Suppressing the joy and excitement evoked by the gourmet food, Nakiri Senzaemon spoke in a deep voice. "An embryonic form of a Culinary Heart!"
"A delicious feast can invisibly bridge the distance between people. Mark's cooking has deeply verified this point."
"Professor Auxis, you have a good disciple."
"YES!" Hearing Nakiri Senzaemon's evaluation, Mark clenched his fist while shooting a provocative look at Mo Bai. "Even if you possess God's Hand, you cannot reverse the disadvantage in ingredients and the light flavor profile of your dish!"
"Using the savory freshness of seafood to battle your pastoral style, I have already won half the battle!"
"Hey! Old Bai! This grandson is glaring at you!" Little Bai, part of the trouble-making faction who was bored out of its mind, spoke with a tone thick with instigation. "Aren't you going to mess him up?"
"I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to handle the blow and would jump off the top floor of the Hua nation cuisine restaurant," Mo Bai replied without even lifting his head.
To be honest, the combined effect of Intuition and Purification (Advanced) had completely exceeded his expectations. In any cooking, the simpler it is, the harder it is to make; 'great truths are simple' is precisely this principle.
However, the combination of Intuition and Purification (Advanced) completely overturned this conclusion—the simpler the dish, the easier it was for Mo Bai to make. Intuition perfected the cooking process, while Purification removed impurities and purified the flavor. With the two combined, the basic dishes Mo Bai produced even had a sense of returning to one's original simplicity.
"Director Nakiri praises him too much," Professor Auxis said with a bitter smile, his eyes filled with helplessness. Knowing Mark's background well, he understood that the former had truly performed above his level today. But... it was precisely because of this that it seemed even more tragic.
On the table, the other appetizer covered by a serving lid was releasing a presence that even he, a Special-Grade Five-Star Chef, could not ignore.
Nakiri Erina stared dead at the plate in front of her, which had been emptied unknowingly. She realized she was wrong. Although the tip of her tongue conveyed flaws from the cooking process, she had to admit that she could not create this kind of cuisine that transcended the boundaries of the dish itself.
With the auditory hallucination of laughter and joy still ringing in her ears, the slim thirty-percent chance of winning Nakiri Erina felt she had against Mark instantly slid down a large section in her heart.
"This Mark does have a little something." While she was secretly estimating the comparison of strength, a charming voice came to Nakiri Erina's ears.
"A little something?"
This harsh evaluation made Nakiri Erina look around for the source. The one speaking was precisely that long-haired woman whose appearance even she found stunning. Just as she wanted to retort, her gaze fell onto Bai Zishu's dining plate, and her entire person froze for a moment.
The scallop dotted with caviar had only been cut a little; the mango and cherry tomatoes were each missing a piece; the ice plants mixed with light cream had been pushed aside a few leaves. The salad that her picky God's Tongue had finished—Bai Zishu had only tasted it briefly?!
Looking at the others, they were surprisingly all the same! Throughout the entire female judges' section, only her plate was empty.
"Is this Scallop Caviar Salad not to your liking?" Nakiri Erina asked foolishly.
"It's average," Bai Zishu gave a fair evaluation.
"It's passable." Luo Ziyan maintained her emotionless expression, not even lifting her eyelids.
"It is indeed not bad, but... I still look forward to Highness Mo Bai's cooking." Having tasted the savory freshness of Mo Bai's seafood porridge in the morning, and now tasting Mark's Scallop Caviar Salad... although the taste of scallop and caviar mixed with fruits and vegetables was beautiful, Miyamoto Yayako always felt it lacked something.
"Right, right." Yukikawa Yukie nodded her head rapidly. Having tasted the Special-Grade cuisine made by Mo Bai, she firmly stood her ground as the number one Mo-fan.
"You all..." Nakiri Erina looked dazed. Was her God's Tongue fake, or were these judges with special identities too picky?
"It seems you still don't understand." Bai Zishu gently shook her head. "Cooking must be felt with the heart."
"Close your eyes and feel it properly."
"What do you see?"
Bai Zishu's voice seemed to possess a magical power. Upon hearing it, Nakiri Erina quietly closed her eyes. The auditory hallucinations of laughter and joy vanished, and the aura of nature came rushing toward her face.
She heard the pulse of the forest waking from slumber; she heard birds singing loudly; she heard the spring water breaking through the ice to play a tinkling movement. In the sunlight-drenched woods that felt like a fairy tale, emerald green sprouts broke through the soil layer and began to grow wildly. Her eyes were filled with an intoxicating, abundant green.
"This is!" Nakiri Erina hurriedly opened her eyes. The aroma that had guided her to see the illusion was leisurely diffusing from under the serving lid.
"Next, we begin the evaluation of Mo Bai's dish," Nakiri Senzaemon said.
The group, who had already been tempted by the faint aroma, lifted the lids in unison. A dazzling green radiance erupted the moment the dish was exposed to the air! Nine pillars of green light shot into the sky!
"Why can the food glow?" The students in the audience held their heads in disbelief; their crashed brains could only find one appropriate color vocabulary: "Green! It's green!"
Mark's confident smile gradually vanished. Amidst the grim malice of the entire venue shouting 'Green,' he felt as if his brown hair had been thoroughly dyed an emerald green color. A song, "Unreachable Love," began to play beside him.
"...It... It's glowing?" Only after the green light dissipated did the crowd manage to peek at the dish on the plate. Beside the plate were basil leaves and a sprig of blooming purple rosemary as garnish. The palette-like porcelain plate was divided into three sections.
Emerald green celtuce shreds, white asparagus that was white as jade, and granules of egg wrapped in tender yellow yolk. Shreds, strips, and granules; emerald green, tender yellow, and pure white. The three different forms provided an excellent visual experience.
It looked as if it had been dusted with gold powder; under the lights, all three components shone with specks of light. This vegetable appetizer had completed a transformation, appearing incredibly magnificent. The vegetable fragrance, which wasn't overly intense, firmly hooked everyone's appetite the moment the serving lid was lifted.
Nakiri Senzaemon threw his head back and inhaled the vegetable aroma deeply with his massive lung capacity, only stopping after a long while. "What is this dish called?" he asked the waiter serving the dish at the side.
"The Gone Valentine's Day," the waiter said, sweating profusely while speaking in off-key Mandarin.
"The Gone Valentine's Day?" Nakiri Senzaemon repeated it once, though he evidently did not GET Mo Bai's dirty joke. Among the three on the scene who could understand, except for the brightly smiling Bai Zishu, Zhang Yu and Luo Ziyan had black lines covering their foreheads.
"Chef Mo Bai said the Japanese name is: Splendid Spring Scenery Trio." The anxious waiter recalled the second half of what Mo Bai had said.
"What a 'Splendid Spring Scenery Trio'! Even before tasting it, this old man can already feel that abundant greenness and the breath of spring!"
As Nakiri Senzaemon's voice fell, the sound of tearing silk rang out!
"Body—and—mind—are—soothed—ah!"
In the next moment, his clothes burst open!
"The appetizer... just smelling the scent caused the Director's clothes to burst?!" The students in the audience looked as if they had seen a ghost, while Nakiri Erina on the judges' bench looked as if a ghost had seen a living person!
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