From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When people go home for the Chinese New Year, the happiest ones are naturally the children.

Feng Nuanyou was especially happy that she no longer needed to go to kindergarten and that her father would take her with him every day.

Of course, Dad will also try to spend more time with his younger siblings.

Feng Nuanyou had no objection to this, because her father would take her with him when he went out.

After returning to Jinan, Feng Zhengming first participated in a competition for kitchen staff from all branches across the province.

After all, all the shops were closed before the Lunar New Year, which gave everyone more time to prepare.

The competition was held at Huiquan Tower in Jinan, and staff from branches all over the country rushed to Jinan.

There's no need to worry about accommodation; those who don't want to spend money can stay in the dormitories arranged by Feng Zhengming.

If you're willing to spend your own money, then find a hotel in Jinan to stay in.

Huiquanlou will prepare all kinds of ingredients and seasonings needed for the competition.

Of course, although it's called an internal competition, the judges are all quite distinguished.

Feng Zhengming invited all the master chefs of Shandong cuisine, including his own master.

All the kitchen staff in each restaurant will be put to a comprehensive competition, from theory and basic skills to cooking techniques and, finally, some creative ideas.

The competition begins after the Lunar New Year and lasts for three days.

This year's internal competition, in addition to requiring skill and basic technique, also places new demands on speed.

Feng Zhengming set time limits for all the chefs participating in the competition.

You must complete your dish within the limited time.

After reviewing Feng Zhengming's competition arrangements, his master and several experienced masters couldn't help but feel that Feng Zhengming's competition arrangements could be promoted.

So, under the guidance of the master, after the three-day competition and the final awards ceremony...

The experienced coaches specifically sought out Feng Zhengming to discuss the competition.

"Zhengming, your competition is very well designed. It showcases the chefs' basic skills, including their theoretical knowledge, and also inspires their creativity. In particular, completing the dishes within the time limit is a huge test for all the chefs."

"Yes, yes, this time limit is indeed very well designed, and it's the key to your internal competition."

"Zhengming, have you ever thought about promoting your internal competition rules to other organizations?"

"Yes, you can try it out in the provincial youth chef competition first."

"I think this model can be directly promoted in the provincial Shandong cuisine chef competition. The competition format is absolutely excellent."

"Zhengming, how about it? We old guys all support you, won't you say something?"

After listening to his master and the other experienced masters, Feng Zhengming was both amused and exasperated.

“Master, fellow senior brothers and uncles, I can’t arrange this, can I? If I promote it in the province like this, people might say that I’m doing something behind closed doors and that I want to monopolize the standards of the culinary industry in the province.”

The experienced craftsmen couldn't help but laugh when they heard that.

As everyone knows, this is one of the troubles Feng Zhengming is currently experiencing.

That is, many chefs in the province feel that Feng Zhengming has been redefining Shandong cuisine over the years, as if his definition is the authentic Shandong cuisine, and other people's dishes are not authentic Shandong cuisine.

In reality, Feng Zhengming never did this at all.

He never had that thought.

In recent years, his restaurants in various places have not even displayed signs for Shandong cuisine.

However, his influence is indeed too great now.

This has led many people to believe that all the dishes in his restaurants are the most authentic Shandong cuisine.

Other restaurants and eateries that differ in their cooking methods or produce the wrong dishes will be criticized by diners for not being authentic.

Feng Zhengming also felt somewhat helpless about this situation.

Because people's impressions have changed, it's not that he actively guided the change.

The main reason is that Feng Zhengming strictly demanded high standards from all his stores, which amplified the gap in culinary skills between other restaurants and eateries and those of Feng Zhengming's stores.

There are also branches of Feng Zhengming's dry rice shop, which are almost all over the province.

Moreover, it can be said to be truly high quality at a low price.

As a result, too many people have eaten at Feng Zhengming's rice shop branch.

So many people have formed a collective consensus.

Everyone felt that Feng Zhengming's restaurant was the most authentic, and that other restaurants and eateries were not authentic.

The emergence of this consensus naturally dealt a significant blow to other restaurants and eateries.

Actually, the blame for this also lies with those restaurants and eateries for their own lack of ambition.

Restaurants and eateries that uphold traditional craftsmanship are not criticized for not cooking authentic dishes.

The problem is that many restaurants and eateries are now unable to find suitable chefs.

Almost every ambitious young chef in Shandong province has joined Feng Zhengming's team.

Without young chefs to fill in, some restaurants and eateries can't keep relying on master chefs and veteran chefs to fill in forever, can they?
The young chefs that can be recruited, regardless of their talent, are certainly not as good as the young chefs under Feng Zhengming in terms of attitude.

If a chef has the wrong attitude, then no matter how talented he is, he will probably find it difficult to become a truly good chef.

Why has Feng Zhengming become a recognized top chef over the years?

It is precisely because of his attitude towards cooking and food.

Even with his current fame and numerous profitable stores, he still has a lot of success.

He still insists on cooking for his guests himself.

Based on this alone, he is probably more naive than many famous chefs and master chefs in China.

As a chef, one cannot be simple-minded, nor can one maintain that childlike heart.

How could one possibly become a good enough cook?

This has now become a problem that troubles many master chefs in Shandong Province.

Despite having relaxed the requirements, they still can't attract enough outstanding young chefs.

On the other hand, Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices have trained batch after batch of young chefs over the years.

Feng Zhengming's branches throughout Shandong Province have all been taken over by his second-generation apprentices.

Back then, Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices, the first generation of disciples, can now all be considered as independent chefs.

Just like the chefs he runs in several restaurants in Shanghai, they are all the first-generation apprentices of his senior brothers.

Therefore, some master chefs from various parts of Shandong Province also had some opinions about Feng Zhengming.

They felt that Feng Zhengming had attracted all the good apprentices to his side.

All that was left for them were young chefs who lacked talent.

“Master, fellow senior brothers and sisters, I’m already being resented by them. If I were to take the lead in developing a new set of competition rules, they would probably think even more that I’m deliberately targeting them.” After hearing Feng Zhengming’s words, the master and the senior masters couldn’t help but laugh.

The master laughed and said, "Haha, I never thought you'd have such troubles now?"

Master Su: "We've all considered this. It's precisely because you've attracted so many young people willing to work hard to join your team that you should set up a set of competition rules."

Master Cui: "That's right. You took the lead in revising the competition rules. In order to cope with the competition and to win a ranking, they will definitely have to train their apprentices according to your methods."

Master Chef Sun: "In this way, your plan will be easy to promote, and other chefs will also find it easier to identify the problems of their students."

Master Xia: "Zhengming, you must ensure that our Shandong cuisine has successors."

Seeing that his master and several senior masters had all said so, Feng Zhengming felt that he couldn't refuse.

Although he can claim that he now focuses more on integrating cuisines from various regions, or even creating innovative dishes that combine Chinese and Western elements, and that these dishes do not belong to any particular cuisine.

But people still consider it to be Shandong cuisine.

Therefore, in the end, Feng Zhengming will indeed have to shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing and inheriting Shandong cuisine.

Thinking of this, Feng Zhengming said, "How about this, after I reopen Yanxilou in Beijing next year, I'll come back and seriously plan and develop a scheme, okay?"

This time, the master and the senior craftsmen were satisfied.

"That's more like it. You have to shoulder this responsibility. Remember, you're our champion, so you should lead everyone and take our Shandong cuisine further."

Faced with his master's words, Feng Zhengming deeply understood the expectations his master and the senior masters had for him.

"Yes, Master, I understand. I will definitely work hard to lead Shandong cuisine to go further."

An internal competition also made the young chefs in each restaurant realize their shortcomings.

Some young chefs from Yanxi Restaurant, who were originally full of confidence and wanted to win first place so that they could go directly to Shanghai with Feng Zhengming or go to Beijing to reopen the restaurant, were disappointed.

Only after they actually fought each other did they realize that none of them were simple people.

Almost everyone has their own set of rules.

Even some young chefs who may not yet be cooking in the restaurant are showing amazing skills.

It completely shattered everyone's pride in an instant.

As for the guidance from Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices after the competition, it benefited all the chefs greatly.

Many things they couldn't understand before became clear after the guidance of Feng Zhengming and his fellow students.

It provided some answers for the young chefs and broadened their thinking.

Through this internal competition, Feng Zhengming and his fellow apprentices gained a better understanding of their subordinates.

Afterwards, Feng Zhengming and his fellow students discussed and selected a group of people to go to Yanxilou in the capital.

Several of Feng Zhengming's senior brothers were going to Yanxilou in the capital.

Although both the eldest and third senior brothers said they would come back after a year.

But Feng Zhengming planned to have his second senior brother there, paired up with his fifth senior brother.

Then bring along the top-performing young chefs from this competition.

Feng Zhengming addressed everyone with a serious expression.

"First of all, I need to applaud everyone. Your performance in this competition really exceeded my expectations. Seeing your performance made me realize that the efforts my senior brothers and I have made over the years have not been in vain."

We have finally improved everyone's cooking skills, and we now have so many excellent Shandong cuisine chefs.

I believe that with all of you working together, we can ensure the continuation of Shandong cuisine's glorious legacy.

Feng Zhengming's words inspired everyone present.

Everyone hopes that their efforts will eventually be recognized.

Today, in this internal competition, the young chefs finally gained the greatest recognition.

Their idol, Feng Zhengming, the top scholar, publicly affirmed their efforts.

Then, Feng Zhengming gave everyone even better news.

"I have some important news to share with you all: next year, no matter which shop you work at, you will have the opportunity to become an apprentice. My fellow apprentices and I will be taking on new apprentices again next year."

Everyone was stunned when they heard the news.

Feng Zhengming and his fellow disciples are taking on new apprentices, which is very important news for everyone.

In this competition, the head chefs of each branch have already become apprentices.

Most of the other chefs and apprentices in the kitchen have not actually been able to become apprentices.

Although everyone hoped to become Feng Zhengming's apprentice, after the apprenticeship period and the numerous competitions over the years, many people came to terms with reality.

It is indeed not an easy thing to truly become Feng Zhengming's apprentice.

Many other chefs might take you on as an apprentice because you are hardworking enough or perform well in front of them.

But Feng Zhengming is clearly not a good fit; his requirements for accepting apprentices are extremely high.

While it's not necessary to make you a minor celebrity among chefs first.

But at least you need to gain Feng Zhengming's approval in terms of basic skills.

This alone shuts out the vast majority of people.

A chef's basic skills cannot be mastered overnight.

Moreover, gaining Feng Zhengming's approval in terms of basic skills makes it even more difficult.

It's no longer a matter of whether you want to or not; it requires tremendous effort to accomplish.

Even knowing that becoming an apprentice is difficult, many people are still willing to wait and work hard to become Feng Zhengming's apprentice.

The opportunity is now right in front of us. Feng Zhengming has made it clear that he and his senior brother will be taking on disciples again next year.

This is a fantastic opportunity for everyone.

Feng Zhengming's fellow students looked at each other, and then they all laughed.

The eldest disciple stepped forward and said, "Alright, your idol, Scholar Feng, didn't lie to you. We will be taking on disciples next year, and all the new disciples will go to the Xin Yanxi Restaurant in the capital."

Hearing this made everyone even more excited.

However, Feng Zhengming then poured cold water on everyone's enthusiasm.

"You will indeed be going to Yanxilou after you become apprentices, but I also want to remind you that if you don't perform well at Yanxilou after becoming apprentices, you will be transferred back to your original shop in Qilu."

Feng Zhengming paused briefly at this point, allowing everyone a moment to process what he was saying.

Then he continued, "Whether you can learn the skills you want to learn after that will probably depend on your own efforts."

After listening to Feng Zhengming and Li Huidong's explanation, everyone understood.

Becoming an apprentice is not a one-time thing; if you really want to learn a good skill from an apprentice, you can only rely on your own efforts in the end.

But what these people in Feng Zhengming's kitchen probably have in abundance is their determination to work hard. (End of Chapter)