From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 520 Confirming the Second Dish (Please subscribe and vote)

The competition is over and the chefs are all very tired.

So after leaving the competition venue, most chefs chose to go back to their rooms to take a shower and rest.

Feng Zhengming first went back to his room to get his clothes, then went upstairs to Grandpa Situ's room to take a shower.

After taking a shower, I changed into some more casual clothes.

Mr. Situ asked with a smile: "Do you want to go to other places in Shanghai together tonight? I can ask the hotel to arrange a car, and Zhengming, you can accompany your grandfather to go shopping."

Before Feng Zhengming could speak, his grandfather said, "It's better not to go. Zhengming had a hard time competing today, and he has to compete again tomorrow."

Grandpa Situ agreed: "Okay, there will be competitions every day from now on, and Zhengming really needs more rest."

Third uncle Feng Jiandong said with a smile: "Zhengming should go to bed early after dinner tonight. Only by getting enough rest can you cope well with the competition."

Feng Zhengming was not particularly tired: "Actually, after taking a shower, I have regained my energy. I don't need to go to bed so early."

Luo Qing asked: "So how are you preparing for tomorrow's competition?"

"Don't worry, everything that needs to be prepared has been prepared in advance."

Mr. Situ asked, "What dish are you going to make tomorrow, the Oolong Playing with Pearls?"

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and replied, "I'm still hesitating, should I make Oolong Xizhu as the second dish, or should I make that dish as the third dish?"

Hearing this, Uncle San asked curiously, "Besides the Oolong Xizhu dish, what other dish did you prepare?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "There is also abalone imitating bear paw."

"Abalone imitating bear paw?"

This dish made everyone a little curious.

Feng Zhengming explained the general approach.

“In terms of the method, it is somewhat similar to the Confucius Mansion’s imitation bear paw, but the overall details will be different.

This time I am not going to debone the pig’s trotter to make the bear’s paw skin. Instead, I am going to carve a bear’s paw mold out of winter melon and then fill the winter melon mold with bear’s paw-like fillings.

After that, it is steamed first and then boiled to give the winter melon the flavor of bear paw.

For the abalone, I plan to carve a white radish into an abalone mold, stuff it with stuffing, use abalone sauce to flavor the white radish, and finally pour golden soup into it.”

After listening to Feng Zhengming's explanation of the entire preparation of this dish, the family members were a little surprised.

Uncle San asked incredulously, "So you don't use bear paws and abalone to make this dish?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "It's not that I don't use abalone at all. For example, when I make abalone sauce, I also use abalone. It's just that in order to make the dish look beautiful, I use white radish to carve the abalone.

This imitation bear paw is made from a winter melon mold, and the abalone is also carved out of white radish.

Both ingredients can have a crystal clear feeling, which will make the overall look more beautiful.

I also stuff abalone cubes into the abalone carved from white radish.”

After listening to Feng Zhengming's detailed explanation, the family still felt that his approach was a little hard to imagine.

Mr. Situ thought for a long time and couldn't help but sigh: "If I don't see it with my own eyes, I really can't imagine what the dish will look like?"

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "When the time comes, we can give this dish a name, 'having both fish and bear's paw'."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, everyone in the family thought such a dish was incredible.

Uncle San also sighed: "Uncle Situ is right. If I don't see it with my own eyes, I really can't imagine what kind of dish this is, Zhengming?"

Grandpa and Luo Qing just smiled, and it was obvious that they were always full of confidence in Feng Zhengming.

No matter what kind of dish Feng Zhengming will make?

Grandpa and Luo Qing both firmly believed that the dishes he cooked would definitely get high scores and be able to amaze the audience.

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "This dish I designed can also be made in restaurants in the future. I will ask the apprentices of Huiquan Restaurant to practice carving skills and carve bear paws and abalone for me in the future."

These words made everyone in the family laugh.

Uncle San joked, "Then the apprentices of Huiquanlou will probably be asked what they learned in Huiquanlou.
They can only say that they carve winter melons and white radishes every day in Huiquanlou.”

After Uncle San said this, everyone suddenly found it even more interesting.

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "After watching the competition these days, you should have noticed that carving is also one of the basic skills of a chef in the competition. It is difficult to get a high score if you don't know how to carve."

My family members also noticed this during the competition.

During the live competition, almost every chef showed off his beautiful carving skills.

There is more on the plate than just food prepared for people to taste.

There are also various carvings to go with the dishes.

It is precisely because of those carvings that many dishes in the competition look quite beautiful.

Feng Zhengming also demonstrated his carving skills many times in this competition.

The only difference between him and other chefs is that Feng Zhengming always cooks his carvings well, so that people watching can not only appreciate the beauty of the carvings but also taste the flavor of them.

Of course, this is not the case with every dish.

For example, today a Sichuan chef made a carved rooster and served it on his Kung Pao Chicken plate.

If the carved rooster was cooked and people were asked to taste it, the scene would be quite scary.

What's more, some carvings will obviously lose their effect if they are cooked too much.

Feng Zhengming's approach here has always been very different.

Today he made the cold dish of Small Bridge and Flowing Water.

Some of the side dishes are also edible.

In fact, many chefs who also make cold dishes will not make the things used to decorate the cold dishes edible.

What Feng Zhengming needs to do next is to have the best of both worlds.

It is obviously also a dish that showcases carving skills.

This time, Feng Zhengming even wanted to make the carvings into a dish.

Mr. Situ thought for a long time and said, "Since Zhengming has a new dish, I think you should make it as the second dish, and Oolong Xizhu can be the last dish."

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed to the suggestion given by Grandpa Situ.

"Okay, then I'll do as you said, Grandpa Situ. Tomorrow I'll make the dish that will satisfy your every need."

After hearing the name Feng Zhengming gave her, Luo Qing smiled and said, "Why do I think your name is weird?"

Feng Zhengming pretended to be serious and asked: "Why is it strange? The ancients said: You can't have both fish and bear's paw. My dish just combines fish and bear's paw together."

Luo Qing thought for a moment and said, "But there's no fish in your dish?"

Feng Zhengming said with a smile: "Abalone is also a fish. Besides, we can't make bear paws directly nowadays. We can only make them in a way that imitates bear paws. So this dish is a metaphor."

The two old men present agreed with Feng Zhengming's naming.

Mr. Situ said: "This dish does have a good meaning, and if we can really make crystal clear bear paws and abalone, this dish should be very beautiful."

Grandpa Feng said, "The key is to make two very common ingredients, winter melon and white radish, look and taste like bear paws and abalone, which is really not easy." Uncle San was immediately curious: "Zhengming, can you really make bear paws and abalone taste like this?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "I dare not say that now. I can only wait until it is made and let everyone taste it."

"Then I must try it when the time comes." Uncle San was obviously very much looking forward to it.

After talking about cooking, Mr. Situ and Grandpa Feng looked at each other.

Then the two old men spoke separately.

"Zhengming, since you have already decided what dish to cook and have prepared almost everything in advance, you have nothing to do tonight, so why don't you take Xiao Luo out for a walk?"

"Yes, you can go to the riverside and have a look. If necessary, you can go on the yacht by the river and play. Grandpa Situ will pay for you."

Hearing the two old men say this, Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing looked at each other.

Both of them understood that the two old men wanted to give them some opportunities to be alone.

Luo Qing's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment.

Uncle San said, "Yes, yes, you guys go quickly, Zhengming, take Xiao Luo with you."

Feng Zhengming took Luo Qing's hand openly, said goodbye to his two grandfathers and his third uncle, and took Luo Qing out.

Walking out of the room, Feng Zhengming asked with a smile: "Where do you want to go?"

Luo Qing thought about it and said, "Why don't we not go? I'm worried that if we play too late at night and come back, we'll miss your game tomorrow."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It's okay. Why don't we go to the other side? Let's go to the riverside and see if there are any yachts we can take. We can go on the yacht and have some fun on the river."

Luo Qing felt that this seemed to be okay, and she made up her mind to go out and play for a while and then come back to let Feng Zhengming rest.

"Should we go get something to eat first?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "No, let's go on a yacht. There's food on the yacht, too."

Holding Luo Qing's hand, Feng Zhengming took the elevator downstairs with her.

In the hotel lobby downstairs, I unexpectedly met the hotel owner again.

When the boss saw Feng Zhengming holding Luo Qing's hand, his eyes lit up.

Looking at Feng Zhengming again, the hotel owner smiled and said, "Chef Feng is really young and promising. Even his girlfriend is so beautiful."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "Thank you for the compliment, boss."

Then Feng Zhengming asked directly: "Boss, does your hotel have a yacht by the river? Or can you help us contact a yacht? We want to go to the river for some fun."

The hotel owner immediately said, "That's perfect. Our hotel also has a yacht, right by the river. I'll have someone drive you there."

Unexpectedly, the hotel owner was so generous that he even arranged for a Mercedes-Benz in the hotel to take Feng Zhengming and his friends to the riverside pier.

This really made Feng Zhengming feel a little embarrassed.

Luo Qing couldn't help asking in the car: "They arranged all this for you. Do they have any intentions towards you?"

“Don’t worry, he’s such a big boss, he can open such a big hotel here, and he can also let this year’s national cooking competition be held in his hotel, which shows that he is very capable.

I am just a small cook, people shouldn’t make things difficult for a small cook like me.”

Luo Qing thought for a moment and said, "Will he want you to be a chef in his hotel?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "He did mention it to me, but I have clearly refused. I believe he will not force me. He is a big boss, so it is not difficult for him to find a suitable chef."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Luo Qing thought about it carefully and felt that for such a large hotel to host the National Cooking Competition, it would not be difficult to find a suitable chef.

And Luo Qing also thought of the Western chef in that restaurant.

She immediately felt relieved.

The car took Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing to the dock.

There are some yachts docked here.

There is also a large ship that is used specifically for ferrying people across the river.

The people on one of the yachts had obviously received the notice.

When he saw Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing, he took the initiative to step forward and ask.

"Excuse me, is this Chef Feng?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes."

The other party immediately extended an invitation: "Our boss called and asked me to pick you up, Chef Feng, and get on board."

Feng Zhengming didn't bother to be polite with the other party. He took Luo Qing's hand and followed her onto the yacht.

This is not a very big yacht, but it looks very romantic.

Moreover, some meals and drinks had been prepared for Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing on the yacht.

Feng Zhengming was somewhat satisfied with the hotel owner's arrangement.

When the yacht started and left the dock, Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing boarded the yacht together to watch the beautiful evening scenery of the setting sun on the river.

At this moment, the two of them held hands, and Luo Qing gently leaned her head in Feng Zhengming's arms, really enjoying this moment.

Feng Zhengming thought that it was quite romantic to have a yacht on the river and watch the sunset with his beloved. When he came to Shanghai to open a restaurant in the future, he would also make money to get a yacht to park by the river.

At the same time in the hotel, Mr. Situ met the hotel owner and expressed his gratitude to him.

"Thank you for helping me arrange it. How much is the fee for tonight?"

The hotel owner responded very politely: "You are very kind. Chef Feng is now a strong contender for the top prize in the national competition. I can still afford the expenses tonight."

Mr. Situ went on to say, “You should know that he can’t come to your hotel to be the chef.”

The hotel owner laughed: "Hahaha, of course I know this, but in the future, when Chef Feng has time, he can come to my hotel kitchen to give me some pointers, that's enough."

Seeing that the boss had said so, Mr. Situ did not force the money, but just said: "Okay, I will recommend your hotel more in the future."

After hearing Mr. Situ's words, the hotel owner immediately smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Situ, for your trust in our hotel's services."

Mr. Situ said, "You must provide good service."

The hotel owner promised: "Please rest assured, we will definitely provide good service."

After the hotel owner left, Feng Zonghe asked, "Brother Situ, what did you ask the hotel to arrange for Zhengming and the others?"

Mr. Situ smiled and replied casually, "We just asked the hotel to help arrange a yacht so that Zhengming can take Xiao Luo to watch the sunset on the river."

After hearing this, Feng Jiandong couldn't help but stand up and walk to the window of the room, looking out at the river in the distance.

"Uncle Situ really dotes on Zhengming a little."

Mr. Situ laughed out loud: "Hahaha, he's my own child, as a grandfather, of course I have to pamper him, I can't let him lose face in front of the beautiful girl I love."

At this moment, Feng Jiandong was actually a little jealous.

Feng Zhengming, this nephew, is really lucky to have come at the right time.

(End of this chapter)