Chapter 414 - 161: Reluctantly Stepping In to Help Out

Chapter 414: Chapter 161: Reluctantly Stepping In to Help Out

Su Chen was at his wit’s end.

’If this weren’t happening abroad—if we were back at Delicious—would it be going too far to dock Liu Ahbao half his salary for this kind of performance?’

The host then rattled on for a while. Su Chen didn’t understand a single word, but Zhang Jiayi, clad in her chef’s uniform, had a simple summary: ’Not a single useful word!’

Then again...

Zhang Jiayi herself felt like she was in a dream.

’Aren’t I just a driver for Delicious? How did I end up following the boss to a competition, of all things?’

’The damn World Cooking Competition Finals, at that!’

’This is insane!’

While changing, Zhang Jiayi had secretly filmed a short video, just over ten seconds long.

She also snapped a few selfies and posted them on her social media feed.

**Zhang Jiayi:** It’s your girl Xiaozhang, competing in the World Cooking Competition Finals today!~

The socialites in her comments section were all shocked!

Her dad even sent her a message, saying that when she got home, they absolutely had to throw her a celebratory banquet. He also wanted Zhang Jiayi to show off her skills to their friends and family at the party!

Zhang Jiayi had been about to refuse, but when she saw the hundred-thousand-plus yuan her dad transferred for pocket money, she agreed without a second thought.

After that came red envelopes from this aunt and that uncle. Everyone was saying that Zhang Jiayi had really made something of herself, going all the way to a world competition!

Her vanity fully satisfied, Zhang Jiayi felt this trip to Malaysia was totally worth it!

At the very least, her pocket money had increased by over two hundred thousand yuan. Life was good!

"Boss, the host said we can start!"

Su Chen grunted in acknowledgment. He first scanned their surroundings. As soon as the host gave the signal, the teams from the other countries sprang into action.

Although each team only had four members.

But it was clear they had all come prepared. Their roles were well-defined, and each person was focused on their specific task.

A few teams looked like they had brought treasure chests, frantically pulling all sorts of ingredients from their cases.

Then he looked back at the three eggs on their own workstation.

"Sigh... Ah Bao, go ask the host if we can get a chair."

"You got it!"

Ah Bao successfully acquired the requested chair. "Boss, do you need a chair to make this dish?"

Su Chen sat down. "Don’t anyone bother me... I was up all night yesterday because of your mess."

With that, he closed his eyes.

In an instant, he was back in the practice room!

’This world competition has thoroughly exposed the biggest problem with Huaxia’s culinary world right now!’

’The issue of factionalism and differing traditions is too severe. Each regional cuisine operates independently. No one can stand to see another succeed, and everyone wants to be the sole standout. The end result is... mediocrity for all.’

Just a moment ago, Su Chen had thought of something that was a perfect match for the theme.

But it was a pastry, and not Lotus Crisps, of course.

Because while both Lotus Crisps and fruit-shaped pastries are stunning on their own, their presentation is heavily reliant on plating. The plates provided on-site were just very ordinary round white or pure black plates.

Since he hadn’t come prepared, he could only use the plates provided by the organizing committee.

A lotus-shaped pastry, whether placed on a white or black plate, would lose a significant amount of its aesthetic appeal.

’This pastry should be made by that master artisan from the Capital City... If he were the one making it, I can’t say he’d definitely place, but at least he wouldn’t bring shame to the craft.’

This was precisely the problem with Xia Country’s culinary scene.

Other countries gathered most of their renowned chefs and sent representatives from various fields to the competition.

Then, depending on the theme, they would form a finals team with whichever chefs were most suitable.

But on Xia Country’s side...

From the moment the preliminaries began, it was a dog-eat-dog battle.

It was either, "Let our Sichuan chefs compete! Sichuan cuisine must go global! We must showcase Sichuan cuisine on the world stage!"

Or, "Our Lu Cuisine chefs have to be the ones to go! Who says our salty and savory flavors can’t succeed internationally?"

The result was a complete mess, with Liu Ahbao, an unknown chef specializing in Hubei Cuisine, unexpectedly snatching the prize.

’When it comes to pastries, besides the stunning Lotus Crisp, there’s another one that is just as breathtaking.’

Su Chen summoned flour, eggs, and lard from his dimensional space.

The ingredients for Chinese pastries were simple, with no unnecessary frills. As long as you had the basic flour and lard, everything else was merely supplementary.

The eggs were optional.

But to fit the competition’s theme, he decided to include them.

’The difficulty with Lotus Crisps lies in the gradient colors of the petals and the blossoming of the stamen. The more cuts you make, the more brilliant the bloom.’

’But for this pastry...’

Su Chen mentally ran through the process. He felt the most difficult part wasn’t the technique itself, but rather kneading the dough and controlling the oil temperature.

Controlling the temperature was a piece of cake for Su Chen.

But as for kneading dough... even though Su Chen had improved significantly while learning from Chen the Eighth, he was still a long way from a master’s level.

’I’ll just have to give it a try first!’

Following the process in his mind, Su Chen began to prepare and knead an oil dough.

He was still using cake flour and lard, with the ratio controlled at 2:1. The reason for using cake flour was obvious.

It was easier to roll out!

High-gluten flour is difficult to work with; when you roll it out, the dough tends to spring back to its original shape, making it unsuitable for pastries.

Making the oil dough was comparatively simple. You just had to vigorously knead the pure white lard and flour together according to the ratio.

Su Chen "saved" the well-kneaded oil dough and set it aside for later.