E Cheng Jun turned to look around, trying to figure out who to talk to next. There were sixty-three people to choose from so it really shouldn’t be a problem. She had already seen in the casting last week that not everybody was easy to talk to though and she didn’t want to create a situation where she was having difficulties keeping the conversation going.

That’d make her a laughing stock online and she wouldn’t be surprised if the producer kept such a scene in or published it as a gimmick just for some cheap laughs. After all, they didn’t care about her and only the number of viewers they could get. If she wanted to make sure that she wasn’t used as a prop, she had to prevent it herself. Thus, she had decided not to approach several of the contestants unless absolutely necessary as early on as the last weekend.

At the top of that list was definitely Si Jin. While she hadn’t talked to him personally, she had seen the footage of how he behaved on stage. Seeing how he hardly said a word and seemed only interested in communicating with Xiao Ming, he wasn’t the kind of person for a quick interview. No, rather than that, he was the kind of person not to approach as long as there was any other person in the room.

In the end, she still ended up picking one of the ninjas of the Si clan. In this case, she went for Si Qi. She had already talked to him at the casting and had a good impression of his ability to hold a good conversation while working. He was polite, would answer honestly, and the stories he had to tell were quite interesting.

Anyway, even if this was a cooking show, especially the viewers at home were also interested in some gossip. Hearing him talk about his unrequited love and how he wanted to get better at cooking and took part in the show to attract that person would resonate well with some of those people. Why shouldn’t she make use of that?

Walking up to him, she gave a bright smile. “Mister Shi, I see you have already gotten quite a few ingredients. Have you decided what type of congee to make yet?”

Si Qi glanced up at her and smiled as well. “I have. Although I’m not quite sure if I really did it in the spirit of the task.”

E Cheng Jun raised her brows, surprised by that response. But then, it was a good one in terms of engagement. “Oh? Why is that?”

Si Qi put on a pensive expression and glanced up at the table of the judges. “From how Mister Yu described the task, it is also to see what our philosophy in cooking is. Considering that I haven’t been cooking for long, I’m not sure if I have something like that.

“When I thought about what to make just now, instead of thinking about cooking itself, I thought of the person I want to make this for and what type of congee I think they would like. I’m not sure if that is quite what we are expected to do but on short notice, that was the only way for me to come up with something.”

E Cheng Jun’s smile brightened, happy that she really made the right bet that he would once again talk about the same topic. “My, I already talked with Mister Shi at the casting and you mentioned that you learned how to cook for a very special person. I guess taking her likes into consideration is also a type of philosophy.”

Si Qi chuckled and couldn’t help but glance in the direction of the cooking station where Si Yi was currently soaking his rice. “Maybe it is. I guess making my cooking dependent on who is going to eat and making sure that they will enjoy it is indeed like that.

“I guess for today, it might be a bit of a problem. To make it work, you really need to know the person. Privately, I don’t mind that and I think I would do well. But for ‘Golden Spoon’, I’m not sure if it will work. I catered this dish to his tastes but the ones I need to convince today are the judges, aren’t they? I’m not sure if it’s a good thing. Maybe I should have figured out what they like instead.”

E Cheng Jun was startled when he brought that up but she recovered soon enough. “Well, but since you’re supposed to cook following your own philosophy, then I’m sure the judges will take that into consideration. In any case, there are three judges. You’re bound to make something that at least one of them likes, aren’t you?”

Si Qi chuckled again. “Well, I sure hope that I will do. Miss E doesn’t know but I looked at the website in the past week and went through the photos and comments of all the dishes that the contestants made last week. I guess my chances of getting far in the show aren’t that good.

“Anyway, I didn’t have that much experience and what I’ve learned is really only for that one person. It can’t compare to the other contestants I’m afraid. Their dishes all looked amazing.

“I’m afraid that maybe today will be the last time I’m here. Then, wouldn’t I have embarrassed myself? I’m hoping for at least one good judgment for each task! Then, I’ll still be able to hold my head high.”

E Cheng Jun couldn’t help but show a look of compassion. She herself knew the fear of embarrassing yourself on TV. Wasn’t that why she had prepared and even figured out which contestants better not to talk to? Well, while she could do such things, contestants like Shi Ru Qiu could only hope for the best and then do their best at any given moment. It had to be even worse. She couldn’t help but want to comfort him a little. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll manage, Mister Shi! So far, it seems that you don’t have any hesitation whatsoever in making this dish. Is congee something you are very familiar with?”

Si Qi glanced at the bowl where he had started to soak the rice, then at the water he was heating up in the pot, and the ingredients he had been measuring in the meantime while talking to E Cheng Jun. He tilted his head a little, his expression somewhat nostalgic. “Well, even though I don’t know that much about cooking, there are some things that I’ve encountered over time.

“You know how I’m a novelist, right? Well, in one of my works, there is a scene where the male lead is injured and needs to be nursed back to health. A … friend of his takes up the task. Part of that is making food for him that can nourish him while not being difficult to eat.

“I immediately thought of congee as the perfect dish for such a situation and looked up how to make some variations. So surprisingly enough, this is one of the dishes I am probably the most familiar with.” He smiled when he said so, thinking back to the days he had written that part. For sure, all his thoughts had been on Si Yi and how much he wished they could ever have that type of relationship where he would be allowed to care for him. It was a pity he would never receive the chance.

“What a coincidence!”

Si Qi pushed his idle thoughts away and nodded. “Yes, indeed. I was really lucky this time. I wonder what the other two tasks will be. I don’t think I can just rely on my luck with all of them. In any case, I’m still somewhat confident in this one so that is what I will put my hope in for a good rating.

“The next tasks will probably be more difficult but I guess that is something to worry about at a later time. Now, I have to make sure that I get the consistency right for this one. That is definitely going to be the most difficult part for me.”

E Cheng Jun craned her neck and looked into the bowl, motioning at the rice inside. “Well, I can see that you didn’t start cooking your rice immediately but instead soaked it. Is that to make sure it’ll turn out well?”

Si Qi nodded again. “Yes, from what I know, congee usually takes a long time to cook. If you soak the rice first, then it is possible to cut the time down a little. I’m just afraid that it still won’t be enough. Even just soaking it would often take about two hours.

“And now, even if I just soak it for a quarter of an hour while I prepare everything else, I won’t have two hours to cook it anymore. I’m not sure if this will be enough.” He looked a little tangled but shook his head. “Well, in the meantime, I am taking care of the other ingredients so I hope that it will be enough.

“I guess the time limit is part of the challenge in this case. I can probably count myself lucky that I was able to come up with what to do early on. If I had hesitated any longer, I would’ve missed out on even more time for cooking the congee.”

“Well, I’m sure that you will manage! You sound very well-prepared.”

“Thank you, Miss E. That does make me feel better.”

She smiled and then said goodbye, going to the judges’ table instead. Sitting down next to Mister Yu at the side, she turned to him with a smile. “Judge Yu, two of the contestants just told me that they would have a problem making the congee in time. Is the time limit really that harsh?”

Mister Yu nodded. He had been watching the contestants and was quite satisfied with what he had seen so far. There were definitely some that struggled and were probably losing their nerves already, but there were also many that were going about things in a calm and well-collected manner, clearly knowing what they were doing.

He was especially happy to see that the ninjas of the Si clan that they had given a chance despite them all making the same dish for the casting seemed to be making different variations of congee today. Clearly, while they had convened for the casting to decide on what to make, what Xiao Ming had said about them being able to cook well and deserving a place as contestants was true. If they had to cook alone, they could still do it well.

He turned back to E Cheng Jun, his gaze thoughtful. “The most important part about making congee is to get the consistency right. That will require the right amount of water and the right amount of time to cook. It is not unusual to take four to six hours for that.”

E Cheng Jun looked at the camera before turning back to Mister Yu. “Then, in that case, wasn’t the time at least halved if not more than that? Can the contestants really do it?”

Mister Yu nodded. “At first, I wanted to give them four hours. But we finally decided to cut the time down to two hours to make this an actual challenge. The contestants of ‘Golden Spoon’ are all very good cooks, there’s no question about that. To just make a congee in four hours like they had at the casting wouldn’t be a challenge for them at all. But to make one of acceptable consistency in just two hours, that will actually be difficult.

“This task will tell us a lot about what the contestants still need to work at. Whether that is their time management in general, their resourcefulness in how to solve such a task, or maybe a general problem with making this type of dish. I also think that it is a good way to get to know their ideas regarding food and cooking.”

E Cheng Jun nodded, showing a happy expression. “So this is a task in a task. They are not just making congee, but they also have to prove that they are able to manage their time well.”

Mister Yu slowly inclined his head, feeling that she had summarized that well. “Exactly like that. If you are just cooking at home, it might not always be important but if any of the contestants decide to go the professional route, then they will have to keep time management in mind all the time.”

“Yes, it is always said that a restaurant’s kitchen is very busy and can be hectic. Most likely, if you have to make several dishes at once, that should be quite a challenge.”

Mister Yu nodded again. “Quite indeed. And I think that even without looking at a restaurant if they are just making dishes for a larger family event, for example, they will also be confronted with the same issue. There is a bit of planning involved in that.” At that, he couldn’t help but turn to the seat in the middle of the table where Xiao Ming sat who looked back at him a little confused. “Xiao Ming, my granddaughter helped me watch a few of your streams. You also talk about that a little there.”

E Cheng Jun leaned forward a little, trying to get a better look at Xiao Ming. She wasn’t quite sure what she thought of Mister Yu just pulling another person into the conversation and taking the job of moderator from her but that was a good question. And since they wanted to introduce the judges a little better in the first episode, this was actually something that fit the concept quite well.

Xiao Ming looked a little put on the spot but still nodded immediately. “Yes, we actually do. For our channel, it can sometimes be a challenge to make everything in time since there are several dishes to make with only a small kitchen at home. It’s not like a professional kitchen in a restaurant where you have more space to use. So everything needs to be planned well and sometimes, we also need to make dishes in a slightly different way since, for example, the stovetop is already taken.

“Today, it is less about that and only about the time management for one dish but that can still be difficult.” He tilted his head a little, wondering how to say it. “Just imagine that somebody gives you a call and tells you that they will be coming over in two hours and they want to eat at your place. You’d be embarrassed to have them arrive but not have the food ready so in that amount of time, you’d have to whip something up. It is a bit like that.”

E Cheng Jun’s expression immediately lit up again. “That is a very good way to think of it! I see what Miss Chu meant before when she said that she likes the way you explain. I feel like I suddenly get the time limitation a bit better since this is something that I can actually relate to.”

Xiao Ming smiled at that. “Thank you, Miss E. I always like to think of cooking in terms of how it would be at home since I also don’t have experience in a professional kitchen. When it comes to that, I guess you could ask Miss Chu instead.” He glanced at her, hoping that she would take over.

Even though ‘Golden Spoon’ was a huge opportunity, actually being in front of the camera and suddenly being in the limelight not just as a judge but as somebody who had to comment on a matter, his nervousness spiked and he just couldn’t wait to give the spotlight to somebody else who would enjoy it more.

Chu Yu An could see that he was a bit uncomfortable so she immediately took over. “Oh, actually, the two of you have already said so much, I can merely agree and add a word or two. Whether it’s at home or at the restaurant, things can get really busy. The more people you cook for, the more difficult it can be.

“It is just that there goes more planning into matters if you need to make more dishes for more people. You need to make sure that the quantity will be enough, that everything will be finished at the same time so the guests can dig right in, and also that you have something for every kind of dietary restrictions.”

E Cheng Jun blinked her eyes at that, not having expected that point. “Is that something you have to deal with a lot?”

Chu Yu An nodded. “Yes, to be honest, I do. When I opened my restaurant overseas, I wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to eat at our place. So one of the so-called ‘modern twists’ that are always talked about in regard to my restaurant is that we make sure that even the most traditional dishes can be enjoyed by people with allergies for example. That does mean that we will often have to substitute some ingredients which needs to be taken into consideration beforehand since it often doesn’t affect just one dish but all of them.”

E Cheng Jun nodded and turned back to the camera. “Listening to what our three judges are saying, I am realizing that planning dishes can be really difficult. I hope our contestants are going to do well and won’t be too stressed. Speaking of which: Some time has already passed and with a short time limit, I guess we should have another look at how our contestants are doing so far.”