Nighttime.
Everything became soft and distant.
Just then, a light pitter-patter of footsteps broke the tranquility of Chu Yang's contemplation.
"Not asleep yet?"
Executive Anne looked at Chu Yang and asked softly.
Her face, illuminated by the moonlight, appeared exceptionally cool and serene. Her bright eyes held the usual rigor of an executive, yet also a hint of imperceptible care for Chu Yang!
"Mm!"
"I'm reviewing some analytical reports on famous restaurants!"
Chu Yang turned to glance at Anne, then continued to look at the unfinished documents in his hands.
"These two months of business trips and inspections must have been very tiring for you."
Anne, seeing Chu Yang's focus and dedication to work, couldn't help but feel relieved. She then asked, "How are the starred restaurants in France doing this year?"
"Not optimistic."
Chu Yang merely replied coldly upon hearing this.
…
Undeniably.
WGO is the authoritative guide that represents the global culinary world!
However, even the high-standard culinary paradigm is not flawless; behind it, over time, some drawbacks or problems will gradually emerge.
For example:
To pursue perfect plating and creativity.
Some starred restaurants excessively emphasize refinement, to the point of sacrificing the food's inherent taste and texture.
Some dishes might be overly focused on form while neglecting substance, leaving diners admiring their artistry but lacking satisfaction with the food itself.
At the same time.
WGO's judging standards.
They tend to favor traditional or classic cooking methods and are not inclusive enough of emerging or innovative culinary styles.
To put it bluntly, under this set of judging standards.
All restaurants, in order to gain recognition from WGO executives, can only continuously try to fathom and analyze the minds and palates of these executives, but gradually deviate from the general public!
…
Of course.
The existence of WGO does bring some problems to the culinary world.
But what truly made Chu Yang despair was the potential collapse of the entire culinary world due to changes in traditional restaurant business models and supply chains!
In today's society.
With a fast-paced lifestyle, continuous development.
More and more processed foods and foreign fast-food industries have rapidly established themselves globally.
Youthfulness and speed have become the labels of this era.
The daily two-point-line life means that most people don't have time to savor the taste of food; filling their stomachs has become the primary choice every day.
Now, fast-food establishments are ubiquitous in shopping malls, occupying most of the space.
What people care more about is time-saving convenience.
As for!
The taste of gourmet food?
Who cares? Who would care?
Moreover, some processed foods, or rather, foods that have long lost their original flavor, are rapidly rising and are unstoppable!
The most typical example is the emergence of pre-made dishes.
Perhaps, in the near future, gourmet food will become an unattainable adjective.
…
"Sigh!"
"I once went to Italy for an inspection."
"I found that the restaurants recognized by WGO were almost all experiencing unprecedented challenges."
"Many exquisite high-end starred restaurants were closing down one after another; many diners who wanted to eat there could only find them empty!"
"Especially that Italian chef, Bernard Loiseau, who chose to shoot himself after learning that his painstakingly run restaurant had been stripped of a star by us."
"This incident deeply shocked me."
"It's just one star, isn't it?"
"Is it that serious?"
Anne, upon hearing Chu Yang's report, looked solemn, and a hint of worry also flashed in her eyes.
Facing certain challenges and signs of decline in the culinary world, as a Special Executive, Nakiri Mana did not stand idly by but actively formulated a series of strategies and measures.
Firstly.
She had the executives intensify their culinary exploration efforts.
No longer limited to traditional high-end fine dining restaurants, they also turned their attention to street food, local specialty restaurants, and emerging food trends.
By expanding the scope, they aimed to explore and discover more diverse cuisines and promising chefs!
Secondly, WGO also began to host various cooking competitions, such as the annual THE BLUE World Culinary Championship, providing a platform for young chefs to showcase their talents and opportunities for further study.
And recently, Nakiri Mana also secretly supported late-night chefs.
She even utilized some of WGO's resources and influence to provide them with financial support, ingredients, venues, and other forms of assistance!
All in all.
Including Nakiri Mana.
Most people knew that the culinary world of this era would collapse soon.
And a new culinary era would quietly arrive amidst the turmoil!
…
"After all."
"It's our WGO standards that have elevated some chefs too high."
"So much so that when they fall, they have to pay an even more painful price!"
"Do you remember Chef Benoît Violier, who stood out among 1, 000 restaurants in 48 countries worldwide?"
Chu Yang glanced at Anne out of the corner of his eye, then continued.
"Violier?"
"I have a very deep impression of him."
"He was once highly regarded by many executives here at WGO as 'the chef closest to the God's Tongue'."
Anne said without hesitation.
"He also committed suicide three days ago."
"It seems he was worried that my arrival as a Second Executive would cause his restaurant to lose its three-star rating, so he committed suicide under immense pressure!"
"Huh?"
"No way?"
"Another… another starred chef recognized by WGO has died?"
Anne's face showed disbelief.
Only at this moment did she truly realize that the current culinary world seemed to be beyond saving!