Gourmet: Twins' Father and Chef of the Kindergarten-Chapter 102 - 99: Food Allergy Issues

Just as the teachers from each class felt a bit downhearted about not being able to enjoy Huang Jun’s cooking with the upcoming holiday, suddenly the weekend didn’t seem so appealing or eagerly anticipated...

Huang Jun himself had none of these worries, instead reveling in the joy of "being a chef, yet still enjoying weekend breaks."

This made him even more convinced that...

Choosing to work as a chef at the preschool was a truly wise decision.

After all, the weekend meant more time to spend with his two beloved daughters, enjoying precious family moments.

To him, this was more important than anything else.

However...

Aunt Li’s startling remark brought his joyful mood slightly down: "Oh dear, tomorrow is Saturday, the preschool is on holiday, which means this afternoon after school... Director Liang might want us to have a meeting!"

What?

A meeting?

We have to meet?

Huang Jun looked surprised, hardly believing what he just heard, but Aunt Li’s firm gaze told him he hadn’t misheard.

It’s just that...

He never expected that, as a preschool chef, he would also need to attend the meetings?

He confusedly asked, "Aunt Li, you mean we’re having a meeting at the preschool, and we kitchen staff have to participate too?"

Aunt Li, the veteran employee, filled in the gap in his knowledge: "If it’s just a meeting for teachers, we kitchen staff don’t need to attend. But if the preschool announces an all-staff meeting, then we kitchen staff have to attend as well."

"But it’s just the start of the semester, what kind of meeting would it be?" Huang Jun asked, puzzled.

Aunt Li replied, "It’s the work summary for the first week of this semester."

"Is this kind of meeting held every semester?" Huang Jun continued to ask.

Aunt Li pondered for a moment: "I remember we had a meeting last semester, but as for the semester before that, I think we didn’t."

Aunt Lin added: "Actually, this meeting isn’t held every semester, it mainly depends on Director Liang’s arrangements."

Hearing this, Huang Jun discreetly sighed with relief, silently hoping there wouldn’t be a meeting.

It’s not that he’s afraid of meetings!

He’s mainly worried that if everyone has to attend the meeting, then who would look after his two precious daughters...

"Oh, I hope there won’t be a meeting this time..." Aunt Li sighed helplessly.

Aunt Lin felt the same way!

After all, who really likes meetings?

He took a short break.

Huang Jun saw that it was getting late.

So he started preparing the afternoon snacks.

Today’s snacks were apple jujube soup and creamy corn pancakes.

For the children’s health, he tried to simplify the ingredients and seasonings to ensure the food remained natural and simple.

The main and supplementary ingredients for the apple jujube soup were just apples, jujubes, goji berries, and honey.

The creamy corn pancakes consisted of corn, flour, eggs, pure milk, and sugar, with no additional miscellaneous ingredients.

The preparation was also very simple.

He scrubbed the apples clean with salt, peeled, cored, and chopped them into small cubes. Then he soaked jujubes in warm water until soft, cut and cored them, and put both into a pot with an appropriate amount of water.

Then he started cooking the soup, keeping the heat moderate, allowing it to simmer slowly.

While waiting for the soup to cook...

He cracked eggs on the edge of a clean stainless steel bowl, separating the yolk from the egg white.

He then placed the separated yolks into another large stainless steel bowl.

He repeated this step until all the eggs were separated.

Afterwards, he added pure milk to the stainless steel bowl containing the yolks, then sifted cornmeal into it.

Sifting the cornmeal made it finer.

He took a whisk and thoroughly mixed them together.

After mixing well, he added sugar to the stainless steel bowl with the egg whites, and whisked them with an electric mixer at high speed.

Until the egg whites were whipped to a point where lifting the whisk formed an inverted triangle shape.

Once the egg whites were ready, he scooped half into the yolk mixture.

Using a spatula, he folded them together like cooking, turning from bottom to top.

This step should not involve stirring in circles to prevent defoaming and affecting the pancake’s fluffiness.

After folding evenly, he added the remaining egg whites as well.

With the same technique, he folded them evenly again.

Huang Jun’s series of operations completely overturned Aunt Li’s and Aunt Lin’s traditional understanding of creamy corn pancakes.

Aunt Li exclaimed, "Wow... Chef Huang, your method of making creamy corn pancakes is completely different from Chef Wei’s."

Aunt Lin also gave Huang Jun a curious look, agreeing with Aunt Li’s observation as she nodded: "Indeed, Chef Wei’s method for making creamy corn pancakes is very simple."

"He just mixes eggs, pure milk, cornmeal, and flour together, adds yeast powder and sugar, mixes them well, covers with plastic wrap, and lets it ferment for an hour. Then stirs to remove air bubbles before cooking in a pan."

Hearing Aunt Lin’s description, Huang Jun smiled and explained: "Actually, each chef has a different philosophy towards cooking and their unique methods. Chef Wei’s creamy corn pancakes are simple and straightforward, while my method might be more meticulous. I choose to separate the egg whites and yolks and handle them separately to make the pancake texture finer. Also, whipping the egg whites makes the pancakes fluffier and avoids the need for yeast powder, which, if eaten too much, has certain health risks for children."

So that’s how it is!

Aunt Li and Aunt Lin nodded frequently upon hearing this, silently praising Huang Jun’s method in their hearts.

Aunt Li couldn’t help but commend him: "Chef Huang, your dedication is truly admirable~"

Huang Jun smiled humbly: "Aunt Li, you flatter me. I just want the children to enjoy tastier and healthier meals."

To cater to children with milk allergies, he prepared some corn batter without pure milk, to be cooked using a special small frying pan later.

After all, for kindergarten, children’s food allergy issues are crucial.

Parents must fill out detailed information about their children’s allergies in the kindergarten registration form.

This registration form is organized and compiled by the kindergarten’s health director and delivered to the kitchen. Huang Jun also specially marks relevant allergy information in his work manual to ensure the chef pays special attention when preparing meals.

At the same time, Huang Jun adds key notes in the kitchen work manual to remind himself to pay special attention to allergies when preparing meals, ensuring every child can safely enjoy the food.

Once the batter is ready, he starts cooking.

With the frying pan preheated, Huang Jun does not grease it.

He directly took a spoonful of batter and gently poured it into the frying pan.

Immediately.

A rich milk fragrance filled the air, prompting involuntary deep breaths to enjoy the enchanting aroma.

As the batter slowly solidified, the shape of the milk-flavored corn pancake gradually emerged, its golden surface shining with an enticing luster.

Huang Jun gently flipped the milk-flavored corn pancake with a spatula, continuing to fry it for a while until both sides turned a golden, fragrant color.

The whole kitchen was enveloped in a rich milk fragrance and the sweet scent of corn, captivating Aunt Li and Aunt Lin, compelling them to swallow their saliva.

"Chef Huang, this milk-flavored corn pancake smells incredible!"

Aunt Li exclaimed, "I’ve never smelled such a potent milk-flavored corn pancake! It seems even more fragrant than those made by Chef Wei!"

Aunt Lin nodded in agreement.

Huang Jun grinned in response: "Aunt Li, you flatter me. Would you like to try it first?"

"Yes!"

Aunt Li and Aunt Lin replied without hesitation.

Previously, they were not very interested in the children’s snacks, but for some reason, since Huang Jun came, they have been delighted by both meals and snacks.

No matter how much they eat, they can never have enough!

If others knew how enthusiastic they are about children’s snacks at their age, it might spark surprise and laughter.

...

Nearing lunchtime.

The kindergarten teachers came to the kitchen to collect the lunchtime snacks as usual.

Seeing that the afternoon snack was milk-flavored corn pancakes, Teacher Liu Fangling asked worriedly: "Chef Huang, you remember we have a child with a milk allergy in our class, right?"

"Yes, I know!" Huang Jun nodded affirmatively: "I specially prepared some corn pancakes without milk for these children with special needs."

Seeing Huang Jun’s attentiveness and thoughtfulness, Liu Fangling gratefully said: "That’s good, thank you! Sorry to trouble you, Chef Huang!"

"You’re welcome, it’s what I should do." Huang Jun responded humbly.

After the teachers brought the snacks back to the classroom, the children who had just woken from their nap were immediately drawn in by the aroma.

Class 4.

The children sniffed the aroma, eagerly shuffling to the table, their eyes fixed on the snacks, as if their eyeballs were glued to them.

Yuanyuan licked the corner of her mouth and curiously asked: "Teacher, what is this? It smells so good!"

Teacher Wang Wenxia couldn’t help but laugh at the group of little foodies: "This is milk-flavored corn pancake and apple jujube soup, do you want to eat them?"

"Yes! Yes!" Yuanyuan and the other children nodded without hesitation.

"Then go line up with Miss Xie to wash your hands, once your hands are clean, you can start eating." Teacher Wang Wenxia instructed.

Upon hearing this, the children immediately took action, running quickly towards Xie Jianing and forming a line.

Once they washed their hands and received their snacks, they held the milk-flavored corn pancake and beamed with joy.

No one wanted to take a bite right away; they couldn’t resist feeling its unique texture before carefully putting it into their mouths.

"Ah" taking a big bite.

Soft and fragrant, their mouths filled with rich milk flavor and a hint of corn fragrance.

"Wow...this pancake is so soft and delicious..."

"Yes, it really is tasty, I like it so much..."

Yuanyuan squinted her eyes happily, feeling envious of Qingqing and Weiwei again, unable to resist asking at every meal: "Qingqing, Weiwei, can I trade my pancake with yours?"

"No, no..."

Qingqing and Weiwei shook their heads firmly, their little heads shaking rapidly.

No one would trade!

Seeing this, Yuanyuan took another bite of the milk-flavored corn pancake, then a sip of the sweet apple jujube soup, comforting her disappointed heart.

But she would not give up!

Yang Yuxi and the other teachers watched with a familiar smile, accustomed to these scenes.

Seeing the children engrossed in their delicious snacks, heads bobbing, they couldn’t resist taking the golden, fragrant milk-flavored corn pancake themselves.

One bite...

It felt like biting into a fluffy cloud, the rich milk flavor and sweet corn aroma reverberating in their mouths.

The pancake skin was light and soft, each layer filled with air, dancing on the tongue.

The rich milk flavor and sweet corn aroma blended perfectly, retaining the natural taste of corn while infusing a creamy richness.

"Yes, yes, this milk-flavored corn pancake is really delicious, even better than store-bought cakes. It’s not too sweet, yet it tastes exceptionally fragrant!" Xie Jianing was thoroughly captivated by the flavor.

The especially rich milky aroma made her more addicted and fond with each bite.

Just as they were lost in the irresistible flavor of the milk-flavored corn pancake, a sudden "waa" cry pierced the brief calm classroom...