Chapter 828: Improving the Roasted Cold Noodles Taste
Qi Yan brought the vendors to the Cold-Faced Lady’s kitchen.
The other vendors might not be good at roasted cold noodles, but they all followed along. They wanted to see how Zhang Yahui would ‘guide’ them and what kind of job the so-called ‘Gourmet Adviser’ was in charge of.
After Qi Yan briefly explained the situation to the chef, he immediately began to make cold noodles.
Zhang Yahui and the other vendors gathered around and watched intently.
This chef had also partic.i.p.ated in the Street Food Contest previously, so he knew Zhang Yahui and the other vendors. He felt uncomfortable performing the art of making cold noodles in front of them, but he had to follow the previous method since Qi Yan had requested it.
Zhang Yahui looked on very seriously.
While they had both partic.i.p.ated in the food compet.i.tion and were both in the cold noodles group, both of them were busy making cold noodles at that point in time and had no time to pay attention to others. Thus, Zhang Yahui did not know how his cold noodles were made.
Now that he looked at it up close, he realized that the biggest difference between making the cold noodles that he made and the chef made was “accuracy”.
A simple example would be that the chef would use a timer to record the time it took to cook the noodles. He would also use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the cold noodles. He would only beat the eggs and add condiments when the temperature was suitable.
Zhang Yahui relied on his experience when making his own cold noodles. However, he was more talented and had made one too many servings of cold noodles. Thus, even if he did not use these tools, the batches of cold noodles he made each time would not be too different.
Qi Yan did not pay much attention to the process of roasting cold noodles. Instead, she paid attention to the expressions of the chef and the vendors.
This chef was hired by Meng Chang with a high salary. He was a true hotel chef. He was no ordinary person even though he was not at the level of the head chef of a five-star hotel.
The Cold-Faced Lady had so much marketing expenses after all. They could easily squeeze out a little and hire a more expensive chef. Meng Chang had been advocating how good the Cold-Faced Lady’s taste was, which would not be the case if he were to find an ordinary chef to do the job.
However, for a chef hired with a high salary to be unable to make better roasted cold noodles than a roadside vendor did not seem to be worth the money as well. What’s more, there were not many consumers who bought the noodles. Qi Yan had always been puzzled by this.
The cold noodles were done very quickly. The chef cut the cold noodles into sections according to the standard process and set them aside after carefully setting the plates.
“It’s done,” the chef said to Qi Yan.
Qi Yan nodded and said to the vendors, “Everyone, have a taste. Feel free to raise any opinions.”
The stall owners each took a piece and savored it carefully.
Zhang Yahui said, “Yes, it’s exactly as the judges said previously. The water content is not very good, the texture is a little tough and not soft enough. As for the taste of vinegar… it’s alright, it’s not as serious as the judges said.”
After a moment of silence, the chef explained, “I added a little more vinegar today.”
Obviously, he had accepted the judges’ pertinent comments yesterday. The chef humbly listened to their opinions. Today, he added a little more vinegar to improve the taste of the cold noodles.
The chef said to Zhang Yahui, “Why don’t you make one batch for me to learn from you?”
Zhang Yahui quickly said, “I don’t dare to exclaim that I’m an expert. I simply cooked one too many batches of cold noodles, groped in the dark and had reached an understanding of my own.”
Zhang Yahui sounded humble, but he still changed places with the chef. After pouring oil into the desk, he picked up a piece of cold noodles dough and laid it on the table.
This time, it was the chef’s turn to observe.
They were both making roasted cold noodles. However, the chef realized that there was a difference in the details when he was looking at the timer and observing Zhang Yahui’s techniques.
The difference in the taste of cold noodles could be due to these details.
Zhang Yahui’s roasted cold noodles were ready in no time. He invited everyone to try them.
Qi Yan had tried both types of cold noodles. Indeed, she could tell that Zhang Yahui’s cold noodles were more delicious.
A person’s tongue would not lie.
An entrepreneur had a divine theory previously. Someone had criticized his brand of food and beverage for not being delicious. He had angrily said, “That’s because your taste buds haven’t been enlightened since you’ve only tasted food made by your mother, so you can’t tell what’s good or bad.”
This divine theory was also spread as a joke.
Of course, there was a gap between people’s ability to taste delicacies. Otherwise, anyone could become a food critic.
However, it would be pure nonsense to say that the food tasted bad because his taste buds were not enlightened.
Anyone could tell that it was delicious as long as the food tasted good.
On the other hand, if ordinary people found it disgusting, it was often really disgusting.
The chef did not insist that his roasted cold noodles were more tasty. Instead, he admitted defeat and asked Zhang Yahui about the details in the process.
Zhang Yahui answered seriously as well. However, most of the time, his actions were based on his feelings and could not be explained clearly.
The chef listened intently and sighed with emotion. “I see… It looks like it’s my problem. I thought too simply of the roasted cold noodles. I never thought that such a simple snack would have so many details and tricks…”
Qi Yan suddenly understood why a real hotel chef could not make cold noodles as good as a food stall owner.
On one hand, it was because of his technique. On the other hand, it was because of his att.i.tude!
The chef would definitely be able to beat Zhang Yahui by a few streets if it were any other dishes. That was because these dishes had recipes and the chef had undergone strict professional training. There was no way he would lose to an unorthodox chef.
However, it was different for snacks. There were no clear recipes for snacks. The chefs of various restaurants would not specially research how to make pancakes or roasted cold noodles. Thus, even the chefs of hotels had similar starting points as the food vendor.
Obviously, this chef did not think highly of food like roasted cold noodles Thus, he did not spend much effort on it. He only thought that he would definitely make better tasting food than those made by the roadside stalls.
However, there was no obvious difference between his roasted cold noodles and those sold by roadside stalls.
Of course, he might not be able to figure it out even if he studied it carefully.
There were so many cities in the country, and every city had countless stalls. So many vendors had tried different ways but only a few ways prevailed. How long would it take for the chef to figure it out on his own?
The skills and att.i.tude made it impossible for the chef to win by making the cold noodles.
Customers felt that the Cold-Faced Lady did not have an obvious taste compared to ordinary roasted cold noodles sold at the roadsides. Moreover, the prices were higher so they felt that they had paid an IQ tax since it was not more delicious.
Qi Yan could not help but feel emotional. Sure enough, there were specializations in the industries.They did have to hire professionals to do the job.
They were both chefs. It was one thing to make regular dishes taste good, but another to make snacks that tasted good.
Qi Yan suddenly realized that this was probably what Boss Pei wanted to convey.
One of the key reasons for Meng Chang’s failure was that he did not understand this point. He thought that he could just find an expensive chef to make delicious roasted cold noodles.
However, he had never thought about whether the expensive chef was good at making roasted cold noodles. Would the chef be willing to consult the vendor about the details and techniques of making cold noodles?
Meng Chang had been emphasizing on the taste of the cold noodles, but it was all verbal and he had not taken any action.
Qi Yan felt that Boss Pei was obviously hinting to her not to walk down Meng Chang’s old path. She had to be down-to-earth and honest!
The other vendors also began to share their insights.
Qi Yan could tell that even though these vendors had not undergone professional cooking training, their common point was that they had a certain taste, strong hands-on ability, and loved to further develop the tastes.
Otherwise, they would not have been able to teach themselves and make ordinary snacks so popular.
They had att.i.tude and ability. As long as the Cold-Faced Lady paid to train them with some culinary knowledge, and then streamlined their cooking methods and refined them… it would definitely improve the taste of snacks of the Cold-Faced Lady!
At that time, not only would they be able to make roasted cold noodles, they would also be able to make other types of snacks!
Qi Yan immediately decided on that thought. “I think everyone’s abilities are good enough to be a Gourmet Adviser. I guarantee that the Cold-Faced Lady will be able to provide a bigger platform for everyone to fully utilize their talents!”
…
At the same time, in Jingzhou…
Li s.h.i.+ was talking to the author of the article about Boss Pei, Dream Realization Ventures, and Cold-Faced Lady through voice chat.
“That’s all I know.”
“There might be some other hidden aspects. Boss Pei is good at scheming after all. What we see might only be a part of his plan. However, we have no way of knowing these things.”
“You can use these materials according to your needs.”
A male voice came from the other end of the line. “Thank you very much. These details are really exciting. I didn’t expect the Cold-Faced Lady to have so many stories behind!”
“May I ask who you are and where you obtained this insider information? Don’t worry, I’m just curious. I won’t write it in the article.”
“Of course, it’s okay if you don’t want to reveal it.”
Li s.h.i.+ chuckled. “I’m just an ordinary investor with a student mentality.”
The person on the other end of the line did not continue asking seeing that Boss Li was unwilling to speak. Instead, he said, “Don’t worry, I will write this article very soon. It will definitely be very exciting!”
Li s.h.i.+ suddenly thought of something and said, “Oh, there’s something else. I heard that Meng Chang is at his wits’ end now. Boss Pei intends to give him some work to do, but I’m not sure what position he’s in charge of.”
The person on the other end of the line pondered for a moment. “This…”
“Alright, I understand. This seems to be a very important piece of information.”
“I’ll start writing now so that the story behind Cold-Faced Lady can be revealed to the world!”