styles of fish platters were selected.

Fu Yu confirmed which specific dishes corresponded to each fish platter one by one.

There were illustrations from classic old recipes for reference, although the platter styles were not exactly the same, the resulting combination should still look good.

At this moment, Fu Yu suddenly realized that the two sets of "encyclopedias" in his hands had such a function.

When he needed to do plating, he could completely consult the illustrations for guidance and selection.

Don’t underestimate this function.

Everyone has an appreciation for beauty, it’s just that the level varies.

With the "encyclopedias" as a reference, Fu Yu’s aesthetic standard was elevated to the most perfect realm.

This is often a result that is hard to achieve through learning and training.

Having arranged everything, Fu Yu looked at Zhang Zhen: "Chef Zhang, let’s start now. Let’s do the cold dishes first, the ingredients are ready. I’ll handle the cooking."

Zhang Zhen nodded: "Chef Liu and Chef Lin, shall we work together?"

Chef Liu and Chef Lin agreed, handing off their current tasks temporarily.

You can tell a chef’s skill level from the casual actions they make when they start cooking!

The fish platters Fu Yu selected were neatly laid out on the shelf beside him, ready to be used as needed.

Last night after receiving the recipe, Zhang Zhen’s mind began to work at high speed, constantly thinking about the best cooking plan.

He quickly got a good understanding of the situation with the Kaijiang Banquet.

For the 19 dishes, because taste considerations favored freshly killed fish, they could only make cold dishes first and then hot dishes.

Zhang Zhen had a knack for handling and cooking river fish, as did Chef Lin and Chef Liu.

But...

At this time, the three of them took a step back in perfect harmony, making way for the position at the stove.

Zhang Zhen looked at Fu Yu: "Chef Fu, we’ll assist you!"

Fu Yu was dumbfounded and awkwardly said, "Chef Zhang, why don’t you handle the marinating? I’m not very good at it."

Yesterday, on the phone, Yao Shi had specifically instructed that today Fu Yu should be in charge of cooking the Kaijiang Banquet.

Handling the cooking was no issue; after all, he’d done a full fish banquet before, a small Kaijiang Banquet was nothing.

But now having Zhang Zhen and two other top chefs assist him?

If it were one person, you could call it helping out, that would make sense.

But having three people serve him, Fu Yu felt he hadn’t reached a status that big yet.

Zhang Zhen was momentarily taken aback, feeling a rush of warmth in his heart.

What a great young man.

Showing him so much respect.

However, Zhang Zhen shook his head: "Xiaofu, now is not the time for modesty, you go ahead!"

Fu Yu sincerely said: "Chef Zhang, I’m really not good at marinating."

This made both Chef Liu and Chef Lin freeze in surprise.

Was there really a cooking operation Fu Yu wasn’t good at?

Zhang Zhen looked at Fu Yu, seeing that he didn’t seem to be deliberately modest, he asked again: "Really? No need to do that, we’re here to assist you, actually, we’re here to learn from you too, being closer allows us to observe better. You’re not just sparing our feelings, are you? No need for that!"

Fu Yu quickly explained: "Really, Chef Zhang, I’m not good at marination, I can never get the seasoning amounts and timing right. If you all could marinate the fish for me, I’d handle the cooking and plating? Teaming up, we can also work faster, how about it?"

Zhang Zhen didn’t know how Chef Lin and Chef Liu felt after hearing Fu Yu’s words, but he himself suddenly felt a sense of relief.

This is how it should be!

Young people should be like young people!

No matter how talented and impressive, there has to be a limit, right?

How could one possibly be skilled at everything?

The thought made Zhang Zhen let out a long breath internally.

Thinking back on his earlier thoughts, he suddenly felt like laughing.

Everyone’s human, there couldn’t be such a big difference, right?

At most, it can be said that different fields of expertise are involved, with each specialized in their own area!

Besides, fish always need to be marinated.

There’s a saying in the culinary industry, when it comes to fish, you must marinate.

No matter what kind of fish you purchase to cook, you must make crosscuts, add a little onion-ginger water, cooking wine, and refined salt, marinating for over five minutes, so that the fishy smell is greatly reduced when stewing.

This marinating skill may seem inconspicuous, but it’s actually very important.

It requires long-term work experience and culinary accumulation to accurately grasp the duration, the amount of ingredients, and the depth of flavor absorption.

Suddenly, Zhang Zhen felt much more relaxed.

"Chef Liu, Chef Lin, let’s do the marinating."

Fu Yu initially suggested this purely because he felt embarrassed to have them doing odd jobs around him.

But seeing Zhang Zhen and the two chefs skillfully begin their operations, Fu Yu’s expression unknowingly became focused.

Culinary skills require continuous learning for improvement.

Working behind closed doors is highly inadvisable.

Even if marinating was once performed in the teaching practice classroom, seeing others do it reveals many details and tricks that he hadn’t noticed or discovered before.

In fact, Fu Yu was quite adept at marinating; as long as the sauces were well-prepared, applying them evenly during marination and controlling the timing usually resulted in perfectly marinated ingredients.

This was an operation used for most ingredients during the initial learning of barbecue cooking.

Only now did Fu Yu realize how excellent the sauce preparation methods learned in the teaching practice classroom were!

Because when Zhang Zhen began preparing the sauce, Fu Yu could already accurately infer the type of marinade Zhang Zhen was preparing by just seeing three of the main ingredients.

However, the marinating model in the teaching practice classroom was fixed and traceable.

Whereas Zhang Zhen and the two chefs had completely different operating techniques, each with their own merits.

Marinating ingredients is like giving them a full-body SPA treatment.

Everyone has different habits, so there are slight variations in technique.

For example, Zhang Zhen’s marinating technique involves using his fingertips to rub the ingredients after applying the marinade, followed by orderly tapping.

Fu Yu stood very close, so he could see clearly!

When Zhang Zhen lowered his head to marinate and accidentally looked up, he found Fu Yu standing next to him, watching his operation with a serious expression.

Not with a scrutinizing or supervisory look, but as if he was learning.

Realizing that Fu Yu was learning his marinating technique gave Zhang Zhen an inexplicable burst of pride!

Fu Yu, who was just in his early twenties, should indeed be diligent in learning and practicing!

After all, marinating is a skill frequently used in cooking.

This marinating method, which Zhang Zhen had employed for half a lifetime, was well-experienced and skillful.

Occasionally, it even earned him admiration and praise from new employees!