The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

After clocking in on Monday, Zhao Meng gave Fu Yu a couple of instructions, and then quickly followed Yao Shi and Gu Yunwu to the meeting room for a conference.

The boss, Dong Jun Tian, rarely held meetings unless there was something to announce or a situation to summarize. That’s when he would gather a few key managers to discuss matters together.

This time, it was because the kitchen had just undergone an order-taking restructuring, and Dong Jun Tian wanted to understand the results of this initiative.

Yao Shi made a brief introduction, then naturally passed the topic to Zhao Meng.

So, Zhao Meng began to report on the work situation in his section after the kitchen started taking orders separately.

He spoke in detail, and everyone present listened quietly.

During the report, Gu Yunwu suddenly interrupted Zhao Meng: ”Chef Zhao, your report only picks out the nice-sounding bits. It’s a bit pointless!”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone turned to look.

Gu Yunwu said, ”Everyone knows what’s been going on in the kitchen these days! You’re overloading on orders, only attending to your regular customers, and as a result, the rest have all been transferred to me—this cannot go on!”

Zhao Meng: ”It really was a coincidence these past two days, with all the customers coming in just for me. But except for the day before yesterday, I haven’t participated in rotational orders at night, and since then, we’ve returned to normal.”

Gu Yunwu, hearing Zhao Meng’s stubborn refusal to admit that his side was almost unable to handle the orders, scoffed internally.

Won’t admit it, huh?

Gu Yunwu got straight to the point: ”I’ve already heard, you’ve accepted five orders again today, and that’s not including any bookings that might come up in the morning. Even if it’s not a big party, each table will have six or eight dishes, so these five orders are thirty-some dishes altogether. With just yourself to handle, even if you don’t stop, how can you ensure timely serving?”

In fact, Gu Yunwu has been very busy these days too.

Although he hadn’t received many orders, after Zhao Meng suddenly proposed not participating in the rotational orders, he handled the evening’s orders by himself first, then started sharing orders with Yao Yihang.

Even if he took two fewer dishes each time, the good business and large order volume were unstoppable!

Every day he was so busy his feet hardly touched the ground, leaving him no time to pay attention to Zhao Meng’s situation.

Especially now that even Yao Shi had started to stay in the kitchen to help, which made him feel more at ease.

Since the day before yesterday, Zhao Meng indeed returned to normal order rotation.

Gu Yunwu had been a bit worried, but then saw that Fu Yu started taking turns with Sun Qingning to manage the stoves, clearly indicating they were under strain.

In such a situation, Zhao Meng was definitely also swamped.

Gu Yunwu was quite confident in his assumptions, speaking with assurance.

Zhao Meng, however, was taken aback by what he heard.

They indeed took five orders over there, but one of them was actually intended for Fu Yu, a dinner for two, with only four dishes ordered.

The other four consisted of two large parties and two small ones, perfectly distributed with two in the afternoon and two in the evening.

The problem was that even on a good day, he could occasionally reach such levels...

Zhao Meng explained: ”Indeed! I was just about to report that these past few days, we’ve had nearly thirty tables of customers, all coming specifically for me, but... we’ve successfully completed all the tables.”

Gu Yunwu chuckled: ”With so many tables of guests, that’s almost ten tables a day, and it seems they’re all big parties, no? Chef Zhao, you don’t find that challenging?”

”From what I know, although Fu Yu is officially on board, when he cooks solo, you pick the simpler dishes for him, and you always take on more work yourself, right? Even if you’re capable, one person holding onto all these orders could take its toll.”

”Since you can’t manage such a high volume of orders, why not take some time to train new helpers? After all, delays in serving aren’t favorable for retaining customers, and it’s not good for your own health either!”

”Therefore, I think Chef Zhao should reconsider the distribution of personnel work arrangements, mobilizing everyone to serve their roles!”

”I’ll definitely cooperate with the order rotations, but sometimes, with a lot of orders in hand, I might also be overwhelmed. Actually, Chef Zhao could consider my suggestion since our kitchen mainly relies on the two of us working with Chef Yao!”

Everyone present was shocked!

The discord between Zhao Meng and Gu Yunwu had been almost publicized.

Aside from the new employees, everyone else knew about it.

But right now, what’s with Chef Gu?

Actually suggesting a staff management plan for Chef Zhao?

Truly astonishing!

Under the surprised and dubious gazes of those around them,

Yao Shi and Zhao Meng exchanged a glance and understood!

Gu Yunwu portraying Zhao Meng’s situation so pitifully was merely hinting to everyone that Zhao Meng is now too busy to cope.

When the provincial TV station comes to interview, Zhao Meng won’t even have time to handle orders, let alone participate in any interview activities.

Ultimately, it’s all about competing for this opportunity to appear on TV!

Don’t underestimate this interview.

Having a TV appearance, getting some screen time in front of the province’s audience, can definitely offer more publicity than just cooking with your head down, relying solely on skill to attract customers!

When more customers come because of your reputation, your fame naturally grows as well.

A rising tide lifts all boats!

With recognition and indeed exquisite culinary skills,

whether it’s advancing to head chef or getting a pay raise with bonuses, it’s basically in the bag.

This interview opportunity holds immense potential benefits for them!

Zhao Meng couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.

He looked at Gu Yunwu and said: ”Lao Gu, I didn’t expect you to be quite concerned about me. In that case, let me share the details of my work since the kitchen started taking separate orders.”

”Over the past week, we’ve had more than sixty tables of customers coming specifically for me. It averages to about ten tables a day...”

As Zhao Meng spoke, everyone present was astonished!

Sixty-plus tables of orders in a week!

It shows Zhao Meng’s status in the eyes of customers!

Being recognized by customers is proof that Zhao Meng indeed possesses superb culinary skills.

Ignoring the benefits Zhao Meng brings to the restaurant, just looking at the number of customer visits, this is an extraordinary achievement in any kitchen!

Zhao Meng couldn’t hide his pride and said: ”Facing such a large number of orders, we not only completed all the tables successfully, but also ensured customers left satisfied...”

Upon hearing this, Yao Shi nodded in approval.

Well said!