1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 180: Too Many Skills Are Not Overwhelming
Feng Zhen was beaming with joy and whispered to Ronan:

"Your dad is always so mysterious, and I don't know what his progress is. He just said he would make a few 'improved dishes' for everyone to try today."

Ronan took his change of clothes into the bathroom and said to his mother with a smile:

"Okay, let my dad do it well, and I'll come out and try it later."

This old man has been holding it in for more than a month. Let's see what "big move" he comes up with.

By the time Ronan finished his shower, dinner was ready at home.

Not much, 4 dishes and 1 staple food.

After Luo Tianhai started tasting the dishes, Ronan's family of three ate up to 3 dishes at one time. This day of "overnutrition" finally ended after Cafu's brothers joined in.

Luo Tianhai would only keep the dishes that he thought were the best, and send the rest to Kafu and the others.

Due to the "improvements", the "color, aroma and taste" of the four dishes on the table are definitely different from the original dishes.

However, based on the combination of ingredients, Ronan was able to figure out that they were garlic vermicelli shrimp, salt and pepper soft-shell crab, sweet and sour pork with pineapple, blanched choy sum and braised pork with rice.

Ronan stroked his chin and thought.

Luo Tianhai was a Sichuan chef, but there was not a single Sichuan dish?
This is unreasonable.
Luo Tianhai sat down with a bottle of white wine and asked Ronan:

"Drink this today?"

Luo Tianhai only drinks white wine on "big days", which is expensive and hard to buy in Provence.

The fact that Ken invited Ronan to have a drink together today means that he feels that today is a good day to celebrate.

Ronan poured wine for his father and asked with a smile:
"So confident?"

Luo Tianhai handed chopsticks to his son and wife, and said excitedly:
"Just try it!"

Feng Zhen took the chopsticks and said to her husband:
"Please introduce it to us first. You have been tinkering with it for so long, who knows what you have 'improved'."

Luo Tianhai took a sip of white wine and picked up a crab:
"Ronan's sweet and sour pork and hot pot are so popular among locals. It made me realize that when doing catering in Provence, we must consider the regional taste differences. When deciding the menu, the first thing I thought about was what Provençal people like to eat."

"What do people in Provence like to eat?" Feng Zhen asked.

"I love seafood." Ronan interrupted.

"That's right. The people of Provence live on the Mediterranean Sea, and they love seafood." Luo Tianhai pointed at the salt and pepper soft-shell crab and said, "In the future, our menu must include a lot of seafood-related dishes. I have found a very good seafood supplier in Marseille."

Today is not only a demonstration of the success of the "food tasting", but also a periodic "work report" for Luo Tianhai to let his son know what he has been doing for more than a month.

Ronan and Feng Zhen also tried the salt and pepper soft-shell crab.

"Hmm? It tastes different from what I had before. But it's quite delicious." Feng Zhen found a clear difference after taking a bite.

"Dad put Provence spices in it." Ronan bit the crab shell with a crackling sound.

"That's right!" Luo Tianhai nodded with satisfaction. "In addition to considering what the people of Provence like to eat, we also need to consider what flavors they like!"

Luo Tianhai picked up a garlic vermicelli shrimp for his wife and son respectively, and said confidently:
"Over the past month, I have researched many ways to perfectly integrate garlic, thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram, parsley, and dried oregano into Chinese cuisine."

When Ronan made the hot pot dipping sauce that suited the Provencal taste, his [Cooking] skill was only level 3.

The level 3 skills in the system are easily surpassed.

Ronan's level 3 [Construction] is only slightly better than amateur Zoe, and is completely insufficient compared to a real old carpenter.

For a chef with decades of experience, what Luo Tianhai lacks is ideas, not ability.

But his son gave him ideas and directions, so it was not surprising to summarize suitable "improvement methods" from Ronan.

But Ronan was still very surprised, especially after eating these two dishes.

His father's level of improvement was already above his.

Level 3 [Cooking] brings two abilities. One is a deeper understanding of ingredients, and Ronan can find the freshest ones among a pile of ingredients.

The second ability is the ability to control the seasoning when cooking.

But an excellent dish is far from enough with just the above two points. It is obvious that Ronan was crushed by Luo Tianhai in all other aspects.

Luo Tianhai was excited, but he was not overly proud. He patiently said to his son:
"I have initially decided on more than 50 dishes. During the two months of renovation, we can slowly finalize the menu. Once we find the trick to improve it, things will be easy from now on. We may not even need your 'help'."

Lao Luo still gave Ronan face. In fact, he knew in his heart that the brat was no longer of any use.

But Feng Zhen didn't know about this, so she still advised her husband:
"No, Ronan is more experienced. Let him decide with you. Besides, it's impossible for all dishes to be seafood, and it's impossible for all dishes to be suitable for spices."

Luo Tianhai smiled and picked up the third dish for her and Luo Nan: Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple:

"Taste this."

"If you ask me, don't prepare other sweet and sour dishes when you have sweet and sour pork. Wouldn't that be repetitive?" Feng Zhen complained but still took a bite obediently. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she looked at her husband in amazement.

She was very familiar with the taste of Ronan's 'improved version' of sweet and sour pork.

This sweet and sour pork with pineapple is better than Ronan’s!

Luo Tianhai smiled and said to Ronan:

"Try it."

Ronan didn't move his chopsticks and said directly to his father:

"Make an upgraded version of my sweet and sour pork tomorrow. You can use a more suitable vinegar and the sugar may not be the same as the one I used, but it will definitely taste better."

Now it was Luo Tianhai who was shocked.

Ronan didn't even eat it. How did he discover the key point?
He also wanted to show off to his son how he found the seasoning that was more suitable for making the Provencal modified version of sweet and sour dishes!
Ronan lowered his head and sniffed again:
"But the pineapple isn't very fresh. If you want to sell this dish in the future, you can't use it to fool customers."

The [Cooking] skill really can't suppress anyone.

But fortunately, the invincible sense of smell brought by [Collection] can keep the situation under control.

This is what they call "knowing more is better than knowing less".

Unless the person opposite is also a cook who learned carpentry from a truffle hunter.

"You can smell this?" Feng Zhen widened her eyes.

Could it be that Ronan’s nose is more sensitive than Xiao Hei and Marseille’s?
His son's performance was too 'calm', and it was completely different from the 'worship' effect that Luo Tianhai had expected. He felt a little guilty and asked Ronan:

"Or if you have any opinions, you can also put them forward. What I just said is just a suggestion."

Ronan served himself a large bowl of braised pork rice:
"You decide on the improvement part. I can't give you any better suggestions. You did a great job. But I think we need a few 'special dishes'. Why not bring out those well-known Chinese dishes?"

Luo Tianhai sighed:
"I know what you mean. Some dishes are suitable for improvement, while others are not. For example, I tried to improve the Four Joy Meatballs before, but I failed miserably after making several versions. They were completely unsuitable. There are many similar dishes. The more classic they are, the harder it is to improve them."

Ronan thought about it and made a suggestion:
"But we have to create our own unique features. Of course, the improved menu will definitely be more helpful to the actual business. After all, there are only a few people like Astrid who like to explore new things."

"How about this, we can list a 'special menu', just like the appetizers, soups, main courses and desserts in French cuisine, and pair them with a set of special Chinese food journeys. This shouldn't be difficult to achieve, right?"

Luo Tianhai was silent for a long time, frowned and said;
"Will this disrupt the overall style of the restaurant? This table is serving Provencal fusion cuisine, but the table next to it has a lion's head and mapo tofu?"

Ronan shrugged.

“Just because the taste cannot be Provencal does not mean that other places cannot be Provencal.”

Feng Zhen and Luo Tianhai asked in unison:

"What do you mean?"

"Dad, please order a few more Chinese specialties. They should be simple, memorable, and easy to imitate. I will try to improve the taste of these Chinese dishes that cannot be improved in other ways." Ronan shrugged, "But I can only try my best. There is no guarantee that it will succeed."

"Okay, then I'll make a few lion heads tomorrow." Luo Tianhai did what he said.

Ronan shook his head:

"No, no, no, not so fast. I'll let you know when I've thought about it."

Luo Tianhai asked anxiously:
"About what time?"

Ronan smiled and said:

"It took you more than a month to improve it. Give me some time."

Don't rush me, my [happiness] is not enough!

(End of this chapter)