Culinary God in Wilderness

Hearing that familiar voice, Gray finally believed that he was actually seeing Lin Chen in the flesh.

He shot up from his chair.

"Oh my god, I can’t believe my eyes! Lin, and Andre, what are you two doing here at my restaurant all of a sudden... Oh, I know. You’re here to see how well we’ve replicated your food, aren’t you?"

"Perfect timing. I have a lot of questions for you, and we can also have Andre, the man himself, help me judge the difference between my version and what Lin made."

"You’re too kind, Chef Gray. We just came to take a look out of curiosity. As for the food, whether it’s authentic or not isn’t the most important thing. As long as the customers love it, that’s what matters."

While Lin Chen was greeting them, he also reached out and shook hands with Gray and Max.

"My mother thinks very highly of the food here. She also said Mr. Max’s service was the best she’s ever experienced at any restaurant. Although she hasn’t been to many high-end places, she felt it was no different from a Michelin-starred one."

"Your mother?"

Max had a smile on his face, but a flash of surprise was evident in his eyes.

He wracked his brain for a moment, and the image of an elderly woman slowly surfaced. He turned his head and shot Gray a glare.

"See? I told you last time that lady’s features looked a bit like Andre’s, and you said my eyes were playing tricks on me and I needed glasses!"

"Er... Heh heh, it was such a long shot, I didn’t expect it either."

The four of them chatted briefly at the entrance before Gray led them inside for a tour.

"This is the ordering counter. We’re a fast-casual style place, so you order, pay, and then take a number to find a seat."

"Over here is the drink station. You can order coffee, mixed drinks, soda, juice, smoothies, and so on."

"This row of window seats has a view of the sea and is the most popular. That row over there looks out onto the distant forest and is relatively quieter."

"We usually use this white wall in the corner to project a TV show or something. Everyone watched your competition here."

"Our kitchen is a completely open kitchen. After ordering, interested customers can stand in front of the salad station to see the kitchen’s workflow and watch the salads being made with their own eyes."

After touring the front of the house, the group went to check out the back kitchen.

Seeing Lin Chen and Andre, the few employees in the kitchen froze on the spot. They instantly lost all focus on their work, their attention completely fixed on the visitors, unable to look away.

"Chef Gray, if it’s not too much trouble, could you make one of each of my dishes that you currently serve for us to try? Don’t worry, we’ll definitely pay for it. Mr. Max, would you mind putting in the order?"

"Of course," Max nodded and stood behind the POS terminal, his fingers tapping nimbly on the screen. "For the larger portion items like the lamb offal soup and the meat dishes, I’ll just order one. For the bite-sized appetizers, do you need two orders? Or should I have the kitchen cut them for you?"

"Let’s do two orders. Just use your judgment. Neither of us are picky eaters."

The main reason for White Whale’s booming business over the past two months was its replication of Lin Chen’s wilderness cuisine. Although the quality couldn’t compare to a fine dining restaurant and the dishes weren’t exactly high-class, most customers were just eating out of curiosity, purely riding the hype.

The thought of having to prepare the original chef’s own food right in front of him, and for Andre to taste it as well, made the kitchen staff visibly nervous.

Fortunately, this was a proper restaurant, and the staff had all been working here for at least five years. Their skills were solid, so they didn’t disappoint the two guests.

Lin Chen picked up his napkin, dabbed the grease from the corner of his mouth, and gave a slight nod to the eagerly waiting staff.

"It tastes great. Some of it is even better than what I made in Alaska. Although the preparation for a few dishes differs from traditional Daxia Cuisine, I can taste the clever thinking behind it. You must have made some modifications to suit the local palate."

"None of that matters, as long as the diners like it. That’s the whole point of being a chef, isn’t it?"

"You’re absolutely right, Lin! I didn’t expect someone so young to have that kind of insight. Success is just a matter of time for you."

Beside them, Andre was still shoveling spoonfuls of the delicious lamb soup into his mouth. He mumbled indistinctly as he chewed.

"Lin, this lamb soup tastes a bit more fragrant than the one you made before, but it gets a little heavy after a few bites. Is it because the lamb has a higher fat content?"

"Exactly," Lin Chen gave him a thumbs-up. "Nice one, you could even taste that. The Alaska region is too remote, and it was winter, so food was limited for the sheep. They naturally didn’t have much fat on them."

"These sheep were probably free-range. They’re let out to graze during the day and might even get supplements at night, so the meat is relatively more tender and the fat content is higher."

"But because of that, just as Andre said, it can feel a bit heavy if you have too much. Adding the chili oil with lamb fat initially gives it a stimulating kick, but it also increases the lamb fat content, making it feel heavy even faster."

"Yes, yes, we noticed that problem too, but we haven’t thought of a suitable solution yet."

Gray sat next to Lin Chen with a notebook, wearing his reading glasses and occasionally jotting down the details of what Lin Chen was saying.

"It’s actually quite simple. Just add a side dish. Pickled radish, sweet pickled garlic, pickled onions, things like that. The main thing is for it to be sweet and sour, something refreshing to cut through the richness. They’re also easy to make. Pickled cucumbers would probably work too, but it’s best to make them yourself. The store-bought ones are too sour. I personally don’t think they taste very good."