The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

The mutton kebabs on the charcoal fire slowly turned golden and shiny with grease.

With the high-end professional barbecue grill, there’s no need to fan the flames to control the heat, and even the placement of the charcoal briquettes requires some skill.

This special grill directs the smoke entirely downward during the barbecue process.

Fu Yu was very adept at using it.

As he monitored the grilling progress of the mutton, he continuously flipped them over.

There’s no need to sprinkle seasonings; without the decorative effect of sauces on the meat’s color, the requirement for grilling precision becomes even higher.

All four grills in the kitchen were fired up.

Master Sun personally oversaw three grills, with assistants keeping an eye on the mutton, occasionally helping to pass sauces and brush oil.

Fu Yu was responsible for grilling one portion of mutton himself, with an assistant following beside him, unable to intervene, merely watching intently from the side.

The mutton ready to be served had already been brought to the front hall, and the two food runners assigned to the barbecue area stood by anxiously waiting.

Master Sun was also very anxious inside!

But even a skilled woman can’t cook without rice; with only two hands, managing three grills simultaneously was already his limit.

He could only strive to perfectly grill all the mutton on the grills.

Although it caused some delays, at least once the dishes were served, it would be considered a job well done.

Turning to glance at Fu Yu, Master Sun felt a deep sense of appreciation.

Thankfully, Fu Yu was there today; otherwise, just grilling this one batch of fresh mutton would have taken him half a day.

After all, fresh grilling is different from stewing.

Fresh grilling requires meticulous attention to heat management, and during actual operation, one has to perform the tasks personally and can’t rely on assistants.

With this in mind, Master Sun felt a warm feeling inside and decided to find a time to invite Fu Yu out for a meal.

This young guy is worth associating with; he’s truly dependable when needed!

It’s rumored that Fu Yu was just a cook at Qianlima, and his mentor is Chef Zhao Meng.

Zhao Meng is quite famous in the circle, an old chef with rich culinary experience.

Master Sun had also heard of Zhao Meng.

Originally, he thought that working under Zhao Meng, Fu Yu was probably just an assistant responsible for odd jobs, which is why he wasn’t very proficient in instructing helpers.

However, Fu Yu had almost finished grilling the mutton and turned to say, ”Tray, place an oil-absorbing paper on it!”

Listening to Fu Yu, the assistant hurriedly turned around and began to prepare.

Seeing this, Master Sun retracted his earlier thoughts.

He continued his own work, placing the grilled mutton onto the prepared trays, which the food runners then gradually took away.

Fu Yu placed the grilled mutton onto the oil-absorbing paper before handing it over to the assistant.

The assistant quickly placed the tray on the serving counter.

Suddenly, Luo Rang suggested, ”Chef Sun, why not ask the cold section to serve another bowl of mutton soup?”

Good intentions shouldn’t be met with disdain.

Customers previously dissatisfied with the dishes were undoubtedly feeling displeased.

Offering an extra bowl of mutton soup, something not particularly rare, might ease the customer’s mood and retain a recurring customer for the restaurant.

Master Sun casually agreed, ”There’s nothing wrong with sending mutton soup, but those picky customers may not appreciate it in the end.”

Luo Rang thought the same, especially since they were unsure if the customers would be satisfied with the freshly grilled mutton; if they still found it unagreeable, then there was no point in offering extra courtesy.

As they were discussing, a waiter came over.

Hearing the talk, the waiter gossiped, ”Chef Luo, Chef Sun, you’re talking about the customers in private room 204, right?”

Luo Rang turned around, ”Hmm? What’s up?”

The waiter said, ”If it’s that customer, we don’t need to send them mutton soup.”

Luo Rang curiously asked, ”Why not?”

The waiter explained, ”I just ran into Xiaosong; she’s responsible for room 204. The customer complained that our mutton soup isn’t authentic. They said the mutton soup they’ve had before was a milky white clear soup boiled with mutton, and even if we send it, they won’t appreciate it.”

The mutton soup at Four Seas Banquet is also a specialty of the restaurant. Since they mainly serve mutton dishes, the soup is brewed with unique seasonings like fennel, making it rich and distinctive.

The waiter had a poor impression of the guests in room 204.

There had been previous complaints that required the manager to go over, apologize, and reorganize the dishes.

Now, overhearing Luo Rang and Master Sun discussing sending mutton soup to the customers, the waiter instinctively interrupted.

With such fussy customers, sending mutton soup would be wasted, and they’d probably nitpick it too.

As the waiter spoke more, they grew angrier, unable to resist reiterating what they’d heard, ”They even said they had authentic mutton soup in Inner Mongolia, with a full Mongolian meal made from the same broth, that’s what they call authentic...”

The speaker was inadvertent, while the listener was attentive.

Luo Rang had already somewhat given up the idea of sending the soup, and after hearing the waiter’s words, he wholly dismissed any such thoughts.

He looked at Master Sun, ready to greet him and then head back to the front hall with Fu Yu.

Today, he had planned to host a dinner for Fu Yu and his family, but ended up dragging him into the kitchen for half a day of work.

It wasn’t a well-handled situation.

Luo Rang felt somewhat apologetic but was very appreciative of Fu Yu’s generosity.

This young man was indeed as loyal as he had initially thought, deserving of respect.

Luo Rang was just about to speak when he heard Fu Yu say, ”Let’s still serve a bowl of mutton soup.”

Luo Rang: ”What?”

Fu Yu earnestly explained, ”I know how to make Mongolian mutton soup. When I was at the cold section earlier, I noticed you had a clear pot exclusively for boiling mutton, right?”

Luo Rang instinctively nodded, ”Yes, we do.”

At Four Seas Banquet, the mutton pot’s base broth was made with pure mutton soup, but it was enhanced with the restaurant’s secret spices, giving it a very rich flavor.

Fu Yu asked, ”Did you add seasonings to the clear pot?”

Luo Rang quickly replied, ”No, the clear pot is just plain water used for boiling mutton, with nothing added.”

Mutton, unlike other ingredients, needs to be boiled before cooking to make the meat tender.

And the reason Four Seas Banquet’s mutton is so delicious is because they don’t take shortcuts by using a pressure cooker; instead, they simmer it slowly in water.

The mutton broth produced this way is rich and pure, perfect for use as a base for the mutton pot.

Since mutton cooking requires specific processes, and the soup sold in the restaurant is the clear broth from the mutton pot, in Luo Rang’s concept, he never considered using the clear pot for mutton soup.

Fu Yu inquired of Luo Rang: ”Since the customer mentioned that authentic grilled mutton pairs with mutton soup, let’s make a serving for them.”

Like sending Buddha to the West, having already grilled the mutton, it wouldn’t hurt to make this final effort.

At least, that’s how Luo Rang understood it.

Moved and grateful, Luo Rang said, ”Alright, then thanks for your hard work.”

Master Sun, who already had a great impression of Fu Yu, felt all the more approving.

[Ding! You’ve gained 5 Favorability points from NPC Chef Luo Rang]

[Ding! You’ve gained 5 Favorability points from NPC Master Sun]