The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

”Celery with preserved meat is one of the signature dishes of the Liu Family Cuisine and the only dish that has not been altered since it was handed down from the ancestors.”

”From the ingredients, the cooking, to the final plating, everything adheres to the traditional methods.”

When Liu Yunong spoke about this, her tone was filled with unmistakable pride.

Unlike those so-called chef heritages acquired halfway along in life.

The Liu Family is a legitimate, culinary god family that has been passed down in an unbroken line since Lady Liu.

Not only do they have a family cookbook passed down from the ancestors, but also ancient cooking texts passed from one generation to the next.

Since Lady Liu, they have had dozens of cookbooks and techniques passed down through the generations.

A family of such authentic chefs is rare throughout the country — probably countable on one hand.

Fu Yu nodded with admiration.

This is the depth of family heritage!

Others can only envy it but never replicate it.

Liu Yunong placed the cleaned preserved meat into the steamer.

After cooling, it was sliced thin and set aside.

The flavor and texture improve when the preserved meat is steamed before being stir-fried.

The peppers are chopped, and the celery is cleaned and cut into sections.

A small amount of lard is added to a hot wok, where the peppers, green onions, ginger, and garlic are sautéed to release their aroma.

After briefly stir-frying the preserved meat, celery is added and stir-fried a bit more, with a splash of soy sauce and white wine.

From the beginning of the stir-fry to the final plating, Liu Yunong added no extra salt.

Their homemade preserved meat is quite salty, so there’s no need to add salt to this dish.

This is a result of skilled experience, refined over time.

The amount of preserved meat to pair with the amount of celery affects the taste, and it is carefully considered.

Liu Yunong has her own unique set of methods when cooking.

She skillfully and efficiently completed the dish of celery with preserved meat, with perfect timing. The served dish featured preserved meat with red-yellow skin, waxy fat, reddish-brown meat, a balanced salty taste, rich smoked aroma, and a non-greasy flavor.

The celery was a fresh, vibrant green, accentuating the preserved meat’s bright colors.

Together, they complemented each other perfectly, in both appearance and taste.

For the final plating, an antique-style deep blue china plate was used.

The celery and preserved meat were casually placed, with the meat mixed with celery, with no other decorations.

Simple as if it were just an ordinary home-cooked dish.

Yet, such an apparently ordinary dish is priced at 588!

Might as well as rob!

This preserved meat must be coated in gold!

Fu Yu admired Liu Yunong’s marketing strategy deeply.

He was secretly marveling to himself when a digital notification tone suddenly chimed in his ear:

[Ding! Favorability with NPC Master Chef Liu Yunong +10]

Upon hearing the system notification, Fu Yu couldn’t help but look at Liu Yunong.

He saw her looking back at him with appreciation.

So it turns out favorability can be gained like this.

It seems...

He inadvertently discovered a way to boost favorability with Liu Yunong...

Feeling this, Fu Yu relaxed.

Understanding that Liu Yunong appreciates hardworking, ambitious people.

In the future, to boost favorability, he would start by learning cooking from Liu Yunong...

Yet Liu Yunong stood at the kitchen counter for another half hour and was clearly a bit fatigued.

The customer orders were completed, and everyone in the kitchen finally relaxed.

Most of the remaining orders were already fulfilled, and the guests in the dining hall were eating. The slower delivery of the last few dishes wouldn’t have much impact.

Fu Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Being able to pass Liu Yunong’s assessment and meet her standards meant his future studies would surely go more smoothly.

After all, teachers are invariably more partial to students they like and are pleased with.

Fu Yu was also extremely interested in the rich heritage of Liu Family Cuisine.

Considering his top-notch personal skills, he would surely be able to gradually master the true culinary skills passed down by Lady Liu!

Culinary arts are vast and profound skills.

To learn well and excel, it requires not only personal effort but also learning from others’ strengths to compensate for one’s weaknesses.

Learning is about slowly accumulating and gradually reaching achievements.

Liu Yunong looked at Fu Yu.

Not bad...

Very impressive...

Initially, she accepted Fu Yu as an apprentice on a whim due to her admiration for talent.

After all, the Liu Family Cuisine has always been picky about taking on apprentices.

Liu Yunong values her family’s ancestral culinary skills greatly and holds herself to very strict, almost harsh, standards.

She is dedicated to making the family name famous, so that when people nationwide think of traditional dishes or private home cooking, the first name they think of is Liu Family Cuisine.

She fears most that someone under her would tarnish the family reputation, bringing shame to Liu Family Cuisine.

So, she rarely takes on apprentices lightly.

When looking to develop the team, it’s typically handled by the senior staff training newcomers.

Initially, she did have private regret about suddenly taking Fu Yu as an apprentice.

After all, fewer complications are preferable.

You can never really know a person’s heart.

Her understanding of Fu Yu came only from shallow interactions from two encounters and indirect knowledge from others’ words.

It wasn’t enough to fully grasp someone’s nature or other personality traits.

Yet today, Fu Yu’s performance made her very satisfied.

His mastery of cooking fundamentals and flexible use of techniques showcased his talent and potential.

The more she thought about it, the more Liu Yunong felt she made a wise choice in taking an apprentice.

She even decided that tonight after going home, she would copy the videos Liu Yuqing recorded of Fu Yu’s daily cooking to properly review them.

What’s a little hardship?

If she could truly cultivate an excellent apprentice who could help her promote Liu Family Cuisine, it would be well worth it!

Even the most outstanding person, fighting alone for a long time, would feel some hardship.

Having an equally matched partner to walk shoulder to shoulder would considerably lighten her load.

If this person could be her family...

Thinking of her sister watching Fu Yu’s cooking videos to sleep every night, with that infatuated look.

Liu Yunong frowned deeply.

It’s too embarrassing to watch.

If Fu Yu was truly that excellent, able to make a name for himself in the future,

and her sister indeed liked him so much,

then...

As soon as the thought arose, she quickly dismissed it.

Future matters can be dealt with in the future.

Thinking this, Liu Yunong looked at Fu Yu and said, ”Xiaofu!”

Fu Yu turned to Liu Yunong, ”Teacher Liu?”

Liu Yunong’s gaze was complicated, but her tone was very earnest as she said, ”In the future, carefully learn to cook Liu Family Cuisine with me. Although it may not be profoundly mysterious, there are many cooking techniques you might not master even after decades of your own exploration.”

Fu Yu nodded, ”Okay, Teacher Liu.”