Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 982 - 482: Breakthrough (Part 2)

"The pulp of this orange dumpling is slightly better than the previous one. Dumplings are all about the details. The more precise the details, the more lifelike the dumpling. You can't ignore it just because the orange dumpling's pulp is inside. When the customer breaks it open, it may deform easily, making you careless without paying attention. You should consider having finely detailed pulp inside that surprises the customer when they break it open."

"And did you notice? The last batch of orange dumplings failed because the pulp's dough was not kneaded correctly. Dumplings often need firmer dough for shaping, but the pulp inside should be more delicate. You should focus more on the texture and how to enhance the orange flavor in the filling, rather than sacrificing taste for the shape."

"These things might seem technical, but they are more about awareness. It's about your understanding of this type of dumpling. Dumplings are a category, but if broken down, each type is different. They have different shapes, flavors, structures, concepts, and key points in their making."

"I've been making boat-shaped pastries for so many years, and I always believe dumplings are the most challenging snack in the pastry category. The challenge doesn't lie in the technique or the chef's aesthetics but the concept."

"A good chef's dumpling recipe is their own. You can learn others' snacks recipes, but you can't learn their concepts. Dumplings best showcase a chef's skill, ideology, and unique traits. Of course, you're learning my recipe now, but I hope you're not just learning the recipe alone."

"Lao San, what are you doing? Are you pretending to perform a lesson with your hands on the dough? Just because I didn't scold you earlier doesn't mean you got away with it, right? Look at what you've made. After so many days, you're still making these mistakes. Did you go to Beiping to eat at Fen Garden, leaving your brain and skills there, and not bringing them back?"

"If it weren't for your age, I'd really want to whip you like when you learned your craft as a child. Can you fix this habit? Is yelling and scolding useless now, and only a whipping would do?"

Seeing his master about to escalate from scolding to hitting, Zhao Cheng'an hurriedly started kneading the dough seriously. Without question, with Master Zhou's physical strength, if he wants to hit Zhao Cheng'an, Zhao would stand no chance.

Master Zhou's record in Taste Restaurant is well-documented.

Master Zhou looked at Zhao Cheng'an with disappointment, then turned to Qin Huai, switching to a pleasant expression: "Xiao Qin, don't be influenced by him. Do your own task. Think about what I just said, try hard, and it's okay if you can't do it yet. At your current level, it's normal not to succeed with this dumpling..."

Master Zhou glanced at the strange, uniquely shaped dumplings that just steamed and carefully chose his words: "Indeed, you shouldn't aim too high right now."

Zhao Cheng'an: QAQ

Master, your double standards are overboard!

The dumplings Qin Huai made could hardly be described as 'aiming too high'—they should be called 'dreaming the impossible'. Those are dumplings? They're so ugly. If I made dumplings like that, you'd have thrown the tray on my head.

Zhao Cheng'an felt like he truly shot himself in the foot yesterday.

He knew his Master had a filter for Qin Huai, and it was pretty intense, but he didn't expect it to be this serious.

Qin Huai's skill level in making dumplings was not unknown to him. It's not that he can't do it at all, but aside from apple dough balls, everything else is a disaster.

Dumplings demand a high level of skill from chefs. Qin Huai's basic skills aren't up to that level; besides apple dough balls, he hasn't practiced other types of dumplings. The textbook approach doesn't suit dumplings well. With no foundation and subpar basic skills, trying so many types at once was a predictable failure.

Zhao Cheng'an encouraged Qin Huai to focus on one type of dumpling at a time to hone his skills, hoping Qin would share the blame.

After all, Master Zhou will scold one as he would two. If Master Zhou spent even a third of the time scolding Qin Huai instead of Zhao Cheng'an, Zhao would get scolded less.

But in the end...

Zhao Cheng'an not only didn't get scolded less but several times more. Previously, Master Zhou rarely came in the morning, only checking randomly in the afternoon, giving one-on-one guidance to Qin Huai. Zhao Cheng'an would only endure the storm of scolding from his master after Qin's shift, depending on how he performed that day.

Now? Now Master Zhou made the kitchen his morning headquarters.

It used to rain scolding for just an hour or two a day; now it's a full-day downpour.

Zhao Cheng'an wanted to look up at the ceiling, so at least his tears wouldn't fall, but he couldn't because that would be blatant slacking and guaranteed to earn his master's wrath.

He could only sneak a glance at Qin Huai, watching him painstakingly and slowly making the orange dumplings, still messing up the orange pulp.

But it was indeed better than last time.