Free Web NovelChapter 540: Chapter 452: New Goals, Resolving Kitchen Conflicts
"Oh?"
"Are you sure you’ve thought it through?"
Lin Chen didn’t expect Xiao Hei to make a decision so quickly, especially since she was hesitant more than an hour ago.
Was it really just making a few dumplings and watching the Fried Dumplings process that drew her to kitchen work?
He couldn’t quite understand it, but he didn’t question it.
After all, besides the recipes, there wasn’t much else in the kitchen worth coveting, and those recipes weren’t secret; anyone interested could easily find a bunch online.
"I’ve thought it through."
Lin nodded firmly, her eyes showing a resolute look.
"My brother hopes I can work here; he would never harm me. And after spending some time with you all, I feel like everyone here is great, and I really enjoy the fun of making food."
"It’s way more interesting than the sorting job I do every day now!"
"Hmm..."
Lin Chen looked deeply into her eyes for a few seconds, nodding and shaking his head.
"Firstly, I’m glad you have such a high opinion of our team and the restaurant. From what I’ve observed, you do have a bit of culinary talent."
"But!"
Lin’s heart tightened, feeling like a big hand was gripping it tightly, making her almost afraid to breathe, worried that she’d hear a refusal in the next moment.
"As I said before, we’re currently recruiting, and since it’s a recruitment process, you must undergo rigorous tests to decide who ultimately stands out."
"You’ve only been here for less than two hours, not even finishing a full day. I can’t give you an immediate response."
"If you’re willing, you can go back and talk to Mr. Wang to see if you can get some time off or something, come work here for a while, and join the assessment with other applicants when they start their trial period."
"After all, it’s a recruitment process, and even though you’re Daniel’s sister, we can’t just let you walk in through the back door. Do you understand?"
"Phew..."
Lin exhaled deeply and nodded again, "Okay, I understand. I’ll discuss it with my brother and Mr. Wang before making a decision!"
After speaking her mind, Lin obviously felt much more at ease.
Seeing that Elsa and Su seemed a bit overwhelmed and worried that so many dumplings exposed outside might get cold, she bravely joined in the packaging work.
Elsa glanced at her, smiled, and said thank you, patiently teaching her how to do it.
Packing was much simpler compared to making dumplings; it was just a matter of dividing them according to the method and taste as reported by Su, then occasionally refilling the condiment boxes.
Unless specifically requested to-go, everything else was assumed to be eaten here — just put them in boxes and add disposable utensils.
Lin quickly demonstrated her learning talent; after hearing Elsa explain once and watching her operate once, she immediately grasped the essence and quickly adjusted to a suitable two-person work mode.
"Miss Elsa, how about this: I’ll take care of the Fried Dumplings part, and you manage the steamed dumplings part. Would that be more convenient?"
"Sure, I thought the same thing, so I’ll leave it to you!"
Inside the food cart, Lin Chen quietly observed this scene and nodded secretly; this wasn’t the first time today he noticed Xiao Hei making similar moves.
She really does have a knack for this!
"What did she say she was doing over there... sorting? Could it be something like courier sorting?"
"Oh, no. Over there, it’s wholesale, so the sorting is probably something like ingredients or orders, right?"
No wonder, it’s all similar work; perhaps she’s already developed efficient thinking, which is a good thing after all."
In a high-pressure kitchen environment, having an efficient mindset is extremely important, followed by diligence and patience.
The same workload given to two different thinkers will result in the one with efficient thinking completing it in a shorter time, while the other spends more time and energy getting themselves exhausted.
On the surface, it looks like the latter is working harder, but checking the results will reveal who the better employee really is.
Ironically, no one would bother to check this; the one who finishes first is just assumed to have nothing to do, and more work is assigned to them while they earn the same pay.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Luckily, he was fortunate enough to meet Raphael, a reasonable chef who worked his way up from the bottom and was able to spot and save him from the nightmare life of a dishwasher.
If it weren’t for Chef Raphael, he wouldn’t be here making food for everyone now.
"Speaking of the chef, he hurried back the other day and hasn’t been heard from since. I wonder how the kitchen is doing?"
Lin Chen quickly recalled the usual days working with Anderson and Jolian, and it seemed there weren’t any big issues, except occasionally getting a bit irritable when it got busy, that’s all.
Not just them; when orders are overflowing, it’s hard for him to suppress that nameless frustration, always feeling like someone’s constantly rushing him in his ear.
If a dish is made wrong, it not only means redoing it but also wasting the parts other colleagues collaborated on.
The cooking process in a Michelin restaurant kitchen is this troublesome; each chef is responsible for a part, which then combines into a finished dish.
If it’s several table orders for a banquet, it’s actually simpler and can be made in batches.
This approach of preparing according to real-time orders is even more troublesome.
"It’s still better to run a food stall, you can cook whatever you want. Working in a Western restaurant kitchen is really dull."
"Beep beep beep—"
The timer sounded, and he reached out to stop it, moving the stack of steamers off the iron pot, adding a basin of water, then put another prepared stack of steamers on to steam.
After finishing that, he lifted the lid of the frying pan and turned off the heat source.
"The dumplings are ready!"
...
Having finally gotten through another evening banquet, Raphael gathered everyone in the kitchen together and spoke with deep meaning.
"Is there any problem still?"
"After more than two days of working together, there’s no issue between you, right?"
"Why is it that when I’m around there’s no arguing, but once I leave there’s conflict and people walk out, neglecting to serve dishes?"
He sighed a few times, gazing at the familiar faces looking down, and waved his hand.
"I trust in your capabilities, that you can perfectly handle serving dishes without my presence, right?"
"I know there’s pressure when serving dishes; everyone has some pent-up frustration, but it merely means you haven’t fully developed your skills, aren’t confident enough, are afraid of mistakes, so you feel the pressure."
"If you could perform perfectly like Lin every time, where would the tension and pressure come from? Handling the service would be easy as pie!"
"You’re a team, a complete team. If there’s any issue, you can put it aside for now, serve the guests first, and then resolving the conflict after the service would be much simpler, wouldn’t it?"
Just as he finished speaking, a young black man raised his hand.
"Speak," Raphael looked at him.
The young black man pointed at Anderson: "He discriminated against my skin color, causing me to be upset whenever I see him, and I can’t possibly work together in the same space with him."
"Anderson? Explain yourself."
"I didn’t... okay, I admit, I was too emotional at the time and accidentally shouted a racial slur, but I truly didn’t intend to discriminate against him..."
Before he could finish, Raphael raised his hand to interrupt.
"No need for explanations, no amount of your explaining is as useful as a sincere apology. Set aside your damned self-respect; in the kitchen, we don’t look at skin color, background, or origins; we only look at work ability."
"If you understand, act accordingly, or get out of my kitchen immediately."
Raphael Chef stared at him grimly; although he didn’t say much, everyone could feel the repressed anger and turned to look at Anderson.
If he doesn’t perform well this time, he might really be kicked out, right?
Thinking of Anderson possibly disappearing, everyone felt both nervous and relieved, somewhat expectant.
Anderson wasn’t dumb; he understood his own personality, just that sometimes he truly couldn’t control himself in the heat of the moment.
His mouth twitched a few times, then he strode over to the young black man and stood firm.
As everyone held their breath, wondering what he would say, Anderson suddenly stepped back and sharply bent at a ninety-degree angle.
"I’m sorry!"
"I apologize for my previous slip-up!"
"It truly wasn’t intentional; I can swear to God!"
"If you mind, you can call me ’white devil’ in return anytime, I will absolutely not get angry!"
"If I get angry, I’ll leave on my own!"
The stream of words stunned everyone in the kitchen, all staring dumbfounded at Anderson, who was bent over.
His voice was so loud that even the front hall staff came over to see what was going on.
The young black man suddenly found himself flustered, not sure how to handle the situation, and sought Raphael’s gaze for help.
The latter smiled slightly, nodded at him, and gestured with his chin.
The young black man blinked several times, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seemingly having an internal debate.
After a moment, he reached out his hand and patted Anderson’s shoulder.
"Alright, I’ll accept your apology for now, but it doesn’t mean I completely forgive you. It depends on your future behavior."
"And it’s not just me you owe an apology to, but all the diners who didn’t get their meals that day!"
"Don’t worry about that matter, I’ve handled it well."
Raphael clapped his hands and said, "All the guests from the day of the incident will receive a free dining experience voucher from our restaurant, which they can present at their next visit."
"The waiters will calculate the number of guests using the free vouchers on the day, but won’t let you know."
"If this dining experience still doesn’t satisfy them, regardless of whether it’s intentional, the cost of their meals will be split and borne by everyone in the kitchen."
