But what everyone didn't expect was that this wait would actually last until the sun was setting in the west.
Seeing that they were already preparing to turn on the lights in the garden, Zhao Weimin's wife couldn't help but ask the executive director again, "When can we start cooking? If we wait any longer, the ingredients won't be fresh."
The others couldn't help but nod in agreement.
After all, they had all eaten lunch, returned to their respective rooms to rest for a while, and then come back.
They had agreed to cook at noon. If it kept dragging on like this, who knew if they would even be able to eat this reunion dinner tonight.
The executive director, who had been coordinating everything, was also in a difficult position and could only apologize to everyone, "I'm really sorry about today. I just asked Brother Xu and his team, and they said the ingredients will be here right away. I guarantee everyone will be able to make tonight's dinner."
Mrs. Zhao sighed softly and muttered, "I don't even know what kind of ingredients they're using. Could it be dragon liver and phoenix marrow?"
"If we have to wait, then let's wait."
Her husband, Mr. Zhao, persuaded her from the side, "It's not easy for these young people to make a show."
Lu Jingxi also apologized to Xu Yanxia, "I'm sorry, Xiaoxia. I didn't expect to delay your time like this. If it really comes down to it, you can just stay here for another night and go back tomorrow."
Xu Yanxia comforted her instead, "I'm fine. Tomorrow is just a trial run for Jiushan anyway, so it doesn't really matter whether I go back or not. But your work is indeed quite hard. If even a slight detail goes wrong, so many people have to wait together."
"Tell me about it!"
Lu Jingxi glanced at Xu Qinghe and Jason He, who looked as if nothing had happened, and silently gritted her teeth. "They'd better come up with something decent later."
Otherwise, it would be too infuriating.
...
After about another half an hour, the ingredients for Xu Qinghe's group finally arrived at the scene.
The show could finally continue recording.
Although it was already getting dark, the lights in the garden were turned on. The six groups of guests came to their respective stoves and started cooking, and the scene finally became lively.
Today, Mr. Zhao and his wife were making their hometown specialties: mackerel dumplings and braised mixed fish in soy paste.
Mrs. Zhao was responsible for kneading the dough, while Mr. Zhao was in charge of mixing the filling.
From his knife skills, it was obvious that Mr. Zhao often cooked at home. He was very skilled at everything from deboning the fish to mincing the filling, and he rolled out the dumpling wrappers very well.
The young idol Xiao Chen's mother made Jiangsu and Zhejiang specialties: hairy crab with rice cakes and braised pork. As the braised pork slowly simmered in the clay pot, a rich meaty aroma filled the air.
Cheng Yiran and his good buddy Ah Tian made Northeastern specialty dishes: Di San Xian and pork stew with pickled cabbage and vermicelli.
Although it was still summer in Hainan, when the sour aroma of the pickled cabbage mingled with the meaty scent of the pork wafted out, it immediately gave people the feeling of celebrating the New Year.
Papa Lin made his daughter Lin Lin's favorite home-cooked dishes: stir-fried liver and kidney, and Mao Xue Wang.
It had to be said that Sichuan cuisine had to be cooked by Sichuanese people. Seeing the red oil boiling in the pot, anyone who smelled it couldn't help but secretly drool.
Today, Xu Yanxia prepared two local dishes from Rong City: braised chicken with abalone and fish maw and yellow croaker thick soup.
Just like when they went out to buy groceries in the morning, each group of guests had a dedicated cameraman following them. As she cooked, she also introduced the dishes according to the show's requirements.
"These are fresh abalones bought from our local market this morning. The quality is quite good. For braised chicken with abalone, medium-sized abalones are fine. One chicken paired with seven or eight abalones is just right. Before cooking, the abalones need to be prepped."
Saying that, she demonstrated the process of shelling an abalone to her assistant, Lu Jingxi.
"Just insert a stainless steel soup spoon from the edge like this and turn it around."
"Got it!"
The clever and quick-witted Queen Xixi immediately got to work.
Xu Yanxia then chopped the Wenchang chicken she bought today into pieces and introduced it to the camera, "The best chicken to use for abalone chicken pot is Hainan's unique Wenchang chicken. Wenchang chicken has a very high content of high-quality protein and rich intramuscular fat. When cooked, the skin is crispy and the meat is tender, making it incredibly fragrant."
As she spoke, she finished chopping the chicken, and Lu Jingxi also finished prepping the abalones.
She then seasoned and marinated the chicken. She also removed the innards from the abalones and scored them.
Taking advantage of the time waiting for the chicken to absorb the flavors, she went to prep the ingredients for the second dish, the fish maw and yellow croaker thick soup.
This dish actually hid her selfish motives.
Because this was one of the signature dishes after the Jiushan brand upgrade, her main purpose today was to advertise, so she specially brought the fish maw from Jiushan.
"Fish maw and yellow croaker thick soup is also a relatively classic soup in Cantonese cuisine."
She introduced to the camera, "Today we selected yellow croaker fish maw because its meat is relatively thick, and the gelatin is soft and smooth. After stewing, the gelatin can naturally blend into the soup, presenting a unique soft, glutinous, and non-fishy taste."
"The other ingredient is the small yellow croaker. This type of fish has a very high protein content, and its meat is tender and delicious. It is also a major economic fish species in our country's coastal areas, so it can be said to be cheap and of good quality."
"After cleaning the fish, the meat needs to be deboned."
Saying that, she started deboning the yellow croaker meat.
The cameraman focused the lens on her hands, and it just so happened that the host came to their stove and was immediately attracted by Xu Yanxia's superb knife skills.
She placed the small yellow croaker on the cutting board, pinched the fish head with her fingers, and made a shallow cut with the tip of the knife close to the fish's spine. She quickly slid it to the fish's tail, and with a slight push, half of the fish meat was peeled off the bone. The fish meat was clean and translucent, and her movements were so neat that people almost couldn't see them clearly.
The host couldn't help but exclaim, "Miss, your knife skills are amazing!"
"Of course!"
Lu Jingxi, who was assisting on the side, took the opportunity to promote her, "Our Xiaoxia's cooking skills are incredible. Everyone will know once they taste it later."
As her voice fell, the three-star Michelin chef Jason He, who was cooking at the stove opposite them, looked up and asked Xu Yanxia, "I wonder which school this little beauty graduated from? Lanxiang or New Oriental?"
That tone...
Xu Yanxia smiled and replied, "I'm sorry, I majored in food science. Neither Lanxiang nor New Oriental."
"Oh?"
Jason He smiled and said, "Does the food science department also teach how to cook Chinese food? Doesn't the food science department teach you how to go into a workshop and do food processing?"
This tone was even more presumptuous.
The other guests at the scene couldn't help but look at him.
Xu Qinghe quickly tried to cover for his partner, "Please forgive him, everyone. Jason has a more humorous speaking style. He often appears as a judge on food shows, and everyone calls him the sharp-tongued master chef."
He smiled as he spoke.
Xu Yanxia also smiled and replied to him, "That's right, the food science department doesn't teach Chinese cooking techniques. My culinary skills are passed down in my family."
"Passed down in your family?"
Jason He asked again, "Then I wonder where your family's lineage comes from?"
Xu Yanxia only said, "We can't really talk about a lineage. It's just a family restaurant."
"A family restaurant?"
The pretentious pseudo-foreigner glanced up at her and said pointedly, "That is why I say, a person needs to be confident. As long as you are bold enough, the whole world is your stage!"
He chuckled as he spoke.
Unfortunately for him, apart from his equally sleazy partner Xu Qinghe, no one else joined in.
Xu Yanxia did not say anything either. She simply focused on deboning and filleting her fish, her movements crisp and incredibly efficient.
To ease the awkwardness, the host had to change the subject, asking the man, "I wonder what grand dish Chef Jason has prepared for us today?"
The man replied, "Today, I will be presenting my signature dish: pan-seared steak with black truffle sauce."
He made a special point to add, "I am using authentic A5 Wagyu ribeye imported straight from Japan. The fat is perfectly distributed, so when seared, the marbling melts and fully absorbs the aroma of the black truffle."
At those words, Xu Yanxia shot him a sideways glance.
Ever since the mad cow disease outbreak in Japan years ago, the country had strictly banned the import of Japanese Wagyu beef.
Although there had been attempts to resume imports a few months prior, the bureaucratic process was still ongoing.
If what he had was truly Japanese Wagyu, he was going to be in massive trouble.
