After the preliminary round of the competition, there was a short break. As Dongfang Yi expected, there were indeed some trouble - makers in this competition. They made some strange - looking and unappetizing dishes, which almost made the judges vomit. Chef Li, in particular, whose taste buds had been pampered by his own excellent cooking skills over the years, couldn't stop vomiting after tasting those strange dishes.
Fortunately, there were also many contestants with real skills. A sister - in - law made a dish of sweet and sour pork tenderloin, which immediately reminded Dongfang Yi of the taste of her hometown. An old woman made the simplest fried rice, but it tasted like a world - class delicacy. Even Chef Li praised it.
After the first round of selection, twelve contestants remained on the stage, preparing for the second round.
In no time, the second - round group matches began. Dongfang Yi didn't want to just sit on the judge's seat, so she went onto the stage to watch the competition.
The first match she saw was between the old woman who made fried rice in the previous round and a young man. Dongfang Yi smiled and nodded, impressed by the young man's serious attitude.
After walking around for a while, most of the contestants on the stage had completed their dishes. Then they all brought their dishes in front of Dongfang Yi and the other judges.
Dongfang Yi squinted and sniffed the aroma. Thinking that delicious food was truly heart - healing, she picked up the chopsticks to taste the dishes. Situ Qing beside her also felt refreshed. After the first - round selection, the dishes made by the remaining contestants all looked presentable. Chef Li, who was initially dismissive, had now become serious. He probably understood what Dongfang Yi meant by "hidden masters in the folk".
After tasting the dishes, in the match between the old woman and the young man, the old woman's Mapo Tofu won. The old woman patted the young man on the shoulder with a smile and encouraged him.
Among the remaining contestants, five more advanced from the second round, including the sister - in - law who made sweet and sour pork tenderloin in the first round.
After another short break, it was the most exciting stage of the competition. After Dongfang Yi read out the competition rules, the six contestants were required to choose their themes from "sour", "sweet" and "spicy". There were two contestants for each theme.
It was getting dark outside. After almost an afternoon of competition, it was the moment of truth. The audience on the stage still hadn't left. They were drinking the special "water" prepared by the inn, which tasted really good. According to the innkeeper, this "water" was called fruit juice.
Dongfang Yi stared intently at the competition on the stage from the judge's seat. After a while, she noticed something strange. On the least noticeable spot on the stage, a man was making something that seemed extremely familiar to her.
Wasn't that... hot pot!!!
Shock was clearly written all over Dongfang Yi's face. She never expected to see her favorite food from her past in this era. It was truly a delicacy of the world.
So, she stared intently at the man in the corner for the rest of the competition.
Situ Qing beside her noticed her strange behavior and followed her gaze. He was shocked by what the man was making. What a strange thing! There was a big pot on the stove, and the man kept putting things into it. Could this thing be edible? Thinking of this, his look of disgust deepened.
Finally, the most anticipated stage was coming. The six contestants on the stage had all finished their dishes.
Dongfang Yi first called out, "Hey... the one on the far side, come here first."
The man was startled when he heard her call, and then he walked over with his pot. There was a murmur from the audience. It was easy to tell that they were speculating about what that thing was. Even Chef Li said he didn't know what it was.
"Let me guess," Dongfang Yi said before the man could speak.
"Do you need to light a fire to eat this?"
Hearing Dongfang Yi's words, the man's eyes sparkled. He was as excited as if he had found a bosom friend and said, "Yes, yes! We need to keep the fire on and put the ingredients into the pot little by little to eat... This is a new dish I've developed... It doesn't have a name yet."
Dongfang Yi quickly picked up a piece of meat from the pot with her chopsticks. Immediately, a sense of happiness filled her heart. This was the taste in her memory! Then she said to the man, "Can I name it for you? Let's call it hot pot, a pot cooked on fire."
The man was very happy when he heard the name "hot pot". He thought it was very suitable for his dish. He nodded and said okay.
Then Dongfang Yi said to him without hesitation, "I now announce that you've been hired by our inn!"
There was a murmur from the audience. Situ Qing was also surprised. He had seen how seriously the woman beside him was selecting the chefs. So, she would never make a hasty decision. This meant that this so - called "hot pot" must be extremely delicious. So he quickly picked up the chopsticks to try it. Chef Li beside him also couldn't hold back his curiosity and started to taste the dish.
After they tasted it, they understood why Dongfang Yi had made such a decisive decision.
The charm of hot pot was indescribable!
The other contestants who stood out were the old woman who was good at home - style dishes. She won the "sweet" round with a dish of candied sweet potatoes. And Sister Wu, whose sour soup dumplings were excellent. So these three people officially entered the kitchen of Duoyu Inn.
After all the audience in the venue left contentedly, Dongfang Yi gathered the three newly - hired chefs and the original chefs together.
"Oh, by the way, what's your name?" she suddenly asked the man who had amazed everyone with his hot pot.
"My name is Xiao Yang," the man replied shyly with his head down.
Dongfang Yi had a meeting with them and said, "As chefs, you are the soul of Duoyu Inn. Only when you work together can we make a lot of money. So from now on, you mustn't fight among yourselves. If you have any complaints, come to me. And Chef Li, you're still the head chef. You must manage the kitchen well for me!"
Chef Li nodded and said okay, feeling extremely proud.
Situ Qing beside her stared intently at Dongfang Yi as she was giving orders. His admiration for her deepened.
How could there be such a special woman? From being cute and interesting at first to being shrewd and capable now, she was like a kaleidoscope, always showing different sides of herself.
After Dongfang Yi finished the meeting, she turned around and found Situ Qing in a daze. She walked over, patted his head, and then turned away.
Just as Situ Qing was about to turn around and say something after being patted on the head, he heard the woman in front of him suddenly lower her head and say shyly in a low voice, "Qingqing, thank you for today..."