1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 58: Learning Loneliness

Ronan did not refuse Arthur's request.

As a spectator, Arthur was much better than Freddy. He watched the whole process silently and only said a few words when adding seasoning at the end.

"Want to do something more with this meat?" He crossed his arms over his chest and commented on Ronan's approach in the tone of a seasoned gourmet.

Artur is a true gourmet and the restaurant he runs is the most popular in Apt.

"I marinated it for a while." Ronan replied casually.

"Pork can only be delicious if it is stewed for more than an hour or marinated for a long time." Artur shook his head slightly.

Having heard Freddy brag about how delicious Chinese food was every day, he came to this party with the attitude of "stealing some knowledge", but was greatly disappointed.

It was fried twice and no other processing was done, even if a sauce was added, but can it really taste good?

Ronan's attention was on the pot, and he didn't see Arthur's expression:
“Not for this dish.”

Arthur said nothing more.

He is a professional chef and he would lose his status if he argued with amateur chefs.

The sweet and sour pork was served together with the third main course, cream stew made by Mrs. Catalina.

"Three minutes late." Alan tapped his empty wrist.

"It's my first time doing this, so it's inevitable that I'm a little clumsy." Ronan sat down.

He now has a better grasp of ingredients, and has made significant improvements to the recipes his father gave him, which has resulted in some wasted time.

However, if you don’t count the preparation time, from the moment the meat is first put into the frying pan, it will be no problem to finish cooking within ten minutes.

Freddy had adjusted his state and made sufficient preparations for the three new friends before Ronan came out.

He changed the concept of today's Chinese food tasting tour into an "innovative attempt".

"Come on, try it, our enterprising chef needs your feedback." Freddy raised his fork.

"In that case, I won't be polite." Raphael looked at the sweet and sour pork, "Is this a fried food?"

Ronan poured himself a glass of cold beer. He was exhausted this afternoon.

"It's fried food, it's called sweet and sour pork."

Another professional gourmet, Jules, who owns a restaurant in Lourmarin, picked up a piece of meat with his fork, but he started coughing before he even put it in his mouth:

"Such a strong smell, is it okay?"

Ronan drank a glass of beer in one breath and wiped his mouth:

"no problem."

If you don't cough, there will be a problem.

Freddy, who was the first to eat, also started coughing violently, making unclear "oh oh oh" sounds from his mouth.

Seeing his big reaction, no one dared to eat it.

Is this thing really okay?
They all smelled the strong smell that made their throats constrict unnaturally.
"It's so hot -" Freddy's mouth was finally freed, and he looked at the others as if they were idiots, "Why don't you eat it? This is the most delicious Chinese food I have ever eaten, no doubt about it! I said Chinese food will not let you down!"

Seeing that Freddy was fine, Jules put the food in his mouth with confidence. However, he laughed in his heart. This guy Freddy started to act again. He was so exaggerated when talking about Chinese food.

But the next second.
"Wow, wow, wow." Jules uttered three exclamation particles in a row, "It actually has this texture and taste, magical!"

Raphael also finished the tasting:
"It's crispy, sour, and sweet. My god, after eating this, my appetite suddenly improved."

"Is this an appetizer?" Alan had a piece of shredded carrot left by his mouth.

At this time, Zoe brought two bottles of pink wine.

She poured everyone a glass, ignoring their looks of confusion or disgust:
"Ronan brought this wine back from a Michelin restaurant. It's very expensive."

Zoe picked up her glass:

"Good appetizers must be paired with good aperitifs. Both the dishes and the wine are provided by Ronan. Let us thank the chef."

“Cheers to Ronan!” “Thank you Ronan for giving us another perfect Chinese food trip!”

"Damn it, I really regret not meeting you until now."

Freddy took a sip of the pink wine:

"I can only reluctantly give Pink Wine some face for Ronan."

He is a firm supporter of the idea that 'pink wine is a shame', but after taking another bite of sweet and sour pork, he muttered:
"Oh my god, they taste pretty good together."

"Pink wine really goes well with sweet and sour pork." Raphael had finished drinking the pink wine.

Ronan listened to their discussion with surprise and delight.

He only mentioned it once when chatting with Mr. Jacques, that he wanted to make some delicious food that could be combined with rosé wine. Zoe actually remembered it?
This really helped him a lot!

He looked at Zoe who was sitting on the other side through several people and found that Zoe was also looking at him.

Zoe raised her glass to Ronan, smiled and raised her eyebrows, then drank the wine in the glass in one go.

Mr. Jacques gave her two bottles of wine for Ronan's sake, so she had no reason to keep them all.

But Ronan refused to accept it, so she had to bring it to the party to share with everyone. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be of greater value.

Ronan smiled and shook his head, then finished his drink.

This thoughtful woman.
While everyone at the table was talking loudly and drinking, Artur was quietly tasting the remaining soup in the empty plate of sweet and sour pork. From time to time, he would close his eyes and think for a while, as if he was recalling something.

This trip was not in vain, he actually discovered a rare dish that could be put on the restaurant menu.

The more enthusiastically people at the table praised him, the happier he was.

Because he watched the whole process of Ronan making sweet and sour pork, he has already learned how to make this dish!

Artur couldn't even wait until the next day. He went to his own restaurant after the party and replicated the "Pot-fried Pork".

He also called his wife over to share this great joy with her.

“It’s definitely a dish that will give us a place in the Provencal dining scene, and I even think we could potentially get a Michelin star for it.”

Artur has been running the restaurant for more than ten years. His vision and judgment are rarely wrong, so his wife also became excited:
“But will it be a problem if the chef finds out?”

Arthur recalled Ronan's appearance and began to fry the meat for the first time:

"My dear, it is meaningful to promote and pass on delicious food. It is a pity to let such a great dish be buried in the market."

At the party, Ronan announced that he would sell sweet and sour pork at the Mena Village market.

Thirty minutes later.

Artur excitedly brought the 'Pot-fried Pork' to his wife:

"Try it now, you will love it, I swear!"

Altu's wife simply picked up a piece with her hand, put it into her mouth eagerly, and then, like Freddy, made an 'oh oh oh' sound from her mouth.

After a few seconds, she began to cough violently.

Seeing that everything was moving in the right direction, Altu asked expectantly:

"How is it? It's delicious, right?"

"Oh, my God!" Artu's wife spat out everything in her mouth. "Honey, it's not tasty at all. I was just wondering if you didn't handle the pork too much. Don't you know that pork has a fishy smell?"

"No." Artu also picked up a piece and stuffed it into his mouth, "Ronan did that, and he didn't process it."

After chewing for a few times, his face sank.

Not only did the meat taste wrong, the sauce also tasted wrong.

But he watched the whole thing.
What else did Ronan do that he didn't know about?
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(End of this chapter)