delicious little cook

Chapter 1 Apprentices during the probationary period

Daxia Dynasty, Yuanqi 25th year, mid-spring and March.

Northeast of the capital, Tianshuifang, Duke Ye's Mansion, East Kitchen.

The sun is shining, the spring is just right, the flowers are in full bloom, and butterflies are walking among the flowers. 24 boys and girls with an average age of twelve or three years old stand respectfully in the kitchen yard, listening to the kitchen manager Wen Gushan read one by one in his ugly voice of tobacco and alcohol. According to the ranking of each person's assessment results.

Bai Kou lowered her head and carefully counted each name in her heart. When she heard her own name, she just counted to the sixth number.

Bai Kou was finally relieved to be ranked sixth. This time the ranking was one place higher than last time, and the anxiety finally eased a little.

Wen Gushan continued to read the name, and Bai Kou also continued to count, but she stopped counting when she reached the tenth place. Those who ranked after tenth would be very difficult to advance in the next assessment, basically hopeless .

Like Bai Kou, the others are also counting their own rankings in their hearts. Those who rank higher are naturally happy in their hearts and faces, while the faces of those who are behind are all gray and their chests are stuffy. The bright spring sun shines on them. I didn't feel any warmth on my body either.

This is the second assessment for this batch of new kitchen apprentices. Duke Ye's mansion does not support idlers. After the third assessment next month, it will be the moment to decide the final fate of this group of people.

After reading the list, the chubby kitchen manager Wen Gushan rolled up the paper, then habitually pulled out the long pipe at his waist and held it in his hand.

"You are all the most outstanding apprentices in each workshop. The scores of these two assessments are actually very tight. It is really racking your brains to rate you. Next time is the last assessment. This time the top ten should work hard, don't Relax."

As soon as Wen Gushan said these words, it was as if the future of the fourteen people from No.11 to the last was pronounced, and the weeping sound could not be suppressed from the crowd.

Hearing this cry, the joy of the apprentices who were temporarily ranked in the top ten immediately disappeared.

Wen Gushan lit his pipe, ignored the wailing of the apprentices, and asked the four stewards around him to go to the pantry to rest for a while, discussing the need for replenishment of rice, oil and salt in the kitchen, so as to tell the warehouse to make preparations early.

As soon as the manager and stewards left, the 24 apprentices were divided into two distinct groups. On one side were ten people who still had hope, and on the other side were fourteen people whose future was uncertain.

Those fourteen people wiped their tears and went to the well to work with the handymen dejectedly, praying that they would have a chance to stand up in the next assessment and not be sent to a terrible place by the mansion.

As for the ten people, the men and women discussed separately, worrying about whether they would make it to the final six people in the next assessment.

Of the 24 apprentices, only six will remain in the end. This is a cruel elimination match.

"These two assessments are all about basic skills. Everyone is at the same level, and they are almost the same." Xiao Yueyue, who is the youngest, still looks like a child, pouted, looking playful and cute.

"Yeah, the basic skills are no longer comparable to tricks." Standing next to Xiao Yueyue, Mengmei, who was half a head taller than her, looked at her hands, confident that her knife skills would be fine even if she cut vegetables with her eyes closed. .

"It would be great if we could go to the stove. Let's compete with each other on the stove." Bai Kou looked at the two kitchens of the red case and the white case and said leisurely.

"Who doesn't want to go to the stove..." Wan Qiu and Lu Doudou put their heads together and sighed.

Bai Kou looked at the apprentices chatting in groups of three or four in the yard, and was very puzzled by the current arrangement of the kitchen.

Two months ago, the mansion bought 24 excellent seedlings from different chef workshops. They said they wanted to pick out the best ones to supplement the kitchen staff, but the apprentices never got a chance to cook. The two assessments are based on basic skills.

These apprentices were sold to Xuefang at the age of eight or nine. Now they are all twelve or thirteen years old, and there are even fourteen or five-year-olds. They have studied art for at least four or five years. No problem.

Spending money to buy so many apprentices, but not letting them go to the stove to try their skills, no one knows what the manager and the stewards are thinking.

Everyone was full of depression. At the front door of the kitchen, girls from various houses and courtyards brought back food boxes for afternoon snacks. They were all young girls. Apart from the necessary hairpins and hairpins, they don't have any extra jewelry. On the contrary, they show their beautiful faces and slim figures.

The handymen stepped forward to take the food boxes and took them down for disposal, and poured the leftover food into the buckets of soaking water. The apprentices couldn’t stand and watch at this time, so they hurried over to take over, took the food boxes and tableware to the well and sorted them. Ready to wash.

The girls put down their food boxes, turned around and left without saying anything to the kitchen crowd, except for a pretty girl of fourteen or fifteen years old who did not leave. She swept her eyes, and the manager and other stewards who had been resting in the tea room came out immediately .

"Oh, Miss Xiaoqian, but what is the order of the third young master?"

As the head kitchen, Wen Gushan only cooks for the old man and the old lady. Now that the old man has passed away, he only needs to serve the old lady, but he dare not neglect any order from the head room.

"Boss Wen, the young master asked who made today's jasper cake? The ingredients are wrong, it's too sweet."

"Hey, it's probably the candy from the warehouse. They seem to say that they bought the candy from another store."

"That's right, it turned out to be because of the warehouse, then forget it, I will explain to the young master when I go back."

"Thank you, Miss Xiaoqian, thank you, Miss." Wen Gushan cupped his hands in thanks, the breath and the smell of smoke on his fingers made Xiaoqian frowned slightly.

"By the way, there is another thing. The young master wants to eat barbecue at night. You should do it well. It's rare for him to say that he wants to eat something. Don't mess it up again. The eldest lady will be angry."

"Don't dare, dare not, we must do well, so as not to disappoint the young master."

"You know the young master's temperament, so I won't waste my words, so I can do it for myself."

Xiaoqian couldn't stand the smell of Wen Gushan anymore, so she turned around and left after speaking.

At the same time, without waiting for Wen Gushan's order, the four chief managers had already dispersed, each performing their own duties, and started working on the barbecue that the third young master named.

Barbecue needs to be used in the roasting room. This east kitchen compound is dedicated to cooking for the masters. In addition to the two largest kitchens, the red case and the white case, there are also many small single rooms for making special food. The cooks There is also an independent small kitchen where you can close the door and slowly ponder what secret recipes and new dishes you want to make.

In addition to roasting lamb legs and lambs in the cold season, the roasting and moxibustion room in the mansion is also responsible for making all kinds of smoked meat and roasted sausages, but in other seasons, the doors are basically locked and it is rare to use it. After the third young master said that he wanted to eat barbecue, the stewards naturally asked the handymen and apprentices to clean the small kitchen, prepare charcoal, and clean the barbecue tools.

The third young master is the eldest son of the eldest son, and now he is the grandson. When the filial piety period is over and the eldest master succeeds as he wishes, the third young master will be promoted to a new generation of eldest son at the same time. Although the East kitchen cooks for all the masters in the house, But if there is a chance, who wouldn't want to please this young master.

Especially for stewards and first-class cooks and cooks who have the right to go to the stove, if they can be promoted to chefs by any master, it will be a glorious event with a bright face.

After the apprentices finished their chores, they were kicked out of the roasting room, and they were not allowed to watch. Only a female steward named Zeng Zhu and two first-class cooks were busy inside, using complicated condiments for the third young master. Roasted a plate of savory tenderloin.

(End of this chapter)