From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When he was first approached, Feng Zhengming intended to decline the offer.

However, his uncle Feng Guofeng and the person in charge of Shanghai came to his door to find him.

Seeing that even his uncle had come to visit, Feng Zhengming knew he had no other choice.

Feng Guofeng: "Zhengming, don't refuse. You will definitely be the head chef for this banquet in Shanghai. It will be the first National Day banquet in Shanghai in the 21st century."

Feng Zhengming: "Alright, since you all came to my door, I naturally feel obligated to do so as well."

Then Feng Zhengming modestly added, "However, time is tight this time, so I hope I can find some help myself."

The Shanghai authorities naturally had no objection to this.

"Sure, Scholar Feng, you can arrange all the manpower you need. We will do our best to cooperate."

Feng Guofeng asked, "Who are you planning to find to be your helper?"

Feng Zhengming: "I want to ask some of my senior brothers to help me. I also need to contact some chefs from Hong Kong and Guangdong, as well as local chefs specializing in Shanghai cuisine."

Upon hearing Feng Zhengming's arrangements, Feng Guofeng did not express his opinion directly, but instead looked at the group of people who had come from Shanghai.

After exchanging glances, the group agreed to Feng Zhengming's request.

Seeing that Shanghai had agreed, Feng Guofeng smiled and said to Feng Zhengming, "Alright, Zhengming, it's up to you now. Time is indeed a bit tight, so please call the people over in advance, and submit the list of what you need and the menu as soon as possible."

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, I will notify them to come as soon as possible."

After seeing off his uncle and the people from Shanghai, Feng Zhengming also called his senior brothers in Quancheng.

This time, Feng Zhengming asked his eldest and sixth senior brothers to come to Shanghai to help.

The Cantonese chefs from Hong Kong and Guangdong Province were also invited to work with Long Kunbao and several other renowned Cantonese chefs from Guangdong Province.

For the local Shanghai cuisine, Feng Zhengming naturally sought out the master of local Shanghai cuisine and asked him to borrow several local Shanghai cuisine chefs.

After contacting the other people, Feng Zhengming finally contacted Jiang Chengzhe.

Jiang Chengzhe received a phone call from Feng Zhengming, who invited him to join the chef team for the National Day banquet in Shanghai.

This surprised Jiang Chengzhe somewhat.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, are you still going to make me participate? We've already parted ways."

Feng Zhengming: "This is a matter for Shanghai, and it has nothing to do with us parting ways. Don't tell me you're not going to help?"

Jiang Chengzhe said helplessly, "Since the Shanghai municipal government has intervened, I definitely have to participate."

Feng Zhengming: "Then let's come and meet up as soon as possible. After my senior brothers and the others arrive, we'll discuss a menu together and submit it."

Jiang Chengzhe: "I'm also preparing to open my own store recently. If you do this, won't my store opening be delayed again?"

"Preparing to open your own store? How long have you been preparing? I haven't seen any progress. If you need any help, just come to me directly."

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this, Jiang Chengzhe on the other end of the phone felt somewhat helpless.

"I want to try my best to see if I can get the new store up and running."

Feng Zhengming: "You should be fine, but you must have been influenced by me while you were in my shop, which is why you're having some trouble."

You want to open a new store, at least one that's comparable to the one on my Western restaurant street.

But you overlooked one point: the shop you built later became the way it is today only after a long period of continuous management.

"You want to achieve everything in one step? Do you think you're even more powerful now than the two of us were when we teamed up?"

When Jiang Chengzhe heard Feng Zhengming's words on the other end of the phone, he felt as if Feng Zhengming had known about all his actions in advance.

Moreover, it seemed that Feng Zhengming could even know some of his plans and ideas in advance.

However, upon further reflection, Jiang Chengzhe quickly came to terms with it.

He realized that what he was thinking and doing was indeed not difficult to guess.

Besides, he and Feng Zhengming had worked together for so long that they could say they really understood each other.

Just as Jiang Chengzhe knew that after he left, Feng Zhengming would arrange for Xia Hui to take over his position.

Moreover, he will diligently manage the restaurants in the old villa.

More importantly, Jiang Chengzhe also guessed that Feng Zhengming and the five young chefs would eventually form a franchise relationship.

He will allow five young chefs to obtain his brand's authorization through franchising and open branches in their respective hometowns.

Jiang Chengzhe understood that Feng Zhengming's attempt was to reduce his own management costs.

Allow the branches to manage and operate themselves.

Feng Zhengming didn't need to prepare the funds himself, nor did he need to send anyone to manage or operate the business.

In this arrangement, if he feels that the other party is not doing a good job, he can simply take back the authorized signboard.

Doing it this way is obviously much easier than having Feng Zhengming personally manage and operate the business.

Of course, this was based on Jiang Chengzhe's understanding of Feng Zhengming.

He knew that Feng Zhengming would still insist on his demands.

Therefore, to join his brand, one must have the skills of five young chefs.

Knowing that Feng Zhengming would have such a plan, Jiang Chengzhe had been subtly hinting to the five young chefs for a long time.

The five individuals were first made aware of their own capabilities, and then guided to accept that they needed to open branch stores using Feng Zhengming's brand, thereby practicing their management and business skills.

In this way, Feng Zhengming took them to visit branches in various places.

That's what gave the five people a deeper understanding.

The five people then proactively suggested to Feng Zhengming that they open branch stores in their respective hometowns.

Feng Zhengming was also well aware of Jiang Chengzhe's inherent pride.

He hasn't been able to open his shop in all this time.

In reality, it was his deep-seated pride that was causing the problem.

This made him unwilling to take the initiative to ask Feng Zhengming for help.

This led to many problems for Jiang Chengzhe in preparing for the new store.

Most importantly, Jiang Chengzhe hopes to open a restaurant that can rival the branch on the Western restaurant street in one go.

In Feng Zhengming's view, this was actually very difficult for Jiang Chengzhe.

That branch on the Western restaurant street has earned such a good reputation.

It was meticulously crafted by Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe, along with a group of outstanding young chefs, through continuous refinement and improvement.

It's clearly very difficult for Jiang Chengzhe to open an equally exquisite restaurant in one go.

"Alright, stop putting on airs. Put your business aside for now. There's less than a month until National Day. Let's focus on preparing for the National Day banquet in Shanghai."

"After the National Day banquet in Shanghai, I'll give you some ideas so you can open your new store by the end of the year."

Jiang Chengzhe feigned helplessness on the phone: "It seems that in the end I still need you, Chef, to help me."

Feng Zhengming immediately knew that Jiang Chengzhe's helplessness was feigned.

"Alright, alright, stop pretending with me. You've been putting on airs the whole time, deliberately waiting for me to contact you first, haven't you? You just don't want to admit defeat to me, so you're gritting your teeth and not contacting me first." Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but laugh on the other end of the phone.

"Haha, thank you for your understanding, Chef, and thank you for your help, Feng Zhuangyuan."

Feng Zhengming chuckled and cursed before hanging up the phone.

Jiang Chengzhe was in a great mood after hanging up the phone.

Both of them were around thirty years old.

But the saying goes that a man is a boy until he dies.

Jiang Chengzhe still acted like a child, feeling that it was something to be happy about that Feng Zhengming had taken the initiative to contact him.

Jiang Chengzhe's parents, who had been in Shanghai with their son, were delighted to see him all smiles.

The parents also found it a bit strange.

Father: "What are you laughing about? Is there any progress on your new store?"

Mother: "I think it was Feng Zhuangyuan on the phone just now? What did you talk about? Did he ask you to come back?"

Then the father changed his mind: "If Scholar Feng really needs you to go back, you might as well go back first and continue to stay by Scholar Feng's side."

Jiang Chengzhe smiled: "Mom and Dad, it was indeed Feng Zhuangyuan's call. He didn't want me to come back, but he hoped that I could join him for a reception banquet in Shanghai for the National Day celebrations."

The parents were still somewhat surprised, not expecting that Feng Zhengming would invite their son to participate.

After all, Jiang Chengzhe is no longer considered a member of Feng Zhengming's catering company.

Feng Zhengming needed help with the National Day banquet, and he didn't need to ask Jiang Chengzhe to join him at all.

But he still went to Jiang Chengzhe, which shows that Jiang Chengzhe holds a significant place in his heart.

The mother couldn't help but persuade him, "Look, Scholar Feng still values ​​you highly. Why don't you go back?"

Before his father could echo him, Jiang Chengzhe spoke first.

“Mom and Dad, they invited me to the National Day banquet, not to come back. Besides, they also told me that they would help me open a shop after the National Day banquet.”

The parents looked at each other in disbelief, never expecting that Feng Zhengming would agree to help their son open a shop.

Father: "It seems we underestimated Scholar Feng; he has a grand vision."

Mother: "Then you should help Scholar Feng prepare for the National Day banquet. After the banquet, listen to his opinion before you open your own shop."

Jiang Chengzhe smiled and said, "Mom and Dad, you have to believe me. Our family's store will definitely open successfully in Shanghai."

The father smiled: "Of course we believe in you, Dad supports you."

The mother could only echo, "Mom supports you too."

Jiang Chengzhe could tell that his father was genuinely supporting him.

The mother was still somewhat worried and still hoped to return to Feng Zhengming's shop.

Jiang Chengzhe didn't seem to mind.

He knew that if he didn't go back and insisted on opening the shop, his parents would eventually support him.

"With your support, Mom and Dad, I'm sure my shop will open smoothly by the end of the year."

The other invited chefs also received calls from Feng Zhengming and set off for Shanghai.

Feng Zhengming also knew that there were celebratory banquets in Hong Kong and Guangdong during the National Day holiday.

Therefore, although the chefs he found in the two locations were both famous chefs, they were not the chefs who would participate in the celebratory banquets in the two locations.

The eldest and sixth senior brothers initially wanted to decline, but Feng Zhengming said he needed their help.

In the end, Li Huidong and Zhang Minghai had no choice but to agree to Feng Zhengming's request.

Feng Zhengming didn't have to wait long before the invited chefs, including his two senior apprentices, gathered in Shanghai.

The city of Shanghai also arranged accommodations for them, and assigned some chefs to be in charge of receiving them, who would follow Feng Zhengming's instructions.

After some discussion, Feng Zhengming and the Shanghai authorities arranged for the National Day banquet to be held at a venue in Pudong.

After all the chefs had gathered, Feng Zhengming discussed the menu with them.

To save time, Feng Zhengming simply had everyone come up with a menu, and then they gathered together to discuss and select a suitable menu to submit.

This trip was somewhat unexpected for both Li Huidong and Zhang Minghai.

When the two senior brothers met Feng Zhengming, they still felt that their trip might not have been appropriate.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Brother, Sixth Brother, there's nothing wrong with you coming. You are both renowned chefs of Shandong cuisine, and I believe no one will question your skills."

Li Huidong: "It's not a matter of whether or not anyone questions our skills; others might think that you're showing favoritism."

Upon hearing what his senior brother said, Feng Zhengming immediately laughed.

“It’s alright, let them talk. I believe that you and Sixth Brother will not let others accuse me of ‘nepotism’. You will make me appear as someone who ‘appoints the worthy regardless of kinship’.”

After being told what his junior brother said, Li Huidong and Zhang Minghai exchanged a glance and could only nod in agreement to do their best.

Zhang Minghai was a little puzzled: "Zhengming, you asked me and my senior brother to come here. What kind of dishes are you planning to put us in charge of? Are you going to have us cook Shandong cuisine at the National Day banquet in Shanghai?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Yes, there will be several Shandong dishes on the menu I designed."

Li Huidong thought to himself, "Shouldn't you still bring out your 'Dragon Playing with a Pearl' trick?"

After his senior brother pointed it out, Feng Zhengming nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I think Shanghai would also like me to serve the dish 'Oolong Playing with a Pearl' at the banquet. However, this time we need to make some changes to the preparation method, especially the seasoning."

Zhang Minghai asked in surprise, "Do we need to change both the cooking method and the taste?"

Li Huidong: "After all, it's in Shanghai, so it needs to have a slightly sweet taste. The key is that it's the National Day banquet, and there will definitely be many foreign guests in Shanghai who will be invited. Foreign guests will also prefer dishes with a slightly sweet taste."

After Zhang Minghai remembered, he met several Cantonese chefs.

"Oh, Zhengming, you hired a Cantonese chef to design some Cantonese dishes? There are indeed quite a few Cantonese dishes that suit foreign tastes."

Feng Zhengming: "Cantonese cuisine, Shandong cuisine, and Shanghai cuisine are the three major cuisines on our menu this time."

He then reminded his two senior brothers: "We can't cook some dishes with offal. We'll probably stick to seafood and beef and mutton."

Both senior brothers were able to understand this.

After all, he had participated in state banquets with Feng Zhengming and knew that if there were banquets for foreign guests, seafood was the main dish and the meat was mostly beef and mutton.

Feng Zhengming did not have many private conversations with his two senior brothers.

Most of the time, he would gather all the chefs together for discussions.

After Jiang Chengzhe arrived, he became more lively as he spent time with Long Kunbao and the other chefs from Gangcheng.

At first, everyone was not very familiar with each other, so Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe would try their best to bring everyone together to talk and communicate more.

As they got to know each other better, they even started joking around with one another.

As a result, the team atmosphere became more relaxed. (End of Chapter)