Thirty minutes later, when Dojima Yin rushed to Xia’s Main Store upon hearing the news, he happened to run into Aoki Motota, who had arrived for the same reason.
The hot-tempered Aoki Motota, upon entering, shouted, "Where are those bastards from ’The Culinary Club’? Come and have a three-hundred-round culinary battle with me!"
Dojima Yin shook his head upon seeing this, and sat down at the bar.
Tiqie Helinai greeted him.
Following Dojima Yin was Sena Hikari, who slightly bowed to everyone in the store, including Helinai.
Now, the bar at Xia’s shop was occupied by four top-tier chefs from the Super Chef rank: Dojima Yin, Shinohara Shigetaro, Reiko Liangzi, and Aoki Motota.
The trio from the Neon Department of IGO were out in force, which clearly showed their high regard for Xia Yu himself, or Xia’s shop in broader terms.
Sena Hikari did not dare to sit with them and chose a seat farther away, casting a curious glance at the busy young chef in the kitchen.
"Are you sure they were from The Culinary Club?"
Dojima Yin asked as soon as he took his seat.
"Whether they were or not..." Shinohara Shigetaro said with a wry smile, "My original plan was to monitor from a distance, not to startle them, let them do their thing and see what they really intended."
"But now I’ve changed my mind."
Dojima Yin followed his gaze to the young man in the kitchen, showing a look of realization.
"Is that so..." Dojima Yin chuckled, "There’s a Chinese saying, ’It’s never too late to mend the fold.’ Now that he hasn’t been really hurt, you, IGO, are closing in too fast."
He spoke in a joking tone.
Aoki Motota glared at him and said, "Dojima, what are you talking about? What do you mean by ’hasn’t really been hurt’? After all, he is one of your instructors at Far Moon."
Helinai and Reiko Liangzi’s expressions turned unfriendly.
"Cough, I’m just joking, just joking, don’t take it seriously!" Dojima Yin laughed and waved it off, then his expression turned solemn, "This is Neon, not the United States. Far Moon certainly has the responsibility to protect Instructor Xia’s personal safety."
"Let’s not talk about this!"
Dojima Yin focused his gaze, looking through the glass partition at the kitchen.
At that moment, Xia Yu, from a box of ingredients, took out "black rice", a type of Fantasy Ingredient, using a clear measuring cup.
He couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise.
"This is my recipe, ’Valencia Baaiya’... Has he already made a breakthrough in just a few days?"
His gaze suddenly sharpened, and Dojima Yin eyed a frying pan on the stove; Xia Yu had poured the ’black rice’ into it, and the preparations for a rice dish were starting to take form.
Shinohara Shigetaro and Aoki Motota were apparently unaware of Dojima Yin sharing his recipe, and they were taken aback when they saw Xia Yu using the Fantasy Ingredient.
"This type of rice from cold regions is very difficult to control the heat on!" Aoki Motota, rubbing his bald head, frowned deeply.
Shinohara Shigetaro nodded, "The use of ’black rice’ has three key points."
"The heat is one; simply put, this type of rice is not easy to cook."
"Secondly, its flavor is too sweet; most people feel it’s too rich after just a bit. That’s a challenge for seasoning!"
"Thirdly... ice, the cold!"
Discussing the knowledge of Fantasy Ingredients casually, Shinohara Shigetaro’s eyes showed caution, "The heat and seasoning are secondary. The key is how to integrate the essence of ’ice’ into the dish!"
At last, Dojima Yin couldn’t help but clap his hands.
"Minister Shinohara is right, the ice flavor of ’Jet-Black Rice’ is too strong. It’s unrealistic to remove it or to suppress or cover it up," Dojima Yin chuckled softly, "Only by understanding how to utilize the taste of ’ice’, can one truly master the use of ’Jet-Black Rice’."
It seemed like Dojima Yin was about to start boasting about himself.
Knowing the inside story, Eriina and Liangzi Lina exchanged glances, both suppressing a laugh.
"Hey, I’m telling you, Dojima, this recipe using ’Jet-Black Rice’ seems vaguely familiar..." Aoki Motota suddenly realized something was off.
"Valencia Seafood Rice!"
Shinohara Shigetaro squinted slightly.
Aoki Motota slapped his thigh, fixing his gaze on a serene Dojima Yin, and said annoyed, "I knew it, Dojima, don’t deny it, I know you have a Special Grade Recipe using ’Jet-Black Rice’, it’s this seafood rice!"
Dojima Yin shrugged, "I taught it to him."
"A Special Grade Recipe, just like that?" Aoki Motota was stunned.
"Of course, it wasn’t for free," Dojima Yin casually brushed it off, then smiled gently, "And besides, Aoki, don’t you think letting him learn and study those recipes full of exotic flavors is beneficial for his growth?"
"Take my ’Valencia Seafood Rice’ for example, in terms of ingredients, there’s ’Jet-Black Rice’, anago..."
"Other accompaniments include thyme, thyme juice, Spanish paprika, peeled Italian tomato sauce."
"The so-called ’growth’ of a chef, isn’t it realized in the process of understanding and utilizing ingredients? If his perspective is limited only to the common ingredients and seasonings of Chinese cuisine, then once he really becomes a Super Chef, he will face obstacles everywhere, at a complete loss."
Dojima Yin said in a deep voice.
Shinohara Shigetaro looked approving.
In this era’s culinary world, unlike the splendid glory of a century ago, chefs must have a broad perspective and profound experience to claim they are continuously progressing. Meanwhile, standing still signifies retrogression.
Suddenly, Liangzi Lina couldn’t help but exclaim.
Several Super Chefs stared at a pair of hands incessantly adding spices to the frying pan.
After just a few glances, Dojima Yin’s expression dramatically changed, "He, he altered my spice formula?"
"About 10 grams more of thyme, five grams more of chili powder, five grams less of rosemary, and the quantity of Spanish paprika seems unchanged, hmm? Wait, no white beans, he removed that ingredient?"
Dojima Yin himself was a master in using spices, just by estimating he could generally tell the quantity of spices, murmuring to himself non-stop.
He sharply inhaled. Dojima Yin couldn’t sit still any longer, suddenly stood up.
In the kitchen, Xia Yu was holding a small plate, on which were several cut pieces of artichoke.
Piece by piece, before Dojima Yin’s very eyes, Xia Yu added twice the original recipe’s amount of artichoke to the frying pan, mixing it with the dish to stew.
Dojima Yin exclaimed after a moment, "The spice formula I imparted to the recipe has been completely... shattered! This is a total reconstruction of the spice formula!"
Eriina couldn’t help but think, Dojima Yin was magnanimous, unconcerned about his recipe being "ruined" . If it were any other Super Chef who saw a junior disrespecting a recipe , they would surely be furious beyond measure.
"Can this be successful?" Tiqie Helinai didn’t know the story of the late night, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
But after the stewing, a scene that made several Super Chefs look at each other in bewilderment unfolded dramatically.