Chapter 607: How to Become a Successful Restaurant Owner
The atmosphere around the dining table settled into a comfortable, satiated lull. Plates were scraped clean of their culinary experiments. Kobayashi Rindou and Riven leaned back in their chairs, entirely unconcerned with maintaining any semblance of ladylike restraint after eating their fill. Nami mirrored their relaxed posture, entirely accustomed to consuming such hearty portions. In stark contrast, Ichihara Yuko and Ren dabbed their lips, having handled the meal with effortless, quiet grace.
Ren did not immediately offer his verdict. Instead, he rested his hands on the table, his calm gaze sweeping over the culinary students. "Tell me what you think," he prompted gently.
Erina hesitated, her brow furrowing as she rigorously analyzed her own work. "The doneness of the sea bass was slightly off the mark. Additionally, the tomatoes lost too much of their structural integrity during the simmer..."
Akanegakubo Momo and Arato Hisako quietly voiced their own technical regrets, pointing out minor flaws in temperature control and spice balance. When the spotlight shifted to Nakiri Alice, she stammered, her usual bubbling confidence deflated. "I originally intended for the texture to be much smoother... but I miscalculated the cream ratio..."
Rindou, however, waved a hand dismissively, a bright grin on her face. "I just had a tiny little hiccup with the potatoes. Minor details, minor details!"
Despite her casual dismissal, everyone at the table knew Rindou was simply stating a fact. Her dish had been borderline flawless.
Ren offered a faint smile. "And how do you feel about the overall result?"
Erina and the other three Totsuki girls visibly slumped, disappointment radiating from their postures.
Riven tilted her head, looking genuinely confused by the heavy mood. "Hmm? I thought it was delicious."
Nami nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yes, exactly. It was already incredibly good."
Yuko rested her chin on her hand, her lips curving into a languid smile. "If Cerberus were here, this entire spread would have been devoured in seconds. It is already an excellent meal. Though I must admit, Rindou, I did not expect you to be quite this skilled in the kitchen."
"Please upgrade that to 'too skilled,' thank you very much," Rindou fired back without missing a beat.
"It was merely adequate. You are welcome," Yuko retorted smoothly.
Ren let their banter fade before speaking again, his tone mild. "Then your meal ultimately receives... a perfect score."
"Eh?!" Four voices overlapped in sheer disbelief.
Ren looked at the stunned Erina, his amusement subtle. "Erina, let me ask you a question. When you open a restaurant, who exactly are the people walking through your doors to eat?"
"Customers," Erina answered blankly, still processing the shock.
Ren nodded slowly. "Precisely. Are all of these customers professional gourmets? Are they all super-tasters possessing the God Tongue?"
Hisako shook her head decisively. "Absolutely not. The vast majority of people cannot even cook properly, let alone identify every single ingredient on a plate."
Ren tilted his head, his voice taking on a casual, instructional rhythm. "Then why do you insist on being so rigidly particular? Can your average customer truly taste if a sauce has two fewer grams of salt, or if a cut of meat was seared for thirty seconds longer or ten seconds shorter? Ninety percent of them will only ever render one of two verdicts: 'It is delicious'or'It is not delicious.'"
Erina opened her mouth to argue the principles of high gastronomy, but Rindou cut in with a laugh.
"Ren is basically saying that if you chase absolute, clinical perfection in a busy restaurant, you will drive yourself crazy. It is impossible for every single plate to be a masterpiece. You just need to know the flaws yourself and adjust your rhythm as you go. As long as the customer leaves thinking the food was amazing, that is a success, right?"
Ren nodded, his smile widening slightly. "You possess a rather high level of situational awareness."
"Of course I do!" Rindou puffed out her chest. "Honestly, I feel like I could write a bestselling guide right now. 'How to Become a Qualified Restaurant Owner.' I am telling you, it would fly off the shelves."
Yuko let out an airy, dismissive sigh. "Save your energy. Knowing you, it would just devolve into a rambling diary."
"Yuko! Are you implying that I am stupid?"
"Not entirely. Just mostly."
"You are definitely calling me stupid!"
As Yuko and Rindou fell into their natural rhythm of bickering, Erina fell silent, her mind racing. She slowly nodded, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "Shopkeeper Ren... we were simply too nervous..."
"Customers rarely crave clinical perfection," Ren explained, his voice grounding the room. "They crave enticing aromas, an appetizing visual presentation, and flavors that bring them genuine comfort. Dining at a restaurant is not merely about filling an empty stomach. It is about the atmosphere, the experience, the memory."
Erina absorbed his words. She thought back to the countless patrons she had observed in high-end dining rooms. At most, they might comment on the tenderness of a steak or the freshness of a catch. The microscopic internal flaws she agonized over were entirely invisible to them.
Ren glanced toward the window, taking in the fading light outside, before returning his attention to the girls. "Do your best. The minute details, both good and bad, should remain in your own mind. If the customer is happy, you have succeeded. You can refine your technique in the background. All of you possess immense talent. There is no need to panic."
The tight, anxious set of Erina's shoulders finally relaxed. She looked at Ren and nodded firmly.
Momo raised a small hand, clutching her plush toy slightly tighter. "Shopkeeper Ren, what exactly are the parameters for our assessment here?"
Ren tilted his head slightly. "Do you even know why the old man sent you to my door?"
Erina and the others exchanged confused glances and shook their heads.
Ren chuckled softly. "Just as I thought. You have all been winding yourselves up over nothing. The old man did send you here for an assessment, yes, but his primary goal was to force you to learn from scratch."
"Eh?!" Four voices chimed in unison once more.
"In simpler terms, he enrolled you in a practical training course," Ren continued. "Naturally, I will arrange regular tests to gauge your progress. These might involve handling the dinner rush, preparing breakfast service, or designing a complimentary appetizer for the patrons."
Erina gripped the edge of the table, her anxiety flaring up again. "But... but what if we fail?"
"Do not worry so much. Cooking is an art form. Think of this process as transforming a rigid, technical sketch into a fluid piece of abstract art. You will never evolve if you remain terrified of making a mistake."
Erina took a deep breath and nodded, the logic finally settling into her perfectionist mind.
Ren's gaze shifted to the empty glasses on the table. "I am actually quite curious. Who conceptualized this drink?"
Alice eagerly raised her hand, her eyes sparkling.
"A highly interesting concept," Ren praised smoothly. "However... next time, applying a different processing method to the ice cubes would elevate the texture significantly."
"Understood!" Alice beamed, her earlier gloom entirely vanished.
Ren gave a final nod of dismissal. "Alright. Head upstairs and unpack your belongings. You can come back down later to observe my dinner preparations. Feel free to ask questions if you see a technique you do not understand."
"Okay!" the four girls chorused.
Visibly relieved of their heavy burdens, Erina, Alice, Hisako, and Momo hurried up the stairs to claim their rooms. Nami followed close behind, intending to resume her navigational studies. Riven, however, remained seated at the table, watching the kitchen.
Ren looked over at the white-haired exile, his tone shifting to something more casual. "Slicing meat is not giving you too much trouble, is it?"
"It is manageable," Riven replied thoughtfully. "But did you not mention there are countless variations depending on the grain and the dish? I feel like I still have a massive mountain to climb in terms of technique... Speaking of which, are we expecting a large crowd of guests tonight?"
Yuko paused, her eyes widening slightly as a thought struck her. She clapped her hands together. "Ah! I nearly forgot. Kirari and Sayaka are arriving today."
"Then Pandora will be absolutely thrilled, right?" Riven noted casually. "Pandora loves drinking coffee, and Kirari keeps winning all the coffee prizes in the group chat. Pandora mentioned she has been wanting to meet Kirari for ages, so this should be a very happy occasion for her."
Yuko considered this for a moment, then vigorously shook her head, her elegant features twisting into a scowl. "No, no, absolutely not. Knowing Pandora, she merely wants to interrogate Kirari to figure out how she keeps winning so many consecutive times, all so she can monopolize the coffee discussions. Ugh, just thinking about that woman's schemes makes my blood boil!"
"What is wrong?" Riven asked, entirely lost by the sudden shift in mood.
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