The Gourmet Customizer

With that, Lu Yongliang prepared to follow Su Chen into the kitchen.

This sounded odd to Jiang Wusheng. Boss Su was so young, yet Lu Yongliang seemed to be treating him as a peer.

Little did he know, that was exactly what Lu Yongliang was thinking.

’For craftsmen like us, age doesn’t matter—only skill does.’

’If someone’s skills are superior, it’s never wrong to call them a senior. If their skills are lacking, they should just step aside!’

Watching Lu Yongliang follow Boss Su into the kitchen, the two brothers stared at each other, wide-eyed. The shock in their gazes said it all.

"Should we go take a look?" Jiang Wensheng asked.

Jiang Wusheng pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Let’s go! We’ll check it out too!"

So, the two of them followed them into the kitchen. After all, their purpose in coming was to watch Boss Su cook, and this could be considered part of the prep work.

There was no harm in watching!

The moment he stepped into the kitchen, Jiang Wusheng was stunned by the sight of all kinds of ingredients piled on the floor and crammed into the cabinets.

There was chicken, duck, fish, and meat—all the essentials. There was even a full array of seasonal vegetables rarely seen in the north. Jiang Wusheng looked at a lively, flopping mandarin fish. "This definitely wasn’t farmed locally!"

Su Chen pulled on a pair of gloves, ready to process the chicken. "That’s right. I had my staff go to Lu Province to buy it. The seafood is all from Yantai."

Tsk!

Jiang Wusheng nodded in admiration. "No wonder you dare to charge such high prices. So that’s the reason! Every region has its own unique products, and your dedication to sourcing ingredients from their place of origin is truly admirable. Is there anything you need a hand with? I’m just standing around, anyway."

Good heavens.

Su Chen paused what he was doing.

Brother Fang Chang had mentioned offhandedly that this uncle of his was once a National Banquet Chef. Later, however, he poured most of his energy into a museum and gradually stopped cooking professionally.

’So that means...’

’Today I have two National Banquet Chefs acting as my kitchen hands, plus Liu Ahbao, a senior technician, and on top of that, the owner and head chef of a time-honored Yangzhou restaurant?’

’This lineup is damn intimidating!’

’I absolutely cannot lose face here. I can’t afford to!’

Su Chen did his best to compose himself. "Thank you for the trouble, Seniors."

"Don’t mention it. People like us love nothing more than spending our lives in a kitchen. If you really made me wait outside, I’d be restless all over!" Jiang Wusheng said with a laugh.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of Lu Yongliang, but he felt he hit it off with Boss Su. Besides, since Mr. Lu was already helping out, it wasn’t beneath him to lend a hand either.

Since they insisted, Su Chen no longer refused their offers.

He promptly produced two sheets of paper. "This is the menu I’ve prepared for the birthday banquet and the engagement party. I’ll have to ask you all to prep the ingredients according to these lists!"

The four men gathered around the workstation.

Jiang Wusheng picked up the Huaiyang Cuisine menu. "Lion’s Head, Boiled Shredded Tofu, Squirrel Fish."

"I specifically requested these," Jiang Wensheng said. "In Boss Su’s hands, these three dishes are absolutely extraordinary!"

As Jiang Wusheng read on, he grew more and more stunned.

There were twelve dishes in total, and any of the other nine would be considered a signature dish at a Huaiyang Cuisine restaurant!

Mastering just one of them would be enough to run a successful restaurant in Yangzhou!

’And Boss Su planned to make so many at once?’

"Alright, leave the prep for the Huaiyang Cuisine to the two of us!" Jiang Wusheng could hardly wait to see Boss Su’s skills.

He wouldn’t interfere with the actual cooking, only help with simple ingredient preparation.

This included simple tasks like cutting the pork belly into the required sizes.

Lu Yongliang held the other list. "So the three of us will handle the ingredients for the Lu Cuisine, then?"

Liu Ahbao happened to be a senior technician well-versed in Lu Cuisine, and Lu Yongliang, in his rivalry with Cui Yufen, had also secretly learned his fair share of it.

Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

’This makes things much easier!’

With so many people helping, he felt the thrill of a victory won before the battle had even begun!

The work in the kitchen gradually fell into a rhythm, and Su Chen was able to relax considerably, though he still needed to observe their progress from time to time.

For some ingredients, the preparation methods—even those of a National Banquet Master—differed slightly from what he required.

But he had to admit, a National Banquet Master was truly in a league of their own. Both Jiang Wusheng and Lu Yongliang were exceptionally meticulous when it came to prepping ingredients.

Take the pot-roasted pork knuckle, for example. Lu Yongliang used a knife to scrape the hair stubble from the knuckle, rinsed it clean, then wrapped it in plastic film and placed it in the cooler. He even attached a label specifying which dish the ingredient was for.

Liu Ahbao was about to help by starting to boil the knuckle, but Lu Yongliang stopped him. Since they were just assistants, they were only to do the basic prep. Anything involving the stove had to be left to the head chef.

They could only proceed if it was an absolutely simple task and after the head chef had given explicit instructions.

That was a rule for chefs from E Province, and no one could break it.

By the time all the ingredients were prepped, it was already approaching noon.

Su Chen had calculated that it would take him until the afternoon to finish everything, but with more hands, the work naturally went much faster.

"Thank you, everyone. I can handle the work this afternoon by myself. Let’s head to the second floor for a bite to eat first."

Lu Yongliang washed and dried his hands. "This lunch is on the house, right?"

Su Chen shook his head, speechless. He knew the old master was joking with him. "My treat. We’ll have a simple meal."

The Jiang Wusheng brothers also cleaned up their area, eagerly anticipating this so-called "simple meal."