The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

On Monday morning, Dong Jun Tian called the restaurant’s management team for a meeting.

When Zhao Meng returned, Fu Yu informed him about the increase in orders.

Zhao Meng said, ”Today’s meeting is because of this. Last Friday night, the food promotional program featuring Chef Yao and Chef Gu was aired. They highlighted the innovative dishes at our restaurant, attracting many customers. We should expect more customers like this in the coming days. We’re going to be busy again, especially you! During the interview, Chef Yao particularly mentioned your creation of the innovative dishes.”

Fu Yu suddenly understood the situation. No wonder.

However, he didn’t expect Yao Shi to mention him on television.

Fu Yu said with some regret, ”If I had known earlier, I would have told my parents to watch TV. Does this mean I indirectly participated in a provincial TV program?”

Zhao Meng couldn’t help but laugh, ”Look at you, getting carried away so easily!”

Seeing Zhao Meng finally smile, Fu Yu felt relieved.

Ever since his old injury flared up, Zhao Meng’s mood hadn’t improved.

He’d had relapses before, but none were as severe as this one.

And those didn’t coincide with a busy holiday season like this one either.

Missing one Mid-Autumn Festival put a lot of stress on Zhao Meng, and Fu Yu understood that.

He wanted to comfort Zhao Meng but also knew that during times like these, words weren’t enough.

As long as he recovered his hand, Zhao Meng’s mood would naturally improve.

After the laughter, Zhao Meng reminded, ”This hand of mine will probably take at least a week to heal. You’ll need to work hard during this period. Also, the boss mentioned in the meeting today that you should quickly teach the rest the improved method of making spicy-salt shrimp tiger, so it can be incorporated into the kitchen routines.”

This was mainly because the spicy-salt shrimp tiger was initially only cooked privately when ordered from Zhao Meng.

Even after it was reported to the restaurant, Gu Yunwu didn’t actively request to learn it, and Zhao Meng was happy to keep it that way.

Later, whenever the dish was ordered, the order was directly sent to their side.

But now, Dong Jun Tian proposed to make this dish a signature dish of the restaurant, requiring every chef to master the specific cooking method.

That meant Fu Yu needed to instruct it.

Zhao Meng casually mentioned, ”Of course, the reward for improving this dish will be included in your salary.”

Fu Yu was amused. Getting paid was always good.

Zhao Meng added, ”Let’s start teaching the dish from today.”

Just as Fu Yu was about to nod, he glanced up and noticed a [!] above Zhao Meng’s head.

A task!

[Ding! Task from NPC Head Chef Zhao Meng: Teach the kitchen staff to master the improved method of spicy-salt shrimp tiger. Task completion reward: A random prize.]

To think there was a random task!

Fu Yu quickly accepted it.

The improved method for the spicy-salt shrimp tiger wasn’t that complicated. As long as one’s knife was sharp and steady, it got easier with practice.

Especially since the shrimp tiger’s shell was quite tough, retaining its original flavor required oiling before cutting, adding some challenge to slicing through the shell.

But it wasn’t overly difficult.

Even Sun Qingning picked it up quickly and was already able to handle cutting.

Thinking of this, Fu Yu nodded quickly, ”Okay, Chef Zhao.”

After instructing Fu Yu, Zhao Meng called over Sun Qingning, ”Fu Yu is going to teach Chef Gu and the others how to make the improved spicy-salt shrimp tiger. You’ll assist him first, and then take over when orders come in.”

Between eight-thirty to ten is the quietest time in the morning at the restaurant.

Before meal times, very few customers come in to dine early.

Fu Yu instructed Sun Qingning to prepare the ingredients and seasonings in advance.

Cooking the spicy-salt shrimp tiger wasn’t difficult, mainly just required some practice with cutting it.

Yao Shi led Gu Yunwu and Yao Yixing over to watch Fu Yu’s cooking, learning alongside him.

As Gu Yunwu approached, he greeted Fu Yu with a smile, ”Xiaofu, do you have all the ingredients ready? Need an extra hand?”

Fu Yu smiled, ”Everything’s ready.”

Nearby, Yao Yihang also commented teasingly, ”Chef Fu, my knife skills aren’t great, so if I’m slow getting the hang of it, please don’t get mad.”

Before Fu Yu could respond, Gu Yunwu said, ”Are you afraid of being laughed at for your own lack of skill? If you know you’re not good enough, practice more when you get back!”

Yao Yihang laughed awkwardly, ”I just don’t want to upset Chef Fu, so he won’t teach wholeheartedly!”

Gu Yunwu snorted, ”If Xiaofu had such prejudices, he wouldn’t have offered to teach us today.”

The implication was clear; he was still bothered that Fu Yu hadn’t shared the improved spicy-salt shrimp tiger method earlier.

Although this had been a while back, and most of the dissatisfaction had dissipated.

However, during the provincial TV interview, Yao Shi cunningly gave the spotlight to Fu Yu instead of raising him up.

Thus, Gu Yunwu felt his discontent rising again.

Despite his frustration,

he had appreciation for Fu Yu’s culinary skills and abilities.

A talent like Fu Yu was worth keeping around.

Especially since it was obvious the instigator was Zhao Meng.

Gu Yunwu silently cursed Zhao Meng as a nasty piece of work!

Yet outwardly maintained his peacemaking demeanor.

Fu Yu just smiled slightly, staying silent.

He let Gu Yunwu and his apprentice chat away if they wanted, not caring about their thoughts.

His focus was to get paid for his work, teach them quickly, and earn the task reward sooner.

Fu Yu was meticulous in showing the operation, demonstrating each step and explaining potential issues and points to note comprehensively.

Even Gu Yunwu had to admit that Fu Yu was impressive!

Sun Qingning already knew the dish, so during practice, he paid special attention to Fu Yu’s knife technique, aiming for the same precision and skill.

After the first round, once everyone learned the method, they went off to practice on their own.

When Zhao Meng first made this dish, he went through many shrimp tigers to perfect his knife skills.

With plenty of shrimp tigers available at Qianlima, any mistakes could be redirected by removing the meat and making other dishes.

The kitchen hands brought a large tub of shrimp tigers, divided among everyone as dish after dish of spicy-salt shrimp tiger was prepared.

Any failures were set aside, and the successful ones were plated.

They practiced for most of the morning.

But…

Fu Yu frowned slightly, questioning why the task wasn’t marked as complete yet, even after nearly an hour.

Among those learning were only Yao Shi, Gu Yunwu, and Yao Yihang.

Yao Shi surely had it figured out.

Could it be that Gu Yunwu and Yao Yihang’s knife skills were even below Sun Qingning’s?