Chu Yu An turned back to the side where Xiao Ming and Mister Yu had started to taste the other dishes, waiting for them to take over.

By now, after having gone through one round of all of this, the three judges had already fallen into a routine. There was no question anymore about who would speak when. Instead, just one glance was enough to determine who would go next. They were even able to switch from one person to another and then back again if one of them thought of another point they’d like to make after hearing what the other person mentioned.

For Xiao Ming and Mister Yu, this was something they would profit from for the rest of the season. Actually, thinking about it, they felt that it was a pity that Chu Yu An would leave after this episode.

Getting along for just the three tasks would be enough to make them get familiar with each other but next week, the two of them would need to establish a connection with the next temporary judge. That was making things more difficult for them.

Xiao Ming didn’t think too much about it but Mister Yu couldn’t help but ponder by himself that he should bring this up to producer Bian or his assistant later on. They had asked him to give feedback whenever he encountered something on the show that could be done better or that he thought might be a problem.

But then, today was only the first day of filming the regular episodes and he didn’t want to be too rash. Maybe it would turn out that as long as he and Xiao Ming had enough experience next week, they would make the next judge comfortable with the process from the very beginning. Then, they wouldn’t need to worry about this. He’d just wait and see.

With Mister Yu being distracted by what he was thinking about it, Xiao Ming was the one who picked up where Chu Yu An had left off.

He motioned at the cabbage stir-fry right next to the wonton soup. “Judge Chu did highlight that you made two vegetarian dishes and I think all three of us are in agreement that you did well by organizing them this way. It gives the setup a logical component that just makes this feel very well thought-out.

“The cabbage stir-fry is a very simple dish but I think it’s a good way to use up the cabbage that you had left over from the other dishes. Regarding the taste, I think you’ve done really well once again. For this dish, the most important thing is to control the heat and timing to make sure the cabbage won’t wilt too much and lose all its texture. I don’t see any problem in that regard.”

The other two judges nodded but didn’t add anything else. Instead, Mister Yu motioned at the other side where Si Jin had plated the Sichuan beef, the Cantonese steamed chicken, and the oyster sauce chicken in the three small bowls. “Well, since we’ve talked about the two vegetarian dishes, let’s get to the meat dishes.

“Something I have to say is very consistent throughout all your dishes is that the seasoning is very on point. This might be affected by personal taste but I think they are very well-rounded with none of the seasonings dominating too much.

“Other than that, for the steamed chicken and the oyster sauce chicken, the meat is also very tender. It was the same for the Shanghai stir-fried noodles before so this is something you are also able to do well. Now, I have a bit of a problem with this dish though.” He motioned at the Sichuan beef, his brows furrowing slightly.

Si Jin glanced at the bowl before looking up again, feeling that he had a rough idea of just what the problem might be. Since he had substituted the beef with chicken for this dish, maybe he had failed to take that into account while cooking. There might be a difference in how to handle it that he didn’t know about.

Just when he thought so, Mister Yu already confirmed his suspicions. “Contrary to the others, I feel like you fried this for too long. It was actually a bit charred on the outside and overall quite dry. I don’t think that was the outcome you intended.”

Si Jin nodded, having to admit that this was indeed the case if he looked at the dish himself.

Xiao Ming and Chu Yu An had also had a taste of all the dishes by now, so they were immediately able to continue the topic.

“I was surprised by this as well. What went wrong with this one?” The one asking was Chu Yu An and she had to admit that she really was puzzled by this. Clearly, looking at the other dishes, Si Jin wasn’t somebody who wasn’t able to cook. In fact, the other dishes were on point save for some minor problems here and there. But this dish was not quite there yet. When contrasted with the five dishes he did well, that was even more obvious.

Si Jin faintly furrowed his brows. This question, he could answer it. Originally, he hadn’t wanted to talk to this point to not draw even more attention to it but now, he had been asked directly so there was no way to get around it. “There was no beef.”

The three judges looked at him, all of them seeming a bit puzzled.

Finally, the one to figure it out first was Xiao Ming. “Ah, you were trying to make Sichuan beef but you didn’t have any beef, only chicken. So you substituted the meat but otherwise followed the same recipe. In the end, this was how it turned out.”

Si Jin nodded. Inwardly, he was happy that Xiao Ming was able to understand him so well. This was something that had happened before. He didn’t know if it was because he had been commenting so much on Bright Yellow Water’s channel or if this was just a talent that Xiao Ming had, but considering that people often misunderstood him when he said something, he was happy to see that the person he liked was different. In fact, it made him proud.

Xiao Ming smiled when he saw that he had gotten it right. Actually, he also sometimes wasn’t sure what exactly it was that Si Jin meant. But then, looking at the dish and taking the task into consideration, this seemed to be a likely thing to happen.

Anyway, this was finally something he could say a little more about. “Well, I guess you already have it figured out now: Different kinds of meat also require different ways to process them and a different time to do so. If you want to substitute one for the other, it is possible but you’ll have to adjust how you cook it. With chicken, using a bit more oil might have worked or adding more liquid so maybe doubling the sauce. That usually ensures that it stays tender and doesn’t dry out as much.”

Si Jin inclined his head, happy to have gotten some feedback from Xiao Ming no matter whether he had figured it out before or not. Anyway, he was just happy that he was now able to have contact with him at all.

The three judges looked at each other, wondering if one of them still wanted to say something else. By now, they had all said a few sentences about each of the dishes and also the way that Si Jin had plated everything, so there didn’t seem to be anything left.

Realizing this, Xiao Ming turned back to give him a smile. “Well, thank you for the dishes. You can go home for now. The staff members will contact you to give you some more details regarding the third task later.”

Si Jin nodded again and then glanced at all the judges before turning back to Xiao Ming. “Thank you. Then, have a nice evening.” Saying so, he turned on his heels and walked out the same way he had come in, not caring about what would happen to the dishes.

Chu Yu An couldn’t help but give a hum when he had stepped out of the room and turned to look at Xiao Ming. “I feel like that was the most he said at any point today.”

Xiao Ming couldn’t help but chuckle. Actually, Si Jin had also explained his choice of the dish in the first task but the impression he gave was a different one. “Well, he doesn’t like to say much, does he?”

Xiao Ming didn’t dwell on the matter though and instead watched as the staff member wheeled the food trolley away, his expression a bit thoughtful. “We’ve seen a few contestants now. I guess it will be difficult to decide whom to choose for the next episode. So far, they were all really good. Even the ones who made some mistakes like Mister Si just now had decent results overall.”

Chu Yu An propped her chin up on her hands and gave a hum. “Honestly, I’m happy that I’m only a temporary judge and even on the first official episode. The judges who come after me will have it much more difficult, not to mention the two of you. Having to kick out half the contestants each time definitely won’t be easy, especially since the ones left over each time are the best ones.”

Xiao Ming and Mister Yu nodded, looking toward the door to see who could come in next. In fact, they had both thought about this question. When it came to deciding who to let into the next episode, there was a lot to take into consideration. It wouldn’t be easy. Thankfully, they could at least have a discussion about it. This way, they didn’t need to make any decisions on their own.

Xiao Ming tried not to think too much about it. Anyway, they couldn’t change it. Of the sixty-four contestants that were still in today’s episode, thirty-two would have to leave no matter who those people would be in the end.

“Ah, the decision will only need to be made tomorrow after everyone has done the third task. I guess we shouldn’t think too much about it for now. Anyway, I wonder if Ms. E will come over in-between. With us being in another room now, it might be difficult for her to get the interviews on both sides done.”

At that, Mister Yu next to him nodded. “Yes, this is also something we should’ve thought of before. But then, we couldn’t have taken everything into consideration before the show actually started and we saw how things turned out. Tomorrow and especially next week, things will already be much easier.”

Chu Yu An reached over and patted Xiao Ming’s arm. “Exactly! Don’t worry. As for Ms. E, she has a lot of experience. I’m sure that she will be able to find a way to deal with the situation beautifully.”

Even though she was living abroad and didn’t pay too much attention to things happening in China, this was still her home country. It wasn’t a place she’d want to live at but she still felt some connection to it. To keep some of that connection alive, she would often watch some Chinese shows so she had also seen E Cheng Jun in action.

When it came to women like E Cheng Jun who worked in the entertainment industry, even when they were just commenting and not acting, there would often be rumors that they were just a pretty face. But E Cheng Jun wasn’t like that. She could turn unfavorable situations around with ease and was clearly quick on her feet. Also, she likely knew what was good for her and what wasn’t.

A cooking show might not seem interesting at first glance but she had agreed to take part in it as the moderator. Maybe that had been because she wanted to get a more stable reputation or maybe there had been something else behind it. Either way, she had decided on this. Now, the ‘Golden Spoon’ had managed to gather quite a few interesting contestants and the marketing was going well. It had the potential to blow up. Of course, a savvy woman like her would make use of that and further her own career.

Chu Yu An didn’t utter any of those ideas but Xiao Ming still nodded, feeling reassured by her words. Yes, E Cheng Jun should not have too much of a problem. Things might be a bit inconvenient but she would find a way to solve the situation. While he didn’t know her that well, he just decided to trust in her experience.

In fact, E Cheng Jun had also thought about what to do. She had already gone and talked with most of the contestants while they were cooking. Then, to get some variation in the footage, she even stopped some of them when they were on their way out after they had gotten the judgment in the other room and could go home.

Now, she finally turned around to the camera with a smile. “Well, it seems our contestants are well underway to finish the second task. By now, about a third of them have already finished and it seems like a lot of them will be done with the dishes in just a couple more minutes. In the meantime, how about we also go and take a look at the other room and see how the judges are doing?” Having said so, she turned around and made her way over to the other room as well, giving the three judges a smile.

She still wanted to ask Xiao Ming a few questions about his task. And then, she could also use the time to have a short chat with Chu Yu An about tomorrow’s task. Also, with two out of three tasks being finished, there was naturally the question of whether or not the judges already had a few favorites that they figured would make it into the next episode. After all, this type of content, the viewers would certainly like it.