Free Web NovelChapter 524: Chapter 436: Since She’s Already Here, Cooking Talent
Lin Chen arrived quite early today; he was going to help with breakfast preparations.
Yesterday’s lunch was indeed quite well received; the sweet and sour fried meat dishes were a hit among diners. However, judging by the feedback afterward, the overall rating was still not as high as the morning’s bread.
He originally didn’t want to make those little feedback slips because he personally finds them quite annoying when dining in other restaurants.
It’s just a meal; why should you have to do homework?
Whether a dish is popular should be judged by the leftover food on the plates, right?
That’s where the problem lies.
Their menu changes every meal, and many customers are ordering takeout, so leftover feedback is impossible.
After some discussion, they ultimately decided to try out this feedback mechanism, and surprisingly, quite a few guests were willing to give feedback.
Perhaps because the content required was minimal, just scoring and a few comments, if they’re quick, it takes only a dozen seconds to complete.
If there were too many options, I fear some might be reluctant to fill them out.
Today’s breakfast menu, again jointly set by Zhao Shun and Old Chen, features traditional Great Xia breakfast items like Fried Dumplings and boiled dumplings.
He had made potstickers before, and guests had positive feedback; they said Fried Dumplings are also not a bad idea, but he hadn’t tried making boiled dumplings.
The main reason he hadn’t made buns or dumplings was the lack of staff; he couldn’t do it alone.
Now, with two more staff, it should be possible to give it a try.
Oh, wait, maybe it’s actually four more?
Speaking of dumpling-making, Sakura People should be quite competent at it; he had seen a Great Xia travel blogger introduce Sakura local foods, and dumplings are one of the most popular snacks.
As for whether Chef Marchello could make dumplings, he wasn’t too sure.
Western dumplings aren’t really dumplings; they’re just pasta sheets with some cheese or other fillings, even using tools to seal the edges.
After acquiring baking skills from Chef Raphael, he didn’t have any knowledge about dumpling skins; thus, he surmised Westerners probably weren’t adept at making dumplings.
Seeing the light in the back kitchen, he wasn’t surprised; probably Zhao Shun and Old Chen were already there, or Daniel was unloading supplies.
The front door of the restaurant wasn’t open yet, and he didn’t bother. Usually, the waitstaff managed the doors, so he headed straight to the back door.
After circling halfway around, he indeed saw the familiar delivery truck parked there, and he faintly heard the ’beep beep beep’ of a lift inside.
This kind of delivery was entirely machine-operated, with no need for the driver to handle it; all the cargo was stacked on wooden shelves and tightly wrapped with plastic film.
To unload, you just need to insert the transportation machine beneath the wooden board, like a jack lifting the heavy goods, dragging them out using the ramp extended from the tail of the truck.
"Daniel?"
"Good morning, Chef!"
Daniel, who was unloading, instinctively greeted upon hearing Lin Chen’s voice.
He hadn’t yet put his hand down when he suddenly remembered his sister was still in the restroom changing clothes, making his expression stiff, unsure of what to say.
"What’s up, something on your mind?"
Lin Chen immediately saw through his thoughts, mainly because this young Black man’s mind was too straightforward, incapable of hiding his expressions.
"Haha, you really saw right through it, Chef."
Daniel sheepishly scratched the back of his head, glanced around the distant corner, and stepped forward to whisper to Lin Chen about his sister.
Lin Chen blinked, chuckled, and patted his shoulder.
"I thought it was something serious, just this?"
"Sure, since your sister is here, why not let her try it out? Elsa can guide her, right?"
"Really? Are you sure?" Daniel was stunned.
He had imagined countless scenarios where he might be rejected, but didn’t expect Lin Chen to agree without any questions.
"Of course it’s possible. Even though I haven’t watched your work performance entirely, I can sense you’re a diligent worker, so your sister is likely similar."
"But let me make it clear first: I’m agreeing to let your sister try because we’re quite familiar, not because she’ll be directly hired. Understand?"
Lin Chen straightened his face slightly to appear serious: "You know we’re preparing to expand the team; Dais is fully responsible for the waitstaff, and the evaluation criteria will be her decision. I won’t interfere excessively."
"If your sister’s work meets her standards, she might have a chance to stay."
Right after he finished speaking, there was a ’thud’ sound, as if something fell to the ground with a dull noise.
The two of them instinctively turned their heads and saw Lin standing at the corner in casual clothes, staring blankly in their direction, her backpack dropped on the ground, revealing a neatly folded red cheongsam inside.
"Hello~"
Lin Chen noticed the timid look in the girl’s eyes and greeted her proactively, "You must be Lin, right? Daniel has mentioned so many times that he has an adorable sister. I thought he was exaggerating, but seeing you now, it’s true!"
"You probably heard what we were talking about just now, right? In a bit, I’ll have a younger girl from my restaurant take you through the process. She’s only eighteen, might even be younger than you, and people your age usually get along better."
"Don’t worry, the work isn’t hard. It mainly involves packing food or helping out, but new hires won’t handle payments for now."
Perhaps it was Lin Chen’s friendliness and talkativeness that reassured Lin, as well as his Great Xia appearance, making her feel at ease. Her initial anxiety gradually faded, and a shy smile appeared on her face.
"O-okay! Thank you, chef, for giving me this opportunity. I will do my best!"
She never expected to be given an internship opportunity right away, especially when she was dressed so plainly, without any remarkable looks or figure, and being the often overlooked black sister.
As expected, Great Xia People are the friendliest people in the world!!
"Chef," Daniel suddenly spoke up, "if being a waitress isn’t quite suitable, could she try working in the kitchen?"
"In her free time, she likes experimenting with cooking in the dorm with a hot plate. She self-taught herself Great Xia dishes like tomato scrambled eggs and braised chicken, and they taste even better than what the canteen sells!"
"Oh?"
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow, instantly piqued with interest, and turned to Lin, "Do you have any photos?"
Lin shot a fierce look at Daniel, her dark face slightly flushed.
If it weren’t for her complexion concealing it, Lin Chen guessed that her face would probably be red as a beet.
"Y-yes, I have them, but they don’t look too good. My brother’s just exaggerating; he loves to boast..."
While explaining, Lin took out her phone from her pocket, found the photos of the dishes she had previously taken, and showed them to him, her gaze flickering slightly, somewhat afraid to see his expression.
Foreigners usually don’t use beauty filters; they simply use the original camera to take pictures.
Even though the lighting made the dishes appear a bit dim, Lin Chen, with his experience and eye, found these distractions insignificant.
"The tomato chunks are appropriately sized, the eggs are well-formed with a golden hue, though the sauce is slightly less than needed. Overall, it’s a competent home-style tomato scrambled egg dish."
He nodded slightly, giving a thumbs up in praise.
Don’t underestimate this simple tomato scrambled egg; making it look and taste good isn’t that easy.
Many people end up with scrambled eggs that turn into bits or get burnt, and even the size of the tomato chunks matters.
Even following a tutorial step by step, factors such as heat, variety of tomatoes, egg size, and temperature can all lead to different results.
For a foreigner to closely replicate this dish suggests that this girl indeed has some culinary talent.
Aside from tomato scrambled eggs, there are several other home-style dishes she makes quite proficiently, sparking a certain curiosity in Lin Chen about the extent of her talent.
If the earlier praises were just pleasantries to save face and not upset the young girl, the compliments now stem from genuine admiration.
"How about this, today we are making dumplings for breakfast, a traditional Great Xia delicacy. Would you like to learn with us first? The waitress job can be done anytime, no rush."
"Of course, if you are more interested in the waitress position, starting there is fine too; that’s up to you."
"I want to learn how to make dumplings!"
Without a hint of hesitation, Lin raised her hand directly. Clearly, she was well aware of her strengths and saw no need to embarrass herself with her looks or figure.
"Alright then, go wash and disinfect your hands first. I’ll get you an employee uniform to wear for now, but there are no women’s sizes, so it might be a bit big."
Lin Chen had not anticipated a woman wanting to work in the kitchen. In Western cuisine, it’s alright, but in the context of traditional Chinese kitchen work, the physical demands are far greater, akin to working on a construction site, so he hadn’t prepared female uniforms at all.
Initially, he didn’t intend to hire female chefs, considering how few female chefs there are domestically, let alone those who’d travel abroad for work.
There are more female chefs in the baking industry, which he doesn’t particularly need.
Since Zhao Shun came, he slowly began realizing that perhaps he needed more people skilled in baking and pastry-making.
Although female chefs might not match male chefs in strength, their attention to detail and patience are far superior.
If Lin does have this kind of talent, he wouldn’t mind training her to become a pastry chef.
"Hey, early today, aren’t we, Xiao Hei!"
Just as Lin left, Zhao Shun and Old Chen arrived together, also entering through the back door.
"Whoa, boss? You’re early too!"
"Nonsense!" Lin Chen glared at him, "I used to be this early every day, okay? Don’t make it sound like I’m slacking off."
