"How can this be? How can such a delicious soup be made with only cheap convenience store ingredients!?"
"Cheating! He must be cheating!"
"Tsk, I've been observing since just now. This guy didn't add any strange ingredients to the soup. The only relatively special thing was the XO scallop ham sauce added in the middle."
The rich aroma wafted through the venue. As chefs who were currently cooking, they immediately looked over upon smelling this aroma, their faces showing surprised expressions.
"As expected, he is the hope for winning the championship!"
"Go, Hoshino kid!"
After Kakinosuke Oizumi smelled the aroma, he also cheered from the far back. He truly lived up to their expectations as the champion. This ability to turn decay into magic was truly amazing!
"Eishi Tsukasa seems to have finished his dish too. Judging by the judges' reactions, it must taste good!"
"Ah! If it's for this dish, I'm willing to offer something that money can't buy!"
Hearing Saotome Hoshishu's words, the reporter group and some nearby chefs from the righteous path all looked over.
Rantobi, sitting at the judge's table, had an ecstatic expression. Her knees rubbed together under the table, her fingers stroked from top to bottom, and her breathing became rapid.
The pastry wrapped around a double layer of filling, each enhancing the other's deliciousness.
On top was chicken mousse, made by carefully heating and permeating chicken, then mixing it with fresh cream. The bottom part was beef ragout, which paired perfectly with the semi-frozen sauce. The completion was incredibly impressive!
"It's Tsukasa-senpai, as expected!"
Looking at the highly praised dish, Yukihira Soma smiled and gave a thumbs up, not at all sad that his own dish had been rejected.
"The ability to converse with ingredients is so convenient; he can create original dishes with ease."
Hoshino Sora murmured softly, then shook his head, turned around, and began to hand-chop minced meat, with pieces of ingredients laid out on the cutting board.
Soon, minced chicken, minced duck, and minced pork were chopped, then dissolved in ice water. This was a crucial step; only minced meat mixed with ice water could clarify the broth better.
How to clarify it? First, filter the broth after skimming off the fat.
Then, pour in the minced meat dissolved in ice water, bring it to a boil over high heat, allowing the settled minced meat to float. Next, reduce to low heat, keeping it in a semi-boiling state.
This also prevents the minced meat from mixing with the soup, which would make the soup cloudy. After cooking for a period, filter out the minced meat with a sieve. This step is repeated three times, starting with chicken mince, then adding duck mince, and pork mince, clarifying the broth while adding the umami of other ingredients.
"Now, let's begin the scoring. Zheng, 587 US dollars!"
On the other side, Rantobi threw a large stack of one-dollar bills onto the table. The thick stack was tempting to look at, but unfortunately, they were all one-dollar bills.
"You're kidding!"
Hearing the judge's valuation of Eishi Tsukasa's dish, the contestants present immediately let out exclamations of surprise. Eishi Tsukasa seemed to notice the gaze from behind him, turned around, and met Hoshino Sora's eyes.
For a moment, all thoughts were self-evident, as if an invisible aura was clashing between them.
Time passed bit by bit, and more and more guests finished their dishes, but none passed the assessment. Rantobi dangled her feet, looking utterly bored.
"Um, judge, my dish is almost ready. Please go to the bank over there and withdraw some US dollars. I'm afraid it won't be enough later."
Looking at the leisurely Rantobi, Hoshino Sora loudly reminded her. He didn't want his showdown with Eishi Tsukasa to end inconclusively because the other party ran out of money.
"You're so arrogant when you speak. The US dollars for the passing contestants will definitely... Never mind, I'll go withdraw some money."
After glancing at Eishi Tsukasa's empty wallet, Rantobi's initially firm voice suddenly softened. Then, she scurried off to the bank behind her to withdraw money.
A moment later.
"Hmph, this time I withdrew a full two thousand US dollars! I don't believe you can make me spend all this money today!"
Looking at the challengers in front of her, Rantobi shouted like a female imp, paying special attention to Hoshino Sora as she spoke. Her demeanor truly made one want to give her a good thrashing.
"So, how much do you think my dish is worth?"
Holding a plate of food, Hoshino Sora slowly stepped forward and lifted the lid. It was just an ordinary wrapped cabbage, looking moist and revealing an astonishingly fresh aroma.
"What is this? It's just a rotten cabbage core. Although it emits a very tempting aroma, why is it so fresh? Can supermarket ingredients achieve this? Can I start eating?!"
Wrinkling her small nose and smelling the tightly wrapped cabbage core in front of her, Rantobi's cheeks instantly flushed, and crystal clear drool had unknowingly dripped from the corner of her mouth.
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