"So basically, you can do most things related to flour, but you’re not proficient and can’t make high-end exquisite dishes, is that what you mean?"

"Yes."

Zhao Shun straightforwardly admitted it since he had also written it in his resume without any exaggeration, emphasizing honesty and truthfulness.

In other industries, he might be able to embellish a bit about himself, but in a field that involves technical skills, there’s no room for fabrication.

If the head chef asked him to make a specialty dish, his real abilities would be immediately exposed, so it’s better to be truthful from the start.

"Alright, I understand the general situation."

Lin Chen nodded and, after contemplating for a few seconds, looked back at him.

"Since you’re from Su Province, have you had any experience with river seafood?"

"I can cook it, also at a home-cooked level."

There are many lakes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, especially the famous crab sanctuary Yangcheng Lake, located in Su Province, a paradise for crab enthusiasts.

His so-called home-cooked level should be higher than the average person, but it’s limited to these common freshwater ingredients.

"Can you make crab roe tofu?"

"Yes, that dish is simple, but extracting crab roe is a bit troublesome, requiring several crabs for one serving."

"Great, Lucas has just uploaded a video on his account. Can you take a look and see if there’s anything that needs improvement?"

"Hmm?"

Zhao Shun was stunned, unable to understand how the topic suddenly shifted to videos.

Was he really being asked to critique a head chef?

Really?

Could this be a test of his skills?

It must be!

With this in mind, Zhao Shun quickly opened Lucas’s social media platform and indeed saw a newly uploaded video from half an hour ago. The view count had already far surpassed the previous video, with nearly two thousand views.

This was only in half an hour; if a few more hours passed, wouldn’t it break a hundred thousand?

He had roughly browsed Lucas’s previous videos, which averaged only a few thousand views, with better ones reaching one or two thousand, and the highest being the one selling grilled oysters by the seaside, with over four thousand views.

This newly uploaded video clearly had the potential to break records, instantly capturing his interest.

The video featured bright white Chinese characters spelling out ’Crab Roe’ against a sticky, golden crab roe background, where strands of crab meat and roe were visible, accompanied by a crab illustration.

Even foreigners who couldn’t understand Chinese could easily recognize that the video was about crab-related cuisine.

Plus, the first line at the bottom of the video opened with terms like "king crab" and "emperor crab," fully engaging the audience’s interest.

Compared to previous videos, this newly uploaded one had an extremely noticeable difference in visuals and layout, comparable to many popular domestic food bloggers’ setups.

"King Crab Crab Roe Tofu?"

Upon seeing the name, Zhao Shun instinctively shook his head.

"That’s not right. If you want crab roe to taste good, you must use crab meat and roe from lake crabs. The taste of sea crabs differs completely from lake crabs; they can only achieve a similar appearance, but the flavor is distinctly different."

Lin Chen’s eyes lit up.

This guy has some skills!

Noticing Lin Chen’s gaze, Zhao Shun suddenly came back to his senses, realizing what he had just said, and his nerves instantly tightened.

After all, he was just a regular worker, critiquing a chef’s dish right in front of the boss—wasn’t he courting disaster?

So he hurriedly added, "But that’s the concept of our Suzhou-style crab roe. Crab roe is a specialty of the Jiangnan region, not exclusive to Su Province. Coastal areas make crab roe from sea crabs, and in their eyes, this kind of crab roe is the most authentic."

"But using king crab to make crab roe, this is the first time I’ve heard of it. Is this the chef’s innovation? Truly impressive!"

"... I’d suggest not trying to flatter if you’re not good at it."

Lin Chen rolled his eyes helplessly and waved his hand, saying, "I’m not the kind of person who puts on airs. In the kitchen, skill is paramount. As long as your dishes are good and you have real talent, you can do whatever you want as long as you don’t violate the rules."

"Leave sycophancy back home. It doesn’t apply here."

Chen Dongliang stood silently nearby, curiously craning his neck to see what video they were discussing.

"Crab Roe? What’s that, crab powder?"

"It’s a dish name—meaning extracting all the edible parts of a crab’s body, cooking it into a sauce and pairing it with noodles, rice, or tofu. It’s very fresh!"

"So much work? City folk eat more upscale things, huh."

Just thinking about it, Chen Dongliang could already sense how labor-intensive this dish would be.

He hardly ever ate crabs; they’re a hassle and expensive, not as satisfying as the ten-dollar pork.

After Zhao Shun gave him a simple explanation, he casually clicked on the video to watch it.

As he watched, his eyebrows raised, and astonishment gleamed in his eyes.

"Using crab blood instead of tofu? Wow, can anyone actually come up with this?"

"Ah? Crabs have blood??"

"I didn’t know either, I’ve never heard of it. Going abroad really broadens your horizons."

Lin Chen didn’t disturb the two watching the video, quietly sitting and waiting for them to finish, while already planning the general arrangements for the next few days in his mind.

"Finished, Head Chef."

Zhao Shun put down the phone, cautiously raised his eyes for a glance, and said: "This method of using crab blood instead of tofu is indeed very novel. I’ve never heard of it before, so it’s hard for me to comment."

"Speaking just of the crab paste part, I still hold the opinion that lake crabs and sea crabs have different tastes, and on top of that, the video uses king crabs, whose taste differs again from sea crabs like hairy crabs."

"King crab meat is coarse, unlike the delicate texture of small crabs, so the taste must have noticeable differences."

"If there’s any room for improvement, I think it’s necessary to use small crabs."

"I think the same way."

Lin Chen nodded: "When shooting this video, thinking to use king crabs was mainly because of a shortage of manpower and tight timing."

"To make a plate of crab paste tofu like this, you’d need at least a hundred crabs. I didn’t have enough time to spend obtaining crab blood and paste."

"Since you seem quite knowledgeable about crabs, and plus Old Chen has years of experience as an assistant, we’re just the right fit to shoot a Crab Paste Tofu 2.0 episode, bringing the dish back to its essence."

"...???"

Zhao Shun’s mouth opened slightly, seemingly wanting to say something but swallowed his words back.

Isn’t this just asking for trouble!

Thinking about the work of picking meat from hundreds of crabs is tiring.

Old Chen on the side didn’t react much, nodding repeatedly as a chick pecks at rice.

"I’m ready to listen to the leader, whatever the leader asks me to do, I’ll do."

"..."

Doomed, there’s a traitor among allies!

He was hoping Old Chen, being older with ample experience, would have some sway, but the person directly surrendered upon coming."

In the future, if he wants to slack off every once in a while, will this guy still supervise him?

Lin Chen saw his face changeable, feeling amused in his heart.

Anyone who’s worked knows how delightful and hopeful it is to goof off during work.

Especially for people like them working in the service industry, where work is tiring and tough, seeking a break is quite normal.

Initially, when he began working in the kitchen, he would often run to the bathroom to goof off, using the excuse of needing to poop, squatting for fifteen minutes each time.

At first, no one noticed, but later somehow, inexplicably, people started to follow suit, causing the employee bathrooms to be frequently occupied for long hours.

Finally, after Chef Raphael held his bladder for over half an hour, he sent a mass email to employees indicating a need to rectify the prolonged use of bathroom time.

Concerning Zhao Shun’s little schemes, he was too clear, and had no intention of reprimanding.

The pastry chef is arguably the hardest position in the chef industry. This kid being able to endure several years means he certainly has patience and perseverance, without needing him to worry.

He chose this kid based on his profession to be the appointed worker, or else, with such good benefits here, recruiting would definitely attract more skilled, experienced master chefs, not necessarily choosing him.

Chen Dongliang is also an honest person, no mistakes visible in his appearance, combined with being from the countryside and having Northeastern ancestry, having a warm and straight-forward character, most suitable as an assistant chef.

He wasn’t looking for chefs with high skill levels, but ones who could help him with handling most of the tedious intermediate processes as assistant chefs.

Recruiting assistant chefs focuses on two things.

Patience.

Solid foundation.

Plus some assessment of character, that’s basically enough.

"But for the next two days, we won’t do it. You’ve just arrived and haven’t adjusted the time difference, won’t give you too heavy a workload. The first few days primarily focus on adaptation."

"Today’s breakfast and lunch have ended. Only dinner is left. We have limited dinners with three slots daily, posted online for guests to draw. Winning guests can bring an additional person."

"You can bring your own ingredients or come empty-handed, but if coming empty-handed, menu selection depends on our kitchen’s ingredient stock, which isn’t as good as what’s personally brought, so dinner guests generally bring their own ingredients."

"For tonight’s dinner, you’ll start by helping me as assistants, washing and chopping ingredients, a very simple job, no problem right?"

"No problem!"

Chen Dongliang pats his chest, looking confident, his eyes full of expectation for a well-paid salary.

Zhao Shun also nodded to indicate no problem, while secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

This Head Chef is even more approachable than imagined. He thought western chefs were like those seen in variety shows, often scolding their subordinates, being under great work pressure.

"What type of cuisine do we usually make for dinner at the restaurant?"

Compared to Old Chen’s taciturn nature, Zhao Chuan is a bit more lively, daring because they’re the same age group.

"Hard to say."

Lin Chen spreads his hands: "Mainly depends on what customers want to eat. Western, Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern cuisines, all have been made before."