While everyone was busy thinking about preparing dishes, Ning Cheng was in a miserable situation because Feng Yifan didn't allow him to cook for the time being.
Ning Cheng did not complain about this at first, because he was well aware that his abilities were limited.
So every time he heard everyone discussing enthusiastically, Ning Cheng was always left aside and seemed a little isolated.
Feng Yifan saw this for several days in a row, and after the discussion ended that night, everyone left and called Ning Cheng alone.
"Do you feel a little dissatisfied that I don't let you participate and don't allow you to cook?"
Ning Cheng packed up his things and suppressed his emotions as he said, "No."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "You're still saying no? Look at your face, it says it all.
Do you feel like everyone is discussing how to cook, but you are the only one who can’t cook, and you need to help everyone else, and then every day you have to wait for everyone to finish the discussion, and then you have to clean up these things, and you feel like a drudge? "
Ning Cheng hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't help but raised his head and looked at Feng Yifan.
"Yes, that's what I think. I think I can cook now. I don't understand why Uncle Yifan doesn't let me participate in the discussion and even makes me do these chores every day. And washing dishes, shouldn't it be Aunt Zhao's job?"
Seeing that Ning Cheng finally spoke, Feng Yifan also smiled.
"So you think you are not as good as Sister Zhao. After all, the restaurant is not open, but Sister Zhao still gets paid every month. She doesn't even have to stay with us so late, and she doesn't have to be responsible for washing the utensils used for the trial. She only needs to wash the dishes next door and leave.
Do you want to switch jobs with Sister Zhao? Or do you want to do the job of washing dishes for a living like Sister Zhao?"
Ning Cheng was stunned by these words.
After a long while, Ning Cheng said, "No, I don't want to."
Feng Yifan pointed at the scraps that had not been cleaned up today and said, "Then I'll give you a chance. You can pick anything from these scraps and make me a staff meal. If you can do it well, I will let you participate in the discussion starting tomorrow, and you will be the one to make the staff meals every day."
Ning Cheng was stunned again. Looking at the piles of scraps on the plate in front of him, he really felt at a loss as to where to start.
In fact, in the past few days, Ning Cheng was responsible for packing these things every night, and according to Feng Yifan's requirements, he sorted them into bags, vacuumed them all and put them in the freezer.
Although he did as his master asked every day, Ning Cheng was not clear about his master's intentions.
Now, his master actually asked him to use these scraps to make a staff meal.
This was a little difficult for Ning Cheng to understand. If these scraps were used to make employee meals, would anyone be able to eat it
Feng Yifan saw that Ning Cheng was slow to move and probably guessed what he was thinking.
"What? You think these things should be thrown away? You think it's unhygienic to use them for employee meals? And no one can eat them, right?"
Ning Cheng hesitated for a moment, but still nodded honestly.
Seeing Ning Cheng nodded, Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Not bad, you dare to admit it. If you don't dare to admit what you think in your heart, then I might kick you out tomorrow."
When Ning Cheng heard this, he felt a little relieved.
Feng Yifan continued, "You have to understand that for a chef, waste is the greatest shame. As a chef, if you cannot make the best use of the ingredients you have and waste so many leftovers, it means that you are an unqualified chef."
Having said this, Feng Yifan paused and pointed at the scraps on the plate.
"Take a good look at these. Which of these is not a good ingredient? These chopped onions and coriander roots can be used to make scallion oil. As for the carrots and other vegetables, they can be mashed into a puree to make vegetable soup. And these fish and chicken bones can be used to make soup and can also be used to cook dishes.
Each of these things is bought with money, so it is shameful to waste any of them. As a chef, you cannot waste these things. "
After saying that, Feng Yifan reached out and grabbed a piece of fish from the plate and quickly rinsed it with clean water.
Then use kitchen paper to absorb the moisture on the surface.
Then Feng Yifan used a flamethrower to roast the surface of the fish.
Allow some charred layer to appear on the surface of the fish.
Afterwards, Feng Yifan took all the carrots and onions from the scraps, washed them, and then threw them all into the blender and blended them into a paste.
Everything was ready, Feng Yifan put a small piece of butter in the pan.
Then pour the mashed vegetables into it, stir-fry with butter, and add water after the aroma comes out.
After boiling, chop the fish meat that was burned by the flamethrower into small pieces and put it into the vegetable soup to cook. Finally, season it and cover it to simmer.
Wait until Feng Yifan has finished stewing before opening the lid again.
Ning Cheng was surprised to smell the rich fragrance, which really made him drool instantly.
He really had no idea that a pot of fish and vegetable soup cooked with leftover ingredients would be so delicious.
Finally, Feng Yifan drizzled in some olive oil and added a little bit of leftover spice leaves.
In this way, a fish and vegetable soup is ready.
Feng Yifan held the pot and asked, "How is it? Do you still think these scraps are bad?"
Ning Cheng was completely silent. He had not yet fully understood Feng Yifan's intention, but staring at the small pot of very fragrant soup in front of him, he really couldn't help swallowing a few times.
Seeing that Ning Cheng obviously didn't understand, Feng Yifan could only shake his head and said, "Forget it. Just sort out the remaining scraps, put them all into a vacuum bag, vacuum it and put it in the refrigerator. You can continue to do your work tomorrow. When you are willing to try it, you can consider other things."
Ning Cheng wanted to say something, but Feng Yifan had already left with the pot of thick soup.
He had no choice but to start packing his things.
According to the method Feng Yifan taught him these days, he packed the various scraps into different categories, vacuumed them all and put them in the refrigerator.
While cleaning the refrigerator, Ning Cheng suddenly discovered that the scraps he had put into the refrigerator a few days ago were gone.
Thinking about his master's words again at this time, he suddenly understood something.
Looking back on these days at noon and in the evening, while everyone was discussing, someone would go out to cook every day, and it was obvious that the people who cooked were using the leftovers stored in the refrigerator.
Ning Cheng finally understood what his master meant by not wasting anything and making the best use of it.
I have been researching dishes these days and a lot of ingredients are wasted every day.
If all these scraps were thrown away, the daily loss would probably be even greater, and all of this would be a considerable expense.
But even though he understood it, Ning Cheng still didn’t know how to use these to cook
He quietly cleaned up the Su's kitchen, turned off the lights, left the kitchen, and returned to his residence in the Lin's shop next door.
As soon as I entered the room, I heard Lin Ruifeng's voice coming from upstairs: "Ning Cheng is back? Come up quickly, there are good things."
Ning Cheng looked upstairs and saw that the lights were on and there seemed to be quite a few people there.
When he went up to the second floor and opened the door, he was stunned when he saw the person in the room.
In addition to Lin Ruifeng and Ma Xiaolong who lived together, Catherine, Hans and Tom were also there, and even Chen Xu and Luo Yu were there.
Seeing Ning Cheng coming in, Lin Ruifeng said with a smile: "Come quickly, we're waiting for you."
After Ning Cheng sat down, Ma Xiaolong brought out the small pot.
"Come on, come on, this is the midnight snack that Master specially made."
When Ning Cheng saw the small pot, he was also stunned for a moment.
As soon as Ma Xiaolong opened the lid of the pot, the whole room was instantly filled with fragrance, making everyone eager to eat it.
Ma Xiaolong protected the pot and said, "Don't worry, one bowl per person, there won't be too much."
Watching Ma Xiaolong scoop out small bowls of food from the pot.
Ning Cheng hesitated for a moment but couldn't help but say: "This pot of food was just next door, I..."
Just as he said this, Lin Ruifeng rushed to ask: "Why? Did you cook this pot?"
Chen Xu immediately said, "Sure, Ning Cheng, can you make such a good fish soup?"
Luo Yu also praised: "Yes, Ning Cheng, you have this skill, you can actually discuss the dishes with us. We will help you talk to the chef tomorrow."
Seeing that everyone was praising him, Ning Cheng quickly said, "No, this pot was made by Master. I, I mean, the ingredients in this pot are actually the leftovers from everyone."
The room fell silent instantly.
Everyone looked at each other at first, and then all looked at Ning Cheng.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Ning Cheng felt a little guilty and said, "I, I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry. I ruined everyone's appetite."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Ning Cheng looked confused as he saw everyone laughing.
He didn't quite understand why everyone suddenly started laughing.
After a long while, Ma Xiaolong finally said, "What's the matter? You don't think those scraps can't be eaten? You don't think those things should be thrown away? Or used as dog food?"
As if hearing the sound from upstairs, Tiantian in the yard downstairs called out twice at a very timely moment: Woof woof.
Lin Ruifeng heard the cry and said with a smile: "Okay, Tiantian has been tempted by you, Xiaolong, don't forget to save a bite for him tonight."
Ma Xiaolong immediately cried and said, "Why me?"
Chen Xu said with a smile: "Of course it's you. Who told you to arouse my sweet cravings?"
Everyone in the room laughed.
In this joyful atmosphere, Lin Ruifeng explained to Ning Cheng: "Those scraps are clean and can of course be used to cook, but they are not easy to shape, so they may not be cooked for guests. But they can't be wasted casually. They are very good for employee meals."
Catherine also said: "That's right. In the past, when we followed the chef in the restaurant, we used it to prepare employee meals."
Hans tried hard to utter Chinese with a serious face: "No, it can't be wasted."
After listening to everyone's words, Ning Cheng couldn't help but ask: "So, are those scraps in the refrigerator actually used to make employee meals every day?"
Ma Xiaolong immediately said, "You're dreaming. With so many good ingredients, are you going to make employee meals every day? Let me tell you, many of them are used as raw materials, such as chicken bones for making soup, fish bones for making soup, and some vegetable roots for adding flavor."
Chen Xu continued, "Do you remember the chef's secret scallion oil? It's made with scallion, garlic and coriander roots."
Catherine added: "There are also some vegetable roots that can be used for seasoning. After stewing the meat, just take them all out."
Lin Ruifeng acted like a senior brother and said, "Ning Cheng, don't think that the work in the kitchen is easy. In fact, it was only after I worked with Master to run Su's for a while that I realized that every job in the kitchen is very important and every ingredient must be used to its full potential."
Hans spoke again: "No, it's a waste."
This time he spoke very convincingly.
Ma Xiaolong said at this time: "Okay, okay, let's have a midnight snack. If you don't eat this delicious midnight snack, Ning Cheng, we will share it."
After hearing this, Ning Cheng hurried forward and snatched the bowl.
Everyone burst into laughter when they saw it.
Ning Cheng held the bowl, put it to his mouth and tasted it. He instantly tasted the rich sweetness of the vegetables, the charred aroma of the fish roasted with a flamethrower, the aroma of butter, and the taste of the soup.
This is really a very delicious soup, especially drinking a bowl of it at night, it feels so comfortable.
Ning Cheng raised his head and drank the soup in the bowl in one gulp.
Even after drinking it, I had an urge to lick the bowl.
While Ning Cheng was hesitating, he heard a "slurping" sound.
When I turned around, I saw Hans and Tom were already licking it.
When Luo Yu saw the expressions of the two people, he simply covered his eyes, too embarrassed to look at them.
Chen Xu took out the bread slices and said, "Can't you do it in a civilized way? Look at you two. You have worked with chefs and worked in top restaurants."
When everyone saw the bread slices, they immediately stopped caring and grabbed a piece to start wiping the bottom of the bowl.
Seeing that everyone was wiping the bottom of their bowls, Ma Xiaolong said helplessly, "I can't help it. I have to give this half bowl to Tiantian downstairs."
Ma Xiaolong went downstairs carrying the bowl, and everyone upstairs couldn't help but burst into laughter.
But no one noticed that Ma Xiaolong took a few pieces of bread when he went out, and he went downstairs carrying the pot.
So I went downstairs and poured half the bowl for the puppy.
Ma Xiaolong quickly took the bread slices and wiped the pots and bowls on his hands clean.
After everyone had finished eating, Ning Cheng told them what happened next door. Finally, he asked very humbly, "Everyone, please give me a solution. How can I redeem the lost opportunity?"
Everyone looked at each other, and finally focused their attention on Lin Ruifeng.
After all, Lin Ruifeng is Feng Yifan's first official apprentice, so everyone thinks he can have a say with the chef.
Lin Ruifeng thought for a moment and said, "It may be difficult for you to turn the situation around now, unless you can make a meal for the staff that will satisfy the master, and you must use leftover ingredients. There is no shortcut. This is your only chance."
Everyone nodded, indicating that this should indeed be the only chance.
Although Ning Cheng was helpless, he was determined to give it a try.