From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Finally it was time for the third dish competition, because everyone knew that today was the last dish competition.

Therefore, each chef starts making serious preparations in the morning.

Television stations and reporters from newspapers and magazines who came to report from all over the country also took the time to conduct interviews.

Although they cannot disturb the competing chefs, reporters can interview the chefs leading the teams from all over the country.

Including the two master chefs Su and Sun of Shandong cuisine.

There were about twenty masters invited to the event, and they were specially invited by the TV station to a decorated banquet hall.

Here, the masters will be interviewed by reporters who have come to the scene specially.

The masters were all notified in advance, so they made some preparations.

But the questions from reporters on the scene were still quite sharp.

The first question directly points to the focus of everyone's concern in this national cooking competition.

"Excuse me, all the chefs, after these days of communication and competition, do you think there is a chef who can win the first prize in this competition?"

This question is indeed quite sharp. There is no nonsense and it goes straight to the point.

The old masters looked at each other for a moment and all smiled.

Everyone doesn’t know how to answer this question?

In fact, after watching the competitions these days, I found that there was a lot of communication between the masters.

Therefore, all the chefs have their own idea of ​​who should win the first prize.

But the competition isn’t over yet, so the masters certainly can’t say it directly like that.

On the one hand, we are afraid that it will undermine the morale of some chefs.

On the other hand, I was also worried about being criticized, and the final top scorer was booked in advance.

So the masters looked at each other.

At the recommendation of the masters, Master Li from Shanghai, the host city, spoke up.

“We all know that this competition has received a lot of attention, and it is also the first time we have cooperated with a TV station to try to broadcast the competition live.

Here we really want to thank the country and TV stations for their support, and also thank some companies that sponsored this competition.

There is also strong support from local cooking associations, which allows the best chefs from all over the country to participate.

The competition has come to the last dish of the day, and everyone is concerned about who will be the top pick in this session, which we can understand. "

At this point, Master Li paused, and his remarks hardly touched upon the topic.

So the reporters at the scene were somewhat disappointed.

Then Master Li said: "In fact, we old guys must have our own candidates in mind, but we definitely have our own preferences, so we are not the judges and cannot decide who will be the top scorer in the end.

But I have to say here that there is only one top scorer, but there are more than two hundred chefs participating in the national competition.

Does it mean that if a chef cannot win the first prize, then he or she is not a good chef?

We feel that any chef who comes to participate in the competition is excellent.

Including those chefs who did not come to participate in the national competition and have always stayed in the kitchens of various places, they are also excellent. "

What Master Li said was indeed flawless and gave great encouragement to all the chefs.

Then Master Gao from Beijing spoke up: "Master Li is right. Regardless of whether they can become the champion of this year's competition, every chef participating in the competition is equally excellent.

Those chefs who were not able to come to the national competition are also very excellent.

The original intention of our national cooking competition is to allow outstanding chefs from all over the country to communicate with each other through such a competition.

Since the first session, outstanding chefs from all over the country have had the opportunity to exchange ideas at the competition, and then brought back the exchanged techniques and experiences to enrich the cooking technology in various places and enable better development of catering in various regions.

So no matter who is the champion this year, I believe that every participating chef has gained something through these days of competition.

In the future, our Chinese cuisine will be better developed, and chefs from all over the world will be encouraged to develop more delicious dishes.”

Master Gao from Beijing expressed the original intention of holding the National Cooking Competition and the expectations of the masters for the younger generation of chefs.

The masters hope that through the national cooking competition, chefs across the country can improve themselves.

Through communication, delicacies from all over the world can be spread.

This allows chefs from different places to learn from each other and work together to better develop Chinese cuisine.

The answers given by the masters were flawless, which made the reporters realize that they might not be able to get any answers by directly asking the top scorer.

So next, the reporters interviewed master chefs from all over the country and asked them whether chefs of different cuisines had gained any results through this national cooking competition?

When it comes to professional things, the old masters naturally talk more.

And every master is willing to share his or her feelings.

In particular, the reporter interviewed the two master craftsmen, Su and Sun, and asked them questions about Feng Zhengming's creativity.

A reporter asked directly: "You two are both masters of Shandong cuisine. I would like to ask, in your opinion, are Chef Feng's dishes creative enough? Or in your opinion, are Chef Feng's dishes still Shandong cuisine?"

This is a very sharp question.

In fact, this was also the case for many people who watched the live broadcast on TV and the reporters on the scene after seeing the dishes cooked by Feng Zhengming.

Some doubts in everyone's mind.

Can the dishes cooked by Feng Zhengming still be considered Shandong cuisine?
Indeed, Feng Zhengming's creativity did bring great surprise to everyone.

He is not bound by the traditional forms of Shandong cuisine, but uses his mastery of techniques to design more creative dishes, some of which even have a very unique personal style.

Whether it is from the design of the dish presentation or the taste of the dish.

Every dish of Feng Zhengming constantly brings surprises to everyone.

But he still has the label of Shandong cuisine chef.

So everyone can't help but ask after eating the food: "Is this Shandong cuisine?"

Faced with this question, Master Su and Master Sun looked at each other.

Master Sun spoke first: "Chef Feng is very young, and young people always have more ideas of their own, so he designed more imaginative new dishes in this competition.

However, the cooking techniques he used are all very traditional Shandong cuisine techniques, including the process of preparing the ingredients, preparing scallion oil, pepper oil, and various soups. He strictly follows the traditional techniques of Shandong cuisine.

So from this point of view, we think the dishes he cooks should still be considered Shandong cuisine.”

Master Su took over and continued, “We have discussed this with our peers in various places over the past few days.

Chef Feng really brought us great surprises. Each of his dishes has unique creativity. Whether it is the use of ingredients or various seasonings and spices, they are not limited to traditional Shandong cuisine.

After discussions with colleagues from various places, we feel that Chef Feng’s approach is worthy of recognition.

His approach has very well integrated the different food cultures from different parts of China.

So it doesn’t really matter whether what he cooks can be considered Shandong cuisine, it’s enough that his dishes are delicious.”

The answers of the two chefs, Su and Sun, satisfied the reporters on the scene. They also answered many people's questions about whether the dishes cooked by Feng Zhengming can be considered Shandong cuisine.

As Master Su said at the end, does it matter whether it is Shandong cuisine or not? As long as the dish is delicious, Feng Zhengming's idea is a good idea.

Master craftsmen from all over the country also spoke up to express their support for Feng Zhengming.

At this time, a careful reporter also vaguely captured a piece of information.

When the old masters mentioned Feng Zhengming, they almost all praised him.

It is obvious that Feng Zhengming should be regarded as the chef with the highest chance of winning the top prize among the veteran chefs.

So a reporter boldly asked: "Excuse me, masters, in your opinion, is Chef Feng of Shandong cuisine qualified to be the champion of this cooking competition?"

This question was another direct hit to the old masters.

Then Master Li from Shanghai said: "Any chef who participates in the competition has the opportunity to win the first prize. We are not the judges, so we cannot say who will be the first prize in the end."

Master Li said this, and the masters present all agreed.

This time, the reporters were not trapped.

In the following Q&A interview, the topic returned to professionalism.

The masters also gave detailed answers.

Even when it comes to the disassembly of some dishes that everyone is concerned about, the master chefs will break down some details for the reporters on the spot.

For example, the key to making Peony Bird’s Nest bird’s nest lies in the preparation of the soup, and the skill of making the soup can be said to have been learned from Shandong cuisine.

Another example is Feng Zhengming's imitation bear paw and abalone. When seasoning them in the early stages, the abalone sauce he used was not the traditional abalone sauce, but an abalone sauce similar to golden soup, which is why the abalone carved with white radish did not appear dark in color.

There is also the golden soup that Feng Zhengming prepared to pour over the imitation bear paws and abalone after he finally served the dish.

Beating chicken fat into the dish is a very traditional skill, which also tests the chef's ability.

As for the golden soup and the color adjustment, the old masters also mentioned some details.

The revelation of many details of different dishes made up for the awkward situation where reporters wanted to gossip about who was the top chef but the chefs refused to say.

In the end, the reporters were still relatively satisfied with the interview.

After all, the masters revealed a lot of techniques and secret recipes, so the reporters did not end the interview in vain.

The interview was over and it was almost time for lunch.

All the participating chefs had their meals together this time.

Because they had to compete in the afternoon, the chefs were more serious about the last dish.

Even during a meal, the chef might suddenly think of something and run out of the restaurant to the kitchen to make some preparations.

It can be said that this last dish is the last gamble of many participating chefs.

Although the old masters can say that the national cooking competition is mainly for chefs from all over the world to communicate with each other.

You can also shout "Friendship First" as a slogan.

But when it comes to the last dish, every chef still hopes to do his best.

Which chef would say that he doesn’t want to be the top winner of this year’s competition?

No one participates in the national competition to be someone else's runner-up.

Everyone really put in the best effort and took out all the money they had prepared for a long time.

There are even chefs who are preparing the first two dishes just so that the last dish can shine.

Feng Zhengming didn't have it easy either.

He had been working on the lobsters all morning, getting them all ready.

But he still faced some problems.

According to his previous idea, he simply used lobster balls, which seemed a bit monotonous.

Moreover, the lobster he chose was not very big, and after taking out the meat, he could not separate it into several lobster balls after cutting it.

So after some consideration, Feng Zhengming decided to add some scallop and shrimp balls in addition to lobster balls.

Therefore, halfway through lunch, Feng Zhengming temporarily left the restaurant and went to the kitchen to prepare some scallops and shrimps.

The fresh scallops are prepared in advance, and the shrimps are still the large prawns from the Bohai Bay, which are freshly peeled.

Since it is the last dish in the national cooking competition, it must be the last one to show off.

After peeling the shrimps, Feng Zhengming also turned the shrimp heads into shrimp oil.

The shrimp oil with shrimp brains is really fragrant after it is refined.

This is also the key that Feng Zhengming uses to add flavor to the whole dish.

Then Feng Zhengming thought of the lobster brain, and he felt that the lobster brain should not be wasted.

Previously, he was planning to steam shrimp brains and eggs together to make a base to be placed under the hydrangea.

Now Feng Zhengming changed his mind. Since he was going to use fresh scallops, dried scallops and shrimps to make hydrangeas, it would be better to put the lobster brains in the middle of the hydrangeas as the filling.

In this way, the hydrangea can become more layered.

Feng Zhengming thought about it and decided to add some green onions and ginger and steam the shrimp brain to set its shape.

In this way, when you cook it later, you can directly wrap the shrimp brain into the hydrangea.

The hydrangea is made with shrimp paste mixed with fresh scallops, and then coated with a layer of shredded scallops and vegetables.

With such a set of preparations, the whole dish becomes colorful.

Many people felt that yesterday's dish, which had both fish and bear's paw, was too plain.

Feng Zhengming decided that today's dish of Oolong and the Pearl should be decorated with colorful decorations.

After preparing all the ingredients, check the lobster meat again.

Make sure the lobster meat is fine in the ice water.

Then check that the soup, scallion oil, pepper oil, and the sea cucumber that has been simmering on low heat in the sand pot are all correct.

Feng Zhengming finally felt completely relieved. He took the lunch he had brought from the restaurant and went back to the restaurant to finish his lunch.

As soon as he returned to the restaurant, Jiang Chengzhe took the initiative to approach him.

"Hey, what are you preparing in the kitchen again? It's the last dish, can't you relax and give us a chance?"

Feng Zhengming smiled after hearing this and said: "Let's compete fairly. I just want to cook better."

Jiang Chengzhe was stunned, hesitated for a while and said: "Okay, I will also do my best."

Then Jiang Chengzhe put down his plate and ran quickly to the kitchen where the ingredients were prepared. (End of this chapter)