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

Li Zhibai was working hard at the food preparation station, unaware that the head chef Ma Yinming behind him had already regarded him as a threat, his eyes filled with hostility.

All he can think about right now is finishing these tasks so he can get back to cooking.

With each swift movement of the knife, piles and piles of ingredients were prepared.

After chopping the onions, chop the carrots; after chopping the carrots, chop the celery; after chopping the celery, chop the mushrooms; after chopping the mushrooms, chop the bell peppers...

His efficiency is ridiculously high; he could easily do the work of three food preparation chefs all by himself.

A young man in charge of preparing the ingredients couldn't help but ask curiously, "Chef Li, which restaurant do you work at? Your knife skills are amazing!"

"Oh, I run a Shaxian snack shop."

Young man: "???"

Are you kidding me?!

Shaxian snacks have knife skills like that? You're kidding me!

"Master Li, please don't be modest. With your skills, it would be a waste for you to work at a Shaxian snack shop."

"Why would I lie to you?" Li Zhibai looked up at him and gave him the address: "My restaurant is at No. 88 Jiangdong South Road. Come to my restaurant sometime and I'll give you a discount."

"Really? What kind of discount?"

"10% off".

"That's great, thank you, Master Li." The young man felt something was off as soon as he finished thanking him.

Hmm, something seems off.

Doesn't a 10% discount mean there's no discount at all?

A waitress who came over to serve dishes overheard their conversation and couldn't help but ask:

"Master Li, what dishes do you recommend at your Shaxian restaurant?"

"There are so many," Li Zhibai said, chopping vegetables as he rattled off the names of the dishes: "Scallion oil noodles, crystal steamed dumplings, chicken leg rice, wontons, stew, braised pork belly, and the limited-edition Bodhi Jade Vegetarian Dish—all our signature dishes."

"The name sounds pretty ordinary, similar to other Shaxian snacks."

"It doesn't matter if your name is ordinary, as long as you taste good, just like you, young lady. You may not look particularly special, but you have a great personality."

Waitress: "..."

Why does my fist suddenly harden?

The other woman washing dishes nearby was amused by his words and couldn't help but laugh.

This young man is quite interesting.

Seeing how quickly Li Zhibai had become friends with the kitchen and front-of-house staff, Ma Yinming felt even more threatened.

If someone like that were to become the head chef, he would likely win over the kitchen staff very quickly, forcing him to resign.

Ma Yinming felt increasingly uneasy. He had worked at [Suwei] for three years, having been there since the first day it opened. He treated the store like his own child.

If Su Su really wants to change the head chef, then he....

Just as he was lost in thought, a waiter pushed open the door and handed him an additional order.

"Chef, a new dish has been added to the menu in private room number three upstairs: Dragon Fat Wrapped in Golden Silk Robe."

The name of this dish sounds impressive, but it's actually just sous-vide lobster with saffron foam. Simply put, it's a high-end dish made by sous-vide Boston lobster with a seafood foam sauce made with saffron.

It is considered one of Ma Yinming's signature dishes.

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

Ma Yinming temporarily put his sense of crisis aside.

Regardless of Mr. Li's background, he should focus on doing his job well first. He's the head chef of this restaurant; as long as the food is good, no one can take his place.

Ma Yinming took a Boston lobster from the freezer and began processing it, draining its urine and blood, then placing it in a constant temperature water bath to simmer at a low temperature for a few minutes. After taking it out, he soaked it in ice water. Through the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, the lobster meat could become firmer.

After the lobster had completely cooled down, he used tools to start removing the lobster meat. First, he removed the claws, then he used scissors to cut along the belly of the lobster, and with a gentle push along the shell wall, the entire piece of snow-white lobster meat came out intact.

Pat the lobster meat dry with kitchen paper, put it into a vacuum bag, and put it back into the pot for a second low-temperature slow cooking.

While the lobster was still slow, he began preparing to make the saffron foam sauce.

Heat a small copper pot over low heat, add butter, and when the butter melts and starts to bubble slightly, add chopped shallots and sauté over low heat until translucent.

Then pour in white wine, reduce the alcohol over high heat, add the pre-prepared seafood stock and a pinch of saffron.

After the saffron was added to the pot, the broth quickly turned golden yellow, which looked very beautiful.

Every time Ma Yinming gets to this point, he feels a sense of satisfaction. This is why he loves cooking. Seeing the ingredients undergo amazing changes in the pot is truly therapeutic.

Next is the concentration.

Ma Yinming turned the heat down to the lowest setting, letting the sauce simmer slowly in the small copper pot, stirring it occasionally with a spoon to prevent it from burning.

This process requires patience and cannot be rushed. The consistency of the sauce needs to be judged by experience; it should not be too thin or too thick, just thick enough to coat the sauce.

Just as the sauce was about to be collected, Li Zhibai had finished his work.

Su Su went upstairs to a private room to cook soup for the guests. Out of boredom and curiosity, he wandered out of the kitchen and watched the others work.

He happened to be right behind Ma Yinming and watched the whole process while Ma Yinming was making this lobster dish.

Just as Ma Yinming was about to filter out the sauce and pour it into the foam gun along with the whipped cream to make foam, he couldn't help but blurt it out.

"Master Ma, I think there's something wrong with how you made this. The original flavor of the lobster meat is easily masked by this method."

As soon as he finished speaking, the kitchen fell silent, and everyone instinctively looked at Li Zhibai.

No way, this guy actually dared to say to his face that there was something wrong with the chef's food?

Did they hear me right?

Ma Yinming's face immediately darkened. He turned off the fire and turned to look at Li Zhibai.

"What did you just say?"

Li Zhibai then realized he had spoken out of turn and thought to himself: Oh no, I'm going to offend someone.

On someone else's turf, in front of so many people, to say that the head chef's cooking is problematic is just slapping them in the face.

"Uh, I didn't say anything. Master Ma, you're busy, I'll go outside and see if anyone calls me for dinner."

After saying that, he tried to slip away.

Ma Yinming slammed the spoon down on the stove with a loud thud.

"Stop right there!"

Li Zhibai paused, turned around, and said innocently, "I really didn't say anything!"

Looking at the expression on the other person's face, he wondered to himself, "Why does Master Ma seem so hostile towards me?"

He casually uttered a sentence, and then suddenly threw down his spoon.

As for...

Ma Yinming had no intention of letting it go so easily, because it concerned his authority in the kitchen.

In the catering industry, almost every head chef climbs the ladder through their skills, and they are the ones who essentially support a restaurant.

You can criticize his management style, you can question his menu design, but you can't say that there's something wrong with the food he makes in front of everyone in the kitchen.

Saying that is tantamount to slapping him in the face in public and denying his very foundation. If you just let it go so easily, what authority will he have left in the kitchen, and how will he be able to manage his subordinates?

Unless you can prove you are better than him.

"Mr. Li, I, Ma Yinming, have made at least several hundred, if not thousands, of this dish since the business opened. I have been making it myself since the business opened, and the positive feedback rate is very high. Today, you are saying in front of so many people that there is a problem with the dish I make. This is clearly a slap in my face."

"Master Ma, I was just saying it casually, please don't take it to heart. I have this problem, I can't help but eat when I see others cooking. My family has beaten me for it several times. Please just pretend I was talking nonsense, okay?"

Li Zhibai genuinely had no intention of causing trouble.

I came to Su Su's restaurant today to eat, not to cause trouble. It would be really wrong of me to offend my apprentice's head chef so badly because of my loose tongue.

So let's just give in.

But Ma Yinming wasn't going to let him get away with it so easily. He already felt threatened by Li Zhibai's appearance and was somewhat hostile towards him. Plus, Li Zhibai had picked on him in front of so many people, so he had to make things clear today.

"Mr. Li, you think you can just let this go after such a casual remark? Absolutely not!"

"We're all cooks, so since you say there's something wrong with my cooking, how about this: after I finish this one, you make one too, and we'll have a cooking competition."

"I wanted to see just how skilled Mr. Su's master really was, so that I, with my limited skills, could learn a thing or two."

Li Zhibai: "..."

It seems that Master Ma is determined to fight him to the bitter end today.

He sighed helplessly.

I came to my apprentice's shop for a nice meal, but somehow it turned into me challenging him.