Chapter 27 Throw Away the Old Recipes, I Want to Study New Dishes!
“What do you mean by closing down? Uncle Zhan, your culinary skills are not bad, how come there aren’t any customers?” Xu Yuan asked doubtfully.
Although he had just begun to experience this life, the memories he inherited still retained their flavor.
Grandpa Xu had relied on his superb culinary skills to turn Royal Court Banquet into a three-star restaurant. Zhan Long’s lineage was the same, so it shouldn’t have been such a miserable scene.
When it came to cooking, Zhan Long felt even more ashamed.
“I’m sorry, Young Master. I really had no choice. In the beginning, a few new restaurants opened in the vicinity, and they offered discounts, resulting in a loss of customers for us. In order to increase their competitiveness, other old restaurants also used the anniversary gimmick to lower their prices. We had no choice but to follow suit with discounts.”
“But no matter how much discount we offered, the cost was still there. The price war lasted longer than we imagined. During that period, the turnover of the stores was negative. Later, in order to lower the cost price, the purchasing chef bought some cheap ingredients. He didn’t expect to be complained by customers that they were not fresh and was unhygienic. Gradually, it became like this…”
Without waiting for Zhan Long to continue, Wei Heji interrupted, “Young Master, Please don’t blame Master Zhan. Although the purchasing chef was his disciple, Master Zhan kicked him out as soon as the incident happened.”
After listening to him, Xu Yuan rolled his eyes in his heart.
These words sounded like he was helping Zhan Long to clear his name, but in fact, it was convicting Zhan Long’s mismanagement.
After all, he was the head chef and was in charge of the kitchen. He was to blame for the procurement problem. Furthermore, the procurement itself was a lucrative job. Whether or not his disciple had filled his own pockets when buying cheap ingredients was a big question mark.
What’s more, the buyer was Zhan Long’s disciple. Whether this had anything to do with Zhan Long was also a question mark.
Wei Heji wanted to make Xu Yuan think this way. He and Zhan Long had fought for a long time and did not have an outcome. Now that Xu had come back, he could not only use him to chase Zhan away, but he could also gain Xu’s trust to become the only right-hand man.
When that time came, Xu Yuan alone holding onto a restaurant that was about to go bankrupt would be impossible. Wei would be able to buy it into his pocket at a low price and become the true master of Royal Court Banquet!
Thinking of this, Wei Heji could not help but grin. He could only lower his head to the lowest point possible to avoid being seen by Xu.
Zhan Long’s head was also bowed very low. His white hair reflected a sliver of light under the dim light.
“Young Master, I’m sorry.” He did not refute. Other than apologizing, he really did not know what to say.
Xu Yuan did not respond immediately. He looked around the hall with his hands behind his back.
Although the floor of the restaurant’s hall was clean, it was polished to a crisp. The reception desk was also very clean. However, when Xu raised his head slightly, he saw that the crystal chandelier above his head was covered with a layer of sticky black ash.
The light was dim and gloomy, bringing with it an uncomfortable sense of oppression. It seemed that no one had cleaned the floor for a long time.
Xu Yuan raised his hand and made Zhan Long straighten his back. “Let bygones be bygones. We have to move on. The most important thing now is to keep the business going.”
“But… My craftsmanship is not up to date with the times.” Zhan Long hesitated. “Many customers say that the taste of my food is simple. I am really… Powerless.”
Before the hygiene problems in the restaurant, some customers were quite critical of Zhan Long’s craftsmanship. They said that the restaurant had been rigidly sticking to
a cookbook, as if they going to bring it along with them into their grave. This was a huge blow to Zhan Long. A chef who had lost his confidence would feel that everything tasted bitter.
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Xu Yuan took out a thick cookbook from the stack of cookbooks at the front desk. He simply flipped through two pages. They were indeed mediocre dishes. They could be eaten anywhere outside of Royal Court Banquet. Without innovation, their core competitiveness was not strong, and it was only a matter of time before they would be eliminated by the market.
However, he was not as distressed as Zhan Long. “I learned to make new dishes in France. Throw away these old recipes first. I’ll study new dishes immediately. Uncle Zhan, help me make the preparations.”
“Huh?” Zhan Long and Wei Heji said in unison.
Throw away the recipes, and not keep any of the old dishes. Was he going to make a whole new recipe book?
“This… Young Master, you just came back… The shop isn’t well prepared…” Zhan Long walked around helplessly.
There had been no customers in the shop for a long time. The kitchen was so clean that even rats didn’t come. Suddenly, Xu Yuan said that he was going to start cooking. Zhan Long had been idle for so long that he didn’t know where to start from.
He could only suggest, “Young Master, what do you think about starting tomorrow? You just got off the plane and haven’t eaten yet,
right?”
Wei Heji retorted, “Master Zhan, why do you always discourage the young master’s enthusiasm?! The young master went abroad to further his studies for four years just to inherit the master’s mantle. Not to mention new dishes, even the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast wouldn’t be a problem for the young master!”
Although he was flattering Xu Yuan, he was already laughing wildly in his heart. He only felt that Xu was too naive. He was like a pile of scrap metal that thought that after being plated with gold overseas, it would really have the weight of gold. He even boasted shamelessly that he wanted to develop new dishes. It was simply ridiculous.
“Zhan Long, a chef for decades, could not do anything to the restaurant. With you, a little brat who has studied cooking for a few years? I’m dying of laughter!” Wei Heji mocked him secretly. He stared coldly at Xu asking Zhan for the kitchen key.
Zhan Long saw Xu Yuan’s firm attitude and was troubled, “Young Master, look, you haven’t eaten yet since you got off the plane. Why don’t you go back and rest first? I’ll do the research and development after I’ve bought the ingredients tomorrow, okay? This kitchen hasn’t been used for a long time, and I still have to clean it up.”
Xu Yuan also felt that this was the reason, so he nodded. “Alright then, I’ll go out and buy some ingredients. We’ll just make do with cooking and eating in the restaurant.”
SO
He entered the role very quickly. How could the heir of the majestic Royal Court Banquet eat in another restaurant? Even if he were to boil water and eat dried noodles, he had to do it in his own restaurant so that he wouldn’t be laughed at by others.
Hearing this, Zhan Long was moved to the point of tears. He felt that the young master really had backbone and perseverance. Zhan Long’s confidence in reviving Royal Court Banquet was doubled!
Wei Heji saw that the atmosphere between the two was getting increasingly harmonious and couldn’t help but come up to show off. “How can we trouble Master Zhan and the young master with such a small matter like buying ingredients? You guys rest, I’ll go.”
In fact, he was just saying it for the sake of saying it. Because Zhan Long was a chef, he had his own standards for buying ingredients, and never relied on others.
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Usually, if Wei Heji said this, Zhan Long’s first reaction would be to refuse, and then he would make the trip himself. Wei said this just to make a good impression.
But this didn’t work on Xu Yuan.
Xu, who had been smiling gently a second ago, immediately changed into a cold expression. “Then go ahead, Uncle Wei. We’ll wait for you here. Hurry back.”
Wei Heji was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face almost disappeared. One had to know that the restaurant was in the downtown business district. There were not many residents nearby. The nearest grocery store took ten minutes to get there by taxi. The sun was so hot outside that he did not want to go out at all.
At this time, a man with a toothpick in his mouth suddenly pushed the door open and came in, shaking his fierce face and saying, “I heard that your place has reopened. Bring me a bowl of barbecued pork rice!”