Chapter 196: Chapter 196

“Showdown?” questioned Sharon with an arched brow. “What kind of showdown?”

“A cooking showdown, of course. Aren’t you a chef? I can have a face-off with you when it comes to food,” declared Casper before pointing at the red wine on the table. “I think I will win, though, because a true chef will never waste food, and judging by what you did earlier, you must be a terrible chef.”

Sharon was rendered speechless by his sarcastic remarks. However, she could not even refute with the comebacks she had prepared in her mind, for the man’s words had hit her right at the core.

The number one rule for chefs, for both apprentices and professionals, was to never waste food.

During their apprenticeship, they would always accidentally burn the dishes. Instead of throwing them away, they would eat the burnt food as punishment.

Even when the food was rotten, they would make it into slops to feed animals.

Her sister, Sheryl, always reminded her that the ingredients could always be turned into mouth-

watering dishes as long as they were still in good condition.

For chefs, wasting food was an absolute taboo.

Since Sharon had indeed poured red wine on Casper earlier, she had no reason to defend herself. Any other disciplined chefs would also disapprove of this behavior.

“I…” Her voice trailed off, losing confidence.

“Well, forget it. It would be a shame to compete with someone like you, anyway.” Casper pretended to be disappointed as he shook his head with a sigh to trigger the woman.

As expected, it worked. “I’m all up for it. I want to see what talent a poor person like you has!” she said firmly. “What’s in it for me if I win?”

“Aren’t I merely a poor person to you? If I lose, I’ll squat down by your hotel’s entrance and beg for food!”

“Deal, but that’s not all. I want you to leave Elena too!” Sharon added.

Not knowing how to clear the misunderstanding, Casper went along with it. “Fine. If I lose, I’ll break up with Elena.”

He stared at the mentioned woman and winked at her, hinting her not to expose him. Blushing, the woman looked away.

Satisfied that he had agreed, Sharon asked, “So which cuisine are we going to cook? Ustranasion or Jetroinian?”

“We don’t need to rush. You haven’t told me what will happen if you lose.” Casper let out a sly smile.

“There’s no way I’ll lose. If I do, then I’ll resign as the hotel’s head chef.”

“Oh? But I’ve heard you’re the ace here. Will they accept even your resignation letter?”

“That’s none of your business. All you have to know is that I’m a woman of my word,” uttered Sharon strictly, refusing to disclose anything regarding the hotel.

Since Casper failed to manage to dig out more information, he challenged, “Okay, then. We’ll do three rounds of this showdown. You’ll decide the challenge for the first two rounds and I the last round. What do you say?”

“Do you think I’ll cower in fear? Do you prefer Chanaean cuisine or Ustranasion cuisine?”

“Rumor has it that although you’re a three Michelin Star chef, your Chanaean cuisine is still better than Ustranasion one, so we shall go for the former.”

“Be more specific, please. There are many types of Chanaean cuisines. Which one shall we go for?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m fine with anything.”

Recognizing how confident Casper was, a trace of disdain flashed across Sharon’s eyes. “Okay, then.

I’m looking forward to competing with you. Let’s see how well you can cook. When is the showdown, and where?”

“Tomorrow noon at Tycoon’s kitchen. If you’re suspicious of me, you can bring your own ingredients and equipment.”

“You better not back down at the last minute!” With that said, Sharon exited the room and shooed the people outside watching the show.

Once the woman was out of sight, Casper footed the bill, packed his stuff, and left the room. He had lost his appetite.

“Mr. Simpson, are you sure you want to compete with a head chef? What if… What if you lose?”

questioned Elena as soon as the two of them stepped out of Lingham Hotel.

She didn’t have the heart to say that he was more inclined to do well in the business field. She knew competing with a professional chef would be difficult, so she kept her words tactful.

Contrary to her expectation, a confident smile tugged on Casper’s lips. “Since I’m the one who proposed the showdown, of course, I have my preparations. We can take advantage of the time, place, and even the surrounding people. I don’t see how we’ll lose.”

“Take advantage?” uttered Elena in confusion.

“Since Tycoon is our territory, we naturally have the upper hand. But she doesn’t know about this since she’s convinced that I’m poor. That’s why I said there’s no way we’ll lose.”

“What? Are you planning to sabotage the showdown?” asked the woman with a frown as she thought Casper was going to cheat to win the face-off.

“Of course not! I’m going to win her fair and square. That’s the only way I will be able to impress her.

Only then can I snatch her over!” Casper explained with narrowed eyes. “You know, when I grabbed her hand earlier, I took that chance to subtly feel her biceps. Judging from the feel of them, I can tell that she has only been a chef for no more than four years. She must be crazy talented since she’s already a three Michelin Star chef in such a short time.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you’re this naughty, Mr. Simpson,” Elena teased, to which Casper replied with awkward coughs.

“Well… That’s not the point. She did mention she has an older sister who cooks better than her, so she must have been learning with her sister.”

“Do you plan to hire both of them?”

“That’s right. Tycoon needs people like them to compete with Lingham Hotel, so we cannot let go of this opportunity.”

Gazing at the man’s serious expression, Elena felt lovestruck. This man is really charming when he’s serious.

“As for Sawyer, I know him well enough to know that he won’t notice this if we keep it discreet. All he does is tune in to female online streamers and fool around outside. He doesn’t care about his family business at all.”

Though he was belittling his rival, he still had his guards up against Sawyer since the latter was the son of a wealthy family.

“Return to the hotel and inform the chefs to prepare everything for the showdown tomorrow.”

“What if she doesn’t show up?” Elena voiced out her concern.

“I doubt it. If she takes pride in being a chef, she will definitely show.”