Chapter 50

Yessir I'm back from the dead. With a patreon.

pa.treon.com/FFAddict

The next day, the final day of the Food Festival and the day to decide the ultimate winner.

As per tradition, at this time, those who could stand out to participate in the evaluation were surely the chefs of the most popular dishes chosen by the public.

And the judges would certainly be venerable figures in the field, whose reputation would command respect from everyone.

This year was no different.

The finalists for the evaluation were the chefs of the ten most popular dishes at the Food Festival. There was no underhanded business.

After all, if the skill wasn't up to par and one still managed to enter the finals by pulling strings, the result would be more than just embarrassment. It could completely ruin one's reputation as a chef.

Unless someone could bribe all the judges.

But anyone capable of that wouldn't need to participate in this Food Festival.

Just for the prize money and the magazine cover?

What's the point?

So, everything seemed to be going smoothly. The host, who was in charge of controlling the field, first introduced each of the shortlisted chefs, then amid a round of enthusiastic applause, introduced the five respected judges.

At this point, the preamble should have ended.

However, the host suddenly changed the subject, "The next person to be introduced is very special, because they have been randomly invited from all the customers by our Food Festival Committee as special judges!"

As soon as his voice fell, Abel appeared in the spotlight with Baby-5 and Bafarol, then boldly walked over and sat down in the position specifically reserved for them next to the original five judges.

The venue was abuzz!

"Three kids as judges? What's going on?!"

"Exactly, this isn't a game of house, it's like a joke."

"Did I hear that wrong? These three kids were randomly invited from all the customers?"

"Huh? I think I've met them before, aren't they together?"

In the midst of the noise, the host wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and, maintaining his composure, spoke as rehearsed: "I understand there must be many questions among you, please allow me to explain."

"Our committee has always held the view that the Food Festival is for the public, bringing delicious food to every guest."

"However, on such an important day as the final evaluation, we felt uneasy about the absence of public involvement."

"Therefore, in this year's Food Festival, we decided to add a special judge's seat, filled by three randomly selected lucky audience members, to let everyone be a part of it."

"Also, there's no need to worry about professionalism. The special judges have no scoring rights. They can only give an evaluation of 'tasty' or 'not tasty' after tasting each chef's dish, without counting towards the score. So, it's entirely up to the competitors to decide whether or not to take into account the age and preferences of the special judges - they can be completely ignored."

"We believe that the chefs who can achieve victory at our North Sea Food Festival are the strongest who can win over all judges!"

The host's words dispelled the audience's concerns and greatly piqued their interest.

After all, these 'special judges' represented everyone in attendance. Although the random selection of children raised doubts and criticism,

At least the idea was good, and it added much excitement to the event.

It would be quite interesting if a dish that received high praise from the five judges was rated 'not tasty' by the 'special judges'!

Although the audience was excited, the competing chefs wore expressions of deep resentment, utterly frustrated.

This temporary 'special judge' arrangement seemed pointless at first, but in reality, it posed a significant challenge for them!

According to the usual rules, each contestant only needed to prepare their best and most confident dish, and the professional judges would provide a fair judgement.

But with the addition of three children as 'special judges', they had to consider the taste difference between children and adults!

The host did say that the 'special judges' don't count in the score and won't affect the judgement of the professional judges, hence they can be ignored.

But the question is, who can ignore them? Who dares to ignore?!

The 'special judges' represent all the guests present!

If a chef can dismiss the preferences of his guests, even if his food is delicious, it's doubtful that the professional judges would give a high score. It's a matter of principle!

So, they must create a dish that not only earns the approval of the professional judges, but also makes these three 'special judges' say it's delicious, to uphold their reputation.

As such, the increased difficulty is far from trivial.

"Damn, this committee really pulled a fast one this time, coming up with such a tricky angle to raise the bar."

"True, and they managed to appease all the guests while adding an element of entertainment. If I weren't a contestant, I'd be enjoying the show right now."

"I'm certain now, these young special judges were definitely handpicked by those jerks in the committee."

"I second that, how could it be such a coincidence otherwise!"

"What do kids even like to eat? Should we make desserts? But I don't know how!"

"Why are you panicking? Old Wang, the hot pot expert next door, hasn't said a word yet."

"Right, Old Wang, aren't you going to comment?"

"What should I say? My resignation speech? I've already prepared it."

"..."

Little did they know, this was all a fortuitous accident.

In fact, these 'special judges' were forcefully introduced by Abel, leveraging the prestige of the Donquixote Family.

Since the professional judges can't be influenced, why not just add another seat from the committee?

After all, his only goal was to taste the dishes in the final competition, he didn't care who took first place.

If the young lady he had scared off last time was still around, he might have tried to support her, but since she was gone, he had no choice but to let it be.

Upon hearing the name of the Donquixote Family, the Food Festival Committee was scared witless.

They didn't dare to verify it and hastily agreed to their request.

If they were the real deal, then it would be a win-win situation, as if nothing had happened.

Even if they were imposters, there was nothing to lose - just a few more tables and chairs.

But who in North Blue would dare to impersonate the Donquixote Family, just to taste a couple of dishes?

Was it worth it?

Hence, that's what led to the scene just now.

As for bringing Baby-5 and Buffalo along

Firstly, both of them insisted on coming after hearing about it.

Secondly, Abel felt he may have overestimated his own nerve, so he just brought them along.

Involving both of them was a way to disperse the public's gaze.

He had originally planned to include Senor as well, but the man had refused decisively under the pretext of 'real men don't crave such attention'!

Well, if he chose not to come, Abel was indifferent. As long as he didn't regret missing out on good food.

Soon, amidst lively discussions, the final judging phase of the North Sea Food Festival officially began!

Ten contestants, each showcasing their unique philosophies and understandings through their culinary skills.

Some simply flashed their knife and all sorts of side dishes were perfectly sliced. There were even some carefully carving tofu with small knives.

Many were completely engrossed in watching.

However, the most eye-catching was a bald, burly man.

This chef, who looked more like a butcher, was shirtless with two thick, long chains draped over his shoulders.

He took out two large iron balls, attached them to the chains, and then, amid gasps from the crowd, began to swing them around.

The two massive iron balls, whirling incessantly, suddenly ignited into roaring flames!

With that, two fireballs began to fly around, drawing every eye in the place.

"That's incredible!" Baby-5's eyes were wide open.

Abel was also dumbfounded. Was this man cooking or performing circus tricks?

Immediately after, the crowd was hit by a strong odor, causing many to tear up.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an unremarkable middle-aged chef.

It seemed this chef had experienced some kind of shock, and was now frantically throwing lethal amounts of chili into his pot, as though he had nothing to lose.

The aroma was so potent it overpowered all other smells at the venue.

Moreover, whatever chili this man had used, when the smoke dispersed, it instantly triggered a chain reaction.

"Ah! My eyes! It hurts!"

"What is this smell, cough cough cough, I can't take it!"

"Who the hell is poisoning us? I'm coming for you!"

The middle-aged chef's cooking was almost universally condemned, but he seemed unperturbed.

Far from it, he even doubled down.

"This is the Reaper Chili my master brought back from the Grand Line. They say a mere bite could cause a robust adult to faint on the spot."

"If you eat a whole one, it's fatal!"

His elder apprentice brother had once swallowed one whole out of disbelief and subsequently died of a perforated stomach.

By the time he was taken to the hospital, the doctor advised them to go to the cemetery instead, to pick a good spot for his grave.

The middle-aged chef took a deep breath, tossing the brightly colored Reaper Chili directly into his pot.

In an instant, a horrifyingly spicy aroma that carried the scent of 'death' swirled above the pot.

Some people even saw the smoke forming a skull shape.

"Come, let yourselves taste the pinnacle of my master's lifelong culinary research — Devil's Feast!"

The middle-aged chef was seemingly deranged, letting out an eerie laugh.

The final had barely started when the two contestants nearest to the middle-aged chef began to foam at the mouth and declared their withdrawal.

And if things continued this way, it was estimated that the others would sooner or later follow suit.

Seeing this, Abel was alarmed!

He hadn't even started and he was already down two dishes.

He promptly signaled the host over, sternly explaining the situation.

After hearing him, the host immediately sought the event committee members.

The committee took Abel's concerns seriously and hastily summoned workers to isolate the middle-aged chef in a separate space using wooden materials.

In the process, no less than five or six workers fell ill.

Only after they hastily procured a few gas masks was the situation resolved.