The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

The gathering spot was set at the people’s restaurant near the culinary school.

This restaurant used to be the student cafeteria of Third Middle School before it was outsourced.

Because it was located on Xuefu Road, offered dine-in service, and had spacious private rooms, whenever there was a group outing during school, everyone would come here.

Mainly because it was good value for money.

The same dish was much cheaper here than at other restaurants, and the portions were larger and filling. If you booked a table, you could even get a discount.

Fu Yu changed his clothes and took a taxi directly there.

He was a bit late, but no one minded as it had been a long time since their last reunion.

Seeing him arrive, everyone reacted with surprise and joy.

They were all classmates who had studied and lived together. After a year apart, except for some initial awkwardness, once the drinks flowed and the more outgoing classmates who were good at livening up the atmosphere got going, everyone quickly became familiar and close again. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Familiar surroundings, familiar dishes, and the same classmates from the school days at the table.

It had just been a year since graduation, and not much had changed for everyone; the topics were of things familiar to them, and the atmosphere at the table was warm and harmonious.

Looking at his classmates, Fu Yu felt a bit nostalgic inside.

Although it didn’t show on his face, he sincerely felt that among everyone, he was the one who had changed the most over the past year.

As everyone ate and chatted, they asked about each other’s recent situations.

Most people were still working in related occupations, either as assistants in large restaurants or as kitchen helpers in smaller places.

A few were working independently, making snacks.

One was quite successful, selling bento boxes at the gate of a tourism school. Since it wasn’t far from an agricultural school, his bento boxes were praised for their good taste and generous portions among the students.

Despite the inconspicuous appearance of the small stall, it could profit over twenty thousand in a good month.

The others listened with envy.

Learning that Fu Yu had successfully become a permanent employee at Qianlima, everyone got excited and started to cheer, no longer calling him by his name but collectively calling him Chef Fu.

Fu Yu wasn’t annoyed by the teasing and cooperatively joked along with everyone.

Their class originally had forty students, but only a dozen or so showed up today, so they requested a large private room, squeezed together, and sat down at one table.

Those who came were classmates who had stayed locally, while many had ventured to other places after graduation.

Some classmates still kept in touch; talking about them brought about a round of discussion and chit-chat.

After the meal, someone suggested going back to school for a look.

Having graduated and left for a year, seeing the places where they studied and lived before made everything seem especially dear.

A group of them impulsively bought fruit baskets and flowers to visit their teachers.

With the teacher’s help, they went to their former classroom and took a group photo as a keepsake.

The teacher took some time to catch up with them, inquiring about where everyone went over the past year and how their jobs were treating them.

Leaving the school, it seemed like the ties with the teachers also vanished, and everyone was relaxed, casually talking about their things without much reserve.

In the culinary line, it’s all about experience and background.

This group of young professionals, graduates of just a year, were barely managing to hold their ground.

Most were still struggling in the competition for regularization, while a few were considering going independent.

After all, working in a restaurant brought a lot of work, complex relationships, and low pay.

Though everyone had just graduated a year ago, at the prime age of their early twenties.

But the pressure felt after stepping into society was still very significant.

Those carefree days seemed to have flipped over completely all at once; they had more and more things on their minds, and the issues needing consideration were evidently getting more complex.

A year had passed in a flash.

Suddenly, Fu Yu realized that although everyone had undergone changes, their essence hadn’t really changed.

For instance, they’re still the same in their confusion, their passion for life, and even in being just as broke.

After the reunion, organized by Li Linfeng, they created a Bei’an class group that everyone joined.

Fu Yu took a taxi back to his dorm, finding that the group’s messages were about to explode.

Someone uploaded the group photo, and immediately there were comments and reflections from others.

Fu Yu browsed the group messages for a while, joined in the chat for a bit, then exited the interface.

He didn’t rest immediately but pulled up the barbecue video he had earlier asked Liu Yuqing to record for him.

Having decided to put his heart into this task while completing it, he naturally had to invest himself wholly in it.

Fu Yu opened the video and watched it carefully from start to finish, categorizing and summarizing some of the details in the operations.

After reaching an advanced level of grilling skills, Fu Yu’s perception and understanding of this particular skill rose accordingly.

In watching the video, his thoughts and some viewpoints started to be subtly influenced.

Even when he saw himself perform a particular operation step, what popped into his mind simultaneously was content repeated by the electronic voice in the practice classroom.

It’s just that he hadn’t paid attention at that time; now he suddenly found that those points of knowledge had long been applied by him proficiently and mastered comprehensively.

Grilling is divided into direct grilling and indirect grilling.

Direct grilling is further divided into open flame and covered flame.

The barbecue tools in use include barbecue forks, metal skewers, bamboo skewers... metal basins, disposable paper cups, barbecue tongs.

And the main types of food, the classifications of sauces, and food ingredients all have their own knowledge.

To prepare a suitable barbecue seasoning, one must consider the differences in tastes among various ingredients and the exact amount of seasoning ratios.

This is very important and very difficult as well.

Because Fu Yu hadn’t tried making the seasoning by himself.

And the recipes he knew were not original creations.

Very few people could creatively come up with a whole new secret seasoning.

First, those who can achieve this must have advanced culinary skills and profound cooking experience.

And they must also have a rich imagination and a pursuit of culinary innovation.

Creating a brand-new barbecue seasoning is very demanding on a chef, and the trial stage is extremely lengthy, leading to time and ingredient consumption.

Therefore, it’s not that ordinary chefs are quite foolish or not conscious of innovation; rather, they often are too busy dealing with heavy work to have much energy to research this matter.

By comparison, is it not delightful to directly follow the secret recipes passed down by the master or the premade seasoning methods provided by the restaurant?

Instead of painstakingly developing a new barbecue seasoning, why not directly use the readily available formulas, making it convenient and effortless?