Chapter 1474: A Golden Dragon?
After deciding on the items, Mag had successfully set a trap for Harris. It was in sync with the system’s mission, and this would be sink or swim.
He would still have to call the other party his master if he lost, so in fact, he had nothing to fear.
Is this little fellow trying to join my ‘black wok gang’ so he can be my disciple and learn to cook from me? Harris looked at Mag thoughtfully as he began to suspect if Mag was trying to “play” him.
With Miya and the ladies’ help, Mag also managed to move all the kitchenware and ingredients out and set them opposite Harris’. They were set at the opposite sides of the judging panel.
“Please excuse me.” When it was almost 10 am, Chapman’s voice sounded at the periphery of the crowd. The bullock cart gradually drove in and stopped.
Harris’ disciples quickly rushed up to off-load the goods. There weren’t many ingredients, and they only filled up two baskets. They were also very common ingredients.
After they had set up the ingredients, Mag looked at his watch, and calmly said, “10 o’clock.”
“Sure, then let’s start on the first item of our duel—cutting skills.” Harris didn’t drag his feet, either. He picked up two potatoes, held one in his hand, and tossed one to Mag before saying, “Cutting skills is one of a chef’s basic skills. The phrase ‘70% cutting skills and 30% heat control’ explains the importance of cutting skills perfectly. There are two potatoes here, one for each of us. The rules are very simple. Demonstrate your most intricate cutting skills on this potato within three minutes, and then the judges will vote for the potato which they think is cut better.”
“Alright.” Mag caught the potato that still had soil on it. He didn’t have any objections to Harris’ simple rules. Cutting skills were intricate, and every chef was different. They simply had to put their work side by side for comparison, and that would be all to it.
Everyone began to quiet down gradually. They were all staring at the potatoes in Mag’s and Harris’ hands, and held their breath instinctively. They all wanted to know what the two ordinary potatoes in their hands would transform into.
Mag tossed that potato into the air, and grabbed “Fat Head Fish” with his right hand. They only saw the knife flashing, and the potato seemed to be dancing on the knife’s edge. The potato’s skin that still had soil on it began to fall off. In the blink of an eye, a peeled potato began to spin slowly on the knife’s edge.
Meanwhile, the potato’s skin all fell onto a plate below. There wasn’t any potato stuck to the thin layer of skin at all, and the skin was intact.
“Such exceptional cutting skills!”
The audience couldn’t help praising. This series of action was very smooth. Although Mag had only removed the skin, he had already demonstrated inimitable techniques.
“This is interesting.” Harris flicked a glance at Mag, and kept the flippant smile on his face. His expression became sincere and solemn as he reached out to grab the “Saury”. He pressed the chef’s knife against the potato, and spun the potato gently with his finger. The potato began to spin on the chopping block.
Starting from one end of the potato, a complete and long string of potato skin began to increase rapidly. Also in the blink of an eye, a completely peeled potato appeared on the cutting board, and there was an intact strip of potato skin that was about 1 cm wide.
“This is perhaps an operation that we can watch but can never master.”
The audience was speechless after seeing that.
Both cooks had shown their prowess. Simply peeling the potatoes was already astonishing.
Mag didn’t pay any attention to Harris’ action and the audience’s gasps. He grasped the cleaver, and focused on the potato in front of him. Even though it appeared to be a complete potato, he had already deconstructed it numerous times with his eyes before deciding on a plan that could best showcase his skills.
The cleaver was moving up and down. The seemingly thick and heavy cleaver was as precise as an embroidery needle in Mag’s hand. It sometimes moved very fast, while sometimes it moved very slow. He was either cutting or shaving, as if a master carving out the most exquisite artwork. People were touched by that concentrated expression, and couldn’t bear to disturb his concentration.
A serious man really looks very mesmerizing. Scheer looked at Mag with acute interest. She could almost imagine this was what he looked like when he was drawing those precise blueprints. Otherwise, how could he have finished such a gigantic project on his own?
No wonder Mr. Mag improves at such a rapid speed. Such an intense focus is rare for a chef. Robert was also looking at Mag with amazement and admiration on his face.
Jeffree was also looking at Mag with furrowed brows. From the intel that he received, he knew this Boss Mag and Gloria had an unusual connection. He was probably the designer behind Blue Suede.
Blue Suede could emerge suddenly and become the leader of Chaos City’s fashion world within a few short months mainly due to those clothes that were uniquely designed. The clothes that broke the reins of traditions, and were full of design factors had thrown those old and stuck-in-the-mud tailors way behind them.
As a businessman who’d started his empire from selling textiles, Jeffree could see the core of Blue Suede’s rapid growth and high profits. That hidden designer was the soul of Blue Suede.
And this soul was now cutting potato seriously with a cleaver.
There was also some news and rumors that said this Boss Mag was interacting with Scheer very closely recently.
Furthermore, even Jeffree had heard about Mamy Restaurant’s name. It was just that he didn’t want to lower himself to come and line up, so he hadn’t personally tasted the food before.
This young man with multiple identities had indeed aroused his interest. Moreover, Mag had even declared that he wanted to change the Chamber of Commerce. That made him even more interested.
“Please, Boss has to win.” Yabemiya clenched her fists nervously. She no longer thought that Mag could defeat Harris easily.
All the ladies from the restaurant looked a little nervous as this was a battle for Mamy Restaurant’s honor.
Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Followed by a ring from the judges’ table, Mag and Harris stopped moving their knives simultaneously.
“What is that? A golden dragon?” everyone said with amazement as they saw the potato that Mag placed on the plate. It was already carved into a giant dragon that was about to take to the sky.
Furthermore, those customers who were standing closer to it could see the dragon scales on the wings clearly. Even the eyes seemed to be full of life, and it looked as if it could fly off any time.
What was most amazing was that Mag only used a cleaver that looked like a brick, and only spent three minutes to complete a work that resembled a piece of art.
However, looking at Harris, the potato was cut into different sizes and shapes. They were spread out messily on a plate as if a child had cut them haphazardly. It was a world of difference from Mag’s life-like giant dragon.
Everyone couldn’t help curiously thinking, Did Master Harris decide to give up on this first round?