From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

At Huiquanlou, everyone felt complicated after watching the live broadcast on TV.

As chefs, Li Huidong, Yang Bin, Cao Zhiguo and the chefs in Huiquanlou's kitchen can feel the gap between themselves and the country's outstanding chefs by watching the national cooking competition live on TV.

This live TV broadcast allowed them to see the chefs who can stand on the national competition stage.

Each of them is a chef with his or her own unique abilities.

Nowadays, many chefs really show their best skills in the second course of the three-course individual competition.

I made quite a lot of dishes that are totally uncommon in normal times.

This second dish also created a certain gap between the chefs.

The dishes are displayed one by one through live broadcast.

It can be clearly seen that some chefs are in the first echelon, leaving the chefs behind them by a considerable distance.

It cannot be said that the chefs who were left behind have poor skills, it’s just that in national competitions, the dishes they cooked would seem to lack highlights.

Just like the second dish, the peony bird's nest made by Henan cuisine chef Hao Zongcheng.

Although it is a very traditional classic dish.

However, Hao Zongcheng made some new designs to make the whole dish show the elegance and luxury that is unique to peony flowers.

It instantly elevated the quality of the entire dish, stunning the audience both at the scene and in front of the TV.

In terms of overall creativity, Feng Zhengming is still far ahead.

His dish was imitation bear paw served with imitation abalone.

This creativity alone is enough to put all the chefs ahead of the competition.

Perhaps the finished dishes he made looked a little plain and light.

It does not have the elegance and luxury of peony bird's nest.

It doesn’t have the grandeur of Jiang Chengzhe’s lobster roll.

It's not even as colorful as Zhang Quande's green pearl fish flower.

But knowing that the dish was made with winter melon and white radish was enough to surprise everyone.

After a moment of silence, Li Huidong said, "Zhengming is really amazing."

As soon as the eldest senior brother opened his mouth, Yang Bin couldn't help but agree with him.

"That's right. The second dishes today generally showed their true talents. The peony bird's nest can be said to be the most beautiful dish in the whole show, but the creativity and design of Zhengming's dish should still be better than everyone else's."

Cao Zhiguo then said: "However, Zhengming's dish is a bit too vegetarian, and I think it may not be as good as the Peony Bird's Nest in terms of score."

Other chefs in Huiquanlou’s kitchen also expressed their opinions.

"The chef's dishes are fine. He uses winter melon to make bear paws and white radish to make abalone. Others wouldn't have thought of this idea."

“But it’s also true that the chef’s dish isn’t as pretty as some of the other dishes in terms of color matching.”

"The main thing is the peony bird's nest dish, it's really exaggerated."

"I had only heard of the name of Peony Bird's Nest before, but I didn't expect it to be such a beautiful dish."

The chefs in Huiquanlou’s kitchen still didn’t know much about the dish, so they all asked Master Yan.

Master Yan then explained the peony bird's nest to everyone.

"To put it simply, Peony Bird's Nest is made by making shredded white radish taste like bird's nest, paired with clear broth, and after seasoning, it will give people the feeling of eating bird's nest."

Everyone in the kitchen of Huiquanlou was surprised to hear that Peony Bird's Nest was also made with shredded white radish.

Then an apprentice asked: "Botan bird's nest is also made with white radish, and the chef also uses white radish to make abalone, so aren't they equally good?"

Another apprentice immediately said, "But the presentation of the peony bird's nest is so beautiful, the score must be higher than the chef's."

Almost all the apprentices thought so, and they all felt that Feng Zhengming's dish presentation was at a disadvantage.

Master Yan, on the other hand, was very calm: "Cooking is like doing anything else, it is difficult to be perfect.

Especially in national competitions, it is almost impossible to design a dish to perfection.

So you definitely have to make some trade-offs when cooking.

Zhengming's imitation bear paw and imitation abalone may indeed appear too plain and lack the elegance and luxury of peony bird's nest, but his creativity is very good and he applied many techniques to it.

Maybe it is not as good as the peony bird's nest in terms of presentation, but it may be better than the other in other aspects. "

After listening to Master Yan’s words, everyone thought about it carefully and felt that what Master Yan said made sense.

Although Feng Zhengming's dish presentation is relatively simple, it is not as gorgeous and beautiful as others.

But the creativity of the whole dish is still much better than that of other chefs.

Yang Bin smiled and said, "You should trust the chef's ability to make the best flavors. When have you ever seen your chef lose to anyone else in terms of flavor?"

These words made everyone feel more reassured about Feng Zhengming.

Everyone in Huiquanlou’s kitchen is aware of Feng Zhengming’s seasoning skills.

After all, when Feng Zhengming set up a stall at the train station to sell boxed lunches and made steamed pork stew, his success was based on taste.

In the many cooking challenges he experienced later, he always won over others in terms of taste.

So the imitation bear paw and abalone that look very plain should not be bad after being seasoned by Feng Zhengming.

Cao Zhiguo thought about it carefully and said: "Now it is necessary to have the basic skills, the seasoning ability, and a lot of creativity in cooking.

It seems that he has a great chance of winning the first place in this national competition."

Yang Bin immediately said, "Hahaha, you might as well say that Zhengming has already been confirmed as the top scorer."

Li Huidong glanced at Yang Bin and said, "It's too early to draw a conclusion."

Cao Zhiguo muttered in a low voice: "It feels like that."

Master Yan stood up and said, "Okay, you should prepare dinner soon. I'll go back first. Whether Zhengming can become the top scholar of this year will be known tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

Seeing that the master was about to leave, Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers quickly stood up to see him off.

Yang Bin still wanted to keep his master.

"Master, why don't you stay for dinner? We'll take you back after dinner."

Master Yan smiled and said, "Okay, go do your own thing. Zhengming is not here, so you still have to help him run Huiquanlou."

He Yunqing also stood up to see him off: "Master Yan, don't worry, we will definitely run Huiquanlou well."

Master Yan looked at He Yunqing and suddenly sighed, "From now on, Huiquanlou will depend on you. I'm afraid that if Zhengming becomes the top scholar this time, he will leave Quancheng."

Everyone was a little surprised to hear Master Yan say this.

However, Li Huidong quickly nodded to show his understanding.

"Zhengming's cooking skills are so good that he can indeed go beyond the city of Quanzhou. Only when he goes abroad can Shandong cuisine be better promoted, and his future achievements will become greater and greater."

Master Yan added: "According to past tradition, the top ten chefs would be arranged to go abroad."

"Arranged to go abroad?" Master Yan's words surprised everyone.

Master Yan nodded: "Yes, the top ten chefs in the national cooking competition will definitely be arranged to perform abroad, but of course the time will not be long."

Li Huidong, Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo still knew about the overseas performance.

Master Yan has also performed abroad.

This is also a tradition, a way to promote international exchange through food. The three brothers understand that if Feng Zhengming becomes one of the top ten chefs of this year, he will really embark on a different path.

That will be a path to fame just like the one Master took.

Moreover, the creative ability demonstrated by Feng Zhengming may allow him to go further than his master.

Master Yan walked out of Huiquan Tower and looked up at the setting sun.

The old man smiled and said, "Zhengming should be able to cook Shandong cuisine even better."

When the master was about to leave, Li Huidong simply said goodbye to his two fellow apprentices. He left with the master and sent the master back on the way.

Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo did not force Li Huidong to stay, and they said goodbye to their master and senior brother together.

When they returned to Huiquanlou again, Yang Bin looked at Cao Zhiguo and said, "Old Cao, Zhengming should ask us to help him run the two stores in Quancheng from now on."

Cao Zhiguo looked helpless: "It seems so. Let's help him. It's not bad."

Yang Bin immediately laughed: "Are you willing to stay?"

Cao Zhiguo nodded: "Of course, it's not easy to get ahead outside. Haven't you seen so many masters in the national competition? When they return to their hometowns in the future, where will there be a place for me?"

Yang Bin thought for a moment and said, "Why do I feel like Zhengming has already made arrangements?"

After hearing what his third senior brother said, Cao Zhiguo thought about it carefully and felt that everything seemed to have been arranged in advance.

Before Feng Zhengming went to the national competition this time, he specifically provided training to several of his senior brothers and everyone in the kitchen.

Now it seems that there were plans in place to prepare for his future departure from Quancheng.

Cao Zhiguo said: "He shined so brightly in the national competition, and he was fighting for a better future for himself."

Yang Bin said: "If he has a better future, we will also benefit from it."

Cao Zhiguo also agreed with this statement.

Just like it was in Yanxi Tower.

With the master's reputation, Yan Xilou's business is guaranteed and the brothers and sisters have an easy life.

After Yan Xilou closed down, the fellow disciples also went their separate ways.

Whether outside or returning to hometown to try your luck.

Both Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo knew that their abilities were indeed limited.

They are still more suitable to cook in the kitchen.

Now Feng Zhengming has created good conditions for them.

While he is building a reputation outside, his senior brothers can help him run the Gan Rice Shop and Huiquan Restaurant in the back.

The fellow apprentices can still work together to inherit and promote Shandong cuisine.

Yang Bin smiled and said, "Okay, let's get started. I look forward to Zhengming successfully winning the first prize tomorrow."

This made everyone in Huiquan Building laugh.

Everyone is full of expectations for Feng Zhengming.

Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo led their people back to the kitchen, and Huiquanlou officially started its evening business.

Many people who came to Huiquanlou tonight were also talking about the National Cooking Competition.

Because there are live broadcasts on TV during this period, many people will take time to watch the live broadcasts in the afternoon.

Seeing the exquisite skills of chefs from all over the country in the national competition became a topic of conversation after dinner.

The topic of discussion at Huiquanlou tonight is naturally Feng Zhengming's imitation bear paw and abalone of winter melon and white radish, as well as Hao Zongcheng's peony bird's nest.

There were even guests who came to Huiquanlou and specifically asked if they could have the imitation bear paw and imitation abalone dish?

He Yunqing also explained to the customers who asked questions with a smile.

"I'm sorry, but you can't eat that dish at Huiquanlou right now because the chef is still participating in a competition. That dish was also a new dish created during the chef competition. If you want to eat it at Huiquanlou, I'm afraid you have to wait for the chef to come back."

After hearing He Yunqing's explanation, the customer who had a good relationship with him asked directly.

"Lao He, do you think your chef can win first place in this national competition?"

He Yunqing said with great certainty: "If you ask me, our chef will definitely be the first, the top pick of this year."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the customers couldn't help laughing.

"Old He, are you trusting your chef too much?"

"Yes, I saw many chefs cooking beautiful dishes."

"Today's second dish, the Peony Bird's Nest made by the Henan cuisine chef, is definitely the first place in today's competition."

"And the lobster made by the chef from Gangcheng is also very beautiful. I think he has a chance to compete for first place."

"You are wrong. How can you not support our Shandong cuisine chefs?"

"That's right, our Shandong cuisine chefs performed very well today. I think Chef Sun from Taifenglou also cooked very good dishes today."

I see that everyone has their favorite chefs and dishes.

He Yunqing said with a smile: "Everyone has their favorite dishes, so they must think that the dish they like can win first place, so it's natural for me to support our chef."

After hearing what He Yunqing said, the customers all nodded in agreement.

In the kitchen of Feng’s dry restaurant.

Xia Mingye took a break from his busy schedule to ask his sister Xia Hui.

"Sister, do you think the dish that Master Uncle prepared today can score higher than Peony Bird's Nest?"

Xia Hui shook her head and said, "How would I know that?"

Xia Mingye exclaimed: "Master uncle is really amazing. He can make imitation bear paw better than our Confucius Mansion cuisine."

Xia Hui immediately said, "So grandpa asked you to come here to study because he hopes you can learn more and not always be complacent. We chefs should also adapt to the times and keep pace with the times."

After hearing what his sister said, Xia Mingye pondered for a moment and asked curiously, "Sister, this doesn't sound like something you would say."

Xia Hui nodded: "My uncle said so."

"No wonder, I feel like this is the tone of my uncle."

Now Xia Mingye really admires Feng Zhengming even more.

Especially seeing Feng Zhengming's performance in national competitions these days.

Xia Mingye truly realized the gap between himself and the other party.

At the provincial youth chef cooking exchange competition, Xia Mingye didn't think he was much worse than Feng Zhengming.

At that time, Xia Mingye felt that he could soon catch up with Feng Zhengming through hard work.

When it came to the provincial challenge competition, Xia Mingye had already seen the gap between himself and others.

Now let’s take a look at Feng Zhengming’s outstanding performance in the national competition.

Xia Mingye finally understood that the gap between himself and others was too big.

Xia Mingye, who was lost in thought, was hit on the head by his sister.

While wiping the sweat off her forehead, Xia Hui urged her brother bluntly, "Hurry up and work, don't just stand there."

Xia Mingye suddenly came to his senses and immediately started to work with his sister. (End of this chapter)