Chapter 315 Epilogue
Pierre's Restaurant is a representative of old-school French cuisine. In today's world where lightness and simplicity are important, they still maintain the five major French sauces and complex techniques.
A year ago, Pierre's son Nicolas returned to Paris and started to launch duck galantine, which excited French gourmets for a long time. Until recently, Chinese truffles were exposed as pig feed, and Pierre's restaurant, which likes to use Chinese truffles in cooking, was smeared by its competitors.
Pierre's restaurant, caught in the storm of public opinion, has seen its business drop by half. Usually, there are no empty seats in the outdoor dining area, and now the occupancy rate in the restaurant is less than 50%.
After lunch today, an open-air dining area was cleared and the restaurant staff moved out two stoves, one with a teppanyaki stove and the other with two soup pots that the French could not understand.
In the middle of winter, steam is bubbling out of the soup pot, and the white smoke with a strong and fresh fragrance is tempting passers-by.
The shop sign says, "Free tasting of teppanyaki fried rice and yakiniku noodles."
Nicholas and Fan Xiuqin came out in chef uniforms.
Nicholas originally planned to study in Gangcheng for only one year, but he finally decided to study for two years. In the second year, he teamed up with Fan Xiuqin and won the runner-up in the Chinese Chef Competition for Baohualou.
As the descendant of a traditional French chef, taking second place in the Chinese cuisine category is not an honor, but a joke in the French cuisine world.
However, as soon as he came back, he participated in the MOF competition in France and won the French Best Craftsman Award. With his strength, he shut up those chefs who laughed at him. In addition to making duck galantine, he also made quail galantine based on this, which made him even more famous.
Fan Xiuqin, who came to Paris with him, had studied French cuisine with Nicolas in the past two years. After coming here, her cooking skills were quickly recognized. She is also a natural lover of socializing, and through interactions she recommended her hidden menu items, including roast duck, roast pork rolls and noodles, to gourmets.
The roast duck and roast meat received unanimous praise from the old customers of Pierre Restaurant. Through word of mouth, the news that a long-established French restaurant like Pierre serves Chinese food spread throughout Paris.
The steam coming out of the soup pot was so fragrant that many people stopped to look, including many Japanese guests who came specially for the meal.
Fan Xiuqin and Nicholas stood behind a long table with five plates of truffles on it. Fan Xiuqin picked up the microphone and said in fluent French with an accent: "Hello everyone, welcome to Pierre Restaurant to participate in our truffle tasting. In front of me are French black truffles and Chinese black truffles. Those who are willing to try to identify them and can guess correctly can come to the restaurant as special guests to enjoy the taste feast brought tonight by four world-class chefs."
"World-class chef?" Someone looked at Nicolas. This young chef already had the title of MOF and was one of the chefs of Pierre's restaurant. He could be said to be a world-class chef.
"Today I can only take the turn to cook the yakiniku noodles for everyone outside. The ones cooking in the kitchen today are my father, Chef Pierre, Chef Lucas from Durand Restaurant, Yue Ning from Ningyan, and Mr. Yanxi from Yanxi Teppanyaki."
"Is the dish made with Chinese black truffles?" asked a spectator.
"We use French black truffles to make bladder chicken and French foie gras, and Chinese black truffles to make grilled lobster and Buddha jumps over the wall. Of course, if you guess wrong, you can also eat the fried rice and noodles made by Fan and I." Nicholas said, "Anyone who participates can get two Ning Xiaochu coupons worth 20 francs, which can be used at any Ning Xiaochu in France."
The popularity of Ning Xiaochu in Europe was brought about by Japanese customers. Ning Xiaochu is usually opened in large department stores. After the Japanese customers are tired of shopping, they go there to have a simple meal. It has become everyone's habit. In their hearts, Ning Xiaochu is both a Hong Kong-style restaurant and a Japanese restaurant.
The popularity naturally attracted locals. In addition, when the port was opened, the Vietnamese refugee incident was still in full swing, so Ning Xiaochu gained a firm foothold in Europe.
There is a report in Hong Kong News that "Hong Kong cuisine conquers the French stomach, Ning Xiaochu's new Paris store opens with great success."
As long as you smell it and fill out a form, you can get a 40-franc coupon for free, and people are lining up.
Everyone in the restaurant, please fill out the form. Fan Xiuqin will make fried rice and Nicholas will make roast pork noodles.
Fan Xiuqin said: "Our two dishes are both oriental. The black truffle foie gras fried rice is a Japanese-style Western food, and the barbecued pork noodles are pure Chinese noodles. They both use Chinese black truffles that mature in season."
Upon hearing that seasonal Chinese black truffles were used, some French people subconsciously frowned. One old man wearing a beret muttered, "Using that kind of pig feed to cook? You are a shame to be from Pierre's restaurant."
The young man next to him quickly pulled his sleeve. This man was a well-known old stubborn person in the Parisian food circle. A few days ago, he wrote in his column that Chinese truffles had tainted the French dining table.
Pierre sent him an invitation letter, inviting him to participate in today's tasting event, and he also said: "I will not participate in an event that whitewashes low-quality ingredients."
Fan Xiuqin heard it, but she didn't stop shoveling. She poured the freshly fried foie gras into the hot rice, sprinkled a spoonful of chopped Chinese black truffles on it, and the iron plate sizzled and white smoke came out, and the aroma instantly overwhelmed the old man's complaints.
"Sir," she said with a smile in fluent French, "why don't you try it first? If it's really bad, I'll give you a Perigord truffle omelette as compensation. It's my treat."
Nicholas, who was cooking noodles nearby, also responded after hearing this: "When I was learning to cook in Hong Kong, Ningning said that taste doesn't lie. Just like when I made quail galantine, I used the Chinese crispy water technique, and no one said it wasn't French food. The same goes for truffles. Whether it tastes good or not, your tongue is more reliable than its reputation."
He scooped the cooked noodles into the milky white soup: "This roast pork noodles, the fragrance of truffles, the saltiness of roast pork, and the chewiness of noodles, without any of them it wouldn't be called 'Oriental taste'."
The assistants began to serve the food, a spoonful of fried rice in a small plate, a chopstick of noodles in a small bowl with a piece of crispy Hong Kong-style roast pork, a piece of green blanched lettuce and a slice of freshly shaved black truffle.
The Japanese uncle who had already filled out the form came over, took a combo, and went to the dining area to eat.
“It’s so delicious. This fried rice is the best Japanese fried rice I’ve ever had.”
He turned around and shouted, and was echoed by several other Japanese guests.
The first portion of fried rice had been distributed. Fan Xiuqin tossed the spatula a few times like an acrobat and started making the second portion. Seeing that the old man had not left, she looked up and asked, "Mr. Jacques, the writer for the New York Times didn't know how to find French truffles, so when he heard that Chinese black truffles were called 'pig arch fungus', he thought it was pig feed. You don't know that, do you?"
There was a Japanese translator next to Fan Xiuqin, who reported what Fan Xiuqin said to the Japanese guests present.
Fan Xiuqin kept shoveling with the spatula in her hand. The rice on the iron plate jumped and rolled with her movements. She looked at Mr. Jacques with a smile on her face and said in a clear voice, "Mr. Jacques is a gourmet. He must know better than anyone that truffles are naturally related to pigs."
She knocked the iron plate with a spatula and added the chopped truffles to the fried rice. "French truffles are found by sows, because there is a substance in the smell of truffles that is exactly the same as the smell of boars in heat. When sows smell it, they dig in the soil like crazy. Our Chinese truffles are the same. People in the mountains call it 'pig digging fungus'. It's a bit straightforward, but which one is not the truth?"
This was like a thunderclap, which caused a stir in the crowd. The French looked at each other in bewilderment. They only knew that truffles were precious, but few people thought about the "origin" of truffles. The Japanese guests listened with great interest. As soon as the translator translated the three words "pig arch mushroom", someone laughed out loud: "So French truffles are also found by pigs? The New York Times said that Chinese truffles are 'pig feed', which actually also criticized French black truffles. The French actually followed suit and criticized Chinese truffles."
Seeing that everyone had listened, Fan Xiuqin slowed down her tone again: "The quality of truffles is never hidden in their names. French truffles have the aroma of oak forests, while Chinese truffles have the refreshing scent of alpine meadows. The taste is the key."
Mr. Jacques was completely embarrassed. He had been studying truffles for his whole life, how could he not know that truffles need to be found from sows? It was just that when the New York Times report came out, he thought the name "pig-puffer mushroom" was vulgar, so he just went with the flow and acquiesced in the derogation of Chinese truffles. Now that a young Chinese female chef had pointed it out in public, the prejudices hidden under the mask of "elegance" were suddenly exposed to the sun, and even the concealment seemed ridiculous.
The Japanese housewives nearby immediately chimed in: "We love truffle sushi in Japan. It turns out that Chinese truffles are so delicious. Can we buy them in Japan?"
"There are a lot of them in Japan!" Fan Xiuqin named several stores. "Of course, if you go to Hong Kong, Hong'an Supermarket has very good quality Chinese truffles. The price should be cheaper than that in Japan. If you take them home and wrap them in tin foil and put them in the freezer, they can be kept for nearly a year."
Another person held up a completed form and said, "I hope I can answer all the questions correctly so I can have a feast tonight."
Seeing the atmosphere getting heated, Fan Xiuqin relaxed her movements. She shoveled the second serving of rice aside and said, "Mr. Jacques, gourmets should understand that food is never afraid of a rustic name, but they are afraid of people wearing tinted glasses and mistaking pearls for fish eyes! Today, everyone can stand here and smell the fragrance of truffles, and understand that the tongue will not lie. If you like it, you like it, whether it is called truffle or truffle!"
Old Mr. Jacques stood where he was, his hands tightly holding his cane. The aroma of truffles on the iron plate was like an invisible hand, which gradually broke open the stubborn arrogance in his heart, revealing the most genuine love for food hidden underneath.
"You're such a smooth-talking girl." He finally spoke, but his voice was much softer, "...give me a serving of fried rice."
Fan Xiuqin immediately served the largest portion to him, and even shaved a few more slices of Chinese black truffles: "Take your time to eat."
The crowd burst into good-natured laughter, and the tense atmosphere just now was completely relaxed. Nicholas walked over to Mr. Jacques with the roast pork noodles and said, "Mr. Jacques, Chinese roast pork noodles, please try it."
Just as the fatty aroma of foie gras melted on his tongue, the rich aroma of black truffles came up, mixed with the sweetness of Japanese soy sauce, and it even had an extra layer of fresh, worldly flavor than the truffle pasta he usually ate. He was stunned, then picked up the barbecue noodles and took a sip of the soup. The soup base had the richness of bone broth, and the aroma of truffles was like an undercurrent hidden deep inside, which slowly rose up until the end of the drink.
"How is it, Mr. Jacques?" someone nearby joked, "Is this pig feed more delicious than you said?"
Mr. Jacques' face turned red, but he said with his neck stiff, "...It's just a little better than I thought." But he honestly used the fork in his hand to take another big mouthful of fried rice, eating it all up, including the truffle crumbs.
At this time, the glass door of the restaurant was pushed open, and Yue Ning walked out, followed by Pierre and Lucas. Yue Ning was wearing an off-white chef's uniform, with some flour on her cuffs, and she had obviously just finished working in the kitchen. She saw the long queue in the tasting area from a distance, and smiled and gave Fan Xiuqin a thumbs up.
Fan Xiuqin returned a smug look, turned around and announced into the microphone: "Friends who have eaten fried rice and noodles can start to identify truffles. Friends who guessed correctly, follow us tonight and let your tongue be the master. It doesn't matter whether it is French truffles or Chinese truffles. If it tastes good, it is a good truffle!"
She looked at Jacques and said, "Mr. Jacques, would you like to guess?"
Five plates of truffles were placed side by side on a black velvet table. Some had bumpy surfaces like old tree bark, some were round like black jade, and the cross-sections had marble-like black and white textures. Just by looking at their appearance, it was hard to tell which plate was from France and which was from China.
Jacques looked at a few portions of black truffles and smiled: "Okay."
Fan Xiuqin asked someone to bring the old man paper and pen. A waiter also brought the old man a magnifying glass and said respectfully, "Please take your time to read it."
He first approached the first plate of truffles on the left and took a deep breath. The familiar aroma of Périgord truffles with a hint of leather and earth filled his nostrils. This was the taste he had been eating all his life and he could recognize it even with his eyes closed.
But when he moved to the second plate, his brows suddenly frowned: the aroma of this plate of truffles was clearer, like mixed with the fishy sweetness of moss after rain, but with less rust than Burgundy truffles.
"This plate..." He was about to speak, but Fan Xiuqin said, "Do the test yourself, and don't tell anyone else."
He stopped abruptly and turned to look at the third plate, which had the strongest truffle aroma, which was direct and yet inexplicably refreshing.
He smelled each of the five plates of truffles three times, gently scraped off some crumbs with a knife, rubbed them on his fingertips, and even carefully compared the hardness of the truffle skin.
Twice he picked up the pen to write his answers, but then hesitated and put it down, muttering something, but no one could hear what he was mumbling.
He finally picked up the pen, and the tip of the pen hovered over the answer sheet for a moment, and filled in the corresponding serial number. When someone wanted to see his answer, he covered it up.
He tore off the original ticket and handed it to the waiter, who folded it and put it in the ballot box.
"Old sir, we will reveal the answer at five o'clock. You can just take a look around and come back later." The waiter handed him two Ning Xiaochu coupons.
He hesitated for a moment as he left. There was one dish he was not sure about. What if he guessed wrong? No, it didn't look like it! He had tasted Chinese truffles before and they were very bland. But the aroma he smelled today might not be as strong, but it was not bland at all.
He hadn't tasted enough of the two meals. The Japanese fried rice was different from the Japanese fried rice he usually ate. In addition to the taste of truffles and foie gras, there was also a smell of fireworks, just like the Maillard reaction that steak pursues. No, no, no. The Maillard reaction of steak is strong, but the smell of fireworks is light. Just like the truffles he tasted just now, the Perigord truffle is very strong, but there are two truffles with a lighter aroma, but very tempting. He wants to ask, what is going on?
Jacques was passing by on business, and now he was in a hurry, glancing at his watch several times while chatting with his friend.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, Jacques appeared at the door of Pierre Restaurant on time, and Nicolas personally announced the answers: No. 1 Perigord (France), No. 2, Yunnan Truffle, No. 3 Burgundy (France), No. 4 Sichuan Truffle, and No. 5 Yunnan Truffle.
Many people left disappointed. Nicholas read out the names, handed out invitations, and invited the guests who answered correctly to enter the restaurant.
Jacques took the invitation and entered the restaurant.
Pierre's Restaurant, Jacques remembered that he hadn't been to this restaurant for more than a year.
He didn't come to this restaurant because he felt that in the past two years, Pierre had gone astray in the competition with the new French cuisine and established the Black Truffle Alliance. It was ok to absorb Japanese restaurants as members, but there was also a Chinese restaurant as a founding member, which was really outrageous.
Can't he just run his traditional French restaurant?
This restaurant was bought by Pierre when he was young. It is said to have opened in 1908, more than 70 years ago. Just like their dishes, the decoration inside is also very old-fashioned, with a colorful printed glass roof, gorgeous patterns on the pillars, and dazzling crystal chandeliers. It makes people feel like they are in a metropolis in the 1920s.
There were five plates of truffles, but only a dozen people were able to answer all the questions correctly. This shows that even if there are differences between French truffles and Chinese truffles, the differences are actually not that big.
In addition to these guests who answered correctly, there were also guests invited by Pierre, staff from the Truffle Association, Paul Durand and several gourmets, as well as guests who had already booked dinner for tonight.
"Mr. Jacques, why are you here? Didn't you refuse to attend this event?"
Pierre smiled and said, "Mr. Jacques, do you want to try it yourself first before joining us?"
This was also an excuse for Jacques, and he led Mr. Jacques to his seat.
The crystal lamps in the restaurant reflected a warm yellow glow, and the waiter pushed out a dining cart, and Chef Lucas came out with his masterpiece, the bladder chicken. The Bresse chicken was looming in the pig's bladder that had swollen into a ball.
Lucas personally used a knife to melt the pig bladder. The moment it was cut, the deep aroma of truffle mixed with the richness of chicken fat spread.
The waiter brought the guests the chicken with sauce. Jacques picked up a piece of chicken with a fork and put it into his mouth. This was the French national dish made by the most outstanding French chef using seasonal Burgundy truffles. It was impeccable.
Pierre's foie gras was served. The thick slices of foie gras were fried to a crispy outside and tender inside, with a caramelized aroma on the edges, a piece of crispy toasted bread underneath, and thin truffle slices on top, topped with a red and black sauce made from port wine.
Jacques cut off a small piece of foie gras. The aroma of Perigord truffles and the richness of foie gras collided in his mouth. The sour and sweet taste of port wine was like a fuse, stringing the two strong flavors together just right.
The Japanese chef prepared teppanyaki on the spot, and the sizzling flames attracted the attention of the guests. Iwasai, wearing a white tall hat, moved smoothly: first cut the Ise lobster in half, fried the shrimp meat on the iron plate until it turned white, sprinkled with freshly shaved Yunnan truffles, and finally drizzled with a sauce made of sake and lemon juice.
When the lobster meat is put into the mouth, the chewy shrimp meat is wrapped in the fragrance of truffle, and the slight sweetness of sake flashes across the tip of the tongue. If the Périgord truffle and foie gras are strong and rich, then the combination of Ise lobster and this truffle is fragrant and sweet.
The last dish was served in a bone china stew pot covered with a layer of golden puff pastry. The waiter gently cut it open with a knife, and the puff pastry fell into the golden soup, with hot steam gushing out with a rich aroma.
Yue Ning explained what Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was and everyone listened while eating.
Jacques scooped up a spoonful of soup. The sliminess of the fish maw and the mellowness of the abalone spread on the tip of his tongue first, while the aroma of Sichuan truffle was like a wild horse, running rampant through all the rich flavors, and in the end they were all strung together by it.
Today, both the noodles and fried rice outside and the four dishes inside were amazing, especially the last dish, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. It was his first time eating this Chinese food, but it tasted unexpectedly good.
The taste of this truffle was different from the Chinese truffles Jacques had in mind. Jacques asked, "Why were the Chinese truffles I tried before completely different from this?"
"Truffles in Europe are really picked by dogs or pigs, so the truffles found in this way are all mature. But in China, when farmers learned that black truffles can make money, they turned the whole mountain upside down and dug out the unripe truffles, resulting in uneven quality of Chinese truffles. I have talked about this with people in the Chinese agricultural product export business. We must strengthen supervision to prevent immature truffles from leaving the market." She said, holding a truffle, "Mature Chinese truffles have their own unique flavor."
The next day, Jacques published a food review article: "Meeting Chinese Truffles in Paris"
The first sentence of the article is: As an old stubborn person who has been eating French truffles for sixty years, I must admit: It is time to give "pig arch mushroom" a proper name.
When I first read the New York Times report "The Chinese Truffle Invasion", I nodded secretly. "Pig-grown mushrooms"? What a vulgar name! It doesn't match the nobleness of truffles. Until yesterday at the outdoor tasting area of Pierre Restaurant, the Chinese chef held up a truffle and asked me: "Mr. Jacques, do you really think that French truffles grown by sows are more noble than Chinese truffles?"
Her words exposed the emperor's new clothes. Truffle hunters all over Europe know that the sow's enthusiasm for truffles is due to the fact that the smell is similar to the secretions of boars in estrus, which has nothing to do with the word "noble". Chinese farmers simply call it "pig arch fungus", which is the most honest name. I have tasted the black truffle and goose liver fried rice she made. The fat of the goose liver is wrapped in the fresh fragrance of the truffle, and the sweetness of the Japanese soy sauce is laced with the smell of fireworks. At that moment, I realized: what I despised was never the truffle, but my prejudice against the word "China"...
As an influential gourmet, Jacques's "confessional comments" are like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples in the gourmet circle and even among ordinary citizens...
Yue Ning, who has arrived in Lyon, read the report and accepted an interview with the TV station. She said: "Thank you Mr. Jacques for clearing the name of Chinese truffles. In fact, such origin prejudice is everywhere, such as truffles and pearls. I like Japanese pearls very much. They are round and cute, and their luster is unparalleled, but they are always said to be too bright and not noble enough. What's funny is that the rating of Australian white pearls, except for large and round, is that the brighter the better. In fact, this is a kind of prejudice. The fact that Japanese pearls have a large output and a low price does not mean that they are not beautiful. The fact that Chinese truffles have a large output and a low price does not mean that they are not delicious. We can enjoy their good quality and low price, but please don't be prejudiced against them and slander them."
The news was broadcasted by Japanese TV stations, and Japanese viewers felt the same way. Their pearls are so beautiful, why are they always said to be so shiny and cheap? For this reason, Japanese housewives all want to buy Chinese truffles to taste.
After all, black truffles are not a common ingredient, and they were bought in large quantities by Japanese housewives, who have the greatest purchasing power of this era, and even Cui Ji’s black truffle sauce was out of stock.
When Yue Ning received this feedback, he and his wife were already skiing in Switzerland.
Back in the room, Qiao Junxian hugged her and asked, "Do you remember what the gossip said when your brother and sister-in-law went on their honeymoon?"
"They said they indulged themselves in sex for three days and three nights without leaving the room." Yue Ning replied.
Qiao Junxian fell on the bed: "What about us? Our honeymoon turned into a work-and-vacation trip, or a sports trip."
Yue Ning climbed onto the bed and pressed on Qiao Junxian: "Why don't you ask your brother if he can do it once a day in the morning and once a day in the evening during the honeymoon? Only weaklings need to replenish their energy after indulging in sex. Strong people can exercise both in bed and out of bed."
Qiao Junxian was suppressed by her and laughed out loud. He turned over and held her in his arms, with a smile in his voice, "Then prove it to me tonight. Can you, a strong man, get up early tomorrow to skate on the advanced track?"
“Come on!”
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