I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

As soon as Su Su entered the kitchen, the sous chef, Xiao Zhang, rushed over anxiously, his expression clearly indicating that something was not going well.

"Boss, something's happened."

"What's wrong?"

"The front of house just notified us that we received a last-minute order for a large private banquet for 30 people, and the staff will be here soon. But Xiao Liu and Xiao Wang just said they had severe stomach pains and have gone to the hospital. We're suddenly short two kitchen helpers, and we're not manpower enough."

Upon hearing this news, Su Su immediately sensed something was wrong.

It's lunchtime now, and with several last-minute group orders, suddenly having two fewer kitchen helpers will definitely affect the kitchen's food preparation speed.

In a regular restaurant, customers might complain a little if the food is served a bit slowly, but this is a Black Pearl restaurant, and any slight flaw in service could affect the restaurant's rating.

"Why did they suddenly have stomach aches? Did they eat something bad at the restaurant?"

"No, they went to eat roadside barbecue after get off work last night. They felt unwell when they came in this morning, and they couldn't stand it anymore, so they went to the hospital."

Su Su was speechless when she heard the reason. Getting a stomachache from eating roadside barbecue? What bad luck!

It seems necessary to remind them to eat at roadside stalls as little as possible in the future, as hygiene cannot be guaranteed and accidents are more likely to occur.

Now is not the time to dwell on that; the current priority is to solve the manpower shortage problem.

"Who's covering for Xiao Wang and the others now?"

"I had my intern, Xiao Zhao, fill in for me, but he's inexperienced and slow. I'm worried he won't be able to keep up when things get busy."

Su Su glanced at the intern who was frantically handling the ingredients and sighed.

The original plan was to invite the chef today specifically to taste the dishes, but after only three dishes were served, she, the head chef, had to go and fill in.

Although I feel a little bad for my master, I really can't ignore this emergency, so I can only ask my master to wait a little longer.

She came out of the kitchen and hurried back to the dining area.

"Master!"

Li Zhibai looked up at Su Su's hesitant expression and asked proactively:

"Sister Su Su, what's wrong? What happened?"

Su Su briefly explained the situation in the kitchen. The more she talked, the more she felt sorry for her master. The chef had taken a taxi all the way here, only to run away halfway through the tasting. What was going on?

Li Zhibai nodded in understanding.

Everyone encounters unexpected situations, and besides, he's just here to freeload, so waiting a bit won't hurt.

"Can you manage all that by yourself?"

"Whether I'm busy or not, I have to step up and make sure the food service speed doesn't drop."

"Do you need my help?" Li Zhibai asked casually and politely.

Su Su's eyes lit up: "Master! I knew you wouldn't stand idly by. The kitchen is just short of someone to cut and prepare the ingredients."

Li Zhibai: "......."

I was just being polite, but you're really not being polite at all.

It seems you haven't wasted your time at my shop; you've learned a lot, like how to be thick-skinned.

Children can be taught.

"Alright, then take me to the kitchen."

Su Su immediately led Li Zhibai to the kitchen.

The two walked through the corridor leading to the kitchen, pushed open the door, and stepped into the world that belonged only to the chefs.

As soon as you enter, you are greeted by the rich aroma of food and the sizzling sound of grilling on a hot plate.

The kitchen was much larger than Li Zhibai had imagined, at least several times the size of his entire Shaxian snack shop.

Four or five stoves were lined up in a row, and a chef in a white chef's uniform was busy working in front of each stove.

All sorts of professional kitchen utensils hung on the walls, including seven or eight frying pans of different sizes, which dazzled Li Zhibai.

This is what a proper restaurant kitchen should be like: bright, spacious, and fully equipped.

In comparison, his Shaxian County kitchen was practically indistinguishable from an unfinished house.

Of course, when it comes to cutting-edge technology, his kitchen is still the most advanced, since it has a bunch of equipment provided by the system, even though it looks a bit shabby on the surface.

The chefs and apprentices in the kitchen were all somewhat surprised to see Su Su walk in with a strange young man.

People were speculating about who this person was.

Chef Ma wiped his hands, walked over from the stove, and glanced at Li Zhibai.

The young man was quite handsome and fair-skinned; he didn't look like a chef, but rather like a customer who had come to eat.

Why did the boss bring the customer to the kitchen?

"Boss, who is this?"

"He is my master, surnamed Li. We are currently in dire need of manpower, and my master said he can help us with tasks such as cutting and preparing ingredients."

Upon hearing Su Su's words, the chefs in the kitchen all widened their eyes.

The boss's mentor?

Did they hear me right?

Their boss is one of the head chefs and owner of a Black Pearl One Diamond restaurant, and has also won the honor of Best Newcomer in Jiangcheng Catering. He is considered one of the best among the young generation of chefs.

Her master must be a highly respected, white-haired elder, right?

The man in front of me looks to be no more than twenty-three or twenty-four years old, about the same age as the boss. What makes him so special that he's qualified to be the boss's mentor?

Chef Ma was also very surprised. He subtly looked Li Zhibai over again, focusing on his hands. They were long and clean, not like hands that held knives all year round; there wasn't even a callus.

Can someone like that be a chef?

Could the boss have been scammed?

Although he had some doubts, he wouldn't say them out loud, but instead probed:

"Boss, while food preparation is a basic task, our restaurant has very strict requirements for knife skills. Is this Mr. Li really capable?"

"Master Ma, don't worry, my master's knife skills are amazing." Su Su said with great certainty.

Seeing that she had already said that, Chef Ma stopped talking.

Whether it's a sham or not, we'll find out by trying it.

"Then Mr. Li, please follow me."

Li Zhibai followed Master Ma to the cutting and preparation station, where a large amount of ingredients that needed to be processed were laid out, such as matsutake mushrooms, abalone, ham, bell peppers, and so on.

Master Ma briefly explained to him what size each ingredient needed to be cut and which dish needed to be prepared first, before returning to his own stove to get busy.

Li Zhibai tied on an apron and put on a chef's hat. When he saw his new outfit, he found it a little funny.

Who would have thought that they would be treated to a free feast, only to be forced into manual labor after eating half of it?

Just as he was about to grab any knife from the knife rack to make do, Su Su came over. She placed a long, rectangular bag she was carrying on the cutting board, untied the rope, and revealed a set of exquisite knives inside.

A chef's knife, a Santoku knife, and a boning knife, with handles made of dark sandalwood, and the character "粟" (millet) engraved at the base of each knife.

Li Zhibai's eyes lit up the moment he saw the set of knives.

What a fine knife! It's clearly a top-of-the-line, custom-made knife.

"Master, please use my knife."

"good!"

Li Zhibai didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up the chef's knife and weighed it in his hand. The shape of the blade, the center of gravity, and the grip of the handle were all excellent.

He couldn't help but curse that stingy system in his mind again.

When will the system finally give him a set of legendary weapons?!

If he had a legendary weapon, he could go out to participate in a competition or give guidance to someone else's shop. He could just take out the knife and put it on the table, shocking all his peers and showing off his skills.

For now, we can only use Su Su's knife set to satisfy our cravings.

"Then Master, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go and start cooking too."

"good!"

Li Zhibai took the knife, selected a key ingredient to be processed, and prepared to begin cutting.

Meanwhile, several kitchen staff members who were busy working nearby secretly glanced in his direction.

They were simply too curious about this stranger who had suddenly appeared.

So young, yet he became the boss's mentor, and the boss was even willing to lend him his own treasured sword.

That's quite a skill.

I just don't know if he's truly capable or just a charlatan with a show of skill.

..........

P.S.: I'm adding an extra chapter today. I'm probably the most miserable author here. I'm trying to lose weight but I'm writing a food story. The more I write, the hungrier I get, so I couldn't resist taking a tomato from the fridge and eating it. Maybe because it was cold, my stomach hurts terribly now. I'm having intestinal spasms. I should have known better than to eat it. I'm so upset.