From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After listening to her nephew's description and analysis at home, Feng Suying pondered for a moment.

“Zhengming, your idea is excellent. To open a more distinctive restaurant in a food street planned in Shanghai requires more planning. Your idea of ​​buying the store directly is correct.”

Luo Qing then asked, "Will the city agree to let you buy the shop? Didn't they say that the city only rents out those shops, not sells them?"

Feng Zhengming: "That area was built with investment from the city, so it's right to only rent and not sell it. That way, the city can control it more easily."

Feng Suying: "So, does this mean that Jinan will have similar plans in the future?"

Feng Zhengming: "Auntie, have you forgotten a few old streets? Jinan has always had similar plans."

Second Aunt: "That's right. Jinan has always had that kind of planning. I remember your third senior brother's shop on Furong Street was rented, wasn't it?"

Feng Zhengming: "That's right, most of the shops there are rented, and no one is selling them."

Luo Qing: "In that case, it will probably be very difficult for you to buy a shop in that newly planned block in Shanghai, right?"

Feng Zhengming: "I know it's difficult, so I asked my uncle to ask around. If we can't buy it, then we'll rent it."

Luo Qing: "Are you really going to open a shop there? That area is being developed into an international food district, and they probably want to attract a lot of overseas restaurants to set up shop there. The rent probably won't be low."

Feng Zhengming: "The rent will definitely not be low, and the location there is also very good."

After a slight pause, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Whether we buy it or rent it, we can create a more unique restaurant over there."

"An even more unique restaurant?" This surprised both Auntie and Luo Qing.

In their eyes, Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant has been unique enough over the years.

They were genuinely curious; how else could it be unique?

Feng Zhengming noticed that his second aunt and wife both looked surprised.

He smiled and explained, "The unique restaurant I'm referring to is one that's different from all my other restaurants."

This statement is as good as saying nothing at all.

Luo Qing: "How do you want it to be different?"

Feng Zhengming: "Now, our restaurants, including my old-style house restaurant, mainly serve Shandong cuisine. Although many of the dishes are my innovations, the basic style is still Shandong cuisine."

Second Aunt: "So you're not planning to serve Shandong cuisine at this new restaurant?"

Feng Zhengming: "It's not that we've stopped making Shandong cuisine, it's that we're no longer making Shandong cuisine as our main focus."

"Not focusing on Shandong cuisine?" This suggestion struck both my aunt and my wife as odd.

His wife asked, "But you've always focused on Shandong cuisine, and everyone seems to be used to your restaurant serving innovative dishes based on Shandong cuisine. If you're not going to focus on Shandong cuisine this time, what kind of dishes are you planning to make?"

Feng Zhengming replied, "We will no longer simply focus on one type of cuisine. This time, we will integrate cuisines from all over the country. We will be bolder in our ingredient selection for the new restaurant. Instead of differentiating by cuisine, we will combine and match different cuisines on the menu."

Upon hearing this, the wife and her second aunt exchanged bewildered glances once again.

They were still somewhat surprised.

Unexpectedly, Feng Zhengming has given up on cuisine this time.

In the eyes of his second aunt and wife, it would definitely be more beneficial for Feng Zhengming to continue promoting Shandong cuisine.

Just like all the restaurants he has opened over the years, they are recognized by many people in various places as serving Shandong cuisine.

But this time, Feng Zhengming actually abandoned the banner of Shandong cuisine.

He wants to remove the limitations of different cuisines and directly integrate various different cuisines.

However, upon closer reflection, the second aunt and his wife felt that Feng Zhengming's actions were quite right.

Since the main purpose of the newly planned food street is to attract more overseas restaurants and transform it into an international food street.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming's integration of cuisines from all over the country to create a more representative menu might indeed be more in line with a global target audience.

Thinking of this, Luo Qing asked her husband, "So you're planning to introduce specialty dishes from different regional cuisines in the restaurant?"

Feng Zhengming: "First of all, we need to make it sophisticated enough, and we must reflect that sense of sophistication."

Think about it, hasn't Shanghai's economy been developing better and better in recent years? Attracting a lot of foreign investment, it has also driven the rapid development of the domestic economy.
In the past, many people in Shanghai might have been deterred by overly high-end stores.

But now? Are more and more people choosing to go to my old-style house restaurant?
Even many of Shanghai's most discerning gourmets will actively seek out upscale restaurants.

Hearing what Feng Zhengming said, his wife and second aunt both nodded in agreement.

Luo Qing has a deeper understanding of this.

When she and her husband first came to Shanghai, the most successful businesses were several branches of dry rice shops.

Back then, even the restaurant on the Western restaurant street sold mostly fast-food style dishes.

However, as time went by, the most profitable store is now actually Feng Zhengming's old villa restaurant.

This is partly because the dishes at the old-style house restaurant are priced higher, with a greater premium involved.

On the other hand, it also shows that more people are willing to spend more money on food.

This is indeed as Feng Zhengming said: the domestic economy is developing better and better, making many people richer and more willing to spend more money on food.

The reason why Shanghai plans such international food streets is because it has seen this point.

Feng Zhengming is going to open a store there, and he intends to target the high-end market.

We need to sell many Chinese dishes at a higher premium.

Feng Zhengming said with a serious expression: "This is an affirmation of every chef who has worked hard. I am a chef myself, and I don't want chefs to work hard but not receive the rewards they deserve."

Seeing Feng Zhengming's serious expression, the second aunt and his wife exchanged a smile.

They still clearly understood what Feng Zhengming had wanted to achieve most over the years.
It's about the social status of chefs and the respect that should be given to their skills.

This is not just because he himself is a chef.

More importantly, he has seen too many bosses who disregard the chef's skills.

I've also seen far too many customers who don't respect the chef's skills.

One of the biggest problems with Chinese cuisine is that it never respects chefs. The pricing of dishes in many restaurants and eateries is determined by the value of the ingredients.

This has resulted in many dishes that require a high level of culinary skill being unable to fetch the corresponding prices.

Those dishes that require absolutely no cooking skills can sell for a premium many times over the cost of the ingredients, simply because the ingredients look expensive.

This pricing strategy leads to a situation where chefs are increasingly reluctant to prepare time-consuming and labor-intensive dishes.

They prefer to make more dishes that require only simple cooking and rely solely on the high premium of the ingredients to earn more money.

Feng Zhengming was well aware of the consequences of continuing to develop in the future.

This could lead to a surge in so-called high-end restaurants in China that actually don't even have a kitchen and don't even have a proper chef.

This reflects the choice made by many business owners to save costs.

The reason why many people are unwilling to learn to cook or become chefs is actually due to the social status of chefs and the fact that their hard work is not rewarded.

Now that Feng Zhengming has returned to the time before the chaos occurred, he is determined to change everything.

Besides, he certainly has the ability to prevent that from happening. He has already begun to lead the reform and trend in the catering industry.

Feng Zhengming felt that he should set standards for everyone in his own way and with his own store.

We need to create an environment where those "selling dog meat under the guise of mutton" shops cannot exist.

In fact, that type of store has started to emerge in recent years.

A large number of Chinese pastries were made into frozen foods and began to appear on the market.

At the same time, many restaurants have also sensed a business opportunity.

They would buy frozen pastries in bulk and then heat them up in their shops.

This saved them on labor costs at their restaurant.

They invested a large portion of their funds in decorating the storefront.

Many shops are decorated quite beautifully, but they sell all kinds of frozen meals.

Even in the kitchens of these shops, there isn't a proper stove; they just use some heating tools to run the business.

Feng Zhengming himself does not oppose the emergence of frozen foods.

After all, many of the items in his shop are prepared in advance and then frozen in the refrigerator for preservation.

What made him uncomfortable was the expiration date of those things.

Under normal circumstances, the food prepared in the kitchens of Feng Zhengming's various stores is meant to be sold on the same day, and it is rare for it to be left in the store's refrigerator overnight.

However, many of those frozen foods are used by stores for several days.

Then those shops will use some exquisite plating to package it and sell it to customers at a relatively high price.

Feng Zhengming found such behavior even more despicable.

That's why he's opened so many branches over the years—to use his real culinary skills to suppress all the messy, unscrupulous people.

We cannot allow them to become the mainstream of the domestic catering industry in the future.

We cannot allow chefs to become increasingly dispensable.

Furthermore, we must not allow truly skilled chefs to fail to receive the respect they deserve.

Feng Zhengming shared some of his thoughts with his wife and second aunt.

His aunt and wife were very supportive of his desire to change the social status of chefs and to give truly skilled chefs enough respect.

"That's how it should be. People who put in hard work deserve enough respect."

“If all shops thought like you, Zhengming, more people would be willing to learn to cook properly.”

Feng Zhengming: "Learning to cook is very hard. Every great chef has gone through many years of hard work and diligence to acquire such excellent skills."

If the chefs' honed skills are overshadowed by those messy and frivolous things.

This will definitely dampen the enthusiasm of chefs and will likely discourage young people from learning to cook.

Luo Qing: "Aren't there many young people nowadays who would rather go and learn Western cuisine? They think that Chinese cuisine is too hard and doesn't make money."

Feng Zhengming: "That's why I'm going to change all of this."

Second Aunt: "Okay, Zhengming, go ahead and do it. Our whole family will support you."

Before Feng Zhengming could speak, Feng Suying said directly, "We've received a lot of money from you over the years. If you need anything this time, just ask, and I'll give it all to support you."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you for your support, Aunt. I don't really need the funds right now."

The second aunt was a little unhappy: "What? You think I can't afford to give you enough money?"

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing responded almost in unison.

"how can that be possible?"

"Aunt, please don't misunderstand him."

Luo Qing sat down next to her second aunt: "Aunt, how could we possibly look down on you? You've helped us take care of several children over the years, and we are very grateful to you."

However, Zhengming doesn't lack the money to open a new store; what he really lacks is manpower.

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, what we need most right now is manpower."

The second aunt sighed helplessly after hearing this.

"I really can't help with this. You clearly have very high requirements for personnel, and I don't know where to find suitable people for you."

Feng Zhengming: "It's very difficult to find staff for my shop from outside; I can only train them myself."

Second Aunt: "Are you planning to draw staff from other stores for your new shop as well?"

Feng Zhengming: "I will go there to oversee the new store for a while first, and then I may transfer Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei there to be in charge of the new store."

This surprised Feng Suying: "Let Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei be in charge of the new store?"

Luo Qing was also a little puzzled: "Can Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei handle this? Aren't you going to be making some new things at the new store?"

Feng Zhengming: "They are both capable. They have made rapid progress in recent years, and the branches they are now in charge of already have chefs they trained who can take over."

Before his second aunt and wife could speak again, Feng Zhengming continued.

"As for some new items in the shop, I will give them a menu and let them make them according to my menu. I trust their skills."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, his second aunt and Luo Qing believed that he had his own plans.

Therefore, Second Aunt and Luo Qing did not interfere too much.

Luo Qing thought for a moment and asked, "What about Yanxi Tower, which reopened in the capital after that?"

Feng Zhengming: "The reopened Yanxilou in Beijing will definitely be managed by my senior brothers. Yanxilou and the new store in Shanghai are two different stores."

The reopened Yanxi Restaurant in Beijing will definitely still focus on traditional Shandong cuisine, so it's more suitable for my senior brothers to go there.

Luo Qing: "If you open two new stores at the same time, won't you be too busy? And are you a little short on funds?"

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, if I'm really nervous, don't my aunt and the others help me?"

Upon hearing this, the second aunt immediately agreed: "Sure, just let me know if you need any funds, and I'll definitely help you."

Feng Zhengming and his wife exchanged a smile.

The second aunt saw it and immediately understood.

"Oh, so you two are teaming up to flatter your aunt, aren't you?"

How could Feng Suying not see that since Feng Zhengming dared to open two new stores at the same time, it meant that he didn't have any financial problems at all.

But Luo Qing deliberately asked the question afterward.

Feng Zhengming then casually mentioned asking his second aunt for help.

This was meant to reassure Auntie that she had a chance to help Feng Zhengming, and to prevent Auntie from feeling that they were intentionally excluding her from providing assistance. (End of Chapter)