Ye Jiayao concentrated on carving the radish in her hand. She hadn't played with it for a long time, so it was a bit unfamiliar and the hand feel was not very good. However, after trying to carve a flower, she quickly regained the feeling.
When other children were busy learning piano, dance, and Mathematical Olympiads, Ye Jiayao just played with radishes. At that time, she was just envious of the things her father carved. She never thought that this was also a skill. After playing with it for several years, she finally carved something. After surpassing her father, she has no interest in playing anymore.
"You can do this?" Li Erniang asked in surprise.
Ye Jiayao smiled: "I have learned it before."
The second-class cook Liu Qisheng poked the first-class cook Zhong Xiang next to him with his elbow, and whispered: "Brother Xiang, this guy is used to showing off."
Zhong Xiang's eyes were cold and he snorted. He had to admit that Li Yao was a strong opponent, but he did not think that he was weaker than Li Yao. All he lacked was opportunities. He had been an apprentice for four years and a cook for six years, climbing from the lowest level to where he is today. It is true talent and practical learning that relies on ten years of hard work. However, Chef Niu is too independent and refuses to support his deputy. He finally waited until Chef Niu left. He thought his chance had finally come, but Li The shopkeeper still refused to reuse him, but instead invited Li Erniang, and now Li Erniang brought Li Yao.
Not only did he sign up as a first-class assistant cook as soon as he arrived, he was on an equal footing with him, but now he handed over such an important banquet to Li Yao. Even a fool could see what this meant.
Is he destined to be a cook for the rest of his life
Zhong Xiang secretly hates it to see what kind of tricks this kid can make.
Ye Jiayao carved out the accessories for plating, and asked people to lay out the dishes to be used tonight. Dish plates of different shapes and sizes were chosen according to different dishes, such as waist plates, round plates, square plates, fan-shaped plates... Then start piecing together.
Color, flavor, and shape come last, but Ye Jiayao believes that color and shape should be placed together and at the front, followed by aroma and taste, because the first thing guests see is the color and shape of the dish. Matching the shape of the packaging so that customers can have an appetite after just seeing it is the first step to success.
From the moment I see the menu, the menu is not just the names of the dishes written on the paper, but the dishes that are formed one after another. What dishes are used on what plates and what accessories are paired with them are all already in my mind. Just like a fashion designer, after designing the drawings, the clothes will be perfectly presented.
There are a total of eight cold dishes and eighteen hot dishes tonight.
Twenty-six plates and twenty-six combinations, none of them repeated.
Li Erniang still doesn't know which dish is on which plate, but she is amazed by the exquisite patterns and novel patterns of these accessories. This Li Yao is really thoughtful.
Accessories are frequently used in Huaiyang cuisine, because Huaiyang cuisine pays attention to finesse, fine selection of materials, fine workmanship, and beautiful combinations. But she has never seen any chef make such exquisite accessories.
The ingredients for the cold dishes are all ready, and Ye Jiayao first arranges the cold dishes.
The duck tongue is arranged neatly and wrapped in rice dumpling leaves. The braised beef with ten spices is arranged in a crescent shape, garnished with carved carrots, honey-glazed yam, sprinkled with a few wolfberries, and garnished with coriander and purple cabbage...
She changed the cucumber patting into cucumber rolls. Slice the cucumbers into thin slices, shred the lettuce, wrap them in the rolls, and mix the juice with onions, garlic, minced coriander, diced peppers, fish sauce, lime juice, etc., and pour it on top. .
The presentation was excellent, but after all, it was not what the customer ordered. Li Erniang tasted a cucumber roll without worry.
I just felt it was extraordinarily fragrant, crunchy and refreshing, with the sweet and sour taste of lemon juice.
"What is this dish called?" Li Erniang asked as she had never seen it before.
Ye Jiayao smiled and said: "Double crispy roll, how about it? Is it okay?"
Li Erniang smiled and nodded: "In the future, Tianshangju can have another signature cold dish."
Everyone was in an uproar. Being called a signature dish is the highest compliment. Cooking is not easy, innovation is even harder. It is even more difficult to create a signature dish. My dear, this guy is amazing.
Ye Jiayao felt a little guilty. In fact, this was a Thai-style cold cucumber roll. She had slightly modified it to make it more suitable for the taste of southerners.
"If this continues, maybe he will become a master chef living in heaven." Liu Qisheng said sourly.
Zhong Xiang sarcastically said: "Do you think it's so easy to become a chef? You're just good at opportunism."
As he said this, he felt even more panicked in his heart. The better Li Yao performed, the greater the threat to him.
"Xiao Lu, ask the waiter to serve the food." Li Erniang ordered.
The kitchen was busy nervously and orderly, and guests were arriving one after another.
"Didn't I say that today we are celebrating the victory of Prince Jing'an? Why hasn't Xia Chunyu come yet?" someone asked.
Zhao Qixuan laughed: "The so-called celebration banquet is just an excuse to invite everyone to get together. If I didn't use Brother Chunyu's name, how could everyone come together like this?"
Xia Chunyu was originally a leader among the wealthy children of the imperial capital. This time, he went undercover at Heifenggang for more than half a year and cooperated with Prince Helian. Pin Yunhui jumped two ranks and was promoted to a third-rank first-class bodyguard. He was highly appreciated by the Holy Emperor and became the target of everyone's favour, and everyone wanted to fawn over him.
Although everyone was a little disappointed that the real owner didn't come, Zhao Qixuan was very good at stirring up the atmosphere, and after a while, the scene became lively. While everyone was drinking tea, Hu Tianhai started chatting endlessly. One moment, the young masters of two families were fighting over a certain boy, and the next moment, whose daughter was about to get stuck in a piece of cow dung.
He Lianjing was dragged by Zhao Qixuan to swim in the Qinhuai River all afternoon. He was drowsy while listening to the music and was completely out of state. Someone struck up a conversation with him, and he hummed a few times. I thought to myself: Sure enough, Dayao Yao’s cheesy hero songs are more refreshing.
The guy comes and serves the food. Eight cold dishes were placed around the round table.
Zhao Qixuan couldn't help but his eyes lit up, he closed his fan and tapped the palm of his left hand.
"Man, are these cold cuts made by the new cook too?"
The waiter replied with a smile: "Master Hui Shi, it was made by the new cook."
Zhao Qixuan picked up a double crispy roll and tasted it, then said, "Not bad, not bad. What is this called? I don't seem to have ordered this dish."
The waiter said: "This is called Double Crispy Roll. It is a new dish in our restaurant. The new chef specially made it for you to try."
Everyone used their chopsticks to try something new, but He Lianjing was not interested. No matter how delicious it was, it was not as good as Yaoyao's.
"Sure enough, double crispy."
"The taste is very special, sweet and sour."
"tasty… "
Everyone liked it one after another.
Zhao Qixuan said: "I have been eating in big restaurants for so many years, and I finally saw something new, reward me!"
As he spoke, he generously took out a piece of silver and put it on the waiter's tray: "Give it to the new cook. Wait until the hot dishes are served. If I am satisfied, I will reward you."
This has alarmed Shopkeeper Li. To be honest, he has been worried tonight. After Chef Niu was taken away, Tianshangju's business plummeted. The sales in the past five days could not catch up with the sales in one day during normal periods. Forehead. It took a lot of effort for the prince to come to him. If he catches this wave of customers, I believe it will be a good turning point.
Giving the banquet to Li Yao was a bit risky, a bit risky, and a strange move. He also looked at the cold dishes just now. The presentation was very novel, and there were two dishes he had never seen before. It looks good but I don't know how it tastes, so I'm very worried.
Now that all the rewards inside have been released, Shopkeeper Li's heart has dropped halfway, and the highlight is yet to come.
The waiter returned to the kitchen and brought the silver reward to Ye Jiayao with a smile: "Congratulations, brother Yao, this is the reward from the prince."
Suddenly everyone's eyes flashed green. This prince was famous for being generous. Every time he came back, he would give a reward, sometimes to the doorman, sometimes to the waiter in the private room who was responsible for serving food and pouring wine, but never to him. The cooks have given rewards, but Chef Niu has not received any rewards. Li Yao has received rewards as soon as he came here today.
what does that mean? It means recognition, not just general recognition.
The assistant chef, who was still a little bit unconvinced in his heart, began to wonder: Should he get close to Li Yao
Ye Jiayao immersed herself in making double-flavor duck rolls without even looking at the silver reward, and said: "This is everyone's credit. I went to exchange the broken silver and let everyone share it!"
The clerk was stunned. This ingot of silver was worth five taels. How could we divide it up
Looking at Li Erniang hesitantly, Li Erniang nodded slightly.
"Hey!" The guy happily took the silver reward and went out to exchange it.
Ye Jiayao said loudly: "Everyone, work harder and work harder. In the future, everyone will have a share in the silver reward."
Suddenly, everyone's enthusiasm was mobilized, and the sound of chopping vegetables became more intense.
Li Erniang smiled happily. It seemed that she didn't have to worry anymore. Li Yao was good at cooking and being a good person. He was not arrogant about taking credit and rewarded everyone. He was not like those famous chefs who were very proud with their nostrils turned upward.
The hot dishes are presented one after another, one after another, like exquisite handicrafts, which is eye-opening. You will be greedy just by looking at it. If you take a bite, the taste will be even more beautiful.
Everyone said it was delicious. He Lianjing reluctantly picked up the chopsticks and picked up the stir-fried shredded eel. It was tender and smooth in the mouth and extremely fragrant. He couldn't help but pick up three pieces in a row.
It is indeed good, not worse than what Dayao Yao did.
"Double-flavor duck roll..." the waiter announced the name of the dish and presented it.
He Lianjing glanced subconsciously and was stunned.
The hibiscus blossoms made of shredded tomatoes, and the green leaves made of shredded cucumbers, why do they look so familiar
New cook, new cook... He seemed to have thought of something, raised his head and asked the waiter: "How old is your new cook?"
The waiter smiled and said, "You're not that old, but your skills are great. How about it? Are you guys satisfied?"
Zhao Qixuan said: "When the food is ready, please come over and meet me and propose a toast to you."
He Lianjing wanted to ask a few more questions, but the man had already left.
His mind was filled with questions, is it possible? is it possible
There seemed to be thousands of ants crawling in my heart, and I wanted to rush into the kitchen now to see what was going on, but I felt that doing so was too abrupt and irritable. Anyway, the cook will come to propose a toast later, so I’ll bear with it for now.
(End of chapter)