The Magical Food God of Hogwarts

Chapter 51 Jaw-dropping

When Rita Skeeter and Bozo arrived downstairs, they saw Tom Abbott at the bar explaining to the guests, "I'm so sorry, this is lunch prepared by our hotel guests; it's not for sale..."

The aroma of the stewed chicken grew stronger and stronger, but it didn't feel greasy at all. Instead, it spread from the chest cavity to the whole body, making the body feel warm and cozy.

Skeeter followed the aroma to the kitchen doorway, where she saw Hannah and Tonks blocking the entrance on either side.

"This is--"

She had barely uttered a single word when she was met with angry glares from Hannah and Tonks, who simultaneously gestured for her to be quiet.

Overwhelmed by such an imposing presence, she had no choice but to tiptoe closer to the door and peer inside.

Lucas, wearing an apron and a chef's hat, stood before the stove. A small flame licked at a rough earthenware pot on the stove.

The flames flickered gently, illuminating Lucas's high-bridged nose and profile, while the soup in the earthenware pot simmered, releasing an even more enchanting warm aroma.

Suddenly, a muffled thud was heard, and a flash of light and smoke rose simultaneously. Bozo had instinctively pressed the shutter button and captured the scene.

However, Hannah and Donxton were immediately enraged, shouting, "How dare you interfere—"

“It’s alright,” Lucas suddenly said, without turning his head, still staring at the flames. “It’s almost over. Come on, Ms. Skeeter, Mr. Bozo, Hannah, Tonks, you can all come in. Mr. Bozo, you can take pictures however you like.”

Skeeter darted in, trying to find evidence of Lucas's cheating, but Lucas was alone in the kitchen, and there was no trace of cooking magic on the stove, cutting board, or sink.

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw Lucas move. He opened the lid of the earthenware pot, and amidst the rising steam and the aroma that filled the kitchen, he used a slotted spoon to scoop out the contents of the pot and casually placed them into a large bowl.

It was chicken cut into chunks, along with various condiments that had become mushy, such as slices of ginger, scallion segments, shallots, and so on.

"Lucas, can I have a piece?" Hannah stared at the large bowl, her stomach growling.

"Let me have a bite first," Tonks said excitedly, raising a fork he'd somehow acquired.

Skeeter looked at the bowl of chicken and grunted. It smelled delicious, but it didn't look very appealing, especially with all that sauce and seasoning stuck to it. Why didn't they remove it? It didn't look very appetizing.

But for an eleven-year-old Muggle boy, that's already pretty good. Alright, I'll praise him a bit...

Bozo came over with his camera, ready to take a picture of the large bowl.

Suddenly, Lucas said, looking puzzled, "What are you doing? This bowl is just soup dregs, you can't eat it."

Soup residue?

The group turned their heads simultaneously. Ah? So Lucas didn't make stewed chicken, but chicken soup?

Tonks hesitated, unsure whether to put down his fork, his hair turning a tangled gray: "Should we just throw this whole bowl of chicken away? It smells so good, isn't it a waste?"

Skeeter's gaze was sharp as he adjusted his glasses.

Hmph, discarding the chicken meat and only keeping the chicken soup... You're just being mysterious, aren't you? Did you learn that from some food program?

Suddenly, Hannah asked curiously, "Lucas, are you going to add the pork to the chicken soup?"

It turned out that Lucas had already picked up a small dish of pork, added a little water to dilute it, and was about to pour it into the earthenware pot.

"No!" Bozo couldn't help but say, "How can pork taste good when cooked in chicken broth? Don't mess around like that."

Lucas merely glanced at him: "Come on, bring your camera over here."

With a slight tremor of his hand, the small lump of pork slid down the spoon into the chicken soup. Lucas stirred it gently, and several people gathered around.

To their astonishment, they saw that the small clump of pork, which was actually extremely fine minced meat, simmered in the chicken broth, rolled slightly, and then solidified into a ball and floated up.

Lucas strained the meat scraps, and for a moment Skeeter thought he was going to eat them, but Lucas had already thrown the meat scraps into the bowl of soup residue.

What are they doing now?

Suddenly, a camera clicked. Bozo snapped a picture of the pottery jar, startling Skeeter, who was muttering to himself.

"Soup...soup! What an amazing technique!"

Skeeter frowned, took another look, and his eyes widened in surprise.

A pot of clear, shimmering chicken soup, with a deep, dark gold hue, is presented in an earthenware jar.

There wasn't a single impurity in it!

Just one look is enough to imagine its delicate and smooth texture!

"The minced meat method for simmering the soup," Lucas explained casually, then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he divided the perfect pot of chicken soup into two portions.

He approached the cutting board, where several large pieces of chicken breast lay. With a flick of his finger, the sharp chef's knife leaped into his hand.

This time, without Lucas's prompting, Bozo brought the camera over.

"Alright, let's begin."

Lucas slightly raised his wrist, the blade pointing downwards.

Amid Hannah and Tonks' expectant gazes, the flashes of blades merged into one!

Skeeter's eyes widened and his mouth grew bigger and bigger.

Thump thump thump... Bozo's eyes were glazed over, but his excellent professionalism still allowed him to steadily and continuously press the shutter.

Six neat, uniformly sized and thick chicken breasts appeared on the cutting board, but this was just the beginning. Lucas's chef's knife was almost silent, a blur as it slid across the chicken breasts. After cutting one side, he spun the chicken breast under the knife and began cutting from another direction.

Skeeter felt her jaw hurting more and more, but she couldn't close her mouth at all.

This kid... how is that possible? Such knife skills! How... how did he do that?

Her gaze was fixed on the chicken breast in Lucas's hand. After all six pieces of chicken breast were processed and marinated, Lucas carried them to the earthenware pot, and the four of them followed suit.

It's clearly finished slicing, with such fine knife work, shouldn't it have been cut into strips of meat? Why does it still look like six pieces on the outside? What exactly did Lucas cut?

As Skeeter was lost in thought, he saw Lucas slide a piece of chicken breast into the chicken soup and gently stir it with a spoon.

At that moment, everyone was stunned. The kitchen was silent except for the faint bubbling of the chicken soup.

Then came a series of bangs as the shutter clicked wildly, and Bozo groaned softly.

"Merlin... Merlin..."

Skeeter felt as if he heard his jaw dislocate, and his mind went blank.

A snow-white, lustrous chrysanthemum is blooming in the chicken soup!

Hundreds of petals curled slightly and then unfurled, the stamens swaying gently. That piece of chicken breast, surprisingly, blossomed into a complete and beautiful chrysanthemum in the chicken soup!