The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 69: Chapter 68: Assessment Exam Begins

Zhao Meng quickly called Fu Yu and Sun Qingning over, instructing, ”Hurry up and select the ingredients. For the assessment later, each of you should make a signature dish. Fu Yu will make spicy crayfish, and Sun Qingning will make boiled fish.”

Fu Yu had recently practiced making spicy crayfish and had achieved pretty good results.

As for boiled fish, though it sounds complicated, as long as you master the ratio of ingredients, it can easily stand out.

Fu Yu hurriedly said, ”Chef Zhao, I won’t make spicy crayfish, I want to make stewed dishes.”

Zhao Meng glared angrily, ”Today’s a big day for the evaluation, what are you doing making stewed dishes! Didn’t you hear what Chef Yao said? The boss invited others over besides the people in the kitchen. Those who understand will know it’s a stew, and those who don’t will think it’s a mess, does it look presentable?”

Fu Yu actually knew that Zhao Meng had a point.

The cooking method of stews is different from other dishes.

Speaking of ingredients,

”Stewing” requires pre-processing ingredients like meat that aren’t easy to cook.

Pre-processed ingredients and quickly cooked vegetables are cooked together in the pot.

The quick method of cooking is called stewing.

The main feature of stewed dishes is that they are typical ”one-pot meals.”

Visually, they may not be exquisite, but they are hearty and flavorful.

In other occasions, making stews wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, the restaurant’s special dishes include some famous stews.

But now it’s for an assessment.

So it’s essential not only to think about taste.

It’s necessary to ensure a blend of color, aroma, and flavor as much as possible.

The problem is that among Fu Yu’s current personal skills, only stewing is advanced.

Plus, he relied on a specialty family feast recipe and intermediate chopping skills.

As long as the stew is tasty, there’s no need to worry about plating.

It might not be groundbreaking, but it can at least be eye-catching.

Fu Yu seriously said, ”Chef Zhao, don’t worry, I’ve carefully designed the plating for the stews to ensure there’s no problem with visual presentation.”

Zhao Meng waved his hand, ”Even so, no matter how you plate a stew, it’s still a one-pot dish, what’s so remarkable about that?”

Fu Yu looked at Zhao Meng with determination in his eyes, ”But stews are so ordinary, yet you can make them the most distinctive signature dish in our restaurant! As the apprentice you brought up, I can too!”

Zhao Meng was taken aback.

This brat, these words sound like pure flattery.

Yet somehow, they hit the right note.

For a moment, Zhao Meng hesitated, but his hesitation quickly vanished under the young man’s simple and direct words.

Originally sullen, his face couldn’t hold back, and a smile quickly crept to the corners of his mouth before he managed to suppress it.

Zhao Meng pretended to be angry, ”Who do you think I am! I’ve been cooking for so many years, and you want to compare with me?”

Fu Yu chuckled, ”Compared to you, I certainly can’t match up now, but I’m aiming to be like you! Really, Chef Zhao, today I want to cook stews, I want to use your signature skill to participate in the assessment!”

Zhao Meng’s head throbbed, yet he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

He’s always had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Sometimes all it takes is a word of kindness, a sincere smile with a touch of admiration, to move him and soften his heart.

Zhao Meng gently asked, ”Are you sure you want to make stews for the assessment?”

Fu Yu: ”I’m sure!”

Zhao Meng made the decision, ”Alright then, go prepare your ingredients, and if you’re uncertain about anything, ask quickly!”

Fu Yu heard this and immediately said, ”Great! I’ll head to the storeroom now!”

Sun Qingning stood beside watching Fu Yu, his eyes full of disbelief!

This kid could say such flattering words with such confidence.

A real talent!

Sun Qingning was now truly impressed by Fu Yu.

After pondering for a moment, he remembered his main task and quickly said, ”Chef Zhao! How about I don’t participate in this assessment?”

Zhao Meng turned to him, ”Why?”

Sun Qingning thought, since he’d just be there as an extra, he might as well go home and rest early.

He answered, ”I’m not confident in my cooking skills, joining wouldn’t get me selected anyway.”

Zhao Meng sighed, ”Even though your cooking skills are indeed lacking, opportunities like these assessments are rare. Since you initially signed up, you should continue to participate. Besides, Chef Gu’s side has two people signed up, we can’t have fewer people on our side, after all, we can’t lose face.”

Sun Qingning: ”...”

Oh, this...

Do the differences in treatment have to be so obvious?!

Clearly just to make up the numbers, tagging along as a spare...

Zhao Meng, still with work in hand, gave the two a few words of encouragement and urged them to hurry to the storeroom to select the ingredients.

At that moment, Gu Yunwu also finished instructing his two contestants.

He was confident about Yao Yihang, whom he personally trained.

However, Zhang Jiaxin, who had only been in the kitchen for less than a year, had limited chances at the stove and wasn’t much skilled.

So participating in the assessment, he would likely rank at the bottom.

But there were two spots for full-time positions.

If they didn’t find more participants to assess, what would there be to compare?

Hence, Zhang Jiaxin was brought in to make up the numbers, also an unwilling spare.

Fu Yu and Sun Qingning went to the storeroom to select their ingredients.

The restaurant’s ingredients were purchased fresh every morning by the procurement staff, with assured freshness and quality.

Sun Qingning planned to make boiled fish and prepared to take a bag of soybean sprouts.

Other side ingredients were available in the kitchen, and as for the grass carp, it could be caught anytime from the ordering area.

He picked up a small bag of soybean sprouts from the shelf and turned to wait for Fu Yu.

Only to see Fu Yu standing in front of the vegetable shelf, scrutinizing.

Sun Qingning glanced over.

There’s no problem!

All the vegetables are fresh.

”What’s wrong?”

Fu Yu, looking at the dialogue boxes appearing over the vegetables, smiled, ”Oh, nothing.”

After speaking, he began picking items into a bag.

Picking up a corn: [Corn: Freshness: 90%][A second harvest corn in season, Maturity: 100%]

Picking up a potato: [Potato: Freshness: 95%][A potato harvested in season, Maturity: 100%]

...

In a short time, all the freshest ingredients on the shelf were packed into Fu Yu’s bag.

Fu Yu smiled with satisfaction.

The feeling of knowing how impressive he is, though inwardly competitive, is quite exhilarating.

The two returned to the kitchen, where the cooking stations for the assessment were ready.

After arranging the ingredients, they waited for Yao Shi to come and announce the start of the assessment.

At that moment, in the corridor leading from the front hall to the kitchen, Yao Shi was walking over, chatting and laughing with Boss Dong Jun Tian and three other guests acting as judges.

They were all old friends who had known each other for a while and were familiar with each other.

”Boss Dong, your business is booming. Last time during the school’s food festival, I remember you invited the Sichuan cuisine master, Mr. Shi!”

”That was a coincidence, Mr. Shi came back to visit family, and I happened to catch him, so I asked. Unexpectedly, upon hearing it was for a school event, Mr. Shi agreed immediately. Mr. Shi is truly great...” Dong Jun Tian said with a laugh, ”By the way, Principal Li, I heard this class has some outstanding students?”

Li He nodded, ”Yes, these kids are good, when they graduate, we’ll need Boss Dong’s help in absorbing some employment opportunities!”

Dong Jun Tian chuckled, ”No problem, our kitchen staff turnover is high, when the time comes, during the recruitment fair, I’ll join Boss Wang.”

Wang Jingrui is the boss of Ke Duo Lai BBQ restaurant.

This time he came, he specially brought his chefs to watch the competition.

Actually, the two restaurants and the culinary school often collaborate.

The restaurants need kitchen staff, while the culinary school needs partner units for student employment.

So they usually keep in frequent contact.

Yao Shi checked the time, smiling, ”The assessment is about to begin, and we hope you all can provide some feedback.”

Dong Jun Tian nodded, ”Right, Principal Li, one of your school’s students, Fu Yu, is participating today. Do you remember him?”

Li He smiled, ”Fu Yu, of course, I remember. He’s a very spirited young man, very popular back in school!”

Wang Jingrui laughed, ”Oh, so he’s one of our own, we should take care of him.”

Li He waved his hand, ”Oh, that won’t do, we must be fair and realistic, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair to others.”

Everyone nodded with a smile, ”Principal Li is right, let’s follow Principal Li’s lead!”