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

Su Su was taken aback by Li Zhibai's words.

The eighth dish?

When did she prepare the eighth dish?

She and Chef Ma jointly designed the menu for the tasting event, which consisted of seven dishes. Where did the eighth dish come from?

Then she looked in the direction Li Zhibai was pointing and saw a plate of tempting braised pork on the stove. Just looking at it made her mouth water.

Isn't this the same braised pork she ate at her master's Shaxian Snacks restaurant?

Could it be that Master brought over some braised pork from his own shop in his pocket?

That's not right. He was empty-handed when he left this morning. Where would he hide a pot of braised pork?

Su Su quickly realized that her master had left the table earlier, saying he had something urgent to attend to, and that he had rushed to the kitchen to cook.

"Master, did you bring over our braised pork from here?"

"But I can't make it taste like yours. If we serve this dish at the tasting event and then customers order it and I can't make it, wouldn't that ruin my reputation?"

She had been with her master for so long and was well aware of the gap between them.

To describe her master's terrifying skill in one sentence: If you don't learn cooking, seeing your master is like a frog in a well looking at the moon; if you do learn cooking, seeing your master is like a floating object seeing the blue sky.

Su Su, born into a wealthy family with a long history in the catering industry, started learning to cook at the age of 12, was sent to Le Cordon Bleu in France at the age of 15, opened her own restaurant in her early 20s, and earned the Black Pearl One Diamond after three years. She is already considered a genius chef by many of her peers.

But it wasn't until she met her master, Li Zhibai, that she realized her so-called genius was no match for even a single finger of his.

She often visits restaurants and has eaten food made by many famous chefs, but this is the first time she has seen someone who can make food taste beyond the extreme.

That was a level she felt she might not be able to reach even if she worked hard for another ten years or so.

It is precisely because she can face up to the gap between herself and her master Li Zhibai that she has this concern: what if customers order this flavor but can't get it?

We can't just get takeout from our master's shop, can we?

Master doesn't allow takeout at his shop either.

"Let's not talk about that for now. Try a piece and see the difference." Li Zhibai kept everyone in suspense for a moment.

Su Su took a new pair of chopsticks and picked up a piece of braised pork from the plate. As soon as the chopsticks touched the reddish-brown skin, it slightly dented, feeling very elastic, just like the braised pork she used to eat.

Because it was fresh out of the pot and still steaming, she blew on it to cool it down a bit before putting it in her mouth to taste.

It's soft and smooth on the palate, with a perfect balance of sweet and salty sauce. You can clearly taste the rich meaty aroma, and at the end, there's a very faint hint of rose fragrance in your mouth.

It tastes just like the braised pork from Master's restaurant!

No, there is still a slight difference.

Su Su took another bite and savored it carefully. Only then did she notice the problem: the braised pork seemed to be slightly lighter than the braised pork in her master's shop. It didn't have the heaviness of animal fat, but it still had the aroma of meat.

As she ate, she suddenly exclaimed in shock, "Master, this isn't fake meat, is it?"

Li Zhibai nodded smugly: "It's purely vegetarian, and the main ingredient is winter melon."

"Winter melon?"

Su Su looked down incredulously at the small piece of braised pork left on her chopsticks and finally noticed the difference in the fibers.

This is truly a vegetarian braised pork dish made with winter melon.

She has eaten at at least dozens of vegetarian restaurants since she was a child. Some high-end vegetarian restaurants can indeed make very realistic meat-imitating dishes. She has also eaten imitation braised pork made with winter melon, but she has never seen such a level of imitation meat. It is completely indistinguishable to the naked eye, and the taste is almost indistinguishable as well. The meat aroma is also particularly strong.

Most importantly, it tastes incredibly delicious, almost as good as the real braised pork my master makes.

"Master, you're amazing!"

"How could you cook winter melon like this? I can't tell it's fake at all, the texture and taste are just like this."

"I chatted with Mr. Shen for a bit earlier and got some inspiration, so I gave it a try. I didn't expect to actually succeed," Li Zhibai said casually.

Hearing this, Ma Yinming, who was standing next to him, felt a sharp pang in his heart.

Seriously? Are you even human?

She can casually chat with someone and then whip up a vegetarian braised pork dish so perfectly that even the boss can't tell the difference. That's incredible!

"Um... could I have a piece too?" Ma Yinming was really itching to try it. He hadn't had a chance to speak up before, but now he couldn't hold back any longer.

Li Zhibai nodded: "Okay! You can have a piece too."

Ma Yinming happily picked up a new pair of chopsticks, and just as he was about to reach the chopsticks into the plate, a cell phone suddenly appeared in front of his face.

"139, just scan the code, thank you!"

Ma Yinming: "..."

No, you're on our turf, you used our ingredients and cooking equipment, and now you want to pay for a piece of your braised pork?

You're obsessed with money!

In the end, he paid the money readily. After all, the other party had made the new dish in front of him without any reservations, and had also helped him improve his signature dish, which had benefited him a lot. It was only right to pay some money.

Consider it tuition.

Thinking about it this way, he actually felt like he'd made a profit, since the tuition was only 139 yuan, which was a huge bargain!

After paying, Ma Yinming picked up a piece of vegetarian braised pork and put it in his mouth, and was instantly amazed by its deliciousness.

Last time, he thought Li Zhibai had used all his strength with that improved version of Golden Silk Robe Wrapped in Dragon Fat, but after eating this dish, he realized that the other party was still holding back.

This sense of layering, this incredibly realistic texture, was something he had never tasted in a vegetarian dish in his nearly twenty years as a chef.

Too bad!

After Su Su finished eating her piece of vegetarian braised pork, she felt both amazed and troubled.

It's really delicious, and it's truly amazing, but the problem remains: she just can't make it.

Master Ma probably couldn't possibly recreate this flavor, even though he had seen his master make the dish.

"Master, the same problem remains: even if the teachers taste this dish and find it delicious, what if I can't recreate the flavor when they order it at the restaurant again?"

Li Zhibai almost blurted out, "Then let them eat at my shop!"

After enjoying the appetizers at your restaurant, we can have our main course at mine. It's a win-win situation for us, master and apprentice!

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

Not suitable.

His apprentice invited him to a tasting event to boost the event's prestige, but he turned around and tried to redirect his apprentice's customers to his own Shaxian snack shop. This kind of thing is a bit outrageous.

Alas, in the end, it was the complexities of interpersonal relationships that dragged him down!

Su Su came up with a solution first: "Master, how about this? Consider this dish a limited edition secret item in my shop. Can you come over once in a while and help make it? I'll give you an extra appearance fee."

Li Zhibai's eyes lit up.

This girl's got it!

He was initially too embarrassed to ask his apprentice to raise the tuition, but here he is now.

"Sister Su, what are you saying! You are my only apprentice, what kind of relationship do we have? We are like close friends and family! Talking about money will only hurt our feelings."

When Su Su heard him say the words "beloved family and friends," she knew that it was time to ask for more money.

"3 a month, plus 4% of this dish's sales revenue, is that feasible?"

Her overall costs are much higher than her master's small Shaxian restaurant. After deducting the costs of ingredients, labor, and venue, this 40% is equivalent to giving most of the profits to her master, which is very sincere.

But she felt it was worth it. With this dish as the restaurant's signature dish, even if it was only served a few times a month, it would elevate the reputation of [Chestnut Flavor] to a higher level.

"Of course, only at noon, so it won't interfere with your normal business operations in the evening," she added.

Li Zhibai did a quick mental calculation.

With a guaranteed minimum of 30,000 yuan a month, plus commission, you can easily earn tens of thousands of yuan. This doesn't even include the free lunch you can get when you come here to cook, and you can even pack some high-end ingredients to take home. If you're lucky, you can even develop a few high-end, gullible customers among these VIPs.

That's killing several birds with one stone!

"Okay, it's settled then."

"Since you're my apprentice, who else would your master help but you! Come on, let's serve the dishes and let all the teachers taste what a surprise is."

Su Su was delighted to see that her master had agreed. This meant that her shop would have an additional top chef in charge, and even if he only came occasionally, it would still be a great deal.

Perhaps before long, she will be able to use her master's skills to boost Black Pearl's rating again, from one diamond to two diamonds or even three diamonds.

"By the way, Master, what's the name of this dish?"

"Plain Red Dust!"

"This name sounds nice, so how should we price it?" After all, this dish was developed exclusively by the chef, so even if it's sold in her shop, the price will still have to take the chef's opinion into consideration.

"199!" Li Zhi said without hesitation.

When Su Su heard the price, she was about to say that 199 yuan a serving of such good food was a bit cheap, when she heard him add another sentence.

"piece!"

Su Su: "..."

She suddenly had a feeling that her shop was gradually turning towards the dark side!

199 yuan for a piece of winter melon? That's highway robbery!