The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World-Chapter 87 - 86: A Promising Candidate for Dough Work
This familiar scene makes Ren Mingqing’s voice suddenly stop.
He doesn’t know why he got silent, he just did it subconsciously.
Then he leaned forward to look at the chopping board.
He saw a tall figure amidst the swirling steam, slowly turning his head and giving him an extremely bright and handsome smile.
"Chef Ren! You’re back!"
Ren Mingqing looked at Fu Yu in disbelief, then at the steamer in front of him, his gaze lowered, and he saw seven exquisite little longevity peaches neatly placed in the steamer basket.
Ren Mingqing asked in disbelief: "Fu Yu, did you make this?"
Fu Yu modestly smiled: "It’s a last-minute effort, too rushed. Chef Ren, do you think it’s okay?"
Fu Yu placed the cover properly, came over, picked up the previously reserved longevity peach, and handed one to Ren Mingqing.
Ren Mingqing looked at the longevity peach in his hand, utterly shocked.
The delicate little longevity peach was round and full in shape, with vibrant colors that seemed almost dripping.
The peach leaves were a lush green, and the "longevity" character was precisely crafted.
Fu Yu looked at Ren Mingqing and smiled, "Chef Ren, try it and see if the taste is okay?"
Ren Mingqing had been staring dazedly at the longevity peach for a long time!
He couldn’t suppress his inner surprise!
The craftsmanship of this longevity peach was absolutely stunning.
Whether in shape or in detail, it was perfect.
This was not like a piece of pastry; it was more like a perfect work of art.
Ren Mingqing specialized in dough crafting, knew how to make all kinds of pastries, and had made countless ones.
Just with these longevity peaches, he’d mastered a full seventeen different methods of making them.
From appearance to filling, he’d done all kinds.
So the moment he saw Fu Yu’s longevity peach, a storm of amazement surged in his heart.
To reach this level, one would need several years of practice in dough crafting.
This kid indeed had talent for dough crafting!
But he surely must have studied it thoroughly before.
If he were a novice, he couldn’t possibly have such skilled techniques.
Ren Mingqing took a bite of the little longevity peach, and chewed.
Indeed, the texture was soft and smooth, combined with a faint rose fragrance, and brought an instant sense of happiness when eaten.
He finished the small longevity peach.
Ren Mingqing’s gaze at Fu Yu unconsciously turned a bit fiery.
This was a promising budding talent in dough crafting!
"How is it?" Yao Shi asked nearby.
After all, he thought it tasted pretty good, but when it came to pastries, Ren Mingqing’s opinion was the one to listen to.
Ren Mingqing sincerely said, "Very good!"
How good exactly?
Ren Mingqing thought if he had to describe it, he’d say just a tad less than himself.
But if properly nurtured, within five years, no, three years, well, maybe two years, possibly he might even surpass him in technique.
As for the techniques, however.
Ren Mingqing thought if he taught him everything, it might not even take two years for Fu Yu to become fully trained.
Reflecting on when he first started in the trade, practicing rigorously under his mentor for several years, and working in the kitchen till now to hone his skills.
To think, maybe in terms of talent, he really was a tiny bit behind Fu Yu.
A strange sense of bitterness, what was that about?
"Alright, in a while we’ll send the finished longevity peaches directly over."
Gaining Ren Mingqing’s approval, Yao Shi felt completely assured.
Ren Mingqing later checked the other two types of longevity peaches.
Confirming there weren’t any issues.
The initially tense atmosphere in the kitchen completely eased up.
Taking advantage of the wait while the longevity peaches were steaming, Ren Mingqing carefully understood what had happened.
Finally, speechlessly said: "He explained it so vaguely, who would have thought he meant mixing the fillings of all three types of longevity peaches together!"
This incident, what an injustice.
When Ren Mingqing got the order initially, he was a bit surprised.
The customer’s request wasn’t problematic, but in terms of fillings, they demanded too many types.
Nuts were easy to talk about, but with candied fruits and roses mixed in such a variety of flavors.
Though not bad-tasting, the flavor was likely quite unique.
He had considered this at the time, which was why he paid extra attention to the preparation.
He had deliberated several times over the ratio of fillings before starting to mix them.
As a result, while he was painstakingly working, the customer instead stormed in!
Where could he find a rationale there?!!
Yao Shi consoled Ren Mingqing a couple of sentences, and seriously said: "I’ll take some time to have a meeting with the store’s order-taking staff about what happened today. I’ll think through the specific responses, set up corresponding measures and regulations, and have them implemented immediately afterward."
Ren Mingqing nodded, understanding Yao Shi didn’t blame him, feeling reassured and secure.
Having such an understanding boss was his stroke of luck.
The longevity peaches in the steaming barrel were ready.
Fu Yu donned gloves and brought them out.
The two big longevity peaches, steaming hot and aromatic, looked very festive.
Ren Mingqing examined each one closely, pointing to the one with the "longevity" character, saying: "The character on this one could use a bit of improvement, you’ll need to practice more when you get back."
Fu Yu blushed.
Back when he was in school, he wasn’t a very good student, and his handwriting wasn’t great either.
Now he relied on having absolute hand feel, otherwise, the characters he made with dough wouldn’t be presentable.
Fu Yu nodded: "Okay, I’ll practice when I get back."
Ren Mingqing, looking at Fu Yu’s humble demeanor, formed an even better impression of him.
[Ding! Received NPC Chef Ren Mingqing’s favorability +10]
Fu Yu couldn’t help but glance at Ren Mingqing.
Was it because of his good attitude that his favorability increased?
It seemed in daily interactions, being humble and polite was indeed a safe approach.
Though the longevity peaches were out of the pot, they couldn’t be packaged right away.
Fearing that Sun Mingze was getting impatient, they decided to directly carry the trays to the VIP room.
Yao Shi personally carried the tray of small longevity peach buns.
Fu Yu carried the Eight-Filling Longevity Peach.
Ren Mingqing carried the Auspicious Longevity Peach at the back of the line.
Zhang Zhen watched them leave before turning back to the kitchen himself.
The banquet upstairs was still going on, and something might need handling soon.
As the head chef, he had to be stationed in the kitchen.
Upon arriving, Yao Shi led the way into the VIP room.
Sun Mingze and his wife had already become a bit impatient from waiting.
In terms of comfortable leisure time, it would have been much cozier just staying at home, but because of a lousy longevity peach, they had sat here waiting for over an hour.
Sun Mingze’s frustration was rising to the point he almost couldn’t sit still, when he saw the restaurant owner bringing back the chefs from the kitchen.
"Sorry for making you wait, the longevity peaches just came out of the pot on our side and haven’t even had time to cool down, so we’ve brought them over for you to see first."
As he spoke, Yao Shi placed the steamer tray on the table beside them.
Fu Yu and Ren Mingqing each handed their trays over as well.
Sun Mingze looked at the three groups of longevity peaches laid out on the table, dumbfounded.
Wow!
They actually made three kinds all at once!
