Chapter 420 - 162: Su Chen’s Defeat

Chapter 420: Chapter 162: Su Chen’s Defeat

Next up was the tasting phase.

The first judge stood before the workstation, staring for a good dozen seconds before shaking his head with a smile. "If I eat this flower, I’ll feel bad for a week."

Though reluctant, his professionalism won out. He very carefully plucked the flower from its branch and popped the whole thing into his mouth.

"WHOA~"

The audience let out a collective gasp of disbelief, having just watched such a beautiful flower get eaten.

’What a waste!’

In the audience, the group from Meiweilai Company watched the judge’s expression with nervous anticipation.

"This is bad, this isn’t looking good!"

"It’s over. Look at his face—he’s not mesmerized at all. Does this pastry not taste good?"

"No way!" Zhang Li pouted. "The boss’s food is the most delicious thing in the entire world, bar none!"

But their opinions didn’t count.

"It’s..." The judge’s lips twisted to one side. "A very strange flavor. I could only taste white chocolate. I’m sorry, my score is 6.5."

’Damn it!’

The moment he heard the score, Liu Ahbao nearly flew into a rage.

"I don’t know why, but as I chewed, it felt like my mouth was coated in flour. 7 points."

’Crap!’

Ah Bao shouted at the top of his lungs, "That’s called flakiness! It’s flaky, don’t you get it! If you don’t get it, don’t just say whatever comes to mind!"

Su Chen pulled on Ah Bao’s arm. "Talk less, listen more."

"This dessert has almost no flavor. I’m sorry, 6.5."

After all six judges had given their comments in succession,

The Magnolia pastry made by Liu Ahbao’s team received a final score of 8.5.

"Damn it! How is that possible? How could that pastry not be delicious? It’s rigged! This competition is absolutely rigged, the winner’s already been decided!" Fang Chang shot up from his seat in the audience, furious.

Jiang Yuan had to use all her strength to drag him back down. "Sit down! Just sit down! What are you yelling for? You’re so embarrassing!"

"*Sob*, Shuyu, say something! What do we do? How did we only get 8.5 points!"

"Dammit, this competition is all about catering to Western tastes! What can you do when all the judges are from Europe?" Shi Qi slammed his fist on his seat.

If they weren’t involved and were just watching Ah Bao compete, it would have been one thing. At worst, it would just be for entertainment.

But with their own boss up there helping out, for such an exquisite piece of Chinese pastry to get such a low score... it really made the employees of the Delicious team lose their composure.

"Everyone, be quiet," Ling Shuyu said, her eyes fixed on Su Chen on stage. "This is just the difference between Chinese and Western styles. You’ve all had Western pastries, and you know what they taste like. Our pastry is indeed very different."

With resentful expressions, the group continued to watch the competition, wishing they could go up there and rip the judges’ mouths apart.

Next came the announcement of the winning contestants for this round, as well as the second theme for the grand finals.

Unsurprisingly, the Verjus in Egg made by the contestants from Australia received the highest score in this round of the competition.

As for Liu Ahbao’s team, thanks to a fortunate twist that earned them a perfect score for creativity, their Magnolia ultimately placed sixth.

Eight teams advanced from this themed round, so they had narrowly but safely secured a ticket to the second theme.

When Su Chen and the others changed their clothes and returned to the break room, they were immediately surrounded.

"Boss! It’s rigged, absolutely rigged! We have to file a complaint!"

"Damn it, that Magnolia is easily one of the best in the entire country, and it nearly failed to qualify?"

"What the fuck kind of competition is this? What right does he have to not like it? Who the hell does that bearded judge think he is!"

Su Chen raised a hand, signaling for everyone to calm down.

"This is how competitions are. The judges have the final say. If they don’t like it, they don’t like it. Besides, the judging panel has a unified set of criteria, and our pastry admittedly didn’t meet their standards."

The Magnolia is what you’d call a pastry. There’s a subtle but important distinction between that and a dessert.

"Now is not the time for complaining." Su Chen turned to look at Liu Ahbao. After all, he was the star of this competition. "Don’t be discouraged. Focus on the new theme."

At the end of the round, the judging panel announced the second theme for the grand finals: Caring for Children.

Many children today suffer from anorexia due to various childhood reasons, preventing them from absorbing the necessary nutrients during their development and leading to poor growth.

Medical treatments for anorexia are also very limited, as the condition in some children stems from psychological issues.

To tackle this problem, countless doctors have made tremendous efforts, and likewise, countless chefs have tried to create a variety of exquisite dishes to remedy the situation.

Therefore...

The second theme of the grand finals is: Caring for Children, an effort to help cure anorexia.

For this round, the six judges on site will be replaced by six children suffering from anorexia.

Their symptoms are incredibly varied. Some refuse to eat meat, others refuse vegetables, and some simply refuse to eat anything at all. There are even children who will vomit if an adult forces them to eat!

The sole condition for victory will be: whose dishes the children like the most.

Preparation time: Three days.

Ingredients: Unlimited.

Dishes: Three.

"The boss is right," Ling Shuyu said. "Since this isn’t the final round, just getting a ticket to advance is enough. The real battle is in the next round. There’s no need to get hung up on a high or low score."

Liu Ahbao took a long moment to compose himself. "Boss, I’ll listen to you!"

Su Chen patted his shoulder. Sensing that everyone was still a bit down, he suddenly said, "What does Meiweilai Company do? We do Delicious custom orders!!!"