1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 225 Master Luo is too difficult!

The grapes have been harvested in October, and the next busy farming season will have to wait until all the branches have fallen and it is time for winter pruning.

Without having to do farm work, Ronan devoted all his energy to the restaurant's employee training program.

People in Provence are used to getting up early.

Therefore, there is a considerable amount of time to train employees before the restaurant opens, and these Provencal women are also happy to acquire professional skills and knowledge while getting a job, so they cooperate actively.

Louis, who is good at dealing with customers and well versed in the art of speaking, is responsible for the training of front desk waiters.

Chef Luo Tianhai is responsible for training chefs, cold dish chefs and kitchen assistants who do miscellaneous work such as preparing side dishes.

Leah teaches Nicola how to make desserts with Chinese elements.

While training employees on how to arrange dishes, Ronan also took on the task of training them on the skill of cutting vegetables.

That’s right, in the entire restaurant, he was the fastest and most skilled person at cutting vegetables, surpassing Luo Tianhai who had been a chef for decades.

In addition to the superb knife skills that the system gave Ronan, he was also responsible for this task because teaching the people of Provence how to cut vegetables was an extremely difficult task. Luo Tianhai went on strike after only one day of teaching.

"Ronan is still young and certainly doesn't have the problem of high blood pressure. Let him teach." Luo Tianhai made a similar 'after-get out of class speech'.

Women in Provence are accustomed to using very small knives to handle food, even meat.

In local cuisine, sliced ingredients are not common, let alone shredded. They mostly eat food in block form.

But shredded vegetables and slices appear very frequently in Chinese cuisine, so Ronan has to start teaching how to use a kitchen knife.

If you want them to use their small scrapers to cut beautiful potato shreds, you may have to rely on God's "revelation" to come.

"Chinese chefs usually only use one knife. The tip of the knife is used for cutting vegetables, and the middle of the knife is used for chopping vegetables. No, no, no, don't use a spoon to assist. Just use a knife."

Today's practice is still about shredding. While demonstrating, Ronan also has to pay attention to these people's bad habits of cutting vegetables. His eyes are more tired than his hands.

"God! Don't look elsewhere while cutting vegetables, it's too dangerous!" The women made terrified noises, fearing that Ronan's fingers would be separated from his body in the next second.

Not only does Ronan not have to look at the cutting board, he can also shrug while cutting vegetables:
"The chef in the movie can cut vegetables with his eyes closed. This is called the unity of man and knife. I heard that Aknina can sew quilts while watching TV. It's the same principle. Practice makes perfect."

"Chinese cuisine is truly a complex science," the women commented sincerely.

Before coming to work at Ronan's restaurant, they thought that eating was just for food and clothing, but there was a difference between delicious and not delicious food.

But after participating in Ronan and Luo Tianhai's "training", they realized that taste is not the only determining factor in eating. Color, aroma and taste can all affect the quality of the food, and none of them can be missing. This is amazing.

Suddenly, a young girl with braided hair ran in:
"Ronan, your weird friend is here again."

The restaurant's head waitress was a good-looking and clever girl named Isabel.

Although she is only 19 years old, Luo Tianhai, Ronan and Louis have unanimously evaluated that she is fully capable of taking on the important position of foreman.

And she did not disappoint everyone's expectations of her. When Ronan and Luo Tianhai were busy in the kitchen, she could smoothly keep the front hall in order and handle some "emergencies" at the same time.

For example, Ronan has a strange friend who comes to the restaurant to eat every now and then. Isabel recognizes him and asks if she needs to call Ronan over, but the man refuses on the grounds that he doesn't want to "disturb Ronan."

However, Isabelle would still come to Ronan every time to "tip off".

Ronan asked Isabelle:
"Did he order?"

Isabel nodded:

"It's still the same dishes, Kung Pao Chicken, Mapo Tofu and Twice-Cooked Pork. This guy is really weird. We have so many choices on the menu, but he only orders these dishes and never gets tired of them?"

Ronan put down the kitchen knife and said with a smile:
"Because he hasn't 'learned' it yet. It seems our friend has encountered technical difficulties. Let's go and help him."

Before leaving, Ronan said to the vegetable cutters:
"Okay, the shredding practice is over. Everyone, prepare the dishes as normal. Don't forget what I taught you before."

"Okay, go ahead and do your work." The women responded enthusiastically.

As they spoke, they picked up potatoes, carrots, cucumbers and pumpkins and held them directly in their hands.

Ronan collapsed upon seeing this and said:

"Use a cutting board, don't hold it in your hands while cutting!"

This is another bad habit of Provencal women. They are used to holding vegetables in their hands when cutting them, and are not used to using a cutting board.

Flakini, who was in charge of cutting vegetables, said embarrassedly:
"Sorry, I thought a cutting board was only needed for shredding."

Ronan: "."

It’s difficult, too difficult!!
After Ronan's restaurant opened, Arthur came three times in one week.

Sometimes I eat in the restaurant, sometimes I take it away, but no matter how I eat, I always order the same few dishes.

On the opening day, Ronan served them several traditional Chinese dishes, which were both Chinese in style and delicious, leaving a deep impression on Arthur.

After returning home, Arthur called his friends in Paris and learned that Chinese restaurants in Paris also use these dishes as their "signature dishes".

So Arthur, who likes to improve himself through "learning", started to think about the other dishes, especially the Kung Pao Chicken. He thought that this dish would be no less suitable in Provence than sweet and sour pork, and could be introduced in his fusion restaurant.

So you must learn it!
But he didn't want Ronan to find out that he came to eat these dishes so frequently, so he came secretly every time.

"Luckily Ronan doesn't come to the front hall very often." Arthur muttered thankfully, "The taste of Kung Pao Chicken is already 7-8% similar now. If I eat it again, I can almost imitate it completely." Just as he was thinking about this, the waiter brought the red wine over:

"Sir, do you want to open your wine now?"

When Arthur heard this, he looked up and his eyes met the waiter above him.

"Arthur?!"

"Ronan?!"

Ronan asked excitedly, as if he had met an old friend:
"Why didn't you let the waiter notify me when you came?"

Then he turned back to Isabel and called:
"Add two more dishes to the table!"

Arthur waved his hands again and again:
"I can't eat that much myself, but how come you, the boss, are the waiter yourself?"

Ronan sat opposite him and said with a smile:
"What kind of boss are you? Even if you are short of people, don't you still have to work? We just opened the business and we don't have enough staff. I will go wherever there is a shortage of people. Oh, by the way, what did you order?"

Arthur smiled and spread his hands:

"It's still the same dishes we had when we opened. I kept savoring their flavors after returning and couldn't help but come back to eat them again."

Ronan took the initiative to pour wine for Arthur:

"Don't just keep praising it. Give some suggestions. How does it taste? Is there anything that needs to be improved?"

Seeing Ronan take the initiative to bring up the issue of taste, Arthur was delighted:
"It tastes very good. You know, several of the people who came with me own restaurants. We all agree that your restaurant is very unique. Although the taste is unfamiliar, it is not unacceptable."

This is also the reason why Arthur came here to "learn". The dishes at Ronan Restaurant are very much in line with the tastes of local people, but they also have a sense of unfamiliarity, which is a very valuable "feature".

Ronan smiled and nodded:

"It must have its own characteristics. After all, it is Chinese food. It is different from what we usually eat and the cooking method is also different."

Arthur thought for a moment and asked:

"When you mentioned the cooking method, I thought of one thing. The chicken in Kung Pao Chicken tastes very good. Is it also marinated in advance like the sweet and sour pork?"

Ronan was also delighted. So it turned out that it was stuck here?

Don’t worry, I’ll tell you right away!

"Oh no, no, no, the way the chicken is processed in Kung Pao Chicken is completely different from that in Sweet and Sour Pork. First of all, you have to choose chicken thighs, not chicken breasts. Secondly—"

After sending Arthur away with satisfaction, Isabelle asked Ronan in confusion:

"Why should I teach him? And teach him in such detail. It's obvious that he's here to 'steal' my skills. I don't want to receive him next time."

Ronan walked towards the kitchen:
"I can't refuse to receive him. I wish there were more people like Arthur. Oh, and next time he comes, remember to recommend him shredded pork with fish flavor or braised pork in brown sauce."

Lisabel didn't understand and pouted and said:

"He has already learned it. What if he opens a Chinese restaurant in Apt? Then we won't be the only one in Luberon!"

Ronan smiled, washed his hands, and continued with his previous work:

"It's hard for us to make a name for ourselves in Provence as a Chinese restaurant. If he can open a second Chinese restaurant, I will be the first to send him a flower basket. Thank you so much!"

Isabel said anxiously:
"That would take away some of our guests!"

Ronan smiled and shook his head:

"Just him? He can only learn what I want him to learn."

Ronan hummed a little tune and picked up the kidney slices he had cut earlier with chopsticks:

"Chinese food cannot just be 'similar in spirit'. Does he have the knife skills? Does he know the heat? Have you heard of 'wok qi'?"

The role of people like Arthur is just to let more people in Provence know the existence of "Chinese food". They will never be able to create the essence of Chinese food. Ronan has this confidence.

Flakini, who was cutting vegetables, nodded in agreement:

"There are so many tricks in Chinese cuisine. It's a complicated subject and very difficult."

Ronan smiled and said to Isabelle:

"We must treat these friends who come to 'learn' well. They are our flyers. We may not see any effect in the short term, but they will definitely play a key role in the future. I swear!"

Isabelle still didn't understand what Ronan meant by 'flyers', but she chose to believe it and did as she was told.

Because everyone in Lourmarin knows that Ronan's decision is always correct.

Ronan's restaurant is undoubtedly the biggest event in the village in Blanco's eyes.

However, in Ronan's eyes, something really big happened in the village recently, something that directly affected his life.

The dense forest in front of his house was blocked one day because hunters found traces of wild boars there.

This time the danger really came to them!

(End of this chapter)