From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 387: Determining the Banquet Menu
Feng Zhengming made the decision to recruit a group of apprentices before the supper was over that night.

Recruiting apprentices is mainly to share some chores in the kitchen.

After all, almost all the work in the back kitchen of Huiquan Building is shared between Feng Zhengming and the young chefs.

Once Huiquan Building starts to receive various wedding banquets, Feng Zhengming and the others will need to cook for many tables at the same time. If they want to ensure the quality of each dish at each table, it is obvious that they will not have enough manpower in the kitchen now.

Then it is indeed necessary to recruit some apprentices, so that when the wedding banquet is held, someone will be responsible for the chores.

After learning about the plan to recruit apprentices, not only Gu Zhicheng and several other young chefs, but also the third senior brother Yang Bin also wanted to recruit one or two.

Seeing that everyone had ideas, Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "Let's do it. The end of June will be around the time when various vocational schools graduate. At that time, we will contact several vocational schools and you will all choose a group of apprentices for internship."

Hearing this, the young chefs such as the third senior brother Yang Bin and Gu Zhicheng were naturally very excited.

Xia Hui thought for a while and asked a little strangely: "Uncle Master, you let us choose, what about you?"

Feng Zhengming looked at Xia Hui, then glanced at Sun Hai and Chen Anbang.

However, Gu Zhicheng and the others also raised some concerns of their own.

Seeing that no one knew how to answer, Feng Zhengming said with a serious face: "I just want to show our craftsmanship on the high-priced banquet menu and let everyone see the value of our craftsmanship."

The most expensive item on the menu is the Sea Cucumber Braised Elbow. Feng Zhengming personally cooks the sea cucumber and pork elbow in the back kitchen in a traditional and classic way. Finally, the dish is served red.

It also wants to completely separate itself from other restaurants in Quancheng.

The elbow on the basic wedding menu is just ordinary braised pork.

For example, the most basic wedding banquet menu also has pork elbow, but if it is the most expensive wedding banquet menu, it is the dish of braised pork elbow with sea cucumber.

These words immediately moved everyone in the kitchen.

Upon hearing this, Xia Hui immediately said: "No, uncle, I definitely can't take care of an apprentice now. I'll continue to follow you. I'm not yet skilled at helping you."

Adding sea cucumber is not just as simple as adding sea cucumber as a side dish.

Of course, the highest price range not only includes sea cucumbers, but also cooking techniques that match the price.

Feng Zhengming said seriously: "It cannot be simplified. Since we want to be the best, we can't be too troublesome. In fact, everyone understands that there is not such a huge gap in the price of ingredients on banquet menus at different prices.

"In addition, if two families are scheduled to hold wedding banquets at Huiquan Building at the same time, and the banquet specifications they order are different, our kitchen will have a greater workload, and mistakes may be made."

Sun Hai quickly said: "Uncle Feng, I am also willing to continue to follow you."

After asking this question, Feng Zhengming glanced at everyone involved in the menu design.

As soon as Yang Bin reminded them, Sun Hai and Chen Anbang suddenly understood.

"Chef, your design is indeed very powerful. It can be said to meet the vanity needs of different customer groups, but the design of dishes at different price points is really a big test for our kitchen."

Although Sun Hai and Xia Hui also participated in the Young Chef Exchange Competition and won rankings based on their dishes, their overall abilities in the kitchen were still inferior to those of Gu Zhicheng and the others.

Sun Hai and Chen Anbang expressed their opinions after Xia Hui, and everyone naturally laughed.

But why is there such a big difference in pricing between tables? "

It was Yang Bin who reminded: "You two fools, don't you understand? Our Master Feng has already been recognized and is qualified to accept disciples. Don't you want to become a disciple in the future?"

After the other young chefs finished talking, Gu Zhicheng said seriously: "Chef, should we simplify the menu appropriately?"

Feng Zhengming first improved the materials for menus at different price points.

This point can be seen by everyone involved in the design from the design of the wedding banquet with two dishes of different prices.

There is also braised pork on the mid-price menu, with some side dishes added and better pork belly used.

These designs on Feng Zhengming's menu are designed to allow customers who come to Huiquan House to hold wedding banquets or other banquets to more intuitively feel the differences in different price points.

Chen Anbang said: "I have always been with you, Chef Feng."

But Feng Zhengming uses banquet menus at different price points, and the most intuitive way to use price is to reflect the value of craftsmanship.

There is also braised pork. The basic wedding banquet package includes braised pork, but it is just braised pork.

The overall framework is based on the wedding banquet menus of other large restaurants in Quancheng.

Some common main dishes at wedding banquets must be on the menu.

"If someone really orders a wedding banquet of the highest standard and wants to book the entire Huiquan Building to hold the wedding at once, then our workload will be too much."

After finishing the late-night snack, Feng Zhengming and the others began to discuss the specific menu for the wedding banquet.

Understanding that Feng Zhengming does not need apprentices for the time being, he already has three apprentices following him.

As for whether he can become a disciple of Feng Zhengming?
It still depends on the subsequent performance of the two.

Therefore, following Feng Zhengming with Chen Anbang can really be regarded as an opportunity for the two of them.

On the highest-priced wedding banquet menu, the braised pork will be cooked with abalone, and the dishes will be served according to the table, and each guest at each table will be served with an abalone and braised pork.

If you want to do it, you must become the top one in Quancheng.

How to reflect the value of craftsmanship? This is actually a somewhat difficult thing to do.

Sun Hai and Chen Anbang didn't turn around for a while. They didn't quite understand the meaning of Feng Zhengming's words.

When everyone faced Feng Zhengming's question, they looked at each other for a moment. They really didn't know how to answer?

"Don't I have you, Sun Hai and Anbang? Or do you three no longer want to follow me? You also want to lead apprentices for internships yourself?"

People who have booked banquets at different prices can see the value of the skills of outstanding young chefs like Feng Zhengming and others through the most intuitive comparison of dishes.

Why is it that for the same wedding banquet, your family’s wedding banquet is not more elaborate than others’?

Naturally, it’s because you didn’t spend money to book a more expensive wedding package.

Feng Zhengming's intention is very clear, to make customers who book banquets at Huiquan Tower feel that every penny spent on each table is worth it.

And his approach will naturally win the support of young chefs like Gu Zhicheng in the back kitchen.

The reason is still that young chefs like Gu Zhicheng are more concerned about how to prove their worth.

Now it can be said that Feng Zhengming is trying his best to let customers understand the value of their craftsmanship in the most intuitive way. How can this not be supported by Gu Zhicheng and others?

Therefore, Gu Zhicheng and others expressed that they would fully support and cooperate with Feng Zhengming. Of course, even though Gu Zhicheng and the others have given their support, Feng Zhengming still needs to let them recruit one or two apprentices each by the end of June.

After all, if we really launch this set of banquet menus, once someone actually orders it.

At that time, the workload of the kitchen will definitely be very huge.

Just relying on Feng Zhengming to lead the young chefs will indeed seem a bit stretched.

Feng Zhengming and the others were busy discussing and designing the banquet menu.

Although the private rooms in Huiquan Building are fully booked every night, the overall business is still tepid.

Feng Zhengming and the others were not in a hurry at all with this kind of tepidness.

After all, it was the boss who booked the private rooms every night, and these wealthy people were willing to pay for Feng Zhengming's craftsmanship.

Therefore, when the private rooms are fully booked, even if there are only a few tables in the lobby of Huiquan Tower, the daily revenue of Huiquan Tower is still growing.

But these outsiders don't know. From the daily guest occupancy rate in the lobby, outsiders can intuitively judge that the business of Huiquan Building is not good.

Once this kind of judgment is not made by one person, it will soon spread.

Feng Zhengming and the others were busy dealing with various bosses booking private rooms and studying banquet menus every day.

Rumors have spread in Quancheng that Feng Zhengming, the top young chef, can only fire cannons.

"The top young chef is still a young man after all. He is too young. He thought that with his fame, he could make Huiquan House a prosperous business like running his dry rice shop. But in the end, the business was so miserable after a month or two."

"No, there are only a few tables of customers a day now. Some people go there at night, but almost no one comes in at noon."

"He should still work honestly as a restaurant and food stall in the Feng family. He doesn't know how to open a restaurant."

"That's right, running a restaurant is different from a rice shop or a food stall."

"If you could win the restaurant business just by relying on good craftsmanship, Yanxi Building wouldn't have been unable to save the building back then."

"Young people always have ambitions. They cannot learn to control their ambitions unless they are beaten to death."

"It's a pity that his skills are good. After all, he is the number one young chef and his skills are really good. I didn't expect that running a restaurant business would be so miserable."

"Huiquanlou is a time-honored restaurant. Who can eat in such a big restaurant without any trouble?"

"That's right, so I still think he should honestly run a rice shop and a food stall at the train station. Isn't the business very good?"

"You are just worrying about it. The restaurant business is still booming. Now that the weather is hot, the restaurant is open until early in the morning. Moreover, there is no room for people to sit in the restaurant, and the tables are placed outside on the road."

"That's right, if a restaurant owner has such a good business, what does it mean if Huiquan Building loses a little money?"

These discussions spread widely on the streets of Quancheng, and have gradually become a topic of conversation for many people after dinner.

Naturally, it also reached the ears of Mr. Feng Zonggu, as well as Luo Qing and her family.

Of course, it was also heard by the owners of several big restaurants in Quancheng and the master chefs.

Feng Zonggu and the rest of the Feng family took these comments on the street completely seriously.

When Feng Jiandong came home one night, his wife told him about this matter.

Feng Jiandong smiled and said to his wife at that time: "Don't listen to the random comments of those ignorant people on the street. Do you know that the private rooms in Huiquan Building are fully booked every night? I have entertained customers several times without making a reservation. To the private room.”

Third Aunt Lin Yun was a little surprised when she heard this: "Is the business so good?"

Feng Jiandong said: "What they saw was that the lobby of Huiquan Building could not receive more than a few tables of customers every day, but when those big bosses went to Huiquan Building to treat guests, who would sit in the hall to treat guests? Those bosses would treat guests and care about the food. Price?

So, just because the lobby of Huiquan Building cannot handle a few tables of customers a day does not mean that Zhengming and the others are not making money. "

Lin Yun then asked: "So, Huiquan Tower is making money now?"

Feng Jiandong said: "Although I don't make much money, I definitely make money."

Lin Yun felt relieved when she learned that Huiquan Building, run by Feng Zhengming, was making money and did not ask for details.

At Luo Qing's house, Luo Qing's brother made exaggerated remarks about the situation in Huiquan Building.

"Mom and Dad, let me tell you at the beginning, Xiao Feng is good at his craftsmanship, but he has no experience in business. Opening a restaurant is different from his rice shop and food stalls. Both he and Qingqing think he can do it. What's the result now? After a month or two, Huiquan Building's business didn't take off at all. I heard that someone calculated the accounts and found that Huiquan Building was losing money every day.

Feng Zhengming wanted to use the money earned from the restaurant to continue to fill the hole that Huiquan Tower had lost. "

Luo Wenhan's exaggerated words made Luo Qing's parents very worried.

So when Luo Qing came home, her parents took the opportunity to tell her and asked her to remind Feng Zhengming to pay attention.

Luo Qing was also dumbfounded after hearing what her parents heard from her brother.

"Don't listen to Luo Wenhan's nonsense. If Huiquan Building is really going to lose a lot of money, wouldn't those people in Huiquan Building start running away long ago? The business of Huiquan Building is very good now, and the private rooms will be fully booked every night Yes, and those who book private rooms are big bosses.”

Luo Qing told her parents very straightforwardly: "Huiquan Tower now doesn't even bother to do ordinary people's business, it only does business for rich people."

When the Luo family's parents heard this, they looked at each other and were even more surprised.

However, the two statements made by Luo Qing and her brother also made her parents a bit confused.

Not sure which of the two siblings is right?

Faced with all kinds of rumors flying on the street outside.

Feng Zhengming didn't take it to heart at all.

"Nowadays, people are quite good at imagining. They always think that our Huiquan Building is losing money. Do you want to see Huiquan Building closed down by me?"

After returning home and hearing some rumors from the outside, Feng Zhengming said this in a dumbfounded way.

Grandpa also smiled and said: "Well, as the saying goes, 'There are people who hate people, but there are no people who laugh', you were indeed a little too high-profile before. Huiquan Building didn't make such a big noise like the opening of a dry restaurant, so naturally it would be criticized a lot. People arrange.”

Feng Zhengming said: "It's not like they are spreading rumors. Huiquan Building really made me lose money when it opened, but those are just old records. Now Huiquan Building has successfully attracted a stable customer base thanks to our craftsmanship. "

At this point, Feng Zhengming paused and smiled amusedly.

"Let them continue to daydream for a while. When our banquet menu is finalized and Gu Zhicheng and the others collect their apprentices, Huiquan House will shock everyone."

This time, Feng Zhengming wants to give everyone a chance to show off their desires before suppressing them.

(End of this chapter)