Chapter 92. Try it. Actually, this was made by my apprentice...
The old director then noticed a young girl in a chef's uniform beside him. Someone must have brought her as an assistant! But were they sure she wasn't just here to show off her skills? What chef would hire an assistant so young? She looked no more than 18 or 19.
"Oh, I'm Chef Luo Zhongxi's assistant." Seeing the confusion in the director's eyes, Ye Tian quickly introduced herself and looked at the master behind her.
"Okay, then you can serve it yourself! We have tried it anyway, so you can try it too and see how it tastes." The director said with a rare smile.
Ye Tian really took a spoon and two small bowls and filled the jar with two small bowls, but each bowl was only a third full. She just wanted to taste it and see what the problem was, not to eat it for free.
She handed one to Chef Luo, and they tasted it together. "Master, what do you think?" Ye Tian asked softly.
"I think the taste is just average, indeed a bit salty. The ingredients used are all good, but it's not cooked enough. What do you think?" Chef Luo said after tasting it.
"I also think it's a problem of heat. The timing of adding different ingredients is not right. Later, a lot of chicken essence was added to enhance the flavor. I felt dry in the mouth after eating it." Ye Tian expressed his opinion.
Chef Luo nodded repeatedly at Ye Tian's suggestion. While he had never made Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, he had eaten it. And cooking methods were universal, just like how he needed to prepare the chicken broth before making boiled Chinese cabbage. "Normally, he's a seasoned chef; this shouldn't be the case!"
Ye Tian also shook her head, thinking that the master should not make such a mistake.
The old director had been paying attention to this master-disciple pair. He thought the girl was very interesting and actually took the initiative to ask to try Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. After listening to their conversation, he found that they were quite knowledgeable about Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and had obviously tasted its shortcomings.
So, he walked over to Luo Zhongxi and Ye Tian and said affably, "Hello, Chef Luo, you're a master of Sichuan cuisine, and surprisingly, you're also quite knowledgeable about Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. What do you think is wrong with this pot?"
"Actually, it's the problem my apprentice just mentioned. A lot of chicken essence was used, the heat was not controlled well, and the timing of adding various ingredients was not right." Luo Zhongxi said directly.
The old director nodded in agreement and was about to ask Chef Luo if he could also make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Then he thought: No, that chef just has a sensitive sense of taste. How can we let the Sichuan chef make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?
At this moment, the young subordinate who had gone out to make a phone call returned to the director and whispered something in his ear. His expression suddenly changed. "You're sick and can't come. What should we do now?"
The subordinates remained silent, and the situation became awkward.
"Master, it seems that they can't find a chef to make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at the moment. We can make this dish!" Ye Tian winked at the master.
"No, this is not an ordinary time. How can we just come to the state banquet casually? I know you are good at making Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but I am afraid there will be trouble later. I wonder what the chef who left is thinking." Luo Zhongxi refused decisively.
Ye Tian stuck out her tongue and said nothing more. It was safer to listen to her master at this time. She should not cause trouble for her master. She should change her habit of doing good deeds.
The old director had sharp ears. As he was trying to figure out which chef to invite personally, he vaguely overheard the conversation between the master and apprentice. It seemed they really did know how to make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but Chef Luo didn't seem to want to be the first to do so.
Never mind, let's give it a try. These are chefs from all over the country who have been selected through political review. There is no need to worry about them being spies. There is nothing wrong with letting them give it a try.
Besides, other chefs who are good at Buddha Jumps Over the Wall are all out of town, and it would be too rushed to travel here, and it takes a long time to make this dish.
"Chef Luo, please come this way. I have something to discuss with you." The old director stepped forward politely.
Luo Zhongxi glared at Ye Tian angrily: See, the person in charge really heard it!
Ye Tian blinked her eyes, feeling that she had really caused trouble for her master, and hurriedly followed behind.
"Chef Luo, I have to be honest with you. We have just contacted another chef who makes Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, but he cannot come for the time being due to health reasons. As for the one who left today, I suspect that the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall sample he provided when he signed up was not made by him. It is a bit too late to find another chef now. I just overheard a conversation between you and your apprentice and learned that you are also good at making this dish. Why don't you give it a try?" The old director asked tentatively, but his expression made people unable to refuse.
Chef Luo looked back at Ye Tian, meaning, "What do you think we should do?"
"What else can we do? Just agree to it. It's just Buddha Jumps Over the Wall!" This is what Ye Tian's eyes conveyed.
The old director ignored the exchange of glances between the master and apprentice, merely wondering: Why did Chef Luo always have to consult his young apprentice about everything? It seemed this young woman was his successor. If it weren't for the fact that they looked so different, he would have mistaken them for father and daughter.
"Okay, then I'll give it a try! But even if we start today, we won't have a rough finished product until tomorrow." Chef Luo had no choice but to agree.
"It's okay. You three masters and apprentices will stay here tonight. I'll ask someone to arrange guest rooms. You can tell the staff if you need anything. You can just focus on preparing Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." The director said hurriedly.
"Speaking of which, the boiled cabbage you make is really unique. It is not only delicious, but the lotus flowers are also vivid and lifelike. The Kung Pao Chicken is also impeccable. I have been responsible for receiving many foreign guests, and I have to taste the dishes myself every time. The two dishes you are responsible for are no less inferior to those of the previous masters." The director said and gave a thumbs up.
After hearing the flattery, Chef Luo asked for pen and paper to write down the ingredients he needed. A staff member immediately brought them over.
Of course, Ye Tian wrote it. Chef Luo said it symbolically, but Ye Tian took the opportunity to write the specific materials. A few minutes later, a piece of paper was delivered to the director.
The director was shocked by Ye Tian’s handwriting!
This calligraphy, with its iron-like strokes and silver-like hooks, is so powerful that it can be seen through the paper, and it is full of the majestic atmosphere of iron cavalry. It seems that many idioms cannot describe it, and it does not look like it was written by a girl under 20 years old.
But he was right next to her just now and saw with his own eyes that it was written by her. He could only say, heroes have always emerged from youth!
While the staff were getting the ingredients, Ye Tian had already prepared the jars and cleaned them so that they could be used directly when the ingredients arrived.
The ingredients were delivered quickly, and the hotel had prepared a lot of soaked dried abalone, so time was not so urgent.
The old director saw them start preparing and went off to do other things. He couldn't keep an eye on the chef. After that, Ye Tian was the main person doing the work, and Chef Luo just had to watch from the side.
"Master, look, the water and ingredients we put in are roughly in this ratio." Ye Tian said as he added water.
"It's enough for you to learn it. I'm too lazy to learn it again." Luo Zhongxi said.
"Then you have to take a look at it too. If the staff asks you any questions about making this dish, you won't be able to answer them." Ye Tian said deliberately.
Chef Luo thought it was possible and watched carefully from the side. He thought: The apprentice is so talented, the master must also keep learning!
The other chefs had already left after finishing their dishes, leaving only the three of them in the vast kitchen. Around 10 p.m., Ye Tian asked her chef to go back to bed, while she and another assistant watched over the jars until the early hours of the morning. She then visited twice more that night, and the assistant also came to help once.
The next day, the kitchen was already filled with a rich aroma. Another day passed, and in the evening, Ye Beet served some of it to the master to taste.
Chef Luo scooped out a spoonful of X and put it into his mouth, savoring it carefully. After a moment, his brow relaxed: "It's done!"
Ye Tian also served herself some, first giving it to another assistant, and then to herself.
"Well, it's almost there. It should be better in a few hours. Let's ask the director to come and try it tomorrow morning!" Ye Tian finally felt relieved. She couldn't stand up like this anymore and keep the master busy and unable to rest. Most importantly, the master must be worried.
Early in the morning, the old director came to the kitchen. As soon as he came in, he smelled the fragrance, and his originally anxious mood calmed down.
Ye Tian filled half a bowl for each of him and the two subordinates who came with him, put in a small spoon, and handed it to them.
The director was the first to taste it. Ye Tian kept staring at him. Seeing that the lines on his face were becoming softer and softer, she knew that there was no problem.
The director smiled and said, "Great! This is so authentic! It reminds me of a dish made by a master 20 years ago. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago, and I have never eaten such delicious Buddha Jumps Over the Wall since then." He said with some disappointment.
But after a while, his mood returned and he said to Luo Zhongxi, "Chef Luo, you are so amazing that you can cook two cuisines by yourself! You were so modest before, and I almost missed out on your skills."
"Actually...actually, I didn't make this!" Chef Luo's words were like a bomb, leaving the three hosts confused.
He went on, "This is the craftsmanship of my apprentice, Ye Tian, the girl next to you. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a Fujian dish, which I'm not good at, and she hasn't learned from a master, so she's figured it out all on her own. In addition to learning Sichuan cuisine from me, she's also very good at Huaiyang cuisine. Boiled dried bean curd, pickled pork with preserved vegetables, and drunken crab are all her specialties. Let's put it this way, my apprentice is a genius. She can cook any dish quickly. It's no exaggeration to call her a culinary god, hahaha..."
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