Chapter 221: Chapter 26: The True Strength of Full-Form Renz?
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Dojima Gin, the primary instructor for this special training, had entrusted his own restaurant to his deputy.
He was now personally inspecting the newly established restaurants as a reviewer. Senzaemon Nakiri greatly valued this training, so Dojima Gin naturally prioritized it.
The first restaurant he inspected was Yukihira Soma’s small establishment. Yukihira Soma truly had many brilliant ideas, almost a "king of ideas." Without even commenting on the depth of his cooking skills, from a structural perspective, his setup here had the potential for great sales. He usually seemed like a single-minded fellow, but his business acumen was quite shrewd. After tasting Yukihira Soma’s Christmas-themed dishes, Dojima Gin left satisfied. The quality passed. They certainly had enough skill to operate on the Gourmet Street for a few days.
The next restaurant to visit was the main purpose of his trip the collaborative restaurant of Erina and Renz.
Dojima Gin still couldn’t understand why Renz would be the core head chef of this five-person team, with Erina as his deputy. Having Erina, with the God’s Tongue, as the core would undoubtedly be the best choice. He just didn’t get it.
As soon as he entered the restaurant, he was greeted by an enticing aroma that filled the space. Dojima Gin sniffed, his gaze already drawn by the scent towards the display tables. Dishes were meticulously arranged in advance.
"Dojima-senpai, why are you here?" Akira Hayama stopped pondering the "riddles" and, seeing Dojima Gin enter, quickly went to greet him. At this moment, Akira Hayama resembled a diligent waiter.
The sturdy middle-aged man with a square face and a flat top, Dojima Gin, simply said, "I’m here to inspect the situation. To see how you’re doing." Dojima Gin glanced around, then walked towards Renz’s display table. That captivating "eating" aroma was emanating from there.
"Cold dish," Dojima Gin recognized the style of the dish.
"Is the main ingredient enoki mushrooms?"
"I’ll try a dish. How much is this one?" Dojima Gin inquired. "Consider me your first customer." He intended to visit every Totsuki student’s restaurant to give them a good start, just as he had bought the first dish from Yukihira Soma’s place.
"Crystal Sweet and Sour Enoki Mushroom Salad, ten thousand yen," Renz said calmly. Ten thousand yen, for a cold dish with enoki mushrooms as the main ingredient. It seemed like an exorbitant price, but in Renz’s eyes, it was already a very favorable, cheap price.
First, there was the issue of Japan itself. Japan’s geographical environment is characterized by a small landmass, many mountains, few plains, and a large population. Very few vegetable varieties can be grown domestically, making self-sufficiency difficult; most vegetables need to be imported from abroad, which drives prices high. Combined with tariffs and policies to protect local Japanese farmers, there are often exorbitant prices for vegetables and fruits during specific seasons.
Moreover, Japanese vegetables are not sold by weight but "by the piece." A single green onion costs 150 Yen. If you want to buy a whole bunch of green onions, you’d need 800 Yen. A single green bell pepper costs 98 Japanese yen. However, enoki mushrooms are more widely cultivated by farmers within Japan, so their price isn’t as outrageous as other vegetables. There’s a classic Japanese dish called "Enoki Mushroom Japanese Tofu," a vegetarian dish beloved by Japanese people. Due to the cost of living, vegetable dishes in Japan are generally more expensive.
However, even with high costs, it shouldn’t be as expensive as Renz was selling it. This one dish was priced at what one would expect from a "master chef."
Aside from cost issues, if not for the chef’s reputation, ten thousand yen would be too expensive. But Renz was not yet famous enough to command such a price. For Erina’s dishes, customers might choose to pay that price, but for Renz to sell at that price, he would definitely have to win on taste to get customers to buy.
Ten thousand yen was a small sum for Dojima Gin.
"Then I’ll try the quality of your cold dish," Dojima Gin said gravely. He reached out, and with the "ding-dong" sound of the cash register, the ten thousand yen bill was quickly swiped. The Crystal Sweet and Sour Enoki Mushroom Salad was not a complex dish, so for it to be worth ten thousand yen, it heavily depended on the skill of the chef.
Dojima Gin took his chopsticks, picked up a strand of pale yellow, silvery-glistening enoki mushroom, and brought it to his mouth. The hand holding the chopsticks suddenly trembled. He had smelled the aroma from the dishes as he walked around. Now, being closer, Dojima Gin felt his stomach rumbling with hunger.
His pupils slightly contracted. Dojima Gin couldn’t resist the continuous temptation of the aroma, so he quickly picked up the crystal-like enoki mushrooms, which connected like threads, and put them into his mouth.
The entrance was slightly cool. It made Dojima Gin feel like his clothes wanted to burst open, as if he were running naked through a vegetable garden, smelling the fresh scent of herbs after spring rain. Upon entering his mouth, the crisp enoki mushrooms spread a salty and sweet taste, with a faint spiciness. His appetite instantly flared.
As the sauce on the surface of the enoki mushrooms flowed in his mouth, Dojima Gin couldn’t even be bothered to say a word of comment. He let out astonished exclamations with his slightly parted lips, then picked up more, both the enoki mushrooms and the cilantro wrapped around them, putting them into his mouth. Crunch, crunch, a crisp and pleasant sound.
By the time he came back to his senses, only the pale yellow bottom sauce remained on the pristine plate. The only purpose of this sauce was perhaps to prove that delicious food had once filled the plate.
"This dish... is too perfect," Dojima Gin felt lingering satisfaction, still wanting another portion. The ten thousand yen price was undoubtedly worth it. As a chef, this dish was almost perfect. The sweet and sour taste, along with that faint spiciness, formed a natural whole. Normally, too many conflicting flavors in a dish would severely damage its texture. But in this dish, these flavors blended together without any deviation, even making Dojima Gin somewhat infatuated.
Seeing Dojima Gin’s seemingly "addicted" expression, Akira Hayama’s throat subtly moved. He had been smelling this aroma for a long time, eager to taste it, but as an employee in the shop, how could he, a staff member, buy and eat it before the customers? Seeing Dojima Gin’s reaction, Akira Hayama considered it.
Taking this opportunity, he should also try it; he couldn’t let a dish that had conquered his sense of smell sit there without tasting a single bite.
Ten thousand yen? If it was truly as delicious as Dojima Gin made it out to be... then it was worth it!
"Give me one too!" Akira Hayama reached out and said.
Having tasted Renz’s Buddha’s Temptation, Akira Hayama realized he might have fallen a bit in love with Renz’s cooking. Renz’s dishes felt addictive, making it impossible to forget the taste; one bite was enough to become infatuated. Akira Hayama had already grasped the deliciousness of Renz’s cuisine.
No matter what. Get a serving first, then talk about anything else!
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