The restaurant has a very rustic name; it's called Linhu Restaurant.
But its location is indeed unbeatable, right next to West Lake with nearly 50 private rooms, plus a courtyard and parking lot, which shows how powerful the owner is.
The head chef of this restaurant is also a master chef of Jiangzhe cuisine, one of the most representative figures. He was recruited by the owner at great expense. Therefore, apart from the owner, he has the most say in the entire restaurant. The store manager and other managers all need to curry favor with him.
When it comes to the dishes, he has complete control. From sourcing to preparation, everything is done according to his requirements. But it is precisely because of this that the restaurant is so popular.
He is a very demanding person when it comes to ingredients. He would rather offend customers than serve dishes that he is not satisfied with. If the quality of any ingredient drops, he will remove all dishes that use that ingredient from the menu until he finds a dish that meets his quality requirements.
The guests who come here always praise him highly, especially when he personally cooks and oversees the process.
So when he heard someone say that his beef was not good, he couldn't stand it at all. The beef he used was among the absolute top in the country, and this customer dared to say that it was not as good as the beef raised by them.
The head chef stormed out of the kitchen, but he wasn't completely brainless; he wouldn't just go up there and overturn the table.
The restaurant manager stopped the head chef before he rushed into the private room.
"Chef Zhang, let me let you know first before you go in, okay? I won't stop you. This way, it'll be easier to explain to General Manager Tian. Otherwise, if he blames us, we won't be in a good position," the restaurant manager said with a forced smile.
"Go quickly," the head chef said impatiently.
The restaurant manager straightened his clothes before gently knocking on the door.
"Excuse me, everyone, I am the manager of Linhu. I have something to discuss with you."
"Come in." A deep, middle-aged male voice rang out. The restaurant manager knew that this was Yun Hu, who had booked the private room today. He was one of the most prominent figures in HZ, and even his own boss had to bow down to him.
This is why he insisted on stopping the head chef no matter what; if he offended him, he would really be in deep trouble.
He gently opened the door to the private room and immediately bowed deeply.
"We are very sorry to have disturbed you all. We heard that you are not very satisfied with the quality of our meat, so the head chef came over to see if there is anything that can be improved."
Anyone who can sit in this position must have a knack for being shrewd and diplomatic. He immediately establishes a first impression, making everyone believe that the head chef is there to listen to opinions, not to cause trouble.
"Let's just leave it at that, don't worry about it. Let the head chef go back," Yun Hu said, frowning slightly.
The manager smiled sincerely and said, "Our head chef is a perfectionist, and this is very important to him. He really wants to hear your opinions."
"Alright, enough with the chit-chat, let's get straight to the point."
At that moment, Chef Zhang suddenly walked in from the door and stood there with a sweeping, decisive motion.
Helpless, the restaurant manager could only silently follow behind the head chef.
“I’ve heard you say that your cattle are better. I believe that the beef I select is already top-notch, and only a few can surpass it. I would like to see what you call better.”
To put it nicely, this chef is a straightforward person; to put it less nicely, he has a bad temper and will explode at the slightest displeasure.
If he didn't know that he couldn't offend the customers, he would have already swore. Those in the kitchen who had questioned him had all experienced his volatile temper.
However, his culinary skills were indeed superb. Although he had a fiery temper, he wasn't a bad person at heart, and you got used to him after a while. None of the chefs and apprentices in the kitchen were willing to leave. They could learn a lot from Chef Zhang, and he was extremely protective of his staff, so the kitchen benefits were excellent.
Chen Yang and his group weren't particularly impressed with the chef; after all, his rudeness from the start wouldn't leave a good impression on anyone.
"We have no comment on that. Could you please leave so as not to disturb our meal?" Chen Yang said softly, but his tone left no room for argument.
"What do you know, young man? Was it you who made the meat that was of poor quality just now?"
"It wasn't me. The beef at your restaurant is of good quality, just not as good as what we've had before. Can you leave now?"
"Not as good as yours?" Chef Zhang sneered. "I really don't believe there's any beef in China that can surpass the beef I import from Australia."
"It really isn't from China, so can you leave now? If you don't leave, we're leaving," Chen Yang said coldly.
The restaurant manager broke out in a cold sweat and tugged at Chef Zhang, saying, "Chef Zhang, even our General Manager Tian can't afford to offend this guest. We should probably tone it down a bit."
Chef Zhang wasn't unaware of his place, so he said, "I was the one who offended you this time. I'll make one of my best dishes as compensation."
Without waiting for anyone's reply, he immediately left in a flurry of activity, truly as swift as the wind, or rather, as fierce as a whirlwind.
The restaurant manager smiled wryly and said to everyone, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm really sorry, but that's just the way our head chef is; I can't stop him from doing whatever he wants."
"Don't bother us anymore except to serve the dishes," Yun Hu said coldly.
"Yes, yes, we definitely won't bother you anymore," the restaurant manager said repeatedly.
The boss is on his way and will be here soon. Then I won't be caught in this dilemma anymore. With the boss around, Chef Zhang will behave himself.
After leaving the private room, Chef Zhang immediately rushed back to the kitchen, his shout startling everyone.
"Bring out all the ingredients for braised beef, the best batch you can get. Just bring them out, don't do anything, I'll handle the ingredients."
Generally, the preparation of ingredients is handled by some assistants and kitchen helpers. Even when the head chef is specifically asked to cook, he rarely handles the ingredients himself. Even making soup and sauces is done by the sous chef. The head chef only does the actual cooking; otherwise, how could he possibly manage?
The fact that the head chef personally handles the ingredients proves that he is serious. He does every step himself and strives to make a dish to his liking.
Although Chef Zhang at Linhu Restaurant is not quite a Michelin three-star chef, he is not far behind.
Hearing that the head chef was getting serious, everyone got excited, and the whole kitchen sprang into action.
The chef's braised beef is different from the usual ones; he has his own unique recipe. So, when the chef gets really serious, he doesn't let anyone get close to him; you can only watch from a distance.
The exclusive recipe is every chef's secret weapon, not easily revealed. If other chefs learn it, they will lose their advantage. Therefore, once the ingredients are ready, others can only watch from afar.
Being able to watch from afar is already a stroke of luck; witnessing Chef Zhang preparing a brand new dish is something these chefs aspire to. His focused effort and fluid movements are exactly what every chef hopes for—the true image of a chef.
(End of this chapter)
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