Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 492: Kitchen Crisis After 404, the Quiet Wharf

"Is this a beef burger?"

"So juicy, looks delicious. Could I have one too, please!"

Lucinda watched quietly as the customers scrambled to choose sandwiches, her expression calm and unsurprised.

As if this was the usual state of affairs.

As more and more people tasted the handmade burgers, the delicious attributes of the fried chicken burger gradually became apparent.

After consuming two palm-sized burgers, the hunger was slightly alleviated, but the craving only grew stronger, giving an illusion of wanting more and more.

They’re tempted to try the other two flavors of sandwiches, but afraid they’ll be just as addictive, not wanting to stop after a bite, which would ruin the buffet experience.

Given the money spent, they’d have to hold back!

As the first batch of guests filled up, a long line formed at the sandwich table, much like a street stall.

The newly arrived guests didn’t quite understand the situation, but seeing everyone lining up, they joined in without question.

On Lin Chen’s side, they managed to keep up with the pace, but the burger side faced a shortage situation.

The burger machine had limited capacity and a fixed pace, only producing a few burger buns per minute, and they were snapped up as soon as they were made, leaving the rest of the time just waiting around.

Even some customers who had already bought toast sandwiches were eagerly waiting for the burgers to be ready.

As today’s hosts, Su and Nicole were getting anxious as the progress came to a halt.

After a brief discussion, they quickly came up with a solution.

"Those who have already paid can find a seat, get some food to eat first, and take a number from us. When the burgers are ready, we’ll call the numbers, and you can come collect them."

After all, the buffet was time-limited, and it wasn’t ideal to have people standing around waiting.

The plan quickly got the stalled queue moving again.

As the indoor guests gradually took their seats, the three sitting in the beach area consciously got up, cleaned up the sandwich wrappers and coffee cups, and left, making room for the diners.

"Judging by the crowd, Jonathan shouldn’t have much to do today."

"Indeed, at this rate, there might not even be a need to restock breakfast, it might not be finished in one go."

Marchello shook his head in disappointment, "Doesn’t this kid know how to innovate a bit?"

"Nowadays, when people mention Radisson’s restaurant, the first person they think of is Lin, this guy has no presence at all, many don’t even know the chef’s name after having the buffet."

"Isn’t he an employee at your place? You should know what he’s like."

"Of course I know, that’s why I sent him here to gain some experience, because I believe you’ve brought reliable and skilled chefs, but I didn’t expect them to be too skilled..."

The three chatted as they walked out, considering where to find a quiet place to sit and work.

"How about the platform at the back of the hotel? You can sit there, and at this time, no one will be around."

"Sure, since you’ve got a stake here, it’s basically your territory, I’ll follow your lead."

"Why do I feel like I’ve forgotten something but can’t quite remember what?"

As they walked, Raphael’s brow furrowed, his eyes filled with confusion.

A similar feeling had surfaced last night, and now it reappeared, there was definitely something he had missed.

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Marchello stopped in his tracks.

"What day is it today?"

"Monday!" replied Nagishiro Sho without thinking, "Why, did you forget to update the menu?"

His restaurant operated differently from the others, without regular menu updates, introducing new items irregularly each season for a surprise element.

"Monday... Monday?!"

Both Raphael and Marchello froze, quickly checking the time on their phones.

As Raphael lit up his phone screen, a call popped up.

He pursed his lips, glanced at Marchello, who rolled his eyes in response.

Last night’s excitement and exposure to so many new things made them completely forget about this matter.

Obviously, it wasn’t as crucial for Marchello, since it didn’t happen at the restaurant he managed; he just came to remind them, and his main goal was to learn.

But for Raphael, it was a different story.

Though he said it didn’t matter yesterday, he couldn’t truly feel that way.

If a large number of customer complaints were left unresolved and the situation was allowed to continue, this year’s Michelin evaluation could be jeopardized.

Looking at the flashing name on the screen, Raphael took a deep breath and answered the call.

"Good morning..."

"I’m not doing well at all, Mr. Raphael."

The other person’s tone was visibly annoyed.

"Excuse me, sir, where are you now?"

"Uh," he glanced at Marchello, who had a watching-the-show expression, and had an idea, "I’m with Chef Marchello right now."

"What?"

The person on the other end hesitated, "Is Chef Marchello also there?"

"Yeah, uh, should I have him say hello to you?"

Marchello was stunned, before he could react, the phone was already handed to his mouth, and he had to say a forced good morning.

"See, I wasn’t lying to you, right?"

"...What situation are you two in right now?"

"Us? What else could it be, we’re obviously on a quest for new dish inspiration!"

"What?! You’re not planning to come back today either?"

"Most likely that’s true, and we haven’t decided when exactly we’ll be back yet."

"That’s not acceptable!"

The man’s voice sounded extremely agitated.

"Because of the numerous complaints from Saturday, the whole kitchen’s mood is a bit unstable, and if no one directs today, I fear we won’t even be able to complete lunch properly!"

Raphael stiffened, his voice cold, "Can’t cook without direction? Has all those years of kitchen experience gone to the dogs?"

"If lunch can’t be completed properly today, just close up the restaurant, let those guys get lost early, I can’t accept keeping a few parasites in the restaurant."

"...Are you serious, chef? Then what about tonight’s dinner and the reservations for the next few days?"

"According to the restaurant’s rules, compensate as it should be compensated, punish as it should be punished, just like that. Notify me once the results are out, thanks."

After saying that, he directly hung up the phone.

Marchello held his head in his hands and sighed but didn’t say anything.

Nagishiro Sho was even more nonchalant, having already opened his laptop to start working, as if he didn’t care about what had happened.

For a kitchen manager, this was an indispensable part, similar things would happen every year or even every few months.

It’s just Raphael handled things more extremely this time.

Regularly testing the kitchen team is essential for maintaining a restaurant’s vitality.

Cleaning out underperforming chefs or pushing the chefs to overcome challenges and surpass themselves, it’s just a matter of choosing one of those outcomes.

No matter how well they usually get along, at times like this, personal feelings are irrelevant.

Aside from Anderson and Jolian, the kitchen team also has two other chefs switching shifts, though their skills aren’t as high as theirs, they can barely hold the fort, considered as deputies.

However, since the situation had developed to this point, he couldn’t keep being so carefree, when it’s time to return, he has to go back.

Nonetheless, he also had to consider recruiting new staff.

Just thinking about it is troublesome.

"These troublesome kids, can’t they save me some stress? Look at how well Lin is doing!"

Thinking of those two weeks right after he had just sent Lin off, the kitchen obviously struggled, like an old car that hadn’t been oiled in a long time.

At that moment, he realized Lin’s significant importance.

"If it’s really impossible, I’ll temporarily transfer a couple of people there to hold the fort, see if you can recruit someone quickly, or let your people come to me for training two or three weeks, if there’s still mistakes, just fire them directly."

"Let’s see after lunch notification."

On the other side.

Staring at the empty dock, Rovena paced back and forth with her hands behind her back for quite a while, ultimately deciding not to just wait around doing nothing.

"I’m heading to the restaurant."

There wasn’t much business at the dock this morning anyway. After Lin Chen set up a stall yesterday, there wasn’t even a shadow here today, business was worse than before.

Seems like without getting that garlic sauce, don’t even think about doing good business.

"These guys, weren’t they here for fun, why is their interest in food greater than in playing?"

"Diving is so much fun, you can take photos and catch fish, where else would you get to experience this ordinarily."

"Although garlic roasted oysters indeed aren’t available anywhere else... Oh well, let’s consider how to convince Lin to expand his business to the dock."

With that in mind, he got in his car, stepped on the gas pedal, and sped off towards the hotel.

Luckily the hotel wasn’t far from here, he could get there quickly.

Speaking of which, since the restaurant opened, it was his first time coming here, he could see the long queue at the door from afar, as noticeable as yesterday’s queue at the dock.

"This business sure is great, if the dock business could be half this good, I’d be satisfied."

Sighing in his heart, he parked the car steadily in front of the restaurant’s parking lot but didn’t get out.

At this moment they definitely would be busy, probably wouldn’t have time to chat with him.

Since he’s here, rather than waiting around, why not... just grab breakfast?

Rovena chuckled, pushed open the car door, and quickly walked to the back of the line.

Due to the large number of diners in front, he couldn’t even see the restaurant entrance, face-to-face with a sea of busy heads.

Fortunately, the line was moving at a normal pace, every couple of minutes it would move forward a bit.

After about twenty minutes, he finally got to see the writing on the small blackboard hanging on the wall ahead.

"Sandwich, sandwich??"