Chapter 29 Old Mack

  "Hahaha, Old Mack, you don't know this one! Ji Ran is a companion we met on our adventure, and his cooking skills are top-notch!" Beike burst out laughing.

  Old Mc felt deeply that his authority was being challenged. As a 209-year-old dwarf who had spent his whole life immersed in culinary arts, he was actually said to be not as good as a 17- or 18-year-old human?

  "Hmmph, fine, you've successfully provoked Old Mac, so now you'll have to pay the price for your words! War! This is war! I issue a challenge to you... Ji Ran, isn't it? What a strange name... I challenge your culinary skills! If you win, I'll treat you to this meal today! If you lose, then stay behind and wash dishes for me for a week!"

  Old MacDonald was so angry that his whiskers were blown back - even then, Ji Ran still couldn't see his mouth, which showed just how long and unruly his whiskers were.

  He was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh and cry. What does this have to do with me? I didn't even say anything, and the old Mac's food is still quite delicious, so how did things automatically land on my head?

  "Come on, Old Mack, don't make a scene. Becker just misspoke, I'll apologize for him. With so many people watching, aren't you worried about affecting your tavern's business?" Lays said from the side, it was clear he didn't want to draw attention either.

  But it's a bit late now. The adventurers who were eating and drinking in the tavern, had already cast their eyes on this table. The dwarf's voice was originally loud, and Old Mack was the owner, naturally attracting more attention from others.

  "Apologize? Apologies won't solve the problem! My reputation has been severely damaged, and I must use this competition to reclaim my dignity as a gourmet chef!" Old Mack stood upright, his figure suddenly towering high, almost rivaling Les who was sitting down...

  "That... Old MacDonald, right? Well, when it comes to food, everyone's tastes are different. Some people like sweet things, some people like salty things. Some people prefer lighter flavors, but others just love rich and meaty dishes. It's not fair to say that one type of cuisine is better than another. As fellow foodies and chefs, let's not bother ranking them, shall we?"

  Ji Ran didn't want to participate in a cooking competition either. Having just come out of the Blue Pine Forest, he wanted to take a break and then prepare for his exams. His culinary skills weren't something he was afraid of losing, but as Lais and the others said, revealing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing...

  Dwarf old Mack heard Ji Ran's words, the expression on his face was slightly relaxed, but as for the trial, he didn't budge at all.

  "You're a delightful young fellow, but this time I'm really going to have to insist! For how many years now? No one has ever questioned my craftsmanship before! As a dwarf who loves fine food more than life itself, I must clear this shame!"

  No one is humiliating you, old man! Ji Ran felt that he was really wronged, so he cast a fierce gaze at Beike.

  Baker is a guy who has a personality that fears the world will not be chaotic. Seeing Old Mack propose a match, his excited eyes shone brightly.

  "Alright, let's have a cook-off with him! After all, it's just ordinary meat dishes, doing it once won't hurt, and let him know that there are people in this world who are better at cooking than him! Hey, Old Mac, we don't care about your meal money, if you lose, bring out a bucket of your precious Ice Dew wine for us to taste, how's that?"

  As soon as they heard the name "Ice Dew Wine", Lais and Ban's eyes lit up at the same time. Even Ailin seemed to show a hint of movement in her expression.

  Ice wine? Is this stuff delicious? Ji Ran isn't particularly fond of drinking, and naturally knows nothing about the wines of this world. But looking at other people's expressions, it seems to be a very precious type of wine?

  "Haagen-Dazs... Hmph, you little scamp, Becker! You've been thinking of Haagen-Dazs for a long time, haven't you? No problem, if this kid's culinary skills really surpass mine, then bringing out a bucket of Haagen-Dazs is no big deal! But compared to that, washing dishes for a week is too small a bet. At least make it a month!"

  Old Mac heard the name of Iceberg wine, and his face showed a hint of pain. But for the sake of gourmets and chefs' dignity, he gritted his teeth!

  "Old Mack, Ji Ran and Lydia are about to go take the entrance exam at Sky Blue Wind Academy, no time to help you wash dishes. How about this instead..." Laisi heard Old Mack was willing to bet with ice wine, didn't object to the match, but took out a piece of something that looked very ordinary.

  "Yam?" Seeing this stem, Old Mack's eyes were immediately attracted.

  "That's right, purple yam. I've heard that dwarves can use this thing to brew a pretty good wine. It should be enough to bet against your Ice Dew Wine, shouldn't it?" Lais tossed the fist-sized tuber back and forth in his hand.

  It has to be said that this stuff hit the dwarf Old Mack's weak spot. The dwarves' love for fine wine is unparalleled, every dwarf may not know anything else but they absolutely cannot not drink! And relatively speaking, the dwarves' brewing techniques are also extremely high-end, several kinds of special wines unique to the dwarves are even luxury goods with high prices on the mainland.

  This purple yam was found by Ji Ran, originally intended to be used as a seasoning, but Lais took it away - Lais knew the value of this thing in the hearts of dwarves.

  Ji Ran didn't know that the purple yam could be used to make wine, and now he couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder. The civilization of this other world wasn't as backward as he had imagined. For example, these dwarves were able to take the ingredient "purple yam" from games and use it to brew wine, which seemed to turn out quite well...

  "Alright! It's settled then!" The old dwarf Mack slapped his palm on the table at once.

  Next, both sides discussed the evaluation criteria for delicious food and finally decided to select ten customers in the tavern as judges. Only those who received more than half of the good reviews could become the winner.

  Suddenly and inexplicably, he was drawn into a cooking competition, and to be honest, it was all quite bewildering. But since everyone else seemed to think he should give it a try, he decided to go along with it. After all, Beck had just reminded him that using ordinary meat would still result in delicious food, but the special effects would disappear, and his secret would remain safe.

  To show fairness, Dwarf Old Mac decided that the two of them would make dishes of the same type to decide victory or defeat - so he took out two large pieces of beef.

  "Do whatever you want, as long as it's a dish made with this piece of beef!" Old Mack confidently declared, then started fiddling around the frying pan on the side - he was going to make his signature dish, black pepper fried steak.

  A piece of beef, what can I do with it? Ji Ran took a look around. This was the kitchen of the tavern, all sorts of cooking utensils were available. And there were also all kinds of seasonings... although there wasn't any soy sauce or anything, but it was still quite rich.

  "Alright, let's have something a bit simpler then." Ji Ran sighed and picked up the knife to start chopping.

  He was preparing braised beef. This dish is considered a home-cooked meal, but it takes a bit more time. However, that's okay, with the cooking skills from the game to help out.

  The people still in the tavern's great hall were all craning their necks in anticipation, waiting for the two men's dishes to be served.

  Actually, Old Mack's craftsmanship is really good, at least in Songpan Town it has a pretty good reputation. If compared to the chefs of big restaurants in big cities, maybe still a bit worse, but compared to other people in the town, that's a big crush.

  But that young kid, so highly praised by Les and others, should also have some skills. Let's not mention the onlookers for now, but among the ten selected judges, each one of them was drooling with envy.

  About an hour later, both of them came out.

  Old MacDonald's black pepper steak is definitely a labor of love, or else he wouldn't have spent so much time on it. Judging from the confident air with which he carried out this plate of steak, he really was full of confidence.

  Ji Ran is much simpler. The braised beef flower takes a little longer, but it's more flavorful. At least from his own perspective, this dish is almost at its best level - of course, except for the quality of the ingredients and the lack of seasoning.

  Two people put the dishes they made on the table, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

  "Oh... Old MacDonald's black pepper beef steak! The aroma is still so enticing... What's that other dish? Is it also beef?"

  "This dish... has a special aroma... even more fragrant than steak! What is this dish? It looks pretty good too..."

  The braised beef in red sauce is indeed a feast for the eyes, nose and taste buds. Placed on a plate, it gives off an inexplicable allure. The thick sauce has marinated the reddish-brown meat chunks, accompanied by radish and scallion segments, making one's mouth water uncontrollably.

  Several judges looked at each other and simultaneously stretched out their knives and forks, targeting the two dishes in front of them.

  "This steak is cooked just right, bringing out the full tenderness of the beef. With the aroma of black pepper, it's truly delicious... For most people, their first choice would be Old Mack's Black Pepper Steak. This dish doesn't come cheap, but that's because Old Mack doesn't cook for just anyone. If he puts his heart into it, it takes too long; if he doesn't put his heart into it... wouldn't that ruin his reputation?"

  And Old Mack's dish didn't disappoint them either, still that familiar taste. Hearing the judges' praise, Old Mack was delighted to stroke his beard, holding his head high, with a smug look on his face.

  However, the two judges who ate Ji Yan's braised beef, were stunned as soon as the meat entered their mouths. After a long time, they suddenly exclaimed: "Too delicious!"

  Then, the two judges immediately couldn't wait to put the two pieces of beef into their mouths.

  "Hey, hey, don't be too greedy! Just this one dish, don't let all of you finish it off!" The other judges immediately stopped what they were doing and came over to start sharing the braised beef.

  "My goodness... this is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted! Tender and juicy, rich and savory... I've never had anything so good before! It's simply wonderful!" The judges' eyes widened one by one after tasting the braised beef, their faces filled with incredulous expressions.

  In an instant, Old Mack's pan-fried steak was left untouched.