Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe-Chapter 204 - 151: We Agreed on 50 People, Why Is It Packed? (Part 2)

Especially the fans inside, after absorbing the sauce, are absolutely delightful to eat, slick and slippery, a texture they've never tried before.

"This... Helena, I have to say, their salad really tastes better than ours."

"Can't be helped, we have a lazy captain. If he would come back a few days early and focus on developing dishes… Forget it, I'm not bothered to talk about him."

It's so lively outside, yet that guy can stay in the kitchen without thinking of coming to check things out, that's impressive.

All the diners hold their plates in hand, queue for each dish that comes out, there's no time to return to their seats to enjoy slowly, naturally they don't need us to collect the plates.

Both of them are so bored that they push a cart out to serve drinks to diners, hot and cold, and then wander around with the cart.

"Does anyone need iced Coke, iced Sprite, iced tea, iced milk, iced soy milk..."

Dais sees hardly any diners in the soup area, guessing maybe no one knows there's a dessert hidden there, she actively goes over, serves it bowl by bowl, and starts advertising.

"Ice red bean soup cooked by Chef Lin this morning, soft, glutinous, and sweet. Any guests who need it can come over to pick it up."

"What! Chef Lin made it? I'll have a bowl."

"Me too."

Lin Chen's reputation works wonders, at the mention of his name, ten people enthusiastically rush over from all sides.

Dais scans their faces, nearly all are familiar-looking though not recognized; she's sure they've recently bought food from the food cart.

Swearing by her over five years of accumulated experience as a server!

"No wonder there are fewer people eating Jonathan's food; aside from lacking novelty, everyone is mainly here for Chef Lin, right? Setting up early really has its perks."

She can't help but feel fortunate; achieving such progress on the first meal must leave a good impression on the higher-ups.

Perhaps right now there's someone sent from management blending in with the diners to gather intel.

"The stir-fried bean sprouts are ready, the flavor is mild, perfect for pairing with fried rice or noodles, and there's seaweed egg drop soup in the soup area, Dais, help serve some for everyone."

Lucas quickly sets down a big bowl of crispy, tender bean sprouts while walking, introducing the dish to the diners.

Just after putting down the food, Lin Chen starts cooking a plate of green pepper beef strips and quickly runs over to continue serving dishes.

Four people are each responsible for their own area: one stationed at the salad area, another between the soup and drinks area, one stays by the stove, while Lucas is responsible for mobility.

Observing their team busy to the point of flying, Helena and Lucinda show expressions of envy.

As seasoned servers, having nothing to do during the busiest times in the restaurant is perhaps the most disheartening blow in their careers.

Having nothing to do means diners don't recognize their service; that feeling of demoralization is indescribable.

Even though this is a buffet, not needing to serve one-on-one as usual, at least some diners could return to their seats so they'd have a chance to clear dishes!

Now there's not even a chance to clear dishes, as everyone's standing to eat, afraid they won't get a bite.

Lin Chen also realizes something's off; it's completely different from what he expected.

The plan was to cook one dish per pot, each pot enough for over thirty people to taste, along with many other dishes to distract, and it would be timely to start the second round after finishing the first.

But now, even cooking two pots simultaneously seems not fast enough; these diners stand there as if rooted, staring intently at his pots.

A pot goes out, a pot disappears, making him highly pressured as his shirt gets soaked with sweat unknowingly.

At least Helena continues to patrol the venue with the drink cart, while Lucinda really has nothing to do, not wanting to go to the kitchen to shout at people, she quietly leaves the dining area and heads to the front desk to stand guard at the entrance.

Jonathan, after half an hour in the kitchen, finally senses something isn't right.

"Strange, why hasn't anyone come in for orders? Are there so few customers this morning? Why do I hear things are lively outside?"

Even if something's off, he's not considering going out to check, only silently preparing all the ingredients to ensure anyone can grab them for restocking anytime.

A chef should stay in the kitchen, the outside matters should be handled by those outside.

After another seven or eight minutes, finally, footsteps approach.

"Oh, my dear Helena, you finally came; do you know how bored I've been alone in here?"

Helena rolls her eyes, glancing around the countertop, picks up Caesar salad and baby spinach salad, and walks out.

This type of buffet salad typically isn't pre-dressed to avoid the vegetables getting watery. Only for very high sales would dressing be added for convenience; otherwise, just toss all ingredients together with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, leaving the dressing for diners to add themselves.

"What? Really? Are you mad? Why? I didn't say anything weird!"

"Hmm!"

Helena leaves, only giving him a cold back.

...

"Are you done yet, hubby? It's getting late, still pooping, can you do anything else besides pooping all day!"

"Coming, coming, don't rush me, can't hold it back if I feel it coming?"

Wang Ziqin chuckles as he walks out of the bathroom, shaking water off his hands: "Let's go, have breakfast; at eight o'clock there should be plenty of people, this is the best time to assess the situation."

"Assess my foot, nobody knows your identity anyway; I'm saying we should eat normally, what's the point of acting? Clearly, your acting is bad."

Chu Yueyue impatiently opens the room door and heads out: "Hurry, after eating we need to go to the farm to pick fruits; when the sun comes up I'll scorch you!"

The two take the elevator all the way down, with the door constantly opening and more travelers joining.

"Hey?"

Jiang Shuqi just enters the elevator, meeting two familiar looks, simply nods due to the crowd as a greeting.

"I heard the chef who set up a stall today starts officially working in the restaurant, wonder if it's true."

"Of course it's true, the hotel wouldn't let him set up a stall at the restaurant door if he wasn't."

"My friend had it already, said it's super delicious; called me urging to go, didn't even have time to wash my face."

"So exaggerated? These people in the elevator must all be going for a meal, right?"

"...You found us out."

"Ding"

The elevator doors open, and those in front dart out, afraid of being late to grab food.

Jiang Shuqi and Chu Yueyue, both girls, naturally won't fight with groups of men, quietly remain behind to walk out, with Wang Ziqin guarding his wife, face full of vigilance.

"How many days have you been here? How's it going?"

Chu Yueyue starts the conversation.

"About a week, not bad, staying in the new hotel is comfortable, the environment is nice, and the staff are perceptive with high quality."

"Definitely, I may not say much else, but I surely guarantee comfort!"

"Okay, okay, afraid others won't know you're a spoiled rich kid, right?"

The three slowly reach the restaurant door, the line isn't long, and they clearly see inside through window glass: it's already full with many diners holding plates, walking around.

"Whoa, so many people??"

Wang Ziqin's eyes widen in disbelief, checking his phone: "Eight-oh-six, not mistaken, wasn't the breakfast list only fifty or sixty people?"

On the restaurant's ground floor, each table fits four; with those standing and queuing at the door, roughly estimated close to a hundred.

"Hey, Miss Jiang, you're dining too, good morning!"

Gray, just after registering, turns back seeing Jiang Shuqi behind, warmly waves to greet.

Wang Ziqin and Chu Yueyue raise their eyebrows with a teasing smile: "Who's that? Your friend?"