Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 85 Prove Yourself with Strength (Subscription Request)
Du Shaojie could feel the rejection from many people, but he didn't care.

I will only stay in Xijiang Hotel for two months, and then I will leave without any contact with them in the future.

"Have you taken the chef's exam?"

After Du Shaojie changed his clothes, Zhong Dexiang briefly introduced him some basic information about the restaurant and the kitchen, and then suddenly asked a question.

Nowadays, practitioners in the catering industry are also divided into different levels and need to take exams.

Since 1964, chefs (cooks, pastry chefs) have basically been divided into eight levels, from low to high: level three chef, level two chef, level one chef, special level three chef, special level two chef, special level one chef, technician, and senior technician.

Below the chef there are first-level cooks and second-level cooks, which are not counted among the chef grades.

Unlike later generations, in the 1970s there were not chef grade examinations every year, and it was a matter of luck.

"I just became a regular worker this year after being an apprentice. I am currently a first-level worker and have never taken the chef grade examination."

Du Shaojie truthfully introduced his situation. His current grade is divided according to the grades of workers in state-owned enterprises, from level one to level eight.

By analogy, the level of a special first-class chef is roughly the same as that of an eighth-level worker.

"You can't cook alone on weekdays, but you can cook staff meals or big pot dishes. How's your knife skills? Come, let's go over there, and cut some vegetables for me to see."

Zhong Dexiang is very responsible. Since the manager asked him to lead Du Shaojie, he needs to fully understand his abilities.

Du Shaojie nodded, and without saying anything, he walked over and picked up the kitchen knife to test the feel of it. Then he grabbed a cleaned green radish and started to shred it. When half of the radish was left, he started to slice it.

He stood there as if rooted to the ground, his posture impeccable.

However, he didn't do anything fancy. He just cut the vegetables in a standard way with just the right speed and strength.

At this time, the kitchen was gradually getting busy. Some people looked over here for a few times, and then stopped paying attention. Cutting vegetables, what's so good about it? It's just basic skills, right?
But Zhong Dexiang saw something different.

"Stop! That's enough."

What surprised Zhong Dexiang was that the young man's knife skills were actually very good.

In this way, he can first get familiar with the "chopping block" position and then make adjustments after some time.

"Xiao Du, you can cut vegetables for a few days. When you are not busy, you can watch me cook."

Zhong Dexiang immediately made arrangements, and Du Shaojie nodded and happily accepted the arrangements.

If you want to gain a foothold in a new place, it takes time and you also need to prove yourself with your strength.

Afterwards, Zhong Dexiang went to coordinate, and Du Shaojie stood at the third "chopping block" station. This is very different from the company canteen, which does not have such a clear division of labor and is not so strictly managed.

From the moment Du Shaojie picked up the kitchen knife, he has never been idle.

Various cut ingredients are continuously delivered to the cooking table. In addition to the usual ingredients, new ingredients are added from time to time.

This is different from the canteen. The food supply in the canteen is arranged in advance. There are only a few dishes for each meal. It is impossible to add variety at the last minute, and the quantity is also fixed.

When customers place orders for food at a restaurant, we can prepare it based on experience, but there are always unexpected changes, right?

After a busy day past noon, Du Shaojie finally put down the kitchen knife and breathed a long sigh of relief.

To be honest, the labor intensity in a restaurant is greater than in a cafeteria, but there are more people here and the division of labor is more detailed.

Zhong Dexiang was still cooking. He was making sweet and sour fish, and Du Shaojie was standing behind him watching.

The chef in charge of the waiter was in his twenties. He was a little worried that Du Shaojie had angered Master Zhong, so he kept glaring at him.

Seeing that the other party did not respond, he finally couldn't help but whispered: "You don't know any rules. If you have nothing to do, go to the side and take a rest."

"I told him to watch me cook when he's free."

Zhong Dexiang noticed this situation and said something without turning his head.

Without the chef's approval, it is not allowed to stand aside and watch others cook. If this happened before liberation, being beaten would be the lightest punishment and you would most likely be kicked out.

But if the master chef approves, it means he is willing to pass on his skills, and it is not up to others to make irresponsible remarks.

"I'm sorry, Master Zhong, I don't know."

The waiter knew it was a misunderstanding, so he quickly apologized and nodded at Du Shaojie with a smile. He had good intentions, but he ended up embarrassing himself.

Du Shaojie didn't take it to heart. There were many rules in the kitchen of a state-owned restaurant and he had to adapt to them slowly.

"dinner time"

The canteen staff only started to eat lunch after most of the diners had left.

Du Shaojie took note of this time and decided to eat more for breakfast next time, otherwise he would not be able to hold on.

"Xiao Du, Manager Cao has arranged a dormitory for you. I'll take you there. You can rest in the dormitory at noon. Of course, if you don't want to go home at night, you can stay there."

After dinner, the waiter walked up to Du Shaojie and said he would take him to the dormitory.

This man's name is Dong Jun, and he was obviously sent by Zhong Dexiang to come to him.

"Thank you, Master Dong."

Du Shaojie didn't say much and followed the other party to the dormitory.

The dormitory is a four-person room with two bunk beds. His bunk is the upper bunk on the right side of the window.

The four beds in this dormitory were full. Dong Jun also lived here, on the lower bunk. Perhaps they were all tired, and none of them had any interest in chatting, and they soon fell asleep. Du Shaojie didn't have the habit of taking a nap. He lay in bed and silently recalled the details of Zhong Dexiang's making of "Sweet and Sour Fish", and then verified them with the techniques he had mastered, and gained a lot.

Then he began to read the [Hotel Management Tutorial].

The management of the kitchen at Xijiang Hotel is very meticulous. In just half a day, Du Shaojie learned a lot. Looking back at the theory, he will naturally deepen his understanding and memory and benefit a lot.

The afternoon was filled with repetitive work again, and he didn't return home until after dark.

The time to get off work is much later than working in the cafeteria, but fortunately he doesn’t have to worry about breakfast, and the working time in the morning is also later than working in the cafeteria.

"Son, it's your first day working at Xijiang Hotel. Are you getting used to it?"

When I entered the house, Wang Yuxiu was still awake.

She was very concerned about Du Shaojie's first day at work and asked about it as soon as they met.

“It’s OK. Although it’s a little tiring, I can learn a lot.”

Du Shaojie didn't lie, he is now working with a learning attitude.

Although he cannot cook for the time being, everything has its pros and cons. This opportunity allows him to become familiar with the kitchen operations of a state-owned hotel, while also helping him to lay a more solid foundation for himself.

"That's good! You should take a shower and go to bed early. You must be tired after a busy day."

Wang Yuxiu smiled slightly and put aside the worries of the whole day.

At this time, Xiaomei and Xiaoya were washing up. After they finished washing up, they ran over to talk to their brother.

Both of them were curious about the situation in the hotel and asked a lot of questions.

It was not until Wang Yuxiu urged them to do so that they went to bed.

The next day.

Du Shaojie arrived at Xijiang Hotel on time and started a busy new day.

The repetitive work not only did not make him feel tired, but it made him more energetic. In the past, due to the limited variety of ingredients, his knife skills were more or less flawed.

Now is the perfect time to eliminate these flaws, and in this way, his knife skills will be improved to a higher level.

Zhong Dexiang saw Du Shaojie's performance.

Just because he is introverted doesn't mean he doesn't have ideas. If the other person is just here to get some experience, then he will just teach them something that will get the job done. If the other person is diligent and eager to learn, then he won't hide anything.

Now it seems that this young man is still very good.

Not only Zhong Dexiang, but also many people have changed their views on Du Shaojie as time goes by. This includes Dong Jun, who now treats Du Shaojie much better and sometimes even chats with him when he returns to the dormitory.

Dong Jun's home is not in the provincial capital. He is 26 years old and has not yet married. He lives in a dormitory all year round.

Actually, Dong Jun's appearance is OK. He can't be called handsome, but he can be called "well-proportioned". The main reason is that his family conditions are not good and he has a lot of burdens. He was a little discouraged after two people introduced him to him but they didn't work out.

"Xiao Du, let's have a couple of drinks after get off work tonight?"

It was not too busy that afternoon, so Dong Jun took the time to invite Du Shaojie.

Du Shaojie actually didn't want to agree. If he went drinking with the other party after get off work, it would be almost midnight when he got home.

However, this was the first time the other person asked, and he hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing.

As it was almost time to get off work in the evening, Manager Cao suddenly ran into the kitchen.

"There is a temporary mission. Master Zhong, Dong Jun, Xiao Wang, Xiao Li, you guys stay for a while. A leader will be coming soon, so be alert. I will give you half a day off tomorrow. As for Xiao Du."

Cao Dachuan took one last look at Du Shaojie and swallowed what he wanted to say.

"I'll stay too. There's nothing to do at home anyway."

Du Shaojie didn't want to appear too special, so he took the initiative to speak.

Manager Cao nodded, stopped talking nonsense, turned around and left the kitchen.

"Xiao Du, the manager wanted to take care of you, why did you jump out and ask to work overtime? Aren't you tired?"

Dong Jun gently poked Du Shaojie's arm and said with a smile.

Du Shaojie was a little speechless. After getting to know him, he found out that this guy was a big mouth and dared to say anything.

"Go wash your faces and get moving."

Zhong Dexiang shouted, and the people who stayed behind dispersed.

Take advantage of this little time now to go to the toilet, otherwise you won’t even have time to go when you’re busy.

Later, Manager Cao sent over the menu, and Zhong Dexiang asked everyone to start preparing the food. Fortunately, there were no special dishes, otherwise it would be troublesome.

Some ingredients need to be processed in advance. For example, some dried goods require a long soaking time and need to be prepared at least one day in advance.

Du Shaojie was still responsible for the "chopping board", Dong Jun was responsible for the "cooking table", the other two were responsible for the "water table" and miscellaneous tasks, and Zhong Fuxiang was alone in charge of the "stove" and "steamer".

Several people were busy, each doing their own job.

(End of this chapter)