With the apples and tomatoes ready, Lin Xu grabbed a large bowl to begin preparing the dipping sauce required for the plain boiled lamb.

He peeled the tomatoes and apples, diced them into small pieces, and placed them in the large bowl.

Next, he added chopped garlic, ginger, onions, scallions, and small fiery peppers.

Once everything was in place, he began to season it.

Into the bowl went four spoonfuls of Soy Sauce, two spoonfuls of Rice Vinegar, two small teaspoons of salt, one small teaspoon of Flavoring, three small teaspoons of white sugar, two spoonfuls of sesame oil, one small teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn powder, and one small teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds.

He stirred everything with a small spoon until it was evenly mixed, then set it aside for a moment.

「Over at the advisors' area.」

Some of the elders initially thought that this round would surely be won by the Guo Family's kid. But after Lin Xu incorporated the fruit, they began to favor the young man even more.

"Incorporating apple and tomato, impressive! Old Gao, your disciple's talent is quite remarkable. Would he be interested in working at Fishing Platform? We can offer him a head chef position in Building Number Seven."

Elder Gao immediately shook his head. "Even if you offered the overall head chef position, he wouldn't come. Just for this dipping sauce, does Fishing Platform even allow fruit to be added like this?"

The others all fell silent. This was because State Banquet regulations, designed to prevent guests from getting upset stomachs, prohibited the use of raw or cold ingredients in dipping sauces. His own eldest disciple was already constrained by these numerous rules and regulations. How could Elder Gao allow his younger disciple to fall into the same trap?

「In the audience.」

Shen Jiayue, who knew nothing about cooking, curiously asked Xie Baomin, who was sitting beside her, "Senior Brother, how is the dipping sauce my Lin Xu made?"

Xie Baomin said meaningfully, "This dipping sauce, you see, it has one significant flaw..."

A flaw? Shen Jiayue's heart instantly leaped into her throat.

Chen Yan and Geng Lele couldn't help but glance over. "What flaw?"

"It's too good; it'll make you eat too much lamb! I reckon I could eat two pounds of it myself!"

The women: "..." Senior Brother, could you not joke at a time like this?

But there was no helping it; Xie Baomin was truly delighted. His junior brother had done him proud. From the moment Lin Xu took the fruit plate, Xie Baomin knew that his dashing junior brother had this round of the competition in the bag. Adding a bit of fruit to dipping sauce genuinely made it delicious. Although Fishing Platform didn't allow it, that didn't mean such methods didn't exist or weren't effective. He was really looking forward to the judges' expressions after they tasted it.

With that in mind, he couldn't resist glancing at Guo Weidong, the executive head chef of Building Number Ten, who was sitting not far away.

Just then, Guo Weidong was also looking at him.

When their eyes met, Xie Baomin extended his fist and then deliberately straightened his middle finger.

Guo Weidong was speechless. How old are you, still flipping me the bird! For the past two years, he had managed to suppress Building Number Two twice, finally getting some breathing room. Who knew that this Xie Baomin would find some youngster from who-knows-where. It was truly difficult to guard against something like this.

His nephew Xinghai was about to turn twenty-five, and this was his last year to participate in the youth cooking competition. He had been on track for a three-peat victory. But now, with that young man on the scene, the three-peat had become uncertain.

He sighed silently to himself. Then, he shot Xie Baomin a glare and continued watching the competition.

"Time's up!"

Following the timekeeper's announcement, all the contestants stopped what they were doing.

A line of waiters entered from outside, each carrying steaming dishes of plain boiled lamb, instantly making the mouths of everyone present water.

Wow! I thought the judges were only tasting the sauces; I didn't expect the lamb to be ready as well!

Whether it was the audience on-site or fans in the live stream, everyone was swallowing hard.

The judges stepped down from their seats. Using chopsticks, they picked up pieces of the piping hot lamb and began dipping them into the sauces the contestants had prepared, eating and murmuring to one another.

"Hmm, this dipping sauce is well-seasoned, but there's a bit too much cilantro."

"Adding pear is creative; it really brings out the lamb's freshness and gives it a unique flavor. You all should try this; this sauce is excellent."

"Your sauce is too spicy; you should have used less chili!"

"Too much garlic, young man. My mouth is filled with the taste of garlic; I can't appreciate the lamb's deliciousness anymore."

"..."

The panel of judges included gourmands and retired master chefs from other restaurants. All of them possessed profound culinary knowledge. With just a small taste, they could discern the differences between the various dipping sauces.

Geng Lishan tasted his way down the line. When he tried the sauce made by Guo Xinghai, his eyes lit up. "Young man, your sauce has a distinct Cantonese cuisine flair! Although the flavor is light and fresh, it significantly enhances the lamb's aroma and flavor, adding considerable character to the meat. The lemon is an inspired touch."

He clearly remembered this young man had won second place in the first round. To be able to craft such a fine dipping sauce now showed he possessed genuine skill.

After trying Guo Xinghai's sauce, he made his way over to Lin Xu.

Just as he was about to try Lin Xu's sauce, he was surprised to see Guo Xinghai follow him. "Teacher, may I try his dipping sauce?"

Geng Lishan was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Sure, go ahead and taste it. I can't finish this plate of lamb myself... Get him a pair of chopsticks."

A nearby waiter brought over a pair of disposable chopsticks. Guo Xinghai smiled at Lin Xu and said, "I saw the ingredients you used were quite interesting, and I really wanted to taste it. Sorry for the intrusion."

In cooking competitions, contestants tasting each other's dishes is often seen as a provocation or a questioning of the judges. However, Guo Xinghai was genuinely curious about the taste of Lin Xu's dipping sauce, so he braced himself and came over.

Lin Xu, however, didn't particularly mind. Want to taste it? Go ahead. A Superior-grade dipping sauce has nothing to fear from being tasted.

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