Chapter 53 - 53: A Flash of Inspiration

Translator: 549690339

By the time Qin Lang’s Food Fight with Tang Xie had ended, it was close to the dinner service at the Starlight Restaurant.

Even as he entered the restaurant, the expression on Qin Lang’s face was still one of pondering.

Seeing this, Luo Hui, who was cleaning and preparing inside the restaurant for dinner service, couldn’t help showing a look of surprise.

Qin Lang had mentioned when he left at noon that he was participating in a Food Fight in the afternoon.

Could it be that…

“Little Qin, did you lose the Food Fight this afternoon?” Luo Hui couldn’t help asking.

From what he had seen, Qin Lang’s cooking skills were not those of a newbie Spirit Chef, but rather of a seasoned Spirit Chef.

Could someone like Qin Lang lose in a Food Fight?

“Eh?” Luo Hui’s question brought Qin Lang back to reality. He looked at Luo Hui, shook his head and responded, “No, 1 won the Food Fight this afternoon. What I was thinking about is the first round of the city-level cooking contest that’s coming up the day after tomorrow.”

So that’s what it was.

An understanding look appeared on Luo Hui’s face.

Now that the cooking competition was approaching, there wasn’t much time left.

At this point, it was only natural for Qin Lang to start preparing for the first round of the scoring competition.

Wait a moment…

At that thought, Luo Hui pulled out his phone and checked the Spirit Chef Association website.

A short while later, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “The theme for the scoring competition is vegetables?”

“Yes,” replied Qin Lang, unsurprised.

While letting all the competitors know about the theme through email, the Competition Center of the Spirit Chef Association would also publish the final list and first round theme of the city-level cooking contest and begin their media promotion early.

“This could be troublesome,” Luo Hui said as he pulled out a chair to sit, his brows furrowing as he began to analyze for Qin Lang, “The theme of vegetables leaves little room for variation and the dishes are likely to be similar.”

“This wouldn’t be an issue if it was a lvi competition. But in a unique situation like the scoring competition where the theme makes it hard to show off skills, the final scores given by judges are likely to be close.”

“That could lead to more variables when selecting the top eight players from the final scores.”

After a pause, Luo Hui turned to look at Qin Lang. “Do you know how to cook vegetable dishes?”

All three Food Recommender Badges Qin Lang had earned seemed unrelated to vegetable cuisine.

However, considering the variety of dishes Qin Lang was capable of, it wouldn’t be surprising if he did know how to cook vegetable dishes.

“Yes, I can,” Qin Lang nodded in confirmation.

Being a contestant in some culinary competitions in his past life, he could anticipate the problems just as Luo Hui did.

He had spent his entire journey back deep in thought, trying to come up with the most suitable dish he could cook.

But he didn’t come across a satisfactory choice.

“That’s a relief,” Luo Hui sighed, “When I was younger, I participated in a few city-level cooking contests.”

“If you’re willing to listen, 1 have some experience to share regarding the scoring competition.”

“Really?” Qin Lang’s eyes lit up, “Thank you, Uncle Luo Hui, please tell me.”

Instead of pondering on his own, he’d better listen to Luo Hui’s experience.

Even if these experiences didn’t come in handy, they might inspire him in some way.

“The city-level cooking contest is divided into a scoring competition, an elimination competition, and a ranking competition,” Luo Hui started slowly, “The judges for both the elimination and ranking competitions are the eleven First-Level Food Recommenders of Dongxia City.”

“But that’s not the case for the scoring competition.”

“The judges for the first round of the cooking contest are the senior judges from Dongxia City Spirit Chef Association.”

Qin Lang nodded thoughtfully.

The previous two Food Fights he had been in had five primary judges because both he and his opponent were title-less Spirit Chefs.

If a titled Spirit Chef participated in a Food Fight, depending on the specific circumstances of both parties, different judges would be appointed,. More primary judges could be arranged, or even higher-ranked judges could be appointed.

Above senior judges were First-Level Food Recommenders, followed by Second-Level and Third-Level Food Recommenders.

The Dongxia City Spirit Chef Association had a total of thirty senior judges who would be responsible for scoring the first round of the city cooking contest.

“There are a total of…” Luo Hui checked the list again, “twenty-six participants.”

“All twenty-six participants will be cooking vegetable dishes, which means the thirty senior judges in the venue will have to sample dishes from all of them. No matter how good the dishes are, the judges are bound to be tired.”

“Even a person with excellent memory will find it difficult to remember and differentiate the taste of twenty-six vegetable dishes.”

“So at this point, we need dishes that can really grab the judges’ attention.”

“This ‘grabbing’ might be executed through the dish presentation. It could also be through the unique taste of the dish itself, or anything else for that matter,” Luo Hui paused and looked at Qin Lang seriously, “The point is, you need to have your own unique features to stand out from the twenty-six vegetable dishes and make the judges remember you.”

Dishes with unique features…

Qin Lang pondered.

At that moment, he came up with quite a lot of vegetable dishes.

It had to be said, Luo Hui’s words gave Qin Lang some inspiration.

At least he had a direction now, which helped narrow down his choices.

As for what to choose exactly, he’d just have to figure it out slowly when he got home after work.

“You can take a day or two off tomorrow,” Luo Hui said with a chuckle as he watched Qin Lang with a thoughtful look in his eyes, “You need to prepare wholeheartedly for the upcoming city-level cooking contest.”

“Thank you, Uncle Luo Hui.”

Qin Lang smiled gratefully, and even Dan Bao, who was quietly listening to their conversation, showed Luo Hui a friendly look.

“It’s nothing,” Luo Hui laughed, stood from his chair and stretched, “The dinner service is about to start, and with all this talking, I haven’t finished my preparations!”

He resumed his work and a playful smile appeared on his face, like he had thought of something.

“Speaking of…” Luo Hui started as he used a broom to sweep the dust off the floor, “This scoring competition is bound to be interesting.”

“Why do you say that?” Qin Lang asked with a look of curiosity.

“From what 1 know, there are several judges amongst the thirty senior ones who prefer to eat meat.”

“Having them sample and judge twenty-six vegetable dishes will be quite a challenge.”

“I can’t be there to watch the competition, but I can follow the live broadcast in the restaurant.”

“Just thinking about their expressions puts a smile on my face.”

So that’s why.

Qin Lang smiled.

Indeed, some people prefer meat dishes and are not fond of vegetables…

Hold on!

It was as if lightning had suddenly struck across Qin Lang’s mind, he was momentarily stunned.

Vegetables…

Meat-loving judges…

He might have just figured out what dish he should cook for the scoring competition!