He came to the edge of the table, as if to feel Lin Kesong's existence, leaning slightly in her direction.
At that moment, Lin Kesong held his breath.
Jiang Qianfan's line of sight was just staggered from hers, but his handsome facial features were so close, and he was very excited.
He put down the dinner plate, and it turned out to be red candied haws piled up in the shape of a triangular cone.
This entire menu was made by Lin Ke Song when he first saw Jiang Qianfan in the back kitchen.
Only that time, she drank eight bowls of mint cabbage soup, not to mention the main dish, she didn't even taste the appetizer.
Jiang Qianfan said nothing and sat quietly opposite her.
The sunlight fell softly on his face, as if all the indifference and coldness melted away at this moment.
Lin Kesong raised the spoon, carefully scooped one of them, and put it into his mouth.
Sweet, sour, slightly astringent, these are the flavors of icing and hawthorn. When the sweetness of the ice cream spreads on the tip of the tongue, that moment's thoughts are like breaking out of a cocoon.
Obviously there are nine candied haws, but to her, it seems that she has only eaten one.
Exactly the same taste, like the reincarnation of fate.
When she put down her fork, Jiang Qianfan's expression on the opposite side remained the same.
"I thought this lunch was your test for me."
Lin Kesong looked at Jiang Qianfan in front of her. She once felt that he was as eager and unreachable as a cliff.
Now, in a place so close to her, he has a beautiful demeanor despite his expressionless face.
"So what did you taste? Or what did you think of?" Jiang Qianfan asked lightly.
"Actually, when I first watched you make quail and foie gras in the back kitchen, I was very curious about what kind of soup you poured on that dish at the end. Today, after I ate it, I realized that it wasn't soup at all. juice... but apple juice."
"If it was you three months ago, you might not have tasted apple juice. You've grown up, Croissant."
"Then... I started thinking about how the hell do you get the ice cream into the hawthorn. It's really ingenious, with too much, the creaminess can upset the balance of fruit and icing. Without it, the tartness of the hawthorn dominates ."
"This balance doesn't happen overnight, it needs to be constantly tried. But today, you just have to feel the taste of them."
Lin Kesong scooped up another candied haws and put it in his mouth, his eyes narrowed.
The warm sunlight, the seductive male god on the opposite side, and the sweet and sour candied fruit in the mouth, it seems that life cannot be more perfect.
"You once said that ice-sugar haws are like the taste of secret love."
"If every secret love is like this, I hope I never wake up." Lin Kesong shrugged and laughed.
She rarely smiled in front of Jiang Qianfan like she did now.
"Then remember all the flavors your taste buds have been exposed to at this moment. Remember the mood at this moment. Face all opponents and problems with this feeling. And most importantly, although you are mine Student, but don't try to be me."
"So what should I become?" Lin Kesong asked.
She was no longer just in awe of him.
Many times, she felt as if she had passed through the layers of clouds and finally crashed into the lake in his eyes.
"Becoming Lin Kesong. Remember when I said I liked you?"
His voice was faint, like an ice spring flowing into the cup, a small whirlpool, brewing an unusual throbbing.
"Yes." Lin Kesong became nervous. What is he trying to say? What does he want to ask
"Your mind is messed up. So forget about it for now."
Jiang Qianfan lowered his eyes slightly, and the sunlight was scattered between his eyebrows.
But at that moment, Lin Kesong's heart seemed to have been pricked by a needle, tightened quickly, and the pain spread silently.
"Because it's not multiple choice, and it's not about being with one person to forget about another."
Jiang Qianfan has always been very thorough.
"I'll always be behind you. So no matter what happens, don't be afraid."
Lin Kesong pursed his lips.
In fact, this sentence is better than "I like you" 11,000 times.
At that moment, she hoped that this day's lunch would never end.
Becoming Lin Kesong... What kind of self is she who she wants to be
When the "Master Show" officially started, the competition committee sent a special car to pick up Lin Kesong from Jiang Qianfan's villa.
At six o'clock in the morning, she and Jiang Qianfan were sitting at the table eating a Chinese-style breakfast, Mel was reading the news of the day, and Nina was waiting behind Jiang Qianfan.
Everything is no different from the previous three months.
"Mr. Jiang, the time is almost up." The staff sent by the competition committee reminded.
Jiang Qianfan put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth unhurriedly, stood up, and walked towards the door.
Lin Kesong followed behind him, came to the door, and saw the black commercial car that brought him here three months ago.
Such a scene made her feel like a lifetime away.
"Go."
Jiang Qianfan's farewell was more concise than Lin Kesong expected. She thought he would tell her how to deal with everything calmly, or pay more attention to her cooking skills. But he acted as simple as taking her on a day trip to New York.
But if you think about it carefully, this is Jiang Qianfan.
He doesn't have so many little details of mother-in-law. What he wanted to teach her and what he needed to say to her had already been said to her in those three months.
"Goodbye, Mr. Jiang."
Lin Kesong lowered his head and got into the car.
The three-month mentoring period has ended. She is about to go back to her uncle. In the meantime, she can still meet and even get advice from her mentor. However, this is prohibited during the game.
Listening to the luggage being carried into the trunk, the sound of the rear hood falling seemed to cut her nerves.
She turned her head and looked at Jiang Qianfan's figure standing at the door with a blind stick in both hands, and suddenly had a premonition.
No matter where she went, this man would look at her.
"This is new." The man driving smiled and glanced at the rearview mirror, "Are you nervous?"
"Although my instructor wants me to enjoy this process, I can't help but be nervous." Lin Kesong said embarrassedly.
"Haha, Mr. Jiang is indeed a person who is indifferent to fame and fortune. He never goes to great lengths to compliment a little like other people, but every time he launches a new dish, people will naturally flock to him. However, in In this industry, there must be many people who want to see him fall from the cloud, and people's jealousy is always so terrible."
Lin Kesong's fist clenched, "If I fail, will it make him ugly?"
"Haha, don't worry. You just have to do your best, don't be the last crane tail. If someone is going to bash him for your failure, more people will stand up to defend him. His eyes can't see, it would have made It would be unfair for him to teach his students like other masters."
Lin Kesong opened his mouth, but he still didn't say the next words.
Her reputation has been linked to Jiang Qianfan.
The car left this quiet villa area and drove towards the city.
They came to the venue of the "Master Show", the Red Vinson Hotel.
Lin Kesong received a brand name of her own from the competition committee. She pinned it to her body and stepped into the elevator.
"Hey! Croissant! Didn't expect to meet you here!"
"Blu! It's you!" Seeing the familiar face, Lin Kesong's heart was also much calmer.
Blu laughed and said to Lin Ke Song, "My grandfather and Mrs. Bell will come to cheer me on. What about you, Ke Song?"
Lin Kesong was stunned, she lowered her head and smiled: "My relatives here are only my uncle. He is the head chef of a Chinese restaurant and is usually very busy, so... "
And Lin Xiaoxue, but she didn't think this cousin would come to cheer her on.
"It's okay, I know someone will definitely come." Blu patted Lin Kesong on the shoulder and blinked.
"Who?"
"secret."
The elevator reached the top floor of the hotel. The staff led them to a gate of the venue.
When the heavy door of the venue was slowly opened, Lin Kesong suddenly became nervous.
The bright lights and the applauding audience made Lin Kesong uncomfortable.
This is a competition site transformed from a speech venue. In the center of the venue are ten independent bright and clean white porcelain table cases.
A knife holder and a chopping board are placed on the table, and an integrated oven is under the table.
The venue was surrounded by auditoriums, which reminded Lin Kesong of the amphitheatre in his college days.
As the contestants continued as usual, the applause came one after another, and the enthusiasm of the audience was very high.
Lin Kesong looked around and suddenly felt a sense of confusion that he didn't know where he was in the world.
Even the light overhead made her unable to open her eyes.
She raised her hand and blocked her eyes, as if the ceiling was about to come.
"Crescent! Croissant! There are contestants' names on every workbench! Look for your name!" Blue reminded her in a low voice not far away.
Only then did Lin Kesong come to her senses. She found her name in the last row and stood in front of the workbench.
Only then did she realize that in addition to the basic cooking utensils, there was a tablet on the workbench.
She took a breath and adjusted her breathing. When she turned her face to the side, she found that someone in the audience suddenly opened a red banner.
Eye-catching Chinese characters poured into Lin Kesong's sight: Kesong, come on!
She was stunned, it turned out to be uncle and his friends!
Their expressions looked very excited, and they kept gesturing their thumbs towards Lin Kesong.
She knew that such a scene would be a bit funny on TV, but at this time she felt moved.
What surprised her even more was that the person sitting beside her uncle turned out to be Song Yiran.
He sits gracefully, with his left leg resting on his right knee, his fingers interlocking, and lazily resting on his lap.
Even at a distance, she could see that he was smiling.
If it were normal, this guy would definitely feel ashamed to sit next to the banner, like a mad fan or something.
But at this moment, he was like her watchman, looking at her calmly.
All this time, she looked at him silently like this, no matter what he did, no matter who was standing beside him.
Today, she finally has a feeling that she is the center of his world.
It was a wonderful sense of dizziness.
The sound of a fork hitting a wine glass sounded.
Everyone's attention is focused on the front of the workbench.
"Food New York" host Annalise looked elegant and sexy in a short silver dress and winked at the photographer.
She cleared her throat, and the scene suddenly fell silent.
"Good morning, gentlemen and ladies, and all the restless contestants! Welcome to The Masters Show, co-hosted by Gourmet Magazine, the National Gourmet Federation, and our Gourmet New York program."
Annalise stopped, looked at all the contestants with high eyes, then raised her head to look at the surrounding audience, and said loudly: "If any of you think this is just a Michelin master as a gimmick, even For TV shows that have been scripted in advance, I can only say that you are very wrong. The gate is over there, if you want to leave, I will not stop you. Of course, the audience's admission fee will not be refunded."
Lin Kesong became curious. Before that, she also thought it was actually a TV show.
"The 'Master Show' is absolutely professional. This professionalism is not only reflected in the work table in front of you, but also in the complete high-end restaurant configuration, including the judges of this competition. Our judges will be by twelve professionals. The jury formed. Of course, the chairman of the jury is Mr. Winston, the editor-in-chief of the most authoritative magazine "Gourmet" in the industry!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Winston, dressed in a suit and bow tie, walked to Annalise's side.
His face was no longer the kind smile on the day of the audition, it looked serious and cold.
"I believe that every one of today's contestants has been told by me 'don't want to see you again' or 'you don't fit in the food world' or something like that. However, such comments exist in the past and I hope you can turn me around I am a strict judge, a dish cannot be conquered by a good presentation alone. Fully demonstrating your understanding of food, innovative ability and cooking skills is what I will give to you in this competition. Only request!"
Lin Kesong was inexplicably nervous, not only that, but even the audience quieted down.
The people who were then introduced included David, the chairman of the Food Association, Luke, a food connoisseur, and Mrs. Bronte, the owner of six-star restaurants. When Annalise pronounced the name "Han Bin", it made Lin Ke Song was also slightly surprised.
The list of judges also includes a Mexican restaurant chef, a Korean restaurant chef, a Japanese restaurant chef and even a master baker from Australia.
This is indeed a daunting jury of professionals.
"Each contestant is required to prepare a meal for twelve people. Each judge will give you a score of 10 out of 10. The competition committee will remove the highest score and the lowest score, and take the average score as each The final score of each contestant on the spot. During the game, no contestant will be eliminated, and the one with the highest score is the final winner of the game. In order to ensure the fairness of the judges' scoring, they will not visit the game with the audience the whole process, but sit in an independent small room and evaluate each person's work without interference from others. For the entry, only the number is not signed. In addition, the instructors of all contestants will not I was invited to be a judge of this competition. So the audience and my colleagues in the food industry don't need to feel sorry for some master-level figures who did not appear on the jury. Because it is very likely that their representative works will be contested by these ten A wonderful presentation to all of you!”
Annalise explained the scoring and point system of the game very seriously.
Editor-in-chief Winston, who was still serious just now, slowly revealed a smile, as if the cold words just now were all his pranks.
"But today you will not use any cutlery. Because the first competition of the 'Master Show' will not test your cooking skills, but your taste." Editor-in-chief Winston looked at all the contestants with a smile.
No one showed a surprised expression, but there was a lot of discussion in the audience.
Lin Kesong remembered the eight bowls of mint cabbage soup.
Jiang Qianfan spent almost a third of her time guiding her to experience the taste of the interaction of different ingredients.
"We all know that sommeliers can identify the origin, age, and texture of red wine with a small sip. Smellers can also feel the fragrance and even the specific gravity of the perfume by just smelling it. A master chef only needs to taste the food, and can also distinguish the ingredients used and even the cooking process and time. Of course, our requirements are not so high today. The contestants will have a variety of beverages, The ingredients in the meal can be identified, and you can answer through the tablet in front of you, and the system will automatically score you. The game is only 30 minutes long.”
At this time, a staff member came to them with a cart and put all kinds of food including juice, pudding, cake, barbecue, etc. on their workbench.
Annalise kindly reminded everyone: "Please remember that every ingredient used in every food must be answered correctly. Even the ingredients you take for granted, such as salt or water, are Don't forget to fill it in. Any omission or wrong answer will not count as correct. Our computer system will score according to your correct answer. That is to say, the more correct answers you have in a limited time, the The higher the score.”
Lin Kesong was completely dazzled when he looked at the food on the entire counter. These foods, even if you only take a small bite, you can identify all the ingredients, and you can eat them for half an hour. What's more, someone like Jiang Qianfan who can see everything in just one bite... doesn't exist at all.
Lin Kesong turned his face to the side and saw Blue's distressed expression. The last time he identified the devil's drink made by Montgomery, Lin Ke Song won him. I don't know if he has improved after two months.
Lin Kesong originally thought that most of the contestants were Americans, but he did not expect that in addition to Bru, there were also French, Italian, Mexican, Greek, Guinean and so on. Everyone's skin color is different, and their behavior styles are also very different.
Annalise raised her hand, smiled and said to everyone, "When my fork hits my glass again, it's time for the game to start."
The entire venue was suddenly quiet, and there was no sound.
Like the other contestants, Lin Kesong has already held the spoon and fork, bowing his head and waiting for that moment to come.
Her heart was beating and her blood was swelling.
There was an inexplicable fear in her heart, because she didn't know whether her taste buds were still as sharp as the days when Jiang Qianfan was by her side.
A crisp voice echoed in this space.
All the audience fell silent and looked at the ten contestants with bated breath.
Everyone around Lin Kesong lowered their bodies and began to taste the food.
Lin Kesong was observing the meals on the table when Annalise introduced the rules of the game. She knew that she couldn't waste her precious time on things with complicated materials, such as the tomato tower in front of her, which must be filled with rich fillings, and it was definitely not easy to identify them one by one.
So she first chose the milk pudding not far away. First, put the spoon from the top to the bottom to ensure that all the ingredients are in the spoon. Lin Kesong put it in his mouth and peeled off the flavors: fresh milk, eggs, sugar, whipped cream, marshmallows , blueberry, passion fruit... Wait, what is this unique scent
Lin Kesong frowned and thought in his mind.
It's Maixiang! It's the smell of wheat!
As long as one is not careful, this fragrance will be ignored.
A cold sweat broke out in Lin Kesong's heart. Is there such a trap hidden in even the simplest milk pudding
She ate two more scoops and checked the answer on the tablet after making sure there was no other flavor.
When the prompt for the correct answer appeared, she finally let out a breath. But she was surprised to find that she was ranked sixth out of ten people. In other words, five people have already identified the ingredients of a dish in such a short period of time.
She can no longer hesitate to worry about gains and losses, or she will lose the first game.
Jiang Qianfan said that she has a superb sense of taste.
She chose to believe Jiang Qianfan's evaluation of herself, and she decided to believe in herself.
Grab a donut, one of the most popular desserts in the world, and no amount of ingredients can be as complex as a steak.
Lin Kesong tasted the ingredients within fifteen seconds. After she filled out the answer, she found that she had finally risen to fifth place.