Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 444 - 356: Playing This Way, Huh? Then I’ll Quit!

Lin Chen was originally very pleased with himself, finally getting Chef Raphael to experience the delight of getting up early on his day off.

But who would have thought that they would immediately start using the customers attracted by his food truck to promote their own restaurant!

Those damned capitalists!!

"Hey!"

He knocked on the window and called out softly.

"You two, please keep your business talks away from me, these are all my customers!"

"Using my influence to bring customers to your restaurant isn’t quite right, is it?"

Raphael and Nagishiro Sho exchanged a glance, a smug smile curling at their lips.

Finally, this arrogant guy had to admit defeat for once.

Such satisfaction!

"We didn’t force anyone, did we? People are willing, what’s wrong with that?"

"Yeah, yeah, we’re engaging in an open, fair, and just equal cooperation, unrelated to any other factors."

Though their words sounded normal, to Lin Chen, they hinted at a ’bite me if you disagree’ attitude.

Yet, he really couldn’t do anything about it!

The current booming traffic at the restaurant was largely because of the previous kite festival where he leveraged Chef Marchello and Nagishiro Sho’s influence, indirectly taking advantage of their customer base.

Now they’re taking advantage of his customer base, and naturally, he had nothing to say.

But Chef Raphael hadn’t contributed anything, should he just let him get away with it?

Thinking of this, Lin Chen’s eyes darted around, and suddenly he had an idea.

"By the way, Chef, there’s something I’ve been considering, and it’s a good time to tell you now."

"?" Raphael seemed to sense a kind of ominous premonition, his expression changed, "Go on."

"Ever since I started this food stall, I’ve realized that I’m more suited to this kind of work. Working in the back kitchen isn’t as interesting, it pays less, and I can’t freely make the dishes I want."

"I’m planning to travel the world with my food truck in the future, might not return to work, thought I’d let you know while you’re here, Chef."

"You want to resign?!!!"

Raphael’s expression drastically changed, he never thought this guy would pull such a move.

Isn’t it just a bit of your customer base we’re tapping into, is that worth resigning over?

Lin Chen waved his hand and smiled, "Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with anything else, I’ve been considering resigning for a long time. After all, every chef dreams of having their own restaurant and career, right?"

"...that’s indeed true."

Raphael’s face was as still as water, frowning in thought, while Nagishiro Sho sat nearby with a face full of anticipation, sipping an iced Americano.

Rovena did much the same, sitting beside him, quietly gathering information.

"What’s going on, doesn’t Lin and Mr. Raphael get along? Why is he suddenly resigning?"

"I don’t know either, he’s not working at my restaurant, but we Asians do tend to prefer starting our own businesses."

"Starting a business is so tiring, there are more things to manage than you imagine, why not just get a job, just finish your work and you don’t have to worry about anything else."

"...you wouldn’t understand."

After contemplating for a moment, Raphael suddenly spoke, "Don’t rush to make a decision, you’re currently free anyway, keep things as they are. When your team is more mature, you can come back to the restaurant, and I’ll let you try creating the menu you want."

"With your current reputation, if you accumulate more experience, you’ll surely have a large loyal customer base. Then, using the restaurant’s fame could further boost your reputation."

"After all, the dishes you can make at a stall are not the same as those you make in a restaurant. Having diverse experiences greatly aids a chef’s career, aren’t we in precisely this stage now?"

"Hm? You’ll let me be in charge of the menu once?"

This proposal hit the mark for Lin Chen, making it hard for him to refuse.

God’s Kiss still being a Michelin Level restaurant, carries its own influence, reaching across countless social strata.

From high society officials and dignitaries to common folk, they all come to dine, which is a level a food truck can’t reach.

At least not at the current level.

If he could freely create a menu, filling the entire restaurant with elements of Great Xia, what a sight that would be!

Just the thought of it was exciting.

But he soon calmed down, not letting enthusiasm get the better of him.

The restaurant’s setup was there, it couldn’t be like local small eateries where dishes are casually cooked and served, there had to be emphasis on plating and taste.

The key was how to balance all these elements.

As for flavor, that wasn’t a problem; he was already gaining experience in this area by running the food stall every day.

"Alright, let’s leave it at that for now, we’ll discuss the specifics later."

Lin Chen nodded, glanced at Old Chen’s actions, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Roujiamo are ready, please come and collect them one by one."

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Chen placed a tray by the window, neatly lined with five Roujiamo filled with finely shredded meat, drizzled with chili oil and sprinkled with some green onions, looking quite enticing.

He didn’t stop, continuing to grab five hot buns from the warming box, slicing them open and stuffing them with meat.

Upon hearing that food was ready, the employees, already craving it, sprang up from their seats and flocked towards the window.

Fortunately, Old Chen was fast enough and foresighted, chopping just the right amount of meat in one go, and completing all the Roujiamo in just two minutes.

"Crunch"

"Crunch"

The sounds of crunching echoed one after another, and the employees were eating with oil dripping from their mouths, their eyes filled with surprise.

"The texture of this pancake is so peculiar, somewhat like an English muffin, but crispier than a muffin."

"The pulled... uh, no, it can’t be called pulled, anyway, this pork tastes really good, it has a flavor I’ve never tasted before."

"I saw online that the chef’s chili oil isn’t spicy at all, I thought it was a trick, how could chili not be spicy, but it really is true! It’s all fragrant!"

"Why do I think this thing tastes better than a McDonald’s burger?"

"Oh my gosh, it actually drips juice! Almost dripped on my pants!!"

Seeing the employees eating so deliciously, each one looking extremely surprised, Rovena couldn’t resist, and hurriedly took a big bite.

"Crunch"

Indeed, just as they said, this special pancake had a texture that was hard yet soft, its skin roasted till crispy, paired with the soft, juicy filling, was incredibly satisfying.

He had seen firsthand how fatty the pork belly pulled from the pot was, and when crushed he could clearly see the white fatty meat paste.

Originally he thought it would taste greasy, but surprisingly it didn’t feel that way at all, as if he were eating pure lean meat, yet far more fragrant than lean meat.

Especially with the special broth poured in, paired with the fragrant chili oil and garnished with spring onions for added flavor and slight grease removal.

That one bite seemed to open a doorway to a new world for him.

Just as he took a hefty second bite, warmth spread through his palm as the warm meat juice seeped through the paper bag, dripping all over his hand.

"?!"

Rovena was shocked, quickly leaned over to lick the juice off his hand clean, unwilling to waste a bit.

Watching them devour with such appetite, Raphael and Nagishiro Sho couldn’t resist.

"Lin, give us a set too, I’ll share the noodles with him, and each of us can take one of the rest."

Lin pretended to be surprised and said, "Huh? Aren’t you two learning the craft? I thought you wanted to do it by yourselves."

"!!"

The two were stunned, slapping their foreheads.

"Oh right, almost forgot about that."

They were just chatting and didn’t pay much attention to the preparation process here.

The two hurriedly climbed up the food truck, washed their hands clean, and patiently observed the preparation process of each food.

The two mixed noodles didn’t have much to focus on, just the time for boiling the noodles and the ratio of the sauce for mixing.

With the experience of the two, just watching once, they could fully grasp it.

The main challenge lay in the making of Biangbiang noodles and the Roujiamo bun.

Though it’s just slightly challenging, for those mingling in the Western cuisine world, baking is essential.

"Xiao Zhao, give them a demonstration of the bun making."

"Alright~"

Zhao Shun swallowed a mouthful of saliva, nodded, and felt his heart leap into his throat.

Just days ago he was an idle young man unemployed at home, and now he was actually guiding Michelin chefs on how to knead dough.

He could hardly believe his current situation, it felt almost dream-like.

But he knew this was a test for himself, quickly taking a deep breath, adjusting his mindset, and then took a dough ball from beneath a covered cloth and started kneading.

He didn’t need to explain, Raphael and Nagishiro Sho stared closely at his hand movements, keenly observing every small detail, afraid to miss a single bit.

In cooking, the process can afford some discrepancies, but definitely not in baking, where even the slightest deviation leads to significant differences in the final product.

Luckily, both were familiar with this kneading method similar to making flaky pastry, with only slightly different details.

After watching once, they didn’t hesitate to take a dough ball each and start kneading.

Their movements were proficient, even surpassing Zhao Shun.

In just two minutes, three almost identical rough dough buns were lined up and put into the oven.

"Whoa, is this the level of Michelin chefs?"

Zhao Shun was a bit stunned, he had never seen chefs replicate perfectly after watching just once.

But he knew he hadn’t been out in society much, surrounded by fellow disciples previously, all at a similar level, cooking poorly, clearly not able to mimic world-class chefs.

After finishing the Roujiamo bun, the two began making Biangbiang noodle.

This was even less challenging, the key lay in the skill of pulling the noodle, after a few familiar attempts it could be mastered.

Lin Chen dared to teach them noodles of this level, any more difficult ramen he dared not teach, because he himself couldn’t do it, and would definitely embarrass himself if he taught.

Pulling broad noodles versus fine noodles differed by more than just a little in difficulty.

The thinner the ramen, the greater the difficulty, without several years of practice, it’s impossible to perfect.