novelraw Chapter 526 - 286: How Did This Guy Even Have the Nerve to Apply?
Chapter 526 - 286: How Did This Guy Even Have the Nerve to Apply?
Seventh Dining Hall, on the first floor of the kitchen.
After Jiang Yu asked the chefs to taste each other’s dishes, they stood there looking at one another, not making any moves for a moment.
But it didn’t take long before one tall chef stepped forward, picked up a bowl and chopsticks from the side, and began sampling the dishes prepared by others one by one.
The other chefs saw this and started to take action one after another.
Of course, they’re not foolish enough to casually critique others’ dishes like they would usually do after tasting them.
This is a taste test!
Those standing next to them aren’t colleagues, they’re competitors!
If they slip up and say something wrong, like mentioning that someone’s dish is either too salty or too bland, people could retaliate by saying your stir-fry is tough and dry, with no flavor whatsoever...
Isn’t this the legendary "hurting the enemy a thousand times while hurting oneself eight hundred times"?
Not worth it, not worth it!
So, they stayed silent, each quietly focusing on tasting the dishes without saying a word.
Of course, they didn’t speak, but inwardly they couldn’t help letting out little chuckles:
"What kind of lousy dish is this? The cauliflower is cooked to mush, there’s no crispy texture, how does this guy even have the nerve to apply?"
"This guy tried to be clever, chose a cold dish, but its flavor is just average, not as good as what I could make!"
"This tomato and egg stir-fry, isn’t the egg overcooked? Look, it’s charred, what skill level is this?"
"..."
As the chefs tasted each other’s dishes, sneering inwardly, they occasionally glanced at each other, but the kitchen was silent, creating an odd atmosphere.
Xiong Zhengtao was also holding a set of clean chopsticks, eating the various dishes prepared by others, sometimes frowning, sometimes smiling knowingly, no one knew what he was thinking.
The chefs circled the plates of dishes on the counter, tasting them carefully, while on the other side of the kitchen, Jiang Yu and Jia Dequan, after tasting the chefs’ dishes, began discussing the final selections.
"Niu Daqiang is pretty good. After selecting the ingredients, he washed them thoroughly and cleanly."
Jiang Yu found Niu Daqiang’s information from a stack of resumes, pointed to it with one hand, and said to Jia Dequan,
"He used to serve in the army’s culinary unit, and he’s good at cooking in large quantities. Of course, his seasoning might be a bit lacking, but that’s fine. Seasoning is easy to learn.
We’re a student cafeteria, cleanliness is the most important."
"Hmm, then let’s count Niu Daqiang as one."
Jia Dequan nodded, thought for a bit, and added,
"The person who made the tomato and egg stir-fry probably has never worked with large batch cooking before, can’t grasp the cooking time at all, and that’s not something that can be fixed quickly, so we’ll have to let this one go for now."
He paused, then continued, "Also, the chef who made the cold dish was disappointing too. Cold dishes don’t differentiate between big and small pots, and the volume doesn’t really matter much, it’s all about the seasoning, but unfortunately, the chef’s seasoning skills aren’t adequate."
"Yes, and the chef who chose to make stir-fried smoked pork with cauliflower also seems to have never done large batch cooking, failing to control the heat, essentially turning stir-fried into boiled cauliflower, and the dish lacked any wok aroma."
Jiang Yu smiled and shook his head, saying, "Let’s skip this one too."
"So that leaves just one more, the chef who made the improved version of stir-fried cangyingtou did pretty well."
At this point, Jia Dequan finally showed a hint of a smile on his face, looking quite satisfied, he said,
"This chef not only pays great attention to detail but also the flavor of the dish is decent. Although it’s a bit salty, considering it’s a dish meant to be eaten with rice, it’s still acceptable."
"The chef who made the stir-fried cangyingtou is called Xiong Zhengtao."
Jiang Yu flipped through the resumes in his hands, found Xiong Zhengtao’s, gave it a quick look, and nodded slightly, saying,
"This chef used to work at Qingshan Restaurant in Jiangzhou as a chef. His skill level is still good, similar to when Du Guangning first came."
Frowning slightly, he thought for a moment, then said,
"Then the two chefs we’re recruiting are Niu Daqiang and Xiong Zhengtao.
Niu Daqiang will stay in the first-floor kitchen, and as for Xiong Zhengtao, I think he’s more suited for small batch cooking, so let’s have him help on the second floor.
Lao Jia, what do you think?"
"You’re the boss, you decide on these matters yourself. At most, I can just give you some advice."
Seeing Jiang Yu looking at him inquiringly, Jia Dequan quickly waved his hand and said with a smile,
"These chefs are quite young, so some flaws are inevitable. Do you think everyone is like you, young yet like an old monster?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth twice. He nodded and said:
"Alright, that’s decided then."
Having made the decision, Jiang Yu naturally didn’t want to delay further, as it was already close to eleven, and although lunchtime wasn’t yet upon them, it soon would be, and he still had several dishes unfinished.
"After our internal discussion in the cafeteria, the final results of this chef recruitment are, Niu Daqiang and Xiong Zhengtao."
After announcing the results to everyone, Jiang Yu added, with a hint of apology,