Free Web NovelChapter 559: Chapter 471: Eavesdropping on Gossip, A Flood of Newcomers
He thought very simply.
Since these service staff became very interested in him because of his fish-cutting skills, he temporarily decided not to do it anymore to avoid confessions like Nicole’s.
He doesn’t know how to deal with such matters of the heart, nor does he want to; working honestly is just fine!
When he stopped, the service staff showed a slight hint of disappointment in their eyes, but soon even greater expectations emerged.
If even common food like fish can be played with in new ways by a chef from Great Xia, then won’t other foods also have brand-new methods and flavors?
Thinking of today’s breakfast and lunch, and those videos Lucas posted earlier, everyone felt a strong urge to stay and work.
As they were busy processing the blackfish, new faces gradually appeared from the hotel side, curiously gathering to watch.
"Excuse me, which one of you is Miss Helena?"
"This is the Radisson’s restaurant, right? I’m here for an interview!"
"Oh my god, what kind of fish is this, it looks so wicked."
"My God, actually pulling out the guts with bare hands?? Ugh..."
Some people with weak stomachs hadn’t even met Helena yet and were already turning pale and running to the side to vomit.
After all, they were here to apply for server positions; not having seen this kind of scene is quite normal.
Even the chefs had a hard time getting used to such bloody sights at first.
When ingredients for Western cuisine are delivered to the kitchen, they are usually already processed; at most, only deboning or cutting is required.
This was the first time they started processing from scratch.
If it weren’t for their experience in the kitchen and high threshold for psychological endurance from handling meat often, they might have thrown up too.
Fortunately, Helena quickly came out of the restaurant and took all those people away, avoiding a bigger panic.
With nothing else to do and out of a sense of responsibility, Dais decided to go in as well.
As the front desk manager, she also has the duty and responsibility to control the newcomers.
The main thing was to prevent Jonathan from jumping in recklessly and causing trouble.
The restaurant has been operating for so long without hiring new staff, which is unreliable in itself.
Helena was naturally all for Dais joining in.
Since they were short-staffed, their workload was heavy, and she wanted to rest more.
Having someone help screen interviews was a big help!
Apart from those applying to be service staff, there were also many applying to be kitchen chefs.
Although Jonathan recruited them, Dais still informed Lin and had him come over to assist.
After all, starting next week, Jonathan’s menu will be handled by Lin, so he should be the one to control the kind of employees needed—reasonable enough.
Jonathan, having just finished the lunch service, was cleaning the kitchen, and feeling tired, he grinned when he saw Lin coming.
"I haven’t finished cleaning here yet. Since you’re free, I’ll leave these people to you. I’ve printed out their resumes; they’re on my desk."
"?"
Lin Chen shook his head speechlessly, didn’t bother to say anything, and walked straight to the office.
Fortunately, Jonathan hadn’t done anything stupid this time nor slacked off. The people he recruited also had kitchen experience, though he wasn’t as meticulous in screening as Lin was—ranging from a few months to two or three years.
Thinking that since they were already there, Lin Chen interviewed them all and kept those willing to try out for a week to observe before making a decision.
Counting the ones they recruited, the restaurant’s kitchen team jumped from four people to over twenty, and the number of service staff increased from six to just over twenty.
Helena didn’t recruit many people, filtering out nearly eighty percent of the applicants, leaving only five or six relatively high-quality candidates.
To Dais and Lin Chen’s surprise, Helena even recruited two dishwashing uncles!
In hindsight, since the cafeteria mainly used takeaway boxes, there wasn’t much to wash. But in the restaurant, because they also offered a buffet, there were endless plates, forks, spoons, and such to wash. Without dedicated dishwashers, it would be exhausting.
Dishwashers aren’t all-powerful; they still require someone to manually place the dishes in baskets before putting them in the machine, and after washing, they need to be dried with a towel to avoid water spots.
If there’s a lot of leftover food, it needs to be rinsed with a high-pressure sprayer before entering the machine.
This is all real work.
Unlike the interviews for the service staff, the interview process for the two dishwashing uncles was extremely simple.
They were merely guided through the process once and then asked to do it by themselves; that was the end of the interview.
When it comes to dishwashing, Lin Chen probably had the most say of anyone present.
Two years of dishwashing experience isn’t for nothing; just a glance and he could tell if they’d done it before.
Usually, those applying for dishwashing jobs are uncles in their forties or fifties; it’s rare to see aunties, and occasionally some young people will apply, but they generally don’t stick around for long before they quit.
These uncles are the backbone of dishwashers: they endure hardships, work efficiently, and as long as you occasionally give them some small perks or special treatment, they can keep working as long as there are no external interferences.
When he first became a dishwasher, he was led by a Filipino uncle named Abdu, who had reportedly washed dishes in another restaurant for eight years. Later, the restaurant’s performance declined, and they laid him off because they thought his salary was too high.
After all, according to regulations, employee salaries are supposed to increase every year.
By laying him off and hiring a newcomer, they could save quite a bit on expenses.
Now he’s become a head chef, yet Abdu is still washing dishes in the kitchen at God’s Kiss, repeating the same tasks every day.
There’s a skill gap between dishwashers, just like with chefs. Every step and arrangement hides many tricks.
Skilled dishwashers are fast and good, effectively doing the work of two people.
Anyway, he can’t understand what kind of pig-headed leadership would think it’s worth getting rid of a hardworking and skilled employee to save a couple of hundred bucks.
By then, the dishes might not even be clean, and the efficiency would be slow, unable to keep up with the kitchen pace, leading to a vicious cycle and eventual bankruptcy.
A flood of intern employees had just come in, and Lin Chen felt inexplicably overwhelmed, like his head was swelling. He needed to sort out the existing information and situation to better plan the next few days.
But before that, there was another very pressing problem waiting for him to solve.
Where would these people sleep at night?
Thinking of this, he couldn’t sit still any longer. He got up immediately and headed towards the hotel, preparing to visit the massage area upstairs to check out if there was enough space.
According to Su’s description, the massage area was currently only open to hotel guests, but hotel guests have rooms, so it’s unlikely they would choose to sleep there. This meant that the overnight area should be quite empty at night.
However, he couldn’t be sure if there would be guests who checked out but didn’t leave, opting to use the 24-hour check-in proof mechanism to purchase an overnight massage package at lower prices for a more comfortable stay.
"Ding——"
As soon as the elevator door opened, he heard a crisp sound from the opposite side.
"Welcome... chef?"
Lin Chen looked up and saw it was exactly as Su had described. The entire corridor was cordoned off, leaving only one passage leading into the dark world.
Next to the passage was a reception desk with various service boards hanging on the wall, conveniently for guests to scan at a glance.
The receptionist clearly recognized him and warmly approached to greet him.
After Lin Chen explained his purpose, she nodded.
"There shouldn’t be any problem. Currently, there are not many guests who have purchased the 24-hour package service, only a dozen or so, and we can accommodate up to 150 guests at the same time."
"But I need to consult with the manager as the authority doesn’t lie with me."
"Alright, make the call. I’ll just browse around the entrance."
Lin Chen nodded and walked straight into the passage.
After a short distance, two branches appeared on the left and right.
He casually chose one, only to discover that this side was the bar area.
The entire hall was very spacious. Besides the central bar counter, there were lazy sofas and private booths everywhere, with the lighting still very dark, giving off a drowsy feeling.
He didn’t go further in. After a quick look, he turned to see what was on the other side.
Soon, a man in a hotel uniform appeared in front of him, displaying typical Western middle-aged good looks, extending his hand with a smile.
"Welcome, chef. It’s rare for you to visit; let me show you around. Also, there’s no problem with what you mentioned. I’ve already reported to General Manager Wang; your employees don’t need to bear any accommodation expenses."
"But, if they want to enjoy other services like drinks, sauna, massages, etc., they’ll need to pay for them themselves, although they’ll get employee discounts."
"No problem, as it should be."
Lin Chen was satisfied and nodded. His main purpose for coming here was to solve the accommodation issue for his employees, and he didn’t care about anything else.
After sorting out the accommodation problem, he just took a general tour of the interior layout without staying long, then returned to the restaurant area to announce the news to all the newcomers.
The dual benefits of free accommodation and free staff meals immediately sparked cheers from the crowd.
The thought of being able to sleep in a high-end hotel at night and enjoy massage services at a discounted price made the chefs seem revved up, no longer having sore backs or wrists, and their movements while handling black fish became smoother and smoother.
Not only them, but Jonathan’s newly arrived chefs were also organized by Lin Chen to help with cutting the fish, making sure not to waste any human resources.
Meanwhile, nearly thirty idle waiters were assigned a relatively simple task.
To have a good rest.
Because, once Daniel delivered the ingredients, they would have to assist with peeling ginger, grinding black sesame, and the like. They couldn’t just sit idle, getting paid for nothing.
Lin Chen’s team management philosophy was simple: everyone in the team should participate in kitchen affairs, at least ensuring there were enough hands when things got busy.
Dais and the others had done exactly the same before.
