The competition in the kitchen was still ongoing, and at this point, the thoughts in everyone's minds had changed from when they first entered the kitchen. Initially, no one believed that Jake could surpass the head chef in culinary skills, not even Verna, who was on Jake's side. However, after witnessing Jake's terrifying knife skills, their previously certain beliefs were shaken. Although they may not have understood it as clearly as Alan, they knew that Jake's knife skills were not something an ordinary person without culinary skills could achieve. Could it be that his culinary skills were really exceptional enough to defeat Alan? Such doubts started to arise in their minds.
However, Bill and Don still had great confidence in Alan. They were outsiders after all, and while they thought Jake's knife skills were good, Alan's skills were not lacking either. Besides, the taste of the food wasn't solely determined by knife skills.
Alan had been the head chef here for some time, and the customers who had eaten his dishes all praised them. Alan's culinary skills were unquestionable. Perhaps Jake had impressive knife skills, but when it came to cooking, he couldn't surpass Alan.
Alan and Jake chose the third dish, which was a simple soup made with greens and radishes. If an ordinary person made this soup, it wouldn't taste great, but at Alan's level, this soup would naturally be excellent. It was a soup that many customers enjoyed, light and delicious.
With the three dishes prepared, the fragrance of top-notch cuisine wafted through the kitchen, causing the onlookers to instinctively swallow their saliva.
"Now that everything is cooked, let's choose the customers to be the judges," Don said.
This had been agreed upon from the beginning, and Jake naturally had no objections. The difference was that Alan didn't stay in the kitchen but went out like everyone else. He also wanted to see if the dishes he prepared could defeat Jake's.
If this had been before, Alan wouldn't have paid much attention to a challenger who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. However, after witnessing Jake's knife skills, Alan was no longer as confident as before.
Although it was past mealtime, there were still many customers in the restaurant. Don suggested that Jake choose the customers first. Jake didn't refuse and looked around the dining hall. He casually pointed at a table and said, "Them."
"Alright," Don glanced at the table and then called over a beautiful waitress, saying, "Take these two portions of braised pork to that table and tell them that the restaurant is running a promotion today. Their table has been randomly selected to receive two free portions of braised pork. However, they need to evaluate both portions and choose the one with better taste."
"Okay, Don," the beautiful waitress responded and carried the two plates of braised pork to the table Jake had selected.
"Jake, after you lose later, I think you should apologize publicly to Don and Alan right here. Don't worry, I'll record your actions on my phone," Bill spoke up.
"How does Bill know for sure that I'll lose?" Jake replied casually. "I also want to remind you to have that $10,000 ready. If you're late by a day, I'll charge you 1,000 in interest."
"Joke, how could you possibly beat Alan?" Bill said disdainfully.
"Why not?"
"I want to see how long you can keep up your tough talk!" Bill retorted. It didn't take long for the waiter to return with the evaluation from the table.
"So, how was it? Which dish did the table prefer, the one in the red bowl or the one in the white bowl?" Don asked.
Although Alan had a bad temper and often argued with others, he was indeed skilled. Don trusted his culinary abilities, and that trust prevented him from resorting to cheating in the competition. He didn't think it was necessary. Therefore, he was also unaware of who won this first round.
Everyone turned to the waiter, hoping to hear the answer from her. The waiter was unaware of the competition and honestly replied, "The customers said the red bowl of braised pork was better."
"Red bowl?" Everyone, except Jake, was stunned. This meant that the braised pork dish prepared by Jake had won the first round!
"Are you sure you didn't mishear?" Don asked, unwilling to accept the result.
"No, the customers at that table specifically mentioned that the braised pork in the red bowl tasted slightly better than the one in the white bowl," the waiter responded, noticing the strange expressions on everyone's faces and Don's anxious demeanor.
"There were four customers at that table. How many of them chose the red bowl?" Bill realized the importance of this detail and quickly asked, "If only one or two of them chose the red bowl, then the result is invalid."
After speaking, Bill tried to signal the waiter, but Verna, who understood Bill very well, stepped forward and blocked the waiter's view, preventing her from seeing Bill's signal.
"All four customers at that table chose the red bowl. They all felt that the braised pork in the red bowl was better," the waiter replied truthfully, unaware of Bill's signal.
There was no suspense anymore. Jake had won the first round decisively. Don's expression soured, and he felt some regret. He didn't expect Alan to actually lose to this young man. If he had known, he would have secretly instructed the waiter earlier to ignore what the customers said and just claim that they preferred the meat in the white bowl. But now it was too late, and regret wouldn't change anything.
"But there are still two more chances. Jake definitely won't win!" Don thought. He was prepared to use some unconventional methods to win this competition. As long as he could defeat Jake, that was all that mattered.
"I shouldn't have trusted Alan so much. This guy is nothing more than someone who argues with others. He can't even defeat a young man," Don complained inwardly.
Don and Alan's relationship was never good. If it weren't for the purpose of embarrassing Jake, Don wouldn't have lowered himself to accommodate Alan. Now, Alan couldn't even defeat Jake, which made Don look down on him even more.