Although Ding Huan didn’t need anyone to lead the way to the culinary competition hall, he still asked a maid for directions before approaching the entrance.
"Lao Liu, wait for me outside,"
Ding Huan instructed Lao Lui before he entered the hall.
Inside the hall sat eleven people who, upon seeing Ding Huan’s arrival, all looked at him with unfriendly eyes.
They had heard that the lady only needed one chef, so each additional contender meant their chances were being diluted.
Ding Huan glanced around at the people in the hall; most of them possessed cultivation.
This made Ding Huan suspect that there were few true chefs here. Just like himself, he wasn’t a chef either.
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It seemed that everyone’s purpose was similar to his, simply seeking an entry into the Daoist Realm.
Would they be heading to the kitchen for a culinary competition soon?
While Ding Huan’s Divine Will was still searching for the kitchen, a group of people walked in carrying various ingredients.
A long table was placed in the middle of the hall, and all the ingredients were piled up on it.
Then, several movable stoves were brought in and placed on both sides of the ingredients table.
An older woman entered with several maids, looked at Ding Huan and the other twelve chefs, and said,
"Please feel free to use the ingredients here, then each of you make a dish. After the dishes are prepared, the lady will come and judge them herself. Please go ahead."
Several chefs stood up, and Ding Huan stood as well.
There were many ingredients here, more than enough for a dozen chefs; there was no need to fight over them.
Some of the chefs appeared stunned by this scene, and one of them, somewhat anxiously, said,
"We didn’t bring pots, there are only stoves here. How can we cook?"
The woman glanced disdainfully at these chefs before coldly saying,
"As a chef, if you don’t even bring your own pot, what kind of chef are you? Someone, escort those who didn’t bring their pots out."
"Ah..." Those chefs who hadn’t brought pots were dumbfounded.
Earlier, when they had seen a few chefs bringing not only pots but also other kitchen utensils, they had scorned them.
This was Jin Mansion, after all.
Were they supposed to bring their own pots to cook in Jin Mansion? Wasn’t that absurd?
Now they realized that there were indeed fools here, but the fools were themselves, not others.
Ding Huan found that besides himself, only six other people had brought pots.
Some of those being asked to leave even turned back to stare at Ding Huan, because he hadn’t brought a pot either.
But the next moment, Ding Huan’s actions disappointed them; he opened his backpack and surprisingly pulled out a pot.
The woman nodded in approval of this action.
Only someone who deeply loved the profession of a chef would always carry their own pot in their backpack.
Other chefs had started choosing their ingredients, and Ding Huan noticed that all the meat here was from Demon Beasts and it was all high-grade.
Ding Huan had his eyes on a piece of Heavenly Fragrant Rabbit Meat and was about to retrieve it when a chef, who was a bit closer, swiftly grabbed it first.
Seeing that this chef had already taken a piece of venison and was now taking the rabbit meat, it was obvious he didn’t want Ding Huan to have it.
At that moment, the only words in Ding Huan’s mind were vulgarities.
He hadn’t used his Divine Will, but he was sure that the lady was observing everything here.
If his future meals were to be prepared by someone, he would pay attention to the person cooking as well.
Ding Huan didn’t bother competing for that piece of Heavenly Fragrant Rabbit Meat; instead, as he was about to choose another meat, he suddenly spotted a vegetable that looked like cabbage.
He knew this vegetable; it was called Qianjia Vegetable.
He had eaten Qianjia Vegetable in Jihe City and had even bought some to cook himself.
This vegetable was very cheap, commonly eaten by ordinary people, thus the name Qianjia Vegetable, making it akin to the otherworldly equivalent of cabbage.
Like cabbage, one of its benefits was that it could cut through greasiness and cleanse the stomach.
Unlike cabbage, this vegetable was green at the root, yellow in the middle, and white at the top.
Without hesitation, Ding Huan picked up this Qianjia Vegetable.
With the resources of Jin Mansion, the lady named Guan Pou surely ate various Demon Beast meats every day.
Eating too much Demon Beast meat could become tiresome, so why not offer some vegetables to balance the greasiness?
Among the seven chefs, only Ding Huan chose to use only vegetables.
The other chefs, though also choosing vegetables, mainly used meat supplemented by vegetables for their dishes.
In terms of selecting ingredients, Ding Huan’s choice was successful because he attracted almost everyone’s attention.
Cooking Demon Beast meat was something they saw and ate every day; they were tired of it.
But everyone was curious to see what Ding Huan could create, purely with Qianjia Vegetable.
Ding Huan placed his pot over the portable stove and casually scooped up some water to rinse the pot three times.
This action earned a nod from the woman hosting the culinary competition.
Among those participating here, only Ding Huan rinsed his pot three times.
Others merely gave theirs a quick rinse, and one didn’t even wash his pot before adding oil.
It was clear they were used to surviving in the wild, definitely not chefs.
Unhurriedly, Ding Huan moved on to cut up the Qianjia Vegetable into segments, then washed them several times.
Even a few maids noticed that Ding Huan was cleaner than other chefs.
Those who cooked meat dishes almost never washed the meat, but cut it and started cooking right away.
The maids did not understand this, but the woman hosting the competition did.
If one were to cook meat from Demon Beasts, the most crucial thing was not to wash it with water.
Because once washed, it would lose its vital essence.
Knowing this, the woman hosting still somewhat disdained the other chefs.
Food is meant to be eaten, so why bother preserving the vital essence?
After these preparations, Ding Huan didn’t immediately start stir-frying but waited for the vegetables to drain.
The real reason was that Ding Huan knew his dish would be done in just one minute, and if the vegetables got too cold, they would turn mushy and taste bad.
The other chefs cooking meat would definitely not be ready so quickly, so he waited.
When he felt the timing was right, Ding Huan turned up the stove and placed the wok on it.
Once the wok was hot, he poured in oil, and once the oil was hot, Ding Huan added the chopped vegetables and began to stir-fry.
Everyone was speechless.
Ding Huan had been the center of attention, but was this the climax?
Just heat the oil and throw in the vegetables to stir-fry?
If they were going to hire a chef for this, that would be too easy.
What kind of cooking is this? Anyone with hands could stir-fry this.
In just one minute, everyone watched in stunned silence as Ding Huan already began to plate the dish.
That’s it?
If you didn’t count the time Ding Huan waited, including washing the vegetables and the wok, how long had he spent cooking this dish?
As everyone was still dumbfounded, a young girl with a veil walked in.
"Miss," seeing the girl come in, everyone greeted her respectfully.
The newcomer was Miss Guan Pou from Jin Mansion, who needed a chef to cook on her way to the Sect in the Taoist Realm.
The other chefs hurriedly sped up their cooking.
Although Ding Huan did not use Divine Will to sense his surroundings, he was well aware that this woman had been watching from the side.
Seeing that his dish was ready, she had timely come to check.
Perhaps her arrival had spurred the other chefs to quicken their pace.
Soon, including Ding Huan, all seven chefs had finished their dishes.
"Miss, the dishes are ready, shall I have someone bring them up for you to taste?" the middle-aged woman hosting asked hurriedly.
Guan Pou nodded, "Yes, bring them up."
With the seven dishes placed before Guan Pou, even the other attendees couldn’t help but focus their gaze on Ding Huan’s stir-fried vegetables.
Though what Ding Huan had cooked was simple, the presentation was quite appealing, the yellow, green, and white in the dish seemed perfectly placed.
It had a shiny, pleasant look that was eye-catching.
"Alright, you can go out and wait for notification."
The middle-aged woman said to Ding Huan and the others.
All the chefs hurriedly gathered their belongings and walked out of the hall; Ding Huan also stowed his wok into his bag and left.
Once everyone had left, Guan Pou gently lifted her veil and took a piece of the vegetable dish into her mouth.
Clearly, she had been eager to taste Ding Huan’s cooking.
As for the dishes prepared by the other chefs, she was tired of them; none had any distinctive features.
The steward had seriously undersold the job by gathering such a group of incompetent chefs.
The vegetable dish brought a faint fragrance to her palate, and a slight crunch, infusing a flavor both familiar and novel to her taste buds.
Guan Pou was struck, how could ordinary vegetables taste so delicious?
This chef’s cooking skills must be truly exceptional and remarkably profound.
Soon after, Guan Pou continued to nibble several more bites, quickly consuming over half of the dish.
"Miss, would you like to try some of the meat dishes?"
The middle-aged woman saw that the young lady was only eating the vegetable dish and couldn’t help making a suggestion.
Guan Pou put down her utensils:
"Invite the chef who made the vegetable dish back in; send the others away."
The middle-aged woman was stunned. The young lady hadn’t even tried the other dishes yet, but had she already made her decision?
However, it wasn’t her place to question Guan Pou, so she quickly responded:
"Yes."
Ding Huan and the other six chefs were still waiting, and now someone finally came out.
Everyone saw clearly; it was the woman who was hosting the competition; they all nervously watched her.
The woman pointed at Ding Huan:
"You’re hired; follow me, and the rest of you may leave."
Ding Huan exhaled in relief, finally satisfied with the outcome.