Chapter 465: Chapter 463 Sizzling Eel Shreds

At 3 p.m. on January 1st, the back kitchen of Fen Garden was filled with the aroma of dishes.

All 17 candidates had arrived, and in the interest of saving time, as soon as a new person arrived, Jiang Feng would have them start preparing the dish they intended to cook. Although there were only four stoves in Fen Garden’s back kitchen, there was plenty of space for the culinary stations and an ample amount of utensils, allowing over a dozen chefs to prepare their dishes simultaneously without any issues.

Jiang Feng, Jiang Jiankang, and Zhang Guanghang each had defined roles. Jiang Feng observed the chefs at the culinary stations to evaluate their handling of ingredients and knifework skills, while Jiang Jiankang stood by the stoves watching how the chefs controlled the heat.

Zhang Guanghang was the most interview-like of the three, standing to the side with a stern face, flipping through everyone’s resumes, occasionally glancing up to match the resume with the candidate.

Anyone who caught Zhang Guanghang’s gaze couldn’t help but feel nervous, as if they were back in their student days being inspected by the head teacher for classroom discipline.

Jiang Feng was focused on the dozen chefs who were earnestly processing their ingredients at the culinary stations. He remembered that during the last recruitment, most chefs had cooked dishes like Kung Pao chicken and Ants Climbing a Tree—quick, simple dishes that also showcased a chef’s foundational skills.

This time was no exception, as he could tell from the ingredients being prepared that at least ten chefs were planning to make Ants Climbing a Tree and Kung Pao chicken.

This made the two brothers stand out even more drastically, having chosen eel as their main ingredient. Although both brothers were deft in their movements, processing the eel was inevitably slower compared to other more manageable ingredients. Jiang Feng had already tasted the dishes of two other candidates who had started cooking at the same time, yet the brothers were still battling it out at the stoves.

Choosing a dish to cook for the interview that was distinct from others was a very courageous move, since most people preferred to play it safe, and many chefs would use their specialty dishes as a bonus point after the first round.

Xiulian had sent the candidate information to Jiang Feng half a month ago, during the period when Taifeng Building’s customer traffic surged following the public release of the Taste magazine cover. Jiang Feng, knowing that the final decision during the interview would be made by the two Sirs, had been lazy and did not seriously examine the file Mrs. Wang Xiulian had sent him.

Because of this, he found every candidate unfamiliar.

With this in mind, Jiang Feng stopped observing the chefs around the culinary stations and joined Zhang Guanghang to look at the resumes.

“Zhang, let me see the resumes of those two who just finished,” Jiang Feng said.

Zhang Guanghang pulled out two resumes and handed them to him.

Jiang Feng quickly scanned the resumes, noting that not only were the dishes of the two chefs mediocre, their resumes were also unremarkable—with no unusual experiences and specialty dishes that weren’t so special. They were basically out of the running.

Jiang Feng returned the resumes to Zhang Guanghang, “Show me the resumes of those two brothers.”

Zhang Guanghang skillfully extracted two resumes and didn’t forget to comment, “The restaurant they used to work at is…”

Before Zhang Guanghang finished speaking, he was interrupted by a striking sizzle, a sound that was clearly the noise of scorching hot oil poured over food. Jiang Feng made a similar sound when pouring oil into a fish’s mouth as the final step in making chopped chili fish head, but it wasn’t as loud as this.

If the volume of the sizzle was any indication, its intensity was practically no different from a clap of thunder.

Before Jiang Feng had a chance to lift his head to look towards the stoves, a second distinct sizzle sounded, accompanied by an enticing fragrance.

It was the scent of eel—rich with soy sauce and accompanied by streaks of garlic aroma, a savory fragrance that announced loudly to everyone that a dish with a distinct personality was ready.

Jiang Feng took several deep breaths, trying to identify the dish by its aroma. After a fruitless search in his memory, it was clear this dish was not a part of his repertoire.

“It’s crispy eel strips with hot oil, most likely made by those two brothers. This dish was one of the signature dishes of their former restaurant,” Zhang Guanghang said, still holding the resumes.

Jiang Feng quickly took the resumes to glance over them.

The older brother was Dong Li, 32 years old, and the younger brother was Dong Shi, 29 years old. Both had previously worked at a restaurant that Jiang Feng vaguely remembered had once been featured in the “Taste” magazine, named Huang Ji Restaurant. Just as Jiang Feng was about to look for their signature dishes, the food was already being served.

Not in a rush, Jiang Feng put away the resumes and began to evaluate the two servings of crispy eel strips with hot oil in front of him.

The brothers must have been taught by the same master because the two dishes were nearly indistinguishable in appearance. The shiny, slightly curled eel strips were irregularly arranged on the plate, and they were boneless. Jiang Feng could tell that the brothers had used only the belly meat of the eel.

There was a small cluster of snowy white minced garlic in the middle of the eel strips, exuding a rich garlic fragrance. Vibrant green chopped green onions were sprinkled like stars over the eel, and Jiang Feng could faintly see evenly laid white pepper powder on the strips.

Eel was not plump in January, and the brothers were not good at plating, but the dish still looked tempting.

Both in appearance and aroma, it was a dish that made one instinctively pick up their chopsticks and grab a strip of eel.

Jiang Feng was the first to reach for chopsticks and pick up a strip of eel, the deep soy sauce glaze giving it an even more apparent sheen up close, but without a greasy feeling. Due to the recent drizzle of hot oil, Jiang Feng could also see tiny bubbles of heat on the eel.

Jiang Feng blew on his food a few times, not rushing to take a bite. The unique sauce flavor of the stir-fried eel threads, mixed with the fresh scent of the eel, lingered around the tip of his nose.

Dong Li and his brother Dong Shi stood quietly in their places, with Dong Shi seeming eager to say something, but with Dong Li at his side, he didn’t dare to be rash and could only stand silently with a look of eagerness.

Jiang Jiankang had rich experience in snatching up hot food and wasn’t afraid of the heat, only blowing on the eel threads a few times before the surface stopped bubbling and then tasting it, nodding his head in approval.

It was a recognition of the brothers’ culinary skills.

Jiang Feng followed suit, though not as boldly as Jiankang. He cautiously tested the temperature with the tip of his tongue before confidently placing the whole eel thread in his mouth.

The flavor was strong, but the rich sauce did not overshadow the eel’s own freshness. The flesh of the fish was delicate, but the skin of the eel had a resilient texture, and when chewed finely, a mild spiciness could be tasted, which under the stimulation of the spice made the eel threads even more delicious. The white pepper powder on the surface was the icing on the cake.

The ingredients and seasoning complemented each other, and the cooking was done just right; without a doubt, it was an excellent dish.

This was Jiang Feng’s first time tasting this dish. After trying the stir-fried eel threads made by the two brothers, it was clear that Dong Li’s was slightly better. Although Dong Shi’s was not bad, it fell short of Dong Li’s in every aspect.

After tasting, Jiang Feng couldn’t help but reach for a few more bites, already feeling in his heart that the two brothers were strong candidates for his list.

Although Dong Shi was slightly inferior, he was also worth considering.

Zhang Guanghang was the last to reach out with his chopsticks because of his fear of hot food, waiting until several minutes after Jiang Feng and Jiankang had started eating.

After just one taste, Zhang Guanghang began to inquire, “I saw on your resumes that you both previously worked at Huang Ji Restaurant, which is also a famous establishment and should be much more well-known than Taifeng Building. I’ve just tried your cooking, and it must have been Master Huang who taught you personally. Although it’s not stated in the resumes, I guess you both were his apprentices. So why would you come here for an interview?”

Hearing Zhang Guanghang ask this made Jiang Feng also curious. Logically speaking, mentors and apprentices would work in the same restaurant. Jiang Feng had heard of Master Huang from Huang Ji Restaurant; though not a grandmaster, he was certainly a well-known chef with skillful hands and several signature dishes.

Huang Ji Restaurant, which was founded by Master Huang himself, should now be run by his son. Even if Master Huang, due to his age, no longer worked in the kitchen, it wouldn’t make sense for his disciples to leave the family restaurant to seek employment elsewhere.

“It was the master who sent us here,” blurted out Dong Shi, speaking before Dong Li.

Dong Li glanced at Dong Shi, who dare not speak again, and then Dong Li explained slowly, “Huang Ji Restaurant has been transferred.”

“Transferred?” Zhang Guanghang expressed some surprise, as they were all part of the Shandong cuisine circle. They generally did not keep up with news from the south, and what they did know was mostly through Pei Shenghua, the melon king.

Although Huang Ji Restaurant could not be considered an old establishment when compared to the nearly century-old restaurants in Beiping, it was still a well-known establishment, and its sudden transfer was certainly big news.

“After the master stopped cooking, the business started doing much worse, and the owner isn’t very good at managing things either. Actually, the restaurant has been losing money for a while, so the owner decided to just sell the entire place. Our senior brothers were introduced by our master to other restaurants, and our master said that our cooking still needs work, so he sent us to Beiping to gain more experience and exposure to other things,” explained Dong Li.

Hearing this, Jiang Feng couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret.

The competition in the culinary market has become increasingly fierce in recent years, and many once-renowned restaurants now seem incapable of keeping up. Once a head chef is poached or retires due to age, it doesn’t take long for the establishment to be eliminated by the market.

Survival of the fittest, though cruel, has always been the way.

However, Zhang Guanghang was not entirely satisfied with Dong Li’s response, “Since Master Huang sent you to Beiping, he must have introduced you to some restaurants, and it shouldn’t have been our establishment, right?”

They had not received any news from Master Huang.

“Our master originally sent us to Yonghe House, but half a month ago we saw the cover of ‘Taste’ magazine, so we…” Dong Shi interjected again.

Jiang Feng instantly understood; that’s why they ditched Yonghe House.

In a flash, the way Jiang Feng looked at Dong Shi became much more amiable.

Such a talkative and lively character was just the right ingredient to make friends with Sang Ming.

Taifeng Building needed talents like him.

It also needed new dishes to be introduced.

Stir-fried eel threads clearly had more appeal than Kung Pao Chicken and Ants Climbing a Tree.