From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Summer vacation is over, and everything seems to have returned to normal.

Feng Zhengming seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Whether from within the industry or outside of it, it seems as if all voices related to Feng Zhengming have suddenly disappeared.

Even some food magazines in Shanghai have not yet published any reports about Feng Zhengming.

If it weren't for the fact that Feng Zhengming's stores in Shanghai and other places were still doing booming business.

If it weren't for those who booked the Old House Restaurant every night, they would still be able to see Feng Zhengming at the Old House Restaurant.

Many people may doubt whether Feng Zhengming has really disappeared, or even withdrawn from the catering industry.

In fact, Feng Zhengming's sudden disappearance was intentional.

He felt that there was no need for him to make too many public appearances for the time being.

He wanted to quietly run all the shops well.

At the same time, they were also planning to reopen Yanxilou in the capital.

Before finalizing the overall plan, Feng Zhengming chose to keep a low profile this time.

He didn't want to be the center of everyone's attention from the very beginning.

He preferred to quietly arrange everything.

When everyone had stopped paying attention to him, and didn't even care whether he wanted to continue running the shop.

Once the preparations for Yanxilou in the capital are complete, Yanxilou will open in the capital with great fanfare.

Besides preparing for the reopening of Yanxilou in Beijing, Feng Zhengming spent most of his time in the kitchen of the old-style restaurant, teaching and guiding the chefs there.

He recalled all five of his apprentices to the old villa restaurant.

Feng Zhengming was very straightforward with them: "For the remaining months of the second half of the year, you will stay here. I will teach you more, including design concepts for some new dishes, how to better season the food, and some coordination and management of the kitchen."

I hope you can all follow along and learn diligently, paying close attention to what you see, hear, think, and learn.

At the end of the year, all the stores will hold a closed-door competition.

Don't embarrass me; you need to get a high enough score in the competition.

At this point, Feng Zhengming paused slightly: "If you get a high enough score, the five of you can formally become apprentices."

Upon hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the five apprentices' faces immediately lit up with anticipation.

Hou Dong, Gao Yongfu, Tang Yong, Lu Haisheng, and Sun Decai are said to be Feng Zhengming's apprentices.

In fact, the teachings they received over the years, as well as the tests that Feng Zhengming arranged for them, already showed that he considered them his disciples.

Tang Yong and Sun Decai, who returned from Beijing, not only mastered the art of roasting duck, but also learned many other Beijing skills from their fifth master.

Lu Haisheng was also arranged by Feng Zhengming to learn some local Shanghai cuisine from chefs in Shanghai.

Hou Dong and Gao Yongfu were even arranged to learn a lot of local Jianghu cuisine.

The five of them are no longer apprentices; they are already chefs who can truly stand on their own.

However, the five of them lack experience, especially in kitchen management.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming plans to strengthen these aspects for them.

To enable the five people to truly grow and become true head chefs.

After all, Feng Zhengming must go to Beijing next year to prepare for the opening of Yanxilou.

He might even need to stay in the capital for a while.

Feng Zhengming has already decided to transfer Xia Hui back to the Old House Restaurant, where she will still be in charge of the head chef position.

The other five apprentices will be assigned to other shops in Shanghai.

Especially for the restaurant on the Western restaurant street, in order to maintain Xia Hui's reputation as the head chef there, Feng Zhengming felt that two or three people needed to be assigned to the kitchen.

The reopening of Yanxilou in Beijing will be a major test for Feng Zhengming and all those who follow him.

As soon as the news of Yanxilou's reopening in the capital is announced.

At that time, Feng Zhengming will become the focus of attention in the national and even global food circles.

Whether people admire Feng Zhengming or are somewhat dissatisfied with him, they all want to see what Yanxi Restaurant will be like when he reopens it in the capital.

To gain everyone's approval, Feng Zhengming had to go all out to make Yanxilou in the capital the best it could be.

Feng Zhengming himself also wanted to do his best; he wanted to create a truly top-notch Chinese restaurant.

He has already opened a restaurant in a traditional Shanghai-style house, which is very characteristic of Shanghai.

Feng Zhengming's idea for the reopening of Yanxilou in Beijing is to create a grand restaurant with Chinese characteristics.

The interior and exterior decorations must all be done in a traditional Chinese style.

In addition, Feng Zhengming also plans to have all the tableware, wine sets, and tea sets custom-made.

Similarly, it should have different Chinese characteristics, not just the porcelain commonly seen in ordinary restaurants. Feng Zhengming also plans to specially find different famous kilns in China to fire a set for Yanxilou in Beijing.

Feng Zhengming also has his own set of decorations for everything from the dining tables in the main hall to each private room.

The private rooms at Huiquanlou Restaurant in Quancheng are decorated with photos of local customs and culture from all over Shandong province.

So, Feng Zhengming will decorate Yanxi Tower in the capital with scenery from all over the country.

Feng Zhengming incorporates the unique characteristics of different regions across the country into every private room.

Then, based on the unique characteristics of each private room, a corresponding set of tableware, wine utensils, and tea sets are provided.

Finally, there's the cuisine from Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing. Feng Zhengming had previously asked his fellow apprentices to prepare Shandong cuisine.

Later, he will also gather famous chefs from all over the country to open menus of different cuisines in the restaurant.

Feng Zhengming aims to transform Yanxilou in Beijing into a restaurant that integrates different cooking styles and flavors from all over the country.

Once you enter Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing, you can taste dishes from all over the country.

It will not only feature dishes from various regional cuisines, but also some innovative dishes that combine local specialties.

Feng Zhengming's ideas truly reflect his vision of Yanxilou in Beijing as a top-tier restaurant that represents the pinnacle of Chinese cuisine, a place that integrates the characteristics of different regional cuisines.

Whether guests are from China or overseas, they can enjoy the delicious flavors from different regions of the country when they enter Yanxilou Restaurant in Beijing.

This time, Feng Zhengming doesn't intend to keep a low profile. He wants to go all out and let everyone know that he is the true national culinary champion.

At the same time, Feng Zhengming also sincerely hopes that the reopened Yanxilou restaurant in Beijing can gain international recognition.

The Old House Restaurant has been named one of the top ten restaurants of the year.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming felt that it was not unreasonable for Yanxilou, which had reopened in Beijing, to acquire fifty top restaurants worldwide.

These are Feng Zhengming's plans for the future, and he has no intention of telling anyone about them yet.

If you tell others about certain things in advance, you may encounter many unforeseen problems that hinder your progress.

So Feng Zhengming chose to keep a low profile, and he started living a routine life, like an office worker clocking in and out.

Every morning, he would still make a trip to the fish market to snatch the freshest seafood and have it delivered back to the old villa restaurant and other shops.

Then he went home first to make breakfast for his family.

After my daughter finishes breakfast, I'll take our daughter, Feng Nuanyou, to kindergarten first.

After that, Feng Zhengming went directly to the Old House Restaurant.

He began directing everyone in the kitchen to get busy.

To prepare for lunchtime business, the restaurant staff will arrive a little later. Feng Zhengming often personally checks out the initial setup.

During this period, in order to attract some ordinary customers, Feng Zhengming launched a lunch buffet at the Old House Restaurant.

Feng Zhengming's buffet is a buffet where all the dishes are made to order.

Upon learning that Feng Zhengming's old-style house restaurant was serving stir-fried dishes at lunchtime, it immediately attracted many people to patronize the restaurant.

Many white-collar workers, especially those from nearby old-style restaurants, arrive early at noon to queue up.

To ensure everyone could have a fair share of the food, Feng Zhengming imposed some restrictions: everyone had to be present in person to queue, and no one was allowed to make reservations in advance.

You can order as much food as you like at the restaurant at lunchtime, but you must finish it all and not waste any.

Furthermore, all food from restaurants is not allowed to be taken away.

These rules, by setting limits, have also deterred many people from deliberately causing trouble while queuing.

In addition, the lunch buffet at the old villa restaurant is not cheap.

Feng Zhengming's price is 300 yuan per person.

This price is still a bit expensive for many people.

Although he knew that 300 yuan per person was almost not enough to make money for Feng Zhengming's old-style restaurant.

However, for the consumption level of Shanghai residents in 2003, this price was still quite high.

Even so, people still make a special trip to the old villa restaurant to queue up every noon.

Aside from white-collar workers who work not far from the old-style restaurant.

In addition, many young couples from well-off families also come here specifically for lunch.

Among young people dating in Shanghai, a saying quickly began to circulate.

"If you really care about the other person, you should at least take them to a buffet at an old-style restaurant. If you're not even willing to spend that much money, it means you don't really care about them."

When Feng Zhengming heard this saying spread, he couldn't help but find it a bit funny.

I never expected that such PUA tactics would exist now.

Feng Zhengming originally didn't care about this.

As long as the old-style restaurant keeps doing business, that's fine.

As for how young people are willing to spend their money, he, as the owner and head chef, doesn't care.

Besides, he didn't expect to make money from the lunch buffet.

The reason Feng Zhengming made this kind of buffet at noon was more to give the other people in the kitchen a chance to practice.

When it comes to cooking, practice makes perfect.

If you simply stay in the kitchen of the old-style restaurant and wait to cook elaborate dishes with Feng Zhengming in the evening, the progress of other kitchen staff will be very slow.

Now that Feng Zhengming has arranged a lunch buffet, it gives his apprentices and other kitchen staff a faster chance to improve.

Therefore, the kitchen of the old villa restaurant was quite busy at noon.

Feng Zhengming, on the other hand, seemed quite relaxed; he simply stood aside and watched as the dishes were prepared.

But even the slightest mistake would be pointed out by Feng Zhengming.

With Feng Zhengming watching over them, it put immense pressure on everyone.

Under such immense pressure, no one in the kitchen dared to relax even slightly.

Meanwhile, under Feng Zhengming's strict requirements, the culinary skills of everyone in the kitchen are constantly improving.

Furthermore, their cooperation with each other has improved significantly.

Feng Zhengming would also occasionally increase the difficulty level for everyone in the kitchen.

For example, when someone orders food, he simply tells them the name of the dish without explaining how to prepare it or who should do what.
Instead, they directly designate a specific chef to be in charge of that dish.

This means that the chefs who are specifically called out will need to coordinate the kitchen operations themselves.

Who should help with the preparation of a dish, how should it be marinated and coated, and how should it be seasoned?

The final plating was also left to the designated chef.

The chef who is called out will instantly become nervous.

One dish can be said to bring him to his full potential.

We dare not slack off in the slightest.

From having the kitchen staff prepare the ingredients for you, to the entire cooking process, and finally to plating the dish.

Every step must be done carefully.

Because if Feng Zhengming is not satisfied with the dish when it is served, it will definitely be sent back to be made again.

The main issue isn't redoing it; the main issue is that if it's sent back for a rework, there will be penalties.

Feng Zhengming's punishment for the kitchen staff was simple: wash dishes after the lunch break.

At first, many people thought, "Isn't it just washing dishes?" When everyone first entered the kitchen, who hadn't done dishwashing?
But once you've done it, you'll understand how severe the punishment of washing dishes really is.

The old-style house restaurant offers a buffet at noon, which attracts a large number of customers.

So the number of plates at lunchtime could truly be described as a mountain.

Those punished by washing dishes must clean all the piles of dishes within a specified time, without affecting the evening's business operations.

This is undoubtedly a very severe punishment.

In short, almost everyone in the kitchen has been punished at least once.

Some people who made repeated mistakes were even punished by washing dishes for several days in a row.

Feng Zhengming after they had washed dishes for several days.

That's why I specifically sought out them for a private talk.

"Making you wash dishes is just a small punishment. I hope you will remember the mistakes you made and not give up on yourselves in the kitchen. You should do your jobs well."

When Feng Zhengming says this, he often gains the serious approval of the person being punished.

"Don't worry, chef, we won't make the same mistake again."

"Yes, we will not make this mistake again."

"We will take this seriously and work hard in the kitchen from now on."

Feng Zhengming merely smiled slightly at the statement made by the person being punished.

"Words are not enough; I want to see your actions. The old house restaurant is offering a buffet lunch to give you opportunities to practice and improve your skills as quickly as possible."

Everyone in the kitchen of the old-style restaurant understood Feng Zhengming's intentions and naturally took them seriously.

As people gradually adapted to the rhythm, the lunch buffet at the old villa restaurant has gradually become famous.

The reason is that some restaurants in Shanghai have started to follow Feng Zhengming's example and launch lunch buffets.

For diners, Feng Zhengming's introduction of a buffet at the old-style house restaurant provides them with another place to have lunch.

But for other restaurant, tavern, and restaurant owners and chefs...

They had to keep up with the trend started by Feng Zhengming.

While I may not be able to catch up with Scholar Feng in terms of skill for the time being, I must try my best to keep up with his various business rhythms. (End of Chapter)