The host had interviewed 44 elite chefs, and upon reaching Chef 44, he was surprised, "I didn’t expect you to still be here."
Chef 44 replied, "I’m very fortunate, I thank my close friend."
"Yes, I consider her my close friend. Without her understanding of me and giving me a perfect score, I definitely would have been eliminated."
"Your close friend is a judge?"
"It’s Little Taotie." He didn’t keep it a secret any longer.
The judge joked, "Little Taotie is really lucky to have a friend like you. I would be very happy too if I were her. After all, no one can refuse to be friends with a chef."
Chef 44 blushed, "Privately... I don’t know her."
The host was almost speechless, realizing it was his own fantasy to have an extra close friend here.
"I and she share a heartfelt connection; she understands me too well. Everyone in the cooking competition thought fried rice is too trivial to be considered, but only she knew that making fried rice is the hardest."
"Oh? Were we all wrong?"
Chef 44 said indignantly, "You should know that what is considered outdated now was once extremely popular. If something never gains popularity, it doesn’t even have the chance to become outdated."
"Does that apply to fried rice?" the host asked.
Chef 44 nodded, "Fried rice, everyone knows the recipe, knows how to make it, anybody can just stir up some. What does that signify? It indicates how popular it was when it first appeared in this world."
The host, who initially thought Chef 44 was talking nonsense, put down his arrogance and listened earnestly.
"Fried rice is the hardest, wanting to make something special, something delicious, is quite difficult. If it weren’t for the issue with the ingredients, I wouldn’t have chosen to tackle this dish at the end."
"An issue with the ingredients?"
"I was probably the last to pick, and the ingredients were almost used up, so managing to prepare five dishes was already quite an achievement."
The host hadn’t expected this situation and immediately focused on this point.
The director, on learning about it, pulled up the video to watch.
After watching Chef 44’s cooking process, it was evident that he was hesitant at first, staring at the remaining ingredients for a long time before starting to cook.
"It’s somewhat unfair for Chef 44, what’s with the procurement team!" the director lost his temper and decided to give Chef 44 a separate edit to highlight his uniqueness, making it a feature of the show.
This meant that, even if he was eliminated from the show due to his cooking skills, he could still endorse advertisements for sponsors and earn advertising fees.
Chef 44, not fond of taking pictures, was now told to put on his chef’s uniform, hold some soy sauce, and pose for a photo to be used in subway posters.
Chef 44 found this too difficult; even after a long time in the studio, they couldn’t get a good photo.
Little Taotie asked curiously, "Can I join too?"
Her gaze was fixed on all the delicious foods behind Chef 44, a table full of delectable dishes.
The director, always striving for perfection, had placed real, not prop, dishes behind Chef 44.
Little Taotie looked at the table of food and drooled.
The director thought having Little Taotie was fine too; she didn’t ask for an endorsement fee and seemed to be making a friendly cameo. Pleased, he said, "Then you better cooperate well."
The director adjusted the shooting content.
Little Taotie played a girl who loved to dance but was criticized for being too heavy. Her father was a chef who emphasized healthy eating and deliciousness.
Zero-additive soy sauce became a must-have!