Right at this moment, the attendant from earlier strode into the kitchen with the 10 female servants again, and he looked at Mag with an excited expression as he said, “Congratulations, Master Mag, His Majesty and all of the esteemed guests were very pleased with your dish. Looks like you’ll be in the running for the best dish of the day.”
The entire royal kitchen abruptly fell silent as all of the chefs looked on in astonishment.
“Argh!”
A chef accidentally burned his hand on his stovetop in his stunned stupor, and he immediately thrust his hand into the barrel of water nearby.
The best dish of the day? That was an honor that was reserved only for the best chef in the royal kitchen!It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that the one who received this accolade would be hailed as the number one chef on the entire Norland Continent!
In the past nine years, Master Bellmann had dominated that position. On the few occasions where he had been beaten, it was always an extremely renowned and widely respected chef who had taken his place.
Even though just one dish wasn’t a three-dimensional representation of a chef’s cooking ability, it could certainly make a chef stand out in the culinary world. A chef who could earn the approval of the king would undoubtedly have an immeasurable future ahead of them.
As such, the best dish accolade was one that was sought after by all of the chefs present, yet the attendant was proclaiming that Mag had a good chance of securing it? If he wasn’t exaggerating, then Mag was surely the biggest black horse in this entire kitchen!
“H-how is that possible?!”
Nandel’s and Vasir’s expression changed drastically upon hearing this. They had thought that Mag was only a third-rate chef, yet he had received praise from the king himself, and was in the running for best dish of the day.
Thinking back to the insults they had aimed at Mag, both of them were so embarrassed that they wanted nothing better than to be swallowed up by the ground beneath their feet.Furthermore, what was even more terrifying to them was that if Mag took Bellmann’s place as the premier chef of the royal kitchen, he would have the power to kick both of them out of the royal kitchen!
The fact that they were regularly invited to cook during royal banquets had earned them a lot of renown and income during the past few years. They were hoping to have their student chefs inherit this privilege and make it a lasting legacy, but it appeared that they offended someone that they couldn’t afford to mess with, and those dreams were about to be dashed.
“You’re so awesome, Uncle Mag!” Luluka and Kalulu looked up at Mag with admiration shimmering in their eyes.
Kalulu was still in disbelief. What is happening to this world? Am I still dreaming?
“Thank you for your kind words. Please wait a moment, the second dish will be ready soon.” Mag nodded with a calm and collected expression.
He didn’t think that he would be able to secure victory with just a single dish. After all, all of the most outstanding chefs of the Norland Continent were gathered in the kitchen, so he would need to serve more than one exceptional dish to completely crush all of his competitors.
As such, he had to put everything into the next two dishes as well. After all, he had only traveled to Rodu in order to complete the system’s mission. If he were to fail, the consequences would be catastrophic, and he would’ve taken a massive risk for nothing.
Furthermore, he was also quite curious about the deluxe reward that the system had promised him if he were to complete the mission.
“Alright.” The attendant nodded before stepping away to afford Mag some personal space, not daring to hurry Mag in his cooking. The exemplary skills that Mag had displayed had completely won him over, and barring any accidents, he was undoubtedly going to become a prominent rising star in the royal kitchen.
In the northern section of the kitchen, a middle-aged chef turned his gaze toward Mag with a displeased look on his face. He then turned to Bellmann, who was wearing a black and white chef’s suit with his gray hair tucked in an impeccable manner under his tall chef’s hat, and he grumbled, “Master, that chef from Chaos City—”
“Focus on what you’re doing; there’s no point in looking at what everyone else is doing.” Bellmann continued his cooking in a calm and collected manner as he cut off the middle-aged man mid-sentence.
However, the chef was still quite disgruntled. “He’s just a chef from Chaos City; even Beate is rated as a top-grade chef in that godforsaken city! How could he possibly have the skills to contend with you for the best dish of the day? I refuse to believe this!”
“Exactly! Master’s been cooking for longer than he’s been alive; how could he possibly compare to Master?”
“I reckon that attendant’s just spouting nonsense. His Majesty clearly loves Master’s dishes the most.”
All of the other student chefs also chimed in with displeased expressions.
In their eyes, Mag wasn’t even worthy of a second glance from Bellmann, so how could he possibly compete with their master for the most prized accolade in the cooking world?
“If he can really cook something that can satisfy His Majesty, then that would be worthy of celebration, not condemnation.” Bellmann put down the ladle in his hand before turning to his student chefs with a serious expression as he said, “I’ve told all of you on more than one occasion that there’s always room for improvement in the art of cooking. In order to become true chefs, you must be willing to constantly learn and innovate. I certainly wouldn’t dare to say I’m a perfect chef, and I would love to see all of you use me as a stepping stone to reach higher levels in your own cooking. Only then will this art continue to advance, and I’m much more interested in seeing that than in clinging onto my title of the so-called number one chef of the royal kitchen.”
All of the student chefs fell silent upon hearing this. Even though they were still feeling rather disgruntled, Bellmann’s words had taught them a valuable lesson.
The pleasant sound of steak sizzling on a hot metal slab soon rang out from Mag’s cooking station. The mesmerizing aromas of beef, wine, and black pepper wafted throughout the entire kitchen as 10 steaks were plated. Broccoli and bell peppers of different colors acted as embellishments for the dish before the black pepper sauce was poured over the steaks. Soon, 10 portions of steak had been carried out of the kitchen by the 10 female servants.
Nandel and Vasir had already learned to keep their mouths firmly shut. If it weren’t for the fact that they had already offended Mag to an irreversible degree, they would’ve been clambering to suck up to Mag right now.
After steaks were prepared, Mag was able to take a small break, and during that time, Kalulu made his way over to him with an admiring smile on his face. “Brother Mag, I didn’t think that you would be such an exceptional chef. My apologies for making those assumptions earlier. If one of your dishes is rated as the best dish of the day, you’ll be forging a resounding reputation for yourself!”
“You’re far too kind, Brother Kalulu. My dishes are nowhere near the best this kitchen has to offer.” Even though Mag was feeling quite confident, he still shook his head with a modest smile.
Within the palace.
The king put down his spoon, having completely finished the portion of braised chicken and rice on the table in front of him. Not even a single grain of rice remained in his bowl, and the abundant nutrition in the dish coupled with its delectable flavor had brought a healthy flush to his cheeks. His only complaint was that a single portion simply wasn’t enough, and he was left wanting more.
All of the representatives of the other races also felt the same way. If it weren’t for the fact that it would be inappropriate to do so, they’d most definitely be requesting seconds.
Right at this moment, the attendant led the 10 female servants into the palace. “The chef invited by the second prince will now be offering his second dish to His Majesty!”
