Listening to the middle-aged man talk about the hot pot to the sky, the taste in Zhao Zixian's heart was very complicated. I am the owner of a hot pot restaurant, and according to the old saying of Huaxiaguo, I should do one line of love and one line. In fact, Zhao Zixian does like hot pot, but he doesn't like to deify a thing. It's okay to say that hot pot is delicious, but if you say that hot pot is the most delicious, is the word "most" so easy to say, everything in this world is not as delicious as hot pot? That's a bit of an overstatement.

It's like saying that a person's force is strong, Zhao Zixian may believe it, but if a person's force is the highest in the world. Without an opponent, Zhao Zixian will definitely not be convinced. Does anyone dare to say such a thing? There is a saying that a mountain is also a mountain high, and Zhao Zixian is very convinced of this sentence.

Even if it's something you like, it's like a hot pot. Zhao Zixian is also unwilling to make this thing "invincible", always vigilant, and always has the heart of not admitting defeat, which is destined for Zhao Zixian to walk out of an unusual life.

If it was someone else who held a dish to the sky, Zhao Zixian would definitely reason with him. But this middle-aged man is obviously not deliberately looking for fault. He didn't care about anything else or people in his tone, but he had a genuine respect for the profession of chef. So Zhao Zixian didn't want to refute immediately, just kept silent and didn't speak.

And in terms of environment and status. A mid-to-high-end hotel, not to mention such a well-known guest who drives a BMW and bodyguards to eat with this middle-aged man, even if it is an ordinary rich person who comes to eat. In the final analysis, a restaurant is still a service industry, a chef is also serving the guests, no matter how good the cooking skills are, it is the waiter who serves the dishes, and the chef is at most a senior waiter, but he is still inferior in front of the rich, not to mention that Zhao Zixian's current identity is just a small cook. Why does a small helper reason with the guests who come to eat? When you meet a bad-tempered guest, isn't that looking for a smoke?

When he was in the Zhonghua Health Center, Zhao Zixian had seen a lot of such examples, including the boss Lu Zhonghua at the time and other guests with heads and faces, a chef, who was simply a little follower in front of others, wanted you to eat the roasted dishes, and when he was in a good mood, he called you a chef. When you're in a bad mood, I don't take you seriously. The status of a chef is similar to that of a driver, a bodyguard, and a gardener. Of course, if the chef is famous all over the country and is very famous, it will be different. It's like an ordinary bodyguard is also a servant, if the world's famous bodyguard takes that job, it will definitely be different. To put it bluntly, the little singer in the bar is about the same level as the waiter, but if he participates in any competition and becomes famous and becomes a singer, his status will naturally be different.

It is for these reasons. The chef is nothing to the rich, so the middle-aged man's respectful attitude towards the chef has always moved Zhao Zixian a little. Chefs who become famous are respected by others, mostly because of their name, money and social status. In this world, there are a few people who really respect the chef's cooking skills and food, maybe there are, but there are certainly not many.

And the middle-aged man in front of him is one of them.

Zhao Zixian can't quarrel with such a person. Doesn't that mean that hot pot is delicious? Okay, let's talk about what you're afraid of, you just say that Xinjiang cut cake is the best delicacy in the world, and it's up to you, you say yours, I don't believe it, it's over. Can you still force my brain's thoughts?

Thinking of this, Zhao Zixian didn't speak, nor did he raise his head, with a posture that you like to talk about but not to say. You said that hot pot is the highest in the world, although I don't agree, but for the sake of your respect for the chef, I won't say anything to refute it, I will play dead for you, and see what you can do.

This series of complex thoughts, Zhao Zixian's brain was just thinking for a moment, but the time outside was several minutes later.

The middle-aged man saw that Zhao Zixian didn't speak, although he didn't know that he had such a complicated idea, but he also knew that he didn't agree with the statement that hot pot was the best. So he asked Zhao Zixian: "Young man, you can make such a fragrant hot pot base at this age, and you have a deep understanding of the cuisine of the whole country, so let me ask you, what is the difference between hot pot and other dishes in Huaxia." ”

"The difference in hot pot?" Zhao Zixian has never thought about this problem, all dishes are only delicious and untasty, I don't know what middle-aged people mean by asking? Zhao Zixian was stunned for a moment and said, "Is it different?" Is that saying that hot pot is very spicy? ”

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Didn't you just say that Sichuan cuisine is characterized by spicy?" Although the hot pot is spicy, all the Sichuan dishes are very spicy, and how can it be different, the difference is that compared with other dishes in the country, only the hot pot has this characteristic, and other dishes are not at all, and it is impossible to have. ”

This passage was categorical, cutting off Zhao Zixian's idea that middle-aged people were joking. However, Zhao Zixian thought about it seriously: a dish, in the final analysis, can't be color, fragrant, and taste, these three elements are only. Speaking of color, the red oil in the hot pot is like boiled fish, and the boiled meat slices also have this color. Speaking of incense, the middle-aged man just said well, the fragrance of the hot pot is spicy, out of Sichuan cuisine, the dishes in other places are spicy and there are too many tastes, such as mapo tofu, spicy shrimp, and even Xinjiang's lamb skewers are also spicy. And just from the taste of the soup, even if the soup made by making beef bones, chicken bones, and pork bones together is delicious, it is a hot pot after all, and there is no way to compare it with other special soups. Because in this way, the soup of hot pot only has the aroma of bones, without any taste of vegetables and other ingredients, even if it is a simple hot and sour belly soup, tomato and egg soup, it is definitely much better than the soup of hot pot. Thinking about it like this, Zhao Zixian was speechless. After stopping for a long time, he asked the middle-aged man to see what answer he could say, and said: "In terms of color, flavor, and flavor, although hot pot has an advantage, it has not reached the point where other dishes in the country cannot be realized, and is there such a dish?" The color and aroma are all first-class, and other dishes can't be compared. ”

The middle-aged man smiled lightly, as if he had already seen through all of Zhao Zixian's thoughts, and then said: "You are right, in terms of color and flavor, hot pot does not have the characteristics that other dishes cannot have." ”

Zhao Zixian was puzzled and said, "Since there is none, then what else do you say about the highest hot pot?" No other dish in Chinese food can be compared to Western food. ”

When he said this, Zhao Zixian thought that he could stop the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man said unhurriedly: "Young man, you are still too narrow-minded, let me ask you again, what do you say to be a good chef." ”

Does this kind of problem still need to be considered, Zhao Zixian said: "A good chef is very simple, making delicious dishes in the world and making everyone praise the delicious dishes is a good chef." ”

"Hmm." The middle-aged man first agreed, and then said, "A good chef is to make delicious food, which is good." But ......" the middle-aged man changed his words and added, "You have forgotten your ultimate purpose as a chef, young man. ”

"Chef, chef, the ultimate goal is, of course, to make a good dish. What other purposes are there? Zhao Zixian's face was full of disdain.

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Making delicious dishes is just a process, what is the ultimate purpose of making dishes?" It is for guests to eat. The color, aroma, and taste you just talked about are all just from the chef's point of view. That's not enough, you have to think from the customer's point of view, and there will be new discoveries. ”

Zhao Zixian pursed his lips and said, "Is there a big difference between the chef's perspective and the guest's angle?" Isn't it all the shape and taste of the dish? ”

The middle-aged man sighed in disappointment and said: "You have forgotten the most important thing, the chef has to think about how to do it, and the guests have to think about how to eat, this point is the difference between the chef and the guest, so you have to think about it, how to eat hot pot?" ”

"Huh?" Zhao Zixian really didn't think about this question, and was stunned on the spot.

"I'll say it straight," the middle-aged man said slowly, "As long as the base of the hot pot is done, the dishes in the middle don't need to be made by the chef, just go to the pot, so the difference between the hot pot and all other dishes is that the other dishes have to be cooked by the chef and served to the guests, while the hot pot is a dish that is eaten while the dish is cooked, so it can be said that cooking and eating are carried out at the same time." ”

Speaking of this, the middle-aged man pondered for a moment and said something that surprised everyone: "From this point of view, when the guests eat hot pot, they are the chefs!" This is the charm of hot pot, so that everyone can eat their own meals. ”

Zhao Zixian heard this statement for the first time in his life. Guests become chefs themselves. This made Zhao Zixian faintly think of the master's words, and carried forward the chefs of Huaxia Kingdom. This made Zhao Zixian stunned on the spot, and his mind went blank. It turned out that Zhao Zixian felt that the way to carry forward his cooking skills was to make better meals by himself and let more guests eat them. However, the idea of turning guests into chefs themselves seems to be more in line with the essence of development. Imagine a country where everyone can cook, and the country's cooking skills will surely shock the whole world.

However, the middle-aged man's words were not finished. His body seemed to be very weak, and he took a few breaths before continuing: "Out of this, the most important thing about hot pot is that hot pot is a very tolerant dish. No matter what the dish is, whether it's tender lamb, chewy crispy sausages, fragrant enoki mushrooms, kelp, or squid. Or ordinary tofu skin, yuba, vermicelli, potato flour, vermicelli, noodles. Once these things are in the hot pot, they can turn decay into magic, and all dishes will magically become delicious. This is something that all other dishes can't have, and the other dishes are just a simple dish, and only hot pot can set off other dishes well and integrate with all dishes. Foreigners like Europe and the United States, they will never be able to experience this kind of fun of hot pot. After finishing speaking, the middle-aged man let out a big sigh, as if he had a very heavy heart.