Chapter 144: Chapter 144 Stir-fried Beef with Green Onions
Early in the morning the next day, Chen Yu arrived at the location specified for the competition.
The venue for the competition appeared to be the local sports stadium, which was quite large in scale.
By the time Chen Yu got there, the site was already teeming with people.
There were as many as twenty members of the Zeus Alliance participating in this competition.
However, they looked more like a professional team, among whom a few were well-known chefs, while the rest seemed to be participating as assistants.
Apart from Chen Yu, the Chinese cuisine team that came to face the challenge consisted of only six people.
"Welcome everyone to the challenge competition, I am honored to host this event," a familiar voice suddenly rang out, causing Chen Yu to frown involuntarily.
Dressed in a formal gown, Fang Yuan held a microphone and slowly appeared on the podium with the help of a lift.
When Chen Yu saw Fang Yuan at William's family's castle, he thought she was just an artist invited to perform, not expecting her to be the host for the whole competition in Chinese.
Fang Yuan also paused when she stood on the stage, as she hadn't expected Chen Yu to be able to take part in a competition of this caliber.
No matter whether Chen Yu won a place in this competition or not, just by standing on the competition floor, he had already gained recognition as a world-class chef.
Fang Yuan could never have dreamed that in less than two months since their divorce, Chen Yu had grown to such an extent.
When she was with him, Chen Yu wasn't this impressive! How did he suddenly become a world-class figure?
After all, Fang Yuan was an actress, and her mental fortitude was significantly stronger than that of the average person.
She immediately adjusted her emotions, "The rules for the first day of the competition are relatively simple. It's a friendly match between the two sides, where each team specifies the ingredients and seasonings that the opposing chefs must use, but please note, this does not include kitchenware!"
Put simply, the first match was about tripping up the other side, taking away the ingredients they were adept with, and providing those they weren't skilled in handling.
The chefs from Zeus Alliance were quite shrewd; they seemed to have known the rules well in advance.
Before the host Devon could even finish explaining the rules, they had already come over to select their choices.
The six Chinese cuisine chefs competing alongside Chen Yu were not to be outdone and quickly turned the opposing chefs' selections into chaos.
In the end, the teams practically swapped ingredients with each other.
"Alright, it looks like the chefs from both sides have made their choices, so please present your dishes within the allotted time. The countdown starts now."
The seven Chinese cuisine chefs, including Chen Yu, looked at the large pieces of beef in front of them and couldn't help but feel troubled.
Besides these pieces of beef and some onions, ginger, and garlic, they hardly had any proper ingredients left, not even the cooking oil for stir-frying had been taken.
To be honest, the chefs from the Zeus Alliance had been rather excessive.
They glanced at the Chinese team disdainfully and then eagerly set about cooking.
Chen Yu took a deep breath, "Master Wang Hai, can you extract some oil from that pile of sesame seeds?"
The older Master Wang Hai immediately nodded and made a simple oil press tool on the spot.
"Who can help me prepare the onions, ginger, garlic, and other minor ingredients?"
Chen Yu asked, and with a knife in hand, he quickly started slicing the beef.
"I'll do it!" one chef responded and took out all the remaining onions, ginger, and garlic.
The other four chefs immediately understood Chen Yu's intention and began cooperating with each other.
By the time Chen Yu finished processing the beef, Master Wang Hai had already extracted the sesame oil.
Chen Yu promptly heated the oil in the wok, stir-fried the onions, ginger, and garlic, and then skillfully added the beef to the pan.
The entire process took less than half an hour, and a fragrant dish of onion and beef stir-fry was presented by Chen Yu.
In contrast, over at Zeus Alliance, they had just finished making their salt-baked snails, the mousse foie gras was still being processed, and the other dishes were halfway done.
Fang Yuan on the hosting stage was seeing Chen Yu cook for the first time.
Even though they had been married for so long, Fang Yuan barely stayed at home, not to mention seeing Chen Yu cook, she had hardly even spoken a few words to him.
Now standing at the hosting station with such a clear view, Fang Yuan suddenly discovered a unique charm in Chen Yu.
Especially when he was cooking, his movements were as smooth as flowing water, effortlessly graceful; for some reason, it was quite enchanting.
Fang Yuan hurriedly shook her head, "Now the Chinese chef here has already served a dish, and I can smell the fragrance from where I'm standing."
The six gourmands had long been captivated by the aroma lingering at the scene and couldn't wait to take a bite.
"This onion and beef stir-fry looks simple, but during stir-frying, the meat's fibers and sinews were completely broken down, soft yet chewy once you take a bite."
"To use such simple ingredients and make such a delicious dish in such a short time, it seems that Chinese cuisine is indeed a notch better."
"It's sesame oil! With freshly extracted oil like this, it can maximize the fresh taste of the ingredients."
…
One dish of onion and beef stir-fry made the six judges rave about it for a long time.
It was only at this moment that the dishes from Zeus Alliance were just ready.
Having just eaten such steaming, delicious food, the judges were somewhat resistant to switching to cold dishes.
Out of professional integrity, they rinsed their mouths and began tasting meticulously.
However, their expressions while eating the onion and beef stir-fry were a stark contrast to now.
Although only two of the six judges were Chinese, they unanimously cast their votes for Chen Yu's side.
After that round ended, both sides proceeded to the halftime break.
Fang Yuan on the hosting stage finally breathed a sigh of relief, but as soon as she stepped down, she dashed towards the restroom like a madwoman.
"Stay calm, I must stay calm!"
Chen Yu and the six Chinese chefs leisurely made their way to the break room.
Master chef Wang Hai patted his chest with a look of relief tinged with fear.
"I was really a bit worried that we might lose this competition, but I didn't expect Little Chen's cooking skills to be so extraordinary, turning decay into magic, making that onion and beef stir-fry so delicious."
The other five master chefs also offered continuous praise.
They had checked the piece of beef at the start of the competition.
Though it was of quality, being genuine Wagyu, it wasn't the perfect cut of Wagyu beef.
It was filled with sinews and even a little gristle.
Unless cooked in a pressure cooker for a long time, it would be tough to chew.
Who would have thought that Chen Yu, just by simple stir-frying, could perfectly deal with the sinews and gristle.
Chen Yu was so lauded that he started to feel a little embarrassed, sitting there and repeatedly waving his hand.
After a brief rest, they entered the arena again, but on the original judges' seat, a few more figures had appeared, among them was Bai Qiu.
It appeared she was a special guest.