The National Cooking Conference officially began. Famous chefs from all over the country gathered together and were divided into 8 groups according to the cuisines they registered.

The eight major cuisines include Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Hunan cuisine and Anhui cuisine.

These cuisines have their own characteristics, representing the food culture and cooking skills of different regions.

The focus of the inspection will naturally vary depending on the cuisine.

Wang Jianye customized the competition specifications and scoring criteria based on the characteristics of each cuisine.

Shandong cuisine is known for its freshness, originality, lightness and elegance.

The competition dishes in the Shandong cuisine group include sweet and sour carp.

This sweet and sour carp is a classic of Shandong cuisine, known for its golden color, crispy outside and tender inside, and moderate sweet and sour taste.

This dish not only demonstrates Shandong cuisine's superb skills in cooking fish, but also reflects Shandong cuisine's unique grasp of sweet and sour flavors.

In addition to sweet and sour carp, there is also nine-turn large intestine.

This Nine-Turn Large Intestine is a traditional Shandong dish, and is well-loved for its rosy color, tender texture, and mellow taste.

The preparation process of this dish is complicated and requires delicate knife skills and heat control. It is an excellent choice to test the chef's skills.

In addition to sweet and sour carp, nine-turn large intestine, there is also stir-fried lamb with green onions.

This dish of stir-fried lamb with green onions is famous for its rich green onion aroma and tender lamb, and is one of the most representative dishes of Shandong cuisine.

This dish demonstrates the uniqueness of Shandong cuisine in cooking meat, while also reflecting Shandong cuisine's respect for the original flavor of the ingredients.

Participants have to choose one of these dishes to make.

The same goes for the other seven major cuisines. The dishes chosen should be able to reflect the characteristics of each cuisine.

Sichuan cuisine is famous for its spicy, numbing, spicy, and sour flavors, and has a variety of cooking methods.

Its representative dishes include Mapo Tofu, Kung Pao Chicken, and Boiled Fish.

Cantonese cuisine is known for its freshness, lightness and delicacy.

Its representative dishes include boiled chicken, roast goose, pineapple buns, etc.

Su cuisine is known for its freshness, delicacy and refinement.

Representative dishes include squirrel fish, braised lion head and sweet and sour spare ribs.

The cooking methods of Zhejiang cuisine include stir-frying, boiling, deep-frying and stewing. Representative dishes include West Lake Vinegar Fish, Dongpo Pork and Beggar's Chicken.

Fujian cuisine is famous for its color, aroma, taste and shape, and is particularly known for its "fragrance" and "flavor". Its style is characterized by being fresh, mellow, meaty and not greasy.

Its representative dishes include Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Lychee Meat and Eight Treasure Rice.

Representative dishes of Hunan cuisine include chopped pepper fish head, stir-fried pork with pepper and stinky tofu.

Representative dishes of Anhui cuisine include Huizhou steamed chicken, Huangshan stewed pigeon and sweet and sour squirrel fish.

These eight cuisines represent different food cultures and characteristics from all over China. Each cuisine has its own unique taste and characteristics and is an important part of cooking.

In this national cooking competition, registrants choose a cuisine and then choose a dish to prepare within a specified time limit.

The scoring criteria are mainly based on the following aspects: taste, appearance, technology, creativity and hygiene.

Among them, taste accounts for the highest proportion.

The taste of the dishes must be consistent with the description, with unified and coordinated color, aroma and taste, appropriate seasoning, prominent main flavor, special flavor, rich in layers, proper cooking time, and no burnt, fishy or other odors.

The second is technology, including cutting skills, cooking time control, heat control and other aspects. Contestants should demonstrate a high level of cooking skills.

Then, corresponding standards and specifications were formulated for appearance, entrepreneurship and hygiene. Wang Jianye, a nationally renowned cooking master who is proficient in the eight major cuisines, formulated very reasonable standards after consulting with other cooking chefs, and many chefs agreed with them.

……

The competition is divided into preliminary rounds and finals, and the preliminary round will be held today.

In the kitchen, with steam curling around and swords flashing and sabers flashing, a silent war is quietly unfolding.

Li Haoyu's hands danced on the chopping board like a dancer, and every time he cut the knife, he was decisive and precise.

There was an undying passion burning in his eyes, as if he wanted to pour all his understanding of Shandong cuisine into this plate of "Nine-Turn Large Intestine".

The collision of seasonings and ingredients is the most beautiful melody in his heart.

A confident smile appeared on his lips, but he inadvertently caught a glimpse of Master Zhao at the neighboring stove, who was concentrating on stir-frying "Scallion-fried Sea Cucumber". The aroma seemed to be able to capture one's soul.

Li Haoyu's heart tightened, and the shovel in his hand unconsciously quickened the rhythm, "Humph, don't think you can beat me like this, watch me!"

Zhao Qiankun's hands were as steady as a rock, and every shovelful of heat was just right. Years of experience had given him perfect control over the heat.

He glanced at Li Haoyu and commented in his heart: "Young people, it's good to be aggressive, but the essence of Shandong cuisine lies in its calmness and delicacy."

He smiled contemptuously, and then focused more on adjusting the color and taste of the sea cucumber, as if he was competing with himself rather than others.

In addition to these two chefs, there are many other chefs busy preparing their specialties in front of the stove.

Not only Shandong cuisine, other cuisines are also competing at the same time.

Wang Jianye shuttled between the stoves. His eyes, which had seen thousands of dishes, were now savoring the soul of every dish.

He first stopped in front of Li Haoyu's "Nine-Turn Large Intestine", frowned slightly, and seemed a little dissatisfied with the proportion of certain seasonings.

Then he turned to Zhao Qiankun's "Scallion-fried Sea Cucumber", his eyes lit up instantly and the corners of his mouth rose unconsciously.

Wang Jianye then walked to the back.

Only after the contestants brought dish after dish to the judges' table did Wang Jianye and several other judges begin to taste them carefully.

Wang Jianye gently picked up a piece of sea cucumber, put it in his mouth, closed his eyes and savored it. At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

"Hmm... This taste has both the traditional richness and innovative flavor. Perfect!"

The moment the rankings were announced, the entire kitchen was so quiet that only the sound of heartbeats could be heard.

Wang Jianye spoke slowly, his voice penetrating the din: "The first place winner of this Shandong cuisine preliminary round, Chef Zhao Qiankun, won the unanimous recognition of our judges with his superb skills and unique creativity."

Li Haoyu's face changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked at Zhao Qiankun, a trace of admiration and unwillingness flashing in his eyes: "Next time, I will beat you."

Zhao Qiankun smiled slightly and patted Li Haoyu on the shoulder: "Good boy, you have such ambition. See you in the finals."

The steam continued to rise. Although this contest of taste and skill had temporarily come to an end, the final in a few days was quietly brewing in everyone's heart.

……

As the rankings were announced, the tense atmosphere in the kitchen gradually dissipated, replaced by applause and congratulations.

Zhang Chen stood on the edge of the crowd, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

He came from another place specifically to watch this national cooking competition and has a deep love for Shandong cuisine.

At this moment, he seemed to be able to smell every aroma in the air and feel the stories and emotions behind every dish.

"Every dish is the result of the chefs' hard work, and every detail reveals their understanding of cooking. I really hope that one day I can stand on such a stage and show my cooking skills." (End of this chapter)