Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Time flies.

In a blink of an eye, a month passed, and Du Shaojie mastered many techniques and cooking methods of Fujian cuisine at school.

Every cuisine has its own unique features. If you don’t study them seriously, the food you make will be mediocre.

"That's it. Staying any longer is a waste of time."

Du Shaojie felt that he no longer needed to stay in school. It was not because he had completely mastered all the [Fujian cuisine], but because he had already had a holistic understanding of [Fujian cuisine].

Next, he can practice diligently in the simulated scenes, and then perfectly reproduce various classic dishes one by one.

After all, his cooking skills have reached a very high level. He can definitely apply what he has learned to other situations and will soon become a master chef of Fujian cuisine.

"Yongli, let's not go out for lunch. Go buy some vegetables and I'll cook."

After leaving the training school, Du Shaojie had a lot more free time.

While he continued to practice in simulated scenarios, he began to try it out in reality.

Wang Yongli and Zou Xiaohe were already used to his style, but Zhong Qing and Peng Yongjun were not used to it. How could a boss cook and then eat the ready-made food?

However, some things take time to get used to, and after a few days they were no longer surprised.

noon.

Du Shaojie made [Half Moon Sinking in the River], [Hakka Sashimi], [Boiled River Frog], [Drunken Spare Ribs], [Omelette Oysters], and also a dish of [Stir-fried Seasonal Vegetables].

Everyone enjoyed the meal very much. The dishes were unique and tasted really good.

However, Du Shaojie himself was not very satisfied. He could learn and practice in the simulation scene, but the dishes he made always lacked a bit of authentic flavor.

So, in the evening he went to a famous local restaurant again and ordered a few of the restaurant's specialties.

“I’ve only been exposed to [Fujian cuisine] for a short time, and many details still need to be polished.”

Du Shaojie felt that his cooking skills still had some flaws, mainly because he was too unfamiliar with Fujian cuisine and had basically had no contact with it before.

And this time he came here for this reason, to learn something unknown, which will definitely greatly improve his cooking skills.

When his cooking skills reach a higher level, he will take the [Senior Technician] exam and obtain the highest level of the profession.

It's the end of the month again.

Du Shaojie flew to Beijing and reunited with Qi Yan and his daughter for a week. After such a long period of study, his Fujian cuisine skills have improved greatly, and he is no longer completely clueless at the beginning.

When he returned to the provincial capital of Fujian Province again, he visited the local catering association.

He didn't go to the association before because there was not much point in doing so at the time. It was like an elementary school student watching high school students do their homework; there was no possibility of gaining anything.

Now that he has overcome this shortcoming, he came here under the guise of communication.

The president and vice president of the local municipal association were very polite, but the subsequent exchange activities were not satisfactory. It can be seen that the president and vice president are basically just decorations in the association, and most member units are perfunctory.

Du Shaojie sighed inwardly. He learned very little through the communication. It was the first time he encountered any setback in this regard.

"President Du, I'm really sorry, we didn't handle this matter well."

This was a popular form of exchange activity, but it was stopped after a few times because it was meaningless.

The president and vice president of the local municipal association were very embarrassed and specially invited Du Shaojie to have a meal outside.

"You two are so polite! I just wanted to see the skills of the Fujian chef. Anyway, it satisfied my curiosity. I really thank you."

Du Shaojie, you can understand other people's difficulties, but you didn't ask about the inside story.

None of the inside stories had anything to do with him, his only goal was to hone his cooking skills, not to cause trouble.

"President Du, I can't do anything if several well-known restaurants don't give us face. But if you are willing to communicate sincerely, I still have a way."

Perhaps because this incident was too embarrassing, the president took the initiative to make a suggestion.

He knew a great chef named Li Yumin, who was very knowledgeable in Fujian cuisine. However, he had a stubborn temper and offended people, so no big restaurant in the area would hire him.

Li Yumin is also a person who is very persistent in cooking. In addition to Fujian cuisine, he also likes Cantonese cuisine.

"I see. I can have a good exchange with him. He will teach me how to make classic [Fujian cuisine], and I will teach him how to make classic [Cantonese cuisine]."

Du Shaojie understood the other person's implication. Li Yumin was not easy to deal with, but he could learn from him using the principle of "equivalent exchange".

He thought this was a good idea as no one owed anyone anything, so he nodded and agreed.

The next day.

The president personally took Du Shaojie to a small restaurant in the south of the city.

The lobby of this restaurant can only accommodate 6 tables, which seems a bit crowded. Inside is the kitchen, and the entire restaurant is so small that there are no private rooms or anything.

"Master Li, let me introduce him to you. He is the president of the Yangcheng Catering Association, a cooking technician, and is good at Cantonese cuisine. He wants to systematically learn [Fujian cuisine], and is also willing to teach you the cooking techniques of [Cantonese cuisine]."

The relationship between the president and Li Yumin seemed to be good, and they talked about business as soon as they met. Li Yumin looked at Du Shaojie, and after a moment's hesitation, he shook hands with him.

"welcome!"

This man is very frugal with words, but from the look in his eyes, one can tell that he actually doesn't trust Du Shaojie's cooking skills.

After all, Du Shaojie looks very young, and his appearance alone is not convincing.

"Master Li, our line of work relies on our hands, and words alone are not enough. How about this, you and I each cook a dish? This way, we can get to know each other better."

Du Shaojie didn't waste any words. There was no point in guessing about this kind of thing, so he decided to take action and see the real result.

It can be seen that if his skills are not good enough, Li Yumin will naturally not bother to communicate. In fact, I have the same idea. Communication requires equal strength, otherwise it is not communication but one-sided guidance.

Seeing that the president did not stop him, Li Yumin smiled and nodded.

Then everyone went to the kitchen together.

It was only morning and the store was not busy. A cook and a waiter had just started work.

Li Yumin personally counted the ingredients, then turned to look at Du Shaojie and said, "These are all the ingredients for today. If you have any special needs, please let me know and I'll have someone buy them right away."

"No need, let's start now."

Du Shaojie's philosophy is to adapt to local conditions and cook whatever dishes are available without having to spend any special effort.

He planned to make a dish called "Boiled Chicken". Although this dish is a relatively common dish in Cantonese cuisine, it is quite well-known and it tests the chef's skills.

Li Yumin planned to make an Oyster Pancake, which is also a dish that looks ordinary but is not easy to make.

Next, the two of them started to work on their own without asking anyone for help.

The president stood aside and watched quietly, then he exclaimed in admiration from the bottom of his heart: "The basic skills of these two people are really good. It seems that President Du is slightly better?"

not long time.

Du Shaojie and Li Yumin prepared the [Boiled Chicken] and [Oyster Pan-Fried] respectively, and then everyone went outside with the two dishes.

The two tasted each other's dishes before the president started eating.

"President Du, you are indeed a master of Cantonese cuisine. This [Boiled Chicken] is a rare delicacy."

A smile gradually appeared on Li Yumin's face, and he couldn't help but exclaim in praise.

"Master Li, your Oyster Pancake is also very good, even better than the ones made in big restaurants."

Du Shaojie was speaking from the heart. He had been in the provincial capital for so long and had eaten this dish a lot, but no one's [Oyster Pancake] was better than Li Yumin's.

Then the two smiled at each other, both admiring each other's cooking skills.

The president also laughed. He knew that both of them had top-notch cooking skills. As the saying goes, they appreciate each other. I guess their communication will be smooth? Of course, what happened next had nothing to do with him, so he said goodbye in advance.

"President Du, if you don't mind, you can stay in my shop for a while. When you are busy, you and I can learn Fujian cuisine, and when you are free, I will learn Cantonese cuisine from you, okay?"

"Of course I can. I'm sorry to bother you."

"What kind of trouble is that? With your cooking skills, I can't even invite you. I'm almost taking advantage of you."

The two of them really lived up to the president's words and appreciated each other.

Du Shaojie stayed in the shop from that day on. Although he didn't have to do chores, he would help Li Yumin when he was busy.

Li Yumin discovered that Du Shaojie had a strong learning ability. Oftentimes, he would just watch and give Li Yumin a few pointers, and he would be able to cook dishes of very high quality.

But he was far from that. He needed Du Shaojie's repeated explanations and demonstrations of a dish before he could grasp its essence.

In fact, Du Shaojie also worked hard sometimes, but most of the time he worked hard in simulation scenarios, and others didn't know about it at all.

"Master Li, your business is so good, why don't you move to a bigger storefront?"

As time went by, the two became more and more familiar with each other and gradually became good friends.

Li Yumin is a very simple person. He is extremely obsessed with cooking and doesn't care much about other things.

Every day at mealtime, customers have to line up before they can eat. Du Shaojie couldn't help but asked a question.

"There are two reasons for this. First, I have a patient at home, and the monthly expenses are quite high, so I basically have no savings. Second, I am not very good at handling interpersonal relationships. If I open a big restaurant, I will probably go bankrupt in one or two years."

Li Yumin told the truth and had no intention of hiding anything.

Even though his shop is doing good business, that is because of his good craftsmanship and fair prices, not because he has any talent for business management.

Of course there is nothing wrong with opening a small shop, but that doesn't mean there is nothing wrong with opening a restaurant.

Du Shaojie suddenly realized what was going on, and he stopped talking about it. (End of this chapter)