The audience outside the villa was silent until Zheng Ke raised his hand, and no one cheered or shouted, but continued to watch the big screen silently.

This game is destined to be a close match. Even if Zheng Ke wants to make a soup of the same level as Takasugi Shouji, he has to do his best.

The first thing Zheng Ke did after telling him to raise his hand was not to bring the food to the judges' table, but to take a big sip of tap water before picking up the tray.

"The name of the dish. Qiu Benbu glanced at Zheng Ke, and had some entanglements in his heart, and wanted Zheng Ke to find a place to rest after reporting the name of the dish.

However, the judge of this competition is not her.

"Mussel bisque. Zheng Ke gasped and said.

"Mussel soup. ”

Booker looked at the dish in front of him, a shallow white plate containing a pale yellow soup, mussels soaked in it, a small part exposed, and then sprinkled with emerald green parsley.

This kind of minimalist soup with no other dishes other than mussels, Booker hasn't eaten it for a long time.

The minimalism here does not mean that the cooking method is simple, but that the structure of the soup is simple, and the whole dish consists of only thick soup and mussels, and the flavor of the dish is concentrated in the soup.

"It's a very difficult dish. Booker looked up at Zheng Ke with anticipation in his eyes.

"I think the taste is more important than the difficulty of the soup. Zheng Ke said.

"Haha...... I like your confidence. But—" Booker's eyes suddenly sharpened, "I hate it all the same, being deceived by my own eyes." So, hopefully, the taste of this mussel bisque is as perfect as its appearance. ”

"You won't be disappointed. Zheng Ke bowed slightly.

Booker scooped up a spoonful of the soup and took a sip of it, the fragrant soup flowing freely in his mouth.

The flavor of the soup is very strong, but the soup is not sticky and swallows effortlessly, but the taste of the thick soup firmly occupies the taste buds.

At first, Booker just thought the soup was delicious, not much different from the soup in the first meal – perhaps, this is the level of the top six in the Japanese national competition. However, when he took the second sip, the taste completely changed, and the delicious taste appeared in his mind from time to time, and some ingredients even exceeded his imagination.

Cream, egg yolks, whipped cream, celery, parsley, pepper...... and saffron. Countless ingredients swirled in his mind, making him almost scream.

Zheng Ke is like a great magician, in Booker...... No, in front of the three of them, they performed a cooking magic. The consciousness of the three people also gradually blurred with Zheng Ke's movements. All that is left on their minds is food.

The taste buds obviously felt so many ingredients, but they didn't see anything in the soup.

Was it really hidden by Zheng Ke?

"Where?" Booker looked at Zheng Ke suspiciously, "celery, garlic, shallots...... Where are all these ingredients? The flavor is clear in the mouth, but the soup is as smooth as silk. I remember you just added the sauce, but if you had it, it would have been thicker. ”

"I've filtered it all. ”

After five or six minutes of rest, Zheng Ke finally eased up.

"The main ingredient in this dish is mussels. Using the white wine to remove the smell and freshness, and after a long period of boiling, the umami flavor of mussels has been incorporated into this dish, so the main flavor of this soup has been determined.

"After boiling, the soup is mixed with the sauce, and the cooking continues until the soup is rich, then slightly seasoned with salt and pepper, and the thick soup is filtered through a strainer, so that the soup is not only delicious and rich, but more importantly, has a very good taste. ”

Kojima Yukiharu nodded, "The delicious and delicate mussels, after chewing, the fragrant and delicate juice flows in the mouth, and the taste of the soup is also very delicious." The thick soup with a variety of ingredients, led by saffron, completely occupied my consciousness. It's also been a long time since I've tasted this soup – however, there is a downside to this dish. ”

"Downside?"

The reporters in the hall immediately polished their eyes, as if they had found a very interesting topic, and they looked at the screen in the hall one by one.

"Is it really that shortcoming? What did Zheng Ke use to make up for it?"

Catherine initially thought that Zheng Ke would add other shellfish or shrimp, but she was wrong. There's none of that in this soup.

"This soup doesn't have other side dishes like other dishes, and even though the texture and taste of the soup are very good, eating this dish alone makes you feel empty. Do you admit it?"

"Mr. Kojima, you are a strong word, the topic of this exam is soup, as long as the soup tastes perfect. Mr. Booker, I disagree with Mr. Kojima's statement. Ayumu Akimoto raised his hand in protest.

Outside the villa, the audience sitting on the beach also began to get agitated when they heard the conversation between the two judges.

"Isn't this deliberately embarrassing? Since it's a soup dish, just make the soup good. ”

"That is, what emptiness is completely strong. ”

"I must not be used to seeing that this Zheng Ke can make such a good cooking, so I deliberately made it difficult!"

"Shhhh ”

The people around him quieted down a bit, but there were still many protests.

Booker didn't expect the two judges to have an argument, and after a little thought, Booker said: "If it's an ordinary competition, this may not be a shortcoming, but this is a six-strong competition, and any flaws may affect our judgment." Of course, if you don't have a solution, it's still a great dish, which I personally like, but it may affect the other judges. ”

Zheng Ke nodded, "I have also thought about this problem, so I prepared a small bowl with a porcelain lid next to the soup." ”

A small bowl next to the puree?

The three judges looked at the small bowl in their hands suspiciously, slightly surprised.

It is not accurate to say that it is a small bowl, because this white tableware is cylindrical and covered by a porcelain lid.

The three people were also curious about its existence before, but their energy was also firmly attracted by the soup, so they ignored its existence, and it was not until Zheng Ke mentioned it that they looked at this small bowl again.

Booker couldn't wait to lift the porcelain lid, and a rich aroma came to the surface. Inside, there is a full bowl of oval-shaped biscuits, the size of a snow cake, and each biscuit has a warm heat.

"What is this?"

"Butter shortbread, ask the three judges to dip the soup and taste it again. ”