Chef at the University Canteen-Chapter 443 - 265: When It Comes to Eating, You and I Are the Kings
Lu Shuwu shrugged his shoulders, turned to glance at the others, then turned back and continued,
"But according to Uncle Ma and Ah Wei, it would be better to have more Jiangzhou dishes, since this is a university cafeteria in Jiangzhou."
"Hmm, there’s really no need to make such a clear distinction."
Jiang Yu frowned, thought for a moment, and then said,
"Our school’s students come from all over the country. If you choose only one cuisine, a small portion of students will be happy, but most others might not be used to it.
So, cafeteria food doesn’t need to heavily emphasize regional traits, just like Houttuynia cordata. While places like Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan love it, not many elsewhere can stomach it, right?"
Houttuynia cordata, or fish mint, is loved passionately by some who can devour bowls of it, while those who hate it do so deeply, fainting after just a taste.
"That’s true, even though many from my Xiang Chu area like it, I can’t stand the taste."
Lu Shuwu laughed,
"Out of curiosity, I tried one bite. The strong fishy smell mixed with a tinge of bitterness almost made me throw my gallbladder up."
Ma Guoqiang curiously asked,
"So Boss Xiao Jiang, what dishes do you think would be more suitable to change to?"
"Let’s make some homemade dishes like braised beef with yuba, garlic chicken wings, twice-cooked pork, stir-fried beef with hot peppers, and dishes like Gannan stir-fried fish. Those would be good too."
Jiang Yu roughly listed a few home-style dishes and said with a smile,
"These dishes generally don’t have obvious regional characteristics, including Gannan stir-fried fish, which is just similar to braised fish from other areas, not much difference.
As long as the taste is good, people from any place would be very happy to eat it."
"That might not be the case, like if I were to cook these dishes, probably not many people would like them."
Ma Guoqiang couldn’t help but tease after hearing Jiang Yu’s words, he said with a smile,
"If it were Boss Xiao Jiang who’s cooking, that would be different.
Even if you were making sweet Huaiyang Cuisine, those of us who never eat sweet dishes would definitely enjoy it and might even lick the plates clean."
As soon as he said this, everyone else in the cafeteria couldn’t help but laugh.
Having worked in the Seventh Dining Hall for so long, who wouldn’t appreciate our Boss Xiao Jiang’s skills?
As long as he cooks the dish, no one would dislike it.
Even those with an eating disorder would fight to eat it, let alone others.
After a bout of laughter, Lu Shuwu quickly said,
"So boss, with these new dishes, you have to be the one to make them first, or else I wouldn’t dare to introduce new dishes."
"Alright, I’ll change the dishes over the weekend, and you can learn how to make them then."
Jiang Yu didn’t refuse; it was something he was supposed to do anyway. He glanced at Lu Shuwu, shook his head, and said,
"You really need to improve your cooking skills, otherwise, how will you go back and inherit your grandfather’s restaurant in the future?"
Lu Shuwu was speechless,
Why did it suddenly get to the point of inheriting my family’s business?
I’m here to eat the dishes you make, really not to learn culinary skills!
Jiang Yu chatted with a few others, then left the kitchen with a teacup, planning to rest for a bit in the adjoining private room.
He had been so busy lately that he didn’t even have time to play Go, making him itch for a game. Today he finally had the chance to enjoy two games.
As he pushed open the door to the private room, Jiang Yu peeked in and couldn’t help but pause for a moment. Jia Dequan was reclining on the sofa with his eyes closed, resting.
Earlier, he’d wondered where Lao Jia was since everyone was in the kitchen discussing updating cafeteria dishes.
Turns out, this old guy had an early lunch and snuck in here for a nap.
Jiang Yu couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. He didn’t disturb Jia, gently walked in, closed the door behind him, and quietly sat on the opposite sofa.
Sitting still, he took out his phone from his pocket. Just as he was about to open the chess app, Old Jia’s familiar voice suddenly echoed,
"You brat, sneaking in like that, almost gave this old man a fright!"
Hearing this, Jiang Yu abruptly looked up, exasperated, at the now awake Lao Jia, who was sipping tea from the tea table.
He quipped, "This scared you... Lao Jia, have you done something shameful?"
"At my age, I’m not after fame or fortune, what could I have done?"
Lao Jia drank a few sips of tea, glanced at Jiang Yu, and sneered,
"It’s you who should be careful not to be blinded by fame and fortune now that you have them."
After a bit of banter, Lao Jia’s expression turned serious and he brought up business:
"Right, you asked Hu Zhihai before to find some cases with anorexia patients to test meal effects, how’s that going?"
"Now those three anorexia patients have moved near the school, and their meals are all overseen by Du Guangning."
Jiang Yu briefly introduced the situation, then continued,
"The most troublesome part is that my food can’t cure anorexia, it can only give them an appetite to eat, and this effect is only for our Seventh Dining Hall’s meals."
