Food Wars, My Dishes Don't Just Shine

"I'll go and discuss it with the head chef."

Tadokoro Megumi was also feeling resentful. She understood the restaurant's head chef's concerns: he was worried that their involvement would affect the quality of the dishes.

If that's the case, then don't agree to accept trainees from Totsuki! This kind of wanting one thing and wanting the other is infuriating!

"Me too."

This couldn't go on, and both Megumi Tadokoro and Miyoko Hojo knew this, so they decided to go find the head chef.

In this kitchen, the head chef has significantly more say than the restaurant owner.

If anyone dares to disobey him, he will kick them out of the kitchen as quickly as possible, since the kitchen already belongs to his men.

soon.

Megumi Tadokoro and Miyoko Hojo found the head chef, who was reclining in a chair, resting with his eyes closed. He was only in charge of tasting dishes before serving them in this kitchen.

After exchanging a glance with Miyoko Hojo, Megumi Tadokoro mustered her courage and stood in front of him.

Chapter 301 The Chef's Test, Bai Yuan Pretending to be Straight

"When can we start cooking? We're leaving in four days, and if we don't produce good results, we might be expelled from Totsuki Academy."

Let us participate in the chef's work!

Looking at the man in front of her who had closed his eyes to rest, Tadokoro Megumi placed her hand on her chest, her voice pleading, her heart pounding with tension.

She really didn't want to bother Teacher Bai Yuan with such a trivial matter.

That's right, even if she doesn't achieve good results, she believes that Teacher Bai Yuan will protect her, but that would be too spineless, and she doesn't want it to end up like that.

Therefore, she must demonstrate her determination in order to gain the other party's acceptance!

"Are you done talking? If you are, go wash the dishes. We have enough chefs here, we just need two dishwashers."

If you keep nagging and haggling with me, just go back to where you came from!

To everyone's surprise, the chef didn't take Tadokoro Megumi and Hojo Miyoko's determination seriously at all. He didn't even lift an eyelid, and his voice was extremely cold.

"Are you saying that we have no chance of becoming chefs here no matter what?"

Upon hearing the other person's words, Tadokoro Megumi's smile froze slightly, but she still tried her best to remain calm. Some things, once done, can never be undone.

"That's right, to be honest, I've never really approved of chefs trained in schools."

How powerful can someone raised in a greenhouse environment be? They're nothing more than retired old men, mechanically teaching outdated knowledge from textbooks.

If someone like that were to become a chef at my restaurant, I can't even imagine how many customers would be driven away by his cooking. I don't have time to play house with you guys!

Seeing that the other party was still pestering him, the head chef opened his eyes, sat up straight, and his voice was filled with a chilling coldness.

He would never hand over the fruits of his labor to two greenhorns!

"If that's the case, then why did you choose to accept Totsuki's students in the first place? Wouldn't it have been better to just refuse?"

Suppressing her rising anger, before Tadokoro Megumi could even speak, Hojo Miyoko asked, half questioning and half doubting.

If the other party cannot give a satisfactory answer, she will definitely make a scene, just like she did when she rectified Hojo Restaurant.

As long as someone can create a dish that surpasses his, even though the chefs are currently on his side, it's uncertain who will have more people on their side in the end!

"That was a job the restaurant owner took on and forced me to do. It's none of my business. My job is to keep the restaurant's reputation from declining; I don't care about anything else."

Chef Munemasa Wada said with a relaxed expression that he was already troubled by the two new people with connections who had been added to the kitchen.

You can't chase them away, and you can't scold them either. They're like a stubborn plaster, driving you crazy!

So he arranged for them to do some dishwashing work, and then fabricated some experiences for them to get through this perfunctory training, but they were still not satisfied.

They are so-called genius students from famous schools, but they have never actually worked in society and have no idea how they fit in.

People like them should just find a small restaurant to mooch off and wait to die. What are they doing here? They're just wasting his time!

True chefs should pass on their skills through an apprenticeship system.

He started as a dishwasher and general helper, then became a vegetable cutter, and was eventually taken in as an apprentice by the head chef. It took him more than 20 years of honing his skills to get where he is today.

These two guys came in wanting to be chefs, to be the stir-fry masters here? Where in the world is there such a good deal?!

"What you're concerned about is that we can't make dishes that meet restaurant standards?"

"In that case, if we can cook dishes that meet the restaurant's standards, can we stay here and work as chefs?"

Noticing the other layer of meaning in the man's words, Tadokoro Megumi raised an eyebrow slightly and asked this crucial question.

"Of course, if you have the ability, I will let you be the chef here. Conversely, if you don't have the ability, then don't mention it again!"

Looking at the serious-looking Tadokoro Megumi in front of him, Wada Munemasa suddenly thought of himself when he was young.

At the time, he didn't agree with this theory either. Why should apprentices in a clean kitchen have to start by washing dishes and only be able to start cutting vegetables after washing dishes for two or three years?

When working as a vegetable cutter, one cannot cook. One must wait until the cut vegetables are of uniform size and one's knife skills are perfected before one can truly begin working on the stove.

The guy in front of me is just like he was back then.

It's easy to deal with them: just make them cook a dish to understand themselves, and they'll stop bothering you and making unreasonable demands.

"Sure, as long as our cooking doesn't satisfy you—in fact, if anyone in the kitchen isn't satisfied with our cooking, they won't ask to be the chef anymore and will just wash dishes in peace."

The anger that had been building up inside her suddenly made Tadokoro Megumi's voice rise.

This gentle and kind girl also revealed a fierce side, with a desire to break everything and prove that the other party looked down on her.

"Okay, it's a deal. Get the pots and stove ready!"

Seeing the emotionally charged Tadokoro Megumi and the angry Hojo Miyoko beside her, Wada Munemasa slammed his hand on the chair and stood up.

He shouted to those around him, and immediately the chefs who had finished cooking cleaned the pots and pans in front of them and made way for the cooking station.

At that moment, Wada Munemasa took two steps forward and said, "Since you want to apply for the position of chef at our shop, let's use our shop's signature dish, pistachio and sea urchin pasta, as the test."

He apprenticed under an Italian chef for ten years, during which time he naturally learned mostly Italian cuisine.

This pistachio and sea urchin pasta is his specialty; he has made it at least eight hundred times, if not a thousand, since he started working at this restaurant!

Using this dish as an assessment tool would allow him to quickly determine the skill levels of Tadokoro Megumi and Hojo Miyoko.

However, two guys who grew up in a greenhouse probably can't be that great, no matter how skilled they are.

Pistachio and sea urchin pasta?

Since they had never been near a stove since arriving here, Megumi Tadokoro and Miyoko Hojo had never even seen the restaurant's menu before, so they were a little confused when they suddenly heard the name.

"It can be seen as a plus-upgraded version of the Fireworks Girl pasta, a pasta dish made with pistachio sauce air-shipped from southern Italy, along with chili peppers and garlic, and sea urchin as the base sauce."

To avoid you using my ignorance of cooking as an excuse that my dish tastes bad, here is the menu for this dish. The steps are very detailed, and I will follow them to make it.

You can be as creative as you like then. Even if you change the recipe, as long as it tastes delicious, it's fine. I'm not a rigid person.

As if he had thought of something, Wada Munemasa smiled at Tadokoro Megumi and Hojo Miyoko, but his tone was more playful.

"If you still can't make decent food under these conditions, then I hope I never hear you say things like 'Let me be the chef here.' You should just keep washing dishes."

Efficiently preparing the dishes on the menu is a fundamental skill for a restaurant chef.

"Don't worry, we'll just replicate it according to the recipe."

Upon hearing Wada Munemasa's words, Tadokoro Megumi's voice remained expressionless, devoid of joy or sorrow.

As she spoke, she arrived at the kitchen counter and simply rearranged the utensils and seasonings in front of her. She was going to teach this arrogant chef a lesson!

Not all chefs who graduate from the academy are useless; those with weak skills were eliminated back in junior high.

The rest are all absolute elites.

This guy's arrogance and complacency will become a sharp knife hanging over his head, falling the moment she finishes cooking and piercing him completely!

"This dish doesn't seem complicated to make, it should take less than half an hour, and everything in the kitchen can be used, right?"

As she handed the recipe to Hojo Miyoko, Tadokoro Megumi said to Wada Munemasa, "Surely he wouldn't make me cook a whole pot of chicken soup right away."

Even if the other party really asked her to cook it fresh, she could quickly make a pot of delicious chicken soup in fifteen minutes. Although it would be much worse than a slow-cooked soup, it would be enough for cooking.

"That's right, we've already prepared the parts that take longer to prepare, so you can use them directly."

As a restaurant that is already open for business, it's too late to start preparing everything at mealtimes, and no customers will wait for you for hours.

Ingredients like broth, used to enhance flavor, are prepared by people early in the morning.

In a sense, this is also a type of pre-cooked food, but compared to using meal kits, this type of pre-cooked food is clearly healthier.

"Okay, let's get started."

Without saying much, Tadokoro Megumi looked through the recipe and memorized how to make the dish, ready to start cooking at any time.

"As you wish, let's begin now!"

Seeing that Tadokoro Megumi hadn't looked at the recipe for long before deciding to start cooking, Wada Munemasa snorted and decided to teach Tadokoro Megumi a lesson when the facts were laid out before him.

As a chef, the most important thing is to avoid arrogance and impatience. You can start cooking only after you have fully understood the dish. The other person has plenty of time for that.

But she didn't. She just glanced at it a few times, in less than three minutes. How could she possibly memorize a dish in such a short time?

"I don't have a problem either."

Hojo Miyoko took a little longer than Tadokoro Megumi, but only a little longer. After about five minutes, she finished looking at the recipe and returned it.

To this, Wada Munemasa remained silent.

At this moment, he turned his gaze to the stove in front of him and began to adjust his state of mind.

As a master chef, he has dedicated himself to the art of cooking for many years.

Although he spends most of his time in the restaurant tasting dishes, he can see his own shortcomings through these apprentices, thus making progress and growing.

Of course, this is because he is an experienced chef with a thorough understanding of cooking; anyone else would have only made a mistake.

"Using a peeler to process garlic not only improves efficiency but also makes it look nicer."

After looking at the recipe, Tadokoro Megumi did not rush to cook. She stood still, staring intently at Chef Wada, preparing to wait for him to finish before cooking herself.

I glanced at the recipe quickly to remember the key points of the method, but watching Wada Munemasa prepare the dish completely resolved my doubts.

She's not Master Bai Yuan, and her understanding of the relationships between ingredients isn't deep enough. Of course, she can't just look at the recipe once and start hastily.

Even if she possessed top-tier skills, she wouldn't be able to create a dish that met the standards.

"Start preparing the sauce."