Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 236 - 167: Jonathan’s Grand Opening—Western Ingredients, Chinese Techniques (Part 2)

"?!"

The two of them were frolicking and chasing each other among the fruit trees for a while before remembering there was still the matter of ingredients. They found the pair relaxing in the shade not far away.

"Mr. John, what's the best ingredient you have here?"

"The best would be truffles, but it's not the right season, so there are no wild ones, only cultivated ones."

"Additionally, our beef is Angus grade, the meat quality is excellent, reaching as high as m9 in quality. Typically, it's supplied to restaurants because a whole cow is too large for tourists to take all at once, and people usually opt to purchase directly from our slaughterhouse."

Upon hearing that there's m9-grade Angus beef, the secretary's eyes sparkled, and Edward nodded with satisfaction.

"Alright, then get us two pieces of filet mignon, three centimeters thick, a three-centimeter thick tomahawk steak, and two ribs."

"Sure, I'll notify them right away."

After deciding on the main course, they wandered around the orchard and vegetable garden for a while, picking some fruits and vegetables they wanted to eat, and then left contentedly.

"Boss, are we heading back to the hotel?"

"If I remember correctly, Johnny, you can swim, right?"

"Yes, boss."

"Alright, first take us back to the hotel, deliver the ingredients to the restaurant, and tell the chef to prepare them, cooked to medium rare. Then, go to the fishery to get some lobsters and abalones to bring back. Don't eat dinner just yet; I'll pack some extra food for you."

Edward sat next to Lamia in the back seat, chatting non-stop, his arm around the little secretary more and more tightly, almost as if he wanted to pull her into his body.

Johnny stared straight ahead, pretending not to hear the increasingly heavy breathing from the back seat, and nodded, "Alright boss, let's head out."

In their line of work, feigning ignorance is key to longevity. After all, the salary is high, the job relatively easy, and the boss is nice, apart from being a bit of a flirt.

Rich people, they're all like that, and he's used to it.

Lin Chen and Jonathan, who had received the notification text, were already waiting in the restaurant, surprised to have diners coming in so early.

"Lin, do you think today's guests might give us a hard time again?"

"Who knows? I think probably not since President Wang and the Madam aren't dining here today; they're likely busy with work."

"Such a pity, I wanted to demonstrate my culinary skills."

As a chef from a high-end restaurant, his skills were always well-received by diners there, but just being assigned here, the first customized meal he made had gone wrong.

Last night's incident was quite a blow to him, and his laid-back demeanor has somewhat mellowed, becoming more composed.

"No worries, just treat them well next time. Compared to impressing General Manager Wang, satisfying diners is more important."

"That's right. Hey, the car's here!"

A black business car parked at the entrance, and Jonathan instantly recognized it as the one from last night.

"It's Chanel's agent! He tried my dishes last night; it seems he was satisfied. That's great!"

Only the driver got out of the car, carrying several bags from the trunk and walking towards them.

"Are you both the restaurant's managers? The boss is currently busy, so he instructed me to deliver the ingredients first. I need to grab some lobsters and abalones from the fishery later."

"The boss said for you two to prepare. There's no specific demand for the dishes, just make them delicious. Preferably flavors he hasn't tried before, and the steak should be cooked medium rare."

Lin Chen and Jonathan glanced at the bags and breathed a sigh of relief.

This kind of guest, with no fixed requirements and normal ingredients, is very easy to handle. They can succeed by casually making something new with little difficulty.

Moreover, they delivered the ingredients early, giving the duo plenty of time to think and prepare. They seemed like a decent person to deal with.

The driver didn't linger much longer, handed over the ingredients, and drove away.

The two returned backstage to lay out all the food on the table and categorize them one by one. Seeing that the main course was m9-grade Angus steak, they immediately understood what kind of flavors the guest might prefer.

Typical Western restaurant style.

"You should do it; he probably came for your cooking after trying it."

Jonathan couldn't hide the smile on his face, chuckling lightly, "Come on, Lin, though you've made Chinese food these past few days, your Western dishes are definitely great too, or you wouldn't have made it to work at God's Kiss."

"Anyway, there are two portions of steak, one for you, one for me. That agent has probably never tried steak cooked with Chinese methods. But the tomahawk is so big, it can only be grilled, there's no other way to handle it, right?"

"If you want to keep it whole, it can only be done by grilling or smoking."

The tomahawk looks big, about as long as a forearm; essentially, it's untreated rib-eye.

Sirloin, rib-eye, filet mignon, these are the most common and classic steak cuts, followed by T-bone, which is basically half sirloin and half filet mignon separated by a bone. There are also some niche cuts like top blade, oyster meat, short ribs, etc.

The meat delivered is three centimeters thick, clearly favoring the classic Western method to enjoy the pleasure of eating meat in big bites.

However, the guest also mentioned wanting to try flavors they hadn't experienced.

If prepared using Western methods of pan-frying steak, innovation could only be made with the sauce, a skill-less task that Lin Chen intended to leave to Jonathan, as he was tired of doing that.

"You handle the tomahawk, I'll take one piece of filet mignon and a rib."

The amount of meat on the whole rib steak is considerable, almost as wide as half a hand's width. This shape suggests it's intended for the American smoked grilling cut.

But it doesn't matter; whatever the meat, whichever the cut, in his hands, it can be transformed into a Chinese cooking method.

Filet mignon, that is, the beef tenderloin, is the same cut he stir-fried for breakfast every day, the difference being that the beef tenderloin for steaks is of higher quality, with a richer milk flavor.

Beef ribs need no further explanation, lean yet not dry meat with rich beef fat aroma, one of the most popular cuts.

Cooking to medium rare is easy to control, there are two approaches: direct grilling and then finishing in the oven or slow-cooking at low temperatures before pan-searing to color.

The former method tests the chef's basic skills, where experienced chefs can control the tenderness of the steak by sheer touch and mastery of time and heat.

The latter method produces evenly cooked steak, with more tender and juicy meat, suitable for when time permits. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Jonathan clearly chose the latter.

Slow cooking requires sealing the spices and butter with the steak in a food bag, then immersing it in a warm water bath, allowing the flavors of butter and spice to slowly seep into the steak through low temperatures.

The tomahawk steak's size prevents it from being done through slow-cooking, but can only be smoked or grilled, as Lin Chen just reminded him.

Find a deep soup pot or iron pot, pack the bottom with many spice leaves, like thyme, rosemary, oregano, etc., light the fire, letting the leaves release their aromas, then cover with a perforated grate layer, place the steaks on it, cover the pot for smoking.

Lin Chen glanced at Jonathan's actions, then withdrew his gaze, not paying much attention. He was overly familiar with these techniques, they held no interest, they were all basic operations.

Now, he's considering how to prepare the two pieces of meat into a flavor that the guest could accept.

This Chanel agent clearly prefers Western flavors, so the choice of seasoning should not be too random, aiming for similar directions.

Of course, he could also go all out and concoct some authentic Great Xia flavors to delight the guest's palate.

Now he's caught in a dilemma, wondering which approach to take.