The Gourmet Customizer

Su Chen turned his head slightly. "Shuting!"

"Boss..." He Shuting looked utterly wronged after Su Chen snapped at her.

"Well said!" Of course, Su Chen muttered those last two words, which made He Shuting incredibly happy.

Cui Yufen, however, was completely unconcerned. It was still early; they had arrived at the restaurant a little after ten in the morning, and barely half an hour had passed since they’d finished the two dishes.

It was a birthday banquet, after all. It was perfectly normal for the festivities to stretch from noon into the afternoon. The night was still young.

"It’s of no consequence." Cui Yufen waved his hand dismissively. "I wonder what dish Boss Su is preparing next?"

Su Chen thought for a moment.

’If Master Cui let me go back now to hurry up with the next dish, that would mean this matter was settled. We could all just finish the meal, get this birthday over with, and be done.’

’But what did he mean by this?’

’Asking what dish is next...?’

’Is he determined to see this through to the end?’

’In that case...’

Su Chen grinned. "For the third dish, I’ll be preparing Nine-Turned Pork Intestines."

This was one of Su Chen’s signature dishes. Of the nearly twenty courses, the first three were all SS-Level quality.

After those, almost all the dishes were S-Level.

Either way, he’d lead with an ace and shake them up first!

Hearing "Nine-Turned Pork Intestines," Cui Yufen’s eyes lit up. "Oh? Nine-Turned Pork Intestines? In that case, I’d like to ask, Boss Su, which school’s method do you follow for this dish? Perhaps I’m an old acquaintance of the master who taught you."

’Heh...’ Su Chen found talking to this Master Cui exhausting. ’Every sentence is a test, just relentless probing!’

’People like him are always obsessed with schools and lineage, and Nine-Turned Pork Intestines just so happens to be a dish where that’s taken very seriously.’

Su Chen had found two different preparation methods in famous recipe collections.

The SS-Level version he created was a fusion of the two, combining their strengths while discarding their shortcomings.

Since Cui Yufen was asking, it was clear that two SS-Level dishes weren’t enough to win him over. ’Fine,’ Su Chen thought, ’if you want to talk about schools and lineage, I’ll be more than happy to lecture you on the subject today.’

"I don’t belong to any particular school, but the recipe for these Nine-Turned Pork Intestines does indeed come from a predecessor. I came across it by chance. If you’re interested, Master Cui, feel free to step into the kitchen. That way, if this junior does anything wrong, you’ll be there to give me some pointers."

The smile on Cui Yufen’s face froze. His previously calm tone suddenly turned caustic. "Heh. Old Er, you go watch. Learn a thing or two."

His second disciple was busy with his head down, smacking his lips over the last few scraps on his plate, and was caught completely off guard by his master’s command.

"Huh? Me?"

Cui Yufen shot him a deeply disappointed glare. "Weren’t you just in Lu Province a while back, ’exchanging pointers’ with that what’s-his-name food blogger? And now you’re not happy I’m giving you a chance to learn something new?"

"Oh!" The second disciple stood up, clearly reluctant. "Fine, then."

Among Cui Yufen’s twenty disciples, Old Er was the most different from the rest.

The others were mostly famous chefs from major restaurants, or at the very least, owners of their own establishments.

Only Old Er, who had been one of Master Cui’s earlier disciples, was different. He had learned excellent skills, and his Nine-Turned Pork Intestines, in particular, had been legendary in the culinary world of Lu Province back in the day.

But this Old Er, Zhang Heping, wasn’t actually famous in culinary circles at all. At most, a few old-timers even knew he existed. The main reason was that after working for over a decade, he discovered he didn’t love cooking at all—he just loved to eat.

Once the internet took off, the second disciple quit his job at the restaurant and decided to venture online. But he wasn’t like other food bloggers; getting into the internet scene was really just an excuse for him to eat!

He was constantly flying all over the country, staying in one place for a few months at a time to sample all of its famous dishes and local snacks before heading to the next destination.

In the past decade or so, Old Er had basically eaten his way through more than half of Xia Country. He had, however, never come to Jingzhou, because he knew it was a culinary desert.

Cui Yufen couldn’t do anything about Old Er’s personality. The only time he could get him was on the rare occasion when an important banquet required Nine-Turned Pork Intestines, at which point he’d call Old Er and ask him to come back and help.

In the words of the older generation, it was a great loss to Lu Cuisine that Old Er Zhang Heping’s skills weren’t being showcased. Especially his Nine-Turned Pork Intestines. Looking across the current world of Lu Cuisine, only Zhang Heping could still make a decent version of it.

As for the others?

They were basically just filling the ranks, their skills good enough only to fool the average person.

There was another reason Cui Yufen sent Zhang Heping into the kitchen to observe.

’Logically, this Boss Xiaosu should just go cook the dish, serve it, and be done with it. Why on earth would he invite someone to watch him in his kitchen?’

’It was simple. The kid was challenging me head-on!’

’You’ve tasted my food and you’re not convinced? Fine. Then I’ll let you watch how I cook. I’ll make you submit one way or another!’

But Cui Yufen wasn’t about to be led by the nose. ’Why should I go just because you told me to?’ he thought. Not only would he not go himself, but he wouldn’t send Liu Fu, his first disciple, either. He would send Old Er. First, it was a professional match-up; Boss Su’s Nine-Turned Pork Intestines had just met its match in Zhang Heping.

Second, if Old Er went into the kitchen and lost face, it would be excusable. After all, he wasn’t some head chef at a major restaurant; he had no reputation to uphold. And if he managed to defeat Su Chen, well, that would be even better.