Ch. 891..900
Chapter 891: What is this operation?
_1 “Jenny Kirk is not playing the role of a judge!”
“Jenny Kirk is nothing but a rotten apple!”
As the audience protested, the leaderboard on the big screen was also updated in real time.
Unsurprisingly, due to Jenny Kirk’s scoring.
Cindy Clarke’s total score has already fallen to last place.
Cindy Clarke’s current total score is 89.8 points.
The first place, Parker Honi, scored 97.1 points.
...
The scores for the two were initially neck and neck, but now there’s a significant difference.
A huge difference of 7.3 points!
It may not seem much, but it’s already impossible to catch up.
“If we ignore Jenny Kirk’s score and only consider the scores given by the other five judges, Cindy Clarke would actually be 0.3 points higher than Parker Honi.”
“It’s all because of Jenny Kirk.”
“What is she meddling with!”
“Forget it, what’s the point of this final round!”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what score Jenny Kirk can give next.
I want to see where her bottom line is!”
“I found the email address of the International Chefs Association and the official email of the International Culinary Competition.
After this final, I will tell them all about what Jenny Kirk did!
Let them see what kind of representative they sent!”
“Relying on the influence of the International Culinary Competition to stir up trouble here, did the International Culinary Competition orchestrate this?”
“Yes, you’re right!”
“Sister, share the email address.
I also want to send one!”
“I’ve posted it on Facebook, search my Facebook account and have a look.”
The anger was not confined to the audience at the event.
The online audience watching the live stream were also furious.
Some even posted the official email of the International Culinary Competition and the International Chefs Association in the live stream comments.
They vowed to report Jenny Kirk’s actions during the Pingla Culinary Competition honestly.
And questioned whether the International Culinary Competition and the International Chefs Association sent Jenny Kirk intentionally to cause trouble.
But all these will be dealt with after the competition.
“Jenny Kirk, step down!”
“Jenny Kirk, step down!”
“Jenny Kirk, step down!”
The audience members started chanting in unison.
Though they knew it was impossible to remove Jenny Kirk now that the scorecards had already been tallied, they were truly outraged.
Cindy Clarke stood on stage, feeling numb inside.
By now, she had prepared herself for the possibility of coming in last place in this competition.
Given Jenny Kirk’s scoring, it was not just impossible for her to be first, even coming in ninth would be a dream.
However, Cindy Clarke did not intend to concede just yet.
She did not plan to let Jenny Kirk have her satisfaction.
On the stands, the protest against Jenny Kirk by the audience kept getting louder.
Grace Green took advantage of this and quietly turned off her microphone to ask the director, “What does President Houston say?”
Billy Houston also sought Adrian Zhekova’s opinion.
Regardless of Cindy Clarke’s relationship with Adrian Zhekova.
Just by how Jenny Kirk had disregarded the rules, the finals had turned into a farce.
Adrian Zhekova’s input was needed.
Billy Houston was now at his wit’s end.
After all, it was him who had agreed to let Jenny Kirk be a judge.
Who could have anticipated such a turn of events from her?
Billy Houston was now as nervous as a cat on hot bricks and feared for his job security.
But now was not the time to worry if he could keep his job.
That was a problem for after the competition.
The immediate need was to sort out the issue with the competition.
“CEO, the results of the competition have become rather ridiculous due to the situation.
Jenny Kirk…” Billy Houston gritted his teeth and proposed, “Should we disqualify her scores?”
“No need,” said Adrian Zhekova in a serious tone.
Even if Cindy Clarke obtained first place due to Jenny Kirk’s score being disqualified, it would still change the nature of the competition.
It would seem like Pingla was bent on ensuring Cindy Clarke’s victory.
Just because Jenny Kirk’s low scores affected Cindy Clarke’s ranking, they decided to disqualify Jenny Kirk’s scores.
Even if the audience is currently agitated, if Pingla actually did this, the netizens could turn around and criticize Pingla at any time.
“Tell Grace Green to stop announcing the scores one by one.” Adrian Zhekova commanded.
“Then…” Billy Houston didn’t dare to guess Adrian Zhekova’s intentions on his own.
Is he planning to stop publishing scores?
Just cast all the score sheets onto the screen.
Update the total scores in real time.
Remember to highlight Jenny Kirk’s score.
Billy Houston was utterly confused.
What kind of move was this?
Jenny Kirk deliberately scored low, and they are still highlighting her score?
“Just do as I said,” commanded Adrian Zhekova, “tell Grace Green to inform the audience that even though Pingla Culinary Competition does not agree with Jenny Kirk’s scoring and it has even affected the quality of the finals, we will remain impartial and will not interfere with the judges’ scoring.”
“Even though Pingla Culinary Competition itself, while reserving judgment, does not support Jenny Kirk’s scoring.” Adrian Zhekova added.
Chapter 892: Just Represents My Personal View_1 “There’s no need to stick to the exact words, but the gist of it is this.
Let Grace Green find her own way to articulate the meaning,” Adrian Zhekova said.
Billy Houston nodded repeatedly.
Considering that Adrian Zhekova is the CEO after all.
He quickly thought of this solution within a short time, enabling them to stand on the moral high ground first.
Before Jenny Kirk realized this, they pinned her down.
By the time Jenny Kirk reacts, it will already be too late to say anything.
...
Everything that could be said, should be said, has already been said by their side at Pingla.
Therefore, Billy Houston quickly went to inform Grace Green.
After receiving the notice, Grace Green finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At least she now knew in which direction to steer the discourse.
“Apologies, dear audience.
Today’s final has taken a turn that neither the organizers, the five judges, nor I, as the host of this competition, anticipated,” Grace Green said.
“This competition should have been fascinating.
However, an unexpected issue has arisen regarding the scoring by the judges,” Grace Green continued, “I’ve heard the protests from the audience as well.”
“As for this outcome, I personally deeply regret it,” Grace Green said, “However, the organizers of the Pingla Culinary Competition have always adhered to a principle, which is not to intervene in the judges’ scoring.”
“Moreover, the organizers trust that the judges invited to the major competition will be fair in their evaluation,” Grace Green went on to say.
“The current situation is something that the organizers did not anticipate,” Grace Green remarked, “Even so, under the current circumstances, the organizers still decide to adhere to their original principle.”
“That is to not interfere with the judges’ scoring,” Grace Green said.
“Does this still count as non-interference?” one audience member said.
“Obviously, Jenny Kirk is just making arbitrary evaluations!”
“But did you notice, aside from giving Cindy Clarke an extremely low score, the scores Jenny Kirk gave to other participants are indeed low, but it’s balanced.
It’s just generally two points lower than the other judges.
If you add those two points to it, it would be similar to the scores the other judges gave.”
“In this way, the additional points participants get from her are less, but the gap between the participants is not huge.
Only Cindy Clarke is the one she gave an extremely low score.
I think she probably still wants to save face.
Otherwise, she might have given Cindy Clarke a score as low as one or a fraction of a point.”
“Because the gap is too big, not to mention competing with Parker Honi, even the gap between Cindy Clarke and the ninth place has gradually widened.”
“If the Pingla Competition organizers continue to include Jenny Kirk’s scores, it wouldn’t actually affect the other contestants.
The only person affected would be Cindy Clarke.”
“In this way, Cindy Clarke has essentially lost her eligibility to compete for the championship,” one person analyzed, “But don’t forget, Cindy Clarke is Adrian Zhekova’s wife.”
“But now she’s obviously being bullied by Jenny Kirk, yet the competition still chooses to respect the initial principle and does not interfere with the judges’ scores,” this person said, “This means that Cindy Clarke is certain to lose this competition.”
“Do you remember what Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova said when the truth about their relationship became public?
They explicitly assured that they would not use their power to give any advantages to Cindy Clarke.
The results will depend on her skills and the scores from judges.”
“Even under the clearly biased judgement of Jenny Kirk, Adrian Zhekova didn’t do anything to her and has stuck to the principle of the competition all along,” this person said with a hint of admiration on his face.
“This shows that what Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova told us was serious,” the person continued, “Even at this level, Adrian Zhekova has no intention of using his power to fight for anything for Cindy Clarke.”
“They are treating Cindy Clarke as an ordinary contestant,” the person went on, “You can think about it.
If an ordinary person were to participate in this competition and face this situation, would Pingla stand up against Jenny Kirk?”
The audience around him thought for a while before hesitantly shaking their heads.
Because they know the relationship between Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova.
So they had faith that Adrian Zhekova would do something for Cindy Clarke.
But if it were an ordinary person, they wouldn’t find Pingla’s decision strange.
“Therefore, I think, off the competition field, Cindy Clarke is Adrian Zhekova’s wife.
But on the competition field, she is just like other contestants.
This is what Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke want to express.
Even if they are wronged, they won’t do anything on the field, and they don’t want Cindy Clarke to be treated as special,” the person said.
“Initially, when Adrian Zhekova and Cindy Clarke made these statements, many people didn’t believe them.
They thought they were just saying nice things, and whether there were any enhancements in the results or the scores given by the judges, only the judges knew themselves.”
“The judges gave high scores, but they insisted that Cindy Clarke’s cuisine was worth those scores.
Even if it didn’t taste good, we wouldn’t know,” the person said, “Just a while ago, people still had this kind of thought, didn’t they?”
“But now, at least Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova have proven to us that they kept their word and didn’t give any special favors,” the person said, “Jenny Kirk is the only one who acted out of personal bias.”
On the stage, Grace Green said, “The Pingla Competition organizers will not manipulate the contestants’ scores.
Therefore, the scoring will continue.”
“However, we need to put an end to this farce as soon as possible.
Therefore, I will not announce the scores one by one.
Instead, we will cast the original score sheets filled out by the judges one by one onto the big screen for real-time calculation and updating.”
“We also welcome the broad audience to supervise,” said Grace Green in a solemn voice.
At this moment, there was no hint of a smile on her face.
Even the professional smile of a host was nowhere to be seen, just an expression of seriousness.
It was obvious that she was extremely disappointed with how the competition had evolved.
This stage was no longer a place where she could afford a smile.
“Before the scores are made public, I have several words to say.
However, the words I will say next represent only my personal views,” said Grace Green.
“I’m still standing on this stage as a professional host.
However, I can’t do more than that.
Even a professional smile, I’m sorry, I can’t pull it off.”
“The significance of this stage has been lost due to a rather problematic and highly criticized affair.
It has become a place where I can’t afford to smile, yet it has become rather laughable.”
“Of course, this issue has nothing to do with the Pingla Competition or the organizers.
Just now, I received the thoughts of President Billy Houston and Mr.
Adrian Zhekova, CEO of the Pingla Group.
The competition continues as per the rules.”
“Pingla sets the rules, but it also respects and adheres to the rules.”
Chapter 893: We Will Retain the Right to Prosecute_1 “I respect and admire them, for being able to stick to the original intent and principles of the major competition under such circumstances.
At the same time, I have greater contempt for behaviors that disregard fairness and justice.”
“Being a judge, you should uphold fairness and justice of the major competition, be accountable to the audience present, to the contestants, and to the dedication of the staff at the competition.
It isn’t right to destroy all this out of personal gains, causing the efforts of so many people to be squandered.”
“Months of hard work have been ruined at this very moment!” Grace Green exclaimed.
The frustration and unwillingness in the audience were ignited by Grace Green’s words.
“Exactly!
We all want a perfect ending!”
“Give us back the final round!”
“Jenny Kirk, apologize!”
“Jenny Kirk, step down!”
Listening to Grace Green’s words, Jenny Kirk’s face darkened.
She didn’t expect that Green, as a host, who was supposed to defuse the situation and manage the scene, would openly express discontent towards her.
...
Although Green didn’t mention any names, her words were as good as naming names!
Moreover, her words ignited the crowd!
Now hearing the increasing waves of boos and eviction calls from the grandstand,
Jenny Kirk’s mental strength was barely holding up.
Her hands were initially resting on the table, now her fingertips pressed into the desktop, sliding slowly over it, clenching into fists.
She almost got up to leave.
However, Grace Green did not care about her at all.
Does Jenny Kirk thinks she can’t stay here anymore?
Why doesn’t she think about Cindy Clarke, who was continuously scored low by her vindictively?
Why doesn’t she think of other competitors who took the upper hand but didn’t feel glorious about it?
Why doesn’t she think of the staff members who have worked hard for this competition for several months?
The competition that was going smoothly was ruined by a rotten apple in the final round.
How could this not infuriate people!
All of this was caused by Jenny Kirk!
Now she can’t sit still, she’s furious?
What was she doing earlier!
Grace Green lost her temper, too.
At this point, she announced, “Now, let’s announce the result of the vegetarian cuisine.”
This round, Jenny Kirk, as expected, gave Cindy Clarke a score of 3.5.
Everyone else got around 7.
Parker Honi still had the highest score, 7.4.
The scoring for desserts.
Jenny Kirk gave Clarke a 3.2.
The scoring for Chinese pastries.
Jenny Kirk gave Clarke a 3.3.
If out of a total of 10 points, 6 is considered passing,
The scores Jenny Kirk gave to Clarke in every round, didn’t even meet the passing score.
If you were to say Clarke’s dishes were not tasty or not suited to her taste, and therefore gave her low scores,
The audience could accept that.
But if she even didn’t achieve a passing grade, even Clarke’s haters felt this was too outrageous.
No matter what, with Clarke’s skills, she wouldn’t fail.
“Such a damn mess!”
“Absolutely disgusting!”
“Jenny Kirk, you’re not worthy!”
“One good competition, ruined by you!”
“Kick Jenny Kirk out, don’t calculate her scores!
We won’t blame the organizer!”
The audience voiced their opinions this way.
However, in the end, the ranking was conducted based on the total score of all judges.
Displayed on the big screen, Parker Honi came in first.
Cindy Clarke came in last.
However, all the contestants, not just Clarke, but from Parker Honi down to Cynthia Florine, all had grim expressions, without a hint of joy.
“Now, the results are out.” Grace Green said, “The champion of this Pingla Culinary Competition is…”
“Wait a moment.” Before Grace Green could announce it, Parker Honi interrupted her.
Everyone turned their attention to Honi.
To facilitate the communication between contestants and judges, so that the audience can hear them,
All the contestants have microphones pinned at their collar.
Now, without the need of a loudspeaker, Parker Honi’s voice was loud enough for everyone at the venue and those watching online to hear.
Everyone turned their attention to Honi.
“I am unworthy of this championship,” Honi said.
“This competition, everyone knows that it was judged under extremely unfair conditions,” Honi said, “I refuse to win in such a dishonorable way.”
“If Clarke’s scores were fair, I shouldn’t be the second,” Leon Hernandez said.
“I shouldn’t be the third either,” Yannick O’Brian said.
“I shouldn’t be in my current ranking either,” Jasmine Hudson said, “All of us should move down a spot.”
“If Jenny Kirk’s scores were excluded, I should be the second,” Honi said.
The audience didn’t expect that Honi would just bluntly say it like that.
He faced his score so openly.
“To achieve first place in this manner, was not what I wanted,” Honi said.
“However, this is the rule,” a voice sounded.
It was Adrian Zhekova’s voice.
Everyone turned their gaze towards him.
They saw Adrian Zhekova getting up and proceeding to the stage.
“As we have emphasized from the beginning, nobody’s special status or relationships will allow the competition to lose its fairness,” Adrian Zhekova said.
“Therefore, while I was watching from the stage, despite knowing that it is unfair to Clarke, despite knowing that it is unjust to her, I didn’t halt the competition, nor disqualify Jenny Kirk’s scores.
“Because, these are the rules,” Adrian Zhekova said.
“The competition established these rules, and we must adhere to them, not shifting them according to personal will,” Adrian Zhekova said, “This is not our personal competition, not a competition where you can arbitrarily and randomly change the rules as you please.”
“We have made promises, and we must honor them, not let down the trust of our audience,” Adrian Zhekova said.
“But, as Jenny Kirk has disrupted the normal order of this final match, disrupted the principle of fairness of this competition, we reserve the right to take action against her,” Adrian Zhekova added.
“Ms.
Jenny Kirk, representing the organizer of the International Chef Competition, came here with the authority of the organizer of the International Culinary Competition asking her to serve as a judge.
We will report the performance of Jenny Kirk in this competition to the International Culinary Competition as well as the International Chefs Association.”
“Pingla needs an explanation from the organizer of the International Culinary Competition, is this the representative they sent, is this the sixth judge they insisted on stuffing in.
Was it to ruin our competition?
To disrupt our contest?”
“If Jenny Kirk here can represent the organizer of the International Culinary Competition, then can I assume that the International Culinary Competition itself is no longer worthy of our trust, has lost its fairness and reliability, and has lost its authority!”
“The representative sent by the organizer of the International Culinary Competition freely gave evaluations, ignoring facts, for an unknown reason, for selfish motives that she could not verbalize, arbitrarily manipulated the contestants’ scores and rankings.”
Chapter 894: Sabotaged by a Pig Teammate_1 “So can we infer that the judges of the International Culinary Competition would act in the same way?
Can we assume that Jenny Kirk’s actions were instigated by the International Culinary Competition?” Adrian Zhekova made his point clear, word by word.
The spectators, who were originally preparing to lodge a complaint by sending emails to the International Chefs Association and the organizers of the International Culinary Competition, suddenly felt as if they had stepped into a new world.
Is this another way of looking at it?
They took notes immediately.
Key points!
Quickly put it into words and send it!
...
Jenny Kirk, sitting in the judges’ seats, had a change of color on her face.
At this moment, she truly felt tense.
The audience was outraged just now, but she was only angry, not panicked.
Even, there was a sense of pleasure.
The pleasure came from the fact that although the public was angry, they could do nothing to her.
The pleasure of being able to manipulate the ranking of the contestants so easily – everything rested on her scores.
Whoever she wanted to win, would win.
It was euphoric to feel as though she was controlling the fate of others.
But now it was different.
Adrian Zhekova listed out point by point reasoning to question the organizers of the International Culinary competition.
Once that happens, her dealings would be exposed, not to mention her job would be on the line.
Then, how would she be able to pressure Cindy Clarke or lure Adrian Zhekova with her authority?
Jenny, somewhat disoriented, tried to figure out a resolution before Pingla’s questioning of the organizers of the International Culinary Competition.
She needed to communicate with the organizers of the International Culinary Competition first.
Talks between official entities weren’t fast.
Both parties needed to negotiate a lot of things.
So before the communication, she still had time to deal with it.
However, what Jenny hadn’t expected was that the audience behind her in the stand and those watching the live broadcast through the internet, were all eagerly drafting emails.
For the audience at the scene, it wasn’t convenient to send emails.
Even though emails can be sent via mobile phones, it was still slower to write an email using a phone.
But the audience watching the live broadcast in front of their computers was already editing emails while watching the live stream.
They noted down what Adrian Zhekova was saying, line by line, then rephrased and embellished it.
“Indeed, big-shots think more quickly.
Adrian was able to come up with so many reasonings…
each able to crush Jenny Kirk.”
“Also, the accusation is increasingly detrimental, even the organizers of the International Culinary Competition would have a hard time downsizing it.”
“Yes, it concerns the International Culinary Competition’s reputation and public opinion.”
“If the International Culinary Competition doesn’t want to be affected, they have to deal with Jenny Kirk first.”
“They would not risk their longstanding reputation and credibility over Jenny Kirk.”
“Adrian Zhekova instantly elevated it, now it’s not just a personal matter of Jenny Kirk.
It’s not something that she can dismiss as a personal grudge.
It directly involves the International Culinary Competition.”
“For many years, the International Culinary Competition has repeatedly oppressed our domestic chefs and has never been fair.
Now, all thanks to Jenny Kirk, we have a reason to confront them.”
“The organizers of the International Culinary Competition probably would never have thought that a teammate would drag them down.”
“Hahahaha!
Yes!”
The live broadcast screen was filled with comments, almost covering the people.
“Adrian Zhekova spoke too quickly, I couldn’t jot everything down, what should I do?”
“You’ll have to write down the content during the replay and then send the email.”
“I learned shorthand, I managed to write everything down, let me post it in the comments, remember to check it.”
“I only noted down the key points, everyone needs to rephrase it themselves.”
“We shouldn’t wait and re-watch the replay to send the emails, it’s best to send it right now!”
“Correct, don’t give Jenny Kirk any chance to exempt herself.
Catch her off guard!”
“A smooth competition that I was looking forward to so much has been totally messed up by her.
I won’t be satisfied if she doesn’t bear the responsibility she should.”
Jenny Kirk was being roasted on the fire.
If she didn’t say something, she would be at a complete disadvantage.
So, rising from her seat, she put on a righteous stance and said: “I judged based on my own standards.”
“The preference for taste is very subjective.
Cindy Clarke’s dish just does not meet my standards and taste, so I gave it low scores.
Can this be called intentional undermarking just because my taste differs from other judges?”
Chapter 895: Time to Buy a Lottery Ticket!
_1 “You can’t seriously expect me to deliberately cater to other people’s tastes, right?” Jenny Kirk said, “Does a completely subjective matter also have to abide by the principle of minority obeying the majority?
Are the majority’s words always right, and because my view differs, it must be wrong?”
“What absolute bullshit!”
“Stop making excuses!”
“Shameless!”
“You could spin black as white!”
The audience was livid.
As Jenny Kirk had said, appreciation of taste was indeed a subjective thing.
If something was clearly delicious, but Jenny Kirk insisted she didn’t like it, that she didn’t like the flavor, no one else could say anything about it.
No one had evidence to prove that her words were false.
...
At this point, Parker Honi spoke, “Adrian, may I try Coach Clarke’s cuisine?”
Clarke was reminded of the first competition.
It was Parker Honi and his team who personally tasted her cuisine, proving Clarke’s abilities.
Master Adrian nodded in agreement.
Parker Honi only took a small bite of each dish.
“Even though the dishes have cooled by this point in the competition, the quality of Clarke’s cuisine is far beyond the low scores given,” Parker Honi sarcastically said, “I too, am part of the majority.
I don’t have such unique taste as Judge Kirk.”
Others, such as Leon Hernandez, also tried Clarke’s cuisine.
Yannick O’Brian stated, “As Clarke’s rivals in this competition, we must acknowledge the excellence of her cuisine.
I strongly agree with the other judges’ scores for Clarke.”
“If possible, I wonder if anyone in the audience wants to taste it?” suggested Cynthia Florine.
Each of them took a small taste.
But there wasn’t much left.
On seeing this, Grace Green remarked, “The dishes are a bit cold now, but if the audience doesn’t mind, you can have a taste.”
“I will!”
“I’m willing too!”
Even if it was cold and the taste had lost some edge, they still wanted to try it.
Most were driven by curiosity about how exactly Coach Clarke’s dishes tasted.
They also wished to know if Kirk’s scoring was biased.
Were Kirk’s expectations just too high?
Or was Kirk simply being malicious?
The audience knew that Clarke’s dishes had been sitting for a while and had cooled down.
Compared to when they were just made, the flavor definitely had decreased.
But they could still judge the original flavor and quality by the current taste.
If it tasted good even when it was cold, it was needless to say how good it must have been when freshly cooked.
In any case, the audience was very curious.
“If everyone agrees, then we will randomly select audience members to come to the stage for tasting,” said Grace Green.
“We will select based on your seat numbers,” Grace Green stated.
As soon as Grace Green proposed that the audience taste-test the dishes, Billy Houston quickly prepared to accommodate.
At that moment, the display showed the seating layout of the entire audience.
“Please wait for a moment, I need to inquire about the specific execution,” Grace Green stated.
Billy Houston then joined them up on stage.
Grace Green then approached Adrian Zhekova and Billy Houston.
“Master Adrian, how many people should we invite up?” Billy Houston asked.
Adrian Zhekova took a look.
Because there were six judges.
Six servings of each dish were prepared accordingly.
Each judge only had a small bite each time they sampled a dish.
Even if Parker Honi’s team had given it a taste, they too only had a small bite.
Each individual used new utensils, and new ones were swapped in before the tasting of each new dish.
So the dishes were all still clean, never having been cross-contaminated.
“Let’s say 10,” Adrian Zhekova said, “I think that number should suffice.
Too many won’t be feasible.
But too few might lack credibility.
We need enough people to give comments to show the audience.”
Grace Green nodded, then returned to make the announcement, “We will randomly select 10 audience members to come up and taste-test the dishes.”
Grace Green turned her back to the screen, and said, “Begin.”
Like a lottery draw, seat numbers lit up and dimmed one after another on the screen.
The speed at which they lit up in sequence quickened, making it seem like they were spinning progressively faster.
With her back to the screen, Grace Green was unable to see the seat selection process.
When she felt the moment was right, she yelled, “Stop!”
The screen’s flashing began to slow, and finally stopped.
Ten seat numbers were eventually randomly selected.
“I invite these ten audience members to the stage,” said Grace Green.
At this moment, Jenny Kirk felt nervous.
But as she had said, taste was a very subjective thing.
Even if the audience said it tasted good, so what?
She held her ground.
She simply found Clarke’s cuisine unpalatable, so what?
The ten audience members came to the stage and tried Clarke’s cuisine, nodding repeatedly.
“Even when cold, it tastes this good.
If it were freshly cooked, it would definitely taste even better,” one of the tasting audience members commented.
One noticeably emotional audience member turned to Coach Clarke and said, “Miss Clarke, do you remember me?
I was the first person to taste your grilled skewers during the first competition!”
Back then, nobody had been at Clarke’s stand.
He was the first to go to Clarke’s stand and taste her food.
He was so impressed that he ended up recommending it to other people.
It was only after his recommendation that the others started flocking to Clarke’s stand for the grilled skewers.
“I remember,” Clarke, who had quite a good memory, replied.
Especially since he was the first customer of her first competition.
“Who would’ve thought it’d be you again, what a coincidence,” Clarke said with a smile.
Overcome with emotion, he said, “You have no idea.
After tasting your grilled skewers, I craved them so much when I went home!”
“I visited several restaurants for it, but none of them could match your flavor,” he said, “Life’s been tough.”
“I can’t believe my luck, to be chosen.”
Out of an entire stadium full of people!
Out of so many people, only ten were selected, and he was one of them.
This was one lucky draw.
He should consider buying a lottery ticket!
The audience member was ecstatic.
He eagerly rubbed his hands, itching to taste the food.
The ten individuals took turns tasting Clarke’s dish.
The excited audience member’s eyes widened at the taste.
“Clarke, do you have plans to open a restaurant?” the audience member asked.
“Why do you ask?” Clarke asked back, not understanding his implication.
The audience member explained, “It’s truly delicious.
If you open a restaurant, I would definitely go!
That way I can enjoy your cuisine often.”
“Watching on Cooking Competition only makes me hungry, I can’t taste anything.” the audience member said, “I probably wouldn’t be so fixated if I hadn’t tasted it.”
“But now, knowing how delicious it is and knowing that I likely won’t be able to taste it again, it’s unbearable.” the audience member added, “Even if you’re not going to cook personally in your restaurant, you could still have the chefs cook your recipe.”
Chapter 896: You, are Unworthy!_1 The audience assumed that since Cindy Clarke had already married Adrian Zhekova and become a young Madam, she would unlikely be devoted to working in the kitchen of a restaurant every day.
Even those renowned global head chefs who own so many restaurants.
Cannot possibly pay attention to all their restaurants equally.
Even if they stay regularly in one, they rarely cook themselves and often give instructions for their chefs to follow.
Take Charles Dean onsite for instance.
He owns several restaurants.
With many branches in Europe and America.
...
Some of which are even Michelin-starred.
However, he rarely cooks himself nowadays.
Other than the very characteristic signature dishes, which he occasionally cooks himself, everything else is delegated to his chefs.
Therefore, the audience relayed what they had just told their surrounding spectators.
They weren’t expecting Cindy Clarke to cook personally.
However, as long as the recipes were available, if her underling chefs could reproduce 80% of Cindy’s skill, it would suffice.
“Despite becoming cold, it still maintains this taste.
Just how delicious must it be when freshly served?” another person commented.
“This Tomato Soup was made with tomato juice.
As it was prepared without adding oil, even after cooling down, there is no congealing on the surface of the soup, which still tastes refreshing.”
“Ah, it would be great if we could heat it up.”
Here, there are all kinds of kitchen appliances, so it is actually convenient to warm it up.
However, right now, we need to take care of other matters first.
Other than the audience on stage, probably no one is in the mood to heat it up.
The audience below the stage is still waiting for the result.
Since they weren’t the ones chosen and couldn’t have a taste themselves, they are only watching, so naturally, they have no patience for waiting.
“Uh…
Can I try the food from the other contestants?” one member of the audience, who was on stage raised their hand.
Upon seeing everyone’s attention focused on her, she said: “I have just tasted Cindy Clarke’s cuisine, which was genuinely delicious.”
“But since I haven’t compared it with the others, I can’t really say whether Jenny Kirk’s score for Cindy Clarke had any bias or not,” this female spectator said.
“Certainly, there must be some bias.
Because after tasting Cindy Clarke’s food myself, without even doing a comparison with others, I believe that even if there’s a considerable gap, she shouldn’t be given a score as low as 2 or 3.”
“On a scale of 10, 6 is the passing score.
Are you suggesting that it can’t even reach the passing mark?” This female spectator laughed, “If Cindy’s doesn’t reach the passing mark, then all I can say is that Miss Kirk’s expectations are truly high.”
“I’m even more curious now to have a taste.
If the other contestants scored so much higher than Cindy Clarke, then how much better is their cooking really?”
“Of course, I have no intentions of offending the other contestants.
It is Jenny Kirk’s personal issue; the contestants were passively scored by her, they shouldn’t carry this burden.
I only want to understand Jenny Kirk’s standards.”
“In her view, since Cindy Clarke has such a large gap with the other contestants, so, I would like to confirm that.”
Upon this female spectator’s suggestion, other audience members then started to declare: “Right, she makes sense.”
The male audience-member, who became a fan of Cindy Clarke’s after eating the skewers, said: “We tasted Cindy Clarke’s cuisine and found it delicious, so we think Jenny Kirk’s grading is very unfair.”
“But Jenny Kirk probably thinks we only sampled Cindy Clarke’s cuisine before deciding.
She would think that we’re being biased and not fair at all.
So if we were to taste the other contestant’s cuisines, then make a decision, I believe Jenny Kirk wouldn’t have anything else to say!”
However, at the moment, where would Jenny Kirk have the audacity to object?
Grace Green looked at Adrian Zhekova.
After Adrian Zhekova nodded, Grace Green said, “Of course, your suggestion makes total sense.”
Then, all ten members of the audience went on to taste the cuisines of other contestants as well.
“I’m not sure why Miss Kirk’s sense of taste is so peculiar compared to regular people.
In my opinion, Cindy Clarke’s cuisine is on par with Parker Honi’s.” The male audience-member commented, “But I’m not a professional chef.
Regarding the difference in minute details, I can’t discern it, so we will continue to depend on the five judges’ evaluations.”
He didn’t consider Jenny Kirk at all.
The female member who initially suggested tasting the other contestant’s cuisines also said: “I’m not a chef.
Although I cook at home, I only make home-style dishes, which obviously do not compare to a professional chef.”
“All I am is a typical customer visiting restaurants.
As a common diner, I can discern which restaurants are delicious and which restaurants are not so much.
Even within a single restaurant, based on personal taste, I know which dishes I love more and which dishes are just average.
”
“From the standpoint of an ordinary diner, I also think that Cindy Clarke’s and Parker Honi’s cuisines are on par with each other.
I haven’t gone into detail about their cuisines.
I’m just saying taste-wise, both dishes deserve a full 10 out of 10 from my perspective!”
“I also agree that Cindy Clarke’s and Parker Honi’s cuisines are on par with each other.
Whoever becomes champion, I would accept it willingly and happily.
However, because of Jenny Kirk’s scores, Cindy Clarke had fallen far behind and became the last place, and I am not happy about it!” Another audience-member remarked.
“I was originally looking forward to a fierce competition, and from the scores given by the five judges, I can see how intense the competition was for a few contestants.
However, due to Jenny Kirk’s scores, this competition turned into a joke!” Another audience-member spoke out.
“I greatly respect the Pingla Competition, the other five judges and ten contestants, and have no objections against them at all.
They all did their best and brought us an exciting competition.”
“The Pingla Competition stood by their principles, and the five judges were fair and just.
The sportsmanship of the contestants is commendable.
However, I despise and am angry at the sixth judge, Jenny Kirk!”
“You don’t fit!”
Another member of the audience stood up and said: “Honestly, even when Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova publicly announced their relationship, although they guaranteed that the judge’s scoring would not be affected by their relationship, I still had my doubts.”
“I thought that despite Cindy Clarke and Adrian Zhekova’s good intentions, even sincerely telling the judges to score fairly, I wasn’t sure whether the judges themselves could manage their mentality,” That member of the audience slightly bowed towards the five judges.
“I want to apologize to you five judges because my suspicions of you were my small-mindedness.
You judges are truly carrying out your duty of evaluation with great seriousness, without favoritism towards anyone.
I’ve once doubted your justice and fairness which in turn was an insult to you all.”
“After personally tasting the cuisines, I have developed even more respect for you five judges,” that audience-member said, ” you all fulfilled your promise, yet it was ruined by the sixth judge, Jenny Kirk.”
Chapter 897: It’s Good Enough Not to Be Suppressed_1 Another audience member addressed those in the audience stands, saying: “All spectators in the stands, you’ve not been able to taste the dishes, but please trust me, what Cindy Clarke made was really delicious.”
“This competition has been unfair to many.
As Ms.
Green mentioned, it’s unfair for the staff who have been working overtime for the major competition, for the contestants, for the other five judges, and for us, the audience.”
“But I believe the person who received the most injustice is Cindy Clarke.
She could have taken the easy way out.
If she had really used Adrian Zhekova to pressure the organizers, she could have easily been the predetermined first place.”
“But she didn’t.
She did her best to ensure fairness in the competition, yet she didn’t receive fairness in return.
I feel sorry for her, and I’m also disgusted with Jenny Kirk!”
“Enough of this!” Unable to bear it any longer, Jenny Kirk left the judge’s seat, “Like I said earlier, taste is subjective.
...
You find Cindy Clarke’s and Parker Honi’s dishes comparable, while I think they are vastly different.”
“Now each of you are accusing me of being unfair in my scoring, on what grounds?
Just because my thoughts differ from yours?” Jenny Kirk said, “Often times, the truth is not accepted.
Just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s wrong, it doesn’t mean there’s a targeted attack!”
“In ancient times, there were flat Earth and round Earth theories.
At that time, the flat Earth theory was mainstream, and the round Earth theory was alien and not accepted by people.
But what about now?”
“Now you’re accusing me of deliberately targeting Cindy Clarke, but time will prove everything.” said Jenny Kirk.
“You said I targeted Cindy Clarke, simply because I gave her a low score.
Any other evidence?
I don’t know Cindy Clarke, why would I target her?
What do I have to target her for?
If you can’t find a reason for my supposed targeting, why would you slander me?”
“If Cindy Clarke truly has the ability, I welcome her to participate in the International Culinary Competition, to prove herself on a larger stage.” Jenny Kirk said aloud, “For now, stop accusing me of bias!”
“International Culinary Competition?
Give it a rest!” Peggy Lewis picked up the amplifier again, “Who doesn’t know you were sent by the International Culinary Competition to cause trouble!
With the despicable acts that the organizers of the International Culinary Competition are willing to do, do you expect to perform on a bigger stage?
Not being suppressed would be a good thing!”
“Yeah!”
“Exactly!”
At this moment, a comment appeared on the live broadcast: “I have already sent an email to the organizers of the International Culinary Competition, asking for an explanation.”
“I also left a comment under their official Facebook.
The comments under the official Facebook of the International Culinary Competition have exploded, all filled with netizens cursing them.”
The International Culinary Competition also has an official Facebook in Hearth Nation.
After all, Hearth Nation is a huge market and one of the three major gourmet countries in the world.
For a competition like the International Culinary Competition, how could it not include Hearth Nation if it wants to be authoritative?
Chinese Cuisine is an extremely important part.
It naturally wants to establish its authority and reputation in Hearth Nation.
They also pay great attention to the public opinion here.
In the short time from when Grace Green invited the audience to taste the food till now,
The official Facebook of the International Culinary Competition, regarding the announcement post of the International Culinary Competition that was pinned, has already been cursed by netizens 60,000 times.
At this point, even if they haven’t had time to check their emails, they would know that a major problem has arisen.
Grace Green asked the 10 audience members to return to the stands.
When they came back, the surrounding audience members inquired about their evaluation of Cindy Clarke’s cooking.
“Let me tell you, it’s really delicious.”
“Just because I tasted Cindy Clarke’s dish, I’m even more indignant.
Jenny Kirk is too bullying!”
“How outrageous, even bullying people on our own turf!”
Taking over the microphone, Adrian Zhekova said: “This Cooking Competition ended in a not so good manner, it can even be considered a farce.
Here, I would like to apologize to everyone.”
“To everyone who contributed to this competition, to the audience, to the contestants, to the staff, to the judges, I apologize.”
Chapter 898: Complaint _1 “Although the Pingla Culinary Competition is just a subsidiary of Pingla Group, the competition is still funded and hosted by the Pingla Group,” Adrian Zhekova said, “Originally, this year’s competition had received positive feedback from the audience and had a good reputation.”
“The Pingla Competition has garnered much more attention than ever before this year.
The number of spectators at the venue, the live stream viewers, and the Internet discussion metrics are all very clear data,” Adrian Zhekova said.
“For this, we are all very happy, not because of the benefits it brings, but because this small community is increasingly getting recognized and accepted by the public,”
“As a result, all the hard work we have put in for such a long time was wasted due to the incident in today’s final,” Adrian Zhekova said, “This heartache, this anger, no matter how we express it in any language, it seems pale.”
“Someone needs to take responsibility for today’s outcome,” Adrian Zhekova said.
“Without proper examination, we trusted the International Culinary Competition and rashly allowed Jenny Kirk to join as the sixth judge at such a crucial moment,”
“So this result, Pingla also bears a great responsibility,” Adrian Zhekova said, “we won’t shirk the responsibility we should bear.”
“But this doesn’t mean that we won’t go after Jenny Kirk and the International Culinary Competition’s responsibility.
Pingla will definitely pursue it to the end and demand an explanation from the International Culinary Competition!”
“As for the champion this time,” Adrian Zhekova looked at Parker Honi, gave a slight smile, and said, “Parker Honi, you deserve the championship, there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“Originally you were competing with Cindy Clarke, both of you are evenly matched, and no one would object to either of you winning.”
“So, don’t feel like this victory is unfair or anything,” Adrian Zhekova said, “I don’t think anyone would have a problem with you winning.”
It seemed reasonable.
“Although you didn’t get to have a good competition with Cindy Clarke this time, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future,” Adrian Zhekova said.
Parker Honi felt that his victory was somewhat underwhelming.
...
But his abilities were clear to see.
Cindy Clarke was wronged.
But people didn’t have a problem with him winning.
“Yes,” Cindy Clarke began.
She laughed generously.
Her anger was only due to Jenny Kirk.
Regarding Parker Honi winning the championship, Cindy Clarke had no complaints.
Even without Jenny Kirk causing trouble, it was hard to say who would’ve won between her and Parker Honi.
Cindy Clarke had been prepared to lose from the start.
She just didn’t expect to lose in this way.
When everyone looked at her, Cindy Clarke laughed and said: “I’m not pretending to be generous, nor am I forcing a smile.”
“Although I lost the competition in this way, I will seek justice.
But you deserve the championship, your abilities are clear for all to see.
You don’t have to feel bad about winning just because I was wronged.”
Parker Honi didn’t respond.
Even though Cindy Clarke said so, it wasn’t the same.
If Cindy hadn’t been wronged, it wouldn’t have been clear who would’ve been champion.
“Also, as Adrian said, there will be many opportunities for us to compete in the future,” Cindy Clarke laughed, “you are now committed to participating in the International Culinary Competition.”
“If the International Culinary Competition doesn’t try to trip us up and promises a fair and unbiased competition, then I will definitely apply too.
At that time, we’ll still have the opportunity to compete,” Cindy Clarke said.
Her words were able to lighten Parker Honi’s heavy mood.
“With your abilities, you will certainly be able to get into the International Culinary Competition smoothly,” Parker Honi had great faith in Cindy Clarke’s abilities.
Cynthia Florine said to Jasmine Hudson in a low voice, “Parker is really a straightforward man.
Saying such things in front of so many people, he’s putting a lot of pressure on Cindy Clarke.
He can’t let people think she’s arrogant.”
Cindy Clarke laughed and said, “Don’t praise me too early, what if I’m not selected?”
However, Parker Honi didn’t seem to take Cindy’s words to heart.
But then he realized that saying such things in this situation would make Cindy Clarke the target of criticism.
So, he didn’t continue.
However, considering the way the International Culinary Competition operated, he said: “But, if the judges of the International Culinary Competition are as unprofessional as today, then no matter how good the skills are, it’s useless.
I won’t participate in the International Culinary Competition.”
Cindy Clarke nodded with a smile: “Not only the International Culinary Competition, we still have many more opportunities.”
The culinary competition ended on an unsatisfactory note.
But the subsequent matters were not yet concluded.
Jenny Kirk’s issue needed to be resolved.
Even before Pingla, netizens had already been writing emails, and those who swore at the International Culinary Competition’s official Facebook page went to swear at their page.
Therefore, even before Pingla took action, the organizers of the International Culinary Competition already knew about Jenny Kirk’s issue.
They were even thoughtful enough to attach video evidence along with the emails.
It included Jenny Kirk’s explanation, as well as the audience and other contestants’ evaluations after tasting Cindy Clarke’s cuisine.
The audience who watched the competition online came from various backgrounds.
A lot of them were good at video editing.
Including those like Cindy Clarke, who are content creators on CouTube.
They are very adept at video editing.
Clipping out some footage of Jenny Kirk didn’t require any top-notch editing skills.
So, the speed was quite quick.
There were also some netizens who were good at English.
They asked on Facebook, “Do video editors need me to translate Jenny Kirk’s words into English?
I’m worried that there might be a lot of foreigners among the organizers of the International Culinary Competition and not many might understand Chinese.”
Even if there are people who understand Chinese, they are worried that they won’t specifically find someone to translate it just for this email.
It would be better to translate it directly so they can understand immediately.
It saves a lot of trouble.
If the International Culinary Competition’s organizers doubt the accuracy of the subtitles, they can also find someone to verify it.
“Yes, we need it!
“A netizen replied, “I’m currently editing the video, I’ll send it to you once I finish clipping it, please help me translate the Chinese into English, I will then add the subtitles.”
“No problem!”
The netizen translated it very quickly and directly posted it on Facebook after it was done, “Grab it if you need it.”
The netizen who was good at editing videos didn’t hoard it either.
He didn’t think it was exclusively his just because he edited it, refusing to share.
He directly made the video public and said: “I’ve already edited the subtitles.
Grab it if you need it.
You can directly send this in your email.”
A netizen asked: “Is it okay for us all to send the same thing?”
“It’s okay, our videos are not fake.”
Chapter 899: What Is She, Jenny Kirk?_1 “What we want is for the organizers of the International Culinary Competition to take this seriously.
This is not a complaint from one or two people, the more people complain, the more the organizing committee of the International Culinary Competition will have to take it seriously.”
“That’s right!
If the organizers of the International Culinary Competition don’t give us an explanation, then we’ll boycott the competition!”
“Don’t underestimate our influence; although we’re not competitors and cannot refuse to participate, our Hearth Nation has a huge market.
If they hope to make a profit from our market, they must pay attention to our voices.”
“They bully people on our home ground and still want to make money?”
“That’s right, if they don’t severely punish Jenny Kirk, I’ll absolutely boycott the International Culinary Competition!”
The netizens have already taken spontaneous action.
Cindy Clarke’s fans certainly aren’t idle either.
They’ve collated all possible ways to lodge a complaint, videos of the incident and drafted complaints, posting them all on Facebook to make it easier for others to join in and complain.
Netizens wouldn’t even have to write their own complaint, they simply copy the content, save the video and click to send.
...
The whole process takes less than a minute.
It’s as easy as pressing buttons.
Meanwhile, for Cindy, the competition has officially ended.
Naturally, Cindy felt some disappointment.
Preparations were taken seriously, only to be responded to in this manner.
If she had been outperformed because of lack of skills, it would have been acceptable.
This time though, it’s somewhat hard to swallow.
But, fearing that her family would worry, Cindy managed to suppress her emotions.
The competition had just ended, leaving Cindy with insufficient time to process her emotions properly.
Even an extra hour would have been better than her current state.
When Cindy emerged, Peggy Lewis was also there.
Being concerned about Cindy, Peggy decided to stay behind.
Luckily the youngsters were there too, standing among the Zhekova family members, easing Peggy’s tension a bit.
“Cindy!” Old Madam called out when she saw Cindy appear with Adrian Zhekova, and everyone came over.
“How are you?” Old Madam asked, “If you’re upset, just swear it out loud!
It’s ok to swear however you want!”
With such a frustrating situation, there should be a way to vent.
“You can even use abusive language.” Victoria Wheeler chimed in.
Everyone: “…”
If even Old Madam didn’t mind, what else could others possibly say?
Peggy Lewis secretly gave the youngsters a thumbs up.
This showed that Cindy’s status in the family was indeed high!
Everyone pampered her so much and even allowed her to vent by swearing at people.
“It’s all because of Adrian.” Old Master stated, “Didn’t you realise you should have kept an eye on things earlier?
Now look at the mess that’s happened.”
Cindy quickly responded, “I’m really fine, and the Pingla Competition organizers have their own autonomy.
They didn’t know about Jenny Kirk and hence didn’t foresee this.”
“It was just a minor matter to save face for the organizers of the International Culinary Competition.
Who could have guessed that Jenny Kirk wouldn’t give in?” Cindy continued, “Honestly, even with personal grudges, most people wouldn’t have done what she did, bringing personal issues to the fore without leaving any room for maneuver.”
Let’s not look far, in the entertainment circle alone, plenty of people appear friendly in public but are at odds privately.
Many have open disputes, yet when they appear in public, they at least pretend to be cordial with one another.
The most they would do is subtly mock each other.
But how could Jenny Kirk do all this?
Just to make Cindy lose a match, she sacrificed her own career?
Or perhaps, is Jenny Kirk indifferent to losing her job because she’s wealthy?
She believes she can easily find another job, or even that it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t work at all?
Or does she think that Adrian Zhekova wouldn’t bother caring about the trouble she caused with the competition’s organizers?
Perhaps she believes that Adrian Zhekova wouldn’t want to offend the organizers of the International Culinary Competition over this?
“Nobody could have foreseen what happened today,” said Cindy.
When Old Madam heard this, she realized that Cindy, who had been wronged herself, was in fact, comforting them.
This only made her more upset.
They had promised to have Cindy’s back regardless of the situation.
This agreement still echoed in their ears, but now Cindy was being bullied right under their noses.
Old Madam ground her teeth and said, “Then why don’t you hit Adrian?”
Everyone: “…”
Peggy Lewis: “…”
Could it be that Cindy is the real Zhekova family member?
And Adrian Zhekova was just adopted?
Victoria Wheeler nodded and said, “It is Adrian’s fault.
The responsibility is all his.”
“If you can’t do it in front of everyone, you can hit him secretly at home,” Victoria suggested.
Cindy: “…”
She really didn’t want to hit Adrian.
Adrian Zhekova: “…”
“CEO,” at this point, Billy Houston arrived in a rush.
Although the competition was over, he still had things to take care of.
Being part of the cause behind the current situation, he also had to shoulder some responsibility.
Adrian hadn’t questioned him yet, but Billy couldn’t pretend like nothing happened.
“Elder Sir, Old Madam,” Billy greeted upon arrival, careful not to miss anyone.
“The current incident was due to my misjudgment.
This is why the final turned out this way,” Billy confessed guiltily.
Regardless of whether Cindy or someone else were the one at a loss, it would be the same.
What should have been a fantastic final turned into a farce.
The champion ended up with a hollow victory, Cindy’s loss was demeaning, and the audience got a disappointing show.
“You do have a responsibility,” Adrian said.
Cindy looked at Adrian.
She wondered, was Adrian really going to hold Billy responsible for her sake?
On the one hand, Cindy believed that Adrian might want to stand up for her and found this plausible.
But it certainly wasn’t that simple.
Cindy trusted that Adrian wouldn’t let personal feelings interfere with work matters.
If he really pursues Billy’s responsibility, there must be a reason that Adrian deems necessary.
Adrian then spoke, “It’s not just because Jenny Kirk disrupted the order of the competition, or because Cindy was bullied.
It’s because you guys easily bowed down to the International Culinary Competition.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t know about Jenny Kirk’s capability.
If you remove her representation of the International Culinary Competition organizers and other external conditions, is she qualified to be a judge?
Does she have the qualifications to stand alongside the other five judges?”
“The other five judges are all significant figures in the culinary world; they are each extremely professional top chefs.
But what about Jenny Kirk?”
“Given her capabilities, how could she be a judge?
I know you guys thought she was a representative of the International Culinary Competition organizers.”
Chapter 900: We are their fathers_1 “You let Jenny Kirk come in as a show of respect to the International Culinary Competition’s organizers.
But do we need to show them respect?
Do you think Pingla is in a position where they need to fear them?
Or should give them face?”
“Pingla has always been expanding overseas, gaining more power in discourse, not for you all to give them face.
It’s for you all to stand upright, not subject to any one!”
“But what about now?
You’ve let the whole nation think that even Pingla has to give face to the organizers of the International Culinary Competition, suggesting that the status of Hearth Nation’s culinary world is not that strong internationally.”
“What significance do the organizers of the International Culinary Competition hold?
Each round of competition still relies on our investment from Pingla.
...
Remember, we’re the party giving money, we are their boss!”
“It’s not us who should worry about their mood, it’s them who should worry about ours,” Adrian Zhekova said.
“If you can’t even analyze this situation, you indeed bear significant responsibility,” Adrian Zhekova said.
Cindy Clarke’s heart was steady.
She knew that Adrian Zhekova must have his reasons.
He wouldn’t fool around with serious matters.
Billy Houston hung his head very low under Zhekova’s words.
Indeed, his insight was not sufficient.
He was previously worried that Adrian Zhekova would blame him due to Cindy Clarke.
But now he realized, he had thought wrong.
He indeed deserved punishment!
The decision this time suddenly put Pingla on the defense.
Adrian Zhekova took a moment, saying, “Send me a list of all those who participated in making this decision, who agreed to admit Jenny Kirk, who objected, all of it.
Send me a copy of the meeting records as well.”
“Yes.” Billy Houston, having no objection, immediately replied.
“You go first,” Adrian Zhekova said, “There are still some loose ends that you need to handle.”
“Yes.” Billy Houston nodded.
“I won’t demote anyone for this incident.
As for the specific punishments, it will be informed later.
Therefore, everyone stay calm about your roles.
Go back and inform the other executives, let them focus on their work.”
“If the decision for the finals was messed up and if the loose ends are still messed-up, then don’t bother holding on to these positions.
Even if it means a great upheaval in the personnel, I would rather change all of you.
Understand?” Adrian Zhekova said in a deep voice.
“Understood,” Billy Houston knew what Adrian Zhekova meant, “This time, we will definitely not let Pingla’s reputation be damaged.”
Adrian Zhekova nodded: “Go ahead.”
Only then did Billy Houston leave.
Cindy Clarke then said to everyone, “I’m really fine.”
“Also, before today’s competition, I talked with Adrian backstage.
I have already achieved my goal for participating in this major competition,” Cindy Clarke said.
“Initially, I just wanted to prove to the Internet users that I have real skills, to prove that what Zoe Silverstone said about me was slander.
Actually, through each round of competition, I have already proved myself,” Cindy Clarke smiled.
“And also, before today’s match, I had prepared myself for not winning.
It’s not that I lacked confidence, but I was afraid I would lose balance.
Also, because I had had a smooth journey till now.”
“So, I wanted to adjust my mindset,” Cindy Clarke said.
“Even though the process wasn’t as I expected, no matter what the process was like, the result was the same.
Yes, I feel regretful, but I’m not that upset.”
“Even though I didn’t score that well, at least everyone knows my ability.
What if I didn’t win the championship?
I have already been recognized by everyone,” Cindy Clarke said, “That’s enough.”
“You, child,” the Old Madam said sympathetically, “Instead of us comforting you, you are comforting us.”
“Because I know you all care about me, that’s why I can sort out my feelings so well,” Cindy Clarke said.