The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 197 New Year's Edition

Xu Cheng swallowed the last bite of fruit.

I can hold on.

Xu Cheng knew that for the sake of his health he could not overeat like this. When he was young, he traveled around the world and had irregular meals, which resulted in his stomach problems now that he is older.

The doctor advised him to eat small and frequent meals.

But now.

Xu Cheng could only say that it wouldn't be a big deal if he occasionally disobeyed the doctor's advice.

Xu Cheng looked at Qin Huai.

At this moment, the way he looked at Qin Huai changed completely.

Before this, his attitude towards Qin Huai was that of a well-known food critic looking at a young chef, or an elder looking at a junior, with praise, expectation, and encouragement, but not much equality and respect.

But now, Xu Cheng has completely treated Qin Huai as a master in the industry.

Looking at the entire circle of Chinese pastry chefs, only a few chefs at Zhiweiju can make A+ grade dim sum.

The gap in the Bai case is too serious.

Xu Cheng no longer thinks about short food reviews of half a page or so. His mind is now full of where to start the interview later, whether the manuscript should be three pages or five pages, and whether to keep a cover.

There is such an outstanding young chef in the pastry circle. If they don’t keep a cover for “Zhiwei” when he appears on the cover for the first time, wouldn’t it make “Zhiwei” look very tasteless?

It is now the end of December, and Xu Cheng feels that he is full of ideas. Before the interview even started, all kinds of compliments kept pouring out of his mind. If this article is not revised too much, it will be finished in two or three days. If it is fast, it can be published in January next year.

What? You said that printing and shipping the magazine takes time, and a manuscript written at the end of December will definitely not be published in the January edition of the new year.

Xu Cheng said that you don't understand magazines at all. When he founded "Zhiwei" that year, he deliberately did not set a publication date for "Zhiwei" in order to delay the submission of manuscripts.

Who says that the "Taste" published on January 1th is not the opening issue of the year?

but……

Xu Cheng couldn't help but look at Qin Huai again and felt that Qin Huai was really too young.

Isn’t it a bit too much of a compliment to have such a young chef appear on the New Year’s issue of Taste Magazine?
Xu Cheng has a scale in his heart. He knows that the fruit that Qin Huai just handed him is a top-notch dim sum in the entire Chinese white-casserole chef circle, not to mention that it is an innovative dim sum that combines red-casserole, and has a higher gold content.

But Qin Huai's cooking skills are not top-notch in the entire chef circle.

There is no need to look around the world. There are many famous chefs in China whose cooking skills are far superior to his.

All I can say is that compared to the red case, the white case has an inherent disadvantage.

He has seen too many plain-food chefs, and has also seen some with better skills than Qin Huai, but those masters with good skills are basically old men, and some of them have no longer been engaged in front-line work and are concentrating on teaching apprentices.

Someone as young as Qin Huai...

"Hiss——" Xu Cheng took a breath of cold air.

Normally, the golden age for a chef is between 35 and 50, when a person's physical strength and energy are at their peak. Even if their skills continue to improve, their bodies can no longer keep up.

White-casserole chefs are different. Their peak period may be about 10 years longer than that of red-casserole chefs. At the same time, they reach their peak relatively late, and there are many who become famous in their 50s.

Qin Huai is only in his 20s now.

He still has more than 30 years, or even 40 years of his prime!
When he thought of this, Xu Cheng's eyes became much hotter when he looked at Qin Huai.

Perhaps if Qin Huai were to appear on the New Year's issue of "Zhiwei" now, many people would think that he is unworthy of the position. However, 20 or 30 years later, everyone will only praise him for his wisdom in identifying talent!

"Master Qin." At this moment, Xu Cheng stopped acting and his voice became normal. "Can you find a place to start the interview now?"

Qin Huai didn't expect Xu Cheng to be so anxious. He thought Xu Cheng wanted to say a few words to Huang Shengli first, or comment on what happened just now before starting the interview.

Qin Huai was quite looking forward to Xu Cheng's comments. In Qin Huai's opinion, Huang Anyao was already a good speaker. Xu Cheng was Huang Anyao's idol and a world-renowned food critic. Qin Huai really wanted to know what level A+ grade dim sum would be in the eyes of food critics.

"Of course." Qin Huai nodded.

"Mr. Xu, how about we go to the 888 private room where you just had dinner? There are sofas and coffee tables in the room, so it's convenient to sit down." Huang Shengli suggested.

Xu Cheng had no objection and nodded.

Huang Shengli signaled the foreman to take Xu Cheng and Qin Huai to Box 888, and said with a smile: "I still have a few ounces of the good tea that you praised last time. I'll have someone send it over when the tea is ready."

Xu Cheng paused, hesitated for a moment, and said a little embarrassedly: "No need for tea."

"But I think tangerine peel tea is still drinkable."

Everyone:?
"Okay, I'll have someone send it over later."

Qin Huai looked at Xu Cheng in surprise. He didn't expect that Xu Cheng had such a big appetite even in his middle age. He had just forced himself to eat such a big fruit. He felt full. But at this time, he could still drink a bowl of tangerine peel, white fungus and lotus seed soup. He was indeed a food critic.

Practiced.

Qin Huai walked quickly to Zheng Siyuan and whispered a few words to him. Zheng Siyuan nodded to indicate that he would take care of everything and Qin Huai just needed to concentrate on the interview.

Qin Huai and Xu Cheng entered room 888. Xu Cheng's assistant did not follow them in. He just silently handed the notebook, pen and recorder to Xu Cheng and waited outside.

Xu Cheng’s interview method is very traditional. He uses a voice recorder to record the interview while he writes down the key points in a notebook.

"Master Qin, as far as I know, you have your own community canteen in Shan City. You used to work in the community canteen, and you only came to Huang's Restaurant to study and exchange ideas in the past month."

"And I also asked about your situation in advance. You are from Guangdong Province and have been staying in Qiu County. Your family runs a breakfast shop, right?"

"Yes." Qin Huai nodded.

Xu Cheng did a good job of preparation.

"Don't be nervous. I'm just a little curious. According to my investigation, your father is just an ordinary breakfast shop chef. I've also been to Yunzhong Canteen and tasted the buns your father made. They are very... ordinary."

"So I'm curious, what led you to the path of making pastry? Where did you learn the craft of making pastry?"

When interviewing, Xu Cheng likes to ask chefs about the stories behind the dishes. He asks these stories not just for fun, but to combine the food with the stories behind it, so that the food reviews he writes can attract more readers' attention.

Why is the food review of Eight Treasure Chestnut Pigeon so famous and popular in Southeast Asia and reprinted in newspapers of many countries?
Isn’t it because the story behind the Eight Treasure Chestnut Pigeon is so exciting?

This kind of plot of fellow disciples fighting, shattered spiritual aspirations, ten years of enlightenment, and finally mastering a unique skill can be filmed in at least 30 episodes in a TV series!
Qin Huai didn't expect Xu Cheng to ask this right away, but since Xu Cheng asked, Qin Huai had to tell the truth.

He has already told this version to many people, and he doesn't even need to organize the words, he can just say it out loud.

“This story starts with the orphanage I stayed in when I was a child.”

Xu Cheng:?
"At that time..."

"..."

Qin Huai guessed that Xu Cheng liked to listen to stories, and as a master of lies, he was best at making up true and false stories vividly.

Xu Cheng's expression changed from shock, to confusion, to bewilderment, then he began to question, began to doubt himself, gave up questioning, and numbly accepted it.

Qin Huai spoke for 15 minutes and the recorder recorded for 15 minutes, but not a single word was written in the notebook.

Xu Cheng was completely stunned. He had interviewed all kinds of chefs over the years, from different countries, with different skin colors, races, and cultures.

No matter how different these chefs are, it is normal, reasonable and acceptable.

The Master Qin in front of him is not.

After listening to Qin Huai's entire apprenticeship, Xu Cheng felt that only the part after he came to Huangji was normal. However, Qin Huai's level was already very high when he came to Huangji, and he couldn't learn much in more than a month.

Now Xu Cheng has only one thought in his mind:
Where can I buy the book “Dim Sum Encyclopedia”?

After Qin Huai finished speaking, the box fell into a long silence.

For the first time, Xu Cheng felt that he didn't know where to start during the interview.

As an excellent food critic, he is always good at exploring the stories behind the dishes by starting from a chef’s situation, teachers, and dishes he is good at.

But today's situation was so complicated that he didn't know where to start. He didn't even know what title to choose.

"The director of the children's welfare home asked the children to do these things, and 10 years later the children were very grateful..."

"Qiu County high school students are collectively late for class, the truth behind it is actually..."

"The mentor behind the rising star in the culinary world is actually a book!"

He runs a food magazine, not a gossip tabloid.

But Xu Cheng found it hard to give up such a wonderful story. He had a hunch that he would probably never interview a chef more bizarre than Qin Huai in his lifetime.

Just when Xu Cheng was silent, there was a knock on the door. Xu Cheng said, "Come in," and the foreman walked in with a tray of food.

There were two plates of dim sum and two bowls of tangerine peel tea on the plate.

"Mr. Xu, these snacks are made by Master Qin and processed by Master Zheng. If you are interested, you can try them. This is the tangerine peel tea you asked for." The foreman said with a smile and left with the plate.

Xu Cheng turned his eyes to the snacks on the table.

There are many varieties.

Crab shell roe, four-happiness dumplings, glutinous rice cake, salted egg yolk steamed buns, jujube and yam cake, and an authentic apple-shaped fruit that I didn't know whether I got from Ouyang or Assistant Chen.

Even though Xu Cheng was already full, he still subconsciously picked up a crab roe with chopsticks and took a bite.

general.

This was Xu Cheng’s first impression of the crab shell yellow in front of him.

As a freshly-cooked, hot, crispy and fragrant crab shell roe, the crab shell roe in front of me is undoubtedly qualified.

Whether it's the color, taste, crispness, or the black sesame seeds sprinkled on the surface, it's delicious and definitely not something you can buy casually on the roadside.

But this should not be Qin Huai's level.

Xu Cheng had just finished eating an A+ grade fruit, and he knew how amazing Qinhuai's level was. The unique combination, the magical cooking method, and the wonderful feeling that came into his heart after eating it were enough to make gourmets from all over the world buy a plane ticket to a city near Suzhou without hesitation, take the high-speed rail, and travel thousands of miles just to eat a piece of fruit.

The crab shell yellow in front of me is not as good as the three-diced buns and fermented glutinous rice steamed buns I had before.

"Mr. Xu, these snacks are my normal level." Qin Huai said.

In Xu Cheng's surprised eyes, Qin Huai continued: "You just heard how I learned these skills over the years. I don't have a master. I learned purely by myself. In a sense, Master Huang and Master Zheng are both my masters. I am very grateful for their generous teachings. I can also understand that they want me to show you the best dim sum."

"But the fruit you just ate was not made at my true level. With my current level, I can't make fruit that tastes like that. A lot of the credit goes to Master Huang Shengli."

"These snacks, including the three-dice buns and fermented glutinous rice steamed buns you ate before, are what I normally eat."

“It’s not as good as you thought it would be and might disappoint you.”

Xu Cheng smiled: "Do you know that if you don't say this, you might be on the cover of next year's new year magazine?"

"The dessert called Guo'er you just ate, plus your age and the story you just told me about learning to cook, is definitely enough to impress me and ask Taste to postpone the publication. I will write a food review for you of no less than three pages, so that you can be on the cover of the new year's issue and become famous all over the world."

"You will definitely be included in the next celebrity chefs' list. The judges will give you a spot just for the sake of the cover, even if you are not qualified, they will give you the 100th place."

"In fact, you told me at the beginning that this dessert was made by you and Chef Huang Shengli."

"You don't need to emphasize this again. Even if I find out later that your other dim sum is not of such high quality, it will be my fault. And as long as you don't tell me, I believe I will probably not find out, because there are indeed many chefs who can make a dish to perfection."

"I believe that with your popularity in Huang's, you don't even need to ask for it. Everyone, including Master Huang Shengli, will help you keep it a secret."

Qin Huai nodded: "I know, and I also know that maybe in a few years, I will really have such cooking skills. But at least today, the one who contributed the most to the fruit you eat is Chef Huang Shengli."

“I’m not that eager to be on the New Year’s issue of Zhiwei magazine,” Qin Huai said.

This is absolutely true.

Qin Huai itself is not short of money. Luo Jun's inheritance is there. Even if Qin Huai sells dim sum for 50 years, it may not be able to earn that much money.

He didn't really want to be famous. The business of Huang Ji and Yunzhong Canteen was already so good and it couldn't be any better. If it was any better, the dim sum chef would be exhausted.

Qin Huai continued, "If possible, I would like to ask you to write more about Chef Huang Shengli and Chef Zheng Da when you write my food review. Their skills are far superior to mine, and they are also involved in the dim sum I make."

"Do you know what the cover of the new year's issue of "Taste" means to chefs?" Xu Cheng replied, but looked at Qin Huai.

"I think I know a little bit."

Xu Cheng shook his head: "You don't know."

"I'm afraid you'll regret it when you know it."

Qin Huai shook his head firmly: "I won't."

Xu Cheng smiled.

He looked at Qin Huai and said firmly: "Master Qin, you will definitely become an extremely good dim sum chef."

"Even if your level is not as good as I thought, you... no, I should say Huang Ji, is worthy of being on the cover of the new year's issue of Zhiwei magazine next year."

"After all, what impressed me was the fruit just now. Whether the fruit was made by you alone or by you and Master Huang Shengli together, it deserves to be on the cover of the new year's magazine."

"Otherwise, when Master Qin becomes successful and famous in a dozen years, I will be scolded by others for not knowing how to appreciate the value of gold and jade."

"I am the famous horse breeder who created the famous legend of the Eight Treasure Chestnut Pigeon. How can I treat the Arabian Horse as an ordinary horse when it is still young?"

Xu Cheng turned to a new page in his notebook, wrote the two characters "Guo'er" on it, and took the pen: "Now, let's start the formal interview."

"Master Qin, could you please tell me what kind of dessert this Guo'er dessert is, and what roles the white and red cases play in it?"

"..."

After talking for an hour and a half, Qin Huai, whose mouth was a little dry, came out of box 888. Just as he was about to go downstairs to the kitchen to find Huang Shengli, he turned around and found Huang Shengli sitting in box 666 opposite.

Not only Huang Shengli was in the box, but also Zheng Da.

Zheng Da said to Huang Shengli with a proud look on his face, "I must have taught you well. You can only teach me the timing of the fire, but I taught you the proper white pastry. Alas, it's just that the season is not right now. If you had come half a month earlier, you would have been able to catch up with the crab roe steamed buns!"

Huang Shengli agreed good-naturedly: "Yes, yes, yes, you taught me all this. You will be the one to fry the fillings for the fruit in the future. I'm sure you can also flip the pan."

Well, there is a hint of sarcasm mixed in with the good temper.

Zheng Da: ...

"Master Huang, Master Zheng." Qin Huai pushed open the half-open door, and the two of them stopped talking immediately.

"It's over? How long has it been? Oh, it's almost two hours. How long did it take for Xu Cheng to interview you? I remember it was one afternoon. This is too biased!" Zheng Da began to calculate the time.

"The interview isn't over yet." Qin Huai said, "I was just looking for you two. It's great that you're here, Master Zheng. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to make it in time when I called you inside."

"Mr. Xu will interview you two next, please go in quickly." Qin Huai was embarrassed to say that Xu Cheng only wanted to interview Huang Shengli, and Zheng Da was the one who was packed in.

Whatever, since we’re here, let’s just stuff it in together.

Zheng Da & Huang Shengli:?
"Mr. Xu and I have agreed that the focus of this food review is not me, but Huang Ji."

"And it's the cover of next year's new year magazine!"

Huang Shengli:!

Huang Shengli felt that his waist was completely healed and there was no problem at all. He jumped up and walked towards the other side with a proud and confident look.

Zheng Da felt like he was packed in: …

Zheng Da followed closely behind.

No matter whether it is packed or not, this is the cover of the new year's magazine. I will definitely go to my master's grave and burn it for him.

How could Huang Shengli be the only one appearing in such an important report!

He is the pastry chef trained by his master!
(End of this chapter)