Chapter 2461: Idol Brain?

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

More than half of the time had passed. The atmosphere slowly tensed up as Mag waited for the other three contestants to finish up.

Ding!

As the crisp ring sounded, Padas opened the oven and took out the golden-brown golden shank. Its rich fragrance wafted around the place, attracting everyone’s attention. The cameraman also zoomed into the golden shank, giving it a perfect one-shot.

The mutton shank was glistening with a little oil like a glimmering piece of gold under the light.

The agile golden goat had natural predators in the grassland and therefore, their speed and agility could help them avoid being preyed on by most of the predators. This also created their top-notch shank.

“This golden shank’s color is fantastic! It’s Mocha Mall indeed. You can actually find such top-grade ingredients here and it is way cheaper than I had expected,” David commented in awe as he praised the program’s sponsor without a trace of forcefulness.

“Based on the color and its unique fragrance, this golden shank is of very high quality. The ingredient’s quality can be seen in various aspects. This is really something normal mutton cannot compare to. This also tests a chef’s ability to choose their ingredients,” Julian commented with a nod as he consciously looked at Mag.

That comment seemed to be targeted. The judges all had varying expressions.

Almost at the same time, Iman’s rainbow fish was also ready. The moment he lifted the pot cover, the bright colors took everyone by surprise. The exquisite plating also made the dish even more beautiful.

Padas and Iman were the first to raise their hands to indicate that they had finished cooking.

The entire golden shank was placed on a retro-looking wooden plate. There were dots of green vegetables decorating the edges, bringing out the main dish and giving one a visual feast.

Iman’s rainbow fish was very exquisitely decorated. The 50 centimeter-long rainbow fish looked like there was a rainbow draping over it after some decoration on its beautiful skin. It was stunning.

Mag took some time to look at the two dishes. There’s nothing much to say about Padas’ golden shank. The perfect kitchenware produced the seemingly perfect dish. In other words, anyone with hands can do it.

Other than the fact that the ingredient was expensive enough, there was nothing much to the overall cooking process whether it was the seasoning or the techniques used.

It was apparent that this chap only wanted to continue riding on the roasted mutton ribs wave from yesterday. On top of that, he thought that he had chosen a top-grade shank that could gain high points from the judges.

He gave Iman’s rainbow fish a second look. Be it the plating, overall presentation, or the fragrance, this dish was way better than the steamed fish he presented the day before.

“Amy would probably like it a lot. After all, it’s a rainbow fish. I can bring back a few for them.” Mag was already thinking of how to prepare this local specialty when he gets back.

The rules of the competition remained the same. Those who finished first would be judged first.

Padas’s golden shank was placed on a large turning plate. The judges went around with compliments on the dish but no one appeared too interested in it.

The judges were either top chefs or known food critics. A roasted shank of this standard was really no surprise to them. There was nothing to compare to Mag’s charcoal-grilled mutton ribs, be it the fragrance of the cooking progress.

The judges knew what Padas had in mind. Although they did not point it out directly, they really had nothing to compliment him about.

A staff member cut the shank into small portions and delivered it to each judge.

The judges took a bite and most of them gave perfunctory praises.

“If all of you are not saying it, I’ll say it. Padas, your golden shank doesn’t look bad, and the golden goat is indeed good for roasting. This is also a very classic cooking method.” Old Hunter placed his fork down and told Padas seriously, “However, your cooking method can be eaten at any restaurant that serves roasted shank. The only difference is that you’ve used the rare golden goat.

“I can say for sure that this golden shank is not a surprise to me at all. The seasoning is too ordinary and I even feel that you are wasting such a good shank.”

Padas, who initially thought he did well, suddenly did not look very well. He moved his lips but chose to stay silent.

“Yes. This roasted shank does taste very ordinary because it was not marinated well. There are very distinct layers of flavoring in the mutton and that is terrible.” Nancy placed her knife and fork down after only tasting a little.

She said very nonchalantly, “You still have half an hour left and if you had used that time to marinate the thick piece of mutton, there would definitely be a different outcome. Although you might get a higher mark for being the first to present a dish since there is nothing to be compared to, what is more important to the judges is actually a chef’s attitude towards his dish.”

Nancy’s comments made Padas’ face turn as pale as a sheet. He knew very well how much power Nancy has and this comment was equivalent to kicking him out of the finals straight away.

Indeed. The judges gave their scores.

Padas only got 75 marks and broke the record for the lowest score in the semifinals.

Padas stood to the side in despair. This score was utter humiliation. Not only did it mean that he had no chance of getting into the McCarthy Manor, but it also meant that there would be a negative influence should he want to continue becoming a celebrity.

Iman swallowed hard. It was very obvious that he was nervous.

The judges seemed to be very strict today. On top of that, Miss Nancy, who would not usually comment, made such harsh criticism. This was really quite scary.

“Wow, I think Miss Nancy is super strict today! Those who tried to cheat their way would probably get a bad lashing from her!”

“I still like Old Hunter’s style. Just say it if you don’t like what you’re seeing. The other judges are just unwilling to say anything that will offend people.”

“This competition has suddenly gone to the top three phases. Who will be eliminated? There’s so much suspense!”

The audience started to get excited and there were more and more comments on the live-stream.

The golden shank was taken down. Only a tiny portion of it was eaten.

The next dish that was brought up was Iman’s rainbow fish.

This dish was reputable as Tucker Restaurant’s signature dish. Only wealthy customers would order this dish and it would be cooked personally by Julian. This could be the most famous dish in this season’s Top Chef Competition.

This dish was initially Julian and Iman’s trump card that they would use in the finals.

However, to play safe, since Hades was the dark horse, they used it in the semifinals.

“To be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen a rainbow fish. Although this is the baby version, it is very stunning,” David commented as he looked at the fish that was moving past him slowly.

“That’s Master Julian’s fault for setting the price of this dish so high. It’s 500 thousand for a fish. I really can’t afford to eat it,” a judge said with a smile.

Although the rainbow fish was very popular, due to its pricey cost, Nancy was probably the only judge present to have ever tried it.

“It looks pretty decent. The cutting was done well and the plating is very exquisite,” Old Hunter commented with a nod.

After the display, a staff member took different parts of the fish and placed them on a small plate for the judges to try.

Old Hunter put the meat from the fish’s body into his mouth and his eyes lit up instantly. He tasted the fish slowly before swallowing it. Afterward, he took the meat from the fish’s belly into his mouth. He smiled. Lastly, he put the meat near the fish head into his mouth and closed his eyes in enjoyment.

“This fish is top grade indeed. It is soft and tender. After swirling around at the tip of your tongue, it will slide down your throat, leaving its freshness behind in the mouth. This meat near the fish head is especially the best of the best. It is very fresh and it is where all the essence of the fish is. I only took a gentle bite and almost bit my own tongue.” Old Hunter looked at Iman with admiration. “This fish was seasoned just right. It did not mask the freshness of the fish but brought it out even more and made it better.”

“Thank you.” Iman heaved a sigh of relief. Old Hunter and his master had never been easy to satisfy in this program. He did not expect such a good review.

“It’s not easy to hear compliments from Old Hunter. But it is just as he has said. This rainbow fish is a pleasant surprise indeed. As expected from a good teacher. This is the best fish thus far in this season’s competition.” David put his chopsticks down and gave Iman a thumbs up.

Iman bowed humbly. Although he was trying very hard to control his expression, he still could not fight the upturning of his lips.

Julian looked at Iman gladly. He felt proud when he heard the praises the judges had for his disciple.

If all went smoothly, Iman had probably gotten one of the slots for the finals.

Nancy only tried a piece of the meat near the fish head and she placed her chopsticks down emotionlessly. As someone who had tried the rainbow fish more than once in Tucker Restaurant, she could tell that Iman’s dish could only be considered okay. However, he did have very strong foundations. Otherwise, he would not be able to helm the restaurant with this dish.

Of course, this standard would not make her have the desire to pull him into the McCarthy Manor.

With his teacher there, who’s better, if she really wanted to have the rainbow fish at home, all she needed to do was to make a call to get Julian to come over to make it for her. Why would she need to bring his disciple back?

The high praise from the judges gave Iman a score of 93. That was a considerably high score in the Top Chef Competition.

“Not yet 95?” Iman was slightly disappointed. However, this was already the highest score he had gotten from the judges in the Top Chef Competition. He was just a little indignant that he could not beat Hades’ score for the grilled goat ribs.

However, his score of 92.7 today was much higher than the previous day after it was deducted based on ratio, and his 9 PK points were added.

When he saw his final score, Iman could not help but smile.

However, Angelina’s threat was still there. After all, she had full marks for her PK points.

But Hades was different. Although his PK value increased dramatically compared to the day before, it was currently only at 7 points.

“According to the current score, if Hades wants to overtake Iman, he has to get above 96 marks for the judges’ score.”

“Big brother Iman is doing exceptionally well today. I feel that things are getting difficult for Hades and Angelina.”

“It looks like Angelina is almost done with her dish. But I still don’t have a clue what Hades is cooking up.”

“I think… he might be making a pot of minced beef with prawn?”

“25632 times! Are those robot arms?!”

The number of viewers in the Top Chef Competition’s live-stream had gone past 1.6 billion people. The rainbow fish had quite a good effect on the program.

Mag was still pounding his beef calmly. The bright red beef was utterly mashed. It was sticky yet bouncy. After continuously pounding for over 20,000 times, Mag was almost done with the beef.

The God of Culinary pounded the beef 26,800 times to make the Explosive Pissing Beef Balls. Mag had decided to stick to this number.

On the other side, Angelina had already completed her dish. While she pressed the little bell on the table, she turned to look at Mag worriedly.

Iman got a very high score. Although she was confident in herself, she could not help but worry for Mag.

It was rather difficult to satisfy all 10 judges in the Top Chef Competition at the same time.

The camera zoomed in on Angelina’s dish. It was a well-structured but rough-looking meat mountain. Various types of meat were stacked into a little mountain. It was very bright and colorful and looked very appetizing.

“She used a pile of vegetables to make a mountain of meat. Angelina indeed.” David looked at the meat mountain that passed by him and complimented her. “Even when you observe it closely, you can’t tell the difference between this and real meat. It even smells like meat.”

“This is a very innovative idea that displays very good skills. This is the first time I’m seeing mock meat being made live. Well done.” Old Hunter praised her too.

“Another impressive show. Just when everyone thought she was going to make a vegetarian dish, she made a meat dish with vegetables.”

The judges were full of praise and interest in Angelina’s dish.

In comparison, Iman merely recreated Julian’s rainbow fish and as Julian’s disciple, Iman’s dish was not too much of a surprise.

However, Angelina managed to keep everyone in suspense when buying the ingredients. This final presentation of the meat mountain further exceeded everyone’s expectations. It was like watching an artist create a work of art. It was breathtaking.

“This maiden is rather interesting. She knows how to play the game.” Mag was also shocked to see the meat mountain.

If Angelina were to behave a little more normally around him, he would have complimented her more.

However, this young lady seemed a little abnormal. Maybe she had an idol brain?