The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Fu Yu arrived early at the Shangshi Private Kitchen.

Today went smoothly, met an experienced driver, took shortcuts all the way, and caught all green lights.

What usually takes forty minutes, today only took a little over twenty minutes.

As soon as Fu Yu got out of the car, he saw Liu Yunong’s car pulling over.

Fu Yu hurriedly went up to greet her.

As Liu Yunong got out of the car, she was welcomed with a warm smile and a greeting, ”Master!”

Liu Yunong saw Fu Yu, smiled, and was about to speak when a warm cup of milk tea was shoved into her hand.

Fu Yu said with a smile, ”Here, have some milk tea.”

Liu Yunong was momentarily stunned: ”Huh? Why the sudden treat?”

Fu Yu quickly said, ”Oh, it’s nothing, just bought it on a whim.”

With the cold weather, the milk tea Liu Yuqing bought was especially hot, and Fu Yu held it all the way to keep his hands warm. By the time he thought of drinking it, he had already arrived.

Just happened to meet Liu Yunong, so it turned into a serendipitous gift.

Liu Yunong curiously went, ”Oh,” looking at the warm milk tea in her hand.

It’s the thick taro bubble milk tea from Hu House.

A favorite milk tea of her younger sister.

She looked at Fu Yu thoughtfully, oh, just bought on a whim...

...

After changing clothes, she had just entered the back kitchen and quickly tidied up the cooking area when Liu Yunong walked over.

”Xiaofu, here, this is today’s menu, take a look first.”

Fu Yu quickly nodded, reached out to take it, and glanced over the specific dishes.

Seeing it, Fu Yu suddenly had the joy of a student in an exam room finding the questions are just what they had recently reviewed.

Eight dishes, one soup, and a staple food.

All dishes were stuffed dishes, with four of them having cooking methods he had just reviewed yesterday, and the other four, judging by their names, didn’t seem too difficult.

However, regardless of what he knew, Fu Yu didn’t intend to take the initiative.

Of course, Liu Yunong wasn’t about to give him that chance either, after all, no one would joke about dishes about to be served shortly.

Besides, stuffed dishes for a place like Bei’an are novel, and in Liu Yunong’s view, it’s doubtful if Fu Yu even knew what they were, let alone made them.

Liu Yunong went to check the kitchen hand’s preparation work.

While Fu Yu was checking the menu, Liu Zhangpeng smiled and came over: ”Chef Fu, you’re in quite early today, aren’t you?”

Ever since Fu Yu displayed his knife skills last time, Liu Zhangpeng’s address changed from the casual Xiaofu to Chef Fu.

The kitchen hands followed suit, calling him Chef Fu all day long.

Although Chef Fu sounds more formal than Xiaofu, the respect it conveys is appreciated by Fu Yu.

Fu Yu smiled: ”Master said today’s menu is a stuffed dish banquet, so she asked me to come early.”

Hearing this, Liu Zhangpeng quickly said, ”Right, today is the stuffed dish banquet. Let me tell you, our restaurant’s signature specialty is the stuffed dish banquet. It’s so popular that it became a seasonal dish, rotating the menu four times a year, once per quarter.”

Oh my!

Fu Yu grew even more enthusiastic!

The Liu Family Cuisine, worthy of being renowned as inherited secret dishes, even without mentioning others, just the range of dishes accumulated over generations—ten dishes a day, over three thousand in a year!

Even with repeated menus, those over two thousand unique secret dishes are enough to leave one in awe!

I’m truly apprenticing under a remarkable master!

Fu Yu curiously asked, ”Haven’t you done a stuffed dish banquet in winter before?”

Liu Zhangpeng: ”Nope! When the weather is hot, it gets too greasy. It’s best eaten in the cold. Isn’t it almost Little New Year now? Just in time, when everyone’s not yet off on holiday bingeing. A sudden stuffed dish banquet is just perfect for now.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Yu realized there was a seasonal customization for the stuffed dish banquet.

But then, what about when it’s hot?

Fu Yu pondered this and voiced out the question.

Liu Zhangpeng casually answered, ”Oh, except for winter, the other three seasons only offer a choice of two stuffed dishes, not a full banquet.”

Fu Yu understood immediately.

Stuffed dishes, unlike others, are indeed delicious but can be very rich.

When it’s hot, with little appetite, ordering a couple to satisfy cravings is fine, but a full banquet, you’d probably feel full just looking at it.

With such a business acumen, no wonder they make money!

After chatting for a while, Liu Zhangpeng couldn’t resist asking, ”Chef Fu, I heard from the boss that when Chef Kang went to Qianlima to dine, you were the one in charge of the banquet, right?”

Fu Yu nodded: ”Yes, I took that order.”

Liu Zhangpeng quickly continued asking: ”I’ve been wanting to ask these past two days, how did you figure out Chef Kang’s dining preferences back then?”

These days, because of this matter, the folks at Shangshi Private Kitchen have been quite stirred up.

Although the boss didn’t lose his temper, the warning in his words has kept everyone vigilant.

Not to mention others, just Liu Zhangpeng is now even more attentive towards banquets under his care.

Whenever he has time, he checks the group messages to see photos of customer dining situations sent back by the waitstaff, trying to assess and determine customer dietary preferences.

If he’s doing it, the kitchen hands are even more so, practically everyone has a notebook, and they eagerly note down any mention of culinary operations.

It’s commonly said a short pencil is better than a long memory.

Now, everyone in the back kitchen is almost on edge, fearing that the boss might suddenly inquire about customer dining preferences, and they’d have no answer.