The story of a cook

Chapter 80 Prepare in advance
In the first week of opening, the restaurant was very busy and business was booming.

The best seller is Korean BBQ, which is sold out every day.After get off work in the evening, I would go to Sister Jin to help her after finishing my work. I helped her cut beef and mutton, clean up squid and ink fountains, and sometimes helped her pick wolfberry.

Aunt Wang's pastry is better, she is not too busy, sometimes she will help Aunt Wang make dumplings after helping Sister Jin finish her work.There are only three varieties of staple food, dumplings, Jingdong meat pies and hand-rolled noodles.Aunt Wang is a home-cooked noodle maker, and the hand-rolled noodles she makes are very delicious. Sometimes she will roll out more noodles for guests and save them for me to eat.

Master Huang is worthy of being an experienced chef. He cooks dishes very well, especially some old dishes are very authentic.For example, pork tenderloin, pot-packed pork, ground three delicacies, shredded pork with Beijing sauce, etc., are cooked well and taste very good, and they smell delicious even without eating.

Guests also generally commented that the dishes made by Master Huang are delicious and authentic, and some guests will pack a plate to take home after eating a plate.

I admire Master Huang's craftsmanship.Give him the side dishes very carefully, I'm afraid something went wrong.As a master chef, Master Huang is also very kind. He has no airs in the kitchen and does everything. The first thing he does every day is to help me sharpen my kitchen knife.

I was a little embarrassed and said, "Master Huang, I can grind it myself."

"It's okay, you do what you do, I'll sharpen it, if you don't sharpen the knife quickly, the master will sharpen it for you."

Master Huang was sharpening the knife on the side, and I was working on the side. Every time he finished sharpening the knife, he would stand up the edge of the knife, take a look with his eyes, and after looking at it, he said: "You don't need to look at the knife, it all depends on sweat. Sharpening a knife is also physical strength. You have to grind until you sweat all over your body before the knife can be said to be sharpened."

Then he gave me the sharpened knife and said, "Try it and see if it's fast."

The knife sharpened by Master Huang is very good and can be used for a day.When I sharpen the knife, I only use one mouthful, and I have to sharpen it at the next mouthful.Seeing Master Huang sharpening my knives, and the cutting board serving Master Guan’s dishes, I said, “Master Huang, help me sharpen my knives too.”

Master Huang said: "Go to you, Master Guan, and ask me to sharpen the knife, and you can say it."

When there is nothing to do, Master Huang will explain the dishes to me. The dishes he tells are not a single dish, but from raw materials to seasonings, from the first cooking of the dishes to the shape of the dishes, all of which are detailed and meticulous.The talk is accompanied by his own body language, which is very vivid. When he finishes talking about a dish, he will have the desire to eat it immediately.After listening to Master Huang's talk about a dish, I will associate it with other dishes through this dish. This is what people often say "Yi Li Tong, Bai Li Rong".

He told me what pork is.

"Pork is sweet and salty in nature, rich in protein and fat, carbohydrates, and nutrients such as calcium and iron."

Hearing this, I was a little confused, so I asked, "Master Huang, do we chefs need to know more about cooking?"

Master Huang said: "It's not necessary to know everything, but it's good to know some. Do you know why our Chinese chef didn't win the World Chef Competition?"

I shook my head and said, "I don't know."

"It's just that our chefs don't know the composition of raw materials and the combination of nutrients. The dishes we cook are delicious, but they also lose a lot of nutrients." Master Huang said: "No matter what dishes we cook, we must first know what the dishes are. It is for people to eat, not for people to see. No matter how beautiful the dishes are, it is useless if they are not delicious. In addition, it is not enough to eat delicious food. It must also be nutritious. Originally, I gave you a piece of meat, which contains a lot of nutrition. Once you cook all the nutrients, it’s not useless. Do you know? A chef is a nutritionist at the end. When cooking, you must not only know how to mix meat and vegetables, but also know how not to lose all nutrients. cooking."

Master Huang told me about the division of pork, what each part is made of, what parts are best for cooking, and how to use them.For example, the outer loin of pork has tender fibers and tender meat, so it is better to make sliced ​​meat. The dish "slippery pork slices" made with the outer loin is more famous and suitable for all ages.Cut the outer tenderloin into willow leaves with a length of [-] cm, put it in the freezer to keep fresh and drain the acid for two hours, then take it out and add it to the bottom, lightly coat with egg white, and gently push and slide in the [-]% hot oil pan Cooked, remember not to slip too old, to ensure the tenderness of the meat slices when the meat slices are mature, the smooth meat slices should be white, tender, tender and trembling.

Then take off the pan and drop the oil, put chopped green onion and minced ginger into the pan, let the aroma come out, add the auxiliary materials: sliced ​​bamboo shoots, sliced ​​mushrooms, four or five slices of green and red peppers, add half a spoonful of old soup, and gently push the slippery sliced ​​meat Put it into the pot, add salt and chicken essence, cook on low heat, wait for the meat slices to taste, start to collect the juice over medium heat, pour over the gravy, the gravy is smooth, pour a little sesame oil, a little three-in-one oil, and put it on a plate.At this time, the slippery meat slices are finished.The meat slices are white and tender, the mushrooms are slightly fragrant, and a few slices of green and red peppers are added for color. I like it and have an appetite.A slice of meat is trembling, smooth and refreshing in the mouth, with the aroma of meat, very soft and tender, and rich in nutrition at the same time. This is the "slippery meat slice".

When Master Huang finished talking about the slippery pork slices, I wanted to make a plate right away.

Master Huang said: "This is a kung fu dish. Many young chefs can't do it well. When I have time, I will make it for you. You will know after you try it."

"I'll try it when the time comes," I said.

Listening to Master Huang's lectures brought me to another level of chefs, and I have a much better understanding of chefs. Chefs still have a lot to pay attention to in order to make a dish.

So study more seriously.

One week after opening, the restaurant gradually stabilized and began to enter a stable state. In addition to being full of customers every day, there will be waiting for seats on Saturdays and Sundays.

All employees are also familiar with their own jobs, and they are not as busy as they were in the first few days, and they have become orderly and orderly.

In addition to doing my own work every day, I used to help Sister Jin cut the meat, help Aunt Wang make dumplings, and sometimes help the elder sister wash the dishes when there are too many tableware.

The eldest sister who washes dishes is a 40-year-old middle-aged woman, surnamed Zhang, who lives near the provincial capital. She divorced because of emotional discord and left the house by herself.There is also a younger brother and an old father in her natal family who did not mention her daughter-in-law.After the divorce, I worked outside to support myself, and I went home to have a look during the Chinese New Year.She has two sons, both of whom belong to the husband. The older one goes to junior high school and the younger one goes to elementary school.Sometimes when the elder sister misses the child, she just sits there and sheds tears, looking very pitiful.

The eldest sister is never idle all day, she does all kinds of work, and she can help with any job. If she can't do anything else, she helps to get some things, and sometimes helps to pass the dishes.The employees in the front and back all like the eldest sister and are willing to chat with her.

Master Guan was found by Manager Chen in front of him, and he has a better relationship with Manager Chen. Sometimes, when there is any problem with the dishes, Manager Chen will directly ask Master Guan to solve it. If Master Guan can solve it directly, he will solve it directly. .

Under normal circumstances, if there is a problem with the dishes, you have to go to Master Chef Huang to solve it, but Manager Chen does not go to Master Huang, but directly to Master Guan to solve it.Master Huang is not angry either, what should he do, in his words, he is young and ignorant, and sooner or later he will suffer.

Manager Chen wanted Master Guan to be the head chef, because Master Guan was the one she recruited. If Master Guan became the head chef, then Manager Chen would have the final say, which would be beneficial to him.It is not difficult to see that Manager Chen is a woman with a strong desire for power. She wants to control the entire management of the hotel.

I seldom go to the front desk. It has been open for more than ten days, and I don’t even know how many waiters are in front of it. The one I am familiar with is my fellow greeter Li Yan.Li Yan is tall, 1.7 meters two, has a good figure and looks pretty.Putting on a red cheongsam and standing at the door is really attractive.There was another person welcoming guests with her, also 1.7 meters tall, but average in appearance, and spoke in a childish voice.

Li Yan's partner is a chef, who cooks in other restaurants, and asked her why she doesn't work in her target restaurant, she said that her partner's restaurant is small, and the salary of a waiter is low, and she doesn't earn as much as a welcome guest here, and she wants to earn more money It's better to keep it for marriage.I thought to myself that the girls in my hometown would live a good life, and whoever married would be regarded as a high incense.

Every day I am the last one to leave the kitchen.Come out of the kitchen and come to the front desk. If the waiter will send the waiter back to the dormitory after get off work, every time I send the waiter, I will see Mr. Gao, who raises seafood, sending the bar home. The bar at this time is not the old sister Zhang, but a newcomer.Brother Gao said that the counter is his relative.

One day Huang Ping said to me: "Tan Zi, look at you, Brother Gao, you have had sex with the bar counter in just a few days. There are so many waiters in front of you, and you haven't even got a date with one of them. You are really screwed."

"Isn't the counter a relative of Brother Gao's family?" I asked.

"It's not a relative, it's nothing, you believe what he says, you're quite affordable." Huang Ping said, "It's not a relative, it's the two of them who came here to know each other, and send them home every day, and when they show their feelings, it's just You're in love. I think you also sent the waiter back to the dormitory, so why didn't you show your affection?"

I just smiled: "Second sister-in-law, I can't do it, I'm not as good as my brother Gao."

Huang Ping said: "You know how to work, and if you do any more, you'd be a fool. I'll take a look ahead and tell you which one is right for you."

I hurriedly said, "Don't, there's no lady boss to protect the matchmaker, I'd better take it easy on my own."

Huang Ping looked at me and said, "You have to live for 800 years."

Then he laughed.

I said, "I'm busy in the back kitchen all day long, and I don't touch the waiters, so I don't have time to date."

Huang Ping said: "What's more, your brother Gao told your second brother several times that he didn't want to buy vegetables when he got up. If you don’t buy food, you will quit the bar.”

I just laughed and said, "I really don't have time to buy groceries right now, the kitchen is enough for me to keep busy."

"Yes, I won't let you buy vegetables. First, your brother Gao will buy them, and you will get used to it after two days." Huang Ping then said to me: "By the way, Tan Zi, you should watch in the kitchen. Yesterday your second brother and Chen The manager had some conflicts, Manager Chen and Master Guan may have to leave, don’t leave together by then, we should have no chef.”

I don't know anything about what Huang Ping said, and if it's true what she said, it will be a little troublesome.Master Guan was found by Manager Chen. If Manager Chen leaves, Master Guan will also leave, and the cold dish master and cutting board brought by Master Guan will also leave. Half of the fans will be missing in the kitchen. Plan early.

Working in a restaurant is like that. If someone hired someone, the person who hired someone left and stopped working in this restaurant, then the person he hired will also quit. This is an unwritten rule, and it is still like this now. Things happen, but very few.

I also know a lot of chef friends now, and it is not a problem to find two chefs.I called Master Chen and told him about the situation here. Master Chen said that it was all right. It happened that one of his senior brothers came down. When his senior brother went to his restaurant to cook, he came to help.

I called the fourth child again, and the fourth child said that there happened to be a cutting board looking for work, so he introduced the cutting board first.

The chopping board's surname is Zhan, and his name is Zhan Ze. He is a nice guy, and he works very quickly. He became familiar with the kitchen work within a few days.

That is, the week that Huang Ping and I finished talking about, the NO.15 of that month, the day when the salary was paid, after the salary was paid, Manager Chen and Master Guan, as well as the cutting boards and cold dishes brought by Master Guan, the four of them went out that night. quit.I contacted Master Chen, and Master Chen said that he would come to help with cold dishes the next day.

The next day, Master Chen came over with the cold dish master, and the restaurant opened as usual.

(End of this chapter)