Chapter 491: Chapter 491: Unlucky (2 chapters combined into one)
He made such a low-level mistake because he was distracted; it was really humiliating.
The fishbone was stabbed in directly, not just a simple prick.
Joseph Tanner endured the pain and quickly pulled the fishbone out.
His finger was trembling from the pain.
âHave the doctor wrap it up for you,â said Michael Greene in a deep voice.
Eleanor Ward had already run over.
This small injury was about the size of a pinhole.
After disinfecting Joseph Tannerâs wound, Eleanor applied a band-aid, and he was fine.
But Joseph still felt that he had wasted a lot of time. As soon as the wound was dressed, he immediately went back to processing the fish.
However, his finger was still throbbing with pain, which made his movements considerably slower.
âWhat bad luck!â Joseph muttered angrily under his breath.
He glared fiercely at Cindy Clarke.
If it werenât for Cindy meddling, he wouldnât have been distracted!
At this time, Cindy was focusing on her cuisine, completely unaware of Josephâs gaze.
Finally, the cooking time was almost over.
Michael Greene reminded, âThere is one minute left.â
Josephâs fish was still steaming in the pot.
His finger being injured and time spent on wrapping the wound made his movements slower.
It took much longer than he anticipated putting the fish on the steamer.
Now, he couldnât be sure if the fish was cooked thoroughly.
But there was only one minute left.
He still had to plate it.
Joseph clenched his teeth and hurriedly took the fish out of the steamer.
He opened the pot, and hot steam was still coming out.
Joseph didnât have time to care about wearing heat-resistant gloves.
He took a piece of cloth to hold the scorching hot plate.
The cloth couldnât completely block the heat, and Josephâs finger was hurting and burning at the same time.
Adding to that, the steamerâs white steam poured out of the pot.
His hand turned red as soon as he reached in.
Joseph quickly took out the fish.
âBang!â
Due to being burned, Josephâs hand slipped, and the plate fell.
Josephâs heart raced.
Fortunately, the plate wasnât too high above the table and didnât tip over.
The fish inside wobbled twice and almost fell out.
Although the fish didnât topple out, a lot of the soup inside splashed out.
Joseph was so angry he wanted to flip the table.
He hadnât had a single moment of smooth sailing during this competition!
This was such bad luck!
He quickly wiped the plate clean and rearranged it.
Finally, everything was handled just in time.
He just didnât know if the fish was cooked through.
Joseph calculated the time it took to steam the fish, feeling it was a bit risky.
âNow, letâs taste the dishes according to the draw numbers,â said Wesley Gordon, âNumber 1, Parker Honi, Wayne Tanner.â
As expected, Parker Honi won.
âNumber 2, Kai Dawson, Aiden Huxley,â Wesley continued.
Ultimately, Aiden Huxley triumphed.
As the numbers were called one by one, it finally reached number 6.
Cindy and Iris Doone each brought their dishes in front of the judges.
Iris Doone spoke first: âI made the Soup of Abundance. I stewed abalone, fish maw, birdâs nest, dried scallop, sea cucumber, matsutake, black truffle, and noodles together. I used silver fungus to thicken the soup, and I removed the fishy smell from the fish maw, dried scallop, sea cucumber, and abalone.â
Michael Greene tasted it and said, âI remember you took shark fin before?â
Iris stiffened awkwardly and said, âBefore the competition, when I was designing this dish, I didnât think too much. But when I heard what Cindy said about shark fin just now, I thought it made sense, and there was no need to use it.â
âSo, I changed the shark fin I originally used as the base to noodles,â Iris explained.
Michael Greene nodded and motioned to the other four judges.
The other four judges tasted it one after another.
âThis Soup of Abundance is fresh, sweet, and not fishy; it tastes good,â said Wesley Gordon. âHowever, I didnât see anything special about the technique or seasoning, other than putting these expensive ingredients together and stewing them.â
Irisâs face tensed.
âThis time, your Soup of Abundance is a dish I havenât seen in any of the restaurants Iâve been to. You must have spent a lot of time thinking about it, wanting to prove that you could also have unique ideas,â said Rosaline Parker, in a relatively polite tone. âHowever, thereâs still some gap to be bridged. At least having the idea is good. Keep working hard.â
Charles Deanâs evaluation was also relatively polite: âThe soup tastes good. Keep up the good work.â
Hunter Clarke didnât have a good impression of Iris. After taking a bite, he said, âThis soup has a luxurious taste, but thatâs all it can be described as. You could find any random person, throw these ingredients into a pot, and they could stew it too. Why would customers pay for a dish with such low technical content in a restaurant?â freeđ€ebnovel.com
Iris could no longer conceal her gloomy expression.
The five judges turned their attention to Cindyâs dish.
âI made Yellow Croaker in Soup,â Cindy introduced.
Wesley smiled, âThis dish is Michael Greeneâs signature dish. We four have all tried Michaelâs version.â
âLetâs not talk about us four for now,â said Hunter Clarke, âEven just Michaelâs requirements for this dish must be much stricter than for others. To get his approval, unless the dish really has something unique.â
âWhy did you choose to make this dish?â Michael also asked.
âI know itâs your signature dish. If I can get your approval on this dish, then I must have succeeded,â said Cindy. âAnd, I really wanted to challenge myself.â
âI donât like to be just conventional when I cook. Todayâs theme is ocean, and I chose seafood as my main ingredient, which is already a very safe approach. Thatâs why I wanted to add some challenges and difficulties within that safety.â
âI chose this dish at first without realizing it was your signature dish. It was only after I decided to make it that I realized it was your signature. But once the inspiration hit, I didnât want to change it, so I insisted on sticking with this dish.â
âThe reason I chose this dish at the beginning was that the Yellow Croaker in Soup has endless possibilities. Itâs like the food chain of marine life. Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.â
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âThe Yellow Croaker in Soup is filled with a variety of ingredients within the fishâs belly, which is quite like the food chain. And it fits the ocean theme even better,â explained Cindy.
âYour idea is quite interesting,â Michael chuckled.
Charles suggested, âSince this is your signature dish, why not let you make the first cut?â
âAlright,â Michael agreed, âBut you canât use a knife for this dish.â
Charles was a foreigner after all, and his forte was Western cuisine.
Although he had spent a few years in Hearth Nation, his mastery of Chinese cuisine was still lacking.
âThe most challenging part of the Yellow Croaker in Soup is not only the seasoning but also mastering the knife work and heat control,â Michael explained.