Gourmet: From a Stall in Northern Europe

Chapter 461 - 373: Since the Guests Like It, Why Not Serve It Directly on the Boat?

"They’ve turned around, they’ve turned around!"

"Now’s the time, let’s go!"

The three quickened their pace, rushing back to the registration desk.

The other three employees waiting there saw the bags in their hands, their eyes lighting up, smiles spreading across their faces.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"How does it taste, is it good?"

"Do we even need to ask? So many people lining up, it must be good. Don’t ask such useless questions."

"Here, eat while it’s hot."

The three used their bodies to block the table, placing the bags on it.

When the cardboard box with only three oysters left was taken out, the smiles on the other three’s faces instantly froze.

"Just... three?"

"Wow, you guys are too much!!"

"Shh!!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"Why are you shouting? You think we didn’t want to buy more? They wouldn’t allow it!"

These three wore confident expressions, without any guilty feeling of hogging the food, leaving the other three utterly bewildered.

They wouldn’t allow it?

That’s odd, weren’t there still many people packing several bags each?

"We cut in line for a purchasing agent, didn’t line up to buy. If we buy too much, the tourists behind us will complain."

"Exactly, we originally wanted to buy seven or eight dozen, but once the number was announced, the people behind started pulling out their phones saying they’d complain. What could we do?"

"How many did you buy in total then?"

"Not much, just two dozen, and even that was bought separately. The second person even raised the price!"

"Seriously, how outrageous, those greedy folks!"

Upon hearing that buying too many would lead to customer complaints, the other three immediately quieted down, closing their mouths without further complaints.

In the service industry, nothing else matters, just afraid of complaints.

Might only be fined and asked to apologize lightly, but heavily you could be packed off.

Radisson is, after all, a big international company, offering great benefits. They’ve worked hard to get in, they don’t want to be complained about for unnecessary reasons.

The three palm-sized oysters rested quietly in the cardboard box, the golden garlic looking especially tempting, the thick garlic aroma wafting out as they took it from the bag.

They glanced at Rovena queued at the back, not hesitating any further, quickly grabbing the oyster shells and using their hands to shove the oyster meat and garlic into their mouths.

After a few chews, the eyes of the three lit up.

"Is this delicious?!"

"No wonder so many tourists line up to buy, if it tastes like this, I wouldn’t mind lining up either."

"Gone in a bite, not satisfying at all. Should we go ask again?"

The three exchanged a glance and quickly reached an agreement.

"Hmm?"

Rovena, bored and wandering around, soon spotted their actions, and swept a glance at the registration desk.

"What’s happening, how come today these brats are going to the bathroom in batches, isn’t it only women who team up for trips to the bathroom?"

Thinking this, he curved his mouth slightly, preparing to use this as a reason to mock them later.

Though mocking them, he’s quite satisfied with their actions.

At least it shows they’re thinking, have a sense of teamwork, knowing not to all leave the registration desk at once, avoiding customer inquiries about the activities.

Meanwhile, the three walked ahead, secretly casting sidelong glances at Rovena, seeing he casually glanced without any reaction, finally they exhaled in relief.

"Indeed, as long as we act normal, it’s fine, they were right."

"Hurry up, first hide behind the food truck, then bend over to pass through, remember!"

Though the successive strange actions of the two groups didn’t draw Rovena’s attention, from the fishing boats on the dock they seemed highly suspicious.

The captains and some crew resting on the deck noticed the situation ashore, piquing their interest.

"What’s up with those guys, acting like thieves?"

"Where’s Rovena, don’t see him around."

"He’s queuing up."

"Huh? Then it all makes sense."

"What’s being sold over there that business is booming?"

"Who knows, earlier my boat guests on a fishing trip suddenly requested to return, and it was a unanimous decision among strangers. I’ve never seen that kind of unified opinion before."

"Really want to buy some and try it, too bad it’s work time. Plus, Rovena is blocking over there."

"Where’s my telescope? Strange, I remember putting it here... ah, found it! I definitely want to see what delicious food they are selling."

"How’s it going, did you see? What is it?"

"...Oysters, grilled, seem to have a layer of seasoning on top, but can’t really make out what it is."

"Grilled oysters??"

"What! They’re selling grilled oysters?"

"That thing tastes better cooked than raw; it shouldn’t be. Haven’t we all grilled our own oysters while at sea?"

"How can that be the same? Which one of us can cook? They’re a Michelin chef; how can you even dare compare our cooking to theirs?"

On the decks of several boats, captains and crew were shouting back and forth, gradually becoming very interested in the food being sold by the food truck on the shore.

However, a few who had tried the food truck’s breakfast earlier showed no interest in joining the excitement, turned around, and continued their nap.

Anyway, there’s nothing to eat, so what’s the point in looking?

That would only make you feel worse. Better to sleep and not see what annoys you.

"Hoooonk—"

The sound of a loud whistle came from the distance out on the sea.

Three fishing boats broke through the waves, heading towards the shore.

"Hey, three more are coming; could everyone be rushing back?"

"At this rate, today’s sales might end up in a terrible state."

"No worries, just consider it a day off. It’s Sunday, after all; we should be resting anyway."

They were leaning on the deck, chatting with smiles, but Rovena, who was in line, heard the whistle and her expression turned even more unpleasant.

"This won’t work; we need to think of a solution."

She’d been thinking about a solution for a while but hadn’t come up with anything effective.

"Since these customers are so interested in grilled oysters, and anyway we have grills on the boat, why not directly order the sauce from the chef and let the guests grill themselves on board?"

"Hey! That’s actually a good idea; why didn’t I think of it sooner!"

What started as a casual thought turned out, upon deeper consideration, to be quite a good solution.

Oysters themselves aren’t particularly special; once grilled, the taste is quite ordinary. She’d had them before.

The current fascination is probably due to that layer of garlic sauce!

It’s clearly unrealistic to ask the chef for the recipe, and among the crew, no one can cook; at most, what they make is edible and not poisonous.

Whether something tastes good or bad is purely a matter of luck.

If they had to cook while at sea, it would be simpler: just fish something out of the sea, cook it with some pre-made tomato or cream sauce, and serve it with bread or pasta, and that’s a meal.

Sometimes, they’d be in the mood for a barbecue, grilling prawns, fish, squid, using canned steak seasonings.

Better to directly buy ready-made garlic sauce from the chef, use it as a hook to attract guests to dive and fish, then provide the sauce for them to grill on their own.

Yes, that’s it!

Rovena nodded repeatedly, very satisfied with her cleverness.

Time trickled by, second by second.

The line of diners advanced steadily, and new customers joined the queue, making it look like the line was never really getting shorter.

"Could I trouble you for four dozen oysters, thank you."

"I’ll take two dozen, and another four dozen to go, could you make them a bit spicier?"

"I want five dozen to-go as well."

As more customers opted for takeaways, the line moved increasingly slower.

Most of the latecomers planned to stay at nearby hotels that night; many had arrived just that morning, checked in, and rushed over to join the line.

Some early birds, who had already savored the delicious grilled oysters, were still unsatisfied and returned to line up again.

For a time, nearby large trash bins were filled to the brim with empty oyster shells.

Angelica and the young driver stayed for nearly two hours, until the last box of oysters was moved out of the truck before they were ready to leave.

"Boss, I have a hunch that this grilled oyster recipe could make us a fortune!"

"Do you really need to tell me that?"

Angelica snorted disdainfully, waving her phone, playing footage of the garlic sauce preparation process.

"When I bought oysters earlier, I asked Chef Lin about the recipe. He said it’s no secret; you can find it online easily. The proportions may vary between makers, but the overall taste is quite similar."

"I’ve already sent live footage and photos of the finished grilled oysters to the R&D team. They’ll have something to work on tonight."

"Uh?? Is that alright, boss? Isn’t that plagiarism?"

"Plagiarism, my foot!" Angelica gave his forehead a good flick. "When the R&D guys succeeded and the ads are made, the promotional language will definitely include "Great Xia flavor" or something like that!"

"Just focus on driving, and don’t bother with other things. We are a professional, big company, aren’t we!?"

The young driver shrank his neck, chuckling awkwardly, quickly started the engine, and turned to leave.

As they were leaving, he didn’t forget to lean out the window and wave goodbye to Lin Chen, trying to make himself more recognizable.

"Already leaving?"

Lin Chen also waved, glanced at the time, and realized that two hours had passed without him even noticing.

Repeating the same work had made him unaware of the passage of time, he thought it hadn’t been long at all.

"Dais! How much inventory do we have left?"

"About half left, Chef. We’re averaging one hundred and fifty to one hundred eighty oysters every ten minutes."

That means a thousand an hour?

He nodded quietly, the pace was about as he had predicted.

Looking at the long line that hardly seemed to shorten, he started considering whether he should notify Boss Magna.

"It’s a bit odd; why hasn’t that guy sent any messages today?"