The next morning, Zhang Huaite and Wen Yuan went to the site to check the venue.
This time the lineup was much more intense than before. The top ten from each competition area participated in the finals, and the lineup of judges was also very luxurious.1thought it was top 3? Not sure, but anyway its top folks from each site The organizing committee invited the French Le Cordon Bleu students and eight senior masters from the Reynolds Culinary Institute as judges. Five of them are top masters who have won MOF awards from the Reynolds Culinary Institute. The chairman of the judging panel is the Technical and Creative Director of the Reynolds Group, Luart Lyon, a Frenchman with a grizzled beard.
The two signed in at the front desk, and Zhang Huaite just turned around when he heard a familiar voice.
“Huaite, it’s a coincidence to run into you here.”
Wen Yuan turned around and saw that it was a tall and thin young man with dark features. His facial features seemed familiar, and he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen this young man’s face when reviewing competition videos from the other regions.
“Isn’t this the champion from City Y. Huaite, how does he know you?”
Chen Xingyu came over and looked at Zhang Huaite with a smile.
“Huaite and I studied together at a French culinary academy before, so we know each other very well.” Chen Xingyu smiled and looked at Wen Yuan again. “Your name is Wen Yuan, right? I’ve seen the video of your competition, and your decorations are very good.”
“I’m not familiar with you.” Zhang Huaite’s handsome face was tense and expressionless.
Speaking of his relationship with Chen Xingyu, it is too deep. The two lived in the same community and are opposite each other. Therefore, they have known each other since they were children, and are also childhood friends. But since childhood, he and Chen Xingyu never competed. When he was in school, Chen Xingyu’s grades were always one place higher than him. He’d be second in the test, and Chen Xingyu would be first. Later, when he went to college and went to Cambridge, Chen Xingyu went to Oxford, and his professional prospects were better than his. Anyway, unable to compare with Chen Xingyu. Zhang Huaite gave up his studies in a fit of rage and turned to his beloved baking.
It’s just that he didn’t expect that after Chen Xingyu graduated, he even learned to bake in his spare time. This guy was part-time, but learned better than him. He already won the dessert World Cup championship at a young age.
Ever since he could remember, his life has been shrouded in the shadow of Chen Xingyu. Seeing him now, Zhang Huaite naturally didn’t feel happy.
“Huaite, it hurts my heart to hear you say that. Are you in Wancheng now? My mother also asked when will you come to my house for dinner.” Chen Xingyu was a little aggrieved.
Wen Yuan looked at Zhang Huaite and then at Chen Xingyu. It might be his intuition, but he always felt that something would happen between the two of them.
“Aren’t you in Y City? I don’t have time to run that far to go to your house for dinner.”
“My dad recently moved to Wancheng, and I will probably move to Wancheng. We might be neighbors again.” Chen Xingyu smiled at him.
“I’m not happy to be your neighbor.”
Zhang Huaite turned his head and left, feeling extremely irritable. He is very clear about Chen Xingyu’s strength, and the one who is most likely to compete with him for the championship this time is Chen Xingyu.
Seeing that Zhang Huaite’s face was not good, Wen Yuan quickly chased after him.
“Huaite, are you alright?”
“No, I’m pissed. How could I meet such an annoying guy in the finals, I might as well not participate if I knew it earlier.”
“Huaite, don’t think so much about this baking competition. After all, we’ve been preparing for so long. Only when our competitors have strength will we progress faster. You said before that baking needs one to calm down, but why didn’t you calm down when you met Chen Xingyu?”
Zhang Huaite was poked by him, and had nothing to say for a while.
Wen Yuan knew that he had coaxed him in the right direction, and continued, “When you participated in the qualifiers last time, you told me that the most important thing in baking is one’s mentality. If you have a good mentality, the things you make will be delicious. With your mentality like this, what should we do when in the arena this afternoon?”
The sun outside was fierce. Zhang Huaite stood in the shade of a tree, and his deep green eyes blinked twice. Wen Yuan was right, maybe Chen Xingyu came to provoke him on purpose. If he fell into his trap now, broke down and lost to him later, wouldn’t that just fulfill Chen Xingyu’s wish? He couldn’t let this happen!
“Wen Yuan, just wait, I will make Chen Xingyu look good2as in defeat him in the afternoon.” Zhang Huaite gritted his teeth.
Wen Yuan was relieved when he saw him like this.
At two o’clock in the afternoon, the finals of the International Baking Competition in China officially started in a fierce and tense atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the workbenches of Chen Xingyu and his assistant were just next door to Wen Yuan and Zhang Huaite.
Ever since they reached the workbench, Zhang Huaite’s face stank.
“Huaite, are you not confident? Why is your face drooping? Are you not in high spirits?” Chen Xingyu smiled beside him.
Zhang Huaite snorted coldly and ignored him.
At this time, the host began to announce the rules of the competition. Each group of players will make one bread, biscuit, cake, and chocolate dessert within three hours. The judges will mainly score based on appearance and taste, and finally decide the overall champion.
As soon as the timer went off, all the players were nervously busy. Zhang Huaite couldn’t care about Chen Xingyu, and anxiously asked Wen Yuan to help him prepare. Due to the urgency of time, Zhang Huaite decided that he would complete the more difficult chocolate dessert and bread, while Wen Yuan would do the cookies and cake.
When Zhang Huaite was separating the egg liquid, he peeked at the neighbor and found that Chen Xingyu had a serious face and was melting white chocolate. His assistant was cutting lemons and basil leaves, and there were various jams beside him. Are they going to make a chocolate dessert with jam filling?
“Wen Yuan, help me boil the sugar.” Zhang Huaite made a decisive decision and decided to make wine chocolate. The shape of chocolate is difficult to form flowers, but the filling is different. The mellow fragrance of wine and the silky sweetness of chocolate are the best match.
Boiling sugar is the most critical step in making wine chocolate. Controlling the amount of water and temperature is very important, and determines the concentration of the boiled syrup. Wen Yuan was holding the handle of the small pot in his hand, and his face was sweating. Suddenly, a reminder sounded beside him.
“The temperature is a bit high, turn down the heat.”
Zhang Huaite frowned when he heard Chen Xingyu’s reminder. “Mind your own business. This is a contest, keep quiet!”
“OK.” Chen Xingyu obediently closed his mouth.
Wen Yuan found that Chen Xingyu’s reminder was just in time, and the concentration of syrup would be too high if it continued to boil. He turned off the fire, poured it in the molds carefully, and breathed a sigh of relief when he was finished.
“Huaite, just now Chen Xingyu was also helping, don’t be angry.”
“Who knows if he is fake, this is a contest!” Zhang Huaite angrily kneaded the dough.
Wen Yuan smiled helplessly and continued to make his cookies.
In the later stage, the competition entered a white-hot stage, and all the players worked hard to modify the shape of their desserts and better arrange their plates. Wen Yuan finished spreading the cream on the cheesecake and couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Three hours came quickly. When the timer went off, all players immediately stopped and left the field in turn. Staff will bring the labeled works to the judges for blind evaluation, and the contestants need to wait outside for the results.
Coincidentally, Chen Xingyu sat next to them again. This time, he learned a lesson, and instead of messing with Zhang Huaite, he said hello to Wen Yuan.
“You cooperated very well with Huaite. I also watched the video of the last game, your relationship seems to be very good.”
Wen Yuan always felt that Chen Xingyu seemed to be testing something between the lines. He thought about it and smiled, “He is my master, of course the relationship between master and apprentice is good.”
“Is it just master and apprentice?” Chen Xingyu didn’t quite believe it.
Wen Yuan took out the ring on his neck and showed him. “I’m married.”
“Oh.” Chen Xingyu blinked his black eyes and looked at him with a smile. “Congratulations.”
“Wen Yuan, just ignore him, he’s annoying to death!” Zhang Huaite pulled Wen Yuan over, and changed seats.
As soon as they sat down again, the results of the game came out. The Zhang Huaite group won the championship, and the wine-heart chocolate he made was rated as the best dessert in the audience.
They obviously won the championship, but Zhang Huaite didn’t smile.
He knew that if it wasn’t for Chen Xingyu’s warning, their wine chocolate wouldn’t have turned out perfectly.
After receiving the prize, Zhang Huaite didn’t have a happy look on his face. Wen Yuan knew what he was thinking, and comforted him. “Huaite, there will be competitions in the future. You and Chen Xingyu’s strengths are already on par, so you will have other opportunities to prove yourself.”
“You really think so?” Zhang Huaite blinked and looked at him.
Wen Yuan nodded heavily.
“Okay, accompany me for a drink tonight.”
Zhang Huaite hugged his shoulders, and before taking two steps, he saw Qi Jinran standing in front of the car, apparently waiting for them outside the venue.
What a horrible sight.
“Congratulations on winning the championship.” Qi Jinran was talking, but his eyes fell on Zhang Huaite’s arm around Wen Yuan, until Zhang Huaite frowned and let go.
“Are you hungry? What do you want to eat at night?” Qi Jinran looked at Wen Yuan tenderly.
Guess who Chen Xingyu is (or what he’s doing)?
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