1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 200: Checking for omissions and filling them up
Zoe is a person of her word.

She said she wanted to make tableware for Ronan's restaurant, and no matter what reasons Ronan gave to stop her, it was useless.

After that, Ronan would find an opportunity to visit Louis's house every day.

"Take a break, Leah made a strawberry genoise cake," he said, leaning against Zoe's workbench.

Zoe propped up her head and bit her pencil, saying perfunctorily:

"I'm having a headache making mermaid figurines lately. I'm going to make something I like to change my mood. Please stop coming here to mess with me."

It's not easy to make money from rich people. Zoe revised the design five or six times, but the other party still felt that it could be better.

She swore that this was the first and last 'custom item' she would ever make.

Designing plates and cups for Ronan has become Zoe's "relief" during this period. When she thinks that all the guests Ronan entertains will use the tableware she made to eat, Zoe feels happy and her mood improves.

"What are you designing now?" Ronan stood behind Zoe and looked at her manuscript.

Zoe blocked them and turned back to say unhappily:
“It’s not finished yet.”

"Let me see it." Ronan said with a smile.

Zoe pushes Ronan out of the workshop:

"Get out, get out, don't delay my creation. If you don't get out, I'll let you go."

Huhu has been fighting fiercely with Ronan recently, and Ronan is most afraid of that guy.

Ronan said in a pleading tone:
"Okay, okay, I won't bother you during the design phase, but you have to agree to let me come over and help you when you're burning it."

Zoe pushed him out hard:
"What can you do to help? You're just here to cause trouble."

Ronan said unconvinced:
"I'm very deft with my hands. Have you forgotten what Hedeli said about me?"

Zoe said to Ronan in a coaxing tone:
"Go and eat the cake. Mom made it especially for you. Go quickly."

After saying that, she went to the huge bookshelf and took out a thick "pattern" reference book, then sat back at the workbench and continued chewing her pencil.

Louis has a stable job and a high income, and Leah is a rare housewife in Lourmarin who does not have to do anything and can only take care of the family full-time.

This left her with more time to figure out how to make her husband and children comfortable, and the most prominent of these must be cooking.

Whenever Ronan comes to Louis’s house, there will always be desserts made with fresh seasonal ingredients.

"Zoe isn't going to eat?" Leah poked her head out of the kitchen.

Ronan shrugged.

"She's busy."

Leah smiled and said:
"Then I'll get you a piece of strawberry Genoa cake, and you can take the rest back to your parents to try."

"Thank you." Ronan sat down on the dining chair happily.

He doesn't really like sweet things, but the desserts Leah makes are really delicious.

Leah placed a small plate in front of Ronan:

"Is the restaurant preparation going smoothly?"

Ronan forked a piece of soft cake and dipped it in the strawberry sauce next to it:

"It's going pretty smoothly. The decoration is starting to come to an end. In a few days, the stone will be delivered and the hard decoration will be finished. The furniture and other things that need to be ordered and made have been arranged. The rest is to make some more decorations and green plants. My father's preparations are also going pretty smoothly. The menu is basically set."

Ronan put the cake in his mouth and his eyes lit up:
"Leah, you are such a genius at making desserts!"

Leah smiled and said:
"Thank you for affirming my 'career'."

She thought of something and asked Ronan:
"Have you prepared dessert?"

After going to Ronan's house for parties several times, Leah discovered that the biggest difference between them and her own family was that they could not make delicious desserts themselves, and all they served were bought from outside.

She guessed that Chinese families might not pay much attention to desserts, so she kindly reminded them.

Ronan bit down hard on the spoon.

I really haven't thought about desserts.

Europeans are all "big sugar jars" and will order a piece of dessert even if they don't have a meal.

How could such an important thing be overlooked?
Ronan said to Leah gratefully:
"It seems I need to communicate with the best 'chef' in Lourmarin frequently about the progress of the restaurant. Thank you for helping us find the gaps and fill them in."

That night.

Ronan went home and asked Luo Tianhai about desserts.

Ronan ignored this matter, but Luo Tianhai didn't even want to do it:
"We are a Chinese restaurant after all. There is no need to spend too much effort on desserts like French restaurants. Just 'order' from outside."

Of course desserts are necessary. Lourmarin is a tourist attraction, and some tourists go to the restaurant not to eat, but to drink and see the scenery, so desserts must be prepared.

However, Luo Tianhai's plan is to order ready-made desserts from suppliers.

Ronan frowned and said:
“Aren’t we going to make some desserts with Chinese characteristics?”

Luo Tianhai smiled bitterly and said:
“The problem is that I can’t do it.”

I'm a Sichuan chef. Isn't it too much to ask me to make desserts?

Ronan also sighed.

[Cooking] gave him many abilities, but never provided him with a 'recipe'.

Ronan now needs to ask Luo Tianhai for the recipe for every Chinese dish he makes.

If Luo Tianhai doesn't know how to do it, Ronan will have no other choice.

Or go to Avignon or Marseille to find recipes for Chinese desserts?
It’s not impossible, but Ronan won’t have that much energy to focus on making desserts in the restaurant in the future.

It would not be wise for him to take on this responsibility.

Ronan planned to take a look at the supplier's situation before making the next decision.

"Is that supplier reliable?" Ronan asked.

All the dishes in the restaurant were prepared by themselves, and Ronan was not very reassured that the finished products were suddenly supplied by outsiders.

Luo Tianhai nodded:
"I've tried a few and they're all good. How about this? I'll call him and ask him to send some tomorrow and you can check it out."

Neither Luo Tianhai nor Feng Zhen are dessert experts, and they don't usually have the habit of eating desserts.

Ronan nodded:

"Okay, I'll call a few more 'professional' judges tomorrow."

The next night.

Freddy and Zoe took time out of their busy schedule to visit Ronan's house.

Invite Freddy because he's a gourmet. Invite Zoe because she's a very picky eater.
If this supplier can't even get his girlfriend's approval, Ronan will definitely give up on looking for a supplier and look for other options.

After the two judges took their seats, they looked at the other empty seat and asked:
"Is there anyone else who hasn't come?"

Ronan sat down next to them:
"I am the final judge. As the owner of the restaurant, I have to strictly control every step."

Freddy shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile:
"You're making me nervous. I thought it was just a normal food tasting—"

He picked up the spoon and said solemnly:

"France is a paradise for desserts. I will treat today's desserts as the 'Judge of Heaven'."

Zoe didn't have so many 'fancy' slogans. She took a sip of water and signaled Luo Tianhai that he could serve the dishes:
“I’m the pickiest when it comes to desserts.”

Freddy's shoulders shook as he said:
"Indeed, the desserts Leah makes are so delicious."

The first dessert was honey lemon tart.

Freddy smiled and said:
“This supplier knows the specialties of Provence very well.”

Honey lemon tart is a very common dessert in Provence, and almost every hostess can make it.

The golden lemon-flavored French tart base is topped with cream and honey, and some chefs will garnish it with lemon.

"It looks okay." Zoe was the first to move the spoon.

She will only feel the urge to eat something if the appearance is good. If the appearance is not good, she will not try it no matter how delicious it is.

Freddy followed suit and cut a piece.

After tasting it, they looked at each other and said nothing.

"How is it?" Ronan asked.

Zoe wiped her mouth:

“I’m quite picky about desserts.”

Freddy shrugged.

"I don't really like it, but you can try it."

The answer is self-evident.

Ronan cut a small piece of it and it didn't taste bad, but it wasn't very good either. He commented on the dessert:

"Not as good as Leah's."

"Dad, let's go for the next dish." Ronan took the honey lemon tart away.

The second dish served was the eclair.

This Italian dessert, puff, became truly famous after it was introduced to France in the 16th century.

When you ask a French person what is the most distinctive French dessert, many people will definitely say profiteroles.

The French really love this stuff!
Puffs were Freddy's favorite. As soon as the plate was put down, he took a piece with his hand and put it in his mouth, closing his eyes and savoring it.

But this process didn't take long. He ate another one and shrugged.
"Well, I have a rough idea of the quality of this supplier. The food they make is not bad, but it is just not something I like. It has no special features."

Zoe took a small bite and put the remaining two-thirds on her plate:

“I don’t think it tastes good.”

Like his parents, Ronan is not a professional dessert chef. His comments are still:
"Not as good as Leah's."

Freddy raised his right hand:
"Don't always compare your desserts with Leah's. That's unfair. Can you talk about something else?"

Ronan said innocently:

"My family never makes desserts, and I hardly eat desserts in Paris. I only started eating them frequently after arriving in Provence. Leah makes the best desserts."

Freddy said in a joking tone:

“Why look for a supplier when you’ve already found the best pastry chef in Provence?”

Today's 'food tasting' was a complete failure.

Several desserts failed to satisfy the judges.

On the way home, Zoe heard Ronan sighing:
"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about dessert," Ronan said slowly.

"We can find other suppliers. There's still time," Zoe consoled.

Ronan shook his head:

"It's not that simple. You think it's a bit unreasonable for a Chinese restaurant to sell only French desserts?"

“But there’s no other way, right?” Zoe overheard the conversation between Ronan and his son at Ronan’s house and knew that neither of them knew how to make Chinese desserts.

Ronan punched his palm with his fist:
"I'm going to Marseille or Avignon this week to see if I can find any books on Chinese desserts. I'll also call Thor and ask him to keep an eye out for me in Paris."

Zoe said with some concern:

"It will take a lot of time, and are you sure that the people of Provence will accept Chinese desserts? What I mean is that Europe's dessert culture is even older and more 'solid' than its formal dining culture. I'm worried that your efforts will be in vain."

Ronan was in an even worse mood:
"Then we have to find a way to solve this problem. Even if we don't have Chinese-style desserts, we have to find a pastry chef of Leah's level."

Zoe silently held Ronan's hand and remained silent.

A few seconds later, the young couple suddenly spoke at the same time:
"You mean Leah."

"You mean mom."

Ronan and Zoe stopped and looked at each other with a smile.

This is what it means to be in sync with each other.

Ronan asked anxiously:

"Is this possible?"

It would be too difficult for the three of them to handle such a large restaurant. Ronan started thinking about this last month.

But having Leah help in the restaurant is completely different from helping at the market.

This is a serious job.

Zoe said that Leah had never been to work, and the women in Lourmarin had almost no habit of "going to work".

So is this possible?

(End of this chapter)