On the anniversary of his grandfather’s death, Li Ergou cuts himself on a worn-out cookbook and accidentally binds himself to the Gourmet Heritage System.
Every full moon, he can transmigrate to the past in search of lost recipes. In Chang’an, he makes Li Bai “Taibai Drunken Chicken” in exchange for poems.
In the Song dynasty, he recreates “Plum Blossom Soup Cakes,” astonishing Zhang Zeduan, the painter of Along the River During the Qingming Festival...
In the Ming dynasty, he sails with Zheng He’s fleet and saves scurvy patients with tofu...
He thinks he’s just a culinary courier to history, until he discovers:
· After eating his cooking, Di Renjie solves a cold case three years ahead of schedule.
· Bai Juyi puts his “Sesame Flatbread” in a poem, and modern archaeologists unearth the recipe.
· The mysterious customer who keeps ordering “Whole Sheep Buried Alive” at his restaurant turns out to be an agent from the Time Administration.
Even stranger, behind his grandfather’s dying words, “Some flavors must never be eaten by time,” lies a shocking conspiracy spanning past and present. Someone is trying to erase five thousand years of Chinese culinary civilization!
When genetically modified ingredients appear at Emperor Huizong’s Banquet at Genyue, and the secret recipes of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast are altered in history, Li Ergou grips his wok:
“Today’s feast between two worlds will decide not just who comes out on top, but whether civilization itself survives!”
Ding! You have unlocked the ultimate quest: Use nine lost ancient banquets to restart the chronicle of Chinese cuisine.
Also known as Gourmet Cuisine Through the Ages: My Canteen Connects Two Worlds and The Time-Traveling Chef: Li Ergou’s Culinary Journey.
P.S.5: I’m no good at writing blurbs, so please, esteemed benefactors, head straight to the story!
