The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 37: Chapter 36: Back Kitchen Artisan Title

After checking the marination of the side dishes, Yao Shi left the storage room with a heavy heart.

In the kitchen, everyone was busy working in front of the stoves.

Today, they’d taken on a big order.

The customized banquet was for a big company, which had booked the entire second and third floors of the hotel, totaling 107 tables.

Although they chose a mid-tier menu, the number of tables booked was high. Once this order was completed, Yao Shi would receive a large bonus.

A woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.

Yao Shi felt he couldn’t understand, nor see it clearly.

Work was good; at least it rewarded labor with returns.

Unlike his wife, where despite working tirelessly, he might only get a dismissive eye roll, or a cold response: Can you hurry up?

Now, it seemed his family was falling apart, his marriage, breaking up.

The only thing he could hold onto was his career.

The previously dormant heart of Yao Shi began to leap again.

Wherever his eyes wandered, Fu Yu was standing at the kitchen table, diligently carving a braised duck.

The situation at Qianlima, he definitely needed to attend to.

As for the music restaurant, it seemed the time had come to introduce a reliable chef and to bring Zhao Meng over soon.

And Fu Yu.

If trained well, maybe he could become Zhao Meng’s successor in the future.

With his mind made up, Yao Shi’s gaze on Fu Yu became unknowingly warmer.

He was one of them, deserving of good guidance.

Yao Shi went over and first looked at the braised duck that had begun to be plated.

Fu Yu’s hands were steady, and his plating angles were precise. Except for the slight roughness of the cuts, it was actually quite impressive.

”This banquet, with 107 tables, entrusts you with the task of making the first-class whole duck dish.”

Fu Yu looked up, and the next second, an electronic sound rang in his ear:

[Ding! Kitchen Artisan: Complete the disassembly and plating 100 times to achieve this milestone.]

Kitchen Artisan?

A new title?

It seemed he could successfully achieve it today.

However, having completed three platings, there hadn’t been any special notification, meaning the task started counting now.

tables, required making 107 plates of first-class whole duck.

Aside from the one Yao Shi had just demonstrated, he had already disassembled three plates, leaving 103 to complete the task.

Fu Yu cheerfully agreed, ”Alright, Chef Yao.”

Yao Shi nodded, satisfied.

Hardworking, skilled, unafraid of toil and hardship.

A highly promising talent indeed.

...

Fu Yu focused on his work.

Zhang Zhen took a moment out of his busy schedule to grab a plate of washed strawberries from the apprentice, keeping a few for himself and bringing the rest to Fu Yu.

”Work needs rhythm and relaxation. The banquet doesn’t start until after four in the afternoon; there’s no need to rush.”

Fu Yu glanced at the strawberries on the plate and thanked him, ”Thanks.”

Zhang Zhen took another look at the braised duck Fu Yu had already disassembled and plated, becoming more convinced of his hypotheses.

This young Chef Fu’s skills were indeed impressive. The way he handled the braised duck showed he was a seasoned hand.

Zhang Zhen laughed and said, ”You’re welcome. If there’s anything you need help with, just let me know.”

Fu Yu’s impression of Zhang Zhen improved, sensing that this Chef Zhang was a good person.

Thinking he might become colleagues with Zhang Zhen in the future, Fu Yu curiously glanced above Zhang Zhen’s head at the [!]

[A chef with seventeen years of service. Status: Wise in adapting to situations, average culinary skills, Affection level: 5]

Fu Yu: ”...”

Adapting to situations?

He hadn’t noticed that.

But an affection level of only 5?

This Chef Zhang seemed quite a character!

He must have noticed he was brought over by Chef Yao, thus treating him well to win favor with Chef Yao.

Internally grumbling, Fu Yu outwardly smiled and replied, ”Okay, thank you, Chef Zhang.”

Zhang Zhen, having achieved his purpose, left satisfied.

Watching his back, Fu Yu suddenly thought of Zhao Meng.

People truly can’t be compared.

Compared to Zhang Zhen, he still preferred the blunt but kind-hearted Zhao Meng.

...

A chef is a very rigorous profession.

No matter how lively one’s personality is, the moment they stand in the kitchen wielding the knife and the spatula, it’s as if their soul has been chilled, becoming calm and meticulous.

Fu Yu’s movements in disassembling the braised duck became increasingly adept.

He remembered Yao Shi’s previous guidance, attempting to cut the duck bones at different angles with each slice.

The cross sections of the bones slowly became smooth and even, which gave Fu Yu a sense of accomplishment.

With his hand speed and the aid of green correction lines, the speed of disassembling and plating increased.

Unknowingly, he had completed nearly half of the task.

Yao Shi came over to check, silently amazed, and decided to support him even more.

”Xiaofu, do you know how to make eight-treasure sticky bean buns?”

Fu Yu nodded, ”I’ve seen it twice, but haven’t made it myself.”

After all, eight-treasure sticky bean buns are considered dough work, typically handled by the pastry team at Qianlima.

Yao Shi instructed, ”No problem, later go assist Chef Zhang. There’s a family gathering of three tables booked on the fifth floor, with the main dish being eight-treasure sticky bean buns.”

Fu Yu quickly plated the duck sections in his hand and then went to find Zhang Zhen.

Zhang Zhen directed the apprentices to prepare the soaked beans and ingredients before starting to make the eight-treasure sticky bean buns.

The restaurant’s eight-treasure sticky bean buns were completely different from what families normally make.

If the homemade version was just for taste, the restaurant’s needed to balance taste and appearance, with an upscale presentation matching the high-priced set menu.

The pastry team at the music restaurant was busy preparing for the afternoon banquet set menu, leaving no personnel to take on orders.

Yao Shi could only assign the task to Zhang Zhen.

Zhang Zhen had worked in the pastry team before, later switching to the main kitchen to handle the wok.

Moreover, eight-treasure sticky bean buns didn’t have much difficulty; as long as the ingredients were right, they would be delicious regardless, and presentation could always be adjusted if one understood setup.

Zhang Zhen placed various beans in the steamer in proportions, spreading them out, and then sprinkled a measured amount of rock sugar over them.

Fu Yu helped pass ingredients: red beans, kidney beans, black beans, blood glutinous rice...

At this moment, Fu Yu suddenly realized his cheat had another special function.

Wherever his hand passed, the attributes of all ingredients would pop up!

[Red beans harvested this autumn]...[High-quality seasonal kidney beans]...[Meticulously selected blood glutinous rice]...

However, these were not the most surprising; after all, the quality of ingredients purchased was relatively secure due to the strict oversight by the kitchen management staff.

What delighted Fu Yu the most was occasionally suddenly seeing a line of red text among the green: [A rotten red bean]...

This was a bad bean not picked out by the apprentice while soaking beans last night.

Fu Yu casually picked it out and discarded it.

All the ingredients came with quality inspection labels.

While this astonished Fu Yu, it also thrilled him.

This ability was really wonderful!

From now on, when he took the helm, the quality of all ingredients would be crystal clear.

Currently, he was only sorting beans, but when cooking seafood, this ability would be invaluable!

He felt he had everything set except for the right timing.

Fu Yu thought he should further hone his culinary skills, aiming to reach the level of a senior chef technician soon.

After all, in this line of work, the most important asset was excellent cooking skills.

Thus, he calmed his mind, cooperated earnestly with Zhang Zhen’s work, and carefully picked out all the bad beans.