"Hello, hello! I was introduced by Chef Qian, my name is Ma Guoqiang, and I'm a pastry chef."

"My name is Zhao Shizhong, I was introduced by Chef Liu, and I do hot dishes."

"My name is He Chunxiao, and I'm also a pastry chef..."

"Hello everyone, my name is Jiang Yu. I'm currently in charge of this Seventh Dining Hall."

Jiang Yu had a faint smile on his face as he carefully observed the three chefs in front of him.

These three people varied in age; the older one, Ma Guoqiang, looked to be in his forties or fifties, and the younger one, Zhao Shizhong, seemed just over twenty. As for the last one, He Chunxiao, a woman, she looked to be around thirty.

In the chef industry, there are actually very few women, mainly because it's a physically demanding job. Not only are the working hours long, but it also involves a lot of manual labor, like flipping pans, chopping bones, and moving things.

Of course, few doesn't mean none, and isn't this He Chunxiao in front of us one of them?

"Since everyone is here, you should be aware that this is a school cafeteria, mainly providing meals for students, which is different from those restaurants outside.

Restaurants cook small pot dishes, but with the many people eating at the school cafeteria, we need to prepare large pot dishes as it's more like fast food."

While speaking, Jiang Yu turned his head to look at the only one who cooks hot dishes, Zhao Shizhong, and asked with a smile,

"Master Zhao, you do hot dishes, and you probably know the difference between cooking small and large pot dishes. By the way, how long have you been a chef, and which cuisine are you most experienced in?"

"I've been a chef for two years, and since my previous mentor was a Xiang Cuisine chef, I mostly cook Xiang Cuisine."

Zhao Shizhong thought for a moment, slightly troubled, and said,

"I haven't worked in a cafeteria before, so I might not have the confidence to cook large pot dishes.

Before coming here, I thought it was a stall specializing in small stir fry, not expecting to have to cook large pot dishes..."

Seeing his troubled expression, Jiang Yu understood. Zhao Shizhong is only in his twenties; if he shows some culinary talent, he could become a head chef in a few years, with a bright future. Who would want to switch to cooking large pot dishes in a school cafeteria?

Clearly, there isn't much of a future in being a chef at a cafeteria.

"No worries, Master Zhao, you can think about it. After all, this has to be mutual, right?"

Jiang Yu smiled at the young Xiang Cuisine chef and then turned to the other two pastry chefs, smiling again, and asked:

"Master Ma, Master He, what are you good at?"

"I'm best at making handmade noodles. I used to own a noodle shop, but sadly I wasn't good at running it, and it closed down."

Ma Guoqiang gave a self-deprecating laugh and added, "Besides handmade noodles, I can also make buns and steamed bread."

He Chunxiao said, "I worked in a bun shop for seven or eight years, so I'm good with all kinds of pastries."

"Alright, that's great."

Jiang Yu was pleased with the two pastry chefs and nodded, saying,

"If you're both willing to stay, then the breakfast buns and steamed bread will be up to you."

He was about to invite the three in to discuss salaries when Zhao Shizhong, still frowning, suddenly looked up apologetically and said,

"Um, Boss Jiang, I don't think I can handle cooking large pot dishes. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay!"

Jiang Yu waved it off; he had expected that Zhao Shizhong might not want to work here, so it didn't surprise him at all. On the contrary, he had a good impression of Zhao Shizhong.

This was much better than those who stay reluctantly and then sneak away, saving him a lot of hassle."

He smiled and said, "This is just a cafeteria, after all, and can't offer you what you want. It's normal not to want to stay."

"Thank you, Boss Jiang, for understanding."

Zhao Shizhong wore a grateful expression as he added, "I'll take my leave now and not disturb your work."

After Zhao Shizhong turned and left, Jiang Yu turned back to Ma Guoqiang and He Chunxiao with a smile and said,

"Master Ma, Master He, this cafeteria has just been set up and hasn't even opened yet. Since it's almost noon, how about we show off our skills, fill our stomachs first, and then discuss salaries?"

Ma Guoqiang, being older and more cheerful, immediately smiled and said,

"Sure! When I was asking for directions earlier, I heard several students praise Boss Jiang's culinary skills, saying the soup dumplings are unbelievably delicious. I must try some later!"

Since he spoke, naturally, He Chunxiao didn't have any objections.

Moreover, since they were applying for a chef position, showing their skills was only reasonable, or how else would people determine salaries?

"The soup dumplings can't be made today, but there will be opportunities later."

Jiang Yu led them into the kitchen, smiling as he said,

"Brother Xiao Wu and I will stir-fry a few dishes, Master Ma, you can make some meat buns and vegetable buns, not too many, just enough for everyone to taste."

As he spoke, he opened the pantry and pointed to the various ingredients inside the cooler,

"The ingredients are here, Master Ma, you can choose what filling you want to make."

"Okay."

Since Jiang Yu had said not to make too much, Ma Guoqiang and He Chunxiao didn't pick too many ingredients. They took about a pound of pork, along with two pieces of tofu, mushrooms, greens, some ginger, and scallions.

After they had chosen, Hu Zhihai led them out to knead dough and prepare fillings, which kept them busy for a while.

As soon as they stepped out, Lu Shuwu approached with a grin and asked, "Boss, what dishes are you planning to make?"

"Including the two new pastry chefs, there are five of us here and eight part-time student workers, making thirteen in total,"

Jiang Yu calculated in his head before saying,

"Master Ma will make buns and steamed bread as the main dish, so we don't need to steam rice. We'll each cook four home-style dishes, which should be enough."

"Eight dishes should be plenty."

Lu Shuwu nodded and asked, "But which four dishes are you going to make?"

"Since you cook Xiang Cuisine, I'll make local Jiangzhou dishes."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "I'll make Lotus Blood Duck, Steamed Pork, Gannan Stir-Fried Fish, and Silverfish Steamed Egg."

"Just the names sound delicious!"

Lu Shuwu couldn't help but swallow his saliva and added, "Then I'll make Bandit Pork Liver, Pickled Cabbage Stir-Fried Starch Sheets, Country Style Stir-Fried Pork, and a soup, Mushroom and Meat Slice Soup."

"With all these, it should be about enough; it's almost eleven, so let's prepare the ingredients and start cooking."

Jiang Yu nodded and signaled before turning to start the preparations.

Seeing this, Lu Shuwu didn't delay and got to work immediately.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.