I'm the Culinary God

"Congratulations, host, for observing the rise and fall, honor and disgrace of cooks, and obtaining the Perfect Level Huaiyang dish—Red Crispy Chicken."

Hearing this prompt, Lin Xu looked completely surprised.

I’m just here munching on sunflower seeds watching the show, and I get a reward for that?

Isn’t this encouraging me to be a bystander?

But this Red Crispy Chicken... is there really such a dish in Huaiyang cuisine?

While still puzzled, a flood of experience rushed into his mind, and Lin Xu finally understood what kind of dish Red Crispy Chicken was.

Debone the thighs of a free-range chicken, finely slice the chicken meat without damaging the skin, then chop up pork and fresh shrimp into stuffing and stuff it into the chicken thigh meat, finally coat it with a layer of egg yolk and fry it.

Once golden brown on both sides, add stock and simmer on low heat for about forty minutes, then take it out, slice the chicken into diamond-shaped pieces, and arrange them on a plate, finally drizzle with the original soup used to simmer the chicken.

This dish is like a Sweeping Monk in Huaiyang cuisine, seemingly ordinary but extremely particular in its preparation, and it has been around for several hundred years.

In terms of cooking technique and culture, it’s a very rare and famous dish.

But unfortunately, this dish is now very hard to come by, because it’s time-consuming and labor-intensive, and requires very precise control of the heat.

The most important thing is, it cannot be pre-made.

In today’s efficiency-driven world, such a dish is indeed likely to be abandoned.

While reflecting on this, Dai Jianli handed over a handful of watermelon seeds:

"Hey buddy, why are you daydreaming? Do you find this kind of scene quite melancholic? Old He is quite bitter inside, too. His master has long since passed away and can’t call out for a stand-off anymore. Now, the master’s descendants are clearly siding with Old Meng. At times like this, he either faces humiliation or has no choice but to leave the guild."

Many practitioners of traditional professions have encountered similar dilemmas.

The master amasses the family’s wealth, the children look for other careers, and the apprentices support the entire guild.

But when something comes up, the master’s descendants jump in to point fingers, even though they don’t work in the industry anymore, they still exercise the guild’s leadership power.

In times like these, it’s tough for anyone to deal with.

He Jiajun is relatively decisive, directly leaving the guild, without any hesitation, leaving no chance for the master’s descendants to make things difficult.

As for Qiu Yaozu stepping in to resolve the situation, that’s another surprise.

Moreover, even if Qiu Yaozu hadn’t spoken today, later Guo Jichang or Dai, the old masters from the Fishing Platform, would likely have stepped in to give He Jiajun a new mastership.

A good person shouldn’t have a gun pointed at them.

He Jiajun, this honest elder who hasn’t done anything wrong, shouldn’t face such turmoil in his old age either.

Otherwise, this society will truly be dominated by villains and hauntings.

Qiu Yaozu’s words left everyone at the scene stunned, even with expressions of shock all over their faces.

If He Jiajun’s initiative to leave the guild was taking a step back to gain ground, then Qiu Yaozu’s move was an undercut that severed the root.

If you’re threatening He Jiajun with what he values most, then I’ll give him the best.

Just like a certain professor in China, criticized by university leaders and ostracized by colleagues at his original workplace, his application had never been approved.

Later, he went to Xiamen University, not only did he gain a professorship, but his elective classes were always packed, with students even filling the aisles.

Qiu Yaozu stood up and cupped his hands towards the surrounding head chefs:

"In a couple of days, I’ll hold a ceremony to take on an apprentice on behalf of my father. I’d appreciate it if you could all attend and witness."

With this group joining the Qiu Family, not only did the Qiu Family’s disciples increase significantly, but it also allowed Qi Zhentao and his son to truly feel the weight and care of the guild.

Xie Baomin was getting a bit tired of eating pumpkin seeds, so he switched to pistachios.

As he ate, he said:

"Previously, it was Old Guo Jichang with the most apprentices, now the Qiu Family has suddenly become the top culinary family at the Fishing Platform, putting all the pressure on the Guo Family."

Master Gao always held a ’quality over quantity’ attitude toward taking apprentices, so he had the fewest.

But others didn’t have this mentality; as long as someone had the right attitude, good character, and was willing to work hard, they would get a chance.

Dai Jianli laughed as he said:

"Let the two big families fight it out, we’ll just keep watching, no need to get involved."

The Guo Family’s business is mainly in the Pearl River Delta, the Qiu Family’s in the Yangtze River Delta. These two powerful regions, the rest of the restaurant industry really doesn’t stand a chance.

But just because there’s nothing now, doesn’t mean there won’t be in the future.

Xie Baomin popped a peeled pistachio into his mouth, smiling as he said:

"If my junior brother opens a branch in the Pearl River Delta or the Yangtze River Delta, I bet these two families would feel some pressure, however slight."

Dai Jianli, thinking about the peak traffic at Lin Ji, couldn’t help but say:

"He should head to the Pearl River Delta or the Yangtze River Delta, where the rich and discerning diners are. Don’t open branches in Chengdu or Yu Zhou, it’s not profitable, just a money pit."

Lin Xu: "..."

Are you this afraid I’ll steal your business?

He chuckled:

"I don’t have plans to open branches for now, and even if I do, I would start near the East Third Ring in Chaoyang. Randomly going to other places to open a branch involves too many connections, something I’m not good at."

The reason Lin Ji has developed so well now is that it’s under the protection of the Fishing Platform and Yanjing Hotel, not to mention the support from his father-in-law and people like Yan Lin.

Heading to a new location without any connections, there’s a high likelihood they’ll be seen as a juicy target.