From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming conducted another thorough inspection of the kitchen at the Jiawei Restaurant.

The almost open and transparent kitchen does have a certain effect, as it helps maintain a relatively clean kitchen.

Moreover, everyone in the kitchen dares not slack off and takes every order very seriously.

Although Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei often didn't cook themselves, they kept a close eye on everyone's actions in the kitchen.

Ensure that everyone in the kitchen can strictly follow the requirements to complete the procedures.

This is probably what makes Feng Zhengming's kitchens different from those of other restaurants and hotels.

Feng Zhengming would break down the cooking process of a dish into individual steps in the kitchen.

As long as you strictly follow each step of the process, you can naturally make a good dish.

Perhaps in a home-style restaurant with a transparent kitchen.

To customers outside, the kitchen looks like a processing plant.

The chefs split up and each carried out a step of the process.

There are specialists responsible for cutting, specializing in pairing, specializing in stir-frying, and finally, there are specialists responsible for plating and serving the dishes.

From the moment an order is placed, the kitchen begins preparations almost simultaneously.

This process can be said to save a lot of time.

Of course, this process still cannot avoid the most crucial step, which is the chef's skill at the last moment.

If the chef at the stove isn't skilled, this model will ultimately produce very poor results.

However, this situation is indeed very difficult to occur in Feng Zhengming's shop.

Every chef and apprentice in the kitchen undergoes training and careful selection before they can have the opportunity to work on the stove.

After several rounds of selection, the chefs who can stand in front of the stove are definitely those with excellent skills.

Moreover, restaurants like Jiawei have two master chefs overseeing the kitchen.

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei were chefs who had followed Feng Zhengming for a long time.

They may not be very old, but their skills are already enough to make them master craftsmen.

Moreover, the two of them understood Feng Zhengming's design very well.

They will quickly find any mistake, whether it's made by a single person or a single step.

Generally, poorly prepared dishes are not allowed to be served to guests.

This also ensures the quality of the dishes to the greatest extent possible.

This ensures that every customer who visits any of Feng Zhengming's restaurants will enjoy delicious food that will satisfy them.

Feng Zhengming stared at Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei for a while, watching the two of them skillfully directing and coordinating operations in the kitchen.

During the process of serving the dishes, the two would also reprimand the chefs and apprentices.

Humans are bound to make mistakes.

When the kitchen is busy, many people are more likely to make mistakes.

Feng Zhengming was satisfied with Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei's performance.

They won't scold excessively; instead, they'll point out the problems and remind the person who made the mistake to remember them.

Feng Zhengming was very satisfied with this approach.

If you start by giving a lecture, or even keep nagging about it, then you're in trouble.

On the contrary, it will not deepen the impression on the person who made the mistake, but will only make them feel resistant, and they may continue to make the same mistake next time.

This is something Feng Zhengming warned everyone about, reminding store managers and chefs to pay attention to the methods and approaches.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming was quite satisfied with the way Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei handled the situation.

He did not offer any further opinions.

Since the kitchen was entrusted to Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei, he would have absolute trust in their abilities.

After the observation was over, Feng Zhengming smiled and said goodbye to the two men.

“Not bad, you are showing the demeanor of a master chef now. Keep it up. When you go to Yanxi Restaurant in the capital in the future, you may have a chance to compete with your master and uncles.”

These words left Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

How could the two of them dare to compete with their master and uncle for the chance to cook?
Feng Zhengming still offered some encouragement to the two of them.

"Don't give up right away. You still have to fight for it. Good luck. I'm leaving now."

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei nodded in agreement, and then saw Feng Zhengming out.

After watching their junior uncle leave, Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei exchanged a glance.

Zhang Lei spoke first: "Wouldn't it be awkward for you to go to Yanxi Restaurant in the capital? You're not from our sect."

Zhu Xu immediately retorted without hesitation: "Junior Uncle has already said that he doesn't want us to have any prejudice against any particular cuisine or sect."

Zhang Lei laughed: "Hahaha, okay, okay, let's compete then."

Zhu Xu: "Who's afraid of who? Just wait until you get rejected and can't go."

Zhang Lei said confidently, "Impossible."

Zhu Xu and Zhang Lei were eager to go to the capital, even if it was just to assist their master, senior uncle, and junior master, as they were desperate to reopen Yanxi Tower.

Feng Zhengming wasn't surprised at all.

After all, the two of them came from Shandong and were typical Shandong people.

Therefore, the capital city was significantly more attractive to them than Shanghai.

Moreover, in their eyes, the reopened Yanxilou restaurant in the capital is the only place where Shandong cuisine should truly be served.

Feng Zhengming had already planned to have them go with him to Yanxilou in the capital.

Although Feng Zhengming of Yanxi Restaurant in the capital was planning to have his senior brothers take charge of cooking.

But the senior colleagues are getting older, and it's impossible for them to stay on the front lines of the kitchen forever.

Therefore, if Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing really wants to do long-term business and make Shandong cuisine regain its reputation in the capital, it must have a group of more capable middle-aged and young chefs.

Zhu Xu, Zhang Lei, and Guan Wei, who has been in Shanghai for many years, are all very suitable candidates.

Of course, they will still need to compete with each other at that time.

After all, there have been quite a few good chefs in various parts of Shandong over the years.

They will definitely all want to go to Beijing at that time.

Feng Zhengming is happy to see them compete with each other, because only through competition can more outstanding chefs be selected.

He wanted Yanxilou, which reopened in the capital, to become an instant success.

After leaving Jiawei Restaurant, Feng Zhengming's next stop was the children's lunch kitchen, which was relatively close to Jiawei Restaurant.

To Feng Zhengming's surprise, he ran into his wife there.

It turns out that Luo Qing couldn't stay at home either; once she returned to Shanghai, she started thinking about the children's kitchen and children's restaurant here.

So, while her mother and second aunt were at home helping to take care of the two little ones, she took advantage of the situation.

Luo Qing brought her eldest daughter, Feng Nuanyou, to the kitchen to take a look.

Feng Nuanyou was naturally very happy because her father didn't take her with him when he went out, but her mother was willing to take her along, which made her praise her mother as being better than her father the whole way.

Her daughter's effusive praise brought a smile to Luo Qing's face.

Neither the mother nor the daughter expected to run into Feng Zhengming here.

When Feng Nuanyou saw her father, she deliberately pouted and ignored him.

She was still angry that her father hadn't taken her with him when he went out. Seeing this, Feng Zhengming walked over with a smile.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with my little Youyou? Who made her angry? Look at her little mouth, it's so full of grime you could hang an oil bottle on it."

Feng Nuanyou turned her head away, still ignoring her father.

Seeing her daughter's expression, Luo Qing chuckled and scolded her husband.

"Look, your daughter isn't close to you anymore, is she? You always leave your daughter behind to go about your business."

Feng Zhengming: "If I had known you were going to come out, we could have come together."

Luo Qing: "Come on, you clearly didn't want to take us with you, so you ran off first."

Feng Nuanyou immediately chimed in, "Bad dad, he doesn't want to take us with him, so he sneaked away."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "I have a lot of stores to visit. You just came back from Chengdu with me, and I was worried that you were too tired, so I hope you can rest well at home."

Feng Nuanyou: "Hmph, Daddy's mean, he's deliberately not taking us out."

Seeing his daughter's state, Feng Zhengming could only continue to coax her.

"Okay, okay, it's Dad's fault. Dad should have brought you and Mom with him. Come on, let's go inside. Dad will take you to see the kitchen in the back."

Luo Qing: "Do we need you to take us there? We can go in and take a look ourselves. This is my territory."

Feng Nuanyou: "Yes, this is Mom's territory."

Feng Zhengming: "Then you can take your father in for a look, okay?"

Feng Nuanyou looked up at her mother.

Luo Qing laughed: "Okay, let's bring Dad along. Otherwise, we don't know how to cook. Let Dad go in and supervise them so they can cook well and the kids can eat better."

Feng Nuanyou nodded her little head in agreement.

"Then bring Dad along."

Feng Zhengming followed the mother and daughter with a smile. They went to the changing room to change clothes first, and then entered the kitchen after washing and disinfecting their hands.

Today, the head chef in charge of the children's lunch kitchen is Guan Wei.

When Guan Wei saw Feng Zhengming and his family of three enter, he smiled and took the initiative to greet them.

"Uncle-Master, you've arrived."

Feng Zhengming nodded, but didn't speak, instead waiting for his wife to speak.

Luo Qing realized that her husband wanted to establish her authority in this area.

Let the kitchen and the dining area know that Luo Qing is in charge here, and everything in the kitchen and dining area should follow her, the boss's, arrangements.

Luo Qing smiled and walked around the kitchen, observing carefully.

"Guan Wei, are all these ingredients fresh today? And for the food for the children, are you trying to use as little oil as possible?"

When Guan Wei heard Luo Qing ask this question, he was taken aback for a moment, and then his gaze turned to Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming smiled at Guan Wei's gaze and said, "Don't look at me, the boss lady is in charge here."

Reminded by Feng Zhengming, Guan Wei immediately understood.

"That's right, Sister Qing. These days you haven't been here, so the ingredients here are all the freshest. They are almost all delivered on the same day. Apart from some seafood and dried goods, there are almost no frozen ingredients."

After a brief pause, Guan Wei then demonstrated some of the children's dishes to Luo Qing.

"Following what our uncle taught us, we try to use as little oil as possible when cooking for the children, while also trying our best to maintain the flavor."

This is the response Guan Wei gave, and we saw some children's meal sets that Guan Wei showed us.

Luo Qing was very satisfied.

"Not bad, Guan Wei, you did a great job. No wonder your uncle often says that you are one of the most meticulous among the young chefs."

Guan Wei smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Sister Qing. My uncle's words are a sign of respect for me."

Luo Qing: "So you need to be able to uphold this image even more."

Guan Wei nodded: "I will try my best."

At that moment, some orders came in from the front.

Guan Wei immediately turned around and directed the kitchen staff to get busy.

Usually, when you order from a children's restaurant, it's not just one or two portions; you might order several portions at once.

Although it's summer vacation now, the children's lunch kitchen is actually quite busy.

Because so many parents take their children to eat at the restaurant in front during the summer vacation.

Moreover, it's not just local Shanghai parents who bring their children.

Parents from cities surrounding Shanghai often bring their children to the children's restaurant in front of the city when they come to Shanghai for fun.

After Luo Qing and her children's kitchen and restaurant won awards, she received a lot of media coverage and interviews.

This made it known not only to parents of children in Shanghai.

Even parents and children in many other places know about the existence of children's restaurants.

At that time, Shanghai did not yet have the large amusement parks of later generations, nor did it have the various children's restaurants of later generations, so Luo Qing's children's restaurant was absolutely unique.

In addition, as everyone knows, the chefs here are all head chefs under Feng Zhengming.

This also makes many people feel that they must bring their children to have a meal here.

The various play facilities in the children's restaurant in front are a great attraction for children.

As Luo Qing watched Guan Wei and the others cook, some new ideas suddenly came to her.

"Do you think we could add some fun entertainment facilities for the kids in the children's restaurant up ahead? The slides and the like seem too plain now."

Feng Zhengming: "Sure, and I think we can find some early childhood education experts to help design some fun and educational games for the children. We can even find some professional kindergarten teachers."

Invite them to come over during their holidays so they can play educational and fun games with the children in the restaurant.

Nowadays, people like to give their children the best and hope they can learn more.

"Then let's design some learning areas here, where kindergarten teachers can teach the children simple arithmetic and literacy."

After hearing Feng Zhengming's words, Luo Qing's expression gradually became somewhat strange.

"If you do this, won't our children's restaurant turn into a kindergarten?"

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, of course it's not a kindergarten. For many parents, kindergartens are like daycare centers. In our restaurant, we want parents to participate in teaching and games together."

Luo Qing was taken aback, then asked incredulously, "Is that really possible? I don't think parents would be willing to participate."

Feng Zhengming: "Parents themselves are unwilling to participate, but what about for the sake of their children?"

Luo Qing thought for a moment and nodded: "For the sake of the children, many parents would probably be willing to participate."

Feng Zhengming: "That's right. We organize some parent-child games for them to encourage more interaction between parents and children. In our restaurant, not only do the children eat well, but it also strengthens the bond between parents and children."

The more Luo Qing listened, the more she felt that her husband's idea was excellent.

“Great ideas, great ideas. I believe many parents will be willing to participate and strengthen their bond with their children.”

Feng Zhengming added, "When the time comes, you, my Youyou, and my two little ones will all participate together, which will make it more interesting for many people."

After listening for a while, Feng Nuanyou immediately raised her little hand and said, "I support Mom."

Luo Qing couldn't help but laugh when she heard her daughter's words: "Haha, my little darling, did you understand what Daddy said?"

Feng Nuanyou shook her head: "I don't understand, but I support my mother."

Luo Qing was very happy: "Okay, thank you for your support, little Youyou." (End of Chapter)