Chapter 172 “I can’t learn this! There’s no way I can learn this!”
In the back kitchen of Kaile Hotel, the previously busy staff all stopped what they were doing to admire Chef Lu’s skill. The pastry chef was removing the pits from the honey dates and putting them in the steamer.
Lu Qin reminded, “Medium heat is enough, don’t overcook them.”
“Got it, Chef Lu.”
Although the pastry chef had been in the industry for over ten years, he still spoke to Lu Qin with respect, always calling him “Chef Lu.” No other reason—Lu Qin’s skills spoke for themselves.
“Chef Lu, what dessert are you making?” The pastry chef asked.
Even though all the ingredients were laid out in the open, he still couldn’t tell what kind of dessert it would be.
“Persian honey cake,” Lu Qin replied.
“Persian honey cake?”
The crowd was shocked.
“Is it the legendary Persian honey cake? A dessert from Sichuan!”
“I heard it really tests a chef’s skills!”
“Any rare Sichuan dish is bound to be difficult to make!”
“I’m getting excited! I want to see Chef Lu’s technique!”
…
Another pastry chef also stepped in to help and asked, “Chef Lu, is 500g of high-grade flour enough?”
Lu Qin said, “That’s enough, should be good for about 20 cakes.”
“Chef Lu, could you make a few more? We’d love to try some too.”
Lu Qin smiled.
“Sure.”
The pastry chef added another 1000g of flour.
“High-grade flour” refers to specially milled top-quality wheat flour, using only the core part of the wheat. It’s high in gluten, low in impurities, and very white in color. Basically, it’s high-gluten flour—commonly used for toast, bread, muffins, dumpling wrappers, noodles, and so on. The water in the pot came to a boil.
Lu Qin stirred the boiling water with a rolling pin while pouring in the flour. The speed and force of stirring had to be precise—this step required real skill and fundamental technique. The kitchen staff watched closely, whispering among themselves.
Even the first step—scalding the dough—was already too much for many people. The pastry chef and the assistant were both highly focused, borderline trying to learn by watching. Once the flour was fully cooked and non-sticky, Lu Qin evaporated the excess water, then placed the dough on the counter to cool. Meanwhile, the dates had finished steaming.
The pastry chef handed the honey dates to Lu Qin. He used a scraper to mash the dates into a fine paste, mixed in rose preserves, and then added melted lard and sugar. Lu Qin’s hands moved skillfully, and he knew the exact proportions of each ingredient by heart. To everyone else, it looked like his hands were moving in fast-forward.
“Damn! This is insane! Like watching a video at double speed!”
“No way I can learn this! Not in a million years!”
Lu Qin shaped the date filling into uniform balls and set them aside. Then he began kneading and pressing the dough, gradually incorporating five batches of rendered lard into the dough.
Once the oil and dough were fully combined and the texture became soft and non-elastic, he divided the dough into small portions. His technique in tearing the dough portions was so fast it stunned the onlookers. It was like watching kung fu—faster than Wing Chun!
The quality of a pastry chef’s skills could be judged just by how they divided the dough. And Lu Qin’s dough portions? All identical in size and cross-section—just like they came out of a machine. But he did it by hand, and at such speed. The pastry chef and assistant were both floored.
Chef Lu’s skill was outrageous. Stealing his technique? Dream on.
Were they just too old now? Or were the younger generation just absolute monsters? Their whole worldview was crumbling.
Lu Qin then stuffed each dough portion with the date filling, flattened it into a round cake with his palm, and placed them into a deep ladle to fry. During frying, he had to keep shaking the ladle to create a web-like pattern on top—this was the “Persian threads” effect.
Of course, controlling the oil temperature was also crucial. The kitchen staff watched in one wave of shock after another. Every step of making the Persian honey cake required technique. Just watching wouldn’t help—they couldn’t even hope to replicate it!
Lu Qin finished frying them all. Soon, the kitchen was filled with a rich, fragrant aroma.
“I’ll help with the plating!” The pastry chef said.
He grabbed a plate, laid each golden, crispy cake on mulberry leaves, then decorated them with dill flowers and carrot carvings.
With that plating, the whole presentation instantly looked high-end. That plate of ten cakes could easily sell for 1288 yuan!
“You all can try them, just leave 25 for me. I’ll make some white fungus soup to go with it.”
The pastry chef quickly said, “Chef Lu, I actually cooked a pot of white fungus soup earlier—you don’t have to make it.”
“Okay,” Lu Qin nodded.
He packed 25 honey cakes and three bowls of the soup, then went upstairs. Once he left, the kitchen staff swarmed over and stared at the remaining cakes, swallowing hard. The pastry chef and assistant were the first to try—one bite, and their souls trembled.
The crispy threads on the outside paired with the sweet rose-date paste inside—crispy outside, tender inside, absolutely delicious!
So good!
Unbelievably good!
The pastry chef was the most shocked—he had made desserts for years, mostly repeating the same recipes, but breaking through to another level had always been difficult. Especially for traditional Chinese sweets, which are far more complex and demanding than Western pastries.
Lu Qin’s Persian honey cake was on a whole other level—absolutely the pinnacle. The others also tried it—every one of them showed the same amazed reaction!
“Chef Lu is amazing! This Persian honey cake he casually whipped up—best dessert I’ve ever had!”
“Insanely good! Chef Lu is now my idol!”
Everyone praised Lu Qin enthusiastically. No one dared touch the beautifully plated set of cakes—it was just sitting there like a work of art.
Everyone went back to work. In a quiet moment, when the kitchen was empty, a front-desk server walked in.
Three VIP guests had gotten hungry and wanted something to eat quickly. The server came to the kitchen looking for something ready-made. That was when he saw the beautifully plated Persian honey cake and the pot of white fungus soup.
Without asking anyone, he just took it out. The three VIP guests were sitting in the dining room. Since there were no other customers at this time, it was just them. When the server brought out the dishes, the guests lit up at the sight of the beautifully presented honey cake.
“What’s this?”
The server scratched his head.
“It’s a dessert made by our kitchen’s pastry chef—I’m not sure of the exact name.”
“I see… alright, you may go.”
The three guests were indeed hungry, so they immediately started eating.
“Mmm… this is delicious! So crispy and fragrant!”
“Really tasty!”
“Didn’t expect the hotel to have such a skilled pastry chef. Impressive!”
They sipped the white fungus soup, which paired perfectly with the cake—a golden combo.
“Though, the soup is kind of average.”
“Yeah, the soup’s just okay. If it were better, this would be a perfect combo!”