The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Pang Bowen was driving while chatting casually with Fu Yu.

After these two encounters, he had gained some understanding of the young man beside him.

Young, handsome, talented, hardworking, good-natured — it was evident he had a good upbringing.

Although he heard that Fu Yu came from a small county, his family was harmonious, his parents were kind, and Fu Yu himself was very capable.

The future prospects are limitless!

The more Pang Bowen observed Fu Yu, the more he appreciated and was satisfied with him.

They were chatting intermittently when Pang Bowen suddenly remembered the protective demeanor Zhao Meng had towards Fu Yu at Qianlima Restaurant.

Unable to resist his curiosity, he asked, ”Xiaofu, is Chef Zhao your mentor? I noticed he seems to look out for you often.”

Mentioning Zhao Meng, Fu Yu’s face immediately broke into a smile, ”Yes, in my heart, he’s like a mentor to me. When I just graduated and started in the kitchen, I worked under him.”

Pang Bowen joked, ”Chef Zhao doesn’t seem like the type who wants to take on apprentices. From what I see, he only treats you particularly well.”

Fu Yu laughed upon hearing this, ”That’s true. Actually, when I first entered the kitchen, Chef Zhao treated me the same as everyone else.”

Pang Bowen heard this and said, ”Oh, what’s the story behind that?”

Fu Yu couldn’t help but recall those early days and chuckled, ”It’s really nothing major. When I just graduated, I felt uncertain, so I thought hard work could make up for my shortcomings — to learn and practice more...”

”But the restaurant was always busy, and there wasn’t much opportunity to practice during the day, so I sneaked into the kitchen at night after work to practice...”

...

A year ago.

Head Chef Zhao Meng noticed that his kitchen station had been unusually clean these past few days.

Take the stainless steel countertop for chopping vegetables, for example. Usually, because closing hours were late, the cleaning staff would do a cursory job, finishing up thoroughly the next morning.

But lately, he noticed that the cleaning step at his station seemed to be skipped, whereas everything at Gu Yunwu’s side remained the same.

It seemed as though someone had been cleaning while everyone else was resting.

That day, he made a mental note and decided to surprise the kitchen after closing hours.

The restaurant closed promptly at 10:30, and usually, there wasn’t much activity in the dorm area by 11:00 PM.

However, when he made his way to the kitchen, sure enough, the lights were on inside.

He quietly approached and saw Fu Yu in his chef’s uniform, intently carving a radish at the kitchen station.

At that time, the restaurant’s air conditioning had long been turned off, making the kitchen feel like a steamer. Fu Yu’s face was flushed with heat; his pace was slow, and his movements were a bit clumsy, but his focus was unwavering, completely unaware of someone behind him.

”What’s the point of practicing this? Have you mastered chopping, slicing, and dicing?”

The sudden voice startled Fu Yu, and he nearly dropped his knife.

”Chef Zhao...”

Zhao Meng, already a man with a stern expression, appeared even more intimidating with his serious demeanor.

Fu Yu had a mix of respect and fear for Zhao Meng, mainly because Zhao was normally tight-lipped and strict with the junior cooks, making them work efficiently without any slack.

Zhao Meng stood by the kitchen station, glanced at the ingredients and tools laid out.

Fu Yu hastily put down his tools, ”Chef Zhao, I just came over to practice on my own; all these ingredients are bought by me, nothing from the store’s supplies.”

Zhao Meng glanced down, seeing it was a carving from one of the restaurant’s best-selling dishes, usually used as a decorative garnish.

He looked back at Fu Yu, who was sweating profusely.

”Why is it so hot and no fan is on?”

The kitchen had no air conditioning, but there was a large ceiling fan, which although not very strong, was better than nothing.

Fu Yu confessed honestly, ”To save electricity.”

During school, the dorm’s utility expenses were self-funded, so he was very frugal in this regard.

Zhao Meng nodded slightly, ”You’re quite mindful. Where did you learn this carving technique?”

”From you. I watched you plate dishes several times and practiced on my own.”

Zhao Meng gave a slight chuckle, ”Have you practiced making crisscrossed cucumber slices before?”

Fu Yu looked at Zhao Meng and nodded.

Zhao Meng instructed, ”Alright, cut one for me to see.”

Fu Yu scrutinized Zhao Meng’s expression to ensure he wasn’t joking and then admitted, ”When I went to the supermarket at noon, the cucumbers weren’t fresh, so I didn’t buy any.”

Casually, Zhao Meng pulled out a set of keys and tossed them onto the kitchen table, ”Go fetch one yourself.”

Heeding the command, Fu Yu took the keys to the storeroom and obediently fetched a cucumber.

After washing it clean, he returned to the kitchen station to start cutting the cucumber.

The challenge of this dish was achieving a fast cutting speed without slicing through the cucumber entirely.

The cuts needed to be thin and even, using a very challenging oblique cutting technique that required considerable effort to master.

Fu Yu took a deep breath, placing the cucumber onto the board.

Positioning the cucumber lengthwise, he made 45-degree incisions at regular intervals.

With each cut spaced 0.2cm apart, he lifted the back of the knife slightly, allowing only the tip of the knife to lightly touch the board without slicing through the cucumber.

After finishing one side, he flipped it to the cut side down and continued to make vertical cuts along the length, similar to before, not cutting through.

During Fu Yu’s meticulous process, Zhao Meng closely observed his actions.

Being a recent culinary school graduate, he had little real kitchen experience.

Even for a simple crisscrossed cucumber slice, he used the most basic method.

However...

The method might have been basic, but it was executed smoothly, completing within two minutes successfully.

Zhao Meng didn’t need to lift it to assess; with his keen eye, he could tell the cucumber was cut to standard.

It was basic but effective, not particularly slim but evenly cut, importantly, with no cut-through points.

Considering Fu Yu’s experience level, achieving this standard was commendable.

Clearly, this young man had put in a substantial amount of dedicated effort.

Zhao Meng couldn’t help but take another glance at Fu Yu.

Not bad, kid.

Zhao Meng raised an eyebrow and asked, ”Did you practice this while you were in school?”

”We learned this dish in school, but it wasn’t part of the exams, just something we practiced in class.”

”Class practice allowed you to reach this level?”

”I spent extra-curricular time practicing as well when I was in school.”

Back when he was in school, teachers often guided him on knife skills, albeit simple techniques.

Moreover, the class time was short, with little time left for practice after demonstrations.

He relied on self-discipline during free time to improve himself.

As the saying goes, ’Three years of chopping before mastering the craft’, knife skills aren’t acquired overnight.

For someone like him, a recent catering school graduate and kitchen apprentice, attaining his current skill level showed he had indeed worked diligently.