"You all know that during the battle in the Land of Clouds, my sense of taste and smell were destroyed by Shaka, one of the Twelve Commanders, a divine servant."
"Since then, I've been researching the relationship between sensory organs and Gourmet Cells."
"Later, I discovered that the more sensitive a person's sensory organs are, the more clearly they can perceive deliciousness, which in turn stimulates Gourmet Cells to react and increase digestive speed."
The apprentices nodded continuously.
This was hardly a secret; after being chefs for so long, they all had some insights.
Zhang Wei continued, "Another point is the matter of awakening."
"Rather than searching for suitable ingredients, it's about finding matching flavors. As long as the flavors resonate, promotion will be within reach."
"And these one hundred and eleven types of noodles are what I've classified after extensive research, completely covering all flavor types that ordinary people and low-level cell activators can taste!"
Zhang Wei pointed behind him, "Therefore, the ingredients we've chosen are all between levels 1 and 7, with the most similar and matching flavors, and the dishes are also low in difficulty."
Covering all flavor types!
The crowd was stunned!
That someone could actually accomplish this!
Each type of noodle was personally taught by Zhang Wei. Fearing they would learn slowly, each person was taught only two to three types, which took a full ten days!
Then how much time did it take Zhang Wei to develop these one hundred and eleven types of noodles? How much knowledge was stored in his mind!
Zhang Wei chuckled, "As long as there are sufficient ingredient connections, none of this is difficult."
The crowd didn't know that unlike other chefs who struggled to obtain ingredients, Zhang Wei had the Treasure Hall's supply, meaning he had countless ingredients to practice with daily.
Behind the glory were countless busy days and nights in the Treasure Hall.
Although Zhang Wei had only transmigrated for ten months, the time he spent in rigorous training within the Treasure Hall far exceeded four years!
And it was four years with countless ingredients, not a single minute wasted!
One of the disciples suddenly realized, "No wonder Master told them to walk in a circle before eating!"
"And they could only eat one bowl of each!"
"It was to make them find flavors that matched themselves more!"
Indeed!
Very talented!
At least their thinking was clear.
One person, contemplating further, said with a shiver, "Meaning, if we want to learn this dish, we must master all one hundred and eleven types?"
As expected!
This technique could only be executed as a group skill!
This was also why Zhang Wei dared to teach it. Unless these chefs collectively defected, one or two of them were insignificant.
Creating sixty thousand cell activators in a single day – this dish would drive countless forces insane!
One person then asked, "Master, I believe this dish has other secrets, right? For example, the mysterious seasoning you provided!"
Zhang Wei replied, "That's right. Merely matching flavors isn't enough. It can be called the Hundred Flavors Noodle, but not the First Flavor! Do you remember what I said about the relationship between taste and talent?"
The keener the taste and smell, the stronger the perception, the more one could immerse themselves in the deliciousness and gain greater enjoyment.
The crowd nodded repeatedly.
Zhang Wei continued, "This seasoning is actually a medicinal powder, the result of my dedicated research during the time I lost my sense of taste and smell!"
"It used over a hundred types of medicinal ingredients, many of which are extremely rare."
"To make the energy more abundant, I even added Silver Apples!"
The crowd was greatly surprised.
Silver Apples?
As expected, Master didn't just get one!
Zhang Wei was being somewhat reserved; he had actually used Perfect-grade Silver Apples! Their total energy was ten times that of ordinary-grade ones.
The estimated value was at least 1.6 billion!
One disciple said with a wry smile, "In that case, there's nothing mysterious about this dish at all. It's just using extremely rare ingredients to overwhelm us."
Zhang Wei shook his head.
"Not so. The Silver Apples are merely supplementary, a finishing touch. Even without the Silver Apples, the probability of an ordinary person awakening is 70%. Moreover, these dishes can be consumed repeatedly... two rounds would result in a 91% chance, three rounds would be 97%."
"If there's no awakening after three rounds, they belong to that special 3% constitution, the loopholes of this dish."
"My purpose in adding Silver Apples this time is to ensure everyone passes on the first try, avoiding delays in the work schedule. Secondly, the apple's energy will help them ascend higher and faster, allowing them to be directly put into production."
After all, with only two hundred chefs, conducting a second or even third round would be excessively taxing on their stamina.
The crowd couldn't help but gasp.
Silver Apples were astronomically expensive, yet they were being used this way.
Was the work schedule these few days truly that important?
"Furthermore, the taste of Silver Apples is extremely bland. After being diluted into hundreds of thousands of portions, it's almost negligible!"
Another disciple asked, "But Master, all of this still has nothing to do with the First Flavor!"
Zhang Wei retrieved the seasonings from the side, a total of 33 kinds of powder in various colors!
Each type of noodle would use 2-4 of them. Through Zhang Wei's combinations, there were one hundred and eleven variations, each perfectly matching the corresponding noodle and avoiding conflicts with the ingredient's flavor.
The seasoning plus the noodles, this was the First Flavor!
Zhang Wei said, "This seasoning is actually a mixture of a large number of medicinal powders, not just simple salt and peppercorns. The effect of these medicines is to... alter the food effects of the ingredients!"
"After pairing, the food effect of all the noodles becomes a strengthening of taste and smell!"
"Therefore, after eating the first bowl, the consumer will open up a whole new world!"
The crowd suddenly understood.
But this approach seemed familiar.
A chef pulled out a biography, titled "Biography of the King of Chefs: The Road to Kingship"!
It recorded the elites from various chef competitions and their passed-down brilliant ideas.
One passage described how Zhang Wei, with his 'Soul of Flavor', had outranked Lou Ming's 'Summit' from the Black List.
According to the book, Zhang Wei had used medicinal soup to open the judges' taste buds, perfectly overcoming the impact of 'Summit', and had allowed 75 judges present to achieve promotion!
Soul of Flavor...
First Flavor...
Both were inspired by opening the taste buds. Were these two dishes the same?
Facing the students' confusion, Zhang Wei generously admitted, "That's right, the First Flavor is an upgraded version of the Soul of Flavor!"
"Upgraded version!!"
"Where exactly did it upgrade?"
"Yes, Master, please tell us quickly!"
Zhang Wei chuckled, "The previous medicinal cuisine formula was not perfect. It could be described as potent medicine, with extremely strong effects and great impact, but it only lasted 1-2 hours. Moreover, this impact would become an obstacle for the future..."
"If consumed long-term, it could easily lead to anorexia and other problems, making ordinary food taste bland!"
"The First Flavor uses the latest formula, with milder and more stable effects. Most importantly, it provides a permanent enhancement to taste and smell, making them more acute!"
And the improvement in taste and smell would indirectly boost appetite.
For instance, some people would salivate or have their stomachs rumble automatically upon smelling delicious food, which was the same principle.
The crowd exclaimed in surprise, "Permanent enhancement?"
"Exactly, this is the true secret of the First Flavor! And the reason for the high awakening rate!"
The gazes of many chefs became even more fervent.
Some flashed with greedy glances...
Even if they only knew the general ingredients, this medicinal powder could be sold at an exorbitant price.
The chefs present were only attracted by Zhang Wei's culinary skills. Although they had become his disciples, they couldn't claim absolute loyalty.
The atmosphere gradually became tense, and the glances between chefs also carried a hint of suspicion.
Zhang Wei chuckled inwardly. To ensure the medicinal ingredient formula wouldn't be leaked, he had used Perfect-grade medicinal cuisine ingredients produced in the Treasure Hall during the efficacy tests!
The effects of medicine are interconnected. Unless one could produce medicinal cuisine ingredients of the same quality as Zhang Wei's, replication would be impossible!
Zhang Wei remained silent about the medicinal powder and instead asked, "You know about the recruitment announcement being released, right?"
"We know, Master!"
"I just found out..."
"It's so sudden!"
"Master, the school hasn't even been built yet."
"Speaking of which, can we take on disciples now?"
The crowd discussed amongst themselves in a flurry of questions.
Clearly, they were a bit bewildered by Zhang Wei's sudden actions.
According to the divisions in this world, there were significant differences between disciples and disciples!
Registered Disciples: The most distant relationship with the master, generally learning nothing, merely maintaining a master-disciple title.
Outer Disciples: Generally, a chef's assistant would be his outer disciple. Also, some scholars from private tutoring institutions and teachers from academies could call their students outer disciples.
They generally learned textbooks or some superficial knowledge from their masters.
At this stage, they were usually referred to as teachers or instructors.
Inner Disciples: Able to learn some private techniques and were referred to as Master.
Direct Disciples: True inheritors of the legacy, both father and teacher, able to learn true skills!
Among the people here, based on intimacy, most were inner or outer disciples.
There was only one direct disciple...
The Soul of Soup!
Zhang Wei had been extremely attentive to the Soul of Soup, often giving him special tutoring.
Zhang Wei said, "The formula for this medicinal cuisine ingredient is very complex. It cannot be easily taught through mere recitation; you must learn all my theoretical knowledge."
"From now on, I will teach the knowledge points and diagrams in batches. Those who show outstanding performance, are diligent and steady, or have contributed sufficiently to the academy can learn."
Zhang Wei knew that knowledge easily obtained was not cherished, so a reward system was essential.
The chefs had no complaints.
After all, learning under a master was like this. To learn true techniques, some cost was inevitable.
"Additionally, I have compiled brand new textbooks, using my theoretical foundation as the practice mode."
"My requirement for you is to master them completely within seven days!"
After all, these were student textbooks.
At most, it was a one-star skill. If these four-to-five-star chefs couldn't grasp it quickly, it would be a matter of attitude.
Saying this, Zhang Wei handed a sheepskin scroll to the Soul of Soup.
When the Soul of Soup opened it, it was identical to the scroll he had been given years ago, but it was more accessible and less profound.
Zhang Wei then took out another sheepskin scroll. Compared to the previous one, this scroll was more than twice its size.
"This is the Tier 2 textbook, corresponding to 2-4 stars."
"That is to say, after completing the beginner textbook, you will possess the strength of a one-star chef. And after completing the Tier 2 textbook, you will be able to smoothly pass the four-star chef examination."
Zhang Wei was confident in his textbooks. If one could fully master the contents, their strength would definitely be a notch above ordinary four-star chefs.
The Soul of Soup took the Tier 2 textbook. The knowledge points were even more complex, and the difficulty increased exponentially.
If the beginner textbook was like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, the second tier already involved geometry and equations.
The Soul of Soup looked at it for a long time, nodding in praise. Although this Tier 2 textbook was still slightly inferior to his own, it contained more content! Clearly, it was newly added material by Zhang Wei.
The Soul of Soup said, "Zhang Wei, you've improved so much again."
"It's alright; one cannot remain stagnant forever."
Zhang Wei continued, "After you master the beginner textbook, I will give you the Tier 2 content. Then, depending on your performance, I will teach you the Tier 3 content!"
"And all the seasonings and ratios for the First Flavor are in this Tier 3 textbook! Only by learning the third tier will you have the ability to prepare the First Flavor!"
Tier 3!
That would correspond to a culinary skill level of around 5-7 stars.
For many chefs whose average strength was only four or five stars, this was an absolutely fatal temptation.
Chef star ratings were much harder to improve than cell levels. Besides improving sensory abilities, it required a deep understanding of the culinary profession, along with a certain amount of wild imagination and creativity.
There was also familiarity with various ingredients and dishes, knife skills, fire control, stir-frying, seasoning, etc. To master all these and bring them to a high level was no easy feat.
The crowd looked at the beginner and Tier 2 textbooks in Zhang Wei's hands, their eyes filled with eagerness.
...
In the following days, Zhang Wei held evening classes to explain the textbook content to the chefs. It had to be said that older chefs had too poor an ability to accept new things.
Zhang Wei had overestimated them.
It seemed that fresh blood was essential; culinary skills indeed needed to be cultivated from a young age.
In the mornings, Zhang Wei led them in processing ingredients and making noodles.
The production methods for the one hundred and eleven types of noodles varied greatly. Some required drying beef and grinding it into powder, some required extracting vegetable juice, and some used tendons as noodle cores. Zhang Wei had to supervise the entire process.
In the afternoons, banquets for the First Flavor were held. During this time, Zhang Wei thoroughly refined the Tier 3 textbook.
Many previous ideas required time, and indeed, quite a few "dark cuisines" were created.
However, for ordinary people, they were still rare delicacies!
Another aspect was the consumption of food expenses.
Originally, the Great Glacier only had twenty thousand laborers, and the daily food expenses were only 1.5 million Beli.
But Zhang Wei casually created sixty thousand gluttons, and due to their enhanced taste buds, their appetites were even more vigorous.
And the number of these people was still increasing.
Now, the daily food expenses had surged to 9 million Beli. Including some salary expenditures, it was no less than 14 million Beli.
At this rate, monthly food expenses would reach 700 million!