I Got the Almighty Tongue - Chapter 181



Only Noblemtl

181 Copycat (3)

“Larry, I finally got the recipe.”

Eden laughs, revealing his teeth.

“It looks like you had a hard time this time.”

Larry takes the recipe from Eden’s hand and reads it.

“If possible, it would be nice to have a sous chef who has made every dish, but even a croquette is fine as long as the recipe is accurate.”

“But everyone from Demi to CDP rejected our offer? That’s rare.”

“The loyalty is higher than I thought. That means it’s a good restaurant. It’s not famous in New York for no reason.”

Eden smacks his lips as if he regrets it. If he had brought in the opponent’s key personnel, he would have been able to kill two birds with one stone, but this time he was unable to do so.

“But isn’t that a little dangerous? It’ll be noisy. Don’t you hate being the center of attention?”

From their perspective, having to walk a tightrope between legality and illegality, attracting people’s attention was not something they wanted to do.

“There’s no point in eating the leftovers. If this succeeds, I’ll be able to go out into the open. This will be the last time I hear the hyena’s name.”

Eden Lucas aka Hyena, was a businessman who had a knack for stealing restaurant staff and recipes to create franchises.

In this way, he has established more than ten franchises so far and has made huge profits by selling them.

His business approach was simple.

Find a restaurant with a good reputation in the area, make a good offer to the chefs there, steal their recipes and manpower, and then open a similar restaurant nearby to take down the original.

There was no need to put in a lot of effort here. Owners who have been betrayed by employees they have worked with for a long time usually end up self-destructing in anger.

It didn’t matter if it couldn’t be taken down. If you absorb the recipes and manpower of a famous restaurant and add Eden’s business acumen to it, the restaurant’s profits will increase in an instant. After that, if you quickly franchise it and sell it using the know-how you’ve accumulated over the years, there’s no problem.

Of course, success wasn’t always achieved.

There were times when the restaurant was so solid that it absolutely needed something better than the original, and he had a solution for that, too, which is why it has continued to thrive to this day.

“What are you going to do, Sarah?”

“Let him dream for now. He will actively scout out employees in order to succeed. It is also easiest to shake things up from within.”

Eden waves his hand as if he finds it annoying.

“I didn’t know you would promise me a share.”

“Since no one came over, I had to do something a little too hard. You don’t even see that there’s a clause in that stake. After going through this, you’ll realize how cruel society is. That’s how everyone becomes an adult.”

Even this man had a dream: to own a world-renowned dining establishment.

However, since Michelin 2-star or 3-star restaurants were already run by well-known companies, they often demanded outrageous acquisition fees.

Ultimately, Eden realized that to achieve his dreams, he had to find and grow lesser-known blue chips.

The restaurant I discovered then was Segreto, where I had heard rumors and happened to have a meal while visiting New York.

The restaurant didn’t have a national reputation at the time, but his decades of experience in the industry gave him a strong sense that it was destined to take off.

He offered the owner chef there more than twice the amount of the investment, which was unusual for him. It was a polite takeover offer that didn’t suit him. This deal wasn’t for sale, and he had to take the owner chef there with him.

But even though I called three or four times for some reason, the owner didn’t budge.

He wanted to own a full-fledged restaurant, but not everything went his way.

Now that it had come to this, Eden wanted to bring down Segreto in the same way he had always done.

When he can no longer endure, he can offer a takeover. Even if the takeover fails, at least there will be money left. After finishing the calculations, Eden immediately started contacting Segreto’s staff.

“Larry, can you cook properly?”

Larry is a chef who has been with him for a long time. He may not have a flash of talent, but his experience and skills as a head chef at a five-star hotel restaurant for many years are beyond doubt.

Eden doesn’t trust the traitors. It was thanks to Larry’s presence that they were able to swallow up the restaurants using the stolen recipes.

“If the recipe is right, then there’s no problem. Let’s get started right away. This is your first time in the East. We’ll plant the flag in style.”

Having been active in the West, including LA, San Francisco, and Seattle, they have finally landed in New York, the heart of the East.

* * *

“Jehee. Do you know the rumors going around among the employees these days?”

Jenny looks at me worriedly and says.

“I know. I heard that there has been an increase in scouting offers recently.”

“It’s not at that level. They’re touching everyone from the sous chef Sam to the trainees. You have to take it seriously.”

Was it because I lived in a world where theft of human resources and technology was a daily occurrence? When I first started my restaurant, I checked all the relevant laws and regulations. And I knew that I couldn’t stop the leak of recipes.

Because it is an inviolable fundamental right for a chef to utilize his or her knowledge and experience in a new job after leaving his or her job.

Providing the best salary and dormitory in the industry alone will not prevent people from changing jobs. Human greed is not so easily suppressed.

That’s why franchise companies often keep the mix of their core seasonings a secret from their employees and manage it thoroughly. However, this is impossible in fine dining.

Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that I had to create a restaurant where I didn’t mind losing my recipes or personnel.

The dishes we make today require the best ingredients and advanced techniques.

Taste is not absolute. People can taste the same food differently depending on the climate and weather changes. The presence or absence of a head chef who can coordinate this is also a very important factor in running a restaurant.

“Don’t worry, Jenny. We’ll be fine.”

Even though we have put up a barrier like this, the risk still exists only in one case.

This is when I develop my recipes further and produce better food. This is how KFC lost its dominance in the Korean market.

But is it really possible? I’m curious to see how I can improve my cooking and offer it at a similar or cheaper price.

“Okay. I’ll make sure to take good care of the hall staff.”

Jenny nods with a determined expression.

I feel it again. Jenny’s departure was probably a bigger blow to me than the leak of the recipe.

The next day, three employees came to the office and submitted their resignations.

It was Chef Sarah and two trainees.

“I can guess what kind of offers you might have received. But there is no free lunch in this world. Are you sure you have checked carefully and made the right choice?”

Sarah is now thirty, and the other two are still in their mid-twenties. I felt sorry for their futures, which were so clearly visible to me.

“Yes. It was a decision I made after careful consideration.”

Sarah answers with a stern face. Jose and Ginger look uneasy.

“Okay. You don’t have to work starting today. I’ll calculate your salary and send it to you. Thank you for your hard work. Please empty the dormitory by the end of this week.”

Was it surprising that they didn’t catch him? They looked relieved at the sight of him coolly allowing them to retire.

“Thank you….”

“······.”

Jose and Ginger hurry out of the office, following Sarah.

The three of them left the office and headed to the locker room to empty out their lockers. They neatly folded their chef’s uniforms and packed their belongings into their bags.

Phew.

Sarah took a deep breath. She was so nervous that she couldn’t breathe properly. But it was something she had to do anyway. She waited for the two of them for a moment and then headed to the lobby together.

Ouch.

There were about 20 chefs in the lobby. They were not friendly. They were all glaring at me with their arms crossed or their hands on their hips.

“Thank you for everything.”

Her voice trembled under the pressure. Sarah desperately regained her composure and said her final goodbyes to them.

“Thank you? Is this how you repay kindness?”

Kim, who had been teaching Sarah, glares at her sharply and says.

“Kimberly. What do you mean?”

“Sarah. You don’t think that the offer that was made to you didn’t come to us, do you? Everyone knows that.”

Olivia, the tail chef of the cold part, also does not hide her hostile gaze.

“I just made the choice that was best for me.”

“Will that help? We’ll see. One thing is for sure, even if you were at least a demi chef, you would never have accepted the offer. Here’s the proof. None of the demi chefs took the offer seriously.”

Ella, who is usually gentle, glares at her with a scary expression and says.

“Since you’ve decided to go, do your best. You’ll soon find out what I mean.”

Ella turns away with a cold demeanor.

“Ella is so kind.”

Soyoung walks after Ella and whispers.

“Am I kind?”

“Yeah. Sarah doesn’t need advice. People who aren’t serious about cooking aren’t colleagues. They have no loyalty, so they’re not even proper people. People like that should just be left to their own devices.”

Soyoung’s expression is cold.

Segreto was not just a job for her. It was the first place in her life where she felt a sense of belonging, a home she had to protect.

Soyoung could not forgive Sarah for coming into that precious place with her dirty feet and trampling on her territory.

* * *

Eden took over a failing restaurant in Soho and remodeled it. The exterior and interior are now finished, and the kitchen is already ready for business.

It’s less than a 10-minute walk from Soho to Greenwich Village, where Segreto is located. If there were more competitive cuisine nearby, customers would be forced to come.

Eden opens the door and goes inside. She passes through the newly renovated hall and heads to the kitchen.

It took a considerable amount of capital to set up a kitchen. Appropriate kitchen equipment is essential to reproducing recipes. Although he was confident that he would eventually recover it, investing a large amount of money was a burden to him.

The interior of the remodeled kitchen is a mess of various ingredients.

“Is this recipe correct?”

Larry yells at someone.

“Oh… that’s right. I know best because I made the tomato sauce.”

Sarah and the two trainees flinch at Larry’s prodding.

“But why does it taste different!”

“You said that Segreto uses Italian San Marzano tomatoes. These are from the United States. The herbs are also organic, brought in from the farm that day. Isn’t this something you bought at the market?”

Sarah musters up her courage and protests.

“How about we try a tomato blind test?

American and Italian tomatoes are almost the same. They have the same seeds and the same climate. But they cost 30% more, and you use them? If you can tell them apart, I will listen to you. The same goes for herbs. You can never tell the difference unless you eat them raw.”

Sarah is silent at Larry’s words.

“Ahem···.”

Only after he clears his throat does Larry look at Eden.

“Are you here?”

“What’s not going well?”

“When working at an Italian restaurant, you have to perfect the tomato sauce first, which is the basis of the taste. But they say these guys have a different taste.”

Larry glares at the three men.

“Let me taste it.”

As Eden sits down, Larry begins to cook. He makes Amatriciana by tossing the pan with skillful skill. The appearance, including the fancy plating, is no different from Segreto’s pasta.

“Try it.”

Eden had a keen sense of taste as well as a keen business acumen. He was particularly unrivaled in judging the commercial viability of food.

Eden picks up the fork and makes noodles. Then he puts it in his mouth and closes his eyes.

This is indeed a great recipe.

The oil from the high-quality basil, tomato sauce, and chicken stock are well-emulsified. The tang of the pecorino Romano cheese and the parsley add body to the flavor, and the tomato sauce wraps it all up.

The noodles soaked in sauce are soft and chewy, spreading in the mouth. The occasional chewy squid adds a touch of flavor and adds to the fun of eating.

Normally, it would have been a pasta that would have passed the test. But it was clearly far from the original he had eaten.

“Is this the best?”

“What you instructed was a 30% cost reduction. Since the materials were downgraded by one level, it won’t be exactly the same.

This restaurant does too much crap.

“When making noodles, we blend three types of wheat, which is the main culprit for the increase in cost. We replaced this with American durum. However, we are proud to say that the quality is more than 90% of the original.”

Eden nods at Larry’s explanation.

“Yeah. It doesn’t necessarily have to be more delicious. It just has to be a lot cheaper.”

The largest expense in a restaurant is labor.

Servers will live off tips, so they should be paid half the minimum wage, and chefs should be filled with college graduates. Customers can’t judge a sommelier who can only imitate a sommelier without qualification. Wine should be purchased based on what is needed for the course.

In this way, you can reduce restaurant operating costs by 50% compared to Segreto. If you use the money you save to significantly reduce food prices, you can succeed as a casual dining restaurant.

You don’t have to make every dish. The courses are organized around popular menus, and the recipes are simplified so that even inexperienced chefs can make them. In Eden’s head, the optimal route to success is drawn.

After a month, everything was ready.

Segreto is clearly hit. To maximize this, you have to shake the owner’s psychology. You will plant seeds of suspicion among employees so that they cannot trust each other and let them bloom.

Before the sales, Eden personally visited Segreto to declare war.