Cooking System: Street Food Rules

In the evening, Wang Shulin hosted a dinner for Jiang Feng, who gladly accepted the invitation.

Wang Shulin was a decent person, serious about his culinary arts and enthusiastic about helping others. Of course, Jiang Feng didn't know that when Wang Shulin had been a master chef, his apprentices were often berated mercilessly. When Wang Shulin had been in charge of state banquets, he was even stricter, inspiring awe in those around him. Perhaps because he had retired and no longer had to worry about management, his temperament had mellowed to its original state. Jiang Feng was also willing to chat with him.

Wang Shulin kindly said, "With your cooking skills, you could definitely join an association. No matter which one you enter, your status would be very high. Moreover, by joining such an association, not only would you not be required to do anything, but you could also serve as a judge for culinary competitions and exchange events. With your level, being a judge would be more than sufficient. Seeing how others' dishes are, isn't that a good thing too?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Feng pondered for a moment. He had to admit, being a judge was an attractive proposition. On one hand, he could taste others' meticulously prepared dishes; on the other, he could observe the creativity of other chefs. Of course, such things weren't always straightforward; it was entirely possible for a judge to be specifically served a particularly 'authentic' serving of 'Braised Intestines in Brown Sauce,' for instance.

Jiang Feng replied, "It's mainly that I don't really enjoy socializing, especially with the internal politics of these associations. Also, I already have a lot to deal with."

Wang Shulin nodded. Typical young person's thinking. Once they get a bit older, their perspective changes. China is a society built on relationships; observing these social niceties is important. Jiang Feng wasn't entirely like that, though. After all, he owned several restaurants, which required time to manage, not to mention his many employees. Moreover, various municipal government departments and tourism boards from other regions were contacting him to organize events. Jiang Feng did, in fact, have a sizable network.

"There's a chefs' creative exchange event coming up where chefs from various places will share their culinary techniques," Wang Shulin said, stating his intention. "It's just an exchange, not a competition. On the day, everyone will prepare their dishes and present them, and a few awards will be given out later. I'm in charge of the event, and I want to invite you to be a judge. What do you think?"

Jiang Feng was not interested in competitions. After all, with different people having different tastes, it was hard to judge which of two flavorful dishes was superior. However, an exchange event sounded quite good; everyone would bring a diverse array of dishes.

"Be a judge?" Jiang Feng declined the invitation. "No thanks, I'll just go and enjoy the bustle." He had attended such events before and found them enjoyable.

"No problem," Wang Shulin said, taking a sip of tea. "Jiangyue Terrace can also send someone to participate. As far as I know, the chefs at Jiangyue Terrace are quite strong. Take your Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant, for instance. Top Cantonese chefs are relatively rare, yet you've managed to recruit so many. That's impressive. Participation would be beneficial for their development too."

Jiang Feng smiled and said, "It's up to them. If they want to go, I support it and will even reimburse them." Jiang Feng treated his employees well. If an employee sought greater development and truly had the skill, Jiang Feng would support them. As for himself, being a stable boss was enough.

Jiang Feng chatted more with Wang Shulin about industry matters, learning about the current state of the culinary world and the perspectives of top chefs from him. Listening to him was quite interesting.

「Then Jiang Feng went home to rest.」

Jiang Feng spent a week cooking at the Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant, starting with authentic Cantonese dishes for the first four days, and then began preparing imperial cuisine. Each dish he made received high praise. By the end of the week, the business of the Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant was on the right track. Jiang Feng left the Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant to visit his own Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant. He hadn't cooked there yet and couldn't play favorites. Moreover, Huaiyang Cuisine, a part of Jiangsu cuisine, was something Jiang Feng was particularly fond of. Some say that China has only four types of cuisine: Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, and Huaiyang. The status of Huaiyang Cuisine spoke for itself.

The news of Jiang Feng coming over made the staff at the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant ecstatic. After all, the restaurant had changed its sign, but the staff had hardly changed, with only a few alterations. Since the opening ceremony, Jiang Feng had not cooked at the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant. This made the employees feel like neglected stepchildren. The main reason was that Jiang Feng had been so overwhelmed by the situation at the Zhejiang Cuisine Restaurant, with fans frantically seeking him out, that he had to lay low and avoid the spotlight for a while. Things would return to normal once the fervor died down. After changing its sign, the business at the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant had improved even further. Moreover, many regular customers who returned noticed that the flavors of many dishes had become even more delicious. Upon inquiry, they learned that the head chefs had been trained by Jiang Feng, resulting in more meticulous preparation and even better flavors.

"Boss, you've finally come to our place! Many people claimed we were a fake Jiangyue Terrace!"

"How could the business be booming like this if it's fake?"

"Since Boss Jiang has never cooked here before, it's only natural that some people would have their doubts."

"I've always wanted to meet the boss but never had the chance. Now, I finally do!"

"He looks so young and handsome in person!"

As soon as Jiang Feng arrived, the restaurant's staff began to buzz with discussion. A restaurant employed a considerable number of staff, including kitchen, cleaning, finance, management, and security personnel. Every time Jiang Feng visited, the restaurant's management would gather everyone, and then ask Jiang Feng to say a few words. After all, that was normal for the boss.

"Boss, you're finally here," said Li Jiao, the manager of the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant. She was thirty-five years old and quite capable. The executive chef was Li Wenhai, one of Wang Shulin's disciples, who possessed superb culinary skills. The restaurant had been developing exceptionally well previously.

"Yes," Jiang Feng told Li Jiao. "I'll be cooking here for a week. We'll start preparing ingredients tomorrow, post the announcement, and then from the day after tomorrow, I'll be responsible for one dish each day."

Li Jiao said, "That's just great! With this, we'll definitely get more customers, and the restaurant's performance will improve. It's about time for an improvement."

Apart from the newly opened Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant, among the current four restaurants, the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant made the least profit. It wasn't that Jiangyue Terrace Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant wasn't good; on the contrary, it was actually ranked number one among Jiangsu cuisine restaurants. It was just that the other Jiangyue Terrace restaurants were doing incredibly well. The Shandong Cuisine Restaurant was a local flagship; not only was its main hall constantly busy, but even its private rooms were hard to book, with many people having to pull strings to reserve one. The Zhejiang Cuisine Restaurant was located right by West Lake, an area where operating costs were far from cheap. Many customers ordered expensive items, so their average bill was high, with a matching profit margin. The Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant was extremely popular; Jiang Feng enjoyed an excellent reputation locally, with many fans who had helped the restaurant become successful. And there was no need to elaborate on the newly opened Cantonese Cuisine Restaurant. Let's put it this way: the best Cantonese dishes use top-tier ingredients and are naturally priced high. No wonder there are so few Cantonese chefs. They are indeed very hard to train. So, its income was bound to be significant. In comparison, the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant's income was a bit less.

Jiang Feng didn't make horizontal comparisons because each restaurant was different. Moreover, the earnings of the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant were quite good. But the staff naturally made their own comparisons, especially since the dining hall managers of the several restaurants had group chats where they shared information, and Jiang Feng would occasionally assign tasks in these groups. Jiangyue Terrace had several group chats. Every restaurant had one large staff group, and during holidays and festivals, Jiang Feng would send out a flurry of red packets in them. He couldn't help it; he wasn't short of money and simply enjoyed spending it, so the staff would eagerly await these red packet grabbing sessions. Of course, the management had their own group chats too.

Afterward, both Li Jiao and Li Wenhai told Jiang Feng they hoped this month would bring even better business, more customers, and higher profits to the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant. After all, with Jiang Feng present, the income for this week was bound to be high. Jiang Feng felt very pleased to see such ambition in his staff. Since that was the case, he was also prepared to make a significant impact.

「The news that Jiang Feng was coming to the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant was out the next day.」

The restaurant's diners were overjoyed.

"Boss Jiang is finally here! I've been wanting to try his cooking; just looking at those dishes makes my mouth water."

"Yeah, I also want to taste the state banquet dishes!"

"To be honest, in all these years, he's the only top-level chef I know. I've never heard of any other chefs, no matter how skilled they might be."

"Just look at the level of the dishes he makes and how many portions he prepares. Who else can do that?"

"Some chefs get famous and jack up their prices. They sell dishes so expensive that ordinary people can't afford them."

The diners chatted about Jiang Feng. Even though Jiang Feng had never set up a stall or run a small shop in this particular area, the locals still held him in high regard. This was the unique treatment Jiang Feng enjoyed.

「Meanwhile, in the kitchen of the Jiangsu Cuisine Restaurant, Li Wenhai asked Jiang Feng what he planned to cook the next day.」

"I'll make Wensi Tofu," Jiang Feng shared his thoughts. "Among all the cuisines in China, Wensi Tofu is the one that tests a chef's knife skills the most. Then, I'll have the operations team come over and shoot a video. Jiangyue Terrace's videos need to be updated too."

"Wensi Tofu?" Li Wenhai was somewhat surprised.

Wensi Tofu is a very famous dish in Huaiyang Cuisine. The most difficult step in its preparation is slicing the tofu into threads. Wensi Tofu isn't made with ordinary firm tofu, but with extremely soft, silken tofu that falls apart with the slightest pressure. To cut such tofu into threads requires extraordinarily high knife skills from the chef. Without at least a decade of dedicated practice, it's genuinely difficult to cut such fine tofu threads. For Jiang Feng to choose to make Wensi Tofu right from the start was genuinely impressive. And judging by his demeanor, he seemed quite confident.

Jiang Feng indeed was confident. The method of making the dish was not complicated; the challenge lay in the knife skills. As long as one's knife skills were outstanding, preparing Wensi Tofu was very convenient, ensuring that every table could enjoy it. This dish could also be served at state banquets. Starting with this dish would also showcase the depth of Jiangyue Terrace's culinary expertise.