Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Olympic Village food is bad?

Lin Chen was stunned, his mind racing, and a bold idea gradually surfaced.

"Wait wait, are you thinking of asking me to cook over there?"

"No," Wang Ziqin immediately denied.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the voice on the phone came again: "It’s not me wanting you to go, it’s just that a few athletes felt unwell after eating, and the embassy and the higher-ups are worried it might affect their performance, so they’re trying to find a solution."

"As a result, they went online and saw, you know, all those videos about our hotel and restaurant."

"......"

Lin Chen was speechless. What kind of situation is this? An Olympic Village with food so bad it makes foreign athletes feel unwell?

But that’s indeed something foreigners could do. They don’t care whether it’s the Olympics or not; they just make what they usually eat, which is basically salads, pasta, and pizza that everyone has to eat.

It might be fresh once or twice, but if Great Xia People are made to eat these things every day, it’ll definitely make them feel uncomfortable.

Not that these foods are bad, but compared to Great Xia cuisine, the variety and flavors of basic Western dishes are indeed limited, basically eating the same thing every day until you’re sick of it.

"But isn’t it said that the food athletes eat should be strictly controlled? How could they have stomach issues? Plus, they haven’t tested my stuff either, right?"

"I don’t know the exact reason, but it’s definitely not a food quality issue. It should be due to acclimatization issues. Mainly, the pizza and pasta are really bad; I’ve seen the photos and they look completely unappetizing, not even as good as the pizza we make in our country."

"So what’s the deal now, what do you want me to do?"

"The athletes have watched your cooking videos and are very interested. If they could eat authentic hometown dishes, they’d train with more enthusiasm."

Wang Ziqin’s words revealed a hint of excitement: "But the Olympic Village cafeteria, you definitely can’t get in. It’s been outsourced long ago, and they wouldn’t allow someone to temporarily join in, as it would cause dissatisfaction among athletes from other countries."

"Just because people can’t get in doesn’t mean food can’t, you understand?"

"I don’t understand." Lin Chen didn’t even hesitate to cop-out; he wasn’t interested in cryptic puzzles.

This is important, and if a problem arises because of some detail, he can’t bear that responsibility.

"You rascal, you’re very sly. Alright, I’ll just be straight with you. The embassy gave me three options; pick one."

"First, take your food truck near the entrance of the Olympic Village and set up a stand. There’s a designated area for food trucks to cater to athletes from all countries, but many dare not take the risk and choose not to go, so it’s temporarily empty."

"Second, embassy staff can rent a house nearby as a temporary foothold, and you can cook in their kitchen, but you know their stoves."

"Third, you can choose not to accept, and they’ll approach other famous Chinese restaurants in Paris."

After hearing this, Lin Chen fell silent.

It seems like there are three options, but there’s only one real choice.

Foreign houses don’t have gas stoves; they’re all electric. If there’s a choice, Great Xia chefs wouldn’t consider using such things, as the taste of the food would be worlds apart.

If he declines, the reputation of the restaurant and hotel would plummet; there’s no wall in the world that doesn’t let wind through.

After thinking for a while, he finally spoke up again: "How many meals are to be provided? Are there any content requirements? For how long?"

The boss has already spoken, so whether it’s a clean slate or not, he has to jump in.

"The Olympic Village cafeteria provides four meals—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and supper, but the latter three should be similar, and breakfast is usually omelets, bacon, bread, things like that."

"Most of the competitions are in the morning and afternoon, so lunch is definitely unavoidable. As for breakfast and dinner, you do what you see fit, take the cue from the athletes, since we don’t know their daily routines."

"As for the content, easier on oil and salt, mainly light dishes to avoid causing digestive discomfort, yet should quickly replenish energy, but not overly filling."

Not overly filling?

This strange request was something he’s never heard before. After thinking carefully, it’s probably because overeating might affect performance, which makes sense.

"The daily event schedule varies, so the starting times for competitions differ too. Sometimes there are nighttime events. You’ll have to see for yourself when you go; I don’t know either."

"If you’re doing breakfast, you definitely have to serve by seven o’clock to leave digestion time for others; if not, then don’t worry about it."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen immediately opened the map to search for the location of the Olympic Village.

"If I have to rush over every day, the trip takes over an hour, and preparing on site wouldn’t be possible. I need to prepare in advance."

"Therefore, doing breakfast is obviously not possible unless I can find a foothold in Paris."

"But now it’s the tourist season, Dieppe is already packed, and Paris is even worse, so there’s no way there’s an available room."

As he furrowed his brows in search of a compromise, his gaze swept across the map and inadvertently caught a familiar name.

"Wait, Paris?!"

He slapped his thigh vigorously: "That’s it, Paris is Chef Marchello’s base camp, isn’t this the perfect venue!"

Actually, he hadn’t been to the main store of God’s Kiss yet. From the map, it didn’t seem far from the Olympic Village, since Romantic Country itself wasn’t that big.

"Recently, Chef Marchello went back to personally cook for the athletes. He should know the situation over there. Great, it’s decided, it’s you!"

...

"What?!"

"You’re going to provide meals for the athletes? With a food truck??"

Chef Marchello, who received the call, was momentarily stunned, "Wow, you’ve got some skills. This gig isn’t just handed to anyone. It shows you’ve entered the upper echelons of society’s view."

"If you do well, there’s a chance the media might cover it, and you’ll become a world-renowned celebrity chef overnight."

"As far as I know, no one has dared to set up a stall near the gate over there yet, but I can secretly tell you that several Michelin restaurant chefs have received similar invitations. After all, the food inside is quite disappointing."

"Perfect, Chef, let’s do this together!" Lin Chen immediately invited him without a second thought, "Your reputation in Western society is already high, but in the East, you’re still completely unknown."

"If we set up a stall together, you’ll be facing elite athletes from the Great Xia. You could offer some exquisite snacks to make a lasting impression."

He didn’t elaborate much; surely the man would continue the thought on his own given his greater experience in this area.

"Set up a stall with you?"

On the other end of the call, Marchello raised an eyebrow, feeling his heart start to race.

Great Xia tourists are the core demography during the peak season, and their spending power is undeniable. Anyone in business has some understanding of this.

Western customers who come to his restaurant usually aim to be full, with a steak or a pasta dish, plus maybe a salad or appetizer as enough.

Great Xia customers are different; their average order value is about 30% to 50% higher. They always order steak or seafood, and almost always have leftovers to take away.

If he could team up with Lin, leveraging his fame combined with the Olympics’ heat and Lin’s own media channels, they could surely attract a great number of Great Xia tourists.

If this trend continues to gain traction, the restaurant’s business will surely thrive in the following six months to a year, with sales booming.

"Alright, I agree. When do we start?"

He hardly hesitated and agreed immediately.

Apart from riding the wave of popularity, he also had the proper excuse to learn from the culinary culture of Great Xia, which was just amazing.

"Not decided yet, I need to confirm with President Wang and then update you."

He wasn’t surprised that Chef Marchello agreed so readily. On the contrary, it would have been strange if he had refused.

The sudden notification caught Lin Chen off guard. After hanging up the call, he noticed the job applicant sitting upright across from him, and he quickly mustered an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that, shall we continue then?"

"Y-Yes!"

The young man across swallowed hard, looking even more nervous than before.

He had overheard the phone conversation clearly. This was a chef invited to cook for the athletes; wasn’t this the same as an interview at a Michelin Restaurant?

Even a three-star chef wouldn’t necessarily be invited to cook for the athletes. Although he didn’t understand the reasoning behind it, it didn’t deter him from feeling even more determined to stay on.

"What the heck??"

In the kitchen, Zhao Shun was working on some small bread, and the dough fell onto the countertop from his hands, his mouth agape.

"You’re going to cook for the athletes to eat?"

"Old Chen, pinch me, am I dreaming?"

"No hands." Chen Dongliang was also a bit excited, his deeply wrinkled, weathered face turning slightly red, and the dough in his hands getting squeezed out of shape.

The Olympics, such a distant and sacred term, unexpectedly appeared right before their eyes.

"You guys aren’t planning to come too, are you?"

Lin Chen suddenly felt a headache, "I definitely have to go, but if both of you come, what about the restaurant?"

"According to President Wang, the athletes don’t typically arrive at the site until a few days to a week before their events to acclimate, and they leave after competing, so there shouldn’t be many people needing meals."

"As for the accompanying personnel’s meals, I don’t need to worry about that. This means the daily meal preparations shouldn’t be much, plus Chef Marchello will be assisting in serving, so theoretically, we won’t need more manpower."