The story of a cook

Chapter 220 Meeting Zhou Xiaomei for the First Time

When I arrived at the Vesley Hotel at 09:30 in the morning, the big brother who washed the dishes in the kitchen came, and the others hadn't arrived yet.

Chat with my brother for a while.The eldest brother, surnamed Wang, lives nearby. He is a laid-off worker. He is 40 years old and has been washing dishes here for ten months.

The eldest brother said that the restaurant is not busy now, and there are only more than ten tables of customers a day, and it is better on Saturdays and Sundays.

I asked my elder brother if the business is not good and the salary can be opened on time?The eldest brother said that the wages are opened on time, the restaurant is owned by the public, and there is no wage arrears. If it weren't for the fact that the wages were paid on time, he would have quit.

The eldest brother speaks very honestly, and he seems to be a practical person. He told me to work honestly when working here, and talk less. The relationship here is complicated, so don’t say anything if you look at it.At the same time, tell me that Chef Wang and Manager Feng should not be offended. They all have backgrounds and cannot be offended.The people who told me to work here are smart. If they say something wrong, it will soon be heard by the leaders.

Thank you for the reminder bro.It is the first time to work in a public restaurant. From what my elder brother said, it seems that it is different from working in a private social restaurant. Here, I pay more attention to some interpersonal relationships.Looking back, it’s nothing. We just cook and work, and there’s nothing else.

When it was almost ten o'clock, Chef Wang came and greeted me enthusiastically. Zhao Gang, who ordered cold dishes, found me a work uniform, and then led me to the front for breakfast.There were not many people eating breakfast. I, Chef Wang, the cold dish master, the noodle boy, and the dishwashing brother. There were three waiters and two passersby eating at the front desk. I didn't see Zhou Xiaomei, so I guess it was the night shift again.

When I came to the kitchen after breakfast, the raw materials had already returned, and I helped the chopping board to collect the raw materials.

Chef Wang went to the front to discuss the matter with Manager Feng, and the chopping boy and I were left in the hot dishes kitchen. I asked him if there was anything he needed to prepare, and wanted to help prepare it.The cutting board boy said that there is nothing to prepare, and he can do it by himself.It’s okay to stay, so I help the cutting board to pick the vegetables, then wash and put them away, watching the cutting board boy shredded the meat, and the frozen squid soaked in the pool, I went to start cleaning the squid.

Seeing me tidying up the squid chopping board, the younger brother hurried over and said, "Master, how can you do this job? I can do it myself. I will come and tidy up after I cut the shredded meat. You can go over there and rest for a while."

I smiled at him and said, "It's okay, you do your own thing, it's okay if you're idle, I'll just clean it up."

Seeing that I was determined to clean up, the cutting board boy smiled embarrassedly and went back to continue cutting the shredded pork.I started to clean up the squid, and after finishing the squid, I saw that the cooking ingredients hadn’t been cut yet, so I started to cut the small ingredients. After cutting the small ingredients, Chef Wang came back from the front.

Chef Wang walked up to me and said, "Master Tan, our house is not busy now. We don't have a few tables a day, so there's nothing to do. You know the work in the kitchen. Let's fry the food when it comes, and wait for a while if there is no food. In the past two days, you should get familiar with it first, and it will be fine after you get familiar with it, our house is easy to do, and there is no trouble."

I said: "Well, when I do something wrong, you can remind me, Chef Wang."

Chef Wang smiled and said: "Hey, I didn't say anything, we will study it at that time." Then he said: "The kitchen still lacks a cutting board, the one who asked for leave hasn't come back yet, this one has already resigned, and when the other one comes back he will just have to go."

I said, "Oh, then get another cutting board."

Chef Wang said: "I'm looking for it. Do you have any free ones? If so, please introduce one. Our family is short."

I said, "Let me see, call and ask, I don't have any in hand now."

Chef Wang said: "Master Tan, you can help me find it. The salary is [-]. You can take care of food and housing."

I said, "Okay, I'll try to find it."

Wei Shili is indeed not busy, there are three tables of guests at noon, and most of the orders are home-cooked dishes, only three seafood dishes.After cooking three seafood dishes, Chef Wang turned off the fire and stood there watching me fry home-cooked dishes.There are more than ten home-cooked dishes on my side. If two people fry together, they can be fried quickly, but if he doesn't fry it, it will be a bit slow for me to fry it alone.There is no way, who told us that we are new here, or that we cook home-cooked dishes, so we have to fry them ourselves, and we can't be impatient.

After copying the last dish, seeing that there was no more food behind him, he smiled at Chef Wang and started to clean up the stove.

I got off the stove, sweating all over my head, and wiped it off.

The chopping boy also cleaned up the operating table and was sweeping the floor.

Seeing me coming down from the stove, my younger brother said, "Master Tan, you still clean up at noon."

I said, "Just clean it up."

The younger brother said: "Chef Wang and the others don't clean up at noon, they all wait until evening to clean up together."

I said, "It's okay to clean up at night, I have to clean up at night too."

The little brother didn't look at my squeak and continued to sweep the floor.

When I came to the pastry room, the pastry chef saw me coming in and said to me: "Master Tan is done."

I said: "I'm done with my work, I'll come to you to have a look and learn."

The pastry chef said: "I'm just kidding, Master Tan, I have to learn from you."

I smiled and saw that the pastry boy was baking the pancakes, which should be "Jingdong Meatloaf", and it was almost ready.

I asked: "Does our family still sell Jingdong meatloaf?"

The pastry chef said: "Sell, this is a new one, check if it's okay, Master Tan."

I said, "Very good, I don't understand, I just saw it."

Seeing that there are only two layers of cakes in the baking pan, you know that this is a new learning for them, and they haven't learned the fundamentals yet.Jingdong patties with good craftsmanship should be made into four layers and three layers of stuffing. The meat filling is as thin as paper, and the crust is as crisp as crispy. This kind of Jingdong patty has a good taste, which can catch up with KFC burgers.What they are making now can only be primary products, and they need to work harder to meet the standards.

Looking at the pancakes of the little brother of the pastry, the little brother of the pastry is a little girl with beautiful features, but the body is too thin, a bit like Lin Daiyu, who is worried about being blown away by the strong wind when walking on the street.The pastry boy saw me, nodded and smiled at me, and hurried to turn the cake.In fact, she doesn't need to turn it over, she can see that the pastry is not enough when the dough is mixed, and the noodles are also cold water surface, so it will not be crispy. confused.

The Jingdong meatloaf should be golden after being baked, with a thickness of [-] cm. One layer of skin and one layer of filling, one layer of skin and one layer of filling, cut into large triangles, hold it with chopsticks, and feel that the crust will break if you press a little harder It's the same, it has to be crispy to that extent.Open your mouth, take a big bite, and eat the three-layer cake directly into your mouth. The first thing you will feel is crispy and refreshing, with a light noodle fragrance, followed by a strong meaty fragrance, with endless aftertaste, which is enjoyable.

The pastry boy baked the meatloaf, put it on the chopping board and cut it into triangles, put it on the plate, and then took it out to serve.

The pastry chef asked me: "Master Tan, where did you do it before?"

I said, "I used to work in small restaurants, which can't be compared with ours."

The pastry chef said: "Master Tan is too modest. Seeing that you cook so well, it is impossible to do it in a small restaurant."

I smiled and said, "I used to cook at Yangchun Barbecue Restaurant on Taishan Road."

The pastry chef said: Yangchun BBQ?I have eaten barbecue at his house, but does he have stir-fried vegetables? "

I said, "Yes, not many, and the customers ordered few."

The pastry chef said: "I really didn't pay attention, and I don't know you. It would be great if I knew you. I can also add beef."

Then he laughed.At this time, the pastry boy came back after delivering the cakes, followed by a waiter. The pastry boy pointed at me and said to the waiter, "This is the new Master Tan."

When I looked at the waiter, I could recognize Zhou Xiaomei.It's just that she has changed a lot from when she was in school now. At that time, he had a good physique. Maybe it was because of sports. I remember that he had thick legs and short hair, a bit like a tomboy.It's different now, with long legs, a slender body, long hair, light makeup, and a quiet demeanor, who doesn't even look like a tomboy.

I looked at her and said, "Zhou Xiaomei—"

She looked at me and said in surprise, "Tan Guohua, it's really you!"

I was also very excited and said, "It's not my fault."

She was very happy and said, "I thought it wasn't you. I didn't expect it to be you. It's been so many years. I still remember what you look like, otherwise I wouldn't dare to recognize you."

I said, "Yes, even if you meet someone on the street, you won't be recognized. You've grown so much that you don't dare to recognize you. I remember when you were studying, you had short hair and it wasn't so white."

She smiled and said, "You weren't that fat back then, your hair was quite long, why are you still bald now?"

I touched my head and said, "I shaved my head when it was hot in the kitchen."

The pastry chef saw that we were talking very warmly, and she asked, "Do you two know each other? It looks like we are still classmates."

I said, "Yes, our families are not far away. We are classmates or relatives."

The pastry chef said: "Oh, it's not easy for you two to meet here."

I said, "I didn't know she worked here, what a coincidence."

Zhou Xiaomei said: "Yes, what a coincidence, unexpected things can happen here."

The pastry chef jokingly said: "People say that fellow villagers have tears in their eyes when they see fellow villagers, but they didn't look at you two."

I laughed and said: "It will fall in a while, it's not time."

The pastry chef withdrew and said, "It's not easy for you two to meet each other, let's chat here."

I said, "No, I've seen all of this, and we're still working together, so we'll have plenty of time to chat in the future."

"Yes, I have time to chat." Zhou Xiaomei said: "I still have a table in front of me, I'll go back to the front first, and I'll treat you to dinner after get off work in the evening."

I said, "Okay, please."

After Zhou Xiaomei left, she ordered the master and asked, "Master Tan, your family is also from Beipiao?"

I said, "Yes, from Beipiao."

The pastry chef said, "I mean, you both have similar accents, didn't you know she was working here before you came?"

I said, "I don't know, this is the first time we've met since we didn't go to school, and we don't dare to recognize each other."

The pastry chef asked, "How long has it been?"

I said, "Six or seven years, to be precise, seven years."

Yes, it’s been seven years. I didn’t study in the second half of my second year of high school. She was in her third year of high school. It’s been seven years now. Time flies so fast, and it’s been almost six years since she came out to work.When he first came out, he was still a young man with young hair. In six years, he has polished himself into a middle-aged man.Although I am not old enough, I feel that my mental age is already middle-aged, and I am still a bit old-fashioned.

(End of this chapter)