Who gave this heretical practitioner permission to cook?

Chapter 24 Thank you so much for choosing my team, but
Why choose land? Isn't he best at cooking those inedible ingredients?

[Yeah, those things on land are all too normal!]

[Something's not right, something's really not right, guys. Could it be that he knows he's out of teammates and is about to give up, poisoning one last enemy before he leaves?]

[That's possible. After all, if there are internal organs on land, that means there's a large intestine!]

I get it, it's fermented mung bean juice with braised pork intestines.

[Numb]

The viewers in the live stream didn't understand Xia Ming's choice, and the other contestants present were also quite upset.

In Western cuisine, chicken, beef, pork, and fish are common ingredients, with the first few falling into the category of "land-based" dishes.

With the fish already there and the Fish Master present, whoever chooses the fish later, the Fish Master will definitely have an advantage over the others.

Similarly, Luo Luo's humming is the same. Yunnan cuisine is inherently about dealing with mushrooms and insects, so "emptiness" is also her comfort zone.

Therefore, the chefs who were responsible for rating Western cuisine were particularly upset when they saw Xia Ming's choice.

They considered Xia Ming to be an amateur, and deep down they disdained teaming up with someone like him.

On the contrary, Luo Luo hummed with some regret, as she seemed very eager to test Xia Ming's culinary skills.

Regardless, Xia Ming has made his choice, and the others can only accept it reluctantly.

Then came Xiaohua and Chen Xiaodong.

The two seemed to take a step without much hesitation.

Xiaohua chose [Sea], which was probably a decision made after careful consideration, choosing the one she felt most confident about after forming her team.

As for the opponent standing is Shuai Xiaojian, Xiaohua thinks it's okay. After all, the chef's team is stronger than the players. In fact, it would be difficult to beat anyone based on their strength on paper. It's better to choose the one you are most confident against.

As for Chen Xiaodong, he stood opposite Xia Ming without hesitation.

That's right, he also chose "land". It seems he's ready to give Xia Ming, this pushover, a good beating.

"No pain, no gain" completely changed his expression. "Empty" was the most difficult part for him. Birds were difficult to deal with in themselves, not to mention a bunch of insects that he was completely unfamiliar with.

But since he was late to the stage, he could only reluctantly stand on the "red" platform representing emptiness after Xiaohua made her choice.

Similarly, Zeng Huaijun, the chef, also had no choice but to step onto the stage.

With this, the themes chosen by the six team leaders were clear, and the production team began the next phase of the program.

Everyone has chosen their preferred theme, so now let's reveal the specific competition rules! Please look to your right!

As the host shouted, the floor of the entire arena suddenly began to tremble slightly.

The contestants looked at the floor in astonishment and suddenly realized that the tremor was coming from the huge cylindrical building next to them.

"What is this?"

"It can't be a materials processing station, can it?!"

"Do you specify both the theme and the materials? Isn't that a bit too harsh?"

Just as the contestants were in surprise, the cylindrical platform slowly turned around, revealing a densely packed group of masked people inside. Everyone present, except for Xia Ming, gaped in astonishment.

"This this."

[That's right, these 100 masked figures are the judges for this round of the competition. They come from all over the country, and their tastes cover the entire Chinese continent. The participating teams need to prepare 100 dishes for the judges to taste within two and a half hours.]

If the number of dishes served within the allotted time is insufficient, the entire group will be considered to have failed.

Similarly, if a team loses the cooking competition, the entire losing team will be eliminated!

Upon hearing that they had to prepare 100 dishes, the contestants immediately erupted in excitement.

"No way, two and a half hours, 100 dishes, wouldn't this 'sea' explode? They'd be completely overwhelmed just cleaning the fish!" "The sky won't fare much better. A bird only has a few pieces of meat, but there are 100 beaks!"

"Even if you control the portion size precisely, you still need to deal with a series of issues such as plating, sauce preparation, and coordination. There simply isn't enough time."

"I'm stumped. If the competition format is like this, then of the three themes, the easiest to solve should be 'Land'! After all, meat is easy to process if you just cut it."

"Yes, fish is the most troublesome, meat is the simplest. Oh no, this Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef got lucky!"

Only then did the contestants realize that the Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef was probably standing in the best spot on the platform.

In an instant, the expressions of several contestants became conflicted.

They didn't want to cooperate with Xia Ming, but they also didn't want to give up the "land" topic. After struggling for a long time, it was the chemistry department's fangirl who, as a girl, was faster than the others in putting aside her pride.

She was already leaning towards the yellow platform where Xia Ming was, clearly wanting to make a good impression on him.

Seeing the actions of the Chemistry Department Fantasy Chef, the Pure and Innocent Little Chili Pepper followed suit. Since the three themes were all similar to him, he naturally chose the one with the greater operability to work with.

Xia Ming on the stage noticed their little interaction, but only glanced at it before looking away.

Because at this moment, the hometowns of the judges are displayed on the screen on stage, which basically represents the judges' tastes.

Xia Ming glanced at it and saw that the number of people in the south and north was roughly equal, and the people in the first few port areas were also quite conspicuous.

He stared at them for a while and realized that the three people sitting in the front row, right in the center, were Xie Tingfeng, Zheng Yongqi, and Zhang Yong.

At this moment, Xie Tingfeng also noticed Xia Ming's gaze and smiled as he removed half of the "black and white tai chi mask" from his face.

"How is everyone doing? Hope you've got some ideas after seeing this theme! I hope to taste your creative dishes!"

"Especially the Sichuan and Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef, keep it up, let's see what surprises you can bring me this time."

Xia Ming was slightly taken aback when Xie Tingfeng suddenly called out his name, and then he laughed.

"Okay, everyone will definitely be satisfied!"

Seeing Xia Ming's smile, Xie Tingfeng nodded as well.

"Then everyone, let's start forming groups. You'll have 15 minutes to form groups. After the groups are formed, the team leaders will draw lots at the designated location."

"Well then, see you later!"

As soon as Nicholas Tse finished speaking, the entire cylinder began to sink. It seems that, like before, the judges will be conducting a blind tasting this round and will not be present to watch the chefs cook.

As the column carrying 100 people descended, everyone turned their attention to the stage.

The first person to run up to Xia Ming was the Chemistry Department's Fantasy Chef. She was very beautiful and well-dressed. At this moment, she spoke gently.

"Sichuan-Chongqing Ice and Fire Chef, I want to join your team. I am good at handling all kinds of meat and my plating is also very exquisite. I hope we can work together to win."

After saying that, she stretched out her slender little hand in front of Xia Ming.

Xia Ming smiled as he looked at her face.

He remembered this girl; she made "Special Wellington Steak" during the 86-to-16 round, and her opponent in the 1v1 duel was "Queen of Sichuan" Zeng Huaijun. They made "Sandworm" at the same time, and she was eliminated but later revived.

To be fair, in terms of molecular gastronomy, her skills should rank among the top three of all the contestants. Even without considering molecular gastronomy, her overall ability would be among the top of the contestants.

Thinking of this, Xia Ming smiled gently at her, and seeing this, the Chemistry Department Fantasy Fan also smiled in response.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Xia Ming squinted and slowly spoke.

"Thank you so much for choosing my team."

"But I'm sorry, I refuse."

(End of this chapter)