Gourmet Food Supplier

Naturally, Dean had called Li Li in advance as well and the call had been quickly answered. Therefore, before they reached the kitchen, Li Li had already came out.

“Dean, you’re in China?” Li Li asked he greeted both Dean and his assistant with a hug.

Li Li had once met Dean during one cooking competition in France. He rather admired Dean’s cooking skills. During that competition, Dean had obtained first place while Li Li was in fifth place.

“Yes. Li, you look well,” Dean smiled and started exchanging pleasantries.

“I’m doing alright, I suppose. Are you here to do something?” Li Li said as he gestured to the cameraman behind Dean.

“I am in the midst of filming a rather interesting TV show,” Dean said.

“I see. Is there anything you need from me?” Li Li went straight to the point.

“Yes. I need to cook a meal myself but I’m without ingredients and a kitchen. Therefore, I’m here,” Dean said as he spread his hands.

“You’re here to borrow the kitchen?” Li Li asked.

“Yes and no,” Dean kept the suspense. When he saw the curious expression Li Li had, he continued speaking.

“You see, there is a mission on this show requiring I eat lunch at the restaurant next door. However, we arrived too late and they already ran out of numbers. Therefore, I can only cook myself…” Dean started explaining seriously.

“Therefore, I am going to cook myself a meal in front of his restaurant. Um, this can be considered a tiny revenge of mine as well,” Dean spoke forthrightly.

“Dean, I do not recommend you do that,” as a friend, Li Li immediately advised for the sake of Dean’s dignity after he heard that it was related to Yuan Zhou.

“No, Li, you need to understand. That person is highly respected by Chu. Because of that, I am very curious about him. I also need to let him know that Chu’s rival of a lifetime can only be me,” Dean said.

If Yuan Zhou heard this, he would be absolutely confused as he had obviously been unjustly implicated in this rivalry.

“I need to let you know that this Boss Yuan is definitely not a regular chef,” Li Li said as he thought back to the two previous miserable experiences of his, the Beef Wellington and Swedish Meatball incident. Yuan Zhou was a chef who was good at both Chinese and Western food.

“That will only make things interesting, right?” Dean insisted. He had long expected that Yuan Zhou would not be your usual chef. He would face Yuan Zhou the same way he faced Chu Xiao.

“Fine,” Li Li shrugged.

“Then, Li, do you have any good ingredients I can use?” Dean asked.

“Of course. Just this morning, a new batch of beef from Alberta had just arrived. I trust you will like them,” Li Li made an inviting gesture as he guided Dean to the storage room.

“Oh, definitely. The grass there is very lush and the cattle raised there will definitely be a source of excellent beef. Which breed is it?” Dean asked cheerfully when he heard Li Li’s words.

“It’s their homegrown Charolais cattle, a breed you are most familiar with, I reckon,” Li Li answered with a smile.

“Of course. Although it’s not from Charolles or Nievre, the quality of this breed of cattle is still excellent,” Dean couldn’t stop speaking the moment the topic touched upon beef. He had even forgotten the unpleasant experience from when he had tried calling Chu Xiao earlier.

“Of course. I only have the front part of the cattle remaining. I wonder if that is sufficient for you?” Li Li said as he pulled open a cabinet. Inside, the beef was arranged neatly, all from the front part of the cattle.

“Not a problem,” Dean took the gloves Li Li handed him and started selecting the beef.

“By the way, I have a new batch of pork as well. The quality is excellent. Do you want to take a look?” Li Li said as he pulled open another cabinet.

“Thank you for your generosity, Li,” Dean nodded with a pleased smile.

“Don’t worry. I have vegetables over there as well,” Li Li said as he pointed at the neatly arranged vegetables on a nearby shelf.

“I think with these ingredients, I can make some meatballs. The taste will definitely be good,” Li Li proposed sincerely, “Do you remember the competition we were in? You obtained the first place with Paradise Island Meatballs. I still remember it clearly.”

Paradise Island Meatballs was a newly created dish. To be precise, it was a combination of a dessert and main course, as it was a dish with meatballs and ice cream.

“You still remember that? Yes, that’s a good idea. I heard Chinese people love meatballs,” Dean smiled with pride before he accepted Li Li’s suggestion.

“Yes, we have a large variety of meatballs here in China,” Li Li said with a smile.

“This will be it,” Dean said to his assistant after he picked his ingredients.

“Alright. I will get someone to carry them over,” Li Li turned around and gestured to a fat chef behind him.

“Alright, head chef. I will get someone to do it,” the fat chef nodded in acknowledgment.

“Thank you, Li,” Dean thanked.

“You’re welcome. Feel free to look for me again if you need anything else,” Li Li waved his hand and excused himself.

Since he was in a rush, Dean left right after he was done selecting ingredients. The fat chef had also returned after getting someone to help carry the ingredients over.

“Alright. Time to go back to work,” Li Li turned and walked away.

The fat chef glanced at Li Li over and over again with curiosity all over his face.

“Head chef, I thought we have a new batch of A5 grade steaks? Isn’t it better for Dean to make steaks instead?” he failed to hold his question in and finally voiced it.

The fat chef was sure that Li Li was not holding back because he couldn’t bear to part with his ingredients. After all, Li Li had allowed the fat chef to use all ingredients during his practice so he could get used to the changes of the high-quality ingredients.

And that guy earlier was a famous chef from France. Wasn’t it a given that Li Li should offer him the steaks instead?

“Meatballs will be better as only meatballs will allow a proper comparison,” Li Li paused and said.

“Is it because Boss Yuan knows how to cook Swedish Meatballs?” asked the fat chef.

Li Li turned and looked at the fat chef with a frosty gaze, “Do you know that a loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble?”

The fat chef immediately shut his mouth. At times, knowing too much wasn’t good.

“It will be our lunchtime soon. Go back to the kitchen,” Li Li looked at the excited Dean with pity before resuming his own work.

The knives used by Dean were all his own knives. As for how he had gotten them into the country? He had negotiated a special cargo with Air China to deliver them into the country for him. Of course, this was something rarely approved. Fortunately, Dean was a famous chef, which had helped.

Thanks to Li Li’s generosity and the cooperation provided by the restaurant manager Liu Ruoyu, they did not need to get the other cooking utensils somewhere else. With the help of the filming crew members, they quickly erected a temporary outdoor kitchen.