The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Fu Yu was somewhat surprised to hear the electronic prompt suddenly ring in his ear:

[Ding! Task from NPC judge Liu Yunong: Achieve first place in the Wenshi Tofu competition with outstanding performance and meet Liu Yunong’s apprenticeship standards to smoothly become her disciple. Task completion reward: Obtain one personal advanced skill from Liu Yunong at will.]

Oh! Not bad!

Fu Yu chose to accept.

Liu Yunong’s strength is quite formidable, though he doesn’t know how powerful her personal skills might be.

Fu Yu is quite confident in his cooking skills.

His speed with a knife is very fast, thanks to his personal skills, a knife as sharp as cutting through iron as if it were mud, and excellent physical condition.

However, he has never formally competed with others, so he doesn’t know how fast he really is!

Fu Yu couldn’t help but glance around.

Besides him, there were eleven other contestants competing with him.

Everyone looked eager to try.

After all, there’s not often opportunities like this to compete and exchange skills with peers.

Fu Yu was also quite looking forward to it.

Liu Yunpeng couldn’t help but glance at Fu Yu with a complex expression.

Initially, because his cooking station was occupied, he inevitably felt some resistance towards Fu Yu.

But now, he actually felt a bit of anticipation, wanting to see if this kid really has the skills, and whether he can bravely scale the high peak of Liu Yunong.

The judges walked past the stage, and Dai Jinghe suddenly turned to walk toward Fu Yu.

He glanced over Fu Yu, smiled slightly, and said, ”Young man, go for it! Winning or losing isn’t important; it’s the experience that counts.”

After saying that, he also told the others, ”You all must do your best too! Let us see your skills; this is a rare opportunity to exchange cooking skills with peers, so make sure to cherish it!”

Culinary skills are said to should gather the strengths of a hundred masters to enhance oneself.

But the opportunity is exceedingly rare.

Often one is fixed with a master or buried behind the scenes in a restaurant’s kitchen.

So, having the chance to cook and compete with many industry elites is incredibly valuable.

Such competitions are very beneficial for improving one’s culinary skills and vision, continually elevating oneself through comparison and observational learning, thus reaching a new height in culinary art.

This is why chef competitions are often held in the industry.

Moreover, as a judge, it also allows a direct assessment of the contestants’ true abilities.

To see if it’s a mule or a horse, it still needs to be taken out for a spin to judge.

The chief planner arranged for personnel to help with timing.

Since it was an official rehearsal, all processes had to be carried out as they would in the official event.

The cameraman set up the camera, with the host seizing the chance to comment, creating an atmosphere on site.

The judges could observe the contestants’ control of details directly on the big screen.

Then, as the host announced the start of the competition, the twelve contestants immediately began cooking.

Liu Yunpeng smiled confidently and began skillfully handling the ingredients, preparing to showcase his knife skills in front of everyone in this competition.

The specialty dish of the Family Joy Restaurant includes this Wenshi Tofu.

The contest topic set by Liu Yunong was perfect for him.

The victory of this competition seemed to have no suspense, and Liu Yunpeng felt he was sure to win.

The only opponents he considered were the other three chefs in the first row besides Fu Yu.

These three were also veterans.

Now cooking the Wenshi Tofu, the competition was not about taste and cooking techniques, but about the speed of knife skills.

Compared to the competition results, veterans were more concerned about who had slightly quicker hand speed.

Moreover, Liu Yunong’s attention was mostly focused on Fu Yu.

Since the moment the host gave the order, Fu Yu hadn’t stopped his hand movements, and his knife-holding hand was particularly steady.

The untrained eye would surely miss the key details, but Liu Yunong herself, being a chef, understood the importance of stable and powerful hands for a chef.

Dai Jinghe smiled as he scanned the numerous contestants on the scene. When the camera coincidentally focused on Fu Yu, his gaze slightly sharpened, then looked thoughtfully at Fu Yu’s cooking.

Fu Yu remained completely unaware of all this.

He was focused on cooking.

First, he sliced off the old skin layer on the tofu’s surface, then cut vertically, slice by slice.

This is slicing, and the slices must be as thin as paper.

After slicing, he slanted the tofu slices with the knife, letting them ”lie” down in a stepped manner, then cut them into thin filaments.

The preparation of Wenshi Tofu is quite demanding.

A soft and tender piece of tofu usually requires at least 88 horizontal cuts and 188 vertical cuts.

In a matter of minutes, a fragile tofu becomes thousands of tofu filaments.

Placed in clear water, each strand was distinct, evenly thick, and as fine as hair.

Moreover, they must not stick, connect, break, or fragment, which tests one’s knife skills.

This skill seems simple, but without three to five years of practice, it is difficult to master.

During operation, chefs not only need a meticulous mind but also the courage of a tiger.

Even more, they must be calm and unhurried.

Because they deeply understand the keys to cooking this dish, the judges’ attention focused on the contestants they had high hopes for.

However, at first, the cameraman’s lens could still distribute attention equally, but slowly, when the lens inadvertently focused on Fu Yu.

Everyone looking at the big screen involuntarily fixed their gaze.

Fu Yu’s knife rose and fell, moving like the wind.

The entire process was truly fluid and continuous.

The atmosphere on site was very tense.

The planning team played fast-paced music to boost the emotions of everyone present, making listeners more excited!

Plus, the host’s on-the-spot commentary.

The mentioned contestants inevitably got distracted, wanting to hear what others had to say about their cooking techniques.

Fu Yu was no exception.

However, as he listened intently to the host, his hands swiftly sliced the tofu.

Effortlessly juggling both, his speed was incredible.

The progress of the competition gripped everyone’s hearts.

Unknowingly, the camera focused firmly on Fu Yu.

The cameraman watched the flying flashes of silver, unable to clearly see how the blade fell due to the speed, yet the tofu block visibly got smaller...

In a completely unconscious move, the cameraman advanced the lens, and then advanced further, until Fu Yu’s hands completely filled the screen, allowing a clear view of his actions.

Classic knife skills are said to include ”Wenshi Tofu,” which is almost ”supernatural craftsmanship.”

But seeing that outstretched thousands of toothpick-length, hair-thin tofu shreds, floating leisurely in the clear soup, light, white, and delicate.

The visual effect was truly quite astounding!