"Has it already started?"
Rushing to the venue, Hoshino Sora muttered softly as he watched the few people diligently cooking at the cooking stations below, then chose a seat near the aisle and sat down.
There were many people at the venue, no less than during the finals of various competition zones. The reason was simple: there were many former Elite Ten members in the elimination rounds, and the competition was of high quality.
Former Third Seat Nukishima Tsubusu, former Fourth Seat Akikubo Momo, former Fifth Seat Saito Somei, and a newly emerged dark horse, the transfer student Yukihira Soma, the man from the same period as Hoshino Sora!
However, speaking of which, Hoshino Sora and Yumeko Jabami had already advanced to the finals, while Yukihira Soma was still lingering in the elimination rounds. Regardless of their strength, he was already a step behind in terms of momentum.
With his arms crossed, gazing downwards, Hoshino Sora saw the theme of the competition.
Salmon. This was undoubtedly a huge advantage for Saito Somei, because when it came to salmon, the first thing that came to everyone's mind was definitely salmon sushi.
Salmon and sushi are a natural golden pair.
As the most dazzling rising star in the sushi world, Saito Somei's sushi-making skills had reached an unparalleled level. This theme was as advantageous to him as Akikubo Momo getting cookies.
In contrast, Akikubo Momo on the other side seemed a bit weak. This time, the dish had nothing to do with desserts, making her cooking appear very ordinary.
This was the drawback of specialized geniuses.
Of course, although she was not good at salmon, Akikubo Momo's skill was still there, so the dishes she made could not be too bad. They were definitely worthy of the former Elite Ten title.
Apart from the two, the performances of the former Elite Ten Third Seat and Yukihira Soma were also particularly eye-catching.
Especially Nukishima Tsubusu, as the Elite Ten Third Seat, he was exceptionally low-key, rarely appearing in people's sight.
However, since he was the Elite Ten Third Seat, his strength was naturally beyond doubt, even though he had once been defeated by an 'unknown nobody'.
Lixin, that transfer student who suddenly came in a while ago. After participating in the Elite Ten competition, he showed astonishing skill in every match, and finally defeated Nukishima Tsubusu to advance to the finals.
"Is he really making Ramen?"
Watching Nukishima Tsubusu's practiced movements, Hoshino Sora understood. This guy's nickname was "Ramen Master," and he was respectfully called "Young Master" by all Ramen shop owners in Japan.
The Elite Ten of Far Moon all had such titles more or less.
Looking at Yukihira Soma, he was holding his fists, his expression focused and serious, and in front of him was a rice cooker, presumably heating the salmon using a water bath method.
This processing method could preserve the moisture in the salmon to the greatest extent, which was a very clever way of handling it.
Hoshino Sora thought to himself, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the field. If nothing unexpected happened, Yukihira Soma was making water-bathed pan-fried salmon, Saito Somei was making salmon sushi, Nukishima Tsubusu was making salmon Ramen, and Akikubo Momo was making salmon sashimi.
It felt... nothing particularly impressive.
Because it was a scoring system, and the preparation time was very short, everyone made the dishes they were best at, which was also the safest method. The downside was a lack of highlights.
After watching for a while, Hoshino Sora felt bored and simply closed his eyes to rest, because their methods were very conventional, so it was easy to guess what the next step would be.
Soon, the first contestant to finish cooking appeared. Hearing the cheers, Hoshino Sora reopened his eyes. It was salmon sushi. Saito Somei was the first to appear.
There were four pieces of salmon sushi on the plate, forming a complete series: seared salmon sushi, caramelized salmon sushi, spicy seared salmon sushi, and the classic original flavor.
The four pieces of sushi were arranged on a long plate, emitting an incredibly enticing aroma. Captured by a drone, they were displayed in front of everyone, with perfect visual appeal. One could only say it was indeed the work of a sushi master!
"After high-temperature treatment with a blowtorch, the aroma of the mayonnaise oil on the surface of the salmon, accompanied by a hint of sweetness, and after the white sugar turned into caramel, it formed a thin, crisp sugar shell, creating a beautiful caramelized brown color. What a magnificent work!"
Taking a bite, the crisp sound of the sugar coating was only audible to herself. That sound was simply like the most beautiful symphony in the world, so melodious.
The female judge in the middle thought, twisting her body while savoring the deliciousness of the dish, and even made embarrassing sounds from her throat. These reactions all proved the deliciousness of the sushi.
"The tender salmon explodes in the mouth. Indeed, fresh fish is the most succulent. The best way to prepare salmon is still sushi!"
With a look of intoxicated enjoyment on his face, the second judge was also beaming with happiness. The rich salmon seemed to dance in his mouth. Ah! It was so fresh! This was probably the charm of sushi!
"Now, please, judges, cast your votes."
Praise was endless, and soon a plate of sushi was empty. Seeing this, Kawashima Rei immediately invited the judges to score, and upon hearing her voice, the audience now focused their attention, clearly curious about what level the former Elite Ten could reach.
9, 9, 9
The three judges looked at each other, each seeing the answer in the other's eyes, and almost simultaneously pressed the nine-point button. The perfect score was ten.
It must be said that in this professional arena for selecting the Elite Ten, this was already an extremely high score.
They were all the most professional executive officers of the WGO, and their demands for food were much higher than ordinary judges. Only for dishes they highly approved of would they give high scores.
Squinting his eyes at the score on the stage, Saito Somei showed no change in expression. For him, this score was perfectly normal; he even felt it was a bit low.
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