Chapter 198: Chapter 198

Louis approached the duo and introduced himself, “Ms. Alder, you can count on me because I won’t side with Mr. Simpson merely because he’s my employer. The only thing I truly care about is the taste of the dish.”

Casper added, “If you think it’s unfair, you can send someone of your choice just to be safe.”

However, Sharon shook her head and asserted, “That won’t be necessary since you have allowed me to decide on the challenges for the first two rounds.”

Casper smirked when Sharon turned him down. He thought that was a sign he could win her over at the end of the match. “Alright, what’s the first challenge that’s in store for us?”

Sharon retrieved her utensils and announced, “You’re not allowed to consider yourself a cook unless you have a sharp sense of taste! Therefore, the first challenge is to determine if you have it or not!”

“What exactly are you up to? You’re not going to hand over a freaking jalapeno to me and ask me to consume it without anything else, are you?” Casper asked with a frown.

Sharon rolled her eyes and answered, “We’ll prepare the list of ingredients for the dishes we’re about to make. Once we’re done, we’ll get the other party to savor the dish and name the ingredients that are involved. The one with more correct guesses will be the winner.”

“Ms. Alder, are you aware the first challenge you have in store for me is actually unfair to you? I don’t wish to take advantage of you! Are you sure you wish to proceed?”

Actually, Sharon was well aware of the shortcomings Casper had mentioned. But because she was in a hurry, she didn’t have time to work on the details.

“The sense of taste is the most important asset of a cook! I can’t think of any other method we can use to measure this! If you’re concerned, we’ll get something else to stop us from peeking at one another when we’re cooking!” Sharon couldn’t be bothered by the details, but she had started perceiving Casper as a different man.

“Sure, Ms. Alder! If that’s the case, we’ll leave you alone until you’re done!”

At that, Casper brought the rest of the chefs out of the kitchen with him. Louis was the only one allowed to stay behind.

All of a sudden, Elena approached Casper and whispered, “Mr. Leuthold is a member of Tycoon. I’m afraid Ms. Alder is going to pick on us—”

Casper stopped her from finishing her sentence and assured, “I’m sure she has faith in Mr. Leuthold.

On top of that, I’ll definitely defeat her and get her to yield herself at my mercy.”

Within a short while, a pleasant scent permeated throughout the entire hall. The chefs closed their eyes and exclaimed, “It’s a crab dish!”

Louis opened the door and asked everyone to join them in the kitchen, “Ms. Alder has finished preparing her dish. I have never seen anyone of her age preparing such a complicated dish! It’s undeniable that she’s a prodigy!”

Casper beamed in satisfaction as he would never acquire the aid of an ordinary chef. Once he marched into the kitchen, he noticed Sharon was in the middle of serving her dish.

He managed to figure out the dish she had prepared upon a simple glimpse. He announced, “A typical crab bisque—the favorite of seafood lover!”

Once Sharon saw Casper, she beckoned him over to give the dish she had prepared a try.

He scooped a mouthful of bisque and started savoring it. The creamy bisque packed a punch of flavor and took him by surprise due to the velvety sensation associated with it.

While savoring the bisque, he remarked, “I’m impressed, Ms. Alder! It’s such a rich bisque! It takes years before one can handle a crab at ease in this manner!”

“It’s not much of a surprise, is it? An ordinary seafood lover can tell that much as well. I have the list of ingredients with me. I’ll hand it over to Mr. Leuthold and have him verify the ingredients with you.”

Once Louis took over the piece of note from Sharon, he gestured Casper to go ahead as soon as he was ready.

Casper flashed the man a proud grin. After spending his entire life savoring all sorts of delicacies, he could easily name the ingredients that had been used to prepare the crab bisque. He was well aware of the tweak involved in producing the bisque.

“About a cup of diced garlic, shallots, and olive oil had been used as the base of the soup. On top of the ordinary condiments and ingredients, I believe you have included a homemade tomato sauce to finish the bisque. That’s the one tweak you have included to produce the bisque.”

Although Casper managed to include the ingredients that had been listed beforehand, Sharon wasn’t particularly surprised. However, when he mentioned something about the homemade tomato sauce, her brows furrowed in confusion.

“I believe Ms. Alder hasn’t included the ingredients involved to make the homemade sauce, no?”

Louis nodded in response to Casper’s query and announced, “You’re right! That part of the information has been omitted!”

“Well, I believe it’s not a great idea to share it with the rest in the kitchen if it’s something she wishes to keep to herself.”

As soon as Casper approached Sharon and whispered something to her, the woman’s face turned pale. She looked at him in disbelief and muttered to herself, “This is a recipe from my sister! How did you manage to figure it out?”

Casper couldn’t help but blurt out the truth, “Actually, I wasn’t made aware of the ingredients until I had the chance to savor the crab bisque produced by you. May I know if there’s any missing ingredient?”

Albeit unreluctantly, Sharon nodded with her eyes flickering in despair, causing the rest of the chefs to gasp in surprise. If their employer could easily figure out the ingredients involved in others’ recipes, their competitors might go out of business.

“I believe it’s my turn to prepare a dish for you in return.”

Sharon stomped her way out of the kitchen with her sous-chefs as Casper marched towards his workstation without explaining himself.

Once Sharon departed, the man instructed the chefs, “Ms. Alder’s crab bisque is definitely one of a kind. She has gone to great lengths to make sure hers stand out from those the restaurants offer. Go ahead and give it a try to see if any of you can get anything out of it.”

It was a great opportunity for the chefs to learn something new.

Truth be told, the chefs could no longer suppress their urge to give the dish a try. As a result, all the food was finished within a few seconds.

“It’s wonderful! With that being said, I can’t taste anything that’s extraordinary about it!”

“Huh? Are you seriously telling me you think you’re able to tell the difference between it when you can’t even differentiate a whipping cream and heavy cream?”

“Hello? Aren’t those the same? Urgh!”

While the rest of the chefs were engaged in a heated discussion amongst themselves, Louis was the only one who had his eyes glued to Casper.

“Amazing! I have never seen anything like this!” he exclaimed with his eyes gleaming, After a short while, Louis summoned Sharon and her party back to the kitchen once Casper had his dish ready.

“What’s with the awful stench of jam? Are you trying to conceal the ingredients you have used?”

The moment Sharon stepped into the kitchen, she frowned. Upon a glimpse at the dish Casper prepared, her face scrunched up in confusion.

It seemed to be just another grape jelly meatball. However, the meatballs were of smaller sizes as compared to ordinary ones.