Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 128 - 113: Hand-Caught Seafood, Dinner Feast (2)

"Hmm, as long as it's fun, you guys can go back and take a shower first. I need to research the ingredients and think about what dishes to make."

He picked up the bag and headed toward the restaurant, but the two women unexpectedly followed right behind him.

"It's okay, going back is too far, and we're super tired right now. We don't want to take another step. We'll just shower in the bathroom behind the restaurant; after all, we're at the beach."

"???"

Shower at the restaurant?

After all, being a restaurant by the beach, it certainly provides shower facilities for employees.

Although they carried bags, they looked already drenched, and it's clear the clothes inside wouldn't be spared either.

From what it sounds like, they plan to wander around the restaurant in bikinis while watching me cook and also tasting together?

Lin Chen covered his forehead and sighed helplessly in his heart.

Oh well, these kinds of things will only happen more often in the future, so better get used to it early.

Not just them, guests might show up in sexy bikinis for dining too.

Carrying the ingredients into the kitchen, he turned on the power and lights.

Brand new pots, metal trays, tongs, and even different colored Western knives and cutting boards were neatly arranged, exactly as he saw them yesterday. Clearly, the other group never came back.

He poured the live seafood into the sink, adding a bit of water to delay their dying time.

These are shallow sea species, not dying immediately upon coming ashore, unlike deep-sea species which die instantly due to pressure issues, causing abdominal organs to explode.

"These are just Cyan Rock Lobsters, a bit small, probably not local species from around here, should be imported. This one's pretty normal, a relative of the Blue Lobster family, and the weight is fine."

"Oh, there's also ribbonfish hidden underneath, didn't see it at first. But ribbonfish isn't a shallow sea species, probably imported too."

"This one... Nemo? How did they even catch this guy? Luckily, it's edible."

"There are a total of one, two, three... nine sea urchins. Judging by the color, they seem like purple urchins, which are said to be everywhere underwater, nothing new."

After recording all the seafood caught, he started checking the supplies stored in the kitchen.

Fresh ingredients are definitely lacking since the restaurant hasn't opened yet, but canned goods, dried goods, wine, and long-lasting seasonings are well stocked.

"Since Chef Raphael and Chef Marchello chose to send me here, they obviously don't want me to cook purely Western cuisine. Moreover, Chef Raphael previously told me clearly to freely make dishes with flavors from around the world."

"Which means they want me to use Western plating and global ingredients to create non-Western or fusion flavors."

"In that case... I'll have to consider the dishes based on their types and flavors."

"For appetizers and cold dishes, Great Xia will take priority. Neighboring East Asia and Southeast Asia have various options that can be considered."

"For soup dishes, emm, it'll just have to be seafood soup or lobster soup. I'll think more about the preparation."

"Main courses..."

After roughly deciding on the direction of the dishes to make later, he got up and headed out of the restaurant.

Near the restaurant entrance by the roadside is a parking lot with three vehicles resembling tourist buses, likely used to pick up and drop off diners.

The keys were in the drawer at the front desk, so he casually pocketed a set, planning to drive to buy groceries.

Honestly, after being abroad for so long, he hasn't seen a restaurant offering such comprehensive services.

It has a garden area, a beach area, private booths on the second floor, balcony rooms, shower facilities, and sightseeing cable cars. It doesn't seem like an idea a Western owner would come up with.

He's ninety percent sure in his heart that the mysterious big boss is indeed a compatriot.

Being able to establish such a large international industry chain, their age should be quite advanced, probably not below forty.

He acted quickly, and by the time he returned from the supermarket, the two girls had just finished showering, letting their wet hair blow in the sea breeze on the restaurant's second-floor balcony.

Seeing Lin Chen return, the two hurried downstairs.

"Finally starting to cook, Chef!"

"It's my first time watching a professional chef cook live from start to finish. My heart is racing."

Usually in the restaurant, while the head chef calls out orders, the waitstaff only come in to grab dishes and leave, with hardly any time to observe the kitchen situation.

Each waitstaff is responsible for at least four tables, having no extra time to slack off and daydream.

Not just Elsa, even Dais had an expression filled with anticipation.

She's bored of seeing Western dishes—they're all almost the same in restaurants, lacking interest even in eating. She just wants to see what unique surprises Lin can come up with.

"Do you know how to wash vegetables? Give me a hand, or it might take a long time before you can have dinner."

"Leave it to me, Chef. I'm a mother of three, and I'm quite skilled in basic cooking."

Dais confidently made an "OK" hand gesture, and Elsa nodded repeatedly, having evidently cooked often at home with her cherry blossom heritage.

While the two helped wash vegetables, Lin Chen grabbed the more-than-palm-sized Cyan Rock Lobster, aimed chopsticks at the small hole inside the tail, quickly poking inside back and forth, then pulled out.

The Cyan Rock Lobster initially struggled, flipping its tail, but it calmed down in the blink of an eye, a transparent stream flowed from the tail hole.

This action, known as "releasing urine," isn't actually urine but sea water stored within the lobster's body.

Whether to do this step mainly depends on the preparation method. If dismembering the lobster is involved, then it's not needed; if cooked whole, it's best to do it.

Sea water stored in the lobster's tail has a marine taste, increasing salinity, making seasoning difficult to control and possibly making picky diners feel the fishy taste wasn't removed well.

Since it takes only a few seconds to release, he always includes it to be safe when handling lobsters.

After releasing the water, only a few tiny claws of the lobster remained twitching. Holding the big head, he laid it flat on the cutting board, aiming the sharp knife tip at the connection between the shell and body, angled inward and stabbed.

"Crack"

With a crisp sound, the lobster instantly stopped moving.

Holding the head and body, he twisted them left and right, easily separating them, pulling out a long lobster vein.

The Cyan Rock Lobster lacks large pincers, mainly eaten for the tails, which are small but have firm and chewy meat with a sweet taste, suitable for any cooking style.

Being live lobsters, in restaurant terms, sashimi is indispensable.

He first used scissors to cut open the big head, threw it into water to make broth, then removed the tail meat, discarding the excess shells into the broth as well.

The originally palm-sized lobster, once dismantled, leaves only three finger-thick pieces of tail meat, slightly longer than half a palm, with crystal-clear meat reflecting an enticing crystalline sheen under the light.

The other bluish-brown one was the more common Brittany Lobster, larger, at least twice the size of the Cyan Rock Lobster, with plenty of shredded meat from the claws.

Without moving the tail, he simply handled the head, threw it into the pot, then added a sweet onion, a leek, two carrots, three celery stalks, a bit of black pepper, and bay leaves, then boiled on high heat.

Besides the lobster broth, he also did a quick breakdown of various fish species.

Slicing diagonally along the fish's neck, he ran the tip along the bone to cut out a complete half of the fish body.

Doing the same on the other side.

The remaining fish heads and bones went into another pot for fish broth.

Fillets cut from the fish couldn't be used directly; the large bones on the belly needed removing. He used his fingertip to stroke against the grain from tail to head, feeling for small bones in the meat, extracting them with tweezers.

Westerners can't stand fish heads, bones, or spines, preferring just fish meat. From this point alone, it aligns with his preference.

From a young age, he wished fish would evolve to lose their bones, making eating more enjoyable without the risk of throat discomfort.