From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

In mid-July, Feng Zhengming received a call from Wang Hanwen.

After more than a year of preparation, Wang Hanwen is finally going to open his business in Chengdu.

Wang Hanwen sounded quite excited on the phone.

"Hey chef, I'm finally all ready. I was wondering if you have time to come over? I asked my mentor for help, and we've made a lot of improvements to your recipes and menus."

The flavors might be more inclined towards Sichuan cuisine. My master also makes Sichuan-style dishes, and he greatly admires you.

Therefore, my mentor and I both hope that you, Chef, can come and attend the opening ceremony.

Feng Zhengming could hear Wang Hanwen's excitement just listening to the phone call.

It was also clear that Wang Hanwen really wanted him to go to Chengdu.

What is the specific date your store will open?

Wang Hanwen: "It's at the end of the month; we've set the opening date for July 28th."

Feng Zhengming: Okay, I'll make arrangements and try my best to get there. I'll call you before I get there.

Wang Hanwen became even more excited: "Okay, okay, head chef, I, I'm waiting for you to come over."

Even after hanging up the phone, Wang Hanwen was still extremely excited.

He first told his girlfriend, whom he had started dating after returning home, about the situation.

"Juanzi, Juanzi, the head chef has agreed! He has agreed to come to the opening ceremony!"

Wang Hanwen's girlfriend's name is Chu Huijuan.

Hearing him tell her so excitedly, she was equally happy.

"Wouldn't that be great? With that top scholar coming to support you, your shop will definitely have a lot of business. Even if your fellow apprentices are jealous of you, they won't dare to do anything."

Wang Hanwen appeared quite simple and honest in front of his girlfriend.

"Hehe, Juanzi, actually they are not bad people either."

Upon hearing Wang Hanwen's words and seeing his simple, honest smile, Chu Huijuan couldn't help but complain.

"Do you see bad people? This time you came back to open a shop, did any of your fellow disciples step forward to help you? If it weren't for Master's intervention, do you think you could have rented the shop and opened it so smoothly?"

"Hmph, you treat them like fellow disciples, but they might not consider you one of their own. They're probably just waiting to see you make a fool of yourself."

Faced with Chu Huijuan's words, Wang Hanwen felt a little helpless.

In fact, Wang Hanwen and Huang Yunliang encountered similar situations when they returned to their hometowns to open shops.

To put it bluntly, the local cuisines are somewhat resistant to them.

This is not because there is any prejudice between different cuisines in different regions.

The problem actually lies in the fact that the younger generation of chefs are somewhat dissatisfied with Feng Zhengming, the champion.

Moreover, Wang Hanwen and his group were planning to open a branch of Feng Zhengming's Feng Family Rice Shop in their hometown.

This made the local young and middle-aged chefs even more resentful.

Especially in the Sichuan and Chongqing region, Sichuan cuisine has been spreading all over the country in recent years, gradually penetrating into many cities.

In the eyes of many Sichuan cuisine chefs, they are the cuisine that is currently leading the trend in the catering industry.

When will it be the turn of Shandong cuisine to be exported back to Sichuan cuisine?

Therefore, Wang Hanwen's fellow apprentices almost all openly or secretly resisted his decision to return and open a shop.

The overt tactic was for them to jointly suggest to the veteran Sichuan chefs and issue warnings to the chefs' association, arguing that Wang Hanwen was betraying Sichuan cuisine and should not be allowed to open the restaurant.

Allowing him to open a shop in Chengdu would be tantamount to surrendering to Feng Zhengming.

This method did not achieve very good results.

So behind the scenes, they colluded with some young and middle-aged Sichuan chefs to prevent Wang Hanwen from renting a suitable shop to open his business.

Fortunately, Wang Hanwen has a girlfriend with a fiery temper who dares to be at the forefront.

Chu Huijuan insisted on dragging Wang Hanwen to find his master.

At his master's house, Wang Hanwen was unwilling to talk, so Chu Huijuan helped him explain the matter to his master.

In the end, his master stepped in and coordinated with Wang Hanwen, allowing him to rent a suitable shop and open a store.

Wang Hanwen looked at Chu Huijuan, who was grinning foolishly.

"It's all thanks to you. I think you're really a lot like the chef's wife, Sister Qing. Sister Qing is very capable. You've seen the news, haven't you seen the children's lunch kitchen that Sister Qing runs in Shanghai? Isn't it excellent?"

Chu Huijuan: "How can I compare to Sister Qing? Look at her in the news interviews, she has such a great presence. She can also speak foreign languages ​​and communicates so well with foreigners."

Wang Hanwen: "I think you and Sister Qing are equally good. You are also very capable. Without you, my store could not have opened so smoothly."

Chu Huijuan chuckled, "Oh, I didn't realize you'd become so sweet-talking."

Wang Hanwen: "When the head chef comes this time, he will definitely bring his children with Sister Qing. You should take good care of them and get to know Sister Qing better."

Chu Huijuan: "I know, you don't need to tell me."

After receiving Wang Hanwen's call, Feng Zhengming went home that evening and told his wife and family about the news.

Luo Qing: "We're going to Chengdu? Let's go together this time. Neither Mom nor Aunt has ever been to Chengdu. Let's all go together and bring the two little ones along."

Feng Zhengming: Sure, I've heard that Chengdu has been developing quite well in recent years. Let's go there and have some fun.

Feng Nuanyou immediately shouted excitedly, "Great! We can go out and play now!"

The mother-in-law and the second aunt exchanged a glance.

The second aunt spoke first, asking, "We're all going to Chengdu, which is so far away. What about your business in Shanghai?"

Feng Zhengming: "Don't worry, Auntie. I'll take care of the business here. With Xia Hui, Zhu Xu, Zhang Lei, Fu Jun, Cai Tao, and my five apprentices, there definitely won't be any problems."

Luo Qing: "Yes, I'll leave the children's kitchen and dining area to my assistant, Fang You, to keep an eye on things. No problem."

Mother-in-law: "Why do I feel uneasy? They all have their own things to do."

Feng Zhengming: "Mom, they all have their own things to do. I will arrange the division of labor for them. This is not the first time I have gone out like this. Before, I would be away from Shanghai for more than half a year at a time."

Luo Qing also comforted her mother: "Mom, don't worry, Zhengming will arrange everything."

The mother-in-law wasn't really worried, but she was mainly concerned that her son-in-law would be too tired from all this traveling.

However, since Feng Zhengming had agreed to support Wang Hanwen, he naturally had to make some arrangements.

This time, Feng Zhengming assigned Fu Jun and Cai Tao to be in charge of the old-style restaurant.

Tang Yong and Sun Decai, who had returned from the capital, were also in charge of assisting.

Feng Zhengming specifically arranged for Hou Dong, Gao Yongfu, and Lu Haisheng to go to the kitchen and dining area with his wife and children.

The three of them are basically stationed there permanently, while the head chefs of the other restaurants still work in shifts.

As for the remaining stores, Feng Zhengming gave Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei a special explanation regarding the new Jiawei store.

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei have also felt some pressure at the Jiawei Restaurant recently.

The two of them previously thought that running a restaurant that mainly serves home-style dishes would be a piece of cake for them.

During this period, Jiawei Restaurant's reputation grew.

After that, it began to attract more customers who came specifically to taste it.

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei quickly realized some of their shortcomings. Home-style cooking is about making everyday dishes.

The seemingly simple, home-style flavors are actually quite difficult to control precisely.

Therefore, home-style restaurants often receive criticism from some customers.

I felt that the home-style dishes they made didn't taste authentic.

It was also with some guidance from Feng Zhengming, and through mutual research between the two of them, that they were able to analyze customer feedback after tasting the product.

The two of them quickly realized the crux of the problem.

The key issue is that they were a bit too conservative with their seasoning.

Since it's home-style cooking, everyone hopes to taste that familiar, home-style flavor. So what's the key to the flavor of home-style cooking?
It's good with rice.

When Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei first started cooking, they would cook according to restaurant standards, and their seasoning would be relatively conservative and mild.

However, this resulted in the home-cooked dishes tasting significantly worse.

People wanted to eat vegetables with rice, but after eating them, they found that the vegetables didn't go well with the rice at all.

Feng Zhengming gave the two some pointers.

"For light dishes, you must pay attention to seasoning before cooking. This step is absolutely not to be omitted, otherwise the flavor of your dishes will only remain on the surface."

After being enlightened by Feng Zhengming, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei realized that they had overlooked this key point.

Since taking over the Jiawei Restaurant, the two of them have believed that home-style flavors definitely do not require seasoning before cooking.

They simply refine the dishes, and their skills make it easy for them to prepare everyday meals well.

They only realized how difficult it was to cook home-style dishes after actually doing it.

Therefore, before going to Chengdu, Feng Zhengming gave the two of them special instructions.

"Remember, you need to put even more effort into making home-style dishes. In my eyes, you are all top chefs. I don't want anyone to tell me that you can't even make a home-style dish well."

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei were a little embarrassed at first, but then they immediately nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, Uncle-Master, we will definitely cook the dishes well."

"Yes, we already have experience, and we will strictly follow your teachings, Uncle-Master."

After giving the two instructions, Feng Zhengming still praised them.

"Believe in yourselves. You are definitely top chefs in the country. Don't worry about your skills. As long as you pay attention to the seasoning and communicate more with customers, you can do it."

Upon hearing Feng Zhengming's praise, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei exchanged a glance and finally revealed confident smiles.

After settling things at all the stores in Shanghai, Feng Zhengming and his family booked plane tickets.

Before heading to Chengdu, they first passed through Hongcheng in Jiangxi Province.

Feng Zhengming wanted to go there to see Yu Fuxiang.

Yu Fuxiang is in charge of this store, which is the first store outside of Shandong and Shanghai.

It had been two years since Feng Zhengming had last visited.

Yu Fuxiang kept calling, hoping he would come over.

Yu Fuxiang felt a little guilty because Feng Zhengming didn't come again.

She always felt that she had taken advantage of Feng Zhengming.

Yu Fuxiang also took the business of the store even more seriously.

He also recalled some of his former apprentices to his side and led them in running the shop diligently.

Yu Fuxiang's apprentices worked very hard, following their master closely to learn the craft.

However, Yu Fuxiang was always worried that his apprentices might have problems with their skills, so he usually took charge of cooking in the kitchen himself.

Feng Zhengming knew this, so he decided to pass through Hongcheng first on this trip.

He wanted to test Yu Fuxiang's apprentices.

If Yu Fuxiang's apprentice is already capable of cooking, Feng Zhengming will let Yu Fuxiang let his apprentice work in the kitchen while he stands by and directs, so he won't have to work so hard every day.

After all, Yu Fuxiang is already of retirement age, and it is indeed too hard for him to continue working in the kitchen.

Luo Qing returned to Hongcheng, feeling quite emotional.

She came alone at the time, wanting to expand the market for her husband's branch.

Unexpectedly, I almost encountered danger.

If it weren't for Hou Dong and Gao Yongfu secretly protecting them...

Her husband arrived just in time, otherwise she might have actually been harmed by some local people.

Returning to Hongcheng, I found that many things had changed considerably.

Although the city didn't have those revolutionary telephones, the number of shops on the streets increased, and the city became more prosperous.

Feng Zhengming and his group are now staying at the hotel.

After putting down their luggage, Feng Zhengming led everyone directly to the Hongcheng branch, which was managed by Yu Fuxiang.

Upon arriving at the store, one can see from afar that the store is bustling with activity.

It's clear that the branch store managed by Yu Fuxiang is quite popular.

When Feng Zhengming and his group arrived at the restaurant, they did not disturb Yu Fuxiang. They lined up and ordered several dishes that were very characteristic of the local cuisine.

The mother-in-law glanced at the table next to her and saw that each dish contained a lot of chili peppers, which made her feel somewhat apprehensive.

Luo Qing comforted her mother, "Mom, don't worry, we've already told them to put less chili in."

Second Aunt: "It's true that every place has its own eating habits. I always thought that only Sichuan and Chongqing were spicy, but I didn't expect it to be this spicy here too?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Sichuan and Chongqing cuisine isn't very spicy. The spiciness of Sichuan cuisine is more about the numbing and spicy flavors, a combination of numbing and spicy."

The food in Jiangxi province is probably spicier, and Hunan cuisine is also mainly spicy, but there are some differences between the two. They each have their own local characteristics.

Mother-in-law: "We really can't eat this much chili. We don't put this much chili in our area."

After saying this, the mother-in-law looked at the plate of chili peppers on the table next to her, and she did indeed feel some fear.

Feng Zhengming: "Mom, don't worry. When I ordered the food, I told them that we're from out of town and can't eat too much spicy food, so I asked them to put as little chili as possible."

As they were chatting, Feng Zhengming and his group's dishes were served one after another.

Judging from the amount of food served, the branch managed by Yu Fuxiang is quite well-established.

Although there were some chili peppers on the plate, the overall amount was much less than what the locals ate.

After the dishes were served, Feng Zhengming took the two babies from his mother-in-law and second aunt.

"I'll hold the two little ones, Mom and Auntie, you and Auntie can try them first."

My mother-in-law and second aunt looked at the food on the plate, hesitated for a moment, and then decided to try it.

Upon eating it, my mother-in-law, who couldn't handle spicy food at all, quickly drank water after a few bites.

My second aunt can handle a little spice, but she also feels that the spiciness here is definitely stronger.

After eating a few bites of the dishes, my mother-in-law and second aunt could only eat braised pork and four-happiness meatballs with their rice. (End of Chapter)