Chapter 187 Full Marks

After the buns and pea yellow were put into the steamer, Zhong Xiang began to knead the dough. Various vegetable juices were kneaded into the dough. There were three colors in total: light red, light green, and tender yellow. By shaking the handle, pieces of hollow noodles of uniform thickness and different colors appeared in front of everyone.

Those chefs who were still using their hands to rub, stretch and shape their bodies were all dissatisfied when they saw this new thing. They thought that these days, even the competition of cooking skills has reached this level, what the hell is this!

However, during the semi-finals, Zhong Xianglu's skill in stretching noodles was truly amazing. I could only lament that I didn't have the brains to do that and only knew how to fiddle with the dough, not the tools.

The broth was prepared early in the morning and was stored in a jar of Shaoxing old wine. Once it was opened, the rich aroma wafted in the wind, causing the onlookers to drool.

"This soup is so delicious, what is it made of?"

“I heard that the chef of Tianshangju, now the second young lady of the Marquis of Jing’an Mansion, created a dish of her own, which the emperor named Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and it is also cooked in a jar of old Shaoxing wine,” said an insider.

"It smells similar, but not quite the same..." Someone frowned, savoring it carefully and trying to distinguish it.

"Go away, stop bragging. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is not sold to the public. Where have you ever smelled it?" someone questioned.

"It's the vegetarian restaurant. I saw our boss run it." In order to prove that he was not bragging, the man revealed his identity.

"Oh... so you are the waiter of the vegetarian restaurant." Everyone understood.

The already simmered soup was reheated, and during this time, Zhong Xiang took out the cake that he had prepared early in the morning. He first cut the cake in half, smeared something called jelly on the cross section. It was a crystal yellow color and looked very beautiful. Then he folded it up again, rolled up the tin foil, put on cream and started to decorate it.

"Yaoyao, isn't this the cake you gave to my mother last time?" Xiaojing recognized it.

"Yes, but that was the original version. What Zhongxiang is working on now is the improved version." Ye Jiayao said.

If you eat too much pure cream, you will feel sick of it. There is no delicious fruit at the moment, so she made some orange jelly.

Zhao Qixuan narrowed his eyes and said, "It looks very tempting, but unfortunately I came back late last time and the cake had been completely divided up. I didn't even smell it."

"Don't complain, I haven't even tasted it!" Xia Chunyu said dissatisfiedly. He thought Yaoyao only gave it to his mother and Chun Guo, but he didn't expect Princess Yi De and the wife of Marquis Yong'an to also have a share. I guess the Crown Princess will also have a share, but he has no share.

Ye Jiayao glanced at him and whispered, "If you eat too much sweets, be careful not to get a big belly. If you get a big belly, I will ignore you."

Xia Chunyu immediately pulled in his stomach and straightened his chest, thinking, I exercise every day, it would be strange if I could grow a little belly.

"You will get a big belly even if you don't eat sweets." Xia Chunyu snorted.

Ye Jiayao didn't know whether she was becoming smarter or less pure. She immediately understood his implication and glared at him with a red face.

Xia Chunyu pretended to be serious and pointed at the field: "Watch the game, watch the game."

In a one-hour competition, Zhong Xiang only took half an hour to finish. Seeing that someone had finished, the other contestants couldn't help but speed up. Everyone knew that when all conditions were similar, time became the criterion for determining victory or defeat.

Everyone finished one after another, but the incense was not yet completely lit.

Everyone looked at the judges nervously.

According to the judging rules of the competition, they were supposed to judge the pasta first, but the eyes of the five judges were attracted by the dessert called Cream Jam Sandwich Cake. Red Plum Blossoms in the Snow, a bunch of plum blossoms stretched out from the branches obliquely, the red plum blossoms bloomed, lifelike and gorgeous. It was more like an exquisite painting than a dessert. It was really unheard of and eye-opening.

The five judges are all masters of pastry, especially the three pastry chefs from the Imperial Kitchen. They usually study all kinds of exquisite pastries. Delicacy and deliciousness are the key to judging whether a pastry is successful. They thought they were already at the top of their field, but they didn't expect that such amazing talents would emerge in this cooking competition.

The judges unanimously decided to taste the cake first.

However, I couldn't bear to use the knife to destroy such a beautiful painting.

Finally, I gritted my teeth and cut it open.

The cream is sweet and smooth, melting in your mouth. The cake inside is soft. There is also jam in the cake, which tastes sour, sweet, and a little refreshing.

The five judges couldn't help but nod and praise, saying that this was real delicacy.

Everyone gave it a perfect score of 10.

There was an uproar below, all the marks were full, which was an extremely rare phenomenon in previous cooking competitions. I didn't expect that the first pastry evaluated today would get full marks.

Zhong Xiang himself couldn't believe it. He knew that this cake would definitely cause a sensation, but he didn't expect it to get full marks. It made him feel confused and unreal. The judges put down the cake reluctantly. There were still many pasta and cakes to taste, so they had to save some space.

Next was the pea yellow from Zhongxiang. Pea yellow is a common pastry, but the chefs in the imperial kitchen can still come up with some new ideas. However, the dish of pea yellow in front of them made them exclaim in amazement. The shape of the flower was particularly moist and translucent, with sporadic red beans in the middle, which looked very pleasing to the eye.

They have made countless pea yellow dishes, but none of them could produce such a crystal clear color. They wondered what ingredients the young chef used.

After tasting it, I found it incredible. How could pea yellow be made so elastic? It is sweet but not greasy, and has the fragrance of red beans. It can be called the best.

Once again, all five judges gave full marks without hesitation.

Now, everyone couldn't calm down. It was too incredible. Both cakes scored full marks. Oh my god, what kind of monster is this? I've never heard of such a powerful person in Tianshangju before...

The tri-color hollow noodles, with their unique color combination, soft texture, and most importantly, the rich and fragrant soup, are so delicious that it makes people cry. It deserves another perfect score.

Ye Jiayao looked calm, but she was agitated. Were the judges crazy today? They gave full marks all the time. Isn't it very difficult to get full marks? Was she going to take first place?

Zhao Qixuan's mouth was watering as he listened to everyone getting full marks.

"I really want to go up and try it."

Xiao Jing was also swallowing his saliva silently. He knew the situation in Tianshangju. Zhong Xiang was just a first-class kitchen helper before, and his cooking skills were above average, far behind Yaoyao. Unexpectedly, under Yaoyao's training, he actually shined in pastry making. It must be said that Yaoyao was a person who could turn decay into magic.

When the score of Tangbao came out, the people in the audience were stunned with shock.

Four of them got full marks. He is only the first contestant, but he has already obtained an unprecedented high score. Is there any suspense about the first place?
The most popular candidate, a pastry chef from Shanxi, looked gloomy, and the other contestants also looked unhappy. In today's final, everyone had put in all their efforts and used all their skills to fight for the top three. In the end, they ran into such a monster. It was a matter of time, fate, and luck...

Everyone knows that there will never be four full marks again.

When the host announced that Zhong Xiang won the first place, there was thunderous cheers in the audience.

Although they had never tasted Zhong Xiang's craftsmanship, they had seen the exquisite cakes, smelled the incredibly fragrant noodle soup, and heard the shocking full marks... With an absolutely overwhelming advantage, no one would doubt whether the first place was well-deserved or whether it was exaggerated.

The chefs in Jinling City looked with complicated expressions at the smiling, graceful woman sitting near the podium, the woman who had created legends time and again, from ice drinks to snow skin moon cakes to Buddha Jumps Over the Wall to challenging Sichuan chefs.

Some people sighed that Tianshangju has been invincible since then.

Some people lamented that if she participated in the cooking competition, both crowns would probably go to Tianshangju.

Some people are looking forward to what kind of legend she will create after the cooking competition.

Zhong Xiang received the certificate from the chief judge and put on the gold medal. He was stunned the whole time. Happiness came too suddenly and caught him off guard. He had set a goal for himself before, to try his best to make it to the finals. He even dreamed in the middle of the night that he got third place, but this was first place. How could it be possible?

Turning to look at the Second Young Lady, she gave him an approving smile, and Zhong Xiang couldn't help but feel mixed emotions.

Back then, when the Second Young Lady was still Li Yao, she said that she wanted to lead everyone to become rich and train everyone to become chefs. At that time, he thought she was bragging.

Afterwards, she took them to hold private banquets everywhere, and one banquet was worth half a year's wages. In her spare time, she taught everyone how to cook, without holding back her expertise, and guided everyone to develop their strengths. For this competition, she was the one who planned every plan, and taught him how to do it step by step, and everyone worked together to help him.

Now that he was standing at the highest point and looking back at the road he had come, he realized that she had never boasted, and she was truly practicing her bold words and promises.

How fortunate he was that he did not persist in his decision, how fortunate he was that he chose trust instead of hostility.

"I declare that the top three contestants will be eligible to enter the imperial kitchen and become a royal chef," the host announced passionately.

Everyone looked at these three lucky guys with envy. They reached the destination that every chef expects and realized their ultimate dream.

However, at this time, a voice, not loud but so firmly said: "Please forgive me, sir, I hope to continue to be a cook in my own restaurant."

Ye Jiayao was stunned, and so were everyone in the audience. Even the judges and the host on the podium didn't react.

But Zhong Xiang's eyes were so clear and his face was so calm, without any sign of joking.

What's wrong with this guy? If he gets first place, he will be a high-ranking imperial chef in the imperial kitchen instead of having to start from the bottom. Isn't this his goal all along? Ye Jiayao couldn't understand.

(End of this chapter)