Chapter 398 - “See? It takes two to tango." (2)
“I’m nervous, Manager Tong.”
Tong Xuelu turned to look and Guo Weiping and noticed that he looked very pale. “And just why are you so nervous?”
Guo Weiping was so nervous that his teeth was clattering. “I feel so nervous when I think about getting up on stage in a little while and all these people will be looking at me.”
Tong Xuelu, “Comrade Guo Weiping, you are overthinking this. You are just a help. They wouldn’t be looking at you. If anything, they will be looking me me.”
Guo Weiping, “……”
Tong Xuelu, “Does that make you feel better? Are you still nervous?”
Guo Weiping nodded. “Better, but still nervous.”
Tong Xuelu, “Here, follow my lead and we will do some deep breathing exercises…… Breath in…… breath out…… breathing in. Relax and breathing with your stomach, not your chest.”
Guo Weiping followed Tong Xuelu’s instructions and breathed in and out, his stomach rising and falling.
? ? ?
Everybody around them were baffled.
What were they doing?
Anyone who didn’t know better would think that they were giving birth.
Guo Weiping felt much relaxed after some breathing exercises. At the very minimum, his hands and feet stopped shaking.
Tong Xuelu, “If you are still nervous latterly, just stand to one side and don’t do anything.”
She would rather take a little more time than having Guo Weiping be nervous and make mistakes.
Guo Weiping looked very apologetic, “I’m sorry, Manager Tong. I am so useless.”
Tong Xuelu, “It’s not too bad if you are aware of that. Just work on improving yourself.”
Guo Weiping nodded repeatedly.
Tong Xuelu would need to make two dishes for the competition. They could be meat dishes, vegetable dishes, or even snacks. The contestants could decide that for themselves.
Nevertheless, most people would go with meat dishes at this time. Afterall, there were very little one could do with vegetable dishes and snacks, as after meal dessert, was not think of highly at this day and age.
The first group’s time was up after 1.5 hours.
All the chefs stopped what they were doing. One of the chefs was so nervous that he broke to plates and messed up the sauce. As such, he didn’t even complete his second dish.
The chef looked dismay and knew that he was done for.
The dishes made by the contestants were brought to the judges in order and the 7 judges started trying the dishes and started grading them.
Each one of the judges could give up to 10 points and the third chef in group one received the highest score of 50.
The No. 3 chef was so emotional that his face was beet red when he walked down.
Then it was the second group. This included the chef from Red Star Restaurant.
All of Tong Xuelu’s attention was on the Red Star Restaurant’s chef.
Much like she had expected, the chef from Red Star Restaurant entered the competition with their signature dishes of fried crab butter and fermented bean curd meat.
The chef of Red Star Restaurant acted exactly like someone from a family of renowned chefs. The second he stepped on stage, he tuned everything out and focused only on his cooking.
It was the chef’s help that looked complacent. The help was a young man in his 20s. He was clean cut and resembled the chef a little. He might be the chef’s son or a relative.
It was an enjoyment watching the chef cooked.
Tong Xuelu watched with appreciation and an intention to pick up something from him.
A little over half an hour later, the first dish of ferment bean curd meat was done.
The dish was made from fermented bean curd and pork belly. It was not difficult to make but difficult to make it look, smell, and taste delicious.
It was a dish that could easily look dirty and also get very greasy.
The dish made by the chef of Red Star Restaurant looked red, shiny and it was glowing. Even from a distance one could tell that it was tender and not overly greasy.
As soon as the dish was done, it was brought to the judge to try.
Another half an hour past when the second dish, the fried crab butter, was completed.
The crab roe was fragrant and glutinous. The smell from it was enough to make one salivate. Everybody there gulped uncontrollably.
With this strong competitor there, all the other group 2 contestants could feel the pressure.
Much like everybody had expected, the chef of Red Star Restaurant scored 67 points.
The crowd roared. Red Star Restaurant had scored 67 out of the total possible 70.