Finally, she took a deep breath, slowly calming herself down.
Immediately after, she followed the method Zhang Fan had provided, pouring some salt and vinegar into clear water and stirring it evenly.
Time slowly passed, and after about 20 minutes, the lettuce soaked in the salt and vinegar water miraculously turned fresh and green.
From initial panic to final confidence, from being at a loss at first to now being able to use the salt and vinegar water immersion method to restore the freshness of lettuce…
In such a short period, Tadokoro Megumi was able to transform, which made Shinomiya's expression gradually turn serious!
…
Two hours.
Like smoke drifting in the wind, it quickly passed!
Tadokoro Megumi, as the last one to finish her dish, nearly collapsed when she realized she hadn't gone over time.
Then, with a nervous heart, she presented a beautiful, rainbow-like Nine Treasure French Vegetable Terrine to Shinomiya.
"Examiner, this… this is my dish. Please evaluate it," Tadokoro Megumi said hesitantly.
From her tone, it was not difficult to detect that she truly had no confidence at all at this moment.
Shinomiya Kojiro merely gave it a cold glance, said nothing, then picked up a knife and fork, gently cut a small piece, and slowly chewed it.
"Shinomiya, this vegetable terrine tastes really good!"
"Mom, if you like it, when I grow up and become an excellent French Chef, I'll make it for you every day."
"My silly child, Mom doesn't wish for anything, just that you can be safe and sound. But Mom believes in you, believes that you will become an excellent Chef in the future!"
"Mom, I will. I will definitely become a Chef."
As the cold, soft, and glutinous vegetable terrine slowly entered his mouth,
and was thoroughly chewed by his teeth, the savory flavor that permeated his mouth instantly felt very familiar to Shinomiya.
His thoughts immediately drifted back to his childhood, when his family was truly very poor, often eating one meal and going hungry for the next!
Later, when he successfully entered a higher grade, his mother saved money by being frugal and took him to an expensive French restaurant.
Upon seeing her smile when she ate a portion of vegetable terrine, Shinomiya secretly decided that he wanted to become an excellent French Chef.
Eventually, his wish came true. He successfully enrolled in Totsuki Culinary Academy thanks to his talent and hard work.
And three years later, he graduated successfully as the First Seat of the Elite Ten!
After graduating, he resolutely chose to go to France. After 6 years of training and struggle, he successfully established himself in the Parisian culinary world and opened a French restaurant called "SHINO'S."
Two years ago, this restaurant was rated as a two-star restaurant by the WGO Gourmet Organization.
And he himself became the first person from Japan to receive the "Proust Pur Medal."
…
"Mother."
"I… why did I think of you?"
Swallowing, Shinomiya Kojiro, with his eyes closed, slowly shed a tear.
After a long while, he finally opened his eyes, staring intently at Tadokoro Megumi with a complex expression: "The density of salt water is greater than the density of water. That's why it can penetrate into the vegetables, promote cell division and growth, and accelerate water absorption."
"As for vinegar, it has a bleaching effect and blocks air, which can prevent wilted vegetables from further oxidizing."
"At the same time, the faint sourness of the vinegar itself,"
"can also combine with the sweet taste of the vegetables, making the flavor richer and the texture more complex."
Listening to Shinomiya's analysis, Tadokoro Megumi nodded in agreement.
"Yes."
"Although no matter what you do with wilted vegetables,"
"they will never be as good as simply throwing them away and using the freshest quality vegetables."
"But… but, the ingredients provided on site are extremely limited, so I could only think of this salt and vinegar water immersion method."
"Who taught you to do this?" Shinomiya asked with a calm expression.
"It… it was the Shopkeeper of an Izakaya!" Tadokoro Megumi stammered in reply.
"Don't you know that the recipe I provide is the most unique in this world?"
"Your unauthorized use of salt and vinegar water to soak and restore the freshness of lettuce, while seemingly clever, is actually destroying my dish and disregarding the rules of this assessment!"
"I… I…" Tadokoro Megumi was on the verge of tears!
She just couldn't understand why restoring the freshness of lettuce was also considered a mistake in the eyes of this examiner?
"Never mind. Your dish didn't have any serious errors, so I'll barely pass you," Shinomiya said faintly, looking at Tadokoro Megumi and only needing to push up his glasses with his hand.
Perhaps influenced by his family environment since childhood, he was inevitably very sensitive in personality, especially regarding some of his views on cooking, often being neurotic and nitpicky!
This became evident when he began to stagnate after achieving numerous honors.
As a Chef, he had become increasingly strict with his employees over the years, not allowing them to overstep or arbitrarily alter his recipes.
This kind of stubbornness, this mentality, gradually made him unpopular, ultimately leading to the complete failure of SHINO'S French restaurant's goal of achieving three stars this year, bringing its curtain down.
"Thank you, examiner. I… I'll be more careful next time."
Learning that she had fortunately passed the assessment, Tadokoro Megumi felt as if she had instantly gone from hell to heaven, like she had a very unrealistic dream.
Shinomiya Kojiro said nothing more upon hearing this but directly took Tadokoro Megumi's personal score sheet and unhesitatingly wrote "Pass."
"Tadokoro Megumi, congratulations on passing the breakfast assessment on the second day of the Practical Training event."
As the lukewarm voice gently echoed in Tadokoro Megumi's ears, her joy instantly overflowed.
Although she didn't know why Shinomiya had suddenly changed his mind and allowed her to pass this breakfast assessment, for her, this outcome was truly better than anything!
------------------------
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