The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Fu Yu was quite intrigued by what Yao Shi said.

After all, he initially managed to register for the competition through Feng Xiaoxiao’s connections, and without her help in pulling strings, he wouldn’t have qualified to participate.

Given Yao Shi’s connections, he might indeed hear some concrete news!

Fu Yu’s eyes lit up, and he said gratefully, ”Chef Yao, thank you so much.”

Yao Shi smiled and patted Fu Yu on the shoulder, ”No need for thanks among us.”

At this moment, Gu Yunwu walked over with a plate of sesame oil tofu cubes.

”Chef Yao, here’s some freshly made tofu cubes, I packed a bag for you.”

Gu Yunwu was very adept when it came to personal relationships.

He was particularly skilled at using items from the shop to make little snacks to show goodwill.

Yao Shi took the tofu cubes, exchanged a few words, and left.

Nowadays, he only stays in the kitchen for special orders, so others were used to this.

In a good mood, Gu Yunwu handed the plate to Fu Yu, ”Xiaofu, have a taste.”

Fu Yu picked up a couple of pieces of tofu and put them in his mouth. The rich aroma of sesame oil immediately filled his senses, and he could tell it was Gu Yunwu’s craft.

”How is it?” Gu Yunwu asked with a smile.

Fu Yu nodded in praise, ”Delicious!”

Gu Yunwu smiled and placed the plate into Fu Yu’s hands, ”Take it and eat.”

Fu Yu quickly thanked him, but Gu Yunwu waved it off, ”It’s nothing special, no need to be polite.”

Then, casually, he asked, ”I overheard you and Chef Yao talking about the food association? Are you thinking about joining?”

Gu Yunwu himself had only joined the Gourmet Association a couple of years ago, and overhearing Yao Shi and Fu Yu discussing it just now made him think he had misheard.

The Gourmet Association isn’t something just anyone can join; it requires certain years of experience and influence in the industry, and you also need sponsorship or introduction by a member to even apply.

Even putting aside the second point, just the first one meant that Fu Yu was quite lacking in the necessary qualifications.

Fu Yu didn’t expect Gu Yunwu to have overheard his conversation with Yao Shi, and he smiled awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed as he said, ”Chef Gu, I was talking to Chef Yao about participating in a competition... I registered for a competition earlier.”

Gu Yunwu was taken aback for a moment, then teasingly smiled and said, ”You’ve got some ambition, huh? Not bad, young people like you should participate in more industry competitions. Winning isn’t that important, but meeting peers and expanding your horizons is key.”

”Moreover, many competitions nowadays are gaining influence in the industry, and various places are paying increasing attention to these competitions.”

”Being recognized by professionals in the industry is itself a very rare opportunity.”

”You, without much fuss, went ahead and registered; next time, when you enter such competitions, you can come ask me if there’s anything you don’t understand. I might not be great at everything, but I do know a bit about competitions, so maybe I can give you some advice.”

What Gu Yunwu said made a lot of sense.

Currently, many notable food competitions in the country are gaining a lot of traction.

Besides official competitions, even various reality shows and TV shows covering this field are becoming more popular. People are increasingly conscious of the quality of material life, and their pursuit of gourmet experiences is gradually rising.

Due to this rising trend, the requirements for food-related competitions are also on the rise.

However, because of the high attention they receive, not every provincial or national competition is inherently prestigious—therein lies a question of industry recognition.

A competition might be large in scale and influential, but if participating doesn’t truly help you break into the field, your industry recognition might still be low.

This is quite common.

But when you get a chance, you should take the opportunity to try. After all, it’s only through active participation that you can stand out.

That’s why Gu Yunwu said what he did.

Moreover, he felt that although Fu Yu was just a culinary school graduate with limited practical experience in cooking, which might lead to some mistakes when participating in competitions—like blindly signing up—this was understandable.

Even though he was in competition with Zhao Meng, Gu Yunwu genuinely appreciated Fu Yu and wanted to lend a helping hand.

Listening to this, Fu Yu nodded gratefully, ”That would be great. Next time something like this comes up, I’ll definitely communicate with Chef Gu and discuss more.”

”I’m participating in the cooking video competition held at the Provincial Gourmet Association’s annual meeting. I submitted the video last month but haven’t received any feedback yet, maybe... I wasn’t selected. After all, in a week, it’ll be the New Year.”

Just as Fu Yu finished speaking, he noticed that the calm smile on Gu Yunwu’s face changed slightly.

Gu Yunwu looked at Fu Yu, finding it hard to maintain his smile, feeling a sudden constriction in his heart, almost like he was about to have a heart attack.

Fu Yu participated in the cooking video competition held by the Provincial Gourmet Association?!

This is a once-a-year competition that grabs significant attention from industry professionals.

It’s not just anyone who can register; aside from needing a recommendation from an internal member, there are requirements on cooking skill and recognition for participants.