The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 403: Chapter 402: Popularity Explodes

The news of Bo Ming going live to review barbecue takeout attracted widespread attention in the live streaming community.

Reporters from major online media, internet celebrities, streamers, fan groups, and even many passersby flocked to the live broadcast room.

As the nation’s top-selling master, Bo Ming had always been known for selling products live, so this was his first food review.

The novelty brought a lot of excitement and buzz.

Plus, with deliberate promotion from the studio, the popularity of the live room skyrocketed less than ten minutes after it started.

The platform specifically assigned staff to maintain the live room at all times.

On the homepage recommendation, they placed the entrance to Bo Ming’s live room in the most conspicuous position.

Since the event Bo Ming was live streaming had considerable popularity, organizers and various streamers who rushed in to gain some attention hoped to boost the event’s heat.

Although everyone had their own needs, they reached a rare consensus.

Half an hour had passed since the live streaming started.

During this half hour, the three streamers eloquently shared their experiences of exploring stores and the delicacies they had tasted during their travels.

Feng Xiaoxiao and Brother Hua gave the most profound tour introductions of seven restaurants.

While interacting with fans, they waited for the takeout to be delivered.

The head of the publicity department of the parent company that Bo Ming’s studio was affiliated with personally came to Bei’an and helped organize and plan this event.

Bo Ming is the company’s cash cow; although only affiliated, the annual affiliate fee he pays greatly alleviates the company’s financial pressure and allows for stable annual planning and arrangements.

With the chance to collaborate with a big shot like Bo Ming, the media company leaders of Feng Xiaoxiao and Brother Hua also personally attended the scene.

Both of them are the pillars of their respective companies; if tonight’s live streaming went smoothly, the popularity would surely rise to a new level.

In the media business, popularity means revenue, which is essentially money!

...

It’s 7:40 in the evening.

The kitchens of the seven restaurants receiving barbecue takeout orders were bustling.

The chefs who took the orders were the best in the restaurant, using the freshest, most authentic, and carefully processed ingredients.

They made sure that every step was done to perfection, not aiming to be the best in this barbecue takeout review, but certainly not wanting to be the worst either.

At this point, it was no longer about losing face.

It was about the store’s reputation and the impact on customer flow.

The bosses of several restaurants almost stayed in the grilling area, watching the chefs cook.

The threshold for onlookers around the grill was getting higher and higher; anyone below the lead chef had no right to watch.

Everyone in the kitchen tried to minimize noise, and even the food runners dared not shout casually.

Everyone feared that their mistake would lead to a grilling mishap and cause them to ’miss out’.

Usually, in the noisy, busy kitchen with people coming and going, around the grilling area within a three-meter radius, at least a dozen people gathered.

Each of them was a management staff member, now whispering about response strategies and the progress of the live broadcast.

Bo Ming and others sat in the live room waiting, while their company bosses and publicity planners busily handed out cue cards, searched for topics, and kept thinking of ways to engage the fans’ emotions.

Meanwhile, the fans flooding into the live room unknowingly included several real celebrities, internet stars, and entertainment media reporters.

Just the appearance of many people’s avatars and nicknames on the screen instantly triggered jubilant cheers from a large number of fans.

It can be said that Bo Ming’s live event was pushed to the peak of popularity, even the hottest male and female stars were invited over by the platform.

Some who couldn’t come personally sent their studio over to reward the live room.

For a while, the screen was flooded with various gifts, and it was hard to see the three streamers.

Unlike the oppressive or lively atmosphere of other places, the grilling area in Qianlima’s kitchen remained as usual.

Fu Yu proceeded step by step with the grilling.

Zhang Jinyu, nervously watching the live room, occasionally reported the recent progress to Fu Yu.

No restaurant’s takeout had been delivered.

It wasn’t clear if they hadn’t finished grilling or were already delivered, but they needed to wait for takeout from all seven restaurants to be evaluated together, so they weren’t served yet.

In the kitchen, Luo Rang connected with the chefs of several related barbecue restaurants in a group chat for direct communication.

Among the four linked restaurants, only one was a professional barbecue restaurant, the other three weren’t primarily in this line, and their grilled food didn’t really compare.

This way, the chefs had no worries when communicating.

But after connecting, apart from greeting each other, no one spoke.

Grilling is a very common skill not easy to shine at, and most sauces taste similar, just the same few types.

The differences among restaurants were mainly in ingredients, grilling techniques, and sauce preparation, but they generally had the same style; completely overshadowing others in this aspect was very hard.

One could say each had its own characteristics, with maybe slight differences in grilling.

In terms of grilling technique and taste, each had its strengths.

Bad, it surely wouldn’t be.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be thriving and picked for a so-called review gimmick.

Luo Rang saw the atmosphere turning dull, and being the intermediary, he knew the silence might drag on if he didn’t speak.

But time was precious now, there was no room for such delays.

So he proactively said, ”The takeout order we received is grilled lamb cartilage, which is also a specialty of our store. What about you guys?”

Upon hearing this, everyone chimed in, talking about their restaurant orders.

The chefs from the few places generally maintained contact; although they didn’t often communicate, they saw each other twice daily and chatted a bit, familiar with each other’s restaurant situations.

Moreover, Qianlima and Four Seas Banquet were the leaders among several shops. Although Luo Rang was less prestigious than Yao Shi in the circle, he was somewhat famous.

With the two of them present, others were cooperative and answered almost every question.

Compared to other stores, Qianlima’s order had relatively more dishes, 5 types of grilled dishes, 5 flavors, requiring a total of 25 dishes to be grilled.

In terms of time alone, it would take longer than the other shops.

The few chefs exchanged information about their shops and roughly estimated each place’s takeout delivery time.

Based on distance, there could be a 20-minute difference.