From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

That evening, Feng Zhengming brought his wife, eldest daughter, mother-in-law, second aunt, and two children to Jiang Chengzhe's restaurant.

Originally, my mother-in-law and second aunt thought the child was still too young and suggested that they stay at home to take care of him.

But Feng Zhengming felt that his mother-in-law and second aunt had been helping to take care of the children ever since they were born.

Tonight, I should also let my mother-in-law and second aunt go out for a good walk and see the sights.

And afterwards, they will return to Jinan together to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

So, at Feng Zhengming's insistence, his mother-in-law and second aunt finally gave in and came along.

When they arrived downstairs at Jiang Chengzhe's restaurant, the mother-in-law and second aunt also saw some people from Feng Zhengming's several shops.

Even my aunt and uncle's wife came over.

Auntie was a little surprised: "Zhengming, are you booking the whole place tonight?"

Feng Zhengming looked at everyone and said, "That's right. Tonight, before we go back for the New Year, let's book a whole venue and try Chef Jiang Chengzhe's cooking."

Everyone looked at each other in surprise, and then they realized that there were a lot of people here tonight.

Mainly, staff from Feng Zhengming's several branches in Shanghai all came.

And it wasn't just the kitchen staff; some of the restaurant's servers came along too.

This is something that other restaurants and eateries are unlikely to experience.

Feng Zhengming noticed that everyone seemed a bit stunned.

He smiled and spoke to everyone downstairs.

"Because of the Lunar New Year holiday this month, we can't hold the team building event we promised everyone every month. So tonight, we'd like to invite everyone over for a meal together so we can celebrate the New Year together in advance."

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this, everyone smiled.

I think this arrangement is very good.

Jiang Chengzhe's restaurant, in particular, can be considered a high-end restaurant.

Although almost all the people at these Feng Zhengming branches had eaten at Feng Zhengming's old villa restaurant.

But they also wanted to see what other upscale restaurants were like.
Feng Zhengming led everyone to take the elevator upstairs.

Stepping into Jiang Chengzhe's restaurant upstairs, the staff were already waiting.

"welcome."

The staff were quite surprised to see Feng Zhengming leading so many people in.

Fortunately, the supervisor in charge of reception on Jiang Chengzhe's side immediately came to greet them.

"Hello, Scholar Feng, we've been waiting for you. Our head chef has prepared a lot of dishes especially for you tonight, so please don't be shy."

Feng Zhengming: "Please tell your head chef for me that you've worked hard tonight."

Then Feng Zhengming told everyone to find a seat and sit down.

Because there were many of them, Feng Zhengming didn't ask for a private room tonight; instead, everyone sat together in the lobby.

However, the tables in the hall were a bit small, so everyone pushed each other together to sit.

Feng Nuanyou took the hands of her uncle and aunt and went to the bedside to look at the scenery.

"Hehehe, look! You can see down here!"

Both the younger uncle and younger brother said they had already been there once and had seen everything.

Feng Nuanyou: "You can take a look even if you've already seen it."

The two boys could only stay next to the little girl.

Soon, the staff at Feng Zhengming's branch were also drawn to the view outside the window.

They all went to the window and looked down at the scenery.

"Wow, you can see the Bund and the river from here, and you can also see the opposite side of the river."

"The view from this restaurant is really nice."

"Eating at a restaurant like this is worth it just for the view."

"Yes, it's really romantic to enjoy the scenery and food in a place like this."

"Compared to our chef's restaurant, it's a different style."

"The chef's restaurant is also beautiful, but the overall scenery is definitely not as good as this place."

"You can't say that, can you? I think the chef's restaurant is also great."

"Haha, of course the head chef's skills are better."

Jiang Chengzhe soon came out of the kitchen as well.

"Welcome, welcome to our top scholar Feng's restaurant."

Feng Zhengming looked at Jiang Chengzhe and said, "Don't be so polite. We're here to support you tonight. Is it alright if we just put the table together ourselves?"

Jiang Chengzhe smiled: "It's okay, this kind of splicing is fine too."

Feng Zhengming asked, "What are our main course options for tonight?"

Jiang Chengzhe: "Tonight's main dishes are lobster, king crab, as well as beef, lamb, and seafood. You can choose whatever you like."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "It's very lavish and also very high-class. No wonder it's the most famous high-end restaurant in Shanghai right now."

Jiang Chengzhe chuckled: "These were specially prepared to receive Scholar Feng."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, alright, alright, we don't need to talk like that, it's a bit tiring."

Luo Qing: "That's right, I'm tired of listening to you guys talk."

As soon as Luo Qing finished speaking, everyone present couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The atmosphere suddenly became cheerful.

Next, Jiang Chengzhe let Feng Zhengming and the others order food.

The way Jiang Chengzhe serves his dishes is different from the way Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant serves them.

He used a serving style that was more similar to Western cuisine.

So everyone orders their own portion, and the dishes are served one portion per person.

Unlike Feng Zhengming's place, where a whole plate is served and then the staff distributes it to the guests.

Neither approach can be said to be better or worse.

All I can say is that they each have their own unique characteristics in cooking.

Feng Zhengming's approach is to preserve the traditional Chinese dining style. The reason for having the staff divide the food is to make it easier for guests to eat, and he does not want their dining habits to affect their enjoyment of the food.

Jiang Chengzhe's approach can be described as the one he is more accustomed to.

After all, he used to run a restaurant in Hong Kong, and he always served dishes in this way.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming and his group needed to order food individually, one by one.

Feng Zhengming directly gave hints to those who didn't know what to do.

"If you don't know what to order, just order one of their set meals. You should trust Chef Jiang's skills, so you don't need to think about what to order in detail."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chengzhe immediately lost his composure: "No, if you put it that way, what if I don't do well? Wouldn't that ruin my image in everyone's eyes?"

Xia Hui spoke up at this moment: "I've always thought that you are the second best chef after my master."

After Xia Hui said that, all the other head chefs in the kitchen agreed.

Jiang Chengzhe was both amused and exasperated: "Are you deliberately trying to flatter me to death?"

Feng Zhengming laughed: "How could that be? This is an affirmation and trust in your cooking skills."

Xia Hui chimed in, "Yes, yes, we all believe you." Hou Dong, Gao Yongfu, and Lu Haisheng also joined in the teasing.

"Chef Jiang, you're our sous chef, you must be really good."

“That’s right. When Master went out, it was Chef Jiang who led us in cooking. We trust you.”

"Chef Jiang, in the culinary world, you're only inferior to our master; no other chef can match you."

Jiang Chengzhe listened to everyone's compliments for a while, and then suddenly realized what they meant.

"Isn't that a bit odd? What you're saying sounds like you're praising me, but why are you saying I'm a little worse than your master? Are you deliberately praising your master?"

This made everyone burst into laughter.

Even Feng Zhengming's family members were amused.

Aunt: "Zhengming, your disciples are still your disciples after all. They always think about speaking up for their master."

Second Aunt: "Actually, they weren't wrong. Zhengming is indeed a bit more capable than Jiang Chengzhe."

Aunt: "Yes, otherwise how could Zhengming have been the top scholar?"

Jiang Chengzhe looked helpless and could only wait for everyone to order before quickly returning to the kitchen to prepare the food.

Seeing Jiang Chengzhe go to the kitchen, Xia Hui couldn't help but ask, "Master, aren't you going in to take a look?"

Feng Zhengming: "This is someone else's restaurant. We shouldn't just go in and look into their kitchen, as it might involve some of their culinary secrets."

Luo Qing laughed: "What secret skills could there possibly be in front of a top scholar like you?"

Feng Zhengming: "You can't say that. Everyone has different cuisines, so there are bound to be different cooking techniques. Therefore, we can't just go into someone else's kitchen, especially since they are the head chef. We can't just go in and point fingers."

Feng Zhengming was actually educating his apprentices, students, and everyone in the kitchen with these words.

Feng Zhengming did not want them to be arrogant and complacent, and to casually criticize other people's craftsmanship.

"You can critique other people's dishes, but you shouldn't enter someone's kitchen without an invitation, and you shouldn't comment on techniques of dishes you're not familiar with."

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words, everyone nodded in agreement.

At this moment, the children returned, and Feng Nuanyou huddled up to her father.

"Dad, was Uncle Jiang's cooking good today?"

Feng Zhengming: "Dad doesn't know either. Aren't we waiting? Waiting for Uncle Jiang to bring out the good dishes."

Feng Yucheng chimed in from the side, "Brother, I don't think it tastes as good as what you make."

Feng Zhengming: "Thank you for my brother's support, but this is someone else's restaurant, and their food has its own unique characteristics. We should respect their skills."

The eldest aunt also joined in educating her son: "Your older brother is right. We can't just assume that others are not good enough. We should respect their skills."

Hearing this, Feng Yucheng nodded and said, "I understand."

The three children also sat down.

Before long, the appetizers began to be served.

Jiang Chengzhe served everyone an appetizer, one per person, in the style of Western dining.

Some of them are Western-style salads, while others are unique Cantonese cold dishes.

It can be considered a combination of Chinese and Western serving methods.

Feng Zhengming and the others remained silent, each enjoying their dishes for the evening.

Jiang Chengzhe didn't put too much effort into plating the dishes.

The appetizers were also quite interestingly paired, and overall, the appetizers showcased Jiang Chengzhe's culinary skills.

It also allowed Xia Hui and the other chefs from other restaurants to learn something from Jiang Chengzhe's appetizers.

For example, Jiang Chengzhe used some foreign ingredients in his appetizers.

It used ingredients like caviar and imported ham slices.

It enhanced the overall flavor of the dish.

This adds some unique and memorable elements to each dish.

Feng Zhengming also felt that Jiang Chengzhe's use of materials had indeed become more diverse after he left.

In Feng Zhengming's shop, he usually doesn't use expensive imported ingredients.

These things might only appear in old-style restaurant buildings.

While eating, Feng Zhengming whispered a few words to his wife beside him.

“It seems that my shop is a bit of a constraint for A-Zhe.”

Luo Qing couldn't help but laugh: "Why do I feel that his dishes are made a bit too Western? And they all seem to be such small bites, it's not enough to fill you up."

Feng Zhengming: "He serves the dishes to each person individually, and each person actually has quite a few dishes, so each dish seems to be relatively small."

Sure enough, as they ate more, Luo Qing discovered that there were indeed many more dishes to come.

Jiang Chengzhe did indeed demonstrate his basic skills as a Cantonese chef, incorporating what he had learned in Western cuisine overseas.

As for what Jiang Chengzhe learned from Feng Zhengming, he mainly focused on seasoning.

So people might not be able to tell, but Feng Zhengming and the chefs in the kitchens of several stores can still taste the familiar flavor.

Jiang Chengzhe still used the traditional Cantonese stir-fry method for the lobster.

Let everyone taste the unique freshness of lobster.

Jiang Chengzhe used the king crab to make a large serving of crab roe pasta, allowing everyone to savor its delicious flavor before the main course.

When it came to the main courses, Jiang Chengzhe mainly prepared beef, mutton, and fish.

The three different types of meat also have distinct differences in their cooking methods.

Jiang Chengzhe served Hong Kong-style steak.

Jiang Chengzhe was very bold in serving the mutton, using the scallion-fried mutton recipe he learned from Feng Zhengming.

However, Jiang Chengzhe's lamb chop was a whole lamb chop, roasted with scallion oil.

Then, I learned from Feng Zhengming how to fry scallions into crispy fried scallion crisps, which are then placed on top of the lamb chops and served with a unique scallion sauce.

It tastes like stir-fried lamb with scallions, and also has the flavor of roasted lamb chops.

While eating, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but exclaim, "This dish is a fantastic innovation; it can be said to suit the tastes of most people, both domestically and internationally."

For the fish, Jiang Chengzhe chose cod, which was also grilled over charcoal.

It's served with a Cantonese-style sauce, giving it a rather unique flavor.

When Feng Zhengming finished his meal, he looked at Xia Hui and the others.

"So, what did you guys think of the meal?"

The group looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Xia Hui directly expressed her feelings.

"I may have had some prejudice against Chef Jiang before I came, but after eating here, I realize that Chef Jiang is indeed very skilled and I still have a lot to learn from him."

After Xia Hui said that, everyone else also expressed their feelings.

Everyone felt that they had underestimated Jiang Chengzhe's skills before coming.

His dishes may appear to be served in a more Western style, but he has actually preserved the characteristics of Chinese cuisine.

First of all, there are no overly artistic or pretentious plating arrangements.

Secondly, in terms of seasoning, it retains many of the flavors of Chinese cuisine.

In these aspects, Jiang Chengzhe did a better job, which also reflects his similar philosophy to Feng Zhengming.

Regardless of the region of origin, if a cuisine has its merits, it should be learned from. (End of Chapter)