The Templars are a mysterious and scared group in the country of Fine Cuisine. They are highly welcomed and respected by the citizens of this country.

All the chefs and restaurants evaluations are under their jurisdiction.

In each church that was overseen by these Templars, there is a holy chef who is responsible for treating any illness or disease of the town folk.

Holy chefs are a type of [Spiritual Chef] that had 'Light' attribute.

Therefore, the Templars enjoy a high level of prestige and fame.

This evaluation by the Templars is similar to that of Michelin Guide evaluation of 3 stars restaurants and chefs.

Luo Xiu tried to recall all the information he had heard about the Templars.

Base on what he could recall, the Templars had a lot of power.

They are responsible for grading the chefs in this world.

Furthermore, the Templars' standard for grading chefs is more detailed than the fuzzy guidelines by the Michelin guide.

In addition to the [Commoner Chief], [Fine Chef], [Great Chef] etc standard, the Templars had also divided each group of chief into subdivisions.

From apprentice chef, interns.h.i.+p chefs, to formal chefs, these three categories of chef are subdivisions of the [Commoner Chefs] group, and are the most basic groups of chefs in this world.

For each subsequent category of a chef, there are also several subdivisions.

As for the chef battle, it is also supervised by the Templars. They would a.s.sign someone to observe the battle and to ensure fairness.

Even the restaurant rankings are decided by the Templars.

For example, the degrading of Nine Gates Restaurant to a [Commoner Restaurant] is decided by the Templars.

In addition, the rule of restaurants requiring a re-evaluation every 5 years, is also decided by these Templars.

Right now, in Snow Moon City, the highest ranked restaurant is Inkfusion, a Great Restaurant. Below them are the Fine Restaurants, then at the bottom are the Commoner Restaurants.

Therefore, in this world where food is of paramount importance, a Fine restaurant is a highly respected place.

Seeing that Li Yuan had left, the neighbours immediately reverted to their usual chatter. Butcher Huang could not stand it and started the ball rolling with his remarks, "Young Boss Luo, do not blame me for speaking out!"

"This Li Yuan is a certified grade 8 chef, and is a very formidable chef that can create a high grade of 'Fine Food'. You……."

"You are too foolish to challenge him!"

Butcher Huang sighed. The men beside him also agreed. Boss He, who sells spiritual vegetables nearby, also chipped in, "Yeah! Although the dish you made is pretty good, high grade [Fine food] is beneficial to health, and the Deeson Fruit that you have cooked did not have this effect!"

Everyone in the crowd of neighbours within the restaurant begins to offer their own opinions, and all of them agreed on one thing - that Luo Xiu's was too impetuous when he challenged Li Yuan.

Frankly speaking, they had already held back a lot in their comments. They were afraid of hurting Luo Xiu's feeling.

After all, a man who does not have a sense of smell or taste could not cook a dish that would be much better than a high graded [Fine Food]. They had the best intentions in mind when they tried to stop Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu just laughed, "It is all right. I know my limits. If that dish is not suitable, I can create another dis.h.!.+"

"In my opinion, this Deeson Fruit can be used to make a lot of dishes!"

Looking at the confident Luo Xiu, Boss He and Butcher Huang still remained sceptical.

They are very familiar with Luo Xiu, having watched him grow up. The fact that he could not cook and did not have a sense of smell or taste is something that everyone knows. Could it be that he….. suddenly gained the ability to cook?

"Relax. Regarding this restaurant that was left to us by my late father, I treasure it more than anyone else!"

"I will not allow this restaurant to fall into the hands of a scoundrel like Li Yuan!"

After he had finished speaking, he immediately made his way into the kitchen.

The neighbours just looked at one another in surprise and amazement. They felt that the Luo Xiu today is really different from the Luo Xiu they used to know.

He was too calm. It was as if he had become a totally different person.

Approximately 10 minutes later, Li Yuan returned to the restaurant. Walking beside him was an elderly man.

This elderly man is a manager in the church, and a high ranking judge. His surname is Chen, and everyone in Snow Moon City called him Uncle Chen as a sign of respect for him. As a judge, his duty is to supervise the chef battles, and he has a good reputation within Snow Moon City as a fair and unbiased judge.

"Uncle Chen—"

"Elder Chen!"

The crowd of neighbours saw the judge and immediately greeted him. Manager Chen acknowledged their greeting with an "En" sound. Then he found himself a seat, and sat down. He took out some books and a piece of white colour jade and placed them on the table.

"Who is it that challenged chef Li Yuan to a chef battle?"

Manager Chen eyed all the people in the Nine Gates restaurant. None of them dared to look at him in the eye. But at this time, Luo Xiu stepped out from the kitchen and shouted, "It is me!"

"Oh?"

Manager Chen stared at Luo Xiu, and asked, "I seemed to recall that you could not smell or taste anything?"

"That's right!"

"And you still want to challenge chef Li Yuan to a chef battle?"

Manager Chen frowned, and coldly said, "Young man, a chef battle is no joking matter! You must think it over before you decide!"

"I have already decided!"

Luo Xiu took out a doc.u.ment from his pocket and handed it over Manager Chen. "This doc.u.ment is the t.i.tle deed for the owners.h.i.+p of this restaurant. This doc.u.ment is my half of the stakes for this battle!"

"En ?"

Manager Chen raised his head in surprise, as he thought, "He really got guts! He could not smell or taste anything, and yet he dared to issue a chef challenge. He is young, but his future looks promising!"

Manager Chen smiled, and in his heart, he could not help but respect Luo Xiu.

Although Manager Chen did not think that Luo Xiu had a chance of victory, his guts and unwilling to yield att.i.tude are unparallel among the youths of this country.

"Chef Li Yuan, your half of the stakes for this battle?"

As manager Chen looked at Li Yuan, Li Yuan was glaring at Luo Xiu, "Kid, you got guts!"

"Shua!"

He grabbed a piece of jade from his chest. After looking at it, manager Chen could not help but be shocked, "a spot for the spiritual test?"

"En, my stakes for this battle is this 'right to take the spiritual test'. And if I lose, I, Li Yuan swear that I will never try to take over Nine Gates Restaurant!"

Li Yuan cut straight into the point. Right now, he could not wait to start the battle, defeat Luo Xiu and send Luo Xiu into the pits of despair.

With the Nine Gates Restaurant, he had ten thousand ways to torture and kill Luo Xiu.

Right now, he had already embarked on the first step of his plan to take over the restaurant!

"I will definitely let you regret challenging me to a chef battle!"

Li Yuan eyes narrowed, and he immediately turned around and instruct 2 of his aides, "Go, help me bring my cooking utensils over here. And also bring the ingredients I need to make 'Phoenix Tail Ban Zi egg'[1].

"Phoenix Tail Ban Zi egg?"

Manager Chen could not help but smile in delight, "It has been a long time since I sampled this dis.h.!.+"

"Today I will let you try my skills, and see if I have improved over the last year!"

Li Yuan smiled in happiness at seeing the delighted face of manager Chen.

But Luo Xiu just shook his head.

At the end of the day, a chicken egg is just an egg. Li Yuan had made it sounded so grand! What Phoenix Tail Ban Zi egg? Isn’t that just a fancy name for an egg dish?

It was like using boiling some tofu (bean curd) in water, adding some green vegetables and calling it "Green Dragon White Tiger Soup". This is what you call fine food in this world?

"Young man, you are really ignorant about cooking!" Luo Xiu sneered.

Luo Xiu walked into the kitchen and brought out a stove.

At the same time, he also brought out the broken urn that he brought back from the sea.

"What is that?"

The neighbours asked one another in a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement.

"Seawater!"

Having said that, Luo Xiu walked into the kitchen and brought out another Deeson Fruit.

Li Yuan saw Luo Xiu carrying a ma.s.sive Deeson Fruit in his hands, and could not help laughing as he snickered, "Luo Xiu, you are not telling me that you are going to use this Deeson Fruit to compete in the chef battle?"

Manager Chen also could not help but frown.

It is common knowledge that the Deeson Fruit is the most common and basic ingredient. Only the very poor people would purchase it and roast it for their meal.

Luo Xiu nodded his head in agreement, "Right! Who said that…. Deeson Fruit could not be used to cook?"

[1] For those who could not recall, [Ban Zi] is a type of chicken unique to the Country of Fine Cuisine that is around 0.75 to 0.8 meters tall.

The chef battle begins! What potato dish would Luo Xiu cook this time? What is the Phoenix Tail Bi Zi egg like? Find out more tomorrow. J

For fans of Shokugeki! The chef battle had begun! Stay tuned!