Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Chef Jin
The waiter, after being rescued, hurriedly stepped aside and dialed the manager's phone.
Shortly after, a middle-aged man sporting a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and a demeanor of smugness hurriedly ascended the stairs.
Upon seeing the scene before him, he dashed straight to Chen Yu and scolded.
"What are you doing? This is a shareholder of my restaurant and also the chef in charge of our special dishes. Let go at once!"
Chen Yu was a bit stunned; he couldn't sense any hint of a chef from the man before him.
"Chef in charge? He feels more like a fitness coach to me."
The man, waving his hefty fists, kept smashing them against Chen Yu's arm.
But no matter how hard he tried, his fists seemed as powerless as chicken claws in front of Chen Yu.
Chen Yu didn't say much more, casually tossing the guy aside.
The manager, seeing this, hurried forward to help the man up.
"Oh dear, Chef Jin, why didn't you give a heads-up before coming? This area is indeed for parents and children, and the chairman has instructed us, you should go to the VIP room over there..."
But the man was relentless and immediately grabbed the manager by the collar.
"What do you mean? Did you all take the wrong medication today? Why do you keep siding with strangers?"
The manager was on the verge of tears, "You've misunderstood, the chairman's child just turned one month old today. This area meant for parents and children was set up to attract good fortune. If you really must sit here..."
"Alright!" Chef Jin immediately backed down, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
He straightened his clothes and glanced over at Chen Yu before quickly turning to leave.
When Chen Yu had grabbed his arm earlier, he felt a tremendous force seep into his bones, almost crushing his wrist.
If things escalated, he wouldn't end up in a good place either, so it was best to take advantage of the chairman's name to give himself a way out.
As he was about to leave, however, Chen Yu suddenly stood up.
"Hold on, I wonder which special dish Chef Jin is good at. Could you make one for us today?"
Chef Jin was taken aback, realizing from Chen Yu's tone that he was angry and evidently not inclined to let things go.
"Manager, the special dishes aren't listed on today's menu, right?"
After giving an excuse, Chef Jin subconsciously took a step back.
Chen Yu didn't care about any of that and stepped forward, once again seizing Chef Jin's wrist.
"As a chef, one should be happy when someone wants to taste his special dish, unless you're not really a chef."
In reality, Chen Yu didn't want to come off as too aggressive; he simply found the restaurant to be quite unique, with almost all the dishes being improvements on the original menu.
Moreover, as Chef Jin specialized in the restaurant's signature dishes, Chen Yu wanted to see for himself.
"Kid, our Jin family's cuisine has been passed down for twenty-seven generations to me. You dare say I'm not a chef?"
Chef Jin seemed to have received an immense insult and immediately became belligerent.
Chen Yu deliberately shook his head, "I don't think so, not unless you can cook the dish."
Chef Jin was instantly enraged further, "If I can cook this special dish today, you'll have to apologize in front of all the diners."
His shout disturbed all the customers in the hall, with many standing up and craning their necks to look over, and a few even came over to encircle the area.
Chen Yu nodded, "Sure! But since it's a special dish, I'd have to be satisfied with it. If it isn't good, then we'll need to question your identity as a chef."
Chef Jin snorted coldly, gesturing to the manager beside him and headed straight for the kitchen.
Tong Ya and Tuan Tuan covered their mouths, snickering the whole time.
"Honey, this chef's mind is a bit too simple, he actually fell for such an obvious taunt!"
Chen Yu smiled, said nothing more, and simply put the lamb that the waiter had just brought over into the pot.
It had to be said that the secret base of this pot was truly exceptional.
Several spices, because of their combination, had created different flavors, so just by smelling, it was impossible to discern them.
Chen Yu also tasted several mouthfuls before he deduced all the seasonings and their order of addition in this pot base.
As he savored the pot's base, an unusual fragrance suddenly wafted over from the side; soon after, Chef Jin wheeled over a cart and placed a plate of golden, crispy pastries on it.
"The Jin family's ancestral secret dish, 'Five Dragons Ascending the Golden Hall!'"
Chef Jin spoke with a face full of haughtiness, vaguely resembling a true chef.
The surrounding crowd had already gathered close by, and the smell wafting from the dish made many unconsciously drool.
"I was fortunate enough to try this dish a few days ago, and its taste lingers with me to this day."
"I've also had the pleasure once, truly a delicacy of this world, but it's so expensive, over eight hundred yuan a portion."
"With a delicacy like this, what you're paying for is the taste, over eight hundred a portion is already quite cheap."
...
While everyone was discussing, Chen Yu shook his head and set down his chopsticks.
"Carp, crucian carp, yellow croaker, Wenchang fish, mixed together with the neutral taste of catfish, coupled with starches extracted from potatoes, sweet potatoes, and taro, then made tender and smooth with chicken, duck, and goose eggs!"
At this point, everyone looked at Chen Yu with disbelief.
He hadn't even touched his chopsticks and had merely taken a sniff, yet he could list the ingredients used.
Chef Jin stood there, his face completely blank.
"Have you eaten this dish before?"
Chen Yu shook his head, "I have never eaten it, nor do I wish to. To me, this is just a hodgepodge of a bunch of things thrown together!"
Chef Jin's face instantly turned beet red with rage as he stepped forward.
If it weren't for the fear of the strength Chen Yu had previously demonstrated, he would probably have flipped the table.
"How dare you insult our family's ancestral secret dish?"
Chen Yu chuckled lightly, "A secret dish? The so-called secret is to create a unique flavor that is both unforgettable and indiscernible to others in terms of its specific components, but your dish does not meet the standard of 'secret'. Do you want me to list out the exact recipe of the sauce you used as well?"
Chef Jin became panicked; he subconsciously glanced at the people standing around.
If the recipe were revealed and everyone could make it, he would be worthless.
He might even be fired by Tianfu Alley instantly.
"Who on earth are you?"
Before Chen Yu could respond, Tuan Tuan stood up.
"My dad is also a chef, and I don't know how much higher his culinary skills are than yours!"
Upon hearing this, Chef Jin's eyes bulged, and he took several steps back, looking at Chen Yu with a mix of fear and awe.