enjoyebooks Chapter 453 - 365: The Disappearance of Raphael, Oyster Feast
Chapter 453 - 365: The Disappearance of Raphael, Oyster Feast
"So that’s the Girado logo, I thought it looked familiar."
"Are all the oysters No. 0?"
"My God, no wonder they’re pricey, it makes sense if they are No. 0."
"You don’t find No. 0 Girado oysters with restaurants outside every day, a dozen costs at least eighty or ninety euros, even raw."
"It’s incredible that a dozen here only costs eighty, and it’s cooked by a Michelin chef, that’s too cheap!"
"Last time, I went to a Michelin restaurant and ordered an oyster dish, just one on a plate, costing more than fifty euros, but it was really delicious, with molecular gastronomy elements in it."
Knowing that everything sold here were No. 0 Girardos, the crowd, initially dissatisfied, instantly quieted down.
Some tourists who were even preparing to leave silently retracted their steps and continued to queue up obediently.
Angelica, who had been waiting in the car for a long time, saw the situation outside, her eyes lit up, and she hurriedly slapped the back of the driver’s little brother next to her.
"Wake up, hurry, start working!"
The little brother, who was sleeping groggily, jolted awake, jumped up immediately without saying a word, opened the car door, jumped out, and ran to the back to open the door of the cold storage.
As obvious white mist drifted out, boxes stacked neatly with golden ’G’ logos were presented in front of everyone.
Everyone has eaten Girardo oysters not infrequently, even No. 0 Girardo, which is not a particularly rare species, just relatively expensive, with few consumers.
But witnessing Girado Company’s delivery process firsthand like this, it’s everyone’s first time in their lifetime.
Except for the three chefs in the car.
Almost every famous restaurant, as long as it offers oyster dishes, inevitably features Girardo oysters.
Romantic Country’s top ten high-end oysters, such as Thunder Warrior, Belon, and Black Pearl, are world-renowned oyster varieties.
But if chefs and foodies were to vote, there might be differences due to personal preferences and taste issues, but Girardo is definitely the most popular and error-free oyster variety.
No exception.
It’s known for its plump meat, crispy sweet taste, no metallic flavor, no strange seafood fishy smell, and pure, sweet taste, making it the ideal oyster for cooking dishes.
Raphael and Nagishiro Sho, needless to say, when developing dishes, definitely order different types of oysters from various companies, being well-experienced.
Even a worker like Lin Chen had seen them not infrequently in the back kitchen before, as he often replaced Raphael to receive delivered ingredients.
Seeing these familiar packages, the three unconsciously licked their parched lips.
After busying for several hours, although the workload and intensity weren’t high, the carbohydrates consumed in the morning had long been digested thoroughly.
Saying they aren’t hungry would definitely be false.
Moreover, with Lin Chen’s culinary skill showcased here, and the upcoming roasted oysters being the most popular dish among diners,
they’ve longed eagerly for it.
The ready-to-use gold and silver garlic sauce for the roasted oysters was made last night by Lin Chen together with Old Chen, boiling a total of five large pots, with two head chefs helping beside.
The flavor had long been tasted, but there’s a significant difference between tasting a sauce alone and tasting a complete dish.
Nagishiro Sho was even more eager than Raphael, because he tasted dishes made with gold and silver garlic sauce before when he came. The wonderful taste is unforgettable till this day.
Even if he can imagine how delicious this served with roasted oysters will be, he couldn’t wait to taste the actual flavor.
That wonderful experience where vision, taste, smell, and sound intertwine and combine is an existence that the brain’s fictional picture can’t replace.
Not just him, many diners around also showed expressions of surprise on their faces, flocking from all directions to the end of the queue.
To give back to new and old customers’ love, Lin Chen introduced a special benefit at today’s roasted oyster feast.
No need for proof of stay!
This benefit was clearly published under the homepage voting activity, aimed precisely for channeling traffic.
But the specific lunch wasn’t revealed online, leaving some suspense.
Only a few old customers with Lin Chen’s contact information messaged to ask after seeing this notification, and he disclosed the lunch specifics to them.
This situation is rare, with barely reaching the count of one hand.
Also, people like Dreya and Anna messaged asking, but unfortunately, due to involvement in Olympic promotional activities, it’s really impossible for them to come.
Both even asked if a small stove could be prepared for them when they manage time to visit, they are simply craving badly.
When the driver brother was unloading, Chef Marchello was in his office, writing and drawing on paper trying to find suitable combinations.
"Ding..."
An email popped up, he immediately glanced at it.
"Hmm??"
"Wait, this name, if I remember correctly, seems like it’s the front desk manager of Raphael’s place?"
"Why would he email me?"
Driven by curiosity, he clicked open the message without much thought, mumbling to himself.
"Dear Chef Marchello, I’m sorry to bother you during your Sunday holiday, but due to some special circumstances, I have to send you this email."
"Chef Raphael left the restaurant for no reason to find inspiration, resulting in a chaotic Saturday lunch and dinner."
"In one day, the restaurant received a total of twenty-three complaints, among which..."
Reading the email aloud in one breath, Marchello blinked, his mind unable to process what was happening.
"Wait, twenty-three complaints in a day? No, that’s for two meals!!"
"Oh my God, really? Every meal session lasts about three hours, and on average, four customers complain every hour?"
This situation is simply unbelievable!
The restaurant he’s staying at year-round probably doesn’t even receive twenty-three complaints!
"What’s Raphael up to? Has he gone crazy!?"
He slammed the table and, without hesitation, dug out the manager’s phone number to call.
The manager’s emotions were apparently also in disarray, complaining endlessly to him for fifteen minutes before Marchello gradually understood the situation.
"It’s normal to go out for new dish inspiration, but as soon as the old guy left, the kitchen team collapsed?"
"There’s something off about this, I remember the kitchen staff are all seasoned employees with three to four years of experience, their skills aren’t supposed to be this bad."
"No way, I have to quickly find Raphael and let him clean up his own mess!"
He has no interest in cleaning up after others, although these joints are technically under his name, Raphael is responsible for it and must see it through.
No way to interfere and isn’t interested in doing so.
Unless the restaurant is on the verge of bankruptcy or performance declines significantly, he would go personally to address it.
"Beep... beep..."
The phone rang for ages, yet no one answered.
Marchello was truly bewildered now.
"Hey! This guy, he’s even avoiding my calls now, isn’t he? It’s the morning, he can’t still be sleeping, right?"
"Forget it, I’ll try calling again in five minutes."
Outside the dining cart.
The tables have been moved aside, and boxes of oysters are continuously piling up on them.
Apart from the three head chefs tending to the charcoal, everyone else is busy moving oysters.
Centered at the dining cart’s window, a barbecue grill is set up on both sides, the long kind, with the grill net stretching three meters long and about thirty centimeters wide.
It’s conservatively estimated that each round can grill fifty or sixty oysters.
With two grills plus the dining cart’s stove, in one go they can produce about one hundred and fifty oysters, making it highly efficient.
Lin Chen was manning the dining cart alone, while Old Chen and Xiao Zhao were assigned to help Raphael and Nagishiro Sho.
Though they’re head chefs, it’s their first time grilling this many garlic oysters at once, and naturally they couldn’t handle it all.
The two taking charge of a single grill is just right, preventing any chaos.
Lin Chen’s grill network was already full of palm-sized oyster shells, emitting wisps of white smoke.
The dining cart’s stove surface was limited, unlike the large areas of the two grills below, allowing Lin Chen to manage it all by himself.
Angelica was already waiting eagerly at the window, on tiptoe, watching the plump oysters sizzle and bubble over the charcoal.
"How much longer until they’re ready?"
Angelica didn’t even know how many times she’d swallowed her saliva, her mind filled with thoughts of how delicious they must be, her anticipation building endlessly.
During the wait earlier in the cart, she’d also revisited Lucas’ page to rewatch the oyster grilling video, nearly starving from appetite.
She wasn’t sure what happened, despite eating this stuff daily until she nearly felt nauseated, usually she’d have no craving for oysters.
Unless the research team concocted something new, inviting management for a taste-test, she’d rarely feel such anticipation.
Was the dining atmosphere here just too good?
Her gaze swept over those behind her, where the sight was filled with eager diners, most of whom had expectant gazes, with the others equally full of curiosity.
Though the number of tourists present wasn’t much, just about forty, that immense desire for food unwittingly enveloped her tightly.
"Beep... beep..."
Old Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead, glanced at the vibrating phone on the table, then at Raphael beside him. He bravely patted Raphael’s arm, pointed at the phone, his eyes showing question, gesturing to take the call.
Raphael glanced sideways at the buzzing phone, rolled his eyes, shook his head at him, casually stuffing the phone back into his pocket.
Anyhow, with no way to communicate, Old Chen knew how formidable he was, so dared not meddle, straightaway extending his hand, opening a box of oysters and pushing it beside the grill.