BXBX NOVEL Chapter 41 - 41: The Champion from the Neighboring City
“Uncle, which of their dishes do you find more delicious?”
Outside the kitchen, Fu Guan curiously glanced at the closed kitchen doors on either side and asked.
“How should 1 know?” Fu Hang rolled his eyes, “I’m not too familiar with either of their cooking skills, but I assume neither are bad, so I’m letting them both go through a test.”
“As for the specifics, 1 have to taste their food to find out.” he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the side of the table, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
“Uncle, can I taste the food with you later?” Fu Guan swallowed his saliva, unable to help himself, “It’s already lunch time…”
“Huh! You little rascal.” Fu Hang took a amused glance at his nephew, “If there’s any leftover, you can taste it, but don’t interfere with my tasting.”
“Of course!” Hearing his uncle’s consent, Fu Guan immediately rejoiced and nodded eagerly.
“By the way, what are you here for today?” Fu Hang asked.
“All! I almost forgot.” Fu Guan slapped his own forehead, suddenly remembering his main purpose of this visit, “Uncle, a Spirit Chef learned that I’m your nephew and asked me to deliver a letter to you.”
With that, he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Fu Hang.
“A letter? Why didn’t he contact me directly?” Fu Hang raised an eyebrow, took the letter and opened it to read.
After a while, his face showed a trace of interest, “Interesting.”
“Uncle, what is it? Can you tell me?” Fu Guan asked curiously.
“There’s nothing inconvenient.” Fu Hang put the letter aside, “It’s a Spirit Chef from our neighboring city, Danju. After finding out about my Zhen Niu Pavilion, he wants to participate in the next Beef Tasting Banquet held at Zhen Niu Pavilion.”
Every year, Fu Hang hosts a Beef Tasting Banquet at Zhen Niu Pavilion, inviting Spirit Chefs whose skills he acknowledged to enjoy top-notch beef.
Looking at the time, the next Beef Tasting Banquet will soon begin, right after the city-level cooking contest.
“This Spirit Chef named Lei Ke is not simple.” Fu Hang pointed at the letter with a fascinated look on his face, “A month ago, in the city-level cooking contest of Danju City, he won the championship and earned the second-level Food Recommender badge of Danju City.”
“And he will participate in the upcoming city-level cooking competition here.”
“Dragon crossing the river, huh.” Fu Guan commented, “It seems like he’s preparing for the provincial-level cooking contest.”
Provincial-level cooking contests, which are more superior than city-level ones, require five badges from second-level Food Recommenders for eligibility.
However, unlike the first-level Food Recommenders, there is only one second-level Food Recommender per city.
There are only two ways to obtain a badge from a second-level Food Recommender.
The first is to win the city-level cooking contest and get the badge directly from the local second-level Food Recommender.
The second is to visit the local second-level Food Recommender’s place.
However, visiting a second-level Food Recommender isn’t as easy as visiting the first-level ones. Not only are there certain thresholds to meet, but the test will also be much more difficult.
So the overall difficulty of both methods is akin.
“Exactly.” Fu Hang nodded, “The threshold set by our city’s second-level Food Recommender, Li Yuantu, is having two badges from second-level Food Recommenders. Since Lei Ke only has one, he can only gain another by winning the competition.”
“But with his participation…” He rubbed his temples, “it will be tougher for our local Spirit Chefs of Dongxia City to win the upcoming city-level cooking contest.”
“Uncle, will you invite Lei Ke to the Beef Tasting Banquet later?” Fu Guan asked.
“No rush.” Fu Hang replied calmly, “Since he will participate in the city-level cooking contest in a few days, as one of the eleven judges, 1 will naturally get a chance to see his strength, being the champion of Danju City.”
“If he gains my approval, 1 will invite him then.”
“If not, he can forget about it.”
Fu Guan nodded in agreement.
Having delivered the message, he had fulfilled his duty.
Soon after, a door of one of the kitchens was opened.
Accompanied by the rich aroma wafting out from the kitchen, Tang Xie walked out carrying a seemingly exquisite dish. He placed it before Fu Hang and Fu Guan.
“Mr. Fu Hang, this is a dish I prepared using beef tenderloin, the Beef Fruit Package. Please have a taste!” Tang Xie noticed that Qin Lang had not yet come out of the kitchen, which made him feel smug.
“Oh?”
Fu Hang sniffed the air, catching a uniquely baked smell, and turned his gaze to the dish before him. It was a meal as large as two fists with a lightly charred cover of baked pastry. He looked at it with interest.
“I’ve heard of this cooking method before, but this is my first time seeing it.” he smiled, “The inside of the beef is cut into slices and stacked with fruit slices, cheese slices, and other ingredients. The whole thing is then wrapped in a pastry and baked together in the oven?”
“Yes.” Tang Xie nodded.
“While the method isn’t difficult, it requires a lot of attention to detail. After all, it’s not easy to get the inner ingredients to a perfect state without glancing at them.” Fu Hang commented briefly, then took a knife and cut the Beef Fruit Package in half.
As soon as the outermost layer of pastry was sliced open, the strong aromas of the various ingredients inside instantly burst forth, as if being ignited.
Rich scent of beef, various fruits, salted cheese with a milky aroma…
These scents mixed together, quickly spreading throughout the nearby area.
Fu Guan on the side couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
As expected of a dish made by a Spirit Chef, it was way better than his own cooking skills.
Thinking that he would be able to taste it soon, he was already looking forward to it.
In contrast to his nephew’s explosive reactions, Fu Hang remained composed.
He carefully distinguished the aroma in the air, and then picked up his fork to start tasting the dish slowly.
The outer crust was rather crisp due to the baking, but the inner part absorbed the grease from the beef and the juice from the heated fruits, adding a unique flavor to it.
The beef was perfectly cooked and its delicate texture was well preserved.
The melted, salty cheese and juices oozing out of the fruit due to the heat infiltrated through the crevices in the texture of the beef, infusing it with additional flavors, while the resulting soft, sweet fruit also offered an unexpectedly good taste.
Under the nervous gaze of Tang Xie, Fu Hang slowly laid down his fork after tasting it.
“A very delicious dish.”
In the end, he nodded approvingly.
Hearing Fu Hang’s praise, Tang Xie breathed a sigh of relief and broke into a smile.
At that moment, another kitchen door “squeaked” open.
This made Tang Xie, who was about to say something, hold his tongue and look over.
Qin Lang walked out step by step, holding a plate of food, and stopped in front of Fu Hang.
He nodded towards Tang Xie and then spoke.
“Silky Egg Beef Fillet, Mr. Fu Hang, please have a taste.”
End of chapter bonus content:
[Wellington Steak]