Chapter 220 Cultural Clash

Yue Ning lowered his head to taste the blood duck. The aroma of red wine and rosemary perfectly blended the fishy smell of duck blood. After fourteen days of maturation, the duck meat fibers became extremely tender, and it also had the aroma of dried fruit wood. It was indeed a masterpiece of a master.

"She seems to like eating duck blood very much?" A sentence in English came into Yue Ning's ears.

Then, a voice with obvious contempt rang out: "People in Hong Kong eat everything."

Yue Ning turned around and saw that “Canadian Team” was written on the two people’s name tags.

Recently, many Hong Kong people have immigrated to Canada, and some local Canadians have many complaints about these new immigrants. Hong Kong TV has also reported that the complaints are varied, such as Hong Kong people like to have the number "8" in their house numbers. Two consecutive Hong Kong people like the number "8", so one of them has the house number 08 and the other has the house number 18. Locals think this destroys the continuity of the community numbering. In short, in the eyes of some people, it seems that everything Hong Kong people do is wrong.

Yue Ning knew that those who planned to immigrate would still choose to immigrate. Today at the shooting site, he was quite influential in Hong Kong, so it was good to let this topic spark discussion in Hong Kong.

So, Yue Ning asked, "Hey, buddy! What are you talking about?"

When she asked this question, everyone's eyes focused on her. The two Canadian chefs looked at Yue Ning, and Yue Ning looked at one of them and asked, "I think blood duck is delicious. Do you have any questions?"

Then she looked at the other person and asked, "What do you mean people in Hong Kong eat everything?"

One of them was asked with a gloomy face, and said: "People from Hong Kong really eat everything. The Hong Kong people who came to Vancouver recently have very strange eating habits, and they even eat snakes. Is there anything I said wrong? Are you too sensitive?"

Yue Ning responded calmly, "China is a country with a vast territory, a long history, and diverse cultures. Its rich food is its charm. As a chef, you should know the pickled puffin sauce of the Inuit people in your country, right? If you don't know, I suggest you study it, after all, it is a specialty of your country. If you know, you should understand that every country has its own unique cuisine. I remember that Canada regarded 'multiculturalism' as its basic national policy in 1971, and even regarded it as the foundation of the country. In other places, respecting multiculturalism is a moral requirement, but in Canada, it is a civic obligation stipulated by the Constitution."

This puffin sauce is a special delicacy of the Inuit people, also known as the Eskimos.

The Inuit people hollow out all the internal organs of the seal and stuff the seabirds directly into the seal's stomach without washing, plucking feathers, or removing internal organs, and without any seasoning. After the seal's stomach is filled with seabirds, it is sewn up and buried in the soil to ferment for up to three years.

After three years, the seabird's internal organs have fermented into a sauce, but its shell and feathers remain intact. This sauce is puffin sauce.

Yue Ning looked at the two of them. The host was French, and he understood. Because Yue Ning loved to eat their French blood duck, these two Canadians were saying bad things behind his back.

He immediately handed the microphone to a Canadian chef: "Chef Henry, can you tell us what kind of specialty food is the puffin sauce that Chef Yue mentioned?"

The chef looked unhappy and said after a long pause: "I don't know."

The host passed the microphone to Yue Ning's mouth: "Chef Yue, can you introduce to us the method of making this puffin sauce?"

"This is a food from northern Canada, a fermented juice..." Yue Ning described the production method of puffin juice in detail. "This puffin sauce is a delicacy used by the Inuit to entertain guests. Are you surprised when you hear it for the first time? But in southern China and the entire Southeast Asia, there is a condiment called fish sauce. It is a umami juice made by fermenting sea fish. For example, let's think about adding ox blood to the brewing of red wine. If this process is not widely used, would people who hear about it for the first time find it strange? Blood duck is unacceptable to you. But in France and Hunan, China, it is a delicacy. Of course, the method of making blood duck in China is different from that of blood duck in France."

The two Canadian chefs were just complaining casually and had no intention of slandering the French cuisine master. It was simply because a large number of people from Hong Kong had recently flocked to Vancouver, which had aroused resentment among some local people. When they heard that Yue Ning was from Hong Kong, they said a few words with disdain.

Unexpectedly, Yue Ning was so eloquent that he did not back down and brought up the topic of Inuit, pluralism, and even blood duck. Half of the people present were French chefs, and when they heard these remarks, they could not help but think that the two were slandering blood duck.

Chef Pierre agreed with Yue Ning's words. He led the applause and the other chefs followed suit.

Pierre said: "Chef Yue is right. As a chef, when we encounter unfamiliar dishes, we should first have an attitude of understanding rather than suspicion. Cuisine is a culture, and every dish carries its cultural roots."

He looked at Yue Ning and asked, "Chef Yue, you mentioned many times that China also has blood duck. I am very curious now, what exactly does Chinese blood duck look like?"

Yue Ning then introduced to him the production method of Chinese blood duck. After Pierre learned about the production process through translation, he found that the blood ducks of both sides have similarities but also great differences.

Chef Pierre listened attentively, nodding his head in praise from time to time. He said with emotion: "Chef Yue, I really want to try the blood duck you make. When will you return to Hong Kong City?"

"My flight is tomorrow at noon." Yue Ning replied.

"Are you in such a hurry?" Pierre was a little surprised.

“She’s a little girl applying to colleges and she has a college placement test on Saturday,” Lucas explained.

"France has great majors in catering and hotel management," Pierre said. "Why not come to France to study business? Paris and Lyon both have good schools. During your stay in France, you can come to my restaurant or Lucas's restaurant to exchange ideas and learn."

Yanxi smiled and said, "Pierre, you may not know much about this, but Chef Yue founded the most popular high-end restaurant in Hong Kong. Her company has diversified businesses, including a high-end restaurant, two affordable restaurants, and a fast food chain. It has stores in Hong Kong as well as Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. Moreover, she has also cooperated with a food company to launch an instant noodle brand named after her. She applied to Hong Kong University, and she really can't leave Hong Kong for a long time."

The host had not mentioned these things before. Pierre looked at Yue Ning with surprise. As a talented chef, he opened his first restaurant named after himself at the age of 26. This young girl in front of him had superb cooking skills and profound knowledge, and her career was flourishing, which really amazed him.

Yue Ning didn't want to talk too much about himself on this occasion, so he said, "I will come to Europe again as soon as possible, and then I will bring my grandfather and Grandpa Zhou to taste the blood duck made by Chef Pierre. My grandfather is a Cantonese chef, and Grandpa Zhou is an old customer of my father and me, and he is also a gourmet."

Hearing this, Pierre was even happier: "I am looking forward to it very much. I think I should also arrange a trip to Hong Kong."

Chef Valere smiled and said, "Then let's go to the port city together."

Lucas went on to say, "Paul has already made an appointment with Chef Yue and will be going to Hong Kong soon. Because of Chef Yue, Durand's foie gras sales in Hong Kong and Japan have tripled."

“Wow!”

Yanxi said: "Although Chef Yue is not making Wagyu beef foie gras and abalone rice today, I borrowed her method to make Wagyu beef foie gras fried rice. You can try it."

"Try my beef stew in Burgundy red wine first," Lucas greeted everyone.

Everyone followed him to the place where the dishes were placed, and saw Lucas directly open the cast iron pot and let everyone help themselves. This pot was contrary to the exquisite and simple style of new French cuisine. The presentation was very simple, even a little "simple". However, the pot exuded a mellow aroma that made people salivate.

Yue Ning couldn't help laughing when she saw this scene. Lucas looked at her in surprise, and Yue Ning smiled and said, "It turns out that I am trapped in the mystery."

After she said this, everyone was even more confused. Yue Ning explained: "I have read many Chinese classics, watched many cooking videos from abroad, and tasted Mr. Yanxi's teppanyaki in Japan. I have been thinking about how to show the aesthetics of Chinese food to everyone. Now seeing Lucas's pot of beef, I understand that cooking does not need to be restricted by form. Delicate and casual, elegant and wild, can all be integrated."

Lucas added: "Burgundy cuisine is a French country cuisine, and beef stew in red wine is a classic representative of it. I followed the traditional method today, just like my mother stewed the meat at home, with original taste."

Yue Ning scooped a piece of beef with a spoon. The beef was not small, but it was stewed very soft. She put the beef into her mouth and took a light bite. The beef fell apart between her teeth. The beef soaked in red wine was very mellow, and it also blended the unique fresh aroma of rosemary, the light fragrance of thyme, and the sweetness of onions and carrots. The taste was very wonderful.

After eating Lucas's red wine braised beef, Valere's cassoulet still needed some time to prepare. Yanxi made wagyu foie gras fried rice for everyone.

Valere asked Yue Ning curiously, "How did you come up with the idea of ​​frying Wagyu beef and foie gras together in rice?"

Yue Ning quickly waved his hands, saying that this practice was actually first started by Japanese food restaurants in his previous life, and he had never seen anyone do it this way in this life, so he couldn't take credit for it.

She said: "I was discussing this with a friend and heard from him that he had tasted rice cooked with wagyu foie gras in Japan. I tried it and it tasted good. To add to the Hong Kong flavor, I added abalone sauce. This method should have originated in Japan."

Valere's cassoulet was the last to appear. This dish was baked uncovered in the oven, so it had a golden, crispy crust like an English shepherd's pie. Valere inserted a wooden spatula into the pot, and the aroma instantly spread, going straight into people's noses.

Yue Ning finally waited for the moment to taste this dish. According to the standard method, this dish needs to be baked in the oven several times. The beans fully absorbed the soup and melted in the mouth. The duck legs, ham, and sausages were all stewed until soft and the fat was completely melted. The thick and sticky soup was boiled with pig skin from the beginning, and there was a layer of crispy rice crust at the bottom. It was not like the rice grains of clay pot rice, but more like crispy potato chips, crispy and delicious.

Even though Yue Ning had been eating, she had to finish this last bite. She carefully scraped the beans and sauce with a spoon and put them all into her mouth, saying to Valer who was looking at her, "Delicious! So full!"

What chef wouldn't like a customer who genuinely loves his food? Valere was delighted.

The exchange ended successfully with this dish from Valere. That evening, French TV broadcast the grand event.