Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 165 - 132: Why Are You Washing Pots in the Middle of the Night Instead of Sleeping?

"Beep..."

"Beep..."

"Hello?"

A deep male voice sounded on the other end of the phone.

"Calling me so late, what's up?"

"Boss, didn't you ask me last week if I had any theme ideas I wanted to do? I've thought it over."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"Speaking of summer, it must be about beaches, the sea, and bikinis, right? Just in time, the Dieppe Kite Festival is happening soon, and I want to shoot this series of product posters over there."

"A kite festival by the seaside? Sounds like a great idea. As a long-standing festival, there will be many local participants and tourists. If we can promote our products at the kite festival, the effect should be great."

"That's what I thought too, so you're in agreement?"

"There's no big problem with it. By the way, when is the kite festival again? Wait, isn't it in April?"

"Oh, I checked. The Dieppe kite festival isn't officially organized. Didn't they just build a Radison Beach Hotel over there? It's hosted by the hotel to attract tourists. An event is better than none."

"Organized by Radison? Okay, I'll have someone get in touch. With your reputation, it shouldn't be a problem."

Dreya hung up the phone and pinched the thin layer of flesh on her lower abdomen in front of the mirror. She quietly laid out her yoga mat, preparing to work out for an hour before bed.

"Just to be safe, I'll skip breakfast and lunch tomorrow, and have a kale smoothie for dinner. Any bit of weight loss helps."

"Hmm...I feel like I'm forgetting something, what is it..."

"Whatever, I'll just start my workout first."

1 AM.

Lin Chen finally received a call from Boss Magna.

"Hello? The goods just landed. It'll take about ten minutes to transport them over. Do you want to come pick them out, or should I deliver them to you?"

"I'll come pick them. After all, it's my personal business now. I'll bother you after the restaurant opens, haha."

"Alright, the market will be waiting for you!"

Driving the catering van to the seafood market, he arrived just in time for the unloading. Without hesitation, he stepped forward to pick and choose.

The core of the fresh fish soup powder lies in the words "fresh fish." The fish used must be fresh and flavorful.

Before coming here on a business trip, he had undergone systematic learning, but when faced with a variety of freshly caught seafood, he felt a bit overwhelmed.

Live creatures differ greatly from photos and videos, with some characteristics hard to discern.

"Magna, are you free? If so, introduce me. I can also learn while you're at it. I'm picking fish suitable for making soup."

"Soup, huh? Then it has to be Marseille Fish Soup! Pick whatever you like, it doesn't matter."

Marseille Fish Soup?

Lin Chen slapped his thigh.

Right, how could he forget about that!

As one of the most famous dishes in the Romantic Country, Marseille Fish Soup is known for being convenient and carefree with its recipe.

It's a hearty fish stew made from various mixed fish, shrimp, and shellfish, famous for its rich flavor and nutrition.

The original Marseille Fish Soup was actually a concoction of unsold fish and seafood by local fishermen in Marseille.

In reality, this fresh fish paste thick soup shares quite a bit in common with Marseille Fish Soup during its preparation.

He estimated the amount needed to make three hundred bowls of soup powder.

To be safe, assuming each bowl requires 500ml of broth, three hundred bowls would need 150 liters.

To achieve a strong fish flavor, at least 50 kilograms of mixed fish is required. However, fish bones and fish meat can be repeatedly used to boil broth, and after mixing and concentrating several batches, 30 kilograms should suffice.

After pondering for a while, he decided to purchase 50 kilograms in the end.

This is a challenge task, and there's no room for error. The quantity of fish must be ample to meet the task requirements.

He couldn't risk task failure just to save a bit of money.

Since it's mixed fish, there's no emphasis on fish quality or size, since they'll all be crushed in the end. So he had Magna pack up all the unsellable, substandard fish for him.

Magna had been piling up these mixed fish specifically every day because many restaurants would come to purchase them for making Marseille Fish Soup. Lin Chen's request was perfectly suited to this purpose.

"You're a regular customer and a partner, so here's the deal: I'll give you a discount, 20% off, a total of five boxes. Do you need to pick out other seafood as well? Can't go without meat for the presentation. I'll have someone clean these fish for you first." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

What he said made sense, he obviously drank quite a bit of Marseille Fish Soup.

So Lin Chen picked two salmon about as long as his calves, yellowfin ones, which were cheap. He also got some cod, octopus, black tiger shrimp, and mussels.

Fortunately, the quantity wasn't too much, and the space inside the catering van was just barely enough to fit it all.

At this rate, it would eventually be insufficient sooner or later.

He wondered how many times he'd need to upgrade the catering van to expand the space, turning it from a small van into a medium one.

Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have an Upgrade Card in his pocket that he hadn't used yet. He'd have to give it a careful thought later on where best to use it.

Returning to the restaurant's entrance with the boxes of fish, cleaned of scales and innards, it was already past 2 AM.

To cook enough broth for three hundred servings in one go, the pot in the catering van was clearly not big enough. The kitchen's pot would be better, after all, there was no rush.

The kitchen was equipped with a large soup pot specifically for boiling, a 200-liter one. With the volume of various ingredients, it should be just the right amount.

If it's still not enough, adding some water after straining would do, since they'd be boiled multiple times anyway.