Seeing Ye Tian humming a song with a relaxed and happy look, Daxiong quickly cut the tofu, put it in a bowl and handed it to him.
During this time, Ye Tian changed the chopping board and started to cut the meat slices. Fortunately, Daxiong had already cut the side dishes.
Some of the meat they used was leftover from making braised pork, so it wasn't evenly sliced. But Ye Tian handled it with ease, and the meat seemed perfectly obedient in her hands. With one swift movement, she cut it into evenly sized slices.
By the time Daxiong had put the tofu on a plate and washed the pot, Ye Tian had already cut the meat slices and was skillfully dividing the pepper and sesame chicken into plates and arranging them one by one.
Daxiong's cooking skills were perfectly fine, but he was suddenly faced with the challenge of cooking for dozens of people, a change from the small dishes he'd learned earlier. He knew he needed to prepare more ingredients and use a larger pot, but he assumed he could handle it all by himself. In reality, he was overwhelmed and lost sight of the big picture.
Now that Ye Tian had helped him cut the meat, he just had to concentrate on making the last dish of stir-fried meat.
At the dining table outside in the hall, people who had finished their work were already waiting for their meal.
"Tsk, you're so slow in cooking. I'm almost starving!" A kitchen helper from Chef Xu's side deliberately said loudly.
Another chef chimed in, "Why rush? That idiot Bear is cooking today, and you might not be able to eat it even if it's ready."
After hearing this, Daxiong's two brothers stood up angrily and wanted to argue. Just then, the deputy chef Yu walked in and glanced at everyone.
The people on Chef Xu's side were sullen and didn't say anything. Senior Brother Daxiong had no choice but to listen to the master and sat down unwillingly.
Daxiong finally finished the last dish, quickly made a tomato egg drop soup, and served the employee meal on time.
Everyone was hungry after a busy day at noon, so they filled their bowls with rice and started to wolf it down.
"Does today's dish use chicken in broth? It tastes much better when served cold than when you just tear it apart and dip it in the sauce. Why don't you try it?" a waiter said to another waiter sitting next to him.
"Yeah, it's delicious. The stir-fried pork is quite flavorful and goes well with rice."
Although the sound was not loud, everyone could hear it.
"Tsk, he's trying to imitate others in cooking Sichuan and Hunan cuisine. I don't think he can even make crab meat tofu properly." It was that foul-mouthed kitchen helper again.
Sous Chef Yu glared at him with a sharp gaze. He was so frightened that he immediately shut up and lowered his head without saying anything else.
"Master said we shouldn't cause trouble when he's not around. Keep a low profile. It's just lunch, so just eat whatever you want." A nearby chef winked at him. He then picked up a piece of pepper and sesame chicken and finished it with a look of surprise: "Hey, to be honest, his chicken is pretty good."
Since it is a staff meal and a big pot meal, of course it cannot be as elaborate as cooking for guests. Normally, when it is other people's turn to cook the staff meal, they just cook it casually. Sometimes it is delicious, and sometimes it is just average.
Moreover, they are tired of many things, such as a whole chicken cooked in broth, which they don’t even want to eat. But today, it has a unique flavor when it is served cold.
The minced meat tofu made by Daxiong is very suitable for mixing with rice. The stir-fried meat is crispy and a little spicy, and the braised fish has a strong taste. It is a refreshing experience for the staff who eat light meals every day. They actually finished two large pots of rice.
Many of them, especially waiters, do manual labor and prefer to eat dishes with strong flavors rather than a light daily diet.
"It seems that Daxiong also knows what's going on." Ye Tian thought.
Actually, Daxiong didn't think too much about it. He just liked to eat dishes with rich oil and sauce, and occasionally wanted something spicy.
Sous Chef Yu never cooks for himself; he always eats with everyone. He praised Daxiong's cooking today, especially the pepper and sesame chicken.
"Master, the pepper and sesame chicken was made by Xiaoye." Daxiong is a down-to-earth person and will not take credit for other people's work.
Old Yu hadn't been to the kitchen just now and thought that all the dishes were made by Xiao Xiong, and the dishes looked like his style. He didn't expect that the pepper and sesame chicken was made by that little girl.
Peppercorn chicken, a classic Sichuan cold dish, may look simple, but the balance of the various seasonings is very particular. Today, Ye Tiantiao's version is just right, not as spicy as the local Sichuan and Chongqing dishes, making it more suitable for locals who prefer lighter tastes.
I don’t know if she learned this way by chance or adjusted it according to the local tastes. It seems that this little girl is very extraordinary.
Sous Chef Yu tried not to look too serious, deliberately narrowing his eyes. "The dishes are excellent. Keep it up tonight, you two! Everyone else, don't take it lightly just because it's a staff meal. Treat every cooking session as an opportunity to learn and practice."
Everyone at the table nodded.
In the evening, Daxiong took the initiative to tell Ye Tian that each person would be responsible for two dishes. Ye Tian naturally agreed, and she used the energy she used to cook in the cafeteria, making sure that the people at the next table had a good look. Their crab feast looked even worse than Lao Yu's pot of hodgepodge porridge.
As Ye Tian cooked dinner, Old Yu came over several times to watch, paying close attention to her technique. The more he watched, the more alarmed he became. This young woman wasn't using any knife techniques he was familiar with. She exerted her strength with such ease, seemingly effortlessly, separating the bones with such ease that it reminded him of the story of a butcher cutting an ox.
Ye Tian also had to praise Sous Chef Yu's vision. Her knife skills combined her master's ancestral techniques with her own approach, taking into account the limited strength of women, and adapting her cuts to the bone structure and texture of the various meat ingredients. Of course, her wrist strength was also quite strong.
Ye Tian named her knife skills "Zizai Knife Skills". She has a kitchen knife named "Xiao Zizai". It has been with her for many years. It was also customized for her by the Sixth Prince who took advantage of her and found a knife-making master.
Sometimes, Ye Tian couldn't figure out whether that person was a good person or a bad person. There was no record of that dynasty in modern history books, and it was unknown whether he eventually became emperor or was demoted to a commoner.
Ye Tian's knife was lighter than the average man's kitchen knife, with a thinner handle and a blade made of top-grade material, making it incredibly sharp. After she was arrested, no one knew where the knife ended up.
…
Chen Chi and his second uncle finally returned home, and Chen Chi's father, Mr. Chen, immediately called them to the study.
"The sixth son of our family came a few days ago and just left yesterday. He said he came to enjoy a crab feast during this solar term, but he didn't seem very satisfied with the food and didn't say anything when he left. Do you think he came all the way here just to eat crabs?" Mr. Chen sighed.
Second Uncle frowned. "Our branch has been separated for many years and is only responsible for the catering business. He might just be here to eat crab. Everyone in the family knows that he loves crab. Why is it that he is not satisfied with what Chef Xu cooks? He is really picky!"
"What do you mean by picky? I don't like the food cooked by Old Xu. It's not as delicious as what our cafeteria chef cooks." Chen Chi interrupted.
Mr. Chen had always been at a loss for what to do with his son. According to seniority, Chen Chi was the eighth among his brothers and sisters in the clan, but compared to the sixth son in his family, he was inferior in every way. Except for his mouth, he was just as picky and picky about food.
"Since your cafeteria chef is so good, why don't you recruit him to come to our restaurant?" asked my second uncle with interest.
"Being a chef at Lai Xiyuan means making food that most people can't afford. Many students in school can eat very good food. Moreover, once a chef is trained in such a standardized restaurant, the dishes he makes become mediocre and lack inspiration." Chen Chi explained seriously.
"Anyway, what you said makes sense. Let's not talk about it anymore. We plan to apply for a Michelin restaurant next year, so we must stabilize the quality of the food. Old Xu is the most reliable in this regard." Mr. Chen still recognized Old Xu.
"It's boring. I'm going to bed first! Stable means it's not delicious. It always tastes the same. Do whatever you want!" Chen Chi curled his lips and left.
Mr. Chen and Second Uncle shook their heads at each other. They both felt that what Chen Chi said made sense, but wasn't it the same in the catering industry?
Which restaurant can boast of constantly developing new dishes? How many chefs can guarantee that a dish will taste exactly the same every time they prepare it? Furthermore, a restaurant can't just have one person cook a dish. If he quits, the restaurant will collapse.
What the restaurant wants is not the top-notch taste of the dishes, but an average score of over 80 points. However, it must remain stable at this level and not fluctuate.
In ancient times, when offering tributes to the emperor, local officials were afraid to send the best quality products. If production stopped one year, what would they offer to the emperor? Therefore, they usually offered the products of a slightly lower grade, with the most stable production and quality, so that the quality could be maintained consistently.
But Ye Tian never believed in this, so she and her master separated. What's the point of always making dishes of similar quality? If you want to do something, do it to the best of your ability!
Even if she can only prepare employee meals now, employees also have the right to eat well. Why should employee meals be just so-so?
"It's time to eat!" Ye Tian brought the golden meatballs to the table. "I fried the vegetarian meatballs today. They're delicious. Sister Juan, try them!"
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