Chapter 13 — Tomorrow's Kitchen

Khoi glued four pieces of colored tape onto the handles of four ladles: rice, chicken, vegetables and soup.

Ha stood opposite, holding a watch. She no longer calls him chef in front of the new person. She calls "Khoi" when she needs him to work, "shift manager" when she needs to delegate authority, and doesn't call anything when he's standing in the way.

The seven days of proof began with a pot of soup that was nothing special. Vegetables, pumpkin and dried shrimp. Khoi writes down the cooking time, the time to add vegetables, and the time to turn off the heat. Ha recorded the temperature with a thermometer, then asked Mr. Sau to check the softness of the squash.

“You're not a sensor,” Khoi said.

“But I'm the one who eats.”

They compiled two types of data. Kitchen data: quantity, temperature, time, amount of cooking. Dining table data: number of portions sold, number of portions returned, sentences spoken by guests, dishes ordered again. Vy merges two tables into a common file. She named it "listen and measure", then told Khoi not to turn it into a religion.

“If the data is against the customer's wishes, who can we believe?” Khoi asked.

“Believe that I rechecked the way I collected it.”

“What if the customer says one thing and the data is another?”

"No general guests. Record who, when, and under what circumstances."

Khoi nodded. He began to understand that data was not an answer for people. It's just a way to keep words from slipping away.

The first morning shift had an error. The newbie weighed the chicken with a scale that was off by fifty grams. The first ten parts lack meat. Khoi discovered it when looking at the tray, but didn't know how much was missing. Ha said to stop passing. The newcomer turned pale, afraid of being scolded.

Khoi asked: "Which scale is correct?"

“Red scale.”

“Why do you know?”

“Checked with standard rice bag.”

“Who wrote it?”

“You.”

Khoi looked at the notebook. The girl named Linh recorded the check date but did not have the signature of the certifying person.

Ha said: "From today the checker and the confirmer are two different people."

Khoi added to the board. Then they redistributed the first ten parts, not blaming Linh. Guests received their orders seven minutes later. Ha told the counter to report.

One customer said it was okay, but next time if it's late, please text first. Vy wrote that sentence into the dining table data.

In the afternoon, Lan's mother asked why the kitchen had so many tables. Khoi said because in the past people remembered with their heads, when one person stopped, the shop lost the whole process.

Lan's mother nodded, but said there were things that couldn't be written down on a board. She showed Mr. Sau how the elderly guests sitting on the porch did not like the lights shining directly into their eyes. Khoi asked why he didn't write it down. Lan's mother said she could write down the location, but not all the feelings.

Khoi wrote: “Patio lights — ask customers before changing.”

Lan's mother laughed. “So I still want to write.”

“Write down to remember to ask.”

In the evening, Ha made a batch of spices. She forced Linh, Khoi and another person to weigh each type, dry the tangerine peels in the oven at low temperature, and then let them cool before grinding. Khoi knows the recipe but doesn't know the smell. He used his hands to recognize the crunchiness, his eyes to see the color and hear the sound of the mill.

“What if there is a lack of aromatics?” Linh asked.

Ha replied: "Don't say 'lack of aroma' before knowing which person is talking."

Khoi said: "And write down the storage conditions."

Ha glanced at him. “I've improved a bit.”

“Just a little?”

“The kitchen has many days left.”

In seven days, they have three early shifts for morning workers, two late shifts for people returning from work, and a small communal kitchen for student groups. Not every day is profitable. There are days when the meal fund is used more than the contributions. There are days when seasonal dishes are abandoned because the vegetables are blemished. One day Ha stopped braised chicken because the thermometer was broken.

Khoi is used to hearing "stop". Initially, every time she said, he saw the revenue in his head falling. Then he saw the price of not stopping: one broken pot, ten returned, one employee lost his trust.

On the fourth day, a guest named Lam suggested a fish dish with fried onions. Ha said the kitchen can try, but people allergic to onions need to make other choices. Khoi asked if the fried onions were kept separately, would it waste time? By intuition, one part takes another thirty seconds, each shift is about twenty parts.

Vy said the extra twenty minutes of labor a day cannot be free.

Khoi suggested writing “fried onion topping” as a small option. Lam agreed to pay another thousand. Those who don't use it don't have to pay. Ha agreed, but asked for the fried onion salt to clearly state the ingredients.

That one thousand dong doesn't make the restaurant rich. It allows one person to eat the way they want without forcing the whole kitchen to change dishes for everyone.

On Thursday, the data showed that the full-sized portion sold more but had low profits. Vy proposed to increase the price by two thousand. Mr. Sau objected. Phuong, who often buys the fund, said an increase of two thousand won't make her quit completely, but will force her to choose some vegetables.

Khoi asked if he could reduce the amount of rice instead of increasing the price. Ha looked at him for a long time.

“You just contradicted the reason why this thing exists.”

Khoi shut up. He found himself trying to make the number look good by dragging the portion down. Vy said that if rice is reduced, costs will be reduced but the response will be bad. The non-buffet table is correctly selected.

In the end, they kept the price, reducing another cost: paper boxes were converted to reusable boxes for customers eating at the restaurant, but a deposit was required. Some guests don't like it. Some guests said maybe.

On Friday, Khoi stood in front of the pot of broth. He picked up the spoon but didn't bring it to his lips. Ha said he could try it if he wanted, but don't use the results to decide on his own.

Khoi tasted. Nothing but heat, a little salty on the tip of the tongue. He put down his spoon.

“What do you feel?” Ha asked.

“The broth is still hot.”

"Good. That's it then."

Khoi burst out laughing. “Remember that too?”

“When your body comes back, you'll know where you started.”

In the afternoon, a call from the bank asked for a report. Vy sent the data sheet, but Thu called back asking for cash documents. Vy had to sit with the cashier and compare each case. Khoi feels that the speed of the kitchen is not important if there is no clear path for the money to go in and out.

Man sent a comparison file. On the left is the Seven Days Kitchen, on the right is the store model he proposed. Has a projected revenue stream that is three times higher. Man texted: "You could spend time building this and still not have enough to pay the debt."

Khoi transferred the file to Vy, Ha, Binh and Lan's mother. He asked everyone if they wanted to watch.

Ha said: "What data does he use?"

"Expected."

Vy said: "It's not about the money."

Lan's mother asked: "But it can become money."

Khoi doesn't want to pretend that Man is always wrong. Man's system can help many people access the dish. What scared him was that the decision-making power lay with those who were not present.

On Saturday, they held a weekend party. Don't try new things, only sell what has been fixed. The board in front of the restaurant records the quantity of each remaining item, the closing time for orders and the name of the person in charge of the shift. Customers can see the goods inspection slip if asked.

A reporter named Dung arrived, who sent a text message asking about the photo of the vegetable bin. She did not turn to face the guests. She asked Khoi why the shop made its mistakes public.

Khoi replied: "Because if you only publicize it when the food is delicious, there won't be any customers I know I will be protected when I make a mistake.”

Dung asked: "If you lose your sense of taste, who decides what's delicious?"

“There is no one person. But the person who has the right to stop the dish must be responsible for stating the reason."

Ha said: "And the person making the decision must not use customer opinions as an excuse to avoid techniques."

Vy added: "Technology should not be used as an excuse to eliminate customers who do not have money."

Dung looked at all three. “Do you guys have the same goals?”

Lan's mother was at the counter and answered for her: "We both want the shop to open. Doesn't mean the same thing.”

The interview posted that evening. The article does not call Bep Nha the nicest restaurant. It clearly states the failed order, the new process and the debt. Readers commented a lot, some asked if the shop needed capital contribution.

A woman who used to eat willingly sent a text message: "I haven't paid the whole book yet, but next month I can do two days of pre-processing to deduct a portion. If the shop agrees, clearly state the hours.”

Vy replied that she would make an agreement.

Khoi looked at the screen. The shop is not looking for anyone to save it. The shop is looking for ways to let everyone know what they are contributing.

At the end of the day, the seven-day data is printed on eight pages. Revenue is not enough to repay the loan, but no longer falling into nameless losses. Vegetable costs decreased because of unsatisfactory stoppages. Wages increase because of full shifts. The food portion is enough to eat and the loss is less when there is a fund. Large applications are eliminated from the plan.

Callback letter. “I received the application. The bank agrees to a temporary three-month structure, on the condition that you submit weekly reports and do not use the brand as security for the new loan."

Vy asked: "Do I have to sign more assets?"

"Are not."

Lan's mother closed her eyes.

“But after three months you have to prove cash flow,” Thu said. “If not, the decision will be reviewed.”

Khoi thanked him and hung up. Three months is not a victory. It's just a breather.

Ha took down the data board. “Take a day off tomorrow.”

Khoi asked: "Is the kitchen open?"

"Open. But people are not machines.”

Khoi nodded. He looked at the spoon placed next to the pot. His sense of taste has not returned, but in the past seven days he has learned one thing: cooking is not just about asking whether a dish is delicious. It asks if the worker can stand that way of cooking, if the delivery person can continue to deliver, and if the eater will still come back without feeling disrespected.

At night, Khoi recorded to the audio file:

“Seven days have proven we can operate better than before. It has not been proven that we will survive. Tomorrow, we begin the harder part: paying down debt without turning principles into slogans.”

As soon as he turned off the phone, his phone notified him of a new post from Man's account.

The image is a lunch box with the words "Home Kitchen — Family Recipe". Below, Man announced that the test store will open in two weeks.

Khoi looked at the picture. The lunch box in the photo is more beautiful than anything Nha Kitchen can make right now.

But in a small corner of the label, the full-sized dish is sold with half the portion and nearly double the price.

The Kitchen Name began to live elsewhere, before Khoi could decide whether to sell it or not.