Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 293 - 205: Michelin Chefs Lend a Hand to Promote Great Xia’s Culinary Culture

Lin Chen looked up at the kite in the sky a few times, quickly losing interest.

He’s not a sentimental person, getting older without a girlfriend, these kinds of activities aren’t suited for him; earning money is more important.

"Hey Lucas, why haven’t I seen Xiao Hei around the past few days? Isn’t he the one who loves going out the most?"

"Uh..." Lucas scratched his cheek awkwardly, "It’s because the vaccine needs to be given multiple times. A couple of days ago, the master took him to get his shots and also did a full body check-up. The doctor suggested it’d be healthier if it gets done early."

"I’ve never raised a cat, have no experience. The master said I’m the owner, so I should take him for the procedure, so I did. But since coming back, Xiao Hei doesn’t pay attention to me anymore. When it sees me, it hisses, and now it sleeps at the master’s place all day and doesn’t leave the room."

"...?"

Lin Chen’s mouth twitched a few times, throwing him a speechless look.

"You’re done for, Xiao Hei didn’t even give you a few swipes, that’s considered lucky. I heard cats hate the person who takes them for the procedure and the one who actually does it. So before taking them, people act out a bit. You should have looked it up online beforehand, Wealthy Lady Jiang really set you up!"

"But it’s no big deal, visiting every few days and bringing some treats should be enough. Xiao Hei is good-tempered, you should be able to appease him."

"Since you don’t have to take care of the cat these days, focus on working and making money!"

Lucas nodded, just about to speak, suddenly realizing: "Wait a minute, why does it feel like you’re setting me up too? I’m the worker, but you’re the boss!"

"Oh come on, what’s that talk? We’re buddies, haven’t I always given you enough money? You do more and there’s a bonus too."

"...Seems like it, right?"

After being busy for another half an hour, the guests here were finally almost gone. The next peak hour should be dinner time, which means there’s over an hour of rest time in between.

Besides their three stalls, a few other vendors also took the time to restock, turning the originally bustling food area quiet, with only a dozen or so guests still sitting in the nearby dining area chatting.

Seeing no one around, Wang Ziqin and Chu Yueyue came out from the small room, greeted the three stall owners about their situation, and seeing no help was needed, they left first.

"Quick, follow them!"

The two had just walked ahead when two shadows stood up in the dining area, following at a distance, holding Coke and candied haws, pretending to wander aimlessly.

During the break, Marchello and Nagishiro Sho both came to Lin Chen’s stall for a chat, and to taste each other’s food.

Having been busy for several hours, they hadn’t had the chance to taste it, now finally they could.

"This chicken fillet!?"

Tasting the tender and juicy fried chicken fillet, their eyes simultaneously shone brightly.

"Is this the result of your Great Xia’s magical marination method? Can you explain the specific principle a bit?"

Although they could roughly analyze it by looking, Marchello cautiously asked him.

You have to be careful, this guy is quite sly. Earlier he intentionally wanted to see Marchello in a funny situation.

Although Nagishiro Sho didn’t ask, it was clear he was listening carefully.

Regarding the marination method, there wasn’t much to hide. Lin Chen briefly explained the principle to them, as experienced chefs, they understood quickly without needing a detailed explanation.

"So that’s how it is, you Great Xia people are indeed smart, having unique achievements not only in business but also such peculiar yet simple and effective insights in cooking."

Facing Chef Marchello’s praise, Lin Chen smiled and accepted it, but actually didn’t think much of it.

Could there be a possibility, that it’s not that we’re smart, rather you’re too foolish?

Of course, in Western cuisine, there are ways to make the meat tender and juicy, it’s just a higher time cost.

Saltwater soaking.

Not just Western cuisine, in Chinese cuisine, many dishes also use this method, recognized globally by the culinary world as a marination method.

By soaking meat in a certain degree of saltwater for a long time, the meat becomes flavorful, and since salt can lock in water, it naturally brings in a large amount of moisture, giving a tender texture.

The proportion of saltwater isn’t strictly defined, but generally fluctuates around 10%, weaker if not in a hurry, stronger if in a hurry, the difference just being the soaking time.

Besides salt, various spices can also be added to the water, depending on each restaurant’s approach and requirements.

Starting with saltwater soaking, it evolves into sauce soaking, yogurt soaking, and other methods, but essentially they’re quite similar.

After discussing the topic of marinating for a while, Lin Chen thought of tomorrow’s stall setup and shifted the conversation.

No matter what, Chef Marchello is one of the restaurant’s owners, his direct superior, if he has any requests, Lin Chen still has to comply.

"Tomorrow’s stall setup?"

Chef Marchello crossed his arms and pinched his chin, thinking for a few seconds, then spread his hands: "I don’t know~"

"I’m mainly working in the kitchen, setting up a stall is my first time, your experience in this should be more than mine, I’ll leave it to you without offering any opinions."

"Speaking of street food, it’s mostly developed in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America. You guys go ahead, and I’ll take the chance to learn some new dishes to bring back."

Free rein?

Lin Chen let out a long breath. This makes things much easier, and he can carry out the task with peace of mind.

Today is Saturday, the cooldown for the vegetarian challenge has ended and should be unlocked, but that’s not suitable for the food festival, so it will have to wait until the usual stall setting days.

The childhood snacks mission must have succeeded, judging by the reactions of the guests. It’s just unknown when it will be settled, whether the next task will pop up immediately or have a cooldown like the vegetarian challenge.

"Do I have to wait until I finish setting up the stall to settle?"

It’s also his first time preparing such a large-scale stall, so it’s normal to be inexperienced.

The attributes of the food truck are indeed impressive, but most of the time, they are dispensable and only come in handy when time is tight.

Anyway, there’s no rush to upgrade the food truck, just wait patiently.

His mindset is quite good, not disappointed by the fact that the magical features of the food truck aren’t essential.

At least, he’s already luckier than countless others, and it’s important to be content with what you have.

His dream is simple, to provide delicious food for the diners and see the happy smiles and empty plates. That’s enough for him.

This isn’t some high martial arts world, so being ordinary suits his taste better.

Nagishiro Sho pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up at him, "Lin, I’m here to gain inspiration from you. So far, I’ve learned a lot, but I haven’t really given you anything useful."

"If it’s alright, I’d like to assist you tomorrow. No need for payment, and you can continue to use my name to attract customers as compensation while I learn some new recipes from you."

"Oh?"

Chef Marchello raised an eyebrow, showing interest.

"How about this? Since you’re the head chef here, I’ll also help you tomorrow and learn a few dishes. You can have all three stores, how’s that?"

The more he learned about the magical Great Xia cuisine, the more interested he became.

Yesterday’s novel noodle dishes and beef dishes, along with today’s candied hawthorn craft and marinating techniques, were all new areas for him.

When he returns, just these alone will support the development of dozens of new dishes. His restaurants won’t lack new menus for the next two years.

Compared to the actual benefits he’s about to gain, what he pays is minimal, so minimal that he, as the boss, feels a bit uneasy.

In any case, publicly, no one knows about his collaboration with Radisson, so why not take this opportunity to use his name to promote the restaurant and expand Lin Chen’s influence?

His earnings are his own, and it’s a win-win.

"Huh?"

Lin Chen was a bit dumbstruck.

A renowned Michelin three-star chef and a prospective one-star chef both offering to assist him and let him bask in their fame, this treatment is as good as it gets, right?

Although it’s clear they’re here to learn, he doesn’t mind.

Most Chinese recipes can be found online or in videos. Especially for experienced chefs like them, trying a few times will get them pretty close. It’s really just about the finer details.

The key point is that what they want to learn is not the modified Chinese cuisine but the authentic Chinese cooking techniques they’ve never encountered before.

After learning, they surely won’t simply replicate and offer these dishes in their own restaurants but will improve upon or extract essential techniques for their own creations.

From a certain perspective, he could be considered as part of the research and development team for the new dishes in their restaurants.

If Chinese elements could appear on Michelin restaurant tables and be accepted by tourists from around the world, wouldn’t he, in a way, be spreading Great Xia’s culinary culture?

Thinking of this, he suppressed his excitement and nodded to the two of them.

"Okay, I’ll show you all the essentials of Chinese cooking without reservation, but I have one request."

"If your new dishes use elements or techniques from Great Xia, I hope you can acknowledge them when introducing them to the guests, letting them know this comes from Great Xia’s culinary culture."

"Of course, that’s only right!"

"Respecting cultures from various countries is a fundamental principle for us chefs. Rest assured, I, Nagishiro Sho, pledge on the honor of my family to never act suspiciously like the Kimchi People."

"Pfft..."

Lucas, who was eavesdropping nearby, couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He never expected to hear a jab at Xiao Xiba from a small islander at a time like this.

Thinking of the thick-skinned Kimchi Lady from before, he suddenly felt that this head chef from the small island must have a story.