"Let me teach you how to slice the skin of roast duck!" Master Yun said to Ye Tian.
Chef Yun didn't have any dishes to cook yet. He usually only made a few dishes himself, leaving the rest to the chefs. But as the head chef, he was used to being in the kitchen every day.
"Thank you, Master Yun, that's great!" Ye Tian was eager to learn.
A customer just happened to order roast duck, and Chef Yun took the cart a chef was about to push out and said, "Give it to me. I'll peel the skin off this one."
He pushed the cart to the table in the hall where the roast duck was being ordered, and Ye Tian followed behind him. The roast duck on the plate was glossy and shiny, making one's mouth water just by looking at it.
Chef Yun fixed the cart and began to display the duck skin slices. Not only did the guests at the table stare at him, but there were also curious diners who came forward to watch.
"Look, let's first take off the fattest piece of skin under the neck, cut it into 8 slices, and put them separately on a plate. This piece of skin tastes best when dipped in sugar." Master Yun turned sideways to make it easier for Ye Tian to see.
"Next, make two cuts from the head to the tail to remove the skin from the duck's belly, and then start slicing both sides. Make sure that the duck meat is left with the skin with each cut. This way, each slice will taste fatty but not greasy, and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside." Master Yun continued cutting.
While demonstrating, he whispered to Ye Tian. The guests at the table waiting to eat roast duck were also watching with great interest, especially the little boy, whose eyes were wide and round.
Ye Tian watched Master Yun standing there steadily, holding a thin, long knife. His movements were smooth and natural, seemingly effortless. She knew this was due to Master Yun's skill. While her knife skills were good, she still needed constant practice to achieve them.
She carefully observed the order in which Master Yun sliced the duck, and how he used different knife techniques to cut different parts. In about three minutes, Master Yun had sliced the entire duck.
The duck bones also contained some meat, which the restaurant could process into salt and pepper duck bones or duck soup for free. This table of guests had requested duck soup. Chef Yun wheeled the duck bones back to the kitchen, and Ye Tian followed him back.
After they left, the guests at this table were still chatting.
"Have you seen that pretty young lady in the chef's uniform? She's already an apprentice at such a young age. If you don't study hard, I'll just send you to learn to be a chef in the future!" The mother said to her ten-year-old son.
The son took a bite of duck skin dipped in sugar and said: "What's wrong with being a chef? Look at the chef's skill in cutting this skin, it's simply amazing."
My father also joined in the fun and said without getting too much into other people's business: "I think being a chef is good too. A chef earns tens of thousands a month, which is much higher than our salary."
"You have to go to college to be knowledgeable! The roast duck made by knowledgeable people will probably taste different!" Mom concluded.
The boy ignored his mother and picked up a lotus leaf pancake. He rolled two slices of roast duck in it, added chopped green onions, cucumber strips, and sweet bean sauce, and handed it to his mother: "Then you can try the roast duck rolled by the elementary school students first and see how it tastes!"
The mother was immediately delighted when she received the roast duck rolled by her son. The roast duck was so delicious that she immediately thought it would be a good idea for her son to become a chef.
…
When Master Yun and Ye Tian returned to the kitchen, several people were gathered together reading a diary.
"This old man is really interesting. He travels all over the country and always eats a plate of shredded potatoes wherever he goes."
"Hahaha, he also said that our shredded potatoes are crispy and refreshing, with just the right amount of sour and spicy, and are a rare delicacy. He even wrote a special comment on it."
"The shredded potatoes he eats seem to be made by the new chef Xiao Ye..." I don't know who said this, and the kitchen suddenly became silent.
"cough!"
When everyone turned around, they found Master Yun pushing a cart with roast duck on it, standing in the open space at the entrance of the kitchen, and next to him was Master Xiao Ye, whom everyone had just mentioned.
"Xiao Zhang, the customer wants to make duck soup with this duck carcass." Master Yun arranged the work.
The chef named Xiao Zhang came forward to pick up the duck bones, walked to his usual stove, and started to make duck soup.
Chef Yun took the notebook from the waiter, who said with great joy, "Chef, this customer asked for a notebook to leave a message, praising our restaurant for its excellent food."
Master Yun took a look at it and returned the notebook to the waiter, saying, "Put it at the front desk and keep it safe. If there are other guests who want to leave messages in the future, please use this one."
"Okay." The waiter then took the notebook and went out.
Master Yun reached out his hand to pat Ye Tian's shoulder out of habit, but then put it down when he remembered that she was a girl. He just smiled and said, "Well done! On the first day, a customer left a message praising you. It really was right to invite you to come!"
"Hehe, maybe I'm just good at making shredded potatoes! Apart from the Beijing-style shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce that I just learned, I can't make other Beijing dishes." Ye Tian said modestly.
"With your ability to understand, you will master it soon. Do a good job!" Master Yun felt that he had good vision and was lucky to meet a culinary genius like Ye Tian.
Ye Tian nodded, then said, "I still need to learn more from the senior brothers and sisters at Jingweilou."
Master Yun immediately felt that Ye Tian was truly eloquent. She wasn't arrogant in the face of praise, and she was considerate of everyone's feelings, which further demonstrated her trustworthiness. He introduced Ye Tian to Master Yun, and his desire to have him accept her as his last disciple grew even more urgent.
When the master opened this Beijing-style restaurant, it was so glorious. But when he got old and retired, the restaurant's business went from bad to worse. The master called Yun Yi back to help run the business, but he was powerless to save the situation.
He also knew that he shouldn't pin his hopes on a little girl like Ye Tian, but even if he couldn't bring Jingweilou back to its former glory, at least he could give his master an apprentice who could inherit his craft.
His master, Master Yan, not only cooks Beijing cuisine, he's also a formidable Shandong cuisine master, and he's also quite knowledgeable about the Manchu-Han Banquet. It's just that his son, Yan Yuanxing, doesn't have much culinary talent, and while Yun Yi is good, he's always a little short of the mark, and it's impossible for him to reach Master Yan's level.
Master Yun felt that if Ye Tian was willing, she would definitely be able to inherit his master's unique skills and carry them forward, so that his master would not leave with regrets.
Ye Tian didn’t know that Master Yun had so many thoughts in his mind. She just wanted to learn more and eventually develop a unique set of skills of her own.
When eating at the end of lunch, Ye Tian found that the employee meal at Jingweilou was really average. The ingredients were not bad, but the taste was... She took another sip of the duck bone soup, and it still had a fishy smell. She had to hold her breath and drink the whole bowl like medicine.
During the meal, Ye Tian also noticed that because she was directly called in by Chef Yun, the other chefs seemed to have a natural distance from her; no one even wanted to sit next to her. Eventually, when all the other seats were taken, Xiao Zhang, the duck soup chef, finally sat next to her. This was completely different from the school cafeteria, where everyone gathered together, laughing and joking.
She couldn't help but sigh that in this world, wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes. It is really difficult to deal with all kinds of interpersonal relationships when going out to work!
…
During the afternoon break, Yan Xi came to the store. He came specifically to find Ye Tian.
"Little Sister, how do you feel after a day's work? Do you have any good suggestions for the future of Jingweilou?" He was not shy and asked directly.
"What's your name? What do you mean by 'Master'? I'm not your elder!" Ye Tian was shocked by the title.
"Hehe, it will happen sooner or later, Master!"
"Don't call me Master!"
"Okay then!" Yan Xi thought to himself, I'll call you later.
Ye Tian and Yan Xi were sitting in an empty private room. She looked around and said, "Don't you think the decoration is too old? The lighting is not bright enough. The hall and the rooms look very dim."
"Yes, but the renovation requires closing the business, and it also costs a lot of money, so my dad has never made up his mind." Yan Xi said.
"Then how about just replacing the wallpaper, carpets, lamps, and paintings on the wall? In fact, it's time to replace the tableware and tablecloths as well. Would a few hundred thousand be enough for all of this? I don't really understand the market." Ye Tian suggested.
She recalled the renovation of the No. 1 Building under Heaven, craftsmen appointed by the Sixth Prince. Every detail was meticulously crafted, not just ordinary splendor, but a sense of opulence hidden in every carving and every painting. The overall emphasis was on taste and style: elegance, comfort, and restrained elegance. As a child from a poor family, she didn't understand these things at the time.
Later, she learned that the wealthy didn't simply wear gold and silver; their extravagance and luxury were all in the small details. The embroidery on their clothes, the delicate jade ornaments, the delicacies of their food—they were truly exquisite in their approach to food and exquisite in their preparation.
After that, she learned to cook many dishes that required countless steps and required meticulous attention to detail, much like the eggplant in "Dream of the Red Chamber." She thought of using the modern term "n" because it perfectly suited the trouble she felt at the time. But gradually, she came to love the feeling of slow, meticulous work.
But in comparison, she still prefers to make a fuss about popular food, using ingredients that ordinary people can afford to make it taste better. Although she has not been able to achieve this goal in the past, perhaps she can slowly realize it in the future.
Yan Xi lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Ye Tian's idea of simple renovations and replacing consumables was one he had considered before, and he thought it was something he could discuss with his father. While major renovations were difficult for the time being, minor updates should be possible. He also began to think about his words, trying to figure out how to get his father's approval.
"I'll go talk to my dad later. By the way, Auntie, I haven't had lunch yet, I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten your cooking yet, can you make me something delicious? But please don't let my dad cook, I really don't want to eat his cooking." Yan Xi seemed to really regard Ye Tian as an elder, and there was a hint of coquettishness in his tone unconsciously.
Ye Tian thought about the dishes Yan Xi had cooked and immediately felt a sense of rejection. Moreover, she understood that Yan Xi was trying to test her, so she asked him, "Is there anything you want to eat? But I need to ask Chef Yun for permission before using the kitchen."
"I'll talk to my uncle! Actually, I'm not picky about food, so just two stir-fries will do. Except for those that are too sweet, I don't like anything else. You can do whatever you want!" Yan Xi said with a smile.
"Okay! Then you wait!" Ye Tian got up and went back to the kitchen. She couldn't let this guy look down on her. She had to make something delicious to convince him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
