Chapter 614: Chapter 598: Corporate Espionage?
"Boss Huang, see you later. I’ll go home and clean up and then come back to queue."
"Boss Huang, your skills are really amazing, not only is the food delicious, but every meal you cook is delicious, I can’t get enough!"
"Yes, it’s just... Boss Huang, when you move to the new restaurant in the city, it won’t be as easy for us to enjoy the dishes you personally cook anymore~"
"If we want to eat dishes personally prepared by Boss Huang, we’ll just have to put in the effort and travel to the city to eat."
"Well, that’s the only way!"
"Boss Huang, hurry up and teach Master Xu and Master Jiang how to make those dishes. That way, we won’t have to travel all the way to the city and can enjoy them here on Old Street..."
The last group of locals dining in the restaurant finished their meals and bid farewell to Huang Tao before getting up to leave.
"Alright, I’ll take your suggestions on board and will try to implement them. Please be patient."
These words.
Were not just to placate these locals.
They were truly what Huang Tao thought and planned.
Once Xu Hao and Jiang Chao fully adjusted to their current roles, Huang Tao would naturally pass on the recipes to them.
Once they were skilled, he would let them start introducing those dishes at the restaurant on Old Street, satisfying the locals’ cravings.
As the saying goes, not earning money would make one a fool.
To avoid being that fool, Huang Tao decided to earn this money.
No choice!
He currently carried a debt of over five million, and to earn this money and support more employees, he had to work diligently and also ensure Xu Hao and Jiang Chao quickly develop into a strong, earning force.
With the departure of these local customers, it marked the end of Delicious Restaurant’s lunch service.
Huang Tao had no time to rest.
Because at 2 o’clock, the scheduled recruitment time was set.
Some applicants arrived early, even had lunch at the restaurant, and patiently waited outside.
These were people Huang Tao had screened on the recruitment websites, individuals with decent capabilities, most with work experience but had left their previous jobs for various reasons.
But what Huang Tao did not know was that since the day he decided to open a branch in the city, this news had quietly spread throughout Wenling City’s dining industry.
So!
From that day on, many people started keeping an eye on local recruitment sites to see if there were any listings for Delicious Restaurant.
And they managed to find it.
Consequently...
They submitted their résumés.
Service industry workers for the employee meals.
Chef industry workers, besides the meals, craved Huang Tao’s culinary skills.
Before the appointed time, all applicants arrived.
Waiting by the side.
Huang Tao didn’t dawdle, he directly took the résumés and various documents from Xu Hao, reviewed them, and prepared to start the interviews.
But when he glanced at the chefs who came to apply, he saw two extremely memorable faces.
Taste Memory’s head chef Old Qian and his apprentice Hu.
Uh...
Why are they here?
Leaving a good Taste Memory job, why come to apply at Delicious Restaurant?
Corporate spies?
But the issue is...
His Delicious Restaurant, in terms of class and scale, could not compare to Taste Memory!
What business secrets could they possibly be after?
Could it be they are after his brine recipe?
If that were the case, they should have sent unfamiliar faces to apply!
Having them come is too conspicuous, raising suspicion!
Wait!
No, that’s not right!
He remembers Taste Memory doesn’t deal in brined foods!
And the dishes he makes aren’t some lost recipes, any chef can make them!
Of course.
The taste might be another matter.
But for a chef like Old Qian, he surely could handle these dishes, making it pointless to spy!
So the question arises?
What is this master-apprentice pair here for?
Is it truly only to apply for an assistant chef position?
Hu applying still makes sense.
After all, his offered salary is good, regular base salary with meals and bonuses, full social benefits, holidays and employee perks, truly a conscience trader compared to those grandpa and uncle fast-food giants offering ten bucks an hour for cheap student work.
But why would Old Qian abandon his head chef position to be an assistant chef here?
In just a few seconds, Huang Tao contemplated much, but couldn’t understand.
"Hey, those two applying chefs, don’t they look like Taste Memory’s head chef and his apprentice from the food festival before!" Xu Hao pointed at Old Qian.
"It’s them, Taste Memory’s head chef Old Qian and his apprentice Hu," Huang Tao said very affirmatively.
"Wow, our Delicious Restaurant is so impressive, it’s attracted Taste Memory’s head chef and apprentice to apply for jobs," Xu Hao didn’t think much more.
Huang Tao: "..."
Old Qian seemed to notice Huang Tao’s doubts, laughed and said: "Boss Huang, I’m here to apply for the assistant chef position."
"Rest assured, I’ve already resigned from Taste Memory; I’m looking to learn something from you and further my skills."
Huang Tao: "..."
"Boss Huang, like my master, I’ve also resigned from Taste Memory; I want to learn some real skills from you."
Hu scratched his head with a big smile: "And eat your employee meals."
Huang Tao and the others strongly suspected that the last statement was Hu’s real reason for coming, though lacking evidence.
"Here, unlike Taste Memory, we don’t have chef de cuisine, grill chefs, line chefs, prep chefs, pantry chefs, or various cold dish, pastry chefs with complex employee classifications like that."
Huang Tao spoke upfront: "Here, we just have distinctions of head chef, helper, and junior worker with no strict division of labor; basically, whatever you’re told, you do..."
Understood.
Miscellaneous duties in the kitchen, if understaffed, they’d need to help too.
In essence, they are bricks in the restaurant, moved wherever needed.
But even so, they had no objections, nodded in agreement: "Boss Huang, it’s alright, we worked like this before."
Other applicants had no objections either.
Working at the new Delicious Restaurant means?
Means they can eat Huang Tao’s cooking daily without queuing.
And access firsthand information.
Doing more work is not a concern?
If fed daily despite the workload, they’re willing!
For Huang Tao, interviewing kitchen staff is fairly straightforward, they do hands-on work, and as long as their speed and quality meet standards, they can be hired.
To keep it fair, he didn’t bypass hiring Old Qian and his apprentice, instead stated: "Alright, applicants for assistant chef, go to the kitchen and make your signature dish!"
He then let Xu Hao lead Old Qian and the five assistant chef applicants to the kitchen,
while he stayed to check the résumés, health certificates of four service crew applicants, and health certificates of two vegetable prepping ladies.
Finding no issues, he hired them on the spot.
Once the assistant chefs had prepared their signature dishes, Huang Tao tasted them, pointing out areas of improvement although finding them quite satisfactory.
Which garnered respectful glances from the assistant chefs directed at him.
Given their performance, Huang Tao proceeded to hire them all directly.
"Delicious Restaurant’s new store is set to open soon, please await notification for the specific date. In the meantime, I’d like you all to start at Old Street tomorrow, familiarizing yourselves with work procedures and various dishes, later deciding if you’ll transfer to the new store or stay at Old Street."
Huang Tao smiled faintly, saying: "I’ve drafted the contracts; everyone can review them. If they find no issues, we can sign them now."
"No problem."
All voiced no disagreement, they took a look at the contracts and each signed their names.
With that.
The new round of recruitment was successfully concluded.
