In the catering industry, it is a matter of course to make the food balance between salty and salty. It is impossible to for the customers to make a fuss. If you are not good at this, they may have to make a fuss. Besides, even if what Kazuya did was better than ordinary restaurants, that's still a side dish to go with wine. You can't forcefully eat it to taste like dragon liver, phoenix marrow, monkey brains and bear's paws.
If he doesn't upgrade this skill to LV 8 or above, it seems like it's basically a dream to achieve immediate results. When he reaches LV 8, he is at the level of a professional chef, coupled with the active or passive effects provided by leveling, he should be able to compete with famous chefs. If he has strong effects, it isn't impossible to have an overwhelming advantage.
But that's for the future, and they have to get through this difficult period. [Cooking] requires a lot of ingredients to gain experience, which is not as convenient as [Ancient Swordsmanship].
Naotaka might have did bad things before, but later changed his ways and became a disciple of Confucain. He emphasized on self-cultivation but didn't seem to know much about business. If he sees that the izakaya is hopeless, he will transforme it into a supermarket, convenience store, etc like the past when he transformed a clinic into an izakaya. If he does't have someone help cook, Kazuya will also have to change jobs.
He thought about it and then suggested to Naotaka who was also busy on the side: "Mr. Sakura, in fact, we can optimize the process and the standards for selecting ingredients do not need to be so high."
What Haruka did may be helpful in retaining diners, but in the end it still cannot avoid the store's profits being greatly reduced. As a pragmatist, Kazuya felt that cost reduction was also crucial. To put it bluntly, he meaned that it was already so difficult right now and no need to bother with refined operations.
The taste of their dishes was not very good, but the ingredients were very particular. Even the eggs have to be picked with the freshest ones. This seems completely unnecessary. He has observed that some regular customers could indeed feel the difference, but most people can't, so he thought that there was no need to take care of the taste of this very small group of people.
Naotaka glanced at him and smiled slightly: "Matsuoka, I understand what you mean, but I don't want to do that. This is not a question of money, it is a question of attitude. We must do our best to satisfy the guests."
Kazuya was speechless, thinking he was bound by the principles in the book. But since the boss said so, there was nothing he can do. And judging from the current situation, if he suddenly gave up the original business idea, he might not even be able to retain old customers, so he should be cautious.
Human beings are too complex. It can be said that the more things a person experiences, the more complex the person's heart becomes, the more comprehensive they consider when doing things, and the way they act has a less bottom-line.
The boss in front of me was obviously a person who has experienced much. But after experiencing certain things, he deeply reflected on himself and became what he is now. It seems that this is the way strange old men came about!
Kazuya felt that if he could have known Naotaka twenty years earlier, maybe Naotaka would not be the generous person he was now. Maybe he would have a sinister face, act cunningly and draw a sword at the slightest disagreement, no different from the swordsmen in the Meditation Battle.
He gave up the intention of persuading, kept his head down and worked hard to gain experience.
Although Naotaka was occasionally drunk and careless, and liked to joke, he didn't seem like a person with no backup plans. Maybe he had the confidence to keep it, but it's just inconvenient to tell him as an outsider.
Maybe Naotaka is worth tens of billions, owns dozens of pieces of land and several mines, or holds shares in a large company and gets a large dividend every year. At the moment, he just hasn't told his daughters, leaving them to grow up in a difficult environment and cultivate survival instincts, lest them become stupid daughters who will ruin the family business.
This is what Kazuya guessed, such a funny thing is impossible even thinking with his butt. But no matter what, he still planed to do his part and the rest will depend on how the situation develops!
"That's enough, please take a rest!" Akiho sealed the carrot slices in a plastic bag and said to Kazuya calmly. There were more than a dozen such large fresh-keeping bags in front of her, which contained a variety of pre-processed ingredients.
Kazuya put down the knife with regret. It was a pity that he didn't gain much experience after cutting so much.
Running an izakaya requires constant purchase of fresh ingredients, but there is no guarantee that these fresh ingredients can be sold out. So the excess will be made into pickles. Basically, salting is the main method, that is, cabbage, radish, cucumber and even squid, fish and salt are sealed together in a sterilized jar or wooden barrel and then pressed. Then wait for three to five weeks and take it out to dry.
Sea urchins, mullet ovaries, and sea cucumber made by salting are known as Japan's three delicacies, which are all famous local dishes for drinking. In addition, there are soy sauce pickles, vinegar pickles, chili pickles, miso pickles, etc., which have the same properties as salt pickles.
Even cherry blossom petals can be made into pickles, but as for the taste...it just depends on personal preference!
These were Akiho's tasks. Before Kazuya came, she was usually responsible for checking the fridge and freezer, and then processing the stale ingredients into pickles and selling them as side dishes to go with wine. This can be regarded as ensuring quality and reducing losses. It was a way of running a business, so she just stood in the kitchen cutting when she had nothing to do. Kazuya was now thinking about getting his skill [Cooking] to LV 10 as soon as possible. After finishing work at the izakaya today, he wasn't in a hurry to leave but stay and help her work together.
His current knife skills were much better than Akiho's, and his strength and endurance were also better than hers. He could handle all the ingredients accumulated from the recent bad business in one go. The buckets, jars, and ingredients for making pickles in the backyard were all ready-made, so he just stuff it inside.
Akiho sealed the bag, looked at the clock and said to Kazuya: "I'm sorry to trouble you. It seems that it's past the time of last bus. How are you going to go back?"
Kazuya finished his work and was washing the utensils. "It's not far away in a few stops. I'll just walk back."
Akiho was slightly embarrassed. She usually liked to observe others, and Kazuya was her current key observation target. She found that he worked very hard during this period and seemed to share the joys and sorrows in the face of the crisis. She couldn't help but feel a little regretful for not greeting him these past few days.
Her father was joking, but she was offended. No matter how good Kazuya was, and no matter how much her father liked him, he shouldn't treat his daughters like a piece of merchandise and just let him choose.
But her character was not like Haruka's, who just bursted out when she was angry. She usually kept it in her stomach. In order to show that the girls of the Sakura family were very reserved and noble and she didn't care about him, she has ignored him these days.
But now Kazuya took the initiative to help and saves her a lot of time. She would be awkward if she was still lukewarm. Moreover, she had also discovered that no one except herself seemed to care much about her father's rude jokes.
She thought for a while and said to Kazuya: "Please wait a moment." Then she turned into the corridor door next to the kitchen and didn't know what she was doing.
Kazuya ignored her and sorted the utensils into categories to arrange them neatly. Then he wiped the table with a rag to make it spotless. After taking a few steps back, he felt relieved and secretly sighed if there being a skill called [Cleaning] would be great. With his characteristic, he might even reach LV 10 by now.
He just took a rest when he heard his cell phone ringing, finding that it was Yuma. He picked it up and asked, "Uchida, why do you call me so late?"