Chapter 67: The Imperial Court?

The change came far too quickly.

Just past six in the evening, the flow of customers on Old Street dwindled to an astonishing trickle, without the slightest warning.

When Li Can stepped out of the kitchen, only a handful of regulars remained in the dining hall, quietly eating; six out of ten tables stood empty.

Given the recent upward trend and the ever-rising reputation, it was almost unthinkable for such a scene to occur at this hour.

And yet, here it was.

Outside, “Second Brother” stood by the roadside looking bewildered; after selling just one serving of chilled milk pudding, there was no more interest at all.

Su Rui sat behind the cash register, clearly preoccupied, absentmindedly teasing Cat Jianqiang, with none of her usual eagerness to count the day’s takings.

"Chef Li, this Volcanic Pork is truly excellent. It’s lucky the place is quiet tonight, otherwise I’m not sure I’d have gotten a seat," Zou Ming praised enthusiastically.

Li Can, not knowing what to say, could only offer a faint smile to show he’d heard.

"Su Rui, how’s the matter of the new storefronts progressing?"

"Very smoothly," Su Rui replied. "If all goes well, we can move in tomorrow, but only to the two original Hot Kitchen storefronts, which are fully equipped. The other two, the new ones, will take a few more days to prepare."

"Li, now isn’t the time to worry about storefronts," Ma Ju interjected anxiously, removing his delivery cap and coming over, his face full of concern. "Now the three big food zones—Fengyu Street, Gourmet Plaza, and Tasty Lane—have suddenly joined forces to squeeze us out of Old Street. They’re running all kinds of promotions, taking our customers. What are we going to do?"

"Old Ma, why panic? Customers have their own feet; they can go wherever they like. A few promotions aren’t enough to steal them away," Zou Ming comforted him.

"I know that, but the problem is—" Ma Ju started to protest, but just then, Boss Liu and Boss Ji burst in, sweating profusely. He immediately called to them, "Well? Did you find anything out?"

"This is bad!" Boss Liu’s words made everyone, Li Can included, tense up. This was no good omen.

"What’s bad? What did you find out?" Ma Ju was desperate. He had just begun his "second spring" in life today, and he didn’t want it to end after only a few hours.

Gulp.

Boss Liu rudely picked up Zou Ming’s cup of tea and took a swig before continuing, leaving Zou Ming too stunned to protest.

"You all think it’s just their joint promotions drawing people away? Wrong, dead wrong! Luckily Old Ji and I went over there, or we’d never know how we lost!"

"Can’t you just say it in one go?" Ma Ju grumbled impatiently.

"They brought in a chef from the Royal Court to hold the fort!"

"What?" Su Rui and the others paled.

The weight of the Royal Court in culinary circles was known to all. It was the industry leader; any move, no matter how small, sent tremors through the food world.

Never mind how skilled a Royal Court chef might be—

Just the name "Royal Court" alone was a guarantee of taste.

No one dared doubt it.

"No wonder it's so quiet tonight. Everyone must have gone for the Royal Court’s name," Zou Ming suddenly realized. "The Royal Court is famous for being hard to reserve, expensive, and frequented by celebrities. Now one of their chefs appears in an ordinary food district, coupled with discounts—who wouldn’t be tempted to join the fun?"

"Then why didn’t you go?" Ma Ju asked suspiciously.

"I’m eating here, aren’t I?" Zou Ming gestured at his plate. "But, to be honest, I might go check it out after I’m done."

"Heartless," Boss Ji grumbled. "After all these years of knowing each other."

"Old Ji, that’s not fair. How is this about loyalty? Is it wrong to try something different from time to time?" Zou Ming chuckled.

"Which chef is it? It can’t be that mysterious head chef who left the Royal Court recently, can it?" Ma Ju asked worriedly.

"How would I know? I’ve never met him. Even if it was, I wouldn’t recognize him," Boss Liu replied awkwardly.

"Definitely not," Su Rui replied with certainty. "A figure of that stature wouldn’t lower himself to a mundane food district, even if he left the Royal Court—unless he was an absolute fool."

At this, no one noticed Li Can, standing quietly at the back, lower his head with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Who’s the fool now!

Mind your words!

If you hadn’t tearfully begged me to stay back then, I’d have left long ago!

Ah, it’s my own soft heart to blame!

...

"I think you all don’t really understand what a head chef is," Zou Ming shook his head, drawing everyone’s attention. "In a giant like the Royal Court, the kitchen is highly specialized: there’s the executive chef, the chef de cuisine, the head chef, the kitchen supervisor, the stir-fry chef, the prep chef, the station chef, the cold dish chef, the stock chef, and various kitchen hands."

"So when you refer to ‘head chef’, you actually mean the executive chef—the one in charge of everything, maintaining the highest standards over all the food."

At these words, Li Can finally allowed himself a slight smile. At least someone here knew the business.

"Right, Old Zou likes to eat and has been to many top places. Why don’t you analyze who might have shown up over there?" Ma Ju asked.

"That’s not easy to say, but I’ll try to break it down for you." Zou Ming thought for a moment. "First, the executive chef can be ruled out—almost impossible.

"The prep chef handles ingredient processing and needs superb knife skills. The station chef is mainly an assistant, responsible for marinating, coating, and sometimes plating under the chef’s direction. The stock chef handles dried goods, soups, and braises. The cold dish chef, as the name suggests, takes care of cold dishes, platters, and roasted meats.

"The first two are unlikely. The last two depend on what dishes are being pushed there; if not, then they’re out too."

Everyone could feel that whenever Zou Ming got talking about food, he couldn’t stop—he was a true enthusiast.

"Next is the stir-fry chef—a special role. They’re usually distinguished by which stove they stand at: the first is called the lead wok, or lead chef; the second is the assistant, and so on. However many stoves there are, that’s how many stir-fry chefs you need."

"I never knew there was so much to it," Ma Ju marveled.

"Well, of course. The Royal Court’s daily turnover is at least a million. Without a complete system and enough outstanding chefs, there’s no way to keep up," Zou Ming said, awed by the figure.

"But why do they classify by stove position? Is there a difference in skill?" Su Rui asked curiously.

"Well..."

Zou Ming hesitated; he wasn’t sure how to answer—he was only a well-informed outsider, after all.

"That’s not the reason." At that moment, Li Can, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke with a smile.

(To be continued...)