Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 200 - 149: Don’t Just Grab These Two, Try Something Else Too (Part 2)

"So the two of us decided, we definitely had to come show our support. I applied for a shift swap with my boss, worked extra hours over the weekend, and took Monday and Tuesday off."

"You know I'm a kindergarten teacher. Although I'm usually quite busy, the advantage is that every year we have interns coming in to help. With plenty of staff, I can take leave whenever I want."

"Oh, that's how it is. That's great, welcome!"

He chatted with the two for a few moments, then turned his attention back to the pan, which was now about a third full of oil. He stopped and turned up the heat.

Just as he put the oil can down and looked up, wow, there were a lot more familiar faces.

"Hi~ Good morning, Lin."

"Long time no see, did you miss us~"

George and Marian stood next to Jade, waving frantically at him, their smiles almost reaching their ears.

"Were you guys... also notified by Lucas?"

"Yep, we're all free spirits anyway, we can come whenever we want. George's farm has staff to take care of it, so it's okay if he doesn't go for a few days."

"What about that guy who's fallen in love?"

"Richard? He has school, can't come, he's cried all night, my poor kid."

"It's fine, dear, we'll record everything, so when we get back, he can see what he missed."

This Lucas guy, off doing big things behind my back constantly!

Seeing a few old friends here made him really happy. That relaxed, pleasant atmosphere suddenly welled up from within him, and he felt much more at ease, as if he were not in a restaurant, but running a street stall.

"So, are you going to stir-fry? Wait, that's a lot of oil, is it for deep frying?"

"No, this isn't deep frying. It's a special cooking technique from Great Xia called '滑' (hua), which means you put marinated meat into hot oil, let it cook until it changes color, and then take it out immediately."

"This technique allows the meat to retain maximum moisture and nutrients, speeds up the cooking process, and enhances flavor."

While he was explaining, more people who had picked up cold dishes began to gather around, waiting to watch his performance.

Some impatient folks even grabbed forks from the common area and stood there, eating as they waited.

"Crunch... crunch..."

The sound of crispy munching echoed through the crowd, along with exclamations of amazement.

"Oh my gosh, this Chinese salad is perfect! It's sweet and sour, with crisp, tender celery and this soft and juicy tofu product, the more you eat, the more appetizing it becomes!"

"What is this vinaigrette dressing in here? I've never tasted anything like it before. It's so fragrant."

"A celery salad is not common, especially when celery is the main ingredient. I've never seen it in any other restaurant, but it tastes surprisingly good."

"Holy crab! This Northeastern-style salad is amazing! No wonder they suggest adding peanuts, the crispiness and the burst of aroma in your mouth... hiss..."

"I never thought putting noodles in a salad would taste so good. Eating it, you can just tell it's super healthy and filling. Eating this every day would make losing fat so easy!"

The diners who had tasted a few bites couldn't control their mischievous little hands, using forks, chopsticks, or even their bare hands. Seeing others enjoying it so much, they couldn't resist at all.

Elise and Vanessa were getting anxious; they'd been busy grabbing food and hadn't thought to get utensils.

Everyone around them was busy shoveling cold dishes into their mouths, happily and messily, making them stomp their feet in envy.

"Do you ladies need utensils?"

At that moment, two shiny forks were handed over.

Lucas showed up with a smile, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Finally, some sense from you!"

Elise, who hadn't had a good impression of him, suddenly found her opinion improving significantly, her good will pushing back into the positive.

Just as she was about to seize the moment to get closer, cries of urgency came from the diners behind her.

"Hey buddy! Hey, blond guy over there!"

"Yes, we're calling you!"

"The dish is gone, hurry and refill, it's urgent!"

"What?!"

He spun around, stretching his neck in disbelief.

The previously overflowing food steam trays were now completely empty. Had it not been for the scattered remnants of various sauces and vegetable strands, he might have thought he had been dreaming.

Next to the steam trays, about a dozen diners looked at him with eager, impatient eyes.

Lucinda had already been pushed several meters away, giving him a sheepish look.

It wasn't that she didn't want to maintain order; how could she even begin to? It was impossible.

This crowd acted like they'd never eaten salad before, grabbing it with gusto.

Buffets are meant for trying a bit of everything the first time, finding what you like and getting more during the second round.

But these people completely ignored the Caesar and spinach salads beside them, fixated solely on the two types of Chinese salads.

Two servings in, their plates were full to the brim.

"Come on, you guys, huh??"

Lucas was dumbfounded, and Lin Chen, upon hearing the commotion, was equally surprised.

The first batch prepared was calculated to be enough for at least thirty people to try a bit each, given there were so many other Western dishes available.

It's only been two minutes since it was mixed, and you're telling me it's all gone?!

People were still continuously flowing through the restaurant doors, the line seemingly endless, with at least thirty people in sight.

Judging by the situation, besides the fifty or so guests who reserved breakfast, at least dozens of employees also came to dine at the same time.

"Don't just stand there, hurry and refill!"

"Oh, oh, I'm on it, I'm on it!"

Luckily, Lin Chen was cautious and had prepared three extra batches of reserve dishes in the back kitchen beforehand. The dressings were ready, and all that needed to be done was to add hot oil and mix.

Lucas assured the diners as he mixed the salad, "Don't worry, don't worry, there's plenty in stock. Besides, we still have several dishes yet to come. Don't fill up on salad and miss out on the other delicious dishes later."

"There's also freshly ground soy milk from this morning and sweet red bean soup. The soup station has seaweed egg drop soup to complement the salty cold dishes if you have too much."

"Uh... we have plenty of ready-made appetizers and main courses here too, so everyone can try different combinations!"

Lucinda wiped the sweat from her forehead and followed up, worried that no one would eat her team's dishes, which would be quite embarrassing.

"These tomato cheeses use premium burrata cheese and high-sugar tomatoes, paired with fresh basil leaves..."

"Also, this smoked salmon soda cracker tartar is very appetizing..."

Thanks to her enthusiastic promotion, some diners finally started to try these more traditional offerings.

While ordinary, they were certainly reliable.

No one had seen the dishes that hadn't been served yet, so who knew if they were tasty or not. Better start with something familiar.

Meanwhile, Lin Chen was measuring oil temperature with a thermometer gun, watching it climb past two hundred degrees before finally beginning to cook.

The marinated beef tenderloin gently slipped into the pot along the rim. The action had to be swift to avoid hot oil splattering onto his hands.

"Sizzle——"

The calm oil pot suddenly boiled fervently.

The diners standing around, eating steadily, all slowed down, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of how the Head Chef was preparing the dish.

It didn't need long; just a few dozen seconds. Estimating when the beef tenderloin was almost set, he used a slotted spoon to scoop up a piece to check the color and fried for another ten seconds before removing everything and turning off the heat.

Meanwhile, he prepared another iron wok, turning up the heat to the maximum.

Under the high heat, the iron wok began to smoke.

He added a circle of cold oil along the rim, swirling the wok to let the oil evenly coat every corner.

Thin cut strips of green pepper went in, quickly stir-fried, followed by slices of garlic for another four or five seconds, allowing the aroma of garlic to develop, then the beef strips were added.

Into the wok went a small dash of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken essence, and white sugar, all tossed together evenly. He gently scattered it along the edge of the wok and, with a strong wrist motion, lifted the handle and flipped it forward.

"Whoosh~"

Steam from the sauce met the hot oil, rising with fragrant heat, catching the open flame at the wok's edge. Instantly, a fierce fire erupted inside the wok, shooting up into the air.