The Gourmet Customizer

With the reward in hand, Su Chen abruptly got up and went back inside.

He completely ignored his employees, who still had much to say to him, and lay down on a chair, closing his eyes to examine the tempting reward.

[Chinese Cuisine Collection: Compiled in the 1950s.]

Rarely did a system reward come with such a detailed description. Su Chen began to read it slowly and carefully.

[In the 1970s, the Japan Shufunotomo (Housewife’s Friend) Publishing House, in collaboration with the Capital City Friendship Commercial Services Company, the Shanghai Food and Beverage Services Company, the Yue Province Food and Beverage Services Company, and the Sichuan Province Vegetable and Food Services Company, jointly filmed and produced a collection of recipes.]

Well, I’ll be!

Something clicked in Su Chen’s mind.

This cookbook actually existed in the real world, and Su Chen knew a thing or two about its origins. But why did one description say the 1950s and the other the 1970s?

This left Su Chen a little confused, because he knew that such a project had indeed happened in the 1970s!

Back then, after this cookbook was published, it was deeply loved by Japanese housewives. They frantically followed the recipes to learn how to cook Chinese food at home.

Later, the higher-ups saw this wasn’t right. ’If you guys keep this up, what the hell is going to happen to our own culinary culture?’

So they directly ordered the destruction of the cookbook, including destroying as many privately owned copies as possible.

Unfortunately, from its publication to its destruction, there was never time to create a simplified Chinese version. The only copies that flowed into the mainland were a few traditional Chinese versions, mostly in Taiwan Province.

The reason a simplified version was never made was also simple: the average income in the mainland at the time wasn’t high enough to afford such a well-produced, illustrated cookbook. A set would have sold for about 600 yuan in the 1990s, which was a very expensive price for people in the country back then.

[This book covers the four great culinary traditions of China—Lu Cuisine, Su Cuisine, Cantonese Cuisine, and Sichuan Cuisine—as well as a volume on Imperial Cuisine.]

[Over time, due to the lack of certain modern ingredients, the decline in the quality of raw materials, and the dwindling number of artisanal craftsmen, most of the dishes in the cookbook gradually fell out of production.]

[Furthermore, when facing the Japanese cameras in the 1970s, the master chefs of China deliberately held back. Thus, while this book’s collection of recipes is quite comprehensive, it lacks practical applicability.]

Su Chen exclaimed, "Well, I’ll be!"

So that’s what happened! No wonder when he was a streamer, he’d managed to find some fragmented Japanese volumes. The pictures in them looked amazing, but after trying to follow them a few times, the food always tasted very ordinary.

So that was it!

The master chefs from back home are really something else!

But if even the held-back versions made foreign housewives ecstatic and eager to copy them, wouldn’t teaching them the real deal make their heads explode on the spot?

Su Chen chuckled and continued reading the description in his mind.

[This cookbook is the one printed and published by the Light Industry Press in the 1950s.]

[During the public-private partnerships of the 1950s, the custom of restaurants keeping their recipes secret from one another was deemed a decadent practice. The state encouraged famous establishments to publish their recipes for mutual exchange, allowing state-owned restaurants to learn from each other and improve their skills.]

[In the 1960s, during the food shortages, publishing work was temporarily halted. After it resumed in the 1980s, a large number of private restaurants emerged, and chefs once again began to hold back their secrets.]

[This fragmented collection only preserves the recipes created in the 1950s, covering most provinces in the country and all sorts of esoteric secrets from famous restaurants across the nation at the time.]

The further he read, the faster Su Chen’s heart beat.

Especially when he reached the end, he felt like his heart was about to leap out of his mouth!

This... This was too incredible!

According to the item’s description, this cookbook must have originated back in the 1950s.

Back then, due to the unique historical circumstances, some famous restaurants were forced to reveal all their secrets, which were then handed over to state-owned restaurants for study and exchange.

Among them were more than a few century-old establishments!

Just imagine, for a century-old establishment to stand tall on Chinese Land, could its recipes be that simple?

And now, all of it was within Su Chen’s grasp!

Based on the description, by the 1980s, not much of this original cookbook was left. Although newer cookbooks published later had a full range of dishes, for historical reasons, chefs had once again started holding back.

"Does that mean all the famous dishes I’ve eaten until now have been castrated versions?"

The question suddenly popped into his head, and Su Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But regardless, having suddenly obtained something so incredible, Su Chen felt a little daunted.

It was no exaggeration to say that even as a fragmented collection, if it were put on the market, countless people would be willing to pay a fortune for it, and for one simple reason.

At this moment, Su Chen held the lifelines of countless century-old establishments in his hands!

Pulling his thoughts back, Su Chen opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He felt like a child holding a priceless treasure, his own abilities still insufficient to unleash the full potential of this cookbook.

’The current business model is good. I’ll use the Delicious Customization service and dedicate myself to studying the recipes!’

’From now on, I can use this for ancient recipes, and continue using the system’s recipe synthesis function to create some modern dishes.’

’But before that, there’s one very important thing I need to do...’

Although he held a fragmented collection of famous recipes—the essence of thousands of years of culinary culture from the Huaxia Land, with most of them being the lifeblood of major century-old establishments—this kind of behavior didn’t align with Su Chen’s own culinary philosophy.

Is what’s inherited always the best?

Su Chen still believed that what’s most suitable is what’s best. Some dishes, after being improved upon, might not necessarily be inferior to their inherited versions.