Chapter 322: Father and Son Both Acting

Everyone followed the host's gaze.

In the bottom plate, a white lotus flower in full bloom floated crystal clear on the clear soup. Beneath the flower, fine pure white threads rippled into wave shapes, adding a touch of liveliness to the tranquil scene.

Xu Bo smiled and said, "That lotus flower isn't actually a lotus flower; it's carved from a radish by our knife artisan."

The host was surprised, "A radish?"

The camera zoomed in closely.

Under the high-magnification lens, the lotus flower appeared crystal clear like warm jade, with ice-like fine threads faintly visible within. Its texture was completely different from that of a lotus flower.

It really was carved from a radish!

"Amazing craftsmanship from the knife artisan..."

"To be able to cut a radish into such thin slices, that's incredible!"

"At first, I really thought it was a lotus flower, simply unimaginable!"

Voices of surprise and praise arose from the surrounding crowd.

Xu Bo continued, "We combined the theme of 'Winter Warmth' and chose white radish as a garnish for the seasonal vegetable dish."

"White radish has strong properties for promoting the flow of qi, aiding digestion, clearing lung qi, stopping coughs, transforming phlegm, and generating fluids. It's the best supplement food for winter."

"And the noodles below are handmade dragon whisker noodles arranged into wave shapes, served with broth simmered with beef, seafood, and a secret soy sauce, warming and nourishing. Please give it a try."

Xu Bo spoke gently and kindly, pulling out a pair of chopsticks and handing them to the female host.

A middle-aged man whispered to Xu Batie, "You have to admit, Xiao Bo is doing a pretty good job as the head chef."

Xu Batie, upon hearing this, cast a nasty glance at his friend.

He snorted heavily through his nose, like an old bull, seemingly wanting to blow everyone present away.

On the other side, the female host took the chopsticks. Careful not to disturb the wave shapes, she picked out a few noodles but still slightly messed up the pattern.

"Sorry." The female host smiled apologetically and put the noodles in her mouth.

Xu Bo stood with his hands crossed in front of him, wearing a humble yet confident smile.

His dark eyes settled on the female host, showing a hint of anticipation.

"Delicious, the noodles are delicate and smooth, absorbing the flavor of the broth and merging with the radish's freshness. It's a warm and fragrant winter taste."

The female host praised endlessly. "Our judges should also give it a try."

At the mention of "judges," Xu Bo's face showed a flicker of panic.

Chen Jianhai's heart also fluttered.

He secretly lifted the table a bit and found that the table provided by the system was quite heavy and sturdy. Xu Batie probably couldn't flip it with one hand.

Xu Batie picked up some noodles with his chopsticks, tasted them.

Xu Bo anxiously watched Xu Batie's expression, wanting to hear something yet fearing what he might say.

His heart pounded with nervousness.

But Xu Batie just indifferently put down his chopsticks, indicating he was done eating, and stood aside without a word.

"Is it not good?" The middle-aged man looked at Xu Batie's expression with suspicion and picked up a noodle. His eyes immediately lit up!

Almost fell for it!

The noodles' texture and broth flavor were superb!

Are both father and son such good actors?

The middle-aged man shot a look at Xu Batie that said "you're not being honest," feeling quite dissatisfied.

Xu Batie was speechless, unwilling to argue with the middle-aged man.

Due to the number of judges, each restaurant prepared enough dishes for everyone to taste.

After finishing at the Long'ai Hotel, the host, judges, and reporters followed the usual process to the next restaurant.

After the judges tasted, the curious crowd also eagerly picked up chopsticks.

"I wanted to eat the noodles as soon as I saw the host eating them."

"Wow, these dragon whisker noodles are arranged like the hairpieces on a flower opera actress."

"The texture is soft and elastic, really good!"

"Are you silly? There's real sea bream sashimi here and you're eating noodles."

"This sea bream is fresh and tender, delicious!"

"A big plate of sea bream sashimi like this would cost a lot at a restaurant!"

"Don't you know? Sea bream is a great thing! It's called the king of sea breams, and people allergic to seafood might actually improve by eating it, it's quite miraculous!"

While some were tasting the sea bream sashimi, others tried the hazelnut steak, double shrimp squid, and gel ear sweet soup.

Many also carefully reached out to pluck the shiny feathers of the white peacock.

"I want to see if it's really made of chocolate!"

From the start, many had their eyes drawn to the white peacock at first glance.

The white peacock's body was supported by a crisp pancake base, adorned with pecans, cranberries, and almond cream—aromatic but not greasy, sweet but not cloying, with a texture combining crunchiness and softness, and a rich forest fruit aroma.

And those colorful feathers were indeed made of chocolate!

But that wasn't all,

Long'ai Restaurant seemed to have found a way to make the whole themed dish glow, as if it had its own background lighting.

It looked beautiful and dazzling.

"Bo, how did you make the dishes look so shiny?" Xiao Lang asked curiously.

"I don't know either." Xu Bo replied honestly.

Seeing Xiao Lang's unhappy expression, Xu Bo quickly added, "I really don't know!"

"Since the day before yesterday, everything we've cooked has been glowing. We don't know which seasoning caused it."

Thinking about it made Xu Bo nervous.

Creating glowing food—who knew if some inappropriate ingredient had been added?

The night before, no one dared to leave after work. They carefully inspected all the seasonings to ensure they were suitable for consumption before they hesitantly returned to the hotel.

"Could it be the lighting?" Xiao Lang skeptically looked at the golden opera restaurant lights around them.

Xu Bo speculated, "We suspect it's the lighting too; otherwise, it doesn't make sense!"

Listening to their guesses, Chen Jianhai stood silently by, not daring to speak.

Concealing his contributions and fame.

...

As the old saying goes,

Meeting someone too stunning when you're young will make everyone else seem unremarkable later.

The same applies to food competitions.

After experiencing the brilliant and creative "Winter Warmth" themed dishes at Long'ai Hotel, the dishes from other five-star hotel restaurants, no matter how well made, seemed ordinary.

They couldn't arouse any interest.

After several rounds of tasting, finally, under everyone's expectant gaze, the host stood in front of the tent and smiled:

"After votes from our judges and the live audience, the winner of the Coconut Umbrella Hotel Association Five-Star Chef Competition is: Long'ai Hotel!"

"Congratulations to Chef Qiaoni of Long'ai Hotel, who has earned the title of top chef of Nanjiang Hotel and will appear at the annual Beautiful Food and Delicacy Festival!"

"Now, let's invite our sponsor for this competition, Mr. Xu Batie, to present the prize to the winner, Chef Qiaoni!"