Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 242 - 170: No Recommendations Allowed—Let Them Choose Jonathan_2

If the next table's guests also choose Jonathan, he can clock out directly!

With this new thought, he felt like he had found the shortcut to a working life.

Jonathan's been having a rough time these past few days, so using dinner to rebuild his confidence isn't a bad idea.

For chefs, confidence is more important than skill; a chef without confidence can't make delicious dishes.

Lin Chen secretly exchanged a glance with Dais and Elsa. The two women understood and quietly slipped away to the kitchen.

Lin Chen came in, closed the kitchen door, and whispered a few words to the two women.

"Huh? Isn't this bad, Chef? What if the hotel is secretly evaluating or there's guest feedback?"

"So what?"

Lin Chen shrugged: "It doesn't matter, just do what I say. Less work is great, unless you're workaholics?"

"Uh, we're not. Alright, we'll listen to the chef then."

The current workload is almost half of what it used to be, and it's so idle that even Elsa, the intern, is feeling a bit uneasy. It's way too relaxed, almost boring.

The only busy period is the four hours during brunch, where most of the time is spent waiting for guests to finish eating, and then cleaning up tables and dishes.

They really fear that once they go back, they won't be able to adapt to the restaurant's high-frequency work that leaves you dizzy and exhausted.

Coming out of the kitchen, the three pretended like nothing happened, even picking up watering cans to tend to the plants in the restaurant.

Roderick glanced at Lin Chen, nudged his buddy Philip with his elbow: "Hey hey, isn't the guy in black also a chef? Why's he watering the flowers? Is his cooking skill lacking so no one wants him to cook?"

"How would I know? It shouldn't be, right?"

Philip kept his eyes glued to Jonathan's actions, occasionally licking his dry lips: "A chef working here surely has decent skills. Why don't we try his dishes too?"

"Forget it, this one here is a chef for business tycoons. The flower-watering one doesn't seem like he has great skills, I don't want to risk it."

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let them hear."

Edward and Lamia, who were near, definitely heard. They exchanged glances, their eyes brimming with laughter, and quickly walked towards the dining area with their plates, finding a quiet spot to sit.

"Pfft haha, Chef Lin would never dream of being mistaken for someone with bad cooking skills, would he?"

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let them hear!"

Edward quickly covered his secretary's mouth, glanced around like a thief: "We're so close to Paris, we can come anytime we want to eat. I don't want Chef Lin's skills to be too well-known, or else it'll be busy and we won't get to eat!"

The secretary paused, then realized: "Oh right, that works too, makes sense!"

The dinner here is open for hotel guests to reserve every day, but it can actually be operated secretly.

Someone at Edward's level only needs to make a call or send a text to get a spot.

The prerequisite is that there's still availability.

If you book in advance, it's almost a sure thing.

While they leisurely enjoyed lobster and tomahawk steak, Jonathan started a new round of battle.

He quickly adjusted himself. Although no feedback from Edward and Lamia yet, considering the overall dining situation over the past couple of days, he decisively canceled the salad part, opting to make appetizers instead.

Salads aren't easy to change in flavor, but are appetizers not easy?

Just using the seafood brought by the two as the main ingredient, with side dishes freely combined, new flavors can be easily whipped up.

Learning on the spot, he followed Lin Chen's earlier method with the abalone, scoring the surface with cross marks and blanching it in ice water. Paired with freshly fried potato chips, he made mini bite-sized abalone tacos, drizzled with a tangy and spicy sauce.

"!!!!"

The never-before-tasted delicacy left Philip and Rodria wide-eyed in shock, nodding as they chewed, inwardly praising their good choice.

"Ring ring~"

The third group of guests arrived.

When this young couple was led to the central area by Helena, their expressions were somewhat perplexed.

One chef busy cooking, one... watering flowers?

There were already guests dining nearby, and the two people standing and eating in front looked utterly blissful.

Helena proactively recommended: "You two, Jonathan the chef just started preparing dinner for these guests, he might not be able to serve you right now. I recommend choosing that one over here..."

"It's okay, we're not in a hurry, not hungry yet. We'll wait!"

The man decisively raised his hand to interrupt her suggestion.

No need to look further, obviously the flower-watering chef isn't skilled, so no one picks him. The one busy cooking has sparks flying!

Finally snagging dinner seats, he wants to enjoy it with his girlfriend, surely can't waste it!

Interrupted, Helena quickly winked at Dais, hoping she would also help recommend.

With Chef Lin's better skills, why did the past few guest groups act like they're bewitched, all choosing Jonathan? Nothing strange happened in the restaurant.

Is it racial discrimination?

Dais shrugged, indicating to let the guests decide.

Lin Chen instructed them not to be proactive, not to refuse, completely adhering to guest preferences.

The young couple watched Jonathan cook and checked out the finished dishes, further convinced they made the right choice.

"So you both decided to wait for Jonathan chef to finish this table first, right?"

"Yes, yes, it's just after five, not hungry yet, we'll wait patiently."

As soon as the words were spoken, Lin Chen immediately stopped watering flowers, turned quickly into the kitchen.

Minutes later, he pushed out a cart carrying several large boxes, lids covered, contents hidden from view.

Without stopping, he wheeled straight towards the exit.

Dais and Elsa's eyes lit up, instantly understanding his intention, quickly following.

"Since there's nothing more for us, we'll call it a day, good luck!"

Lucinda barely spoke all day, guests didn't need service, she just stood and watched.

Though silent, it didn't mean she was dumb, she already figured out what Lin Chen was planning through their subtle actions.

Chef Lin was starting his street stall!

Yesterday evening, she secretly checked the hotel's official forum for guest feedback. Even though comments were sparse, almost seventy percent mentioned the chef's street food cart's dishes being incredibly tasty. The remaining thirty percent either didn't notice or hadn't checked in.

Without exceptions, those who hadn't tried expressed willingness to taste.

Plus, some visitors uploaded various food photos, tempting her to roll around her bed.

Now the food was right in front of her, but she hadn't clocked out yet, no chance for at least an hour. How could she reconcile with that?

Hastily biting her thumbnail and glancing anxiously, she quickly approached Helena.

"I'm thinking of buying some of chef's marinated seafood, want some?"

Lin Chen had marinated it this morning in front of everyone; she's fully aware of it.

Swallowing, Helena sneakily glanced at Jonathan, inconspicuously nodding: "Definitely, yes! Since there's nothing here, you buy more, I've got things handled."

"No problem!"

As Lin Chen came in the second time with food supplies, Lucinda silently followed him out of the restaurant, directly standing at the food cart window.

Initially unnoticed, Lin Chen thought she stepped out for something.

Only when he placed all ingredients into the fridge, set the porridge pot on the stove to heat, did he notice she'd already stationed herself by the window.

"What are you doing?"

Lucinda blinked innocently: "I'm waiting to buy some yummy food!"