Looking at the bowl of Dark Green Vegetable Sauce Salad and the bowl of unidentified contents that was oily, greasy, and occasionally popped up with eyeballs that made one’s SAN Value drop, Mida only felt her stomach churning.
“Alright, since the last contestant has also finished the competition, next is the judging phase. Would all the Judges please come down, taste the contestants’ results, and give their scores.”
Seeing that Wei Bai had also finished cooking, the Host declared the end of the competition without even looking closely.
There were three Judges in total: a fat middle-aged man, a tall and thin middle-aged man, and a bald man who looked like he had a lot of presence.
However, they all shared one characteristic: they all wore glasses.
After the three Judges took turns tasting the dishes of the previous contestants, they each gave their respective evaluations.
Some contestants’ expressions remained unchanged, while others showed regret.
Soon, they arrived in front of Wei Bai.
After seeing the soup Wei Bai presented, they all fell silent in unison.
“What… is this?” the fat Judge asked.
“Vegetable soup and Stewed Chicken Heads.”
Wei Bai replied, his expression unchanging and heart not racing as he listed the ingredients of his work.
“Have you tasted these yourself?”
“I ate a little,” Wei Bai answered truthfully.
“I removed most of the chicken heads’ gamey smell, but I kept a portion so you would know you were eating chicken heads.”
“Did you do this on purpose?”
The Judge’s expression was already becoming hard to maintain.
“I left a part of it behind during the deodorizing process.”
“Did you do it like this on purpose, or did you lack experience and technique?”
“I did it on purpose.”
Mida was stunned.
Wei Bai had actually made this soup like this on purpose?
Didn’t he want the prize money?
Could this kind of thing really pass inspection?
The audience below originally wanted to say something, but once they saw that plate of salad and the meat soup, their expressions changed one after another.
They felt their stomachs churning violently.
Many people couldn’t suppress it and vomited all over the ground.
Seeing someone vomit, those who were originally holding it back suddenly froze.
They subconsciously looked to the side and then couldn’t hold it either, vomiting one after another.
The scene fell into chaos for a moment, and the Judges on the stage were naturally no better off.
Their stomachs were also churning, but they had no choice.
Even though their faces had already turned green, they had to eat these things; otherwise, the judging process could not end smoothly.
More importantly, if they vomited on the spot, their careers would be over.
One Judge picked up a fork, his hand trembling slightly.
He scooped a spoonful of salad and put it in his mouth.
Originally closing his eyes as his heart turned to ash, the Judge suddenly felt that there was no strange smell as he had imagined.
He subconsciously chewed.
Seeing the Judge’s movements, a smile appeared on Wei Bai’s face.
Upon entry was the fragrance of herbs, followed by the sweet juice of lettuce and onions, paired with the crispness of carrots, and accompanied by a slightly sweet but not greasy vegetable sauce.
It was as if the entire salad contained the most primal flavors of the ingredients.
The taste was surprisingly delicious.
Seeing the testing Judge’s brow go from tightly furrowed to relaxed, and even letting out a satisfied hum at the end, the remaining two Judges looked at each other.
Then, gritting their teeth, they each took a bite.
Not surprisingly, after just two chews, the two Judges’ tense expressions relaxed, as if they were tasting a peerless delicacy.
Seeing the Judges’ actions on stage, the audience members who still remained rational were all drawn in.
“That plate of dark green glob of salad—the Judges are actually eating it with gusto?”
“Is it possible they added some addictive illegal substance to it?”
Unlike the astonishment below the stage, the chefs on stage clearly saw some of the skill involved.
Their eyes toward Wei Bai changed.
To be able to control the appearance and taste of the ingredients so well—retaining the ultimate taste even when the appearance was nauseating—this guy was probably a master!!
“Judges, don’t just focus on the salad. I still have the chicken head soup,” Wei Bai said, his smile widening as he saw the Judges almost polishing off the salad.
Reminded by Wei Bai, the Judges also reacted and noticed the other bowl of thick soup.
The appearance of this thick soup looked even more miserable than the salad.
The eyeballs that popped up from time to time made it difficult for the Judges to start.
However, with the salad leading the way, there were naturally brave souls willing to be the first to eat the crab.
“I’ll do it.”
After the fat Judge finished speaking, he moved his fork.
He had been the last to eat the salad because of his extreme psychological distrust of that dark green glob.
He hadn’t rushed into it but had observed his companions’ state instead.
Now, he probably knew that the dishes made by this young man in front of him were not what they seemed.
He simply steeled his heart and took the lead.
After forking out a chicken head, the fat Judge hesitated for a long time, staring eye-to-eye with it.
Feeling the gazes of his companions beside him, the fat Judge regretted it.
He regretted why he had to be the first to act.
Putting a piece of meat torn off with a knife and fork into his mouth, the fat Judge felt a rich soup explode in his mouth, followed by a mellow meat fragrance.
“Quite delicious. This is the most delicious stewed soup I’ve ever eaten.”
Seeing their companion give such an evaluation, the other Judges didn’t say much and started devouring it with their forks.
While eating, they were full of praise.
Seeing the Judges like this, Mida was completely dazed.
She couldn’t imagine how this kind of thing could be related to being delicious.
“Wei Bai, where did you learn how to make these two bowls of things?” Mida asked weakly.
She couldn’t understand where Wei Bai had acquired the skills to make such things.
“Oh, I ate it a lot. After thinking about it, I gradually learned,” Wei Bai replied nonchalantly, as if these two bowls of things had nothing to do with him.
Mida’s eye twitched at his words.
What did he mean, he used to eat this kind of thing often?
This stuff didn’t look edible at all.
You couldn’t blame Wei Bai; he was telling the truth.
When he was locked in the Royal Palace by that bastard Queen, he really did eat this kind of thing every day.
The vegetable salad was all the leftovers from the Royal Palace’s meal that day dumped together and then seasoned with vegetable sauce.
The chicken head meat soup was originally not made for elves to eat; it was made for the dogs guarding the Royal Palace.
However, because of the bastard Queen’s perverted hobbies, she only sent him these two types of food every day besides water.
Thus, to avoid starving to death, he endured the elven physiological discomfort and ate them.
But because of the skills of the Elven Royal Family, even these two unsightly dishes could be made incredibly delicious.
After seeing the Judges finish devouring the food, Wei Bai looked at them with a smile.
“Judges, can you give the scores now?”
“Yes, yes,” the Judges said, coming back to their senses.
“Even though the appearance isn’t good, for this taste alone, I give a perfect score!”
“The extreme contrast between taste and appearance is truly a genius idea. I give it a nine.”
“To be able to make these two bowls of things that look like they aren’t food at all taste so delicious, I think you must have even more superb techniques. This also represents that your control over ingredients has reached perfection. So, I also give a perfect score.”
The fat Judge’s eloquent analysis left Wei Bai stunned, and he almost started to think he had planned it that way too.
But Wei Bai reacted instantly, and his face lit up with joy.
Didn’t this mean he had a high score of 29?
“Then, many thanks to the Judges for the praise,” Wei Bai replied respectfully, suppressing his inner excitement.
“It’s fine, young man. I have high hopes for you,” the bald Judge said, looking at Wei Bai before turning to go to the next contestant’s position with his companions.
Watching the Judges’ actions, the audience’s mouths twitched.
They even suspected that Wei Bai and the organizers were in cahoots, and that the organizers staged this to collect money.
Even many nobles on the high platform were slightly unsettled.
They all suspected that this competition was rigged.
How could these two globs that didn’t look like food at all receive unanimous approval from the Judges?
Even match-fixing wasn’t this fake, right?
At the very least, it should look like edible food.
To be honest, even Wei Bai didn’t expect it to be so easy.
It was so easy it felt like an illusion.
Once the Judges finished tasting, several staff members walked onto the stage to calculate the scores of each contestant.
Soon the scores were out.
First place was, unsurprisingly, Wei Bai and Mida with 29 points.
Second place was a little girl and a strong man with 28.5 points.
“Alright, the scores have now been calculated. First place is Mr. Wei Bai from Carven City! Let’s have a round of applause for Mr. Wei Bai for taking the top spot!!” the Host shouted excitedly.
The scene was dead silent.
The faces of the audience below and the contestants on stage were all the same at this moment, looking at Wei Bai with strange expressions.
It was just that the audience questioned Wei Bai’s culinary skills, while the contestants questioned Wei Bai’s identity.
If a culinary genius like this could be born in a place like Carven City, how could they explain the skills and experience they had honed for so many years?
A chef who could create such a contrast between appearance and taste… at least among them, none had emerged yet.
“Next, please welcome Mr. Wei Bai to the stage to receive his prize!” Seeing that the situation was a bit awkward, the Host had a sudden idea and took the initiative to break the deadlock.
As soon as Wei Bai heard about the prize money, his heart rate instantly accelerated, wishing he could get those one hundred gold coins right now.
That was a whole one hundred gold coins!!!