Soon, both of them finished their four dishes.
Xu Shuang made lotus chicken slices, caramelized yam, crispy fish slices, and a five-color vegetable salad.
The other young man looked somewhat unhappy.
Xu Shuang’s dishes were all quite challenging, and the young man found it puzzling. Even if he had drawn a difficult topic, Xu Shuang’s self-made dish wasn’t exactly easy either.
In comparison, his own four dishes seemed a little ordinary.
The young man made sweet and sour pork, stir-fried potato slices, twice-cooked pork, and shredded pork with Beijing sauce.
The ingredients weren’t as rich as Xu Shuang’s, and they didn’t show much advanced skill.
Chen Dong placed the four dishes made by his apprentice in front of him and immediately picked up a piece of caramelized yam. This dish had to be eaten while hot; it loses its flavor once it cools.
The soft yam was wrapped in a crispy, shiny sugar coating—crunchy and sweet, with the yam strands still retaining some moisture.
Master Su looked at Chen Dong enviously, wishing he had such a talented apprentice.
Master Ma felt sour.
Both had apprentices, but while Chen Dong’s apprentice was taking the level-two exam, his own apprentice was a fool!
He wailed inwardly, “Why is this so unfair?”
Master Su: “This caramelized yam is really well done.”
He then tasted the crispy fish slices. The fish was fried to perfection, and the sauce was just right. The fish was tender and fragrant, and the slices were nearly uniform in size and thickness. The combination of red and green peppers with the fried fish made it both appealing to the eye and delicious.
The five-color vegetable salad was a knife skill dish, with vermicelli, cucumber, egg skin, carrot, and potato all cut to similar sizes, mixed with sauce. The colorful dish was vibrant, with a drop of sesame oil that made it fragrant.
Lastly, the lotus chicken slices. To be honest, the topic only required changing the form of the meat. Master Su had originally intended to create a dish that was merely different in appearance. The challenge was in presentation.
But Xu Shuang shocked him by making lotus chicken slices.
Master Su was secretly amazed. Even he wasn’t sure if he could make this dish taste good, but Xu Shuang chose it without hesitation.
Lotus chicken slices required pounding the chicken breast into a fine paste, adding egg whites to make a smooth, almost liquid consistency. Then, the chicken paste had to be cooked in the right temperature oil to form perfect, smooth, and even pieces.
Master Su felt a little nervous.
Master Ma immediately applauded after tasting it: “Good, good, good!”
Even in Shandong cuisine, Furong Chicken Slices is a very difficult dish, and the fact that Xu Shuang could make it so delicious was truly impressive.
Master Ma praised generously: “Old Chen, your apprentice might even be good enough to go for the Level 1 certification.”
Although there wasn’t a self-created dish, the level of the other dishes was already very high.
Chen Dong… Chen Dong was busy eating, and he mumbled a vague response.
Wang Ying nudged Chen Dong, and he reluctantly twisted his chubby belly to share a bit with Wang Ying. The moment she tasted it, her eyes widened. It was her first time eating Xu Shuang’s Furong Chicken Slices, and it truly lived up to the reputation of a state banquet dish. The chicken slices were tender, smooth, and flavorful, and the soup base was rich and delicious.
Everyone gave their approval.
The young man next to them was already feeling uncomfortable.
Chef Su, unfortunately, frowned and criticized: “The sweet and sour pork isn’t cooked long enough—the sauce is too sweet.”
“The shredded pork in Beijing sauce is too salty.”
“The twice-cooked pork and shredded potato salad are decent.”
The evaluators murmured among themselves for a moment and ultimately decided: no pass.
The young man was now breathing heavily. “I object!”
He urgently pointed at Xu Shuang: “I heard it all. He’s your apprentice—you’re clearly biased! Why should he pass while I don’t? I’ve been a chef for ten years—why can’t I get Level 2?”
He hadn’t had much courage at first, but the more he spoke, the more convinced he became of his own reasoning. It was like the words gave him strength.
“I object! Your restaurant’s pulling strings! You’re playing favorites! My skills aren’t worse—why didn’t I pass? You were nitpicking just to clear the way for your apprentice! And why did you eat his food first and not mine? Isn’t that obviously exclusion?”
The young man’s words became more and more excessive, and Chef Su’s face darkened.
He was a Level 1 chef—did he really need to make things hard for an unknown examinee?
And anyone with eyes could see that Xu Shuang’s dishes were very advanced—they weren’t just Level 2 material.
Besides, this wasn’t a competition between the two. They were both taking the test independently. This guy blaming Xu Shuang for not passing was simply ridiculous.
“That guy—Zhou Yuanchao, right? Let me tell you something. This isn’t some state-owned restaurant championship where we’re ranking first, second, and third. You’re both here for a certification, and we graded based on your actual skills. His skills were better, so he passed. Yours weren’t enough, so you didn’t. I’m making myself clear here—you didn’t pass, and it has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s purely because your skills aren’t up to the mark. Go back and practice more.”
Wang Ying stood to the side, dumbfounded. This Chef Su really had a sharp tongue. Every sentence was practically calling the guy incompetent to his face.
Sure enough, his words were like adding fuel to the fire. The young man’s eyes turned red.
“You’re lying! How could I not have good skills? Everyone praises my dishes! My whole restaurant depends on me! So many people say my food is great! I’ve studied for over ten years—how could my skills be lacking?!”
Great, now the discussion had turned into a debate about whether his skills were good or not.
Chef Su went all in: “Listen here, your dishes were pretty basic. Sweet and sour pork? A Level 3 chef can handle that. Even twice-cooked pork—Master Ma’s apprentice, who didn’t even pass Level 3, is best at that.”
(Master Ma, who was dragged in for no reason: … Thanks, but don’t bring up my useless apprentice.)
Chef Su continued: “And that shredded potato salad—someone else did that in the Level 3 test earlier. You came to take the Level 2 test with three Level 3 dishes. Why would you think you’d pass?”
Chef Su: “In our line of work, it’s all about skill. You saw what Little Xu made. I won’t even mention the Furong Chicken Slices—just the stir-fried fish fillets and the candied yam. Can you make those? I’m not even trying to embarrass you with the hardest dish. Just do those two hot dishes right now. Since you want to compare yourself to Little Xu, go ahead—if you can make them better, we’ll hand you the Level 2 certificate right here.”
Zhou Yuanchao turned red from embarrassment and snapped, “I won’t! Who knows if you’ll still cover for him again!”
Chef Su retorted, “Oh, for heaven’s sake, just cook! There’s a whole crowd of people watching—we won’t judge, let them judge. Heck, we’ll drag people off the street to judge. What is it that you won’t accept? I tell you you’re not good enough, and you don’t believe me. I offer a rematch, and you say we’ll cheat. So what do you want? For me to take back Little Xu’s certificate and give it to you instead? Is that the result you want?”
Zhou Yuanchao was stuck. Crowds of servers were already pointing fingers at him from the windows and doorways. Even diners outside had come over to watch the drama.
He couldn’t lower himself to beg for the certificate, but he also couldn’t bear to walk away—it would be too embarrassing.
It all started from a moment of frustration, but now he couldn’t get out of it gracefully.
Wang Ying realized something. Zhou Yuanchao didn’t actually come intending to cause trouble. He just got hot-headed. When he saw others pass and he didn’t, he got worked up and lost his temper.
Chen Dong stepped in to smooth things over: “Comrade Zhou, I’m Little Xu’s master. I didn’t say anything earlier because neither of your topics were set by me, so I stayed out of it. Honestly, for your age, your skills are pretty good. The shredded potato salad and twice-cooked pork were cut well—it shows you’ve trained hard for years.”
The young man had just been scolded by someone, and now, suddenly being acknowledged, he nearly burst into tears, his voice thick with emotion: “So you’re not going to pass me? I’ve been learning to cook since I was fifteen, and now I’m twenty-five—ten years, and I still can’t pass the Level 2 exam?”
Chen Dong shook his head with a smile: “That’s not really it. Cooking, you see, also depends on your mentor. The biggest issue with your four dishes this time is that they lack character. As chefs, we can’t just cook the most commonly ordered dishes at the restaurant. I don’t even have to ask to know—the most frequently ordered dishes at your place are probably shredded potato salad and twice-cooked pork, right?”
“Having your own signature dish is certainly good, but if you want to go further, you still need to hold yourself to a higher standard.”
“Your mentor probably taught you to prioritize stability, right? Stability is good, of course, but Level 3 is entry-level, and Level 2 is a step up. Naturally, the standards for Level 2 aren’t the same as those for Level 3.”
“The sweet and sour pork wasn’t cooked properly—it’s because you panicked. I could see you were flustered when you heated the oil. As soon as you dropped the meat in, you rushed to scoop it out. You weren’t paying attention to the timing at all, just mechanically following the steps. And for the shredded pork in Beijing sauce, your hand was shaking when you added the salt…”
“Go back and practice properly. This isn’t just about passing the test—it’s also about being responsible for yourself, and for your customers.”
After Chen Dong’s speech, Zhou Yuanchao’s eyes filled with tears as he nodded fervently.
Wang Ying quietly tugged on Xu Shuang’s hand and asked in a low voice, “Has our Master always been like this? When he was teaching you, did he also feed you motivational talk like this?”
Xu Shuang didn’t know what “feeding chicken soup” meant, but from context, he figured it referred to Chen Dong’s kind of long-winded encouragement.
Xu Shuang gave a small “mm”: “He was like that at first, but not later on.”
And why was that?
Because later, whenever Chen Dong started talking like that, young Xu Shuang would hit him with three consecutive questions: “Can you demonstrate?” “It’s just so-so.” “Then why are you criticizing me?”
That left Chen Dong speechless, and he couldn’t even deliver his motivational speech anymore.
Zhou Yuanchao packed up his things, bowed to Master Su and Chen Dong, and headed out.
He walked with his head down, clearly heartbroken.
Master Ma rolled his eyes and slipped out quietly.
Chen Dong came over and patted Xu Shuang on the shoulder: “How does it feel to have passed Level 2?”
Xu Shuang brushed his hand off: “Feels like asking you when you’re taking the Level 1 exam.”
Chen Dong chuckled and said, “Just wait a few years.”
The Level 1 exam had to be taken in the provincial capital—definitely not easy.
Chen Dong said, “You transfer into the city first, then we’ll talk about the Level 1 exam. Hmm, how about you cook a few dishes to celebrate? Right here.”
Even Xu Shuang was speechless—let alone Master Su.
Asking your apprentice, who just passed the exam, to cook to celebrate his own success? Truly shameless.
Chen Dong didn’t feel embarrassed at all, and even started ordering dishes: “Make soy sauce pork, spicy stir-fried chicken gizzards, and braised pork chops.”
Wang Ying said, “Master, you should eat some vegetables too.”
They’d had chicken broth tofu early in the morning, tasted dishes all morning, and now he wanted an all-meat lunch. Wang Ying was genuinely worried about Chen Dong’s blood pressure.
Chen Dong reluctantly said, “Then add dry-fried green beans.”
Wang Ying said, “Stir-fry some leafy greens too.”
Chen Dong looked at Wang Ying weakly and said, “Fine, stir-fry one.”
He just didn’t like eating vegetables!
Just then, Master Ma walked in, humming a tune.
Chen Dong smiled and asked, “What? The young guy agreed to be your apprentice?”
