The Game of Life-Chapter 857 - 856
Chapter 857: 856
Chapter 857: 856
In name, the Swallow-wing Feast was being prepared by Yonghe House, but the result was that Lu Sheng’s guest’s residence was actually quite close to the Li Mansion—Jiang Feng felt that the straight-line distance was probably just a bit over a kilometer. You should know that this entire area is full of courtyard houses, so a bit over one kilometer can definitely be considered neighbors.
The residence was large, comprising three sections. Jiang Feng didn’t really pay attention to its specific layout, since as soon as he entered, he barely even got a clear look at the courtyard before Lu Sheng led him straight to the kitchen.
The kitchen was huge!
Extremely large, perhaps because some of the objects had been piled up in the outer courtyard, which gave the impression that the courtyard was also part of the kitchen, making an already large kitchen seem even larger.
Jiang Feng and Lu Sheng were the last to arrive; when going out to cater, it’s important to arrive early. Establishments like Yonghe House, of this caliber, would bring everything out with them, from chefs to dishes, and even kitchen and tableware—it was just short of eating the meal for the guests.
Most of Yonghe House’s chefs had arrived, with all the key personnel present except for one or two. As soon as Jiang Feng came in, he saw Master Xu directing his two disciples to wash and chop the vegetables.
On seeing Jiang Feng, Master Xu was extremely enthusiastic, speaking with a tone that carried a bit of respect, “Master Jiang, you’re here! Come and see if these ingredients are all right, if there’s any problem. The shark’s fin and abalone have all been prepared in advance.”
Being called by the title of Master made Jiang Feng feel uncomfortable. He had known Master Xu for more than a day, and during the last test a while back, Xu had addressed him by his name. Now, with the release of the “Master Chefs List,” he had become Master Jiang.
Honestly, though he felt uncomfortable, it was quite thrilling.
Jiang Feng first went to inspect the ingredients, following Master Xu’s suggestion.
The ingredients, prepared by Yonghe House, were naturally of excellent quality. The shark’s fin was top-notch Luzon yellow, which after six days of soaking and preparation, was in optimal condition. The bird’s nests were premium official bird’s nests, and none could find fault with them. Even the scallions held by the lowest-ranked lad were extremely fresh and tender, clearly just picked from the ground that very morning.
Having worked with the chefs and staff of Yonghe House for such a long time, there was no issue with tacit understanding or coordination. Both sides knew each other well and could be treated just like employees of Taifeng Building.
“Master Xu, how are we dividing the work for today’s Swallow-wing Feast? Which dishes am I responsible for, and which are you handling?” After making sure there were no problems with the ingredients, Jiang Feng began to allocate the menu.
Although there were over a dozen chefs in the courtyard, the only real cooks were Jiang Feng and Master Xu. The rest, frankly speaking, were there to assist, gain experience, and see the world. Take the junior lad for example, he didn’t even qualify to chop vegetables and was only there to wash them, yet he did so with joy, proud and honored to have this opportunity.
“I might need your help with three major dishes on my side,” Master Xu said somewhat sheepishly. “The braised shark’s fin in brown sauce, the clear soup official bird’s nest, and the abalone in oyster sauce will probably all need to be handled by you; we don’t have a problem with the other dishes.
Swallow-wing Feast, it’s clear from the name itself that the meal features bird’s nests and shark’s fin. Nominally, Yonghe House was in charge of preparing the Swallow-wing Feast, but in the end, the two most important dishes, bird’s nest and shark’s fin, were all being left to outside help. Master Xu felt so embarrassed that he wanted to find a hole and bury himself in it.
But there was no choice. The old masters at Yonghe House had skimped on their learning in the earlier years, and as a result, the Swallow-wing Feasts Yonghe had been cutting corners on for years had lacked both bird’s nest and abalone dishes. Even with shark’s fin, they had cut corners, and instead of preparing braised shark’s fin in brown sauce, they used simpler substitutes.
Now, Master Xu was dumping all these headache-inducing dishes onto Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng wasn’t angry and agreed readily, “Alright, no problem.”
“I have no issue with the braised shark’s fin in brown sauce, but for the clear soup official bird’s nest and the abalone in oyster sauce, I might need you to tell me how to make them. Otherwise, I’m afraid that the taste might turn out a bit different from the original,” Jiang Feng said, his words oozing arrogance.
The message was clear: I know how to make braised shark’s fin in brown sauce; I’m not familiar with clear soup official bird’s nest or abalone in oyster sauce, but just explain the recipes to me, and I can cook them perfectly for you in one go.
“No problem, I’ll tell you how to do it right now,” Master Xu replied, overjoyed.
Jiang Feng was a bit puzzled and asked, “You trust me this much? Aren’t you afraid I’ll mess it up? I don’t think I’ve ever cooked braised shark’s fin in brown sauce, clear soup official bird’s nest, or abalone in oyster sauce in front of you guys, have I?”
This question also stumped Master Xu, who had to think for a quite some time about why he trusted Jiang Feng so much before he stuttered out, “Because… because you are the sixth-ranked on the ‘Master Chefs List!’
Whom could he trust, if not the No. 6 chef in the Famous Chef Rankings? Could he trust himself, ranked in the forties?
Jiang Feng found himself at a loss for words.
“When is the meal to be served?” Jiang Feng walked towards the kitchen.
Braised Shark’s Fin required a superior broth, while the Clear Broth Official Bird’s Nest demanded a clear broth; both dishes had incredibly high standards for the quality of the broth. He had to check if the clear and superior broths prepared by Yonghe House met his standards.
If they didn’t meet his standards, he’d have to make them on the spot.
“The meal will be served in the evening, the specific time is not set, but it’s usually around seven o’clock,” Master Xu said.
Arriving at seven in the morning and serving the meal at seven in the evening, a full twelve hours, truly felt like the final round of a competition.
Jiang Feng nodded and went into the kitchen to check the clear and superior broths prepared by Yonghe House in advance.
He wished he hadn’t looked; upon inspection, he was far from satisfied.
They were inferior to his own.
The clear broth, being a bit more challenging than the superior broth, was personally attended to and prepared by Master Xu and was somewhat acceptable compared to the superior broth. The superior broth was prepared by Master Xu’s most trusted disciple, and second in command at Yonghe House, which was, frankly, disappointingly inadequate.
It might pass for everyday dishes, but for a grand dish that required top-quality superior broth like Braised Shark’s Fin, it was simply—
Are you worthy?
Do you even deserve to be in the same bowl as Braised Shark’s Fin?!
Jiang Feng felt that the superior broth prepared by Yonghe House wasn’t worthy of his S-grade Braised Shark’s Fin, nor was it up to the incredibly high buff of this dish.
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It could only be said that Yonghe House had not prepared a proper Braised Shark’s Fin for too many years and had forgotten what the most basic standards and requirements were.
“Master Xu, please speak to Mr. Lu and ask him to communicate with this particular guest to see if the meal could be postponed by an hour or two,” Jiang Feng said as he set his chef’s knife on the cutting board, ready to get to work.
“Ah, why should the meal be delayed by an hour or two? Is there some problem?” Master Xu had yet to realize the severity of the issue.
“The clear broth is barely acceptable, but this superior broth won’t do—it needs to be prepared fresh. If I were only making Braised Shark’s Fin, there would be plenty of time, but I’m not familiar with and haven’t made Clear Broth Official Bird’s Nest and Oyster Sauce Abalone much, so I need to practice a few times. Let Mr. Lu discuss it with the client,” Jiang Feng said.
“You want to prepare it fresh?” Master Xu was shocked. In his many years as a chef, averaging one or two catered events per year, he had never heard of needing to prepare superior broth on the spot.
“Of course.” Now Jiang Feng was truly serious.
Twelve hours to prepare fresh superior broth.
If this wasn’t akin to a final round simulation, what was?
Today, he was truly going all out.
