Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 309 - 195 Xu Cheng’s Shock_2

Chapter 309: Chapter 195 Xu Cheng’s Shock_2

Qin Huai: ??

"Is Master Qin Huai here?" Xu Cheng took two steps into the kitchen and asked from beside the shelf.

His voice was steady and rich, with clear articulation and strong penetration, making it heard clearly by everyone in the kitchen.

Qin Huai instinctively looked at Huang Shengli, noticing that Huang Shengli was looking at him with encouraging eyes, a comforting smile on his face, nodding to signal him to step forward.

Qin Huai looked at Huang Jia in confusion, finding that Huang Jia’s eyes were full of envy, with a strange smile at the corners of his mouth, and even tears in his eyes, as if witnessing something exciting.

Qin Huai no longer wanted to look at anyone else, fearing he couldn’t control showing too much astonishment, he quickly stepped forward and nodded: "That’s me, may I ask who you are..."

With years of acting experience, Xu Cheng immediately saw that Qin Huai truly did not recognize him, so he switched to another acting mode, saying with a somewhat excited tone: "I am Xu Cheng."

"I’ve come here admiring your reputation, and just now I tried the snacks you made, Master Qin, which truly live up to your fame. Do you have time later on? I would like to take a few hours of your time to interview you and write a food review."

At this moment, all the doubts in Qin Huai’s heart were resolved.

Qin Huai showed a slightly surprised but well-controlled standard smile that everyone wanted to see, and under the watchful eyes filled with comfort, envy, and emotion, he said what everyone wanted to hear.

"Of course, I have time! I am truly so excited, I don’t even know what to say. I never expected Mr. Xu, you would specifically come to taste the snacks I made! Of course, I have time!"

The excited expression and words don’t seem fake; by the normal course of events, Xu Cheng should now encouragingly pat Qin Huai on the shoulder, saying things like I have high hopes for you, the future is promising, keep it up to encourage the young chef.

But Xu Cheng felt something was odd.

He felt as though Master Qin in front of him was also acting.

And his acting skills were no less than his own.

Xu Cheng gave Qin Huai a meaningful look and improvised: "Master Qin, have you heard of me?"

Qin Huai: ...? Improvise?

Yes, Qin Huai was indeed acting.

This part had been vividly described to him by Huang An Yao. The original protagonist of the story was a small restaurant chef in Siam, whose signature dish was Tom Yum Soup, and the above lines were translated versions.

"Of course, I’ve heard of you, but only recently. My friend admires you immensely and wishes to become a food critic like you. They have told me many stories about you, practically ringing in my ears." Qin Huai said, pointing to Huang An Yao, who was already so excited in the corner.

Huang An Yao: !!!

Oh my God, at such a moment Qin Huai thought of himself first and introduced himself to his idol.

Dad, I’m sorry, I want to make a decision that goes against my ancestors, I want to give 75% of Huang Ji’s shares to Qin Huai!

Seeing Qin Huai’s status, Xu Cheng knew that the Qin master in front of him was different from the young chefs he had encountered before. He knew of him, but obviously wasn’t familiar, his unfamiliarity wasn’t feigned, so he wasn’t excited at all. Nevertheless, to consider his colleagues’ feelings, he acted very excited.

Truly an interesting pastry chef.

"Master Qin, were you making snacks just now?" Xu Cheng asked.

"Yes." Qin Huai nodded, "Made some specialty snacks, would you like to try them, Mr. Xu?"

Xu Cheng originally just asked casually, but since Qin Huai emphasized that they were his specialty snacks, Xu Cheng felt he had to try them.

Xu Cheng was well aware that the dishes on the menu aren’t necessarily the chef’s best.

Often, high-end restaurants, due to commercial and other considerations, put the most suitable dishes for sale on the menu. But if one wants to taste the truly best-hidden menu, they must go into the kitchen and talk face to face with the chef.

This is one of the reasons why Xu Cheng always likes to go directly to the kitchen to find the chef.

Xu Cheng followed Qin Huai towards the culinary station, observing the surrounding chefs’ reactions along the way.

Xu Cheng had been to Huang’s Kitchen before, and it had been featured early on "Taste," and Xu Cheng himself also very much approved of Huang Shengli’s skills, and knew Huang Jia too.

In Xu Cheng’s view, if it weren’t for Huang Shengli’s back problems affecting his culinary skills over the years, with Huang Jia as his main disciple taking over, as long as Huang Shengli could persevere for another 15 years or so, the future of Huang Ji would be limitless.

Unfortunately, there’s no if.

Xu Cheng, having been a food critic for so many years, the number of chefs he knows is countless, having seen many restaurants that were at their peak suddenly decline.

Heirs fighting for inheritance, fellow disciples falling out, head chefs being poached by other restaurants for high pay...

There is nothing new under the sun; like Huang Ji, a restaurant declining because the head chef is physically unable and is forced to step back, is already a very respectable ending.

Xu Cheng likes to come to the kitchen not only to meet chefs and taste hidden menus but also to catch the first-hand gossip.

The kitchen has many chefs, master chefs, apprentices, and helpers, each with different positions and status, and each has a different attitude towards the chef he wants to interview. Xu Cheng can judge a chef’s character and characteristics through these people’s attitudes.

Some chefs are standard nice guys, treating people kindly and being good-natured.

Some chefs excel in socializing, talk a lot, and make their colleagues around them quite vexed.

Some chefs are lone wolves, just liking to work silently on their own, not favoring interactions with others.

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