From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After all the dishes were served, Xia Mingye originally thought that everyone at Huiquanlou would have a couple of drinks together.

But what he didn't expect was that after all the dishes were served.

Feng Zhengming asked someone to put a bowl of rice and a bowl of hand-rolled noodles on each table.

The next moment, Feng Zhengming said, "Let's eat."

Everyone immediately started serving themselves some rice and devouring it like whirlwind.

I saw everyone wolfing down their food.

Xia Mingye was speechless for a moment.

Do you guys really just eat when you have midnight snack?

Why don't you have a couple of drinks to show your appreciation?
Even if it's just a bottle of beer, it counts as a gesture, right?

But when Xia Mingye looked at everyone, he really just wolfed down their food.

Feng Zhengming noticed that Xia Mingye was dumbfounded and looked at everyone not eating, so he asked with a smile: "What's wrong? Is it weird? Why don't we drink a couple of glasses of wine while we're having fun?"

Xia Mingye looked at Feng Zhengming in surprise: "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "It's written all over your face."

Then Qi Jiale told Xia Mingye why he didn't drink.

"The reason for not drinking is very simple. We are already very tired from working at night. We just want to eat when we are hungry. After eating, we want to go back to sleep."

Guan Wei said simply, "I have to go to work tomorrow morning, so I don't have time to drink."

Xia Mingye once again discovered that the people at Huiquanlou were different from the kitchen staff at other restaurants.

In Xia Mingye's impression, in the kitchen of their Kongfu Restaurant, some people might have a couple of drinks during lunch.

Not to mention being busy until late at night and having midnight snacks.

You have to drink until you are slightly tipsy, or even drunk, before you can go home and sleep well.

But Feng Zhengming and his friends really don’t drink alcohol, and they only eat for midnight snacks.

This kind of scene was something Xia Mingye could never imagine.

Feng Zhengming then said to Xia Mingye: "Drinking alcohol will numb the taste buds to a certain extent. If you can't control the amount of alcohol you drink at night, once you drink too much, you may not be able to recover by noon tomorrow.

How can we cook well at noon? If the taste of the food is off, it will ruin all our previous efforts.”

These words stunned Xia Mingye, and he instantly agreed with Feng Zhengming's statement.

In fact, Xia Mingye’s grandfather and father rarely drink alcohol.

He also heard from his grandfather that drinking alcohol would affect the sense of taste.

How can a chef cook well if he doesn’t have a keen sense of taste?

Gu Zhicheng then said to Xia Mingye: "It's not that we don't drink. We drink once a week to relax ourselves, but no one drinks too much."

The more Xia Mingye interacted with Feng Zhengming and others, the more comfortable he felt.

Feng Zhengming and his team are completely different from the people in the kitchens of other restaurants.

Everyone seems to be equal to each other.

There is no need to bow down to anyone, nor is there any need to change your habits to cater to other people's habits that are not your own.

In Huiquanlou, everyone cooperates with each other to make good dishes and run Huiquanlou well.

After walking out of Huiquanlou and having supper together, everyone seemed like a group of ordinary friends, and could do and talk according to their own preferences.

This was a feeling of comfort that Xia Mingye had never felt in his own restaurant.

Even at the next table, a group of waitresses were discussing their family matters together.

Let’s talk about the latest TV series and new songs by some Hong Kong and Taiwan singers.

If anyone really wants to have a drink, Feng Zhengming will not stop them. They can have a drink on their own, but the amount will still be controlled so that it does not affect work tomorrow.

After eating supper, some waiters who do not live in the dormitory will leave first.

Feng Zhengming would let them go together, and even if they lived far away, he would personally go out and call a taxi for them to go back.

The rest of them lived in the dormitory rented by Feng Zhengming, and they would chat together for a while.

Then we returned to the dormitory together to rest.

In the end, only Feng Zhengming, Luo Qing and Xia Mingye were left.

Feng Zhengming asked with a smile: "How is it? Do you want to go see your sister? Help your sister for a while?"

Xia Mingye hesitated for a moment and asked, "Will my sister let me help her?"

Feng Zhengming said, "Go away. If she chases you away, won't you be shameless?"

Luo Qing also smiled and said, "Your sister may chase you away, but she definitely still likes you to help her."

"Go ahead, go ahead. Look at this high-wattage light bulb. Don't you feel like an eyesore here?" Feng Zhengming said directly.

Xia Mingye also understood immediately and ran out with a smile.

After Xia Mingye left, Luo Qing said to Feng Zhengming: "Did you think he was a light bulb just now? I thought I was the light bulb for all of you."

Feng Zhengming smiled and took Luo Qing's hand: "Okay, let's go for a walk."

Luo Qing did not refuse, and went out hand in hand with Feng Zhengming.

When the two of them went out, they saw Xia Mingye helping Xia Hui clean up the table.

Luo Qing couldn't help but ask, "Is Xia Hui too tired here?"

Feng Zhengming said: "This is how the cooking industry is. You have to endure some hardships."

After a pause, Feng Zhengming continued, "Besides, she would still be working hard in the kitchen of Huiquanlou."

After hearing this, Luo Qing couldn't help but feel a little pessimistic.

"Does that mean that life is just about suffering?"

Feng Zhengming smiled: "Life is not only bitter but also sweet. Just like me holding your hand and walking on the quiet streets of Quancheng at night, isn't it sweet?"

Luo Qing felt a little embarrassed and could only say, "I was talking about Xia Hui."

Feng Zhengming said: "Xia Hui is suffering now in order to have an opportunity in the future."

As he said this, he turned around and looked at Xia Hui and Xia Mingye, brother and sister.

He looked away and said to Luo Qing, "Believe it or not? One day in the future, they will become the best chefs."

Luo Qing also looked back, then nodded and said, "I believe this. Seeing how hard they work, I also think they will become the best chefs."

Turning back, Luo Qing became curious again: "But what kind of opportunity are they waiting for?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It won't be long. Next year they will participate in the provincial young chef cooking exchange competition and get a better ranking. Their chance will come soon."

After hearing this, Luo Qing asked curiously: "Then you can go to the National Cooking Skills Competition this year. Is that your chance?"

Feng Zhengming answered affirmatively: "It's my chance."

"What would you do if you won a place in the national competition?" Luo Qing continued to ask.

This time, Feng Zhengming did not answer immediately, but remained silent for a while.

The two walked hand in hand in the night.

After thinking it over, Feng Zhengming said, "If I really get a place, there may be several paths in front of me, but I should stick to the path I want to take now."

Luo Qing thought for a moment and said, "Are you going to run your shop and restaurant well? Are you going to open a branch? And then try to move south?" Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded, "Yes, if we can really get a place in the national competition this time, maybe we can try to open a branch next year.

In another two years, if I can find a suitable chef to take over for Huiquan Restaurant, we can try to move south.”

At this point, Feng Zhengming suddenly said to Luo Qing: "We can get married before we go south."

When Feng Zhengming suddenly mentioned marriage, Luo Qing was a little at a loss.

Seeing Luo Qing looking a little at a loss.

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "What's wrong? Are you scared? Don't you want to marry me now?"

After being asked three questions in a row, Luo Qing didn't know how to answer.

After a long while, Luo Qing finally spoke.

"You know what? Seeing that you are getting better and better, I always feel that the gap between us is getting bigger and bigger."

Feng Zhengming did not interrupt Luo Qing, but listened quietly to her continue speaking.

Luo Qing took a deep breath and continued, "I have been traveling frequently recently, hoping to learn more and catch up with you.

But I found that even after trying my best, I still couldn't catch up with you, and the gap between you and me seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

It seems that I can't give you any help at all in your career.

You run between Ganfanpu and Huiquanlou every day, trying to balance various matters in the two stores.

You also need to keep honing your cooking skills and participate in cooking competitions.”

Having said this, Luo Qing stopped and looked at Feng Zhengming.

“I know that even if you don’t participate in the competition, you can still run Ganfanpu and Huiquanlou very well, but you still have to participate in the competition because you don’t want to stagnate.

You hope to use your own way to make Shandong cuisine go out again and create new glory.

You also want to gain more praise and income through your own efforts and lead those who are willing to follow you. "

Luo Qing faced Feng Zhengming, staring at him with her big watery eyes.

"You know what? I really love you like this. You are like a rising sun. I am looking forward to seeing you rise to the highest point in the sky and illuminate everything."

Feng Zhengming reached out and gently pulled Luo Qing into his arms.

"Then you have to accompany me. I hope you can accompany me to witness the day when I take photos in the sky."

Without letting Luo Qing continue speaking, Feng Zhengming hugged her and comforted her softly.

"Since you can tell me all this tonight, I know you are my soul mate. You can understand what I am going to do. I also know that you hope to catch up with me, learn more from your uncle, and help me in the future.

So let us work together and run towards our success together. "

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Luo Qing finally fell.

On the deserted street at night, two people kissed each other.

……

The next morning, when Feng Zhengming got up, he felt something soft beside him.

He turned his head to look beside him and saw Luo Qing curled up in his arms like a sleeping cat.

He gently kissed Luo Qing's forehead.

Feng Zhengming got up quietly with a happy mood, put on his clothes and gently opened the door.

I closed the door gently again and just turned around to see my grandfather's door open.

The grandfather and grandson looked at each other across the door.

Grandpa Feng smiled and said softly, "We must play seriously today."

Feng Zhengming immediately agreed: "I know, Grandpa, don't worry."

In the morning, Feng Zhengming arranged everything at Huiquanlou, and then he took Luo Qing to the stadium.

Luo Qing's face had been as beautiful as a peach blossom today, and suddenly she looked even more mature.

After arriving at the competition venue, Feng Zhengming faced the first round of the challenge.

First I watched other people's games.

Although the first round of the competition is about knife skills, it does not simply require each chef to slice, shred, or dice.

Instead, each chef is asked to prepare a vegetable cold dish platter using the vegetables provided on site.

It is necessary to use various knife skills such as slicing, shredding, and dicing.

This can be said to be a big challenge for chefs.

Not only does one need good knife skills, but one also needs to be able to plan out how to arrange the dish on the spot?

Think ahead of time about the composition of the dishes on the plate.

Then, based on the plating composition, you will complete various tests of your knife skills.

Many of the chefs who took part in the first assessment really found it difficult to start.

Some people simply slice, shred or dice the vegetables and then make a temporary shape on the plate.

Are there some young chefs who just can’t come up with anything?
Just arrange the slices, shreds, cubes and minced food on a plate in order, and it will be a cold dish.

Of course, there were still some experts at the scene, including a middle-aged chef who brought a picture of a lotus pond.

There really was a feeling of being the most beautiful one among all the girls at the scene.

Naturally, the middle-aged chef's cold dishes won unanimous praise from the judges, making him the first to successfully advance.

Many chefs who were competing later in the competition felt pressured when they saw such a dish.

Luo Qing also felt that this cold dish was a little too amazing, and couldn't help but ask Feng Zhengming in a low voice.

"Are you sure? Your opponent looks very strong."

Feng Zhengming smiled slightly: "Don't worry, it's just a show of sword skills, your man will not lose to him."

When Luo Qing heard Feng Zhengming claiming to be her man, she suddenly remembered what happened last night and her cheeks turned red instantly.

After the first round of cold dish competition, which required chefs to demonstrate their knife skills, the next round was a competition of cooking skills and spoon skills.

Naturally, the chefs were asked to cook a classic Shandong dish on the spot, fried with oil and crispy.

Many chefs feel stressed when they learn that they have to make the fried crispy double-crusted food on the spot.

Some chefs who did not participate in the competition could not help but whisper about it.

"Isn't it too difficult to make it fried and crispy right away?"

However, there are some people who still understand why this is the case.

"It must be difficult. Don't forget that the challenge is to challenge the chefs selected from the province to participate in the National Cooking Skills Competition. What kind of chefs can participate in the National Cooking Skills Competition?"

"That's right, if you can't even make fried double crisps, how can you be qualified to participate in the trials?"

After someone said this, everyone understood.

The strict requirements of the challenge are to select the best chefs to enter the selection competition.

The subsequent selection is to select the best chef in the province, who will then represent Shandong cuisine in the National Cooking Skills Competition.

Feeling the pressure, the chefs participating in the competition became more serious. (End of this chapter)