few competitors who had similar thoughts as Quentin Woodridge but didn’t voice out, also conceded by this point.
They hadn’t expressed their thoughts ahead of time like Quentin Woodridge.
So now even as they lavished praises, they didn’t feel embarrassed.
Some were even relieved, glad that they had held back earlier.
They left themselves an out.
After everyone was finished, Samson Zhekova then maliciously asked Quentin Woodridge, “How is it?”
Samson Zhekova didn’t intend to save Quentin Woodridge’s face, he had to concede his defeat.
“It is utterly delicious,” Quentin Woodridge admitted, “I admit it.
Cindy’s cuisine is exceptional, her cooking level is also remarkable.
I acknowledge her.”
Samson Zhekova thought how strong Cindy was, it didn’t really require Quentin’s approval.
However, at least on one account, Samson Zhekova was quite satisfied with Quentin.
His honesty.
If it’s genuinely good, he admits it.
He wouldn’t lie just for the sake of his pride.
It wasn’t just Samson Zhekova, but Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke also improved their impressions on Quentin.
“He is fairly straightforward and upright after all.” Gladys Joy said.
Parker Honi and others nodded their agreement.
Because of Quentin Woodridge’s straightforwardness and integrity, the other competitors’ impressions of him also changed.
Samson Zhekova and others continued to taste the dishes from the rest, pointing out their shortcomings.
“That’s enough for today,” Samson Zhekova said, “We will discuss the team allocations.
We will announce the results tomorrow, if anyone is dissatisfied, like if you are assigned to the Defensive Team, but you want to go to the offensive team or vice versa, objections can be raised.”
“We will seriously consider it, after all, if you don’t want to stay in this team, it can affect your mood, which also means you cannot fully exert your abilities, which is not beneficial for the competition and lowers the team’s strengths.
We don’t want to see this scenario happen, and we will avoid this as much as possible.”
“Of course, this is based on the premise that you are strong and you perform well.
If you’re slightly weak in a team.
Well, I’m sorry, then you should just comply with the allocation,” Samson Zhekova said.
“In Pingla Academy, strength is everything.
Everything speaks with strength, with strength, you have a say.
Only the strong survive, it’s cruel, but as long as you are in Pingla Academy, you have to abide by our rules.
You will get used to it after some time.”
The last statement left everyone speechless.
These words of his sounded rather cruel.
“All right, everyone can disperse now.
Starting tomorrow, based on each of your assigned teams, we will officially enter the practice period!” After finishing, Samson Zhekova left first.
Leaving Wesley Gordon and Hunter Clarke to handle the rest.
“Since you all have come to Pingla Academy, we will do our utmost to provide convenience for all of you,” Hunter Clarke said.
Chapter 1240: Having a Secure Rear Base_1 “From early training to the competition period, all costs will be borne by the Pingla.” Hunter Clarke said, “Whether it’s the defensive team or the combat team.
During the competition, the defensive team stays in Pingla, food and accommodation costs, as well as the cost of practicing cuisine in Pingla, are all completely free.”
“All the costs of the combat team flying to various countries, the connection costs of renting the venue during this period, and the necessary costs for the ingredients, are all borne by the Pingla.”
People, especially the students from outside Pingla, did not expect that it was an international competition, and they should have represented the country.
But the costs are borne by Pingla.
Actually, they didn’t know that all this was actually a competition for status among large companies on the international stage.
Pingla has a place in the International Chefs Association, and the teams from other countries are also sponsored by various corporate groups.
Pingla is not the only one paying.
In the same way, they can attract excellent chefs at home and abroad through such competitions and gradually increase their influence.
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Moreover, Pingla is responsible for organizing domestic players and is also the main sponsor of the representative team.
The team uniforms, billboards on the racecourse, etc., all serve a good promotional function.
“All costs related to everyone’s participation in the competition are undertaken by Pingla, so correspondingly, everyone must abide by Pingla’s rules while they are in Pingla.”
“Pingla is responsible for all your expenses, but it does not mean that you can act recklessly in Pingla.
I won’t mention the students of Pingla, we all understand the rules of Pingla.
A referee will come to you specifically later to tell you about the precautions in Pingla.”
“However, you can rest assured that there are not many requirements and they are not harsh, they are all things that you can usually abide by.” It’s not difficult to have rules and be of good quality.”
“Students from Pingla can leave first, and the remaining contestants, please wait a moment.” Hunter Clarke said.
People from Pingla left first.
Although there was a feeling of being treated differently.
But everyone also knew that they really didn’t say anything wrong.
Pingla students have long known Pingla’s rules.
Moreover, they didn’t expect that even private practice, Pingla can take care of it.
They thought they would have to bear some of their own extra expenses for participating in the competition.
But listening to the meaning of Hunter Clarke, it seems that they don’t need to bear a bit.
At this time, a young man who looked in his mid-twenties came in.
“Hello everyone, I am Julian Xenos, from today, I will be in charge of the logistics work of the team.
If you have any questions in your daily life or need help, you can find me.” Julian Xenos said.
He distributed a thin booklet to everyone: “These are the rules that you need to observe in Pingla.
These are the same as what the students of Pingla have to observe.
They even have to observe more.”
“Right now, these are just part of what they need to focus to on a daily basis.” Julian Xenos said, “At the entrance of the student apartment area, Pingla’s overall rules and regulations are posted.
In addition, the official website of Pingla Academy has a special section introducing the rules and regulations of Pingla Academy.
You can also go up and check it.”
“During this period, the school has arranged student apartment accommodation for you in the school.
The accommodation conditions are the highest level of training of the Pingla students.
The system for allocating apartment levels is also mentioned in the book I gave you.”
“You have the highest-grade single-room loft apartments, with complete kitchen and bathroom facilities.” Julian Xenos introduced.
“For meals, you can eat with the students of Pingla at the student restaurant.
Later, I will distribute meal cards to you.
You can bind the meal card on your mobile phone by scanning the QR code on the meal card.
This way you don’t need to carry a card when you go out.
All three meals a day are free.”
“In addition, the teachers will make an analysis based on your cooking skills and specially set up a contestant class.
During this period, they will give you classes, practice together, and compete, etc.”
“During your spare time, if you want to study by yourself, the school’s study room is also open to you.
You can use any ingredients at will without extra cost.
The specific items are also detailed in the book.
This item is particularly important.
I hope you will take it seriously and check the details.”
“If you violate it, even if you are a contestant, anyone who violates it will be kicked out of the team.
So, please take it seriously.”
“For the specific rules, you can understand it on your own.
If there is anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me.” Julian Xenos then wrote his mobile number on the whiteboard in front, “This is my mobile number, and you can also add my Whatsapp by searching the mobile number.”
“Now, follow me, I will take you to the apartment to have a look.”
Everyone followed Julian Xenos, did not directly go to the apartment, but also visited this building and the teaching buildings along the way, classrooms, for a simple understanding.
At the end, they came to the apartment.
When they saw the configurations of the apartment, they couldn’t help but think about why the people at Pingla were so tough.
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Just providing these for them to use for free, Pingla has to spend a lot.
Moreover, they also envied the students at Pingla.
They all graduated from culinary schools.
After graduating, they learned to cook in the restaurant, and if they were lucky, they found a mentorship.
Being able to stand out from the crowd here is not easy, and each of their mentors is very strong and well-known in the culinary world.
But after all, those who can stand out from the crowd here are those who have achieved or are close to success.
More people, after graduating from cooking school, enter the restaurant, start from the kitchen chores and work their way up bit by bit.
Or open a small restaurant on their own.
Make dishes that meet popular tastes.
And these are all just for the sake of life.
Unlike these people in Pingla, they have been different since they entered the school.
There was suddenly this feeling among the crowd; it was like ordinary students visiting Harvard or Oxford University.
While Julian Xenos was showing them around, the people from Pingla withdrew first, but they did not disperse right away.
This time, Cindy Clarke and their 10 people, plus the 5 people who won the competition outside the school, the remaining 9 people, are all students from Pingla’s third and fourth grades.
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was here, Parker Honi and the others introduced them to Cindy Clarke.
“Your strength is very strong, why do you want to stay in the defensive team?” Ryan Brown asked.
“Defending, defending, means defending our position and preventing the opponent from breaking through.
This is very important, so I want to do my best here.
Try to become a shield that the opponent can’t break.
Let the teammates who are competing outside can rest assured.”
“Having a stable rear zone is also very important.” Cindy Clarke said.
Cody Quinn nodded his head, “This is what the headmaster and the two referees said, try to make the teams from other countries get fewer badges, so we can play with confidence in the front.”