Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 545 God of Cooking
After longing for the stars and the moon, the foodies finally saw the Universe Infinite Canteen reopen in the second week after the New Year holidays ended.
Although Ma Lu had only closed for nearly half a month, for those who visited the restaurant weekly or even daily, it felt as if ten thousand years had passed.
Especially now that many restaurants’ New Year’s Eve dinners had turned into pre-made dishes, which made everyone miss the vigor of the Universe Infinite Canteen’s cooking even more.
There were also many complaints about Boss Ma not wanting to make money and insisting on going home for the New Year.
And not only did he go home, but also sharing daily the dishes Old Wang cooked on social media made those who couldn’t eat there even more resentful.
The result was that they didn’t even wait until the evening. On the first day of the New Year, by around 3 PM, the restaurant had already sold out all the ingredients, even though Ma Lu had added an extra one hundred and fifty signature dishes at the last minute.
It could only be said that everyone’s enthusiasm, or rather their grievances, were simply too high.
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Ma Lu even specifically instructed He Xiaoqian and Ma Youyou to keep an extra eye out, in case someone didn’t get to eat and was so hungry they started gnawing on the restaurant’s furniture.
Thus, He Xiaoqian really did keep an eye on the furniture throughout, while Ma Youyou, understanding some people’s dry humor, simply laughed it off.
Seeing that everything had sold out, Ma Lu decided to close early.
Unexpectedly, two customers walked in, an old man and a young one.
The fashionably dressed young woman said, "Mr. Sun, this is the recently popular Universe Infinite Canteen, which has been listed by Meiping Website just less than two months after opening, scoring a historically high rating of 4.6."
"Moreover, unlike Yan’s Mansion and Sushi Hajime which also scored 4.6, they scored full marks on the dishes-related aspects, with deductions only in decor and service."
"This time, you can try it out too."
He Xiaoqian approached and said, "Sorry, the restaurant is out of food."
"No problem, we can wait for dinner," said the old man leaning on his cane. "You don’t mind us sitting here for a while, do you?"
"Actually, we do mind a bit," Ma Lu said. "Because we’ve also sold out of dinner and were just about to close."
"But it’s not evening yet," said the fashionably dressed woman in surprise.
"Ah, because business was so booming at noon that we accidentally sold out the ingredients for the evening," Ma Lu explained with a shrug.
The old man, far from being angry, laughed heartily, "Good, no wonder it’s the hottest restaurant in City B recently. Seems like everyone has sharp eyes."
"What should we do, Mr. Sun, shall we come back tomorrow?" asked the young woman.
"No need to eat," the old man said. "Although Meiping Website has been increasingly questionable, their scoring system is still fairly fair.
"Not to mention that Xiao Wang and Xiao Wei were among the reviewers this time; to get such rave reviews from them shows that the chef here really has exceptional skills. Just post it."
"Post, what post?"
The fashionably dressed young woman took out a gold-embossed invitation from her pocket and handed it over.
Ma Lu took the invitation from her hand, seeing "God of Cooking Competition Invitation" written on the cover in flamboyant characters.
Without even opening it, Ma Lu handed the invitation back.
The young woman hesitated, "This is for you."
"I know, I don’t want it," Ma Lu said.
"Ah?"
The young woman, thinking Ma Lu misunderstood, hurriedly explained, "This isn’t some minor competition; it’s an official event hosted every six years by the World Cooking Federation.
"The competition is divided into five main regions, inviting the top chefs from each region to compete, with the top two from each going to the final round to vie for the title of God of Cooking."
"And then? What does this have to do with me?" Ma Lu crossed his arms.
"That’s a title every chef desires, the supreme honor of being a God of Cooking."
"Really? But it sounds a bit juvenile to me, like something out of an anime where Luffy shouts about becoming the Pirate King. Does anyone really introduce themselves as a God of Cooking?"
The young woman wanted to say something, but the old man raised his hand and stopped her as he chuckled while looking at Ma Lu.
"I wonder if we have the privilege to meet the chef here?"
"That could be arranged," Ma Lu called toward the kitchen. "Old Wang, someone wants to meet you."
Moments later, Old Wang came out from the kitchen.
The old man reached out eagerly, "So, you’re the chef here. My two apprentices can’t stop talking about you everywhere they go, and there’s a lot of discussion about you in the association too."
Old Wang, having watched many TV dramas, had gained some understanding of human social etiquette. Reciprocating, he reached out and shook hands with the old man.
But judging by the old man’s twitching brow, Ma Lu knew Old Wang was probably a bit too strong.
Sort of understood, but not completely.
However, the old man’s dignity and restraint were commendable. Despite the apparent pain, he still forced a smile, "Chef Wang, right? Quite a strong grip you have, seems like you practice a lot with knives."
The stylish young woman also introduced, "This is Sun He, a national treasure of cooking mastery.
"He’s been the former head chef for State Banquets in the Great Hall, a Labor Day Medal recipient, has prepared dinners for numerous leaders and foreign dignitaries, and is currently the president of the Asian Region of the World Cooking Federation and a judge for this God of Cooking competition."
Her introduction was like casting flirtatious glances at a blind man.
Both Ma Lu and Old Wang were outsiders to these circles; they could hardly appreciate the weight of Sun He’s titles. Ma Lu got the part about State Banquets, but as to how much Old Wang understood, that remained unknown.
So the stylish young woman, after waiting a bit, received no exclamation of awe from the other side.
All Ma Lu said was, "This is Old Wang, um, Universe Infinite Canteen’s chef, a universal-level master chef."
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The stylish young woman felt a bit annoyed, "Do you have to put us down? What’s next, Earth is too small for you, and now you’ve involved the entire universe?"
Sun He waved it off, "No worries, young people should be full of energy. If it weren’t for this kind of unmatched confidence, I wouldn’t have come to invite him to the competition.
"This is a chance to represent our country and compete with other nation’s chefs."
"I’m not going," Ma Lu maintained his stance. Joining such a competition certainly required identity registration, and Old Wang was undocumented.
"What, are you scared? Scared that if you lose, your restaurant’s popularity will drop and business will be affected?" Sun He said, "That’s right, as long as you don’t compete, you’ll never lose."
"Provocations don’t work on me," Ma Lu shook his head. "Besides, Old Wang is unbeatable. If you don’t believe it, wait until the champion is decided, invite him to come here for a meal, and see the difference."
Sun He looked towards Old Wang, who had remained silent, "What do you think?"