The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

At 10:15, Fu Yu followed Yao Shi to the music restaurant.

The customers were scheduled for 11:30, having booked a small banquet. Besides roast duck, they also ordered four other specialty dishes of the restaurant.

Seeing Fu Yu tagging along, Zhang Zhen and the others didn’t think much of it, assuming he was there to do some part-time work again.

When they heard that Fu Yu would be performing a live demonstration in place of Yao Shi for the customers at noon, everyone in the kitchen was utterly shocked.

Are you kidding?

A live performance represents the face of the music restaurant!

It not only tests the chef’s culinary skills but also their ability to adapt on the spot, and they must have excellent psychological resilience.

If they mess it up, it would ruin the entire restaurant’s reputation!

But this was the boss’s decision. No matter how inappropriate others felt, they could only swallow their words back.

Fu Yu changed into the uniform and followed Yao Shi to the roasting area.

The music restaurant specializes in banquets, and roast duck is a signature dish, so the daily demand is significant.

The restaurant always conducts its roasting, which is why they specially renovated a roasting room for this purpose.

Inside, six duck ovens were operating simultaneously.

A rich aroma wafted through the air, and Fu Yu couldn’t help but swallow.

This aroma was truly enticing!

The music restaurant uses the hanging oven roasting method for their ducks.

The duck isn’t gutted; instead, a small hole is made in its body to remove the innards. Then, boiling water is poured into the duck’s belly, the hole is sealed, and it’s hung over the fire to roast.

This method prevents the duck from losing moisture while roasting and allows the skin to puff up without becoming soft.

The roasted duck’s skin is thin and crispy, becoming the tastiest part of the dish.

The hanging oven has flue holes without a door, using pear wood as fuel and roasting with an open flame.

When the fruitwood burns, it produces no smoke, with a strong base fire and a long burn time.

Once the duck is in the oven, a poking stick is used to regularly adjust its position, ensuring even heating so every part roasts properly.

The resulting duck appears full and red, with a date-like color, a crispy skin layer, a crispy exterior, and a tender interior, carrying a hint of fruitwood aroma.

Upon savoring, the taste becomes even more exquisite.

Qianlima also has roast duck, but they source it from an outside deli, reserving five a day since it’s not a specialty item, meaning few customers order it.

This was Fu Yu’s first time visiting the roasting area, and he was deeply impressed.

Chef Yao must be quite wealthy to have such a well-furnished roasting area!

Seeing the boss arrive, the chef in charge of the roasting area quickly stepped forward to greet him.

Yao Shi circled the roasting ovens twice, selected a roast duck, and instructed someone to send it to the back kitchen.

As the duck was placed on the cutting board, its fruitwood fragrance was mouth-watering.

Yao Shi picked up the specialized slicing knife and handed it to Fu Yu: ”We still have time. Practice on one duck first.”

Fu Yu took the knife, looking at the vibrant red, tender roast duck before him.

This freshly roasted duck was incomparable, next to the ones sold at Qianlima.

Yao Shi advised, ”When holding the trussing knife, pay attention to your grip. This small knife is particularly sharp. Try feeling its weight first.”

Fu Yu adjusted the duck’s position slightly, letting it rest steadily on the table.

Yao Shi said, ”First, cut off the duck’s head. The cut should be vertical, and the motion quick.”

He gestured along the duck’s neck, ”Cut from here. The length left out should be optimal and won’t damage the duck’s head.”

Fu Yu followed as instructed.

With advanced knife skills and top-notch cutting techniques, Fu Yu’s operation was smooth and practiced.

Yao Shi stepped forward to check the incision on the duck’s head.

Seeing the neat cut, he couldn’t hide his surprise, his eyes widening.

The cut had landed precisely at the duck’s neck joint, without a single bone fragment in sight.

This, how is it possible!

Yao Shi instinctively leaned in for a closer look.

Indeed, there were no bone fragments.

Yao Shi furrowed his brows, a look of confusion in his eyes.

How fast must one’s hand speed be, and how precise the force, to achieve such a result!

With the confidence Fu Yu had when cutting, seeing Yao Shi’s uncharacteristically serious expression made him feel insecure.

Is it okay?

Was the cut not right?

He merely followed the method taught by Yao Shi.

This wasn’t his first practice with slicing roast duck in the training sessions.

Although his cut was slightly lower than required in practice sessions, it shouldn’t have been so poorly executed, right?

Fu Yu cautiously asked, ”Chef Yao, was the cut not good?”

After all, when practicing slicing roast duck in training sessions, the positioning during head removal wasn’t aligned with the current precision.

But this was the spot Yao Shi designated at the time, so following his instructions shouldn’t lead to much error, should it?

Yao Shi snapped back to reality and shook his head, ”Oh, no, you did very well.”

Fu Yu sighed in relief; as long as there was no problem.

Yao Shi continued guiding: ”Lightly hold the bent section under the duck’s neck with your left hand. Start by slicing off the upper breast skin and meat in one cut. This process should be slow; follow the chest cavity and slice lightly in the middle. By this time, the duck will be separated into left and right halves, and then you cut them into thin slices.”

This time, Fu Yu performed more fluently.

Because the method was just like what he learned in training.

Having practiced it dozens, if not hundreds of times, recreating the same operation now was a no-brainer.

Yao Shi, seeing Fu Yu’s knife skills, displayed a look of approval and satisfaction.

Not bad. The angle was perfect, the speed swift, and the portions of the breast skin and meat were evenly cut, with just the right thickness.

Yao Shi, excited, spoke with an unintentionally raised voice: ”Now start slicing the right upper breast and left upper breast meat, with four to five slices each.”

Fu Yu understood that these four to five slices meant he needed to accurately assess the cutting position based on the duck’s size and fat content.

In the end, Fu Yu successfully made five cuts.

Yao Shi’s eyes were gleaming.

He directed, ”Lift the duck’s three-pronged bone with the knife tip, separate the bone from the meat along the breastbone midline toward the right. Then slice down following the order of the tilted upper breast, moving onto the thigh, and separate the leg to the tail. Follow the same method for the left half.”

Fu Yu deftly deboned the duck meat completely.

Yao Shi nodded in satisfaction and reminded, ”When slicing the duck, don’t make the slices too thick. Generally, the standard is to make 90 slices from one duck. The size should be uniform, thin but intact, with each slice including skin to ensure a crispy, tender experience when eating.”

At that, Yao Shi couldn’t help but add, ”Slicing roast duck is a skilled craft. As the saying goes, roasting contributes seventy percent, while slicing is thirty percent. The balance of skin and meat, their length, thickness, and even the number and duration of slices all have standards.”

Fu Yu, hearing this, realized that Yao Shi was imparting wisdom through practice, instantly perked up, and listened intently with focus.