The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Taking advantage of the free time in the afternoon, Fu Yu slouched in his chair, resting while taking a quick look at all the pending tasks.

I have to say, the system’s plan for him is no less comprehensive than a national plan for the next generation’s development.

From perfecting personal skills to participating in unheard-of cooking competitions, even mastering the eight major cuisines and notable regional cuisines within the country.

Besides that, there are goal progress plans for making money, and accomplishing tasks like successfully getting a girlfriend...

Fu Yu was left stunned and his imagination ran wild.

So many tasks, trying to complete them one by one is a major project!

The series of competition-related tasks can be set aside for now.

There aren’t any competitions happening recently, and he hasn’t heard of the ones on the task list.

Learning the eight major cuisines is up to chance.

On one hand, he’s too busy with work and has no time.

On the other hand, he lacks the opportunity for systematic learning, waiting for the lucky chance to get keys to a practical class.

Thinking about it this way, he suddenly felt a bit less enthusiastic!

Then there’s the plan for making money.

The first target in the task is to have a savings of one million.

Right now, he hasn’t even saved an amount missing a zero from the required task amount.

To complete the task, it seems quite a distance away for now!

Dong Jun Tian has always been a man of action.

He had already splurged on expensive barbecue equipment, so temporarily procuring some small barbecue tools for everyone to practice was not a big deal to him.

But the kitchen space really is quite cramped.

Besides the dishwashing area, prep station, and cooking station, there was basically no other area to set up a complete set of household barbecue equipment.

In the end, there was no choice but to move Li Shuli’s usual garnish station to the pastry area and set up some equipment there.

Primarily because the garnish area is conveniently next to the side street.

When it was built, the entire wall was a large window, making it easy to modify the space.

With temporary setups and moving tables and stands.

It took two whole days of fuss to finally be operational.

With the equipment ready, barbecue dishes at the restaurant were to be launched and promoted as well.

In fact, the restaurant already had quite a few specialty roasted dishes, mostly prepared using the oven.

Now, inspired by something unknown, Dong Jun Tian decided to launch a special charcoal-grilled seafood.

Yao Shi is always reliable in getting things done.

Right after the morning meeting, he arranged for the barbecue chef to come over by the afternoon.

Fu Yu met the chef face to face.

And suddenly realized.

No wonder Yao Shi specifically asked him to cooperate and learn well from the barbecue chef.

It turned out the chef was none other than the chef responsible for Peking Duck at the music restaurant, Chen Chen.

Zhao Meng also knew Chen Chen, but when Yao Shi introduced him to the kitchen staff, they both acted like it was their first meeting.

As far as acting goes, Fu Yu found himself feeling inadequate.

Yao Shi scheduled the training from 8:30 to 10 am, and 2 to 4 pm every day.

The specific number of learning days is yet to be determined.

Fu Yu had a lot of confidence in himself.

His barbecue skills are advanced, and he also possesses a heat control skill, making grilling a piece of cake for him.

But plans can’t keep up with changes.

You can’t assume everything will go well; things often turn out differently than expected.

Barbecue is indeed a profound subject.

Fu Yu could meet personal skill standards and manage heat well, but he lacked experience and practical operation in grilling.

Making delicious barbecue is not just about managing the heat; seasoning ratios and ingredient choices are equally important.

The prawns Fu Yu grilled were perfectly timed, and he used excellent techniques, even Master Chen felt he must have trained before.

But when it came to taste, there was always something slightly off.

The same prawns, Master Chen’s tasted much more flavorful.

Among those learning barbecue from Master Chen, besides Fu Yu, were Sun Qingning, Yao Yihang, and Zhang Jiaxin.

While Fu Yu was frustrated with the barbecue’s taste issue.

Yao Yihang and others were worried about heat control.

Although all are related to cooking, tossing woks and grilling are entirely different skills.

It seemed easy but was hard to execute, and an afternoon of learning left them disheartened.

Master Chen was empathetic, reassuring them.

"Barbecue is just about different foods requiring different grilling times. Master that time and match the seasoning well, and it will taste great."

"With enough practice, half a month to a month should be sufficient."

The rest of them all sighed in relief.

Yet, Fu Yu still felt a bit unsatisfied.

He had advanced barbecue skills and heat control, yet couldn’t do barbecue well?

He continued to be preoccupied afterwards.

After work in the evening.

The kitchen staff went to clock out together.

Fu Yu walked next to Zhao Meng.

As soon as they turned to the hallway leading to the foyer, Zhao Meng noticed Fu Yu had lagged behind two steps without realizing.

He paused, waiting for Fu Yu to catch up, then asked, "What are you thinking about? You seem lost."

Fu Yu sighed, "Barbecue is just too hard to learn. My prawns are cooked perfectly, I even used Master Chen’s seasoning, but they still don’t taste like his."

Zhao Meng said, "Your thinking is flawed."

Fu Yu perked up, "How so?"

Zhao Meng said, "How long has Master Chen been doing barbecue? He’s a professional. With his experience, you could give him anything, and he’d make it taste amazing."

"Forget barbecue, even on our side of the kitchen, have you seen anyone’s dishes taste exactly the same as someone else’s?"

"Same ingredients, same method, yet the taste differs—isn’t it the same logic?"

"You just need more practice! What skill can be mastered in an afternoon?"

Fu Yu was overjoyed, his worries vanished, "Exactly, I do have good heat control skills, I just need more practice! Give me some more time, and I’ll definitely master it!"

With a renewed confidence in his superior culinary skills, Fu Yu followed Zhao Meng to clock out.

But this newfound lightness didn’t last into the next morning, as he faced another round of disappointing grilled cod.

Same ingredients, same recipe, yet the grilled cod was not as good as Master Chen’s.

It was hard to pinpoint the issue, but the taste was obviously inferior.

Master Chen, however, thought Fu Yu was the most talented among those learning, grilling the best.

He even praised him in front of Yao Shi, "With Xiaofu’s learning speed, another week should be enough to graduate."

Hearing this, Fu Yu felt inexplicably guilty.