The Gourmet Customizer

Upon hearing what Old Wu said, his fellow disciples were suddenly dumbfounded.

How could he have an epiphany just from one comment from Boss Su? What could he possibly have figured out?

Old Wu looked at Su Chen eagerly. "Boss Su, you mean that for this sea cucumber dish, the sauce should be thickened over medium heat? And besides just coating the food, the thickening process should also infuse the flavor? That if you can get it to the point where the sauce doesn’t drip when you pick it up, the dish will have reached a new level!"

Su Chen paused for a moment. ’This Old Wu is a quick study.’

That was indeed what he meant, but achieving it was actually quite difficult. Back in the Gourmet Practice Room, Su Chen himself had been stumped by this final step.

The time for thickening and reducing the sauce is very short, and all the necessary flavors have already been absorbed. So, what was one to do?

Eventually, Su Chen thought of a method: using very low heat.

By prolonging the thickening time, he had to shorten the initial cooking time. This trade-off would achieve the desired effect of leaving no excess sauce on the plate.

And this so-called "no excess sauce" didn’t just mean that the sauce shouldn’t drip when picking up a piece of food. The main goal was to perfectly fuse the flavors of the thickened sauce and the sea cucumber.

There were many similar examples of failure. For instance, at large banquets in the north, there’s a dish made with glutinous rice called Eight-Treasure Pudding—the thick, non-soupy kind that some also call "cold cake."

A sweet, thickened sauce is poured over the surface of this dish, and less-skilled chefs often have trouble getting this step right.

The first bite is cloyingly sweet, but once that passes, the "cold cake" underneath is bland and tasteless—a classic example of failure.

Though Old Wu had an epiphany, he had only grasped half of the concept. Su Chen couldn’t be bothered to point this out. After all, even if he explained it, Old Wu might not be able to execute it, and it would just make Su Chen look meddlesome.

But Old Wu’s words had a completely different effect on the others.

This was especially true for Wang Peixing. He suddenly recalled something Su Chen had told him back in the kitchen of the Cuihua Building!

It wasn’t just words—he had even seen Su Chen make Kung Pao Chicken with his own eyes!

"I... I think I get it now, too!"

The other disciples looked over at Wang Peixing, who had suddenly spoken up. Shi Qi tugged on his arm. "Youngest, stop making a scene. He wasn’t even talking about your dish. What is there for you to ’get’?"

"I really do get it!" Wang Peixing said defiantly. "The key to making Kung Pao Chicken so that the oil pools on the plate but the sauce doesn’t run lies in the ’blast’ of heat at the very end, while reducing the sauce!"

"The required heat changes depending on the thickness of the sauce, but because the reduction happens so fast, we never even think about it. That step is over in just a few seconds, but back then, Boss Su adjusted the heat at least three times within those few seconds!"

"That’s how he made the oil pool without the sauce running! I really, really get it now!!!"

Hiss!

Everyone was astonished. ’You can have an epiphany from that?’

This was more than just an epiphany. If they went back and mastered what they had just realized, it would represent a massive leap in their culinary skills!

Su Chen was still a bit taken aback. ’This Wang Peixing was so defiant before, and now he’s suddenly had an epiphany?’

And he wasn’t wrong.

But Su Chen knew that mastering the "blast" technique had been one of the most arduous Skills for him to level up. Each attempt took five seconds, and he had practiced for over a dozen hours straight in the Gourmet Practice Room!

Five seconds an attempt, for over a dozen hours. Just think about what that meant.

It meant this was a technique you couldn’t master without at least eight or ten years of practice!

’So, an epiphany is useless. Go home and practice. Slowly.’

Seeing that Wang Peixing had also had an epiphany, the others grew red-eyed with envy. Another disciple rushed over. "Boss Su, quick, try my sweet and sour carp! Let me have an epiphany too!"

"Out of the way! Boss Su, Boss Su! Try my braised prawns! I want to have an epiphany too!"

"This is my Box Tofu! Boss Su, I’d be honored if you would grace it with a taste! ’To learn the Way in the morning and die in the evening would be a life well spent!’ I have to have an epiphany!"

Crap!

Su Chen looked in horror at the crowd swarming him. ’If you drop dead, I’ll be the one held responsible!’

Cui Yufen watched the scene unfold as if she were watching a play.

’Go on, go on! Cause a ruckus!’

’Young people need to be boisterous. It shows they have energy! It’s how they improve!’

What was meant to be a grand feast for Cui Yufen ended up with Su Chen tasting every single dish. He used his Peak of Flavor ability to give a rough summary of the shortcomings in each one.

Only then did the crowd gradually calm down.

After everyone had settled back into their seats, all the disciples wore pensive expressions, as if they had truly realized something profound.

Cui Yufen smiled at Su Chen. "Boss Xiaosu, this is probably the best gift I’ve received today. Seeing my disciples still able to improve their craft at their age... nothing could be more gratifying."

Su Chen now felt that this Master Cui wasn’t so bad after all. "Teacher Cui, rest assured, your school of cooking is actually at a pretty high level, even by national standards."

He left the second half unsaid: ’As long as they don’t have to compete with me.’

As expected of head chefs from major restaurants, basically every one of them could reliably prepare several A Level signature dishes.

That was definitely more than enough to get by.

Cui Yufen felt that coming to Jingzhou for her birthday had been the absolute right decision. Not only had she tasted Su Chen’s cooking, but while watching him guide her disciples, she’d had quite a few insights herself.

She felt that some of her own past techniques were indeed lacking. With a few slight improvements, she was sure the texture and flavor of her new dishes could be elevated to an even higher level.