Chapter 9

Chapter 8.

Is this the first banquet you're handling? (1)

Choi Gyu-hyun was taken aback.

The person in charge was the head of the audit team, who had nothing to do with banquets or food and beverage.

Not only did he lack hotel experience, but he hadn't even graduated from college yet.

As Choi Gyu-hyun hesitated, unable to speak, Jung Sun-jeong spoke up.

"The person who received this banquet is the former team leader, Jung Hyun-jung. L Group has been using our hotel for three years now. They always booked similar numbers and held their dinners as buffets."

"But this time, they want us to prepare a steak course, right?"

Seong Hyun-woo looked at Choi Gyu-hyun after saying this.

"From the records of past banquets, there will be a few more related to L Group. Each one has a different style, so the person who made this reservation might have a unique style."

"Y-Yes, that seems to be the case."

"If Choi Daeri handles this person, there will be adverse effects. So I'll take charge of tomorrow's banquet."

"......Yes."

Choi Gyu-hyun's voice was hesitant.

He was still uneasy about Seong Hyun-woo taking charge of the banquet.

Seong Hyun-woo, pretending not to notice, continued his instructions.

"L Group must have given us a detailed schedule. Where is it?"

"It should be on the PC of the person in charge of this banquet, but......"

"You mean it's not on Team Leader Jung Hyun-jung's PC. And you, Choi Daeri, didn't check it because it's a team leader's event."

"......I'm sorry."

As Choi Gyu-hyun bowed, Jung Sun-jeong did the same.

Then something caught their attention.

It was the file Seong Hyun-woo had handed over.

"Then we'll have to use this. Choi Daeri and Jung Daeri, just check if everything I've organized is going well."

After that, Seong Hyun-woo headed to the kitchen.

However, Choi Gyu-hyun and Jung Sun-jeong were momentarily stunned.

It was because of the file Seong Hyun-woo had handed over.

The file contained records related to the next day's banquet.

The banquet would be held after training sessions in each of the conference rooms, and the medium-sized conference room and the conference room were already set up as training rooms.

However, the file detailed the ballpoint pens, notepads, and bottled water to be placed on each training room table, the coffee break setup, the speaker's podium arrangement, the size of the projector screen, the lighting conditions by time, the items to check during breaks, and the placement of hotel staff.

Choi Gyu-hyun spoke with a puzzled voice.

"Are the bottled water and other items for the medium-sized conference room and the conference room different?"

Jung Sun-jeong then spoke.

"The medium-sized conference room will have goblets, and the conference room will have 500mm bottles of water. Oh? The ballpoint pens and notepads are different too? Choi Daeri, check the other items."

After that, the two opened the next file.

The file contained details of the dinner to be held in the Grand Ballroom.

However, their eyes widened even more when they saw it.

It included the table layout, the color of the tablecloths, the types of tableware, the types and doneness of the steaks at each table, the types and service times of the wine and champagne, the service order starting with the appetizers, the lighting and music, and the protocol and order of events, all recorded in detail.

Choi Gyu-hyun, who had read it in detail, opened his mouth wide.

He had already been in the hotel industry for eight years.

He had experience in room and banquet promotions and had organized many banquets.

Before joining Mirae Hotel, he had also organized large-scale banquets at another hotel.

However, he had never seen such a detailed banquet guide.

At that moment, Jung Sun-jeong, the food and beverage team leader, spoke.

"Can the kitchen handle all this? The Western chef is already preparing the meat......"

At that moment, Jung Sun-jeong's phone rang.

"This is Jung Sun-jeong."

"Are you already talking to the head chef?"

Seong Hyun-woo's words made Jung Sun-jeong quickly hand over the phone.

"Team Leader, this is Choi Gyu-hyun."

Choi Gyu-hyun's voice no longer had the hesitation from earlier.

"The lunch will be provided by our in-house catering service, as we had already requested understanding for that."

"Understood."

Choi Gyu-hyun handed the phone over with a bewildered expression.

However, Jung Sun-jeong was already moving, snatching the phone.

"Jung Daeri, where are you going?"

Choi Gyu-hyun asked, but Jung Sun-jeong answered without turning back.

"Didn't you say you're preparing lunch too? We need to start training the staff!"

* * *

At that moment, Seong Hyun-woo was with Chef Jo Man-sik.

Jo Man-sik was even taking notes as he listened to Seong Hyun-woo.

"So you want to change the steak that will be served at the VIP table like this?"

The head chef raised his voice.

It seemed he was treating it as if he were receiving orders.

"Please use a more formal tone, Chef."

Seong Hyun-woo's words made the head chef smile wryly.

"Is that okay?"

"Yes. The VIP is a bit picky. So please adjust the doneness according to this. The appetizers and desserts shouldn't be served too cold, so let them sit at room temperature for a bit before serving."

"What about the other tables?"

"There will be about 200 people at the manager level, so please increase the amount of steak for 200 sets. However, you can reduce it for 100 sets. Please follow the doneness and other decorations as written here."

"You mean increase for the young and decrease for the old. Well, the old do get a lot. So we should also differentiate the lunch portions, right?"

"Thank you. But can you do it by tomorrow?"

Seong Hyun-woo's words made Jo Man-sik answer readily.

"Sure. I'll call in chefs from outside restaurants too, so don't worry. I have plenty of people who will come at a single call!"

Jo Man-sik answered confidently.

After that, Seong Hyun-woo gave instructions on additional items to be prepared for the banquet, beyond what they had ordered, and then stood up.

At that moment, Jo Man-sik's expression changed.

He gathered the chefs.

He asked the youngest chef to make a copy of the file Seong Hyun-woo had given and then spoke.

He used standard Korean instead of his dialect.

His tone was full of energy.

"I believe everyone has heard what Team Leader Seong said."

"......"

"Until now, we thought tomorrow's banquet was just another one. But after hearing Team Leader Seong, it seems the guests are not ordinary picky people."

"But we prepared it the same way last year, didn't we?"

Jo Man-sik glared at the Korean chef who said this and continued.

"Last year was last year, and this year is this year. If the person giving the instructions is different, our cooking should be different too, right?"

"......Yes."

"To be honest, there were complaints at last year's banquet too. Have you forgotten how much the service cost? Have you forgotten how much our pride was damaged?"

"We haven't forgotten!"

"Then let's try to do it as instructed. The chefs from the neighboring hotels brag about their steaks being the best in the country. How long are we going to let them get away with it? Huh?"

After that, Jo Man-sik headed to the refrigerated area in the kitchen.

It was where the meat for the steaks to be used the next day was stored.

The Western chefs followed him one by one.

However, they were holding sharp knives used for preparing meat.

At that moment, the Korean and Japanese chefs also picked up their knives, each engraved with their names.

The Chinese chef started boiling water in a large wok.

Thus, the Mirae Hotel kitchen began its full-scale banquet preparations, starting with knives and hot water.

* * *

The next day, Choi Gyu-hyun arrived early at work.

However, his face was filled with disappointment.

After hearing Seong Hyun-woo's instructions yesterday, he had worked frantically.

But after all the checks were done, he suddenly wondered if this was really the right way to go.

Jung Hyun-jung was an expert in banquets.

He had organized various types of banquets and had a wide network.

Many companies and organizations booked events solely because of Jung Hyun-jung.

However, Seong Hyun-woo was still a college student.

While his instructions were professional, following them could lead to trouble.

Thinking about this last night, he wrote a resignation letter and put it in his drawer.

He came to work today, still unsure if this was the right approach.

However, his expression changed at the entrance to the banquet hall.

"Huh?"

In front of him stood Seong Hyun-woo and a middle-aged man.

Choi Gyu-hyun looked at his watch.

It was 6:50 AM.

The food and beverage, banquet, and marketing teams were not yet at work.

He had come early to check things just in case.

However, the two people in front of him seemed to have already finished their conversation and were shaking hands.

"Thank you for preparing everything so well at Mirae Hotel. I was worried because the training sessions today have different concepts."

"We just provided the equipment and beverages as requested."

"Still, it's not easy to distinguish between executives, managers, and regular employees just by the setup. You're Team Leader Seong, right? Should I contact you if there's anything I need?"

"Yes."

"Thank you for today."

The L Group representative shook hands again.

After the L Group representative left, Seong Hyun-woo looked at Choi Gyu-hyun.

"Choi Daeri, you're here early."

"Team Leader, who is that person......?"

"He's the one who booked this banquet. Is it your first time seeing him?"

"Yes."

"Team Leader Jung didn't introduce you, I see. I'll introduce you at the end, so stay by my side."

After that, Seong Hyun-woo led Choi Gyu-hyun to the final inspection of the banquet hall.

The Grand Ballroom was starting its lighting and sound checks.

The facilities team leader asked Seong Hyun-woo about the indoor temperature.

"Team Leader, you want to set this temperature before the main dish is served?"

"The white wine will be served at the VIP table. If the room temperature is too high, it won't taste right."

"Oh! That makes sense."

The facilities team leader nodded, as if his doubts had been resolved, and disappeared.

Seeing this, Choi Gyu-hyun realized that Seong Hyun-woo had even convinced the facilities team leader.

Jung Hyun-jung and the facilities team leader were known to be at odds.

It was because the facilities team leader had ignored the Function Sheet that Jung Hyun-jung had given for a previous banquet.

At that time, Jung Hyun-jung had been furious, thinking the facilities team leader was ignoring him.

On the other hand, the facilities team leader had ignored Jung Hyun-jung, thinking his instructions were unrealistic.

Since then, the facilities team leader had become even more strict whenever there was a banquet.

However, he had become as docile as a lamb in front of Seong Hyun-woo.

"He's not usually like that?"

While Choi Gyu-hyun was looking at the facilities team leader's back with a puzzled expression, Seong Hyun-woo called out.

"Choi Daeri, when will you check the guest and staff flow in the banquet hall?"

After saying this, Seong Hyun-woo handed over a file.

It was the final checklist for the banquet hall, conference room, food and beverage, and kitchen.

Seeing this, Choi Gyu-hyun's eyes widened again.

However, after looking at the last page, he asked with a puzzled tone.

"L Group has a VIP coming? Who will handle the VIP protocol?"

* * *

At that moment, Seong Hyun-woo was heading to the president's office.

Recently, Huh Tae-sik had been coming to work early and leaving late.

In his past life, an L Group VIP had attended the banquet that day.

It was a surprise attendance, and Mirae Hotel had not handled it well.

However, Jung Hyun-jung had known that a VIP-level person might attend.

"He probably wanted to handle it himself. Maybe he was trying to impress the chairman and get a job elsewhere."

Seong Hyun-woo's face showed a bitter smile as he said this.

The banquet had been chaotic due to the surprise VIP attendance.

As a result, the carefully prepared banquet ended without a clear conclusion.

This led to L Group not booking the next banquet.

The news spread to other large corporations, and Mirae Hotel was treated as a lower-class hotel that couldn't properly handle VIP guests.

Banquet revenue naturally declined, affecting the hotel's overall revenue, including room sales.

Seong Hyun-woo smiled wryly, thinking about Jung Hyun-jung's greed and selfishness.

Moreover, the L Group chairman, once he chose a regular place, often continued to visit it.

If he could make a good impression today, Mirae Hotel could secure all of L Group's banquets.

Seong Hyun-woo looked at his name tag.

It read "Team Leader Seong Hyun-woo" instead of "Head of Audit Team Seong Hyun-woo."

However, it would be a breach of etiquette for a team leader to handle the chairman.

Seong Hyun-woo tidied his expression and clothes before entering the president's office.

Huh Tae-sik greeted him with a bright smile.

"What brings you here, Team Leader Seong, at this hour?"

However, his eyes were full of caution.

Seong Hyun-woo pretended not to notice and spoke.

"President, there's something you need to do today."

"What is it