Chapter 642: Grand Opening (1/2)
‘Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’ had been a well-known dish before Medicinal Cuisine House had opened. It had even attracted many influential officials to book in advance. Of course, this was thanks to the unsparing promotions from the emperor emeritus, Great Scholar Yuan, and more.
The medicinal chef in charge of cooking the ‘Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’ was Yangliu herself, as well as one of her trusted subordinate maidservants. Yangliu was highly talented in cooking. Not long after she learned the technique of cooking ‘Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’, she had received the approval of her master. Her trusted subordinate maidservant, Jinhuan, was slightly lacking in terms of heat control. However, after Medicinal Cuisine House opened, Jinhuan had progressed considerably and was soon able to work on her own!
‘The Yu’s Medicinal Cuisine House’ opened for business on the sixth day of June. Although it was the height of the summer season, the hot weather didn’t extinguish the nobles’ anticipation of the opening of Medicine Cuisine House. What’s more, all the tables for the first month of operation were long booked. Only ten servings of ‘Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’ were served each day, so the nobles were in a fierce competition for the sake of eating this dish!
On the first day of business, many high status ‘bigwigs’ in the capital had deigned to come to ‘The Yu’s Medicinal Cuisine House’ for the plaque unveiling ceremony. Two full tables were occupied by the emperor emeritus, Imperial Prince Duan, Imperial Prince Jing, Imperial Prince Sa, as well as their princess consorts, heirs, and daughters-in-laws. It had almost turned into a gathering of the imperial family. There were also Duke Rongguo, Marquis Dingyuan, Prime Minister, Assistant Minister Yu, and Minister Li of the Ministry of Ceremonies… They had also brought their families over for the celebration.
There were some people who came that seldom had contact with Yu Xiaocao, and she didn’t even recognize their faces. They were influential people who had come with presents to congratulate the opening of their restaurant, so she couldn’t just drive them away. In addition, there were also guests who normally interacted with Xiaocao and the Fang Family. There were more than thirty private rooms upstairs, and the rooms barely accommodated all the guests. Xiaocao seriously suspected that some people had come today just to try out the medicinal meals.
Alright! She immediately went to the back kitchen in person to cheer on the medicinal chefs, “Today’s guests are either rich or influential, and they are all potential customers of our Medicinal Cuisine House. Whether it can become an instant hit will depend on your performances! Don’t spoil ‘The Yu’s’ good reputation!”
Seeing that several of the introverted medicinal chefs looked slightly nervous, Xiaocao quickly pacified them, “Relax! No matter how powerful they are outside, they would only have one identity once they enter our restaurant——a customer! I have personally appraised each of your culinary skills, and many have already surpassed your teacher. As long as you continue to do things as normal, they will definitely be amazed!!”
Her words seemed to have successfully soothed the hearts of the medicinal chefs. Some of them were diehard fans of Yu Xiaocao, and they had become even more spirited. They were ready and eager to let their master see their skills and efforts. Their master had said that in the future, the medicinal cuisine restaurant would definitely open branch restaurants. Manager Yangliu had limited energy. The position of the branch manager was like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey. It stimulated the medicinal chefs with ambitious hearts to strive for the position.
Let’s put aside the position of the branch manager to talk about the employee treatment at the medicinal cuisine restaurant! In addition to a good base pay, all medicinal chefs also received a commission for each dish. In other words, whoever got the most orders and sold the most dishes would get the higher salary. This was enough motivation for them to constantly improve the medicinal dish that they specialized in and strive to make every meal perfect.
The grand opening of ‘The Yu’s Medicinal Cuisine House’ would be talked about enthusiastically for a long time. Not to mention the creative and novel performances at the opening ceremony, but just the important figures who came to celebrate the occasion had almost covered more than half of the imperial officials who were third-ranked and above.
Almost all the members of the imperial family had come. Even the emperor had personally written an inscription for Medicinal Cuisine House, which was hung in the main hall on the first floor. As soon as one entered the door, one would be able to see the emperor’s calligraphy! The eldest imperial prince, who had been bestowed the title of crown prince, also visited the medicinal cuisine restaurant. He tasted the medicinal meals and gave a high evaluation.
As Xiaocao had said, the honored guests who had come today immediately became loyal fans of Medicinal Cuisine House after tasting the delicious, fragrant, and visually appealing medicinal meals. Based on their past experiences with the other businesses under ‘The Yu’s’, these people decided to gain the advantage by striking first. Almost every household made reservations for medicinal meals.
After all, ‘The Yu’s Medicinal Cuisine House’ had limited space and couldn’t accommodate too many customers every day. In order to let more people taste the delicious and nourishing medicinal meals, the restaurant enabled takeaway service. If booked in advance, it could be picked up at the restaurant or delivered to one’s door. Delivery fee must be added to the order!
Medicinal Cuisine House had adopted the tiered membership system. Diamond card members and gold card members could enjoy the service of imperial physicians’ medical consultation and customized diet plans based on their pulse examination results. If there was no improvement in their health within one month, then a full refund would be given! As for the other members, they could also bring their pulse examination results over and let Medicinal Cuisine House develop a nourishment plan. However, a fee would be charged!
In actuality, on the wall of the main hall on the first floor of Medicinal Cuisine House, there was an introduction of all the medicinal meals, as well as their effects. In addition, each private room had a menu, which introduced the medicinal dishes with pictures and texts. For this menu alone, Xiaocao had put in a lot of effort and invited an renown painter in the capital to help out.
Great Scholar Yuan was the one who introduced this leading figure of the painting world to Xiaocao. As soon as Xiaocao made the request, this famous painter immediately pulled a long face. Had he not considered his old friend’s, Yuan Sinian, face, he would have driven her out a long time ago.
His paintings were hard to get even with money, yet she actually wanted him to draw menus. It was simply an insult to him! However, the reason this great master painter could become close friends with Yuan Sinian was that they shared a common hobby——eating delicious food!