From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 1102 Before Taking the Stage at the Awards Ceremony

The day of the official awards ceremony finally arrived.

The International Gastronomy Association and the Shanghai authorities made very grand preparations.

The event was packed with people, including both domestic and international celebrities, making it a true gathering of stars.

Of course, the most eye-catching people at the scene, and the focus of attention for many, were the ten head chefs led by Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming brought not only his apprentices but also everyone in the restaurant's kitchen.

He was holding his daughter Feng Nuanyou in his arms and holding his wife's hand.

This scene has made many people quite envious.

Who could have imagined that one day, under such global scrutiny, Feng Zhengming and his wife would appear with their child?

Feng Zhengming was wearing a simple-looking chef's uniform.

His wife and daughter, who were beside him, were dressed in their finest attire.

The group walked the red carpet and signed a huge poster for an awards ceremony prepared by the city of Shanghai.

Nine chefs who also won the annual Top Ten Restaurants award posed for a group photo with Feng Zhengming.

Before today, perhaps no one would have imagined that such a scene would appear.

Looking back on 2001, Beijing won the bid to host the Olympics, and the motherland successfully joined the WTO.

With the support of these two major events, Feng Zhengming's restaurant successfully won the title of one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

In the eyes of many, this signifies the resurgence of this ancient and powerful nation.

This ancient and powerful nation in the East has endured far too much suffering.

Now, thanks to the unremitting efforts of generations of its people, it has finally returned to the ranks of the world and become a major power that cannot be ignored in the world.

Feng Zhengming's restaurant won this award for one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

This also shows that in many aspects, the ancient great power has gained more recognition.

Many people in China are very excited and proud of the many miracles their motherland has created.

After taking a group photo in front of the door, Feng Zhengming and the others stepped into the venue together.

After handing his daughter to his wife, Feng Zhengming kissed her forehead.

"Okay, Daddy's going to take everyone backstage to get ready. Youyou, be a good girl and listen to Mommy."

Feng Nuanyou smiled and agreed, "Okay, Youyou will definitely be a good girl."

Then Feng Zhengming looked at his wife and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

Luo Qing: "It's not hard work, just focus on preparing your speech."

Feng Zhengming nodded and led his apprentices, students, and everyone from the restaurant's kitchen into the backstage area of ​​the venue.

Luo Qing carried her daughter into the venue from the other side, and was immediately surrounded by reporters from domestic television stations and newspapers.

"Hello Ms. Luo, what would you like to say about your husband's restaurant winning such an international award?"

Luo Qing smiled and said, "I am proud of my husband."

"So do you think your husband was able to win this award because of his own ability, or because of the strength of our motherland?"

Luo Qing: "Of course, it is because of the strength of our motherland that my husband has the opportunity to show his skills to the world. My husband and I are very grateful to our motherland for its support."

After a brief pause, before the reporter could ask any more questions, Luo Qing continued speaking in a very serious and earnest manner.

“My husband and I are just an ordinary restaurant chef and owner. We are just ordinary people. We feel it is our honor to be able to bring glory to our country in our own way.”

The reporter pressed further: "So, you think you're bringing glory to the country?"

Luo Qing: "What we are fighting for may only be a small, insignificant light, but as I just said, we consider ourselves just one of the ordinary people, but we believe that the efforts of millions of ordinary people like us across the country will make our motherland stronger and more prosperous."

Therefore, even if it's just a tiny glimmer of light, we are willing to burn ourselves to illuminate our motherland.

These words surprised the reporters present.

These words were also something that Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing had discussed together.

Some of these points were also mentioned in Feng Zhengming's acceptance speech.

Feng Zhengming was well aware that although the motherland had successfully bid for the Olympics and joined the WTO,

However, there are still many people in China who do not believe that their country is strong enough.

His award as one of the top ten restaurants in the country this year will surely be used by some people with ulterior motives to cause trouble.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming's attitude was very clear: he wanted to win glory for the country, not for himself.

After answering the reporters' questions, Luo Qing carried her daughter and left the group of reporters surrounding her.

It wasn't until Luo Qing left with her daughter that the reporters finally came to their senses.

Many reporters looked rather strange.

"Why does it feel like we haven't gotten anything out of them?"

"I never expected that Scholar Feng's wife would be such a staunch patriot!"

“Isn’t Feng Zhuangyuan himself very patriotic? His restaurant doesn’t have many Western dishes; it’s mostly Chinese food.”

"Yes, and almost all the ingredients used in his restaurant come from China."

"The most important thing is that Feng Zhuangyuan's prices are very reasonable."

"That's right. Whether it's his restaurant that won the World's Top Ten Award this time, or his other restaurants, the prices really can't be described as that expensive."

"In comparison, the prices of some Cantonese restaurants and other eateries in Shanghai are really expensive."

The reporters' private discussions also revealed their admiration for Feng Zhengming.

In most people's eyes, Feng Zhengming's restaurant deservedly won one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

Feng Zhengming led his team and the other nine head chefs into the backstage area.

There are already people from the Food Association and the stage crew from Shanghai waiting here.

There are also professional makeup artists to add touch-ups to Feng Zhengming and the others' makeup.

Feng Zhengming didn't care about any of this.

The nine chefs took the opportunity to chat with Feng Zhengming for a few minutes.

"Feng, after you receive this award, will you raise the prices at your restaurant?"

Feng Zhengming: "No, my restaurant's pricing should remain unchanged unless the cost of my raw materials increases."

"Feng, this isn't a good idea. If you take this opportunity to raise prices after winning the award, everyone will be able to accept it."

“That’s right, Feng, you should seize this opportunity, otherwise your restaurant’s pricing is actually too low.”

Feng Zhengming laughed: "My restaurant is in China, and considering the income of ordinary people in China, my restaurant's prices are actually quite high. I don't want ordinary people to be unable to afford it."

"Feng, your idea is really strange. Why would you want people who can't afford to eat at your restaurant?"

"Yes, you don't need to worry about those customers at all. You just need to ensure that the customers who can afford to spend money are satisfied."

Feng Zhengming: "No, that's not our country's philosophy. Our country's philosophy has always been to achieve common prosperity for all people, so my restaurant should also be affordable for more people."

“Feng is right, I support you. My restaurant will not be priced too high, and everyone will be able to afford it.”

"Feng, if I want to open a restaurant here, where do you think I should open it?" Feng Zhengming: "There are many cities you can open in. Shanghai might be your first choice, but our capital, Beijing, is also very good. The Olympics will be held in Beijing soon, and your restaurant will add luster to our Olympic Games."

Of course, there are also some cities in the south, such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, which I think are good choices.

My suggestion is that you should take some time to travel around and see the sights of our country.

After listening to Feng Zhengming's suggestion, all nine chefs immediately had their own ideas.

During their time in Shanghai, they have actually experienced many things that are different from what they had imagined.

In the past, they always felt that Feng Zhengming's motherland was relatively backward.

These days in Shanghai have made them feel that this country is not lagging behind at all.

Moreover, this country is still striving for development and construction.

This gave the nine chefs the idea of ​​opening a restaurant here.

After winning a place among the top ten restaurants of the year, they will be more confident in opening branches.

Especially opening a restaurant in this ancient country.

They believe that in a country that can produce such a talented chef as Feng Zhengming, some of their dishes can also be popular here.

Of course, there are still many things they need to consider before actually opening a store.

The first question is whether they themselves want to come.
After all, they are the head chefs; if they don't come, the restaurants that are nominally affiliated with the chefs will inevitably be of lower quality.

Secondly, once they arrive, how will they operate their restaurant? Will they continue with their overseas model, or will they adapt to the customs and habits of people in this ancient country?

Although they asked Feng Zhengming about pricing, pricing was never the focus for them.

These nine chefs do not believe that opening a restaurant in this country means they have to lower their prices to adapt to the country.

Unlike Feng Zhengming's calm response to being named one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year.

They place even greater importance on being named one of the top ten restaurants.

Furthermore, they believe that since they have won the title of one of the top ten restaurants of the year, they should be able to set their own prices.

After all, it's one of the world's top ten restaurants of the year, certified by the International Gastronomic Association.

Even if the price is high, would we still worry about not having customers?
At this moment, a restaurant chef from France asked Feng Zhengming a question.

"Feng, have you ever thought about opening your restaurant overseas?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "I haven't thought about that yet. Maybe in the future, when I have the opportunity, I will lead my team to open our restaurant overseas."

This topic also attracted the attention of the other nine chefs.

"With your skills, you should be able to attract customers all over the world if you open a restaurant there."

"Yes, we all think your cooking skills are really good."

"It only requires some adjustments to the flavor, and we also need to respect the local people's eating habits."

"The most important thing is to pay attention to the different dietary restrictions in each place."

"This is very important, and people in some places care about it a lot."

Feng Zhengming was surprised that these nine chefs, who were also among the top ten restaurant chefs of the year, not only did not object to his opening a restaurant overseas, but were actually very welcoming.

They even gave him a lot of advice and told Feng Zhengming what he should pay attention to.
Feng Zhengming: "Thank you everyone. If I were to open a restaurant overseas, I would definitely ask you all in advance to learn about local practices and try my best to make dishes that are suitable for the local environment."

These words prompted the other nine chefs to agree with a smile.

After some grooming, Feng Zhengming and the others all exuded a unique kind of handsomeness.

To be honest, among the chefs of the top ten restaurants, Feng Zhengming is indeed the youngest.

Among the other nine chefs, the youngest is about the same age as Feng Zhengming, the third senior chef.

After they arrived in Shanghai, Feng Zhengming took some time to exchange culinary skills with them.

The culinary skills displayed by these chefs at the time truly surprised Feng Zhengming.

Their culinary skills may not be as dazzling as those of domestic chefs.

The kitchen utensils they use are also different from those used by chefs in China.

But their skills are indeed very impressive.

Knife skills may seem to be overlooked by Western chefs, but these nine chefs are all excellent at it.

Another important point is their ingenious ideas about seasoning.

When it comes to delicious food, the most important thing is the seasoning.

If Feng Zhengming hadn't witnessed the skills of these nine chefs, he might have shared the same view as many people in China: that Western cuisine is lightly seasoned and relies mainly on high-quality ingredients to highlight the original flavor.

However, these nine chefs who were named among the top ten restaurant chefs of the year along with Feng Zhengming each have their own unique seasoning techniques.

Some dishes that don't seem to have a particularly outstanding flavor actually have their own unique touches within their mild taste.

They also have their own unique understanding of the use of spices.

Some of them even came carrying a backpack full of various spices.

The bag contained spices they brought from their own restaurant, some of which were unique to their local area.

Feng Zhengming also communicated with them and tasted the unique spices they brought.

Some unique flavors simply don't have suitable substitutes in the country.

Similarly, some spices produced in China have no suitable substitutes overseas.

Even the same things can taste vastly different.

After exchanging ideas with the nine head chefs, Feng Zhengming gained many new insights into food.

He believes that the nine overseas chefs have also gained their own new insights.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming is now looking forward to them opening a store in Shanghai.

This way, everyone can communicate more with each other and also compete with each other.

Having competitors can also help you improve yourself.

As for Feng Zhengming opening stores overseas?

He doesn't have that idea for the time being, not because he's worried he can't make food that foreigners like, but because he has a family in China, with a wife and children.

He didn't want to take his wife and children to live abroad, nor did he want to be separated from them for too long.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming should remain in the country for the time being.

The person in charge of the awards ceremony came to inform Feng Zhengming and the other ten people to prepare to go on stage.

Feng Zhengming and the other ten head chefs straightened their chef uniforms and then walked together to the stage.

The teams that accompanied them were also following further back.

The atmosphere was already lively, and the host finally invited the ten chefs to come up on stage.

"Alright, let's welcome the ten chefs of this year's top ten restaurants to the stage."

Amidst thunderous applause, Feng Zhengming and his group walked onto the enormous stage.

(End of this chapter)