I Am A Gourmet: Just Eight And You Want Me To Start A Roadside Stall Novel! - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Top Scorer – Xu Le!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Xu Le’s stir-fried shredded potatoes.
Xu Le’s cooking method was the most unique among everyone.
His method of cutting was different. While others were cutting straight, Xu Le was cutting it diagonally.
His cooking method was different. Xu Le soaked the shredded potatoes in cold water and burnt them with an alcohol spray gun after stir-frying them.
This was a step that was never taken by any other chefs.
Would it really taste good?
Even Xu Le was looking forward to it.
This was because the final step did not come from the recipe in the System Shop. Instead, it was part of his own creativity that he had taken the initiative to do.
Xu Le was unsure if he could get the approval of these judges.
“Let me have a taste first.”
Lin Shuwei picked up his chopsticks and picked up a few shredded potatoes.
However, what was strange was that he had specially picked out a few potato shreds from the bottom that had not been burnt by the alcohol sprayer.
The thickness of the potato shreds was even, as if someone had measured them with a ruler. Every one of them had the same length and thickness.
They were as thick as a matchstick and had a good texture. And they did not break easily.
Xu Le’s control over the fire was also perfect. When the potato shreds entered the mouth, they were crispy, fragrant, numbing, spicy, and sour. All the taste was just right.
Chef Lin raised his eyebrows slightly and revealed a surprised expression.
Xu Le, a eight-year-old kid, was actually the most outstanding chef among all the chefs!
This truly shocked him.
After finishing the shredded potatoes on the bottom layer, Lin Shuwei picked up a few shredded potatoes that had been baked by the alcohol sprayer.
The taste of the potato after entering his mouth amazed him.
It was clearly stir-fried shredded potatoes, but it tasted like fries. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Coupled with the sour and spicy taste of the entire dish, it was an unprecedented experience.
It was just a simple grilling with an alcohol spray gun, yet it had achieved such an effect.
Lin Shuwei raised his head and looked at Xu Le in disbelief.
This was… made by an eight-year-old?
The other judges followed Lin Shuwei’s actions. They ate the ones at the bottom layer first, followed by the top layer.
After tasting it, their expressions were roughly the same as Lin Shuwei’s, and their faces revealed shock.
After a series of whispers, Mr. Zhang Beiguang, the gourmet responsible for announcing the scores, stood up and said solemnly.
“Contestant Number 6, Xu Le, has exquisite knife skills that was as precise as cutting. His control over the fire is perfect, the texture is crisp and tender, and he has even combined two cooking methods into one dish. This dish of potato shreds can be eaten as one dish or two dishes, and it is a completely different experience. After discussion among the judges, we have decided to score him 99 points!”
99 points!
A perfect score was only 100 points.
And this was because there was a saying in the food industry—there would never be perfect food.
This meant that the judges would not give 100 marks no matter how perfect a dish was.
‘The reason for giving 99 points was to encourage you to keep improving.’
‘The missing point is because I’m afraid you’ll become complacent.’
All of the contestants’ dishes were savored by the judges one by one, and they all gave their scores.
However, none of the contestants scored as well as Xu Le.
Apart from Xu Le, Chef Li, from New Glory Restaurant, was the one with the highest score.
“Michelin Guide 2020 Beijing” was officially released in November 2019. Among them included a three-star Michelin restaurant, the only one in China that was awarded that.
And that was the New Glory Restaurant.
Li Peng, the chef from New Glory Restaurant, naturally was not an ordinary chef.
Xu Le looked at the middle-aged man curiously.
It was his first time meeting a chef from a Michelin restaurant.
But… New Glory might be the only Michelin three-star restaurant in the mainland, but that didn’t mean that it’s the best restaurant in China.
After all, the Michelin Guide was written by the French, while Chinese and Western cuisine were two completely different cuisines. Therefore, Michelin did not have much influence in China.
“Interesting.”
Xu Le muttered softly.
He had just seen how this chef handled the dishes. Indeed, all his steps were almost perfect. He even added some of his own innovations into the dishes.
A chef from a Michelin three-star restaurant was indeed not simple.
In the Michelin grading system, three-star was the highest grade.
A grade of three Michelin stars was described as having perfect culinary skills that was worthy of making a long journey to try the food. One could enjoy superb culinary skills, excellent wine, perfect service, and elegant dining environment.
Perfect culinary skills!
These words kept replaying in Xu Le’s mind.
His heart was filled with anticipation. Did such culinary skills really exist in this world?
…
Examining the cutting skills and fire control was only the first stage of the chef’s competition.
60% of the contestants had already been eliminated in the first round, leaving only 10 chefs with the highest score to enter the next round.
During the second segment, the chefs had to cook a set of dishes.
One meat dish, one vegetable dish, one dessert, and one main dish.
The names of the dishes distributed to everyone were the same. The final dish would be judged based on the five aspects of color, fragrance, taste, shape and aesthetics.
All the five dishes assigned were not simple.
It was a huge test of the chef’s skills.
Xu Le finally understood why the system would reward him with a large sum of gourmet points before he participated in the competition.
If he did not have this amount of gourmet points, he might not even be able to exchange for the recipes in the System store.
Xu Le’s first dish was a difficult meat dish.
Pagoda meat!