The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 439: Chapter 433: Wrong Season

Director Qian and Gao Qiming are very dedicated to this banquet.

This thank you banquet for Fan Xiubin holds significant meaning.

It not only expresses the gratitude of the school and the people for her heroic deeds, but also intends to use this event to promote Bei’an City, striving for the title in this nationwide charming city selection.

Simply put, even for the honor of Beiping, this thank you banquet must be conducted in accordance with rules and regulations, and also be grand enough to express their intentions, while allowing netizens across the country to see Bei’an City’s charm.

Director Qian looked at Zhang Zhen with a solemn expression: ”Chef Zhang, Building Chief Fan is a hero of Bei’an University and a pride of Bei’an City. I must trouble you to put extra effort into this matter!”

Gao Qiming also said seriously: ”Old Zhang, please think of a way, this matter is really urgent!”

Looking at his old friend and Director Qian, Zhang Zhen nodded: ”Alright, I’ll contact the front hall manager now to see if there’s an available hall tomorrow and if we can make adjustments. The time is just too tight, we are caught off guard here, we can only try our best to strive for it!”

After speaking, Zhang Zhen took Gao Qiming and Fan Xiubin to the front desk to find Front Hall Manager Li Xintong.

Li Xintong was currently checking the customer orders for tomorrow.

Seeing Zhang Zhen bringing two strangers over, Li Xintong quickly reacted, proactively asking, ”Chef Zhang, is there something you need?”

The people in the back kitchen get off work half an hour earlier than those in the front hall.

At this point, Zhang Zhen hadn’t left yet, it was likely that either a friend wanted to book a banquet, needing an employee discount, or there was an urgent matter, wanting to jump the queue to reserve a table.

Although there was still some time before New Year’s Day, the bulk bookings at this music restaurant, especially for wedding banquets, had already been scheduled before the end of the year.

Zhang Zhen nodded and made introductions for Li Xintong: ”This is my buddy Gao Qiming, a teacher at Bei’an University.”

”This is Director Qian from Bei’an University, they are here to book a banquet at our place this time.”

Zhang Zhen carefully explained the situation.

Li Xintong was stunned; there were two big clients in the store, which was a good thing.

But the problem was, the time was too urgent.

The banquet was to start tomorrow, and the size of the banquet, the customization of dishes, along with a bunch of other details needed to be discussed clearly tonight.

Moreover, on the kitchen side, because of the hurried order, they might have to work overtime to prepare ingredients.

The procurement team also needed to be notified to be ready and to carry out purchases at any time upon command.

And there was the issue of staffing on the front hall side.

If the banquet could really be arranged, the previously scheduled staff would need to be readjusted.

Given the scale of the thank-you banquet, there must be enough staff, and they must be presentable and reliable people.

However, it’s still a bit early to think about all this.

Right now, the priority is to figure out how to spare a banquet hall to arrange this thank-you banquet!

Thinking of this, Li Xintong’s expression changed, she couldn’t help but sigh, while taking the order records for tomorrow, she said: ”Let me first check which banquet hall can be swapped.”

Zhang Zhen leaned over, watching as Li Xintong flipped through customer registration records page by page.

The more he looked, the more he felt helpless!

The more he looked, the more his heart sank!

This is trouble now.

The three large banquet halls in the restaurant are all booked for tomorrow.

The day is coincidentally auspicious, both in the solar and lunar calendars, with the number 8, considered a particularly lucky day for hosting banquets.

Six orders in total, all for weddings.

Each with a session at noon, and one in the evening.

Such orders, unless the customer has a last-minute issue and requests a change of date, are nearly impossible to reschedule or change the venue, given that family and friends have been notified and rehearsals have been done.

Li Xintong finished reviewing, swiftly going over the customer data from a few orders in her mind.

Then, she turned to ask Zhang Zhen: ”The kitchen staff, have they all gone off work by now?”

Zhang Zhen quickly said: ”On my side, no problem, staff can be called in at any time.”

Li Xintong nodded, picked up the landline, and started communicating with the customers of several orders one by one.

Appealing to emotions, explaining with reason.

Clearly explaining Fan Xiubin’s heroic deeds, and finally sought approval from the boss Yao Shi, the music restaurant is willing to waive the banquet fee and additionally offer a variety of compensatory gifts.

In the end, one order’s customer agreed to relinquish the venue and postponed their engagement date.

The original banquet was in Hall A on the second floor, very spacious and grandly decorated, capable of holding eighty-eight banquet tables.

The state currently has regulations, advising against holding extravagant banquets.

However, the circumstances of this thank you banquet are special.

Besides the school’s and city’s leaders attending, the school’s students and their families, socially active philanthropists, TV station staff, and various media reporters are all on the invitation list.

According to the afternoon meeting instructions from the school leaders, all these people have been invited, with an estimated attendance of over seven hundred people.

Director Qian’s intention is to tentatively set ten people per table, reserve seventy tables, with ten extra tables prepared, and make further adjustments on site.

Zhang Zhen, seeing that Li Xintong finished making the calls, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief; once the venue is secured, the rest can be handled.

But... reserving the banquet dishes is not easy!

Needing to showcase the local features of Bei’an while subtly exuding a sense of luxury!

At this moment, dozens of banquet dish combination options from his restaurant flashed swiftly in Zhang Zhen’s mind, and he had tentatively decided on most of them.

Gao Qiming, watching Zhang Zhen intensely contemplating, was about to speak when Director Qian’s phone rang.

It was a call from the school leadership.

After Director Qian finished the call, his expression changed drastically.

Hanging up, Director Qian, looking troubled and anxious, said to Zhang Zhen: ”Chef Zhang, the leadership has issued new instructions, hoping that the banquet dishes can be the authentic Kaijiang Banquet of Bei’an.”

”While returning, Building Chief Fan accepted an interview with the provincial TV station, casually mentioning that over this year of treatment, she misses her hometown’s Kaijiang Banquet the most.”

The school leaders had a earnest discussion with Director Qian over the phone about customizing the banquet dishes for the Kaijiang Banquet.

Because the most locally characteristic banquet in Bei’an is the nationally renowned Kaijiang Banquet.

It wasn’t considered before due to the season being inappropriate.

Now, with winter already here, waiting for the river to open would take at least half a year.

But this gimmick could truly easily drive traffic and gain attention.

Moreover, there’s a familiar person at the provincial TV station who passed the message that if they are willing to help promote the upcoming Ice and Snow Festival, then the provincial TV station is willing to reserve a prime program slot to help promote this thank you banquet.

That’s how the situation stands.

The reasoning is sound enough.

But the dishes...

Zhang Zhen: ”...”

An excellent cook cannot cook without rice!