Although Zheng Da really wanted to immediately stop and butcher the pigeon, to showcase his talent to Qin Huai by making a Crab Dumpling on the spot, he held back.
The preparation work for Crab Dumplings is extremely complex, and if Zheng Da starts preparing now, barring any surprises, it would be evening before Qin Huai could see his Crab Dumpling.
Qin Huai had a tiring day of travel, and Zheng Da couldn’t bear the thought of his future beloved Closed-door Disciple staying up with him until the evening.
Zheng Da continued to handle the pigeons.
Truth be told, as a pastry chef who could be considered top-tier, Zheng Da’s knife skills are also top-notch among pastry chefs. In some sense, he could even be considered a hexagonal warrior, excelling in all the basic skills without any shortcomings, with high values all around.
Considering he hasn’t actually been a chef for many years, one could say he retreated bravely at his golden age to venture into business; calling Zheng Da a genius wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Although now this genius has no standing, he’s arduously dealing with pigeons for the sake of a Closed-door Disciple he isn’t sure he can persuade.
Pigeons really require meticulous handling, much more challenging than chickens or ducks.
Not to mention Zheng Da, for some inexplicable reason, insisted on showcasing his knife skills, insisting on deboning the whole pigeon. The first pigeon deboning was a disaster, tearing the pigeon’s skin, and to save face, he tried deboning the second one again.
Qin Huai didn’t understand and chose to silently make the soup.
Because the video tutorial had nothing worth referencing or learning from, Qin Huai mainly relied on his own flair when making the Gastrodia stewed pigeon.
Of course, since someone else handled the pigeons, there wasn’t much room for flair in Gastrodia stewed pigeon, just manage the Fire Control and simmer it properly without it going wrong.
Gastrodia stewed pigeon is sold by portion, using specially customized small pots. Huang Ji’s warehouse had a batch perfectly sized, all sorted out for Qin Huai to make Gastrodia stewed pigeon.
For a moment, the entire kitchen was filled with a strong aroma of pigeon soup.
Gong Liang in the hall already secured a tasting spot, squatting from the hall to the kitchen door, craning his neck to look inside.
Even though many people in Huang’s Kitchen had a deep-filtered positive view of Qin Huai as a pastry chef, everyone had to admit that this afternoon’s Gastrodia stewed pigeon really had a very ordinary smell.
It felt not much different from the Gastrodia pigeon soup sold for 28 yuan a portion at small shops outside.
The only difference might be that Qin Huai was generous with the ingredients, really including a whole pigeon in each Gastrodia stewed pigeon, with lots of Gastrodia, goji berries, and other ingredients not just tossed in casually for show.
So much so that many chefs with some understanding of dietary supplements whispered in their hearts; is this Gastrodia stewed pigeon a bit too heavily seasoned? Gastrodia, goji berries, red dates, or ginger slices aren’t known for enhancing freshness, and adding too much might not taste good.
If Qin Huai could hear these chefs’ inner thoughts, he would surely tell them it’s not up to him, Liu Tao put in this much.
The E-rank Gastrodia stewed pigeon is just that bold.
Two hours later, the Gastrodia stewed pigeon was ready.
[Gastrodia Stewed Pigeon D+ Grade]
Uniformly D+ grade, not a single portion reached C grade, indicating that Qin Huai’s Fire Control is still some distance from C grade.
Qin Huai made it according to the number of people, with each back kitchen staff, along with Gong Liang and the hall manager each getting a portion; Huang Shengli went to the hospital for a recheck in the afternoon with An Yao accompanying him, so neither of them got any.
Gong Liang received a portion that looked very pretty and excitedly picked up a spoon, took a sip of the soup, blew on it, and became the first to eat the crab.
This was Gong Liang’s first reaction upon tasting the pigeon soup.
Actually, this adjective was secretly beautified in Gong Liang’s mind. Who is Gong Liang? He is a childhood friend of Zheng Da and Huang Shengli, the former head of the sales department who achieved financial freedom at a young age, having achieved the epic feat of eating Master Jing’s Crab Dumplings for a month straight.
Not to mention D+ grade Gastrodia stewed pigeon, even Huang Jia’s Braised Pig’s Head, Gong Liang would turn it down if given the choice.
Gong Liang felt he hadn’t had such an ordinary soup in a long time.
When Gong Liang went out to eat, if such soup was served to him, he’d overturn the table and curse.
But considering this soup was Qin Huai’s latest creation, and Qin Huai’s main job was a pastry chef, it’s normal for him not to excel in soup making. And Gong Liang also heard about Qin Huai’s Fire Control practice progress, knowing that Qin Huai’s Fire Control was concerning.
After much contemplation, Gong Liang finally gritted his teeth and finished the entire Gastrodia stewed pigeon.
Not only did he finish the soup, but he also devoured the pigeon meat and Gastrodia, leaving only the red dates and goji berries.
These two things, Gong Liang really doesn’t like to eat.
After finishing, Gong Liang comforted himself, thinking it was all to encourage Master Qin, as this was an investment in future delicious snacks; eating this kind of subpar food now was worth it, no loss.
Sigh, if only I had inquired properly before rushing here.
Gong Liang went upstairs to the private room, sadly messaging Huang Shengli, expressing how much he sacrificed this afternoon to avoid undermining Qin Huai’s confidence, strongly requesting Huang Shengli to stir-fry two dishes in the evening to make up for it.
On the other hand, after finishing their meal, Huang Jiahe and the manager also unanimously agreed this dish was really ordinary, to the point where it didn’t even seem to meet the standard for the Huang Ji menu.
But considering it was made by Qin Huai, and Qin Huai had already pre-warned about the dish’s potential lack of flavor, being a dietary supplement and somewhat medicinal, from a dietary supplement standpoint, the dish wasn’t completely unworthy of the menu.