巧遇廚藝大賽 / Stumbling upon a cooking competition
您們身邊有很多做菜的朋友嗎？我媽，雖然我很愛她，不過，她不是，所以我學生時的午餐時間，很討厭吃她幫我帶的午餐便當，有時候還可以，但是，常常不好吃，我情願去買學校福利社賣的麵包，或是到校園口兜售的便當來果腹，男生大多不喜歡做菜，不過，我某位求學時的室友，很喜歡做菜，常常找我們試他做的料理，他的料理，算得上好吃。
廚藝比賽節目是近年來很受歡迎的節目類型，最近最熱門的就是黑白大廚，它是一檔韓國料理實境秀，由無名廚師與星級名廚對決廚藝，賽制緊湊且充滿創意，雖然我沒看過，但是有一陣子，我身邊的朋友都在討論這檔節目，不過她們的重點都在討論主廚們的可愛度與帥氣度，很少討論到料理的部分，真讓我有點傻眼。
這場巧遇的廚藝比賽，是我第一次見到的現場比賽，就跟我在廚藝比賽節目上看到的差不多，選手們在有限的時間內，必須完成一道指定主題料理，像這場是以馬鈴薯為主題的料理，選手必須以馬鈴薯為核心食材，設計出前菜與主菜等整套精緻餐點，現場擺放的馬鈴薯就有好幾種，我還蠻好奇的，真不知道那些選手們，可以運用他們的巧手，烹調出怎麼樣的料理？
除了正在舉行的賽事之外，還有之前刀工藝術賽事的結果，看到那些運用精湛的雕刻技巧，化為精緻的藝術品的蔬果，真是讓人驚艷不已，可惜的是，那些料理展示，是很美輪美奐，而飢腸轆轆的觀眾們，卻只能遠觀，還好附近有很多食品或食材廠商提供試吃品，可以讓我們稍稍解嘴饞。
Do you have a lot of friends around you who like to cook? My mom-well, I love her—but cooking isn’t really her thing. Back when I was a student, I actually dreaded lunchtime because of the lunchbox she made for me. Sometimes it was okay, but most of the time… not so great. I’d honestly rather buy bread from the school store or grab a lunchbox from vendors outside the campus just to fill my stomach. Most guys don’t really enjoy cooking, but one of my roommates back in school actually loved it. He would often ask us to try his dishes, and honestly, his cooking was pretty good.
Cooking competition shows have become really popular in recent years. One of the hottest lately is “Culinary Class Wars”, a Korean cooking reality show where unknown chefs compete against celebrity chefs. The format is fast-paced and full of creativity. Even though I haven’t watched it myself, there was a time when all my friends were talking about it. But what surprised me was that they mostly talked about how cute or handsome the chefs were, and barely mentioned the food at all. That honestly made me a bit speechless.
This cooking competition I happened to come across was actually my first time seeing one in person. It looked pretty similar to what you’d see on those TV shows. The contestants had to complete a themed dish within a limited time. In this case, the theme was potatoes. They had to use potatoes as the main ingredient and design a full course meal, including appetizers and a main dish. There were several different kinds of potatoes displayed on-site, which made me really curious. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of dishes these chefs would create with their skills.
Besides the live competition, there were also displays from a previous knife skills and carving contest. The fruits and vegetables had been transformed into delicate works of art with incredible carving techniques—it was truly amazing to see. The only downside was that these beautiful creations were just for display. As hungry visitors, we could only admire them from a distance. Luckily, there were plenty of nearby food and ingredient vendors offering free samples, which helped satisfy our cravings just a little.
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