Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle
Chapter 311 - 196: The Grand Issue at the Start of the Year

Chapter 311: Chapter 196: The Grand Issue at the Start of the Year

Xu Cheng swallowed the last mouthful of guo’er.

He was full.

Xu Cheng knew he shouldn’t indulge like this for his health. In his younger days, traveling the world led to erratic meals, which resulted in his current digestive issues as he grew older.

Eating less more frequently was the doctor’s advice to him.

But right now...

Xu Cheng could only think that occasionally not following the doctor’s orders shouldn’t be a big problem.

Xu Cheng looked at Qin Huai.

At this moment, the way he looked at Qin Huai had completely changed.

Before this, his attitude towards Qin Huai was like that of a famous food critic observing a young chef, a senior viewing a junior, with praise, expectation, and encouragement, but not much equality and respect.

But now, Xu Cheng was treating Qin Huai with the attitude reserved for an industry master.

An A+-level pastry, looking at the entire Chinese cooking pastry circle, only a few masters from Zhiwei Restaurant could achieve this.

The gap in the pastry field was too significant.

Xu Cheng was no longer thinking about writing a short food review, half a page to a page. Now, his mind was filled with thoughts of where to start the interview and whether the article should be three or five pages long, and whether to keep the cover.

In the pastry circle, having such an outstanding young chef appear and debuting on "Taste," if not keeping the cover, wouldn’t it reflect poorly on their "Taste" magazine?

It’s the end of December now, Xu Cheng felt his creativity was flowing abundantly. Before the interview started, words of praise continuously flowed from his mind. If the article didn’t require much editing, it could be completed in two or three days and might catch the New Year issue in January.

What, you say the printing and shipping of the magazine take time, and an article completed by the end of December couldn’t possibly make it to the January New Year issue.

Xu Cheng would say you don’t understand magazines at all. When he founded "Taste," he deliberately didn’t set a release date to delay the publication.

Who says that an issue released on January 15th isn’t the New Year edition of "Taste"?

But...

Xu Cheng couldn’t help but gauge Qin Huai again, thinking that Qin Huai seemed excessively young.

Wouldn’t having such a young chef on the New Year edition of "Taste" seem like too much praise and flattery?

Xu Cheng had a scale in his heart, knowing that the guo’er Qin Huai just handed him was top-level in the entire Chinese cooking pastry circle, not to mention it was an innovative snack combining meat cooking, which added more value.

But Qin Huai’s culinary skill, in the entire chef circle, wasn’t considered top-notch.

Didn’t even need to look globally, just within the country, there were plenty of chefs with skills far surpassing his that could be counted in the Chef Record.

One could only say that compared to meat cooking, pastry inherently had a disadvantage.

He had seen many pastry chefs, and better craftsmen than Qin Huai, but those skilled masters were mostly old men, some had already retired from frontline work to focus on teaching.

As young as Qin Huai...

"Hiss—" Xu Cheng took a deep breath.

Under normal circumstances, the golden age for meat chefs was between 35 to 50 years old. During this period, one’s physical strength and energy were at their peak. Beyond that, even if the skill continued to improve, the body couldn’t keep up.

Pastry chefs were different. Their peak period could be exaggeratedly longer by about 10 years compared to meat chefs. At the same time, they reached their peak relatively late, with many becoming famous at over 50.

Now Qin Huai was only in his 20s.

He had more than 30, or even 40 years of peak period ahead!

Thinking of this, Xu Cheng’s gaze at Qin Huai became much more eager.

Perhaps having Qin Huai on the New Year edition of "Taste" now would make many feel he lacks the virtue to match his position, but in 20 or 30 years, everyone would just praise Xu Cheng for his sharp discernment!

"Master Qin." At this moment, Xu Cheng stopped pretending, his voice returning to normal, "Is it convenient to find a place to start the interview right now?"

Qin Huai hadn’t expected Xu Cheng to be in such a hurry. He thought Xu Cheng would first say a few words to Huang Shengli or give feedback on the guo’er before beginning the interview.

Qin Huai was quite looking forward to Xu Cheng’s feedback. In Qin Huai’s view, Huang An Yao was already quite articulate, and Xu Cheng, being Huang An Yao’s idol and a globally renowned food critic, was someone Qin Huai was eager to hear describe an A+-level pastry.

"Of course." Qin Huai nodded.

"Mr. Xu, how about the 888 private room where you just dined? The room has sofas and a coffee table, making it a comfortable place to sit." Huang Shengli suggested.

Xu Cheng had no objections and nodded.

Huang Shengli motioned for the headwaiter to guide Xu Cheng and Qin Huai to the 888 private room and said with a smile, "I still have a few taels of good tea you praised last time. Once the tea is brewed, I’ll send it over."

Xu Cheng paused in his steps, hesitated, and said rather embarrassedly, "The tea won’t be necessary."

"But I think the Dried Tangerine Peel Tea would be worth a try."

Everyone: ?

"Alright, I’ll have someone send it over later."

Qin Huai gave Xu Cheng a surprising look, not expecting Xu Cheng, already middle-aged, to have such an appetite. After forcing down such a large guo’er and seeming so full, he still intended to drink a bowl of Dried Tangerine Peel, White Fungus, and Lotus Seed Soup. Truly a food critic.

It’s well-developed skill.

Qin Huai quickly walked over to Zheng Siyuan, whispered a few instructions, and Zheng Siyuan nodded, indicating everything was in his hands, allowing Qin Huai to focus on the interview.

As Qin Huai and Xu Cheng entered the 888 room, even Xu Cheng’s assistant didn’t follow. He silently handed the notebook, pen, and voice recorder to Xu Cheng and waited outside.

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