Chapter 628: Chapter 628: The Zhekova Family is Poisonous

Could it be that the scumbag CEO scolded him again?

Manager Zhu hurriedly turned his head to look at the stands on the other side.

Because of the distance, he couldn’t hear what the Zhekova family was talking about over there.

Just by looking at their expressions, they didn’t seem too happy.

Could there be any objections to this Competition?

As Manager Zhu was thinking, he suddenly saw the Zhekova family members, young and old, turn their heads and look over again, all with accusing gazes.

From the Old Master, the Old Madam, to Maverick Zhekova and Victoria Wheeler, to Adrian Zhekova and Morgan Zhekova, they all had a look of condemnation.

Manager Zhu: “…”

What happened this time!

“President Houston.” Manager Zhu quickly passed the pot, “Look, the CEO’s family is all looking at you!”

Billy Houston: “…”

Billy Houston pretended not to hear.

He was determined not to turn his head to look.

If he didn’t see it, he could pretend he didn’t know.

The Zhekova family is poisoned!

At the cooking station, Cindy Clarke emptied herself to think for a while, and finally came up with an idea.

Only then did she go to the food storage room.

Just when the Competition started, other contestants had already selected their ingredients from the food storage room.

Just then, it was very crowded.

But now that Cindy went, since all the other contestants had already picked their ingredients, only she was left to choose.

The food storage room was thus spacious.

As long as she had enough time, Cindy could choose the ingredients leisurely.

“Huh? Cindy chose the king oyster mushroom?” Hunter Clarke said.

Because she was the last one to go to the food storage room.

It was inevitable that she would attract more attention.

Since there was only her in the food storage, there was no one else to watch.

The other contestants were still in the early stages of preparing their cuisines, and nothing could be seen yet.

“Is Cindy going to use the king oyster mushroom to simulate meat?” Rosaline Parker couldn’t help but say.

“This method is common in ordinary recipes, but it doesn’t have much of a competitive edge in this Competition.” Rosaline Parker said regretfully.

“It shouldn’t be. Judging by Cindy’s performance in the previous Competitions, she would not make such a common choice.” Charles Dean still had unwavering confidence in Cindy.

“So far, there are only 14 contestants left in the competition. The competition is getting even more challenging. The gap between the contestants is not significant. It can be said that as long as there is a slight error, or even not a mistake, as long as the performance is mediocre or even just playing it safe, there is a possibility of being eliminated.” Michael Greene said.

“Yes.” Wesley Gordon nodded, “At this stage of the competition, it is no longer possible to stay afloat by playing it safe. Competitors must ensure the taste and quality of their dishes while being innovative, having their own distinct features and creativity.”

“When there were more contestants before, playing it safe and maintaining mediocrity meant not being outstanding but also not being eliminated. However, now that there are only 14 people left, those who continue to be mediocre will be eliminated.”

“Playing it safe, maintaining mediocrity, and not taking risks is indeed unreliable.”

Charles Dean shook his head and said, “I don’t think Cindy will. When there were many contestants before, she didn’t play it safe, putting herself in a safe position. She didn’t prioritize advancing to the next round but kept challenging herself and being innovative.”

“If she could be innovative in the previous Competitions, I believe she won’t disappoint in this one. Even if she is eliminated, her creativity will definitely be there.”

Everyone nodded.

“It makes sense what Charles said. She had performed so well before, and there is no reason to fall behind at such a crucial time.” Michael Greene laughed, “Charles, you have always been very optimistic about Cindy.”

Charles Dean smiled, “My eyes have always been quite accurate. Look at the many star-rated restaurants I own. I have personally recruited each of the head chefs. Some are already well-known, and some are not yet famous, but as I think they have potential, I am willing to give them a chance. There are some that were not even head chefs before, but I brought them to work in our restaurants. As you can see, now each restaurant is very successful. So, I have faith in Cindy, and I believe she won’t let me down.”

“Cindy has a kind of vigor and a spirit of exploration and upward striving in cooking, which I appreciate very much. As long as this spirit continues, she will not fail. What I mean by failure is not just winning or losing in the competition, which is not absolute. A temporary loss is just temporary, but in the course of her entire cooking career, she will undoubtedly be successful.”

“Thank you for the lesson, you really make a lot of sense with what you said.” Rosaline Parker joked, “I didn’t expect that, Charles. Normally you’re always laughing and making jokes, and you don’t seem to be serious. But your insights at crucial moments are really thought-provoking.”

“Of course.” Charles Dean laughed.

All the contestants were focused on their cuisines, with no more Zoe Silverstone, no more Iris Doone, and no more Blake Walker.

The remaining contestants had a very harmonious relationship, with competition and victory or defeat only on the racecourse, focusing only on the cuisine and nothing else.

The judges noticed that Cindy had cut the king oyster mushroom into thick slices and then cut patterns on the edges.

So far, they couldn’t tell what pattern Cindy was cutting.

After blanching these mushroom slices and cooling them, she put them into the refrigerator for refrigeration.

Then she made soy milk, adding gelatin sheets and mashed snow pear.

“What is Cindy doing?” The Old Madam couldn’t understand and turned to ask Adrian Zhekova and Morgan Zhekova, “Did Cindy ever make this for you?”

Adrian Zhekova and Morgan Zhekova, big and small, shook their heads together.

Morgan Zhekova said, “I’ve never seen it before. It should be something that Cindy thought of on stage today.”

Maverick Zhekova nodded, “After all, it’s just the topic we just learned about. There’s no such thing as a coincidence that it would happen to be something she had made before.”

Other audience members were also guessing.

Looking at it this way, they really couldn’t see what the contestants were doing.

Not just Cindy, but they couldn’t see the other contestants’ dishes either.

Finally, the time was up.

Everyone stopped at the last second.

The judges then went down to the field directly and tasted the dishes in order according to the contestants’ cooking station numbers.

“Is this imitation crab?” They were in front of Natalie Campbell’s cooking station.

Michael Greene could see what it was just by looking, even without tasting.

Natalie Campbell nodded, her heart pounding.

Because she had never been exposed to this kind of cuisine before, and today on stage, with the stress and the rush, she couldn’t think of anything.

In the end, she had a flash of inspiration and made this imitation crab dish.

“This imitation crab dish, using uncomplicated ingredients, can be made and tried by an ordinary family, making it a home-cooked dish.” Hunter Clarke said.

“The simpler the dish, the harder it is to make it outstanding.” Rosaline Parker tried a bite and said, “There’s the taste of ginger, and the ginger granules are finely ground, but some coarse particles are retained at the same time.”