From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

While chef teams from all over the country are making serious preparations, organizers of the national competition are also making intensive preparations.

Because what will follow is a banquet exchange, which will be a performance and display of delicacies from all over the world.

Therefore, after the menus from various places were reported, the organizers had already started to transport the necessary ingredients from various places.

In order to ensure the absolute standards of the cooking process, the taste can also be as delicious as possible.

The organizers have specially purchased the best ingredients they can buy according to the most original ingredient standards for each dish.

It can be said that the organizers also made a big investment.

I just hope that in the competition, chefs from all over the world can cook classic dishes very well.

The organizers even made some very specialized purchases based on the different regions.

For example, there is braised pork on the Shanghai cuisine menu, and there is also braised pork on the Hunan cuisine menu.

In fact, the pork used for braised pork in the two places is different.

The organizer will purchase pork that suits the local characteristics according to the different needs of the two places.

There is also a team of chefs in Beijing who can make roast duck, and similarly, there are corresponding dishes using duck on the menus of various places.

However, the duck breeds used by everyone are different, and the organizers have taken this into consideration, so they will specially purchase ducks with different needs and transport them to the competition site.

In addition to the differences in livestock and poultry, there are also some regional differences in vegetables, which the organizers have taken into consideration and will try their best to meet.

The next day, when chefs from all over the country were checking the ingredients, Feng Zhengming was somewhat surprised to find that the organizer had even specially obtained giant carp from the Yellow River.

Looking at the fresh Yellow River carp, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but sigh: "They are all good things."

Coincidentally, Jiang Chengzhe and Long Kunbao from Gangcheng were also looking at the ingredients.

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words, Jiang Chengzhe also said: "This is the power of our country."

Long Kunbao echoed, "Yes, with the power of the country, we really need to prepare our banquet seriously this time and not let these good ingredients down."

Feng Zhengming looked at the two of them and took the initiative to approach them and talk to them: "The chefs in your city are really good. They use high-end products such as bird's nest, shark's fin, abalone and sea cucumber."

Long Kunbao smiled and responded: "Your Shandong cuisine is not bad either, with sea cucumbers, dried scallops, fresh scallops, and a lot of fresh vegetables."

Jiang Chengzhe followed up by saying, "And you guys actually want to prepare a table of 20 dishes. It's incredible."

"We just have more dishes, but the ingredients we use are not as good as yours in Hong Kong City."

Hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Long Kunbao shook his head and said, "You can't say that. The strength of our Chinese cuisine does not lie in the good cooking of some good ingredients.

Rather, it is about using ingredients that are not particularly high-end to make them taste just as good as high-end ingredients.

The craftsmanship of turning decay into magic is the real strength of Chinese cuisine.”

These words made Feng Zhengming laugh: "Hahaha, are we being a bit boastful here?"

Jiang Chengzhe and Long Kunbao immediately laughed together.

While they were laughing, Huaiyang cuisine chef Zhang Quande happened to come over.

Seeing a few people talking and laughing, he took the initiative to say hello.

"What are you guys talking about? Why are you laughing so happily?"

Feng Zhengming also discussed some of the topics discussed earlier with Zhang Quande.

Zhang Quande also laughed: "Chef Long is right. The essence of Chinese cuisine is to make delicious food out of ingredients that can be found everywhere."

As they were chatting, the fourth-place Sichuan chef Zeng Zhichang came over.

"Are you guys also selecting ingredients? I didn't expect that the ingredients prepared here are so rich."

Zeng Zhichang is a master chef from Sichuan and Chongqing. Although he did not receive as much attention as the two young chefs Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe during previous competitions.

But the other party's cooking skills are still very impressive, especially his knife skills, which are definitely not worse than Zhang Quande's.

And judging from his fourth place in the total score in the last game, it is not difficult to see that his skills are worthy of respect.

"Hello, Chef Zeng. The Kung Pao Chicken you made during the competition looked great. Especially the various ingredients were arranged in a very regular pattern. It was really beautiful."

Feng Zhengming did not hesitate to praise the other party's craftsmanship.

Zeng Zhichang laughed and said, "Chef Feng, you really flatter me. To be honest, our Sichuan and Chongqing Kung Pao Chicken is an extended version of your Sautéed Chicken with Bean Sauce. The cooking method originated from your Shandong cuisine."

Feng Zhengming said: "We are one family, and Chinese cuisine needs our different tastes."

Zhang Quande followed up by saying, "Chef Feng has a broad vision. He is not bound by cuisine. His chrysanthemum fish should also be inspired by your Sichuan cuisine."

Zeng Zhichang said: "Not only did he draw on the cooking methods of Sichuan cuisine, his seasoning soup is somewhat similar to the squirrel fish in your Huaiyang cuisine."

Zhang Quande nodded: "Indeed, looking at the way he prepared the soup, it does look a lot like squirrel fish soup, but Chef Feng used sea bass. I think if it can be improved, mandarin fish can be used."

Zeng Zhichang smiled and said, "Yes, it is good to use mandarin fish, the taste will be more delicious."

After hearing the two chefs' opinions, Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Mandarin fish is a bit expensive. Using sea bass is cheaper and can be served to customers in restaurants."

Feng Zhengming's words stunned the other chefs present.

Obviously, no one expected that Feng Zhengming actually considered it from the perspective of cooking in restaurants and hotels.

Long Kunbao said with a smile: "Hahaha, Chef Feng's ideas are indeed different from others."

Immediately, the other chefs also laughed, thinking that Feng Zhengming's pragmatic idea was quite interesting.

Feng Zhengming is still very frank: "Many of the dishes I designed will be launched in my Ganfanpu and Huiquanlou, so that customers who go to Ganfanpu and Huiquanlou have the opportunity to taste them."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the chefs present quickly understood.

Everyone realized that Feng Zhengming was not just a talented chef with solid basic skills.

He also runs a dry rice shop and a restaurant.

Therefore, his practical approach to cooking can be understood.

Next, everyone discussed their respective menus together.

Through communication among everyone, we have gained a better understanding of each other.

When chefs from other places also showed up, they quickly joined the discussion.

In this very open and candid discussion atmosphere, chefs from all over the world can really benefit from each other.

In addition to Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine and chefs from Hong Kong.

Chefs of Jiangsu cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Anhui cuisine, and Fujian cuisine all have their own specialties.

The three northeastern provinces and the three provinces of Hunan, Jiangxi and Hubei also have their own unique banquet cuisine.

Chefs of Shanxi cuisine, Shaanxi cuisine, Henan cuisine, Hebei cuisine, Yunnan cuisine, Guizhou cuisine, and Guangxi cuisine have also designed a banquet menu that is rich in their local characteristics.

Even the four minority provinces in the southwest and northwest had chefs participating in the national competition this time, and they also prepared banquets with their local characteristics.

In order to allow them to perform better, the organizers of the event also specially transported some local ingredients from them.

It can really be regarded as an extremely sumptuous feast of food.

Of course, some local dishes of ethnic minorities are cooked in a more extensive way.

By participating in the national competition, they also learned more from many chefs.

In such an environment, Feng Zhengming is like a sponge that constantly absorbs water.

He listened to chefs from different places talking about their unique cooking methods.

Talk about the unique seasoning of their unique ingredients. This time at the national competition, Feng Zhengming really saw a broader vision than when he followed his master to communicate before.

It made him truly realize that China is so vast and rich in resources.

People from different regions and nationalities have many different living habits and tastes.

But these seemingly different places actually have a kind of harmony.

It doesn’t mean that people who like spicy food cannot accept sweet food.

It cannot be said that people who like sweet food cannot accept spicy food.

There is also a unique sourness like that of the southwest, as well as the delicacy under the roughness of the northwest, and a very unique sweetness.

There is also the traditional and unique flavor of the northern grasslands, which carries a sense of wilderness charm.

Communicate with chefs from all over the world and listen to their different understandings and methods of using the same ingredients.

For example, lamb can be the red stew in Shandong cuisine.

It can be a consommé on the prairie.

It can also be pilaf from the Northwest New Province, or it can be grilled.

Different flavors can make lamb taste so different.

As a chef, you should taste and understand different flavors.

Only then can you better understand how to cook mutton.

For example, in the three northeastern provinces, deer tendons and venison are on their menus.

They also have their own unique methods in doing it.

In fact, deer tendons are also on the menu of chefs in Hong Kong, but the cooking methods are obviously different.

This also made Feng Zhengming full of curiosity, especially he wanted to taste the taste of venison.

While Feng Zhengming and his colleagues were selecting ingredients and doing some pre-processing, they were also communicating frankly with each other when they got together.

The masters who led the teams from all over the country also gathered together.

From afar, I watched the atmosphere of discussion and communication between the participating chefs.

The old masters also had happy expressions on their faces.

“This is what our chefs should be like.”

“Yeah, it’s great to have this friendly exchange with everyone.”

“I believe that such an exchange can help everyone improve.”

"Hahaha, these chefs no longer need to improve their skills, but need more exchanges on the selection of ingredients, use of materials, and seasoning."

"This is exactly the effect we want to achieve by holding a national competition."

“It is really exciting to see how many outstanding chefs will emerge from them and where will Chinese cuisine take them in the future?”

"Trust them. In a few years they will be able to successfully take over from us old guys. We will have to rely on them in the future."

This is the expectation of the old chefs for the young chefs in the national competition.

I hope to see cuisines from all over the world improve.

It can create a situation where a hundred flowers bloom in the country.

During the communication, Feng Zhengming came up with a somewhat bold idea.

Since there are so many different flavors across the country, it is difficult to satisfy everyone. So if we have the ability, we might as well invite the most representative and outstanding chefs to come together and open a restaurant that encompasses the flavors of all places.

This idea is quite bold, but Feng Zhengming himself feels that it is not very realistic.

The chefs who came to participate in the national competition are all the best in the culinary industry from all over the place.

Many of them are already recognized masters of local cuisine.

It is indeed unrealistic to allow them to gather together and work in a restaurant.

Feng Zhengming quickly suppressed this idea, thinking that he should first complete the national competition.

Almost everyone has confirmed the ingredients to be used.

In fact, for chefs everywhere, the real focus is not on the main ingredient.

More important than the main ingredients are the various auxiliary ingredients, spices and seasonings.

For example, chefs everywhere actually have to prepare soup in advance.

Just the ingredients used to cook the soup vary from place to place.

For example, Huaiyang cuisine chefs use old chickens, and not just one, but multiple chickens to cook the soup.

Shandong cuisine uses old chicken, bones, ham, scallops and other ingredients to make soup.

The ingredients used in Cantonese soups are more complicated, and even many medicinal herbs are used.

Sichuan cuisine also requires preparing broth in advance, and its complexity is no less than that of Shandong cuisine.

Chefs from other places also have their own ways of cooking broth.

The materials used are quite varied.

The scene was really like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing off their magical powers.

In addition to soup, various spices are also needed.

Sichuan cuisine must be the one that uses the most spices.

They really do come prepared with lots of spices.

Shandong cuisine also has a lot of spices, but the taste is generally lighter than Sichuan cuisine.

Cantonese cuisine uses a variety of spices and is lighter.

The types of spices used in different places also have different requirements.

Although both are Sichuan peppercorns, the taste of Shandong cuisine using Qilu peppercorns and Sichuan cuisine using Sichuan and Chongqing peppercorns is absolutely different.

As for chili peppers, the chefs from Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou use chili peppers.

The taste is also different from the peppers produced in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu and Henan in the north.

Therefore, the process of selecting spices must be done personally by chefs from all over the country.

You must smell or even taste the spices you want to use.

The organizers have worked hard to purchase these spices from all over the country.

During the process of selecting spices, Feng Zhengming also communicated with chefs from various places.

Specifically taste the flavors of spices from all over the world.

Through personal tasting, Feng Zhengming naturally discovered that although it is the same spice, the varieties grown in different places are different, so the taste is also different.

This made Feng Zhengming suddenly understand why sometimes when making the same dish, the method is exactly the same, but the final taste varies in different places?
In fact, the reason behind this is that the taste deviations of spices in different places are not taken into consideration.

Like spices, condiments produced in different places, even the most common vinegar and soy sauce, have huge deviations.

After tasting seasonings from various places, Feng Zhengming suddenly felt that they should be specifically marked on the recipe. (End of this chapter)