Gourmet: The God-Level Culinary Tycoon

Truffles are a general term for a group of fungi, classified in the phylum Ascomycota, family Tuberaceae, and genus *Tuber*.

There are about ten different varieties. They are typically annual fungi that grow in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of broad-leaved trees, most commonly found under pines and oaks.

They are primarily found in countries like Italy, France, Spain, Xia Country, and New Zealand.

Truffles have a unique aroma and are rich in nutrients such as proteins and amino acids.

Truffles are extremely demanding about their growing environment and cannot be artificially cultivated. This low yield makes them rare and expensive.

The environment has a profound impact on a truffle’s growth, which means that even within the same species, the quality can vary dramatically depending on the region and local conditions.

Take France, the world’s largest truffle producer, for example. Its two main truffle-producing regions are Provence and Sarla.

However, the quality of black truffles from these two regions, which are less than 100 kilometers apart, can differ drastically—to say nothing of the variations between different countries and climates.

Black truffles from the Camille Prairie in New Zealand are of just about the worst quality of any black truffle.

This is largely due to the local environment, climate, and rainfall.

While these New Zealand black truffles are high in yield, their quality is so low that they are unsuitable for direct consumption.

They are generally only used in food processing to make products like black truffle sauce or flavorings like black truffle essence.

Li Xiao couldn’t fathom why a chef at a restaurant that costs over 1,000 yuan per person would use black truffles that were only fit for making processed goods.

Seeing his brow furrowed in a deep frown, the viewers in his livestream chat were puzzled:

"Why the long face, streamer? Does it taste bad?"

"I doubt it. His other three roommates look like they’re enjoying it. The chubby guy next to him is almost finished."

"He was smiling when he ate the abalone a minute ago. Why the frown now that he’s eating the meat patty?"

"Maybe there’s something wrong with the meat patty?"

It wasn’t just the livestream viewers who noticed something was amiss. Taotao, the waitress standing by the table and waiting to be of service, also saw that Li Xiao’s expression was off.

Just as she was debating whether to approach him and ask, Li Xiao beckoned to her.

Taotao’s heart skipped a beat. ’Is there a problem with the dish?’

If a dish had a problem at an ordinary restaurant, they would, at most, just replace it.

But at a place like Jiuhe Garden, where a meal costs over 1,000 yuan per person, an issue with a dish was a major incident.

If there really was an incident, the kitchen staff would face severe penalties, and it was possible that even she, the waitress assigned to this private room, could get dragged into it.

She didn’t dare dwell on it. She hurried to Li Xiao’s side, her smile now tinged with nervousness.

"Excuse me, sir, is there a problem with your dish?"

Li Xiao put down his chopsticks and nodded. Pointing at the meat patty before him, he said in a low voice,

"I believe there’s something not quite right with the truffle inside this meat patty."

Hearing that the issue was with the truffle, Taotao relaxed slightly.

Truffles have a very distinctive flavor, and it was true that some customers simply weren’t accustomed to it.

Her smile remained in place as she quickly explained,

"Sir, we use black truffles from the Bena Plateau in Provence, France. There are absolutely no issues with their quality. However, truffles do have a rather unique aroma, so..."

Seeing that she had misunderstood him, Li Xiao held up a hand, cutting her off.

"This isn’t my first time eating truffles."

"The truffle on the abalone and on top of the meat patty is perfectly fine. It is, indeed, black truffle from the Bena Plateau in Provence, France."

"However, the truffle used *inside* the meat patty is wrong. It’s New Zealand black truffle."

"Truffles of this quality, in my opinion, have no place in a restaurant that charges over 1,500 yuan per person."

Hearing Li Xiao’s accusation, a flicker of confusion crossed Taotao’s face.

Although the training for the waitstaff at Jiuhe Garden was very thorough, it was limited to the types of ingredients used and the general preparation process for the dishes.

It was just enough to ensure the servers could answer most questions from customers.

But a question as specific as the different varieties of truffles was completely beyond her expertise.

Her mind went blank. ’I only know there are black truffles and white truffles, and that the restaurant uses black truffles,’ she thought. Beyond that, she was clueless. Still, the apologetic look on her face grew more pronounced.

Since the customer was so certain there was a problem with the dish, she, a mere waitress, certainly didn’t dare to argue.

Even though she wasn’t sure what the problem was, she apologized at once.

"I am so sorry that we’ve given you a bad experience."

"If you’ll allow me, I’ll take the dish to the kitchen right away and have our chefs take a look to see what went wrong."

Li Xiao wasn’t worried she would try to destroy the evidence; after all, his three roommates still had plenty of the meat patties.

He highly doubted it was just a case of bad luck, that he happened to get the one bad piece.

After all, even a small truffle weighs tens of grams.

The main purpose of a truffle is to add its rich aroma to a dish, so not much is needed.

A meat patty like this would use two or three grams at most, meaning even the smallest truffle could be used to prepare more than a dozen dishes.

If the kitchen was truly substituting with inferior black truffles from elsewhere, there was no way his patty would be the only one affected.

Taotao carried the meat patty and hurried to the kitchen.

Her rushed demeanor immediately drew the attention of everyone in the kitchen.

When they saw she was carrying a half-eaten dish, many of the chefs began to whisper among themselves.

An Chongwen was the executive chef of Jiuhe Garden, responsible for the overall management and operations of the kitchen.

The kitchen at Jiuhe Garden wasn’t particularly large, so he quickly spotted Taotao hurrying in.

Frowning, he strode over to the kitchen entrance.

He glanced down at the meat patty, from which only a single bite had been taken, and asked,

"What’s going on? Why was only one bite taken? Is there a problem?"

Taotao answered anxiously,

"The customer said there’s something not quite right with the truffle inside the meat patty."

"He said the truffle on the outside and the truffle on the inside are two different kinds. He says the one inside is some sort of New Zealand black truffle."

Hearing Taotao’s words, the color drained from An Chongwen’s face.

"What did you say?"

"New Zealand black truffle?"

"How is that possible?"