Chapter 170: Chapter 170: If You Can’t Even Eat, What’s the Use of Money?

Since the renovation of Dining Room Number Seven was completed, apart from the two restrooms at the very back, the other areas haven’t been touched.

The same goes for the various facilities in the small kitchen.

After Jiang Yu went upstairs, he tidied up the kitchen inside and out with Yan Tongtong and then lit the fire to start cooking.

Yesterday morning, Liu Shurong had already informed Jiang Yu in advance, setting the dinner party for tonight.

In fact, Dining Room Number Seven had not been prepared to open before, and Jiang Yu hadn’t even drafted a menu.

To avoid the awkward situation where guests are seated but don’t know what to eat, Jiang Yu told Liu Shurong at the time to order dishes in advance so he could procure the necessary ingredients.

“Can I order any dish?”

“Order whatever you like. If I can’t make it, I’ll let you know in advance.”

“I’ll just order a few dishes for Lele. As for the rest, it’s up to you.”

Liu Shurong thought for a moment and only ordered two dishes — Longjing Shrimp and Sweet and Sour Ribs — for herself and her son, leaving the rest for Jiang Yu to decide.

She quietly watched Jiang Yu, smiled, and said,

“The people I’m inviting are all locals from Jiangzhou. They should all like spicy food, right? You probably understand this better than I do.”

Liu Shurong only informed Jiang Yu that there would be ten people dining, six cold dishes, twelve hot dishes, and one soup would suffice.

As for staples, with so many dishes and some drinks, who could eat more staples?

Now, the challenge was back to Jiang Yu.

This was his first time making such banquet dishes, and since Liu Shurong was hosting to thank people for their help, if he didn’t choose the dishes well and the guests weren’t happy, wouldn’t he be doing more harm than good?

Seeing Jiang Yu looking troubled, Liu Shurong instead comforted him:

“Don’t feel pressured, just cook whatever you think of. Your dishes are so delicious that even those with anorexia can’t resist, why worry about whether the guests will like it or not?

Relax, even if you only make a simple bowl of plain noodles, everyone would still eat it up with nothing left!”

After pausing, she added, “Oh, and don’t worry about how costly the ingredients are, just go ahead and make them. After all, I’ll be settling the bill at the end. There’s no need for you to be at a loss.”

Jiang Yu couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed after hearing this.

At the end of the day, it was still his lack of experience, requiring reassurance from the customer themselves…

How could someone with a Gourmet System lack confidence like this?

Wouldn’t this tarnish the reputation of the system?!

Jiang Yu secretly resolved to put in his utmost dedication for this feast. If the guests don’t applaud and shout “666,” it would be considered his loss!

Therefore, after Liu Shurong left, Jiang Yu pondered for an entire morning and finally came up with a menu he was relatively satisfied with.

As for whether the guests would be satisfied, they’d just have to wait and see after tasting it.

After cleaning up the small kitchen, Yan Tongtong busied herself cleaning the “Winter” private room, which was relatively large, providing more spacious and comfortable seating for the guests.

While Yan Tongtong was busy with tasks, Jiang Yu wasn’t idle either. After seasoning the new frying pan, he prepared to start making the cold dishes.

For the six cold dishes, a mix of meat and vegetables, there were Garlic Pork, Mouth-watering Chicken, Smoked Chicken Feet Stuffed with Fresh Squid, Thousand-layer Century Egg Tofu, Craved Pig Trotters, and Cold Okra Salad.

Garlic Pork and Mouth-watering Chicken were dishes he often made, and Jiang Yu was already well-versed in preparing them. With the pork belly and fresh whole chicken processed, he placed them separately into the pot for stewing.

The pig trotters were washed, chopped into small pieces, and placed in a pressure cooker with broth, scallion segments, ginger slices, salt, and chicken essence, clicking the fire for pressure cooking.

He then proceeded to make the other cold dishes.

Garlic Pork, Mouth-watering Chicken, Craved Pig Trotters, and Cold Okra Salad were relatively traditional dishes, but Smoked Chicken Feet Stuffed with Fresh Squid and Thousand-layer Century Egg Tofu were creative dishes, which were slightly more complex to prepare.

For instance, the Smoked Chicken Feet Stuffed with Fresh Squid requires cleaning the frozen squid with water and soaking it in iced water with lemon slices for an hour to remove the fishy smell.

Then, the chicken feet are boiled, deboned, and cut into cubes. The mushroom and ham are also diced, and the fresh edamame beans are blanched and skinned. These four ingredients are then mixed in a bowl with minced scallion and ginger, salt, chicken powder, chicken bone broth gel, sesame oil, and five-spice powder to make a filling.

Once the squid is ready from soaking, the prepared filling is stuffed inside, sealed with toothpicks, and steamed for 45 minutes in a steaming compartment.

Next, tea leaves, bay leaves, fennel, sugar, and rice grains are placed into a pan, with the steamed squid placed on a smoking rack. It’s smoked on low heat for 10 minutes to color it.

After smoking, the squid is wrapped in cling film, pressed for 2 hours to tighten, and then refrigerated for an hour.

After all this is done, the squid can be sliced for plating and serving.

It doesn’t sound complicated, but it takes quite a bit of time. From soaking the squid to the final refrigeration, four to five hours easily pass by.

If Jiang Yu hadn’t started preparing earlier, the guests might have been left waiting with their stomachs growling.

As for the Thousand Layer Century Egg Tofu, compared to traditional Century Egg Tofu, the preparation is much more complicated, but the taste and appearance have definitely gone up a notch.

The Thousand Layer Century Egg Tofu is shaped like a cake, with layers of Niuzhi tofu and century egg jelly intertwined, creating a novel appearance.

Additionally, in the making of the century egg jelly, old chicken broth is added, making this cold dish have tender tofu and fragrant century egg, a taste that lingers after just one bite.

Besides these six cold dishes, there are also twelve hot dishes, namely Head Fish with Diced Chili, Braised Pork, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, Longjing Shrimp, Braised Duck and Pork Stomach, Steamed Pork with Rice Flour, Spicy Baby Turtle, Spicy Beef, Stir-fried Kidney, Scented Enoki Mushrooms, Superior Stock Baby Cabbage, and Osmanthus Honey Yam.

As for the soup, Jiang Yu plans to make a Mushroom and Meat Slice Soup.

These hot dishes and the soup, solely relying on Jiang Yu, would definitely be too busy for him. While he is upstairs preparing the cold dishes, Ma Guoqiang, Qian Liwei, and others have already started busying themselves with chopping and preparing ingredients in the downstairs kitchen.

Fortunately, on the second floor, they are all small-pot dishes, not much in quantity. Otherwise, both kitchens would need help with preparation, and Ma Guoqiang and the others would be exhausted.

In the small kitchen, there’s only Jiang Yu, surrounding him is extreme tranquility, only the “buzzing” from the exhaust fan and the clinking sound when the spoon collides with the wok can be heard.

While Jiang Yu is busy in the kitchen for this banquet, on the other side, Liu Shurong has already brought Lele and several guests to Jiangzhou University.

The sun hasn’t set yet, students in groups of two or three are either freely sweating on the playground or strolling the campus streets with classmates, the golden sunset casting on them makes the scene seem calm and harmonious.

Liu Shurong and the guests, chatting leisurely, stroll slowly towards the Seventh Dining Hall, evidently enjoying this rare leisurely moment.

Among the guests, a slightly plump middle-aged man with a leader’s demeanor, after chatting with Liu Shurong, suddenly seems to realize something and asks, puzzled:

“Aren’t we going to eat? How come we’re walking into Jiang University’s campus?”

The others also showed some confusion, but due to Liu Shurong’s status, hesitated to voice it, but hearing Director Liu asking, they all perked up their ears and looked over.

“Seems like you all don’t know, within Jiang University there’s a top chef hidden!”

Liu Shurong did not hide her praise for Jiang Yu, her face bearing a faint smile, she continued,

“He’s opened a Number Seven Dining Room here. I brought everyone over today to let all of you taste his food.”

“Oh, a top chef?”

Director Liu raised an eyebrow, grinned and said, “Then I better have a proper taste!”

Though he said so, Director Liu’s heart held some disdain.

The lady beside him, although from a wealthy family in Qiantang, her taste probably is just that.

A restaurant set up within a university, how high-class can it be?

Still top chef…

Are you even aware of what a top chef is?

Director Liu’s companions exchanged glances, looking speechless.

In their hearts, they sighed that this Ms. Liu, despite being a millionaire, couldn’t discern real gourmet…

What use is there in having so much money if you can’t even eat well?

These guests, including Director Liu, despite their disdain, did not show it on their faces, having been through the world for many years, they would have been devoured if they didn’t have some cunning.

A group of them, chatting and laughing, with a fitting level of expectancy on their faces, walked forward with Liu Shurong.

Doesn’t Liu Shurong know what they’re thinking?

Of course, she does!

The individuals Liu Shurong interacts with are no less shrewd than this group, she doesn’t need to guess to know what they’re thinking.

Merely all sorts of disdain and dissatisfaction.

But regardless of their thoughts, Liu Shurong doesn’t care at all because she trusts Jiang Yu’s culinary skills, a flavor irresistible even for her son’s eating disorder, how could these people resist?

Once they taste it, whatever dissatisfaction they have will vanish.

At the entrance of the Jiang University Library, Liu Shurong and the others met with several other invitees for tonight.

If Jiang Yu were here, he would definitely recognize them at a glance, as they are leaders from Jiang University, including a Vice Principal, Propaganda Minister Fan Chuliang, and Logistics Minister Niu Wenlin.

The Vice Principal hasn’t tasted the food from the Seventh Dining Hall, behaving decently, but Fan Chuliang and Niu Wenlin were a bit different, constantly swallowing on the way, imagined at whatever they thought of.

This made the Vice Principal somewhat speechless, occasionally looking back at them:

Really?

It’s just a meal!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep