Chapter 696 The Awakening of the Sharp Tongue
Ever since Mag had opened his restaurant, he had truly been made to comprehend what it meant for people working in the same occupation to be enemies.
As such, he wasn’t fazed by the antagonistic eyes cast toward him at all. It didn’t take a genius to know how much rage and resentment would be boiling in the hearts of these chefs.
None of that mattered to him anyway. He was a man who could see the bigger picture, and he certainly wasn’t going to pay any heed to these ignorant chefs.
The butler who had led Mag to the kitchen smiled, and said, “Mr. Mag, here are all of the things that you asked for, as well as all of the ingredients that you requested. If you need anything else, feel free to tell me.”
Mag carefully examined the items on the cooking bench to verify that everything he had requested was ready, and he nodded as he said, “That should be all for now. Thanks for your hard work.”
There was no such thing as a gas stove in this world, but Beate had displayed his intelligence to the world by devising a magic stove that derived its heat from a magic formation. The stove was able to provide consistent flame temperature, and the heat was easily adjustable.
All of the chefs in the second prince’s manor were naturally using this type of magic stove, while Mag had bought one off the streets, and had taken a long while to grow accustomed to using it.
Prior to coming here, Mag had asked the system to convert the oven into a magic oven as opposed to having to rely on electricity. There was clearly no reliable source of electricity here in Rodu, so that would’ve been a major problem.
Mag asked Amy to take a seat on a little stool nearby while she ate her biscuits. He then pulled out an apron and chef’s hat from one of the bags on the cooking bench before putting them on.
“Is that the chef that His Highness sourced from Chaos City? He’s so young; is he even able to cook anything good?”
“The chefs of Chaos City can’t compare to the chefs in Rodu. If you ask me, any of the chefs in this kitchen is a far better chef than him.”
“He’s not that old, but he sure is a cocky little brat. Look at all the stuff he asked the servants to prepare; is he looking down on the kitchenware in our manor?”
The chefs weren’t saying anything, yet the sous-chefs and student chefs were all discussing spiritedly among themselves.
Mag merely smiled upon hearing these barbed words. These were the most elementary playground insults, and they certainly weren’t going to hurt him. Instead, he was struck by the urge to laugh.
Most of the chefs in the kitchen were already middle-aged men, so they weren’t as eager to air their views as the young sous-chefs and student chefs were, but many of them were looking at Mag with disdain in their eyes. The most renowned chef in Chaos City, Head Chef Beate of Ducas Restaurant, had studied cooking in Rodu.
Of course, they would be able to tell whether Mag was the real deal once he began cooking. They were all esteemed chefs, and had to maintain their poise and dignity. Otherwise, if they were to also deliver verbal insults toward Mag, they would be stooping to the level of the student chefs.
However, they were going to air their opinions once Mag’s dishes were ready, and they were going to thoroughly enjoy stomping him into the ground during that process.
Mag pulled out his condiments one by one and placed them in the positions that he was accustomed to. He then reached into the water tank beside him, and pulled out a kirin carp that was still swimming about energetically.
He knocked the fish unconscious with the hilt of his blade, and proceeded to remove its scales with a long and thin knife. He then sliced several gashes into the fish’s body, pulling out some small fishbones in the process. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, a small pile of tiny fishbones had accumulated on the cooking bench.
A portly chef turned to his student with a derisive sneer, and said, “Heh, do you all see that? That’s the worst way to prepare a kirin carp. The scales of the kirin carp are the most delicious parts of its body, and it’s what makes the kirin carp so beautiful. Not only has he removed all of the fish’s scales, he’s also sliced so many unsightly gashes into the fish’s body. The entire fish is going to fall apart during the cooking process, and the end result will not only be hideous, but also very unpleasant to eat.”
As he was the chef that was the most proficient at cooking fish in this entire kitchen, Matthew’s evaluation was naturally regarded to be correct, and all of the student chefs immediately began to suck up to him.
“So you’re saying the rank fish scales are the most delicious part of a fish; no wonder you can’t cook a good fish.” Mag placed the cleaned fish into the marinating condiments before pursing his lips as he scoffed, “The most rank part of a kirin carp’s body is its scales. Furthermore, they seal off the flesh of the fish, preventing other flavors from seeping in while trapping the rank odor, making the fish completely bland and tasteless aside from an overwhelming rank flavor. As for the cuts I’m making in the fish, this is to let in more flavor as well as to remove the fishbones. There’s no point in telling you this, though; it’s a technical skill that not everyone can master.”
Mag’s voice wasn’t very loud, but the entire kitchen immediately fell silent. Contemplative expressions appeared on the faces of the chefs, while the student chefs were trying to gauge the chefs’ reactions before saying anything, in fear of saying something wrong if they were to speak too soon.
Matthew’s face immediately became flushed with rage and humiliation. He didn’t think that Mag would dare to rebut him in front of so many people. He pointed a trembling finger at Mag, and retorted, “T-that’s nonsense! I’ve cooked fish for over three decades! When I first started cooking fish, you were still in your diapers! Do you think I have less experience than a brat like you?”
“Perseverance and dedication are indeed qualities worthy of respect. Stubbornly following the wrong path for over 30 years is also very much commendable.” Mag nodded with a smile.
“You… You…” Matthew was trembling with rage, but he couldn’t find a counter to Mag’s insult. In the end, he swept his hand through the air with clenched teeth, and spat, “You’ve got a very sharp tongue; let’s see if you can back up that big mouth of yours!”
Mag wasn’t someone who would allow others to push him around. The fat chef looked as if he wanted to kill Mag, but he couldn’t do anything, and Mag was feeling very content upon seeing this.
He felt as if his sharp tongue from his past life was awakening from its dormancy again.
During the fish marination process, Mag prepared the ingredients for both the steak and the braised chicken. When he opened that bottle of wine, Mag could clearly sense that the eyes of everyone in the kitchen had lit up.
The fish was being grilled in the oven, the chicken was being braised in a pot, and the steak was being seared in a pan. Mag was cooking three dishes at the same time.
The aromas of beef and red wine wafted throughout the kitchen along with the scent of the braised chicken that was escaping from the pot. Only the aroma of the fish had been completely sealed off by the oven.
However, everyone had already fallen silent.
Nothing could make people eat their words more effectively than actions. All of the people in this kitchen were either chefs or aspiring to become chefs. They had all been cooking for a long time, yet they had never encountered a dish that was making it difficult for them to repress their drool, making them want to inhale its aroma with all their might.
However, Mag had managed to achieve this.
“It smells so good! I’ve never smelled such a fragrant dish. Both the chicken and the beef smell simply extraordinary,” a student chef couldn’t help but praise, and everyone nodded in agreement with this sentiment. Many of them were unconsciously getting up on the tips of their toes, trying to catch a glimpse of what Mag was putting into his pot and pan to create such an alluring aroma.
“Hmph, even if he can cook a good beef dish and chicken dish, his fish may not be on par,” Matthew harrumphed coldly, but his fists were already clenched with anxiety.
“Ding!”
A crisp notification sound rang out from the oven, and Mag plated the steak before opening the door of the oven.