Seeing that the judges and guests had all arrived, and the staff at various posts were in position, the recording of the first showcase match of the Jingbei stop finally began.
"Welcome everyone to the set of 'One City, One Flavor'! After the competitions in our previous four stops, this time, our guest teams have finally reached the final destination of this season: Jingbei!!!"
...
Just like the recordings of the previous episodes, after the host finished the opening remarks, introduced the guest teams, reviewed the scores of the previous episodes, and introduced the judges and the challenger guests for this episode, the teams under the cameras immediately entered into intense preparation.
The designated main ingredient for today's main course was Jingbei's unique signature ingredient: Jingbei force-fed duck.
The ingredients for the side dishes were seasonal specialty fruits and vegetables from Jingbei and its surrounding areas, such as napa cabbage, chestnuts, hawthorn, persimmons, and so on.
Following the usual practice, the host interviewed them one by one while everyone was busy cooking:
"Teacher Yao successfully challenged the regulars at the last stop with an excellent performance, leaving a deep impression on everyone. I wonder what kind of surprise you will bring to the audience and judges today?"
Watching the host lead the camera to Best Actor Yao, he pointed to the ingredients on the counter and introduced, "My teammates and I will still use Western cooking methods to present our dishes today. The main course is French pan-seared duck breast, paired with our famous Jingbei white pear and Yuxian specialty millet rice. It focuses on being healthy, low-fat, and nutritionally balanced."
As Yao Yi'an's voice fell, Xu Yanxia, who was not far away, nodded silently.
In terms of ingredients, Jingbei force-fed duck was indeed quite suitable for French pan-searing.
Moreover, Jingbei white pears were sweet and refreshing, and millet rice was a healthy whole grain.
It seemed that as long as Best Actor Yao could control the flavor well this time, he might actually be able to stay.
...
After the host finished his supportive words, he went to the counter of Jin Jiexiang's team for an interview:
"Master Jin, what dish will you bring us today?"
Perhaps affected by the unexpected events just now, or because today's judges were simply too formidable, his tone was noticeably more cautious than before:
"I am very glad to finally return to our home turf of imperial cuisine. Therefore, my teammates and I will continue to present a few dishes in the style of imperial meals: Furong duck slices, minced duck and tofu soup, and imperial hawthorn cake. I hope the judges will like them."
"Eating authentic imperial cuisine in the capital really makes people look forward to it! Please do your best, Teacher Jin and teammates!"
The host offered a few more complimentary words full of emotional value, and then went to the counter of the challenger guest, the Decuilou representative team.
Seeing Zhao Yanting leading a few people to intensely pump air into a plucked duck's neck with a special air pump, the host immediately realized without needing an introduction:
"It seems Master Zhao is going to show everyone the authentic way to make roast duck today?"
"Yes."
Zhao Yanting smiled at the camera and said, "How can you come to Jingbei and not eat roast duck? Today, my teammates and I will bring you an authentic Jingbei hanging-oven roast duck. This is also one of the classic signature dishes of our Decuilou, and it has maintained a one hundred percent positive review rate in sales over the past many years."
"Decuilou is also a decades-old established restaurant in our Jingbei! It seems everyone is in for a treat today!"
It was obvious that the production team had indeed received a lot of sponsorship fees; even the host uncharacteristically advertised Decuilou by name!
Xu Yanxia's team members all silently chuckled in their hearts.
The host continued to ask, "Then I wonder, besides the authentic hanging-oven roast duck, what other side dishes will Master Zhao bring us?"
Zhao Yanting smiled at the camera again, "When eating roast duck, duck soup is of course indispensable. Today we will also use napa cabbage, which is most in season right now, to present an authentic cabbage and duck frame soup. And with the hawthorn fruit, a specialty of the Jingbei mountainous area, we will make a classic Shandong dessert, simmered hawthorns."
"These sound like dishes with a very profound historical background. Let's hold back our cravings and patiently wait for Master Zhao and his teammates' creations!"
After the host finished his customary supportive remarks, he moved on to the counter of Xu Yanxia's team.
He saw the team members kneading dough, simmering soup, and preparing ingredients, busy but orderly.
And Xu Yanxia herself was holding a plucked duck, repeatedly pouring boiling water over it.
Suisui, who was beside her, was melting maltose with hot water.
The host quickly asked, "Director Xu, what grand dish are you and your teammates making?"
Xu Yanxia smiled and said, "As everyone knows, Jingbei force-fed duck has thick subcutaneous fat and an even distribution of intramuscular fat. It is an ingredient born specifically for roast duck. So, in order to showcase its best flavor, what we are making is, of course, also roast duck."
What?
As soon as she finished speaking, whether it was the off-camera staff, or the guest teams and judges under the various cameras in the studio, everyone immediately cast their eyes toward them.
Especially the people in Zhao Yanting's team, who had just been interviewed, had the most surprised expressions on their faces.
Did they hear that right?
This little girl who grew up in Qingcheng and worked in Rong City was going to make their Jingbei roast duck?!!
...
Even the host couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "This is the first time since the recording of this show began that two identical dishes have appeared in the same arena! This is simply too exciting!!!"
"That's right,"
Xu Yanxia deliberately followed up, "It's rare to meet a well-matched opponent today, and Master Zhao and I can be considered to be from the same sect. Making the same dish will allow the judges to intuitively see the difference between us."
Hiss...
Not to mention the very obvious smell of gunpowder in these words.
The term "same sect" alone had already aroused the curiosity of everyone present.
The host immediately asked, "We all know that Master Zhao is a disciple of the grandmaster of Jingbei Shandong cuisine, Mr. Bao Deshun. Does Director Xu also have a connection with Mr. Bao Deshun?"
"Yes,"
Xu Yanxia said to the camera again, "My grandfather Xu Fangshu is Master Bao's senior brother. The two of them, along with Mr. Zhang Dingxin, the master of our professional judge today, Master Chef Chen, all studied under Master Lyu Jizong back in the day. So according to seniority, I should call Master Zhao 'Martial Uncle'."
As her voice fell, the entire audience was once again filled with astonishment.
The host couldn't help but nod and sigh, "I only learned today that Director Xu also comes from a prestigious culinary family! You really have been too low-key in the past!"
Teacher Qiao on the judges' panel also couldn't help but say, "After all this, today is a competition on the same stage between a martial uncle and his martial niece, and there is also a martial uncle from the same sect personally sitting as a judge!"
"It really has a bit of a 'Mount Hua Sword Competition' vibe to it!"
Saying this, he deliberately used a joking tone to add a sentence to Master Chef Chen, "Now both the palms and the backs of your hands are flesh. Today, Master Chef Chen can only base his judgment on objective facts and cannot show favoritism!"
"Of course!"
Then, Master Chef Chen immediately chuckled and said, "I will certainly provide a fair critique today. I absolutely will not show any favoritism."
"Otherwise, I would be letting down the founding masters of our craft!"
