The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 535 Indulging in Moments Begins!
Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Amid the lively atmosphere of the Guanling Food Festival, almost the entire Mingjing State focused its attention on this small to medium-sized coastal city.

Qin Lang and his two companions, who were staying at the hotel, could clearly feel that there were many more tourists coming to Guanling City than before. The Tianzhou Hotel where they were staying was already fully booked, as were most other hotels and inns of all sizes.

The entire city of Guanling was ignited by this vibrant atmosphere, and the streets and alleys seemed to become much more lively than before.

Amidst this gradually warming atmosphere, the first event of the Guanling Food Festival, "Enjoy the Moment," finally kicked off amidst much anticipation.

The "Enjoy Your Time" event begins at midnight on the day of the event and ends at midnight the following day. Participants need to get 100 non-participants to approve their cooking skills and sign and certify them on the certification card belonging to each participant in order to advance.

So, in the middle of the night, many contestants set up their food carts or other equipment that they had prepared in advance and began their experiments in the bustling streets and alleys.

Food lovers who came upon hearing the news were equally cooperative, walking through the streets and alleys, actively seeking out all sorts of delightful delicacies.

However, all of this had little to do with Qin Lang and the other two.

Before midnight, the three of them went to bed early. After waking up and washing up, they went to the Haibawang flagship store together at nine o'clock in the morning.

The three even stopped by a few contestants' stalls along the way to buy some breakfast to tide them over.

Inside the kitchen, the day's busy work has just begun.

Upon seeing the three people enter the kitchen, Qin Zhongguo nodded solemnly, "According to your needs, I have prepared separate tables for the three of you."

"Okay, thank you, Chef Qin." Qin Lang nodded with a smile.

"Pfft~" Zhao Qian suddenly covered her mouth and laughed out loud, "Hearing you call Chef Qin like that feels weird, like you're calling yourself."

Qin Lang was speechless.

He shares the same surname as Qin Zhongguo, so it does sound a bit odd to call him that.

After all, he had been a head chef in his previous life, and some people called him that.

"With Qin Lang's culinary skills, he is more than qualified to be the head chef in Hai Ba Wang's kitchen." Qin Zhongguo made a small joke, though his expression remained serious, before returning to the main topic, "Song Pan has roughly told me about your arrangements."

"I don't understand business matters."

"But today, Haibaowang's kitchen will definitely not let us down."

The moment Qin Zhongguo finished speaking, everyone in the kitchen looked up at the same time, and Qin Lang could clearly see the light in their eyes.

That was an inspiring, energetic light.

As members of Hai Ba Wang's kitchen staff, they share the company's glory and its shame.

"Then let's get started." Qin Lang smiled and walked with Zhao Qian and Cao Dongdong to a cooking area specially prepared for them in a corner of the kitchen.

In order to ensure the speed of food service and prevent diners from waiting too long, it is essential for restaurants to prepare some ingredients and steps in advance.

Qin Lang had extensive experience working in restaurants in his previous life, so he was naturally very skilled. As for Zhao Qian and Cao Dongdong, although they didn't have much kitchen experience, they were able to make both the "Thousand Flavors Lamb" and the egg yolk pastry in large quantities.

The "Thousand Flavors of Lamb" is a cold dish. The lamb is braised and processed in a special way, then cooled, sliced, and plated. The initial braising and processing can be completed in advance, so customers only need to slice and plate it when they want it, which is very convenient. As for the egg yolk pastry, although it needs to be made to order, the most time-consuming step in the cooking process, proofing the dough, can be started in advance.

Moreover, a longer proofing time allows the flour and water to mix more evenly, which can improve the texture.

As the three of them busily prepared, time flew by and it was already eleven o'clock.

Hai Ba Wang Restaurant is starting to get customers.
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"Xiao Li, look at how you've handled this!"

At the entrance of Haibawang Restaurant, a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, slightly overweight, looked at the young man standing in front of him with displeasure and an awkward expression. "Mr. Liu is a guest who has come all the way from Wuhezhou."

"I asked you to arrange a welcoming dinner, and you arranged this?"

As he spoke, he pointed disapprovingly to the Haibawang signboard behind him, "Are you trying to make me feel inferior in front of President Liu?"

“Manager Zhang…” Xiao Li looked distressed and helpless. “I don’t have any other options. You said you wanted to hold the dinner at Wei Ji Xian Restaurant, but Wei Ji Xian Restaurant is on a semi-reservation basis, and all the reservations released today have already been booked.”

"As for going directly to eat... I couldn't get a number in their queue..."

"Hmph! So many rules for a restaurant." Manager Zhang snorted with some dissatisfaction, then added impatiently, "Even if we can't go to Wei Ji Xian, aren't there so many other restaurants in Guanling City?"

"Why did you choose to place it here instead of anywhere else!"

At this point, Manager Zhang couldn't help but get angry, "Didn't you see the reports about Haibawang Restaurant using inferior ingredients?"

“But that’s Hai Ba Wang Restaurant in Xianyu City, not the main branch…” Xiao Li shrank his head. “Manager Zhang, I’ve been to almost all the top restaurants in Guanling City. If I had to say which restaurant can compare to Wei Ji Xian, it would only be this one. So since I can’t go to Wei Ji Xian, I made a reservation here as soon as possible.”

"What do you mean by 'headquarters' or 'branch'?" Manager Zhang said impatiently. "Aren't they all the same restaurant? Who knows if the food here has the same problem?"

"But the more problematic the public opinion is, the stricter the restaurant will be on the quality of its ingredients, to ensure that no loopholes are found, right?" Xiao Li, being a bit young, couldn't help but mutter to himself when he heard Manager Zhang say this about his favorite restaurant.

Manager Zhang, with his sharp ears, glared at Xiao Li after hearing this. "Even if the food at this restaurant is fine, what if General Manager Liu hears negative things about this place and thinks that our choice of this restaurant shows a lack of respect for them?"

"This..." Xiao Li was speechless for a moment.

He hadn't really thought about that.

"This time, with General Manager Liu here, our company is going to discuss a big deal with them!" Manager Zhang scoffed. "Get me another company right now."

“Uh…” Xiao Li’s expression turned bitter, “It might be too late.”

As he spoke, he pointed to seven or eight people walking over from not far away, "Those coming from over there seem to be General Manager Liu."

"What?!" Manager Zhang's expression changed, and he glared at Xiao Li. "If this deal falls through, your promotion is over!"

Immediately afterwards, he forced a bright smile and went to greet the person coming from the opposite direction.

(End of this chapter)