Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Sent by a Rival _1
Rickaz was, of course, aware that the foie gras wasn’t fresh.
He was the one who procured the ingredients, how could he not know?
However, as the head chef of Greenland Restaurant, what he said about the quality of the ingredients was final.
Even if the ingredients were rotten, as long as he claimed it was Greenland Restaurant’s unique flavor.
Then this stinky foie gras became Greenland Restaurant’s unique flavor!
"You call this stench a unique flavor? I want to go to the kitchen and see for myself, to see the raw materials you used."
Qin Feng had no intention of wasting words with Rickaz and decided to head to the kitchen, to find the raw materials and confront him directly.
"Certainly. The customer is God, and we strive to fulfill any request a customer makes."
Rickaz agreed immediately.
All the ingredients in the kitchen had been tampered with by him.
Therefore, even if Qin Feng went to the kitchen, he wouldn’t find any fault with them.
Rickaz took Qin Feng to the back kitchen.
Various processed ingredients were neatly arranged on the countertops.
Looking at the state of the kitchen, it indeed resembled that of a high-end Western restaurant; everything was well-organized, and the countertops, etc., looked very clean.
The handling of the various ingredients appeared very meticulous as well.
Rickaz picked up a portion of the semi-finished foie gras and handed it to Qin Feng, saying, "Mr. Qin, this is the foie gras you just ate. It has just been marinated, yet it remains so fresh. The foie gras used by Greenland Restaurant is slaughtered in the early hours of the morning in France. After the slaughter, it’s immediately packed on ice and flown to Dragon Country. Foie gras is Greenland’s signature dish, and we guarantee that every portion here hasn’t stayed overnight and is freshly slaughtered that day."
If it wasn’t for Qin Feng’s nose being even more sensitive than a dog’s, Rickaz’s smooth talk would have totally deceived him.
Because it had been marinated, the inherent smell of the foie gras was completely masked.
Qin Feng had to admit, Rickaz was very skillful in handling these foie gras.
Back at the restaurant, only Qin Feng had sensed something was off with the foie gras, not even Yu Keqing, who frequently ate Western food, noticed anything.
After sniffing it and confirming, Qin Feng asked, "You say this foie gras was slaughtered today?"
"Yes,"
Rickaz continued to lie.
Qin Feng shook his head and said, "This foie gras is definitely not slaughtered today, if I am not mistaken, it should have been slaughtered three months ago. So, not only is the foie gras stinky, but it is also somewhat spoiled. Foie gras that is three months old and not properly preserved is likely to lead to food poisoning if consumed. Such quality of foie gras, let alone a high-end Western restaurant like Greenland, wouldn’t even be used in a buffet that costs a few dozen bucks per person. Deceiving customers with this stuff is more than just unscrupulous, it’s downright conscienceless!"
Upon hearing Qin Feng’s words, Rickaz immediately became anxious.
"Mr. Qin, please don’t talk nonsense! You claim this foie gras is three months old and has gone rotten, but you have no proof. You need to present evidence to back up your assertions. Otherwise, you are framing and slandering us! Your irresponsible statements, if they damage the reputation of Greenland Restaurant, will have legal consequences!"
"Evidence? Fine, I’ll give you evidence!"
Qin Feng sniffed with his nose and detected that there was untreated foie gras in the freezer.
So, he opened the freezer and dragged out a cardboard box.
Inside the box were several vacuum-sealed packages, all filled with foie gras.
The packaging was entirely in French, complete with the production date.
Just as Qin Feng had deduced, the production date on the foie gras was from three months ago.
Qin Feng pointed at the date and asked, "What is this?"
Although the conclusive evidence was right in front of him, Rickaz still decided to continue denying it.
"These foie gras are indeed from three months ago, but they are to be thrown away. I assure you, the marinated ones are freshly slaughtered this morning."
Xiaochan arrived at that moment.
Qin Feng had suddenly called Ran Jie, asking her to organize a team-building event for the staff at Greenland Restaurant.
Xiaochan found it a bit odd, so she decided to come over and take a look.
What was Qin Feng up to with this mischief?
As soon as she entered the restaurant, she heard the customers buzzing about someone questioning the quality of the restaurant’s ingredients.
She then made her way into the kitchen.
She had heard the entire conversation between Qin Feng and Rickaz.
Xiaochan, of course, trusted Qin Feng.
So, she darkened her face and asked, "What’s going on?"
When Liu Jiameng heard the voice and looked up to see Xiaochan, she was startled.
She hurriedly explained, "Mr. Xue, this Mr. Qin is causing trouble in our restaurant."
"I patronized your restaurant, discovered that the ingredients used were not fresh, and so I raised a question. Does that count as causing trouble? I’m just exercising the basic rights of a customer, okay?"
"All the ingredients at Greenland Restaurant are of the highest quality and freshest. You question our ingredients and then run into the kitchen to make trouble, clearly on purpose."
Seeing that Xiaochan had arrived, the clever Liu Jiameng started to defend the restaurant with everything she had.
She knew very well that even if there was actually an issue with the ingredients, Xiaochan would never admit it.
If she admitted it, it would be like smashing her own signboard.
Internal problems need to be dealt with internally.
What needed to be done now was to present a united front and send this nitpicking Mr. Qin packing.
"How can you prove that there’s an issue with the ingredients?" Xiaochan asked Qin Feng.
Even though she trusted Qin Feng, she needed evidence to be convincing, right?
At the same time, she believed that Qin Feng was certainly not reckless—he must have evidence to prove that there was indeed an issue with the ingredients.
If he couldn’t prove that, then he wasn’t her husband!
"Isn’t the production date written on the vacuum package?" Qin Feng said.
"These foie gras are kitchen waste and are going to be thrown away. The foie gras we sell are these marinated ones," Rickaz explained to Xiaochan.
Qin Feng didn’t want to waste words with Rickaz anymore, but instead scanned the chefs in the kitchen and said,
"What’s the real situation with the foie gras? You guys work in the kitchen; you should know better than anyone. Now that Mr. Xue is here, isn’t there anyone willing to step forward and tell the truth?"
Qin Feng didn’t have another agenda; he just wanted to see if there was anyone with a conscience left in the kitchen.
If they were all without conscience, he wouldn’t mind firing everyone in the kitchen.
Then he would hire anew.
Cooking is character!
If you can’t even be a decent person, how can you possibly cook well?
Seeing no one stepping forward, Rickaz gave Xie Zhenghao, the sous-chef, a look.
Xie Zhenghao caught on and immediately stood up.
"Mr. Xue, these foie gras from three months ago were culled previously; they were meant to be thrown into the trash can, not served to customers. This Mr. Qin running into the kitchen and causing a ruckus is making a mountain out of a molehill. He must have been sent by competitors, deliberately trying to ruin our restaurant’s reputation. We hope for your insightful judgment!"
