From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

A few days after chatting with his senior brother, Feng Zhengming received the news that he would attend the Provincial Cooking Association's seminar on the provincial youth chef cooking exchange competition.

This time, Feng Zhengming simply went with several senior brothers.

Even the third senior brother Yang Bin and the fifth senior brother Cao Zhiguo were called along.

The third and fifth brothers both found this a little strange.

Yang Bin directly said that he couldn't go: "I still have to take care of Xindian. If I go, what will happen to the business in Xindian?"

Cao Zhiguo had the same concerns: "Yes, if we all leave Huiquanlou and leave it to those young people in the kitchen, will it really work? Won't they destroy the brand you have worked so hard to put up for Huiquanlou?"

Feng Zhengming looked at his two senior brothers, as if he had planned everything.

"Third brother, fifth brother, think about it, isn't this a good opportunity?"

"Good opportunity?" The two senior brothers didn't quite understand?

It was the eldest brother Li Huidong who understood.

"Zhengming means that this is a good opportunity to test the young chefs in the kitchen, right?"

After hearing what the senior brother said, Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo fell into deep thought.

The two thought about it carefully and gradually understood Feng Zhengming's intention.

After all, the Young Chefs Cooking Exchange Competition is an opportunity for young chefs to show themselves.

So before entering the competition, let them try it on their own.

Perhaps it can help everyone see their own shortcomings, so that they can practice accordingly.

However, the third brother was still a little worried: "But if we all leave and no one is watching them, will they really be okay?"

Fifth Brother was also worried about the kitchen of Huiquanlou.

"The key is the kitchen of Huiquanlou. If they make a mistake, it will really ruin the reputation of Huiquanlou."

Feng Zhengming chose to trust the young chefs.

"We should give them the opportunity to gain experience. When Master went out for meetings or exchanges, didn't he always leave Yanxi Tower to us? Didn't you brothers also gain experience step by step from being in a hurry?"

Li Huidong agrees more with Feng Zhengming's approach.

"Zhengming is right. This is indeed a good opportunity for them to gain experience."

In the end, the third and fifth senior brothers also agreed with Feng Zhengming's method.

But before preparing to attend the seminar.

Feng Zhengming and his senior brothers also gave some instructions to the chefs in the kitchen.

He even specifically warned the young chef in charge to follow the requirements as strictly as possible.

Feng Zhengming's advice was straightforward: "You can serve the dishes slowly, but you must ensure the quality. Remember, if you do a bad job, you will ruin the reputation of Huiquanlou."

These words were spoken very directly, which put a lot of pressure on everyone in the kitchen of Huiquanlou.

Feng Zhengming then patted Gu Zhicheng on the shoulder to encourage him: "Old Gu, while we are away, you will be the head chef in the kitchen. Everything is up to you."

Gu Zhicheng suddenly felt a lot of pressure.

"Chef, isn't it a bit of an honor for me to be the chef in place of you and Master Li?"

Seeing Gu Zhicheng’s sad face, Li Huidong smiled and gave his affirmation.

"Zhicheng, don't say that. You are capable. The chef asked you to take over temporarily, which means he has confidence in your ability. We all believe in you too."

Cao Zhiguo echoed: "Yes, we all believe you."

Gu Zhicheng also understood that he had no way to avoid it this time.

Feng Zhengming, Li Huidong and Cao Zhiguo are all going to the meeting.

He is the only one who can support everything in the kitchen of Huiquanlou.

Feng Zhengming also explained the situation of the meeting to the young chefs in the kitchen.

"The meeting we attended was about this year's provincial young chef cooking exchange competition. We want to give you more fair and just opportunities. It just so happens that you are also training well in Huiquanlou to prepare for the young chef cooking exchange competition in the second half of the year."

I heard that Feng Zhengming and others were going to discuss this year's young chef cooking exchange competition.

Naturally, all the young chefs in the kitchen are full of expectations.

In this year's Young Chefs Cooking Exchange Competition, the young chefs in Huiquanlou's kitchen really want to show themselves.

After all, Feng Zhengming will definitely not participate in the competition as a young chef this year.

Without Feng Zhengming, the national champion, the competition among young chefs in the province would mean that every young chef would have to take on the challenge.

At least they shouldn't let others think that they have regressed after staying in Huiquanlou for so long.

This time, Feng Zhengming’s idea was that all the young chefs from Huiquanlou and the two dry rice restaurants would participate in the competition.

"You are all chefs who came out of Zheng Luxing, which I founded. You must not embarrass us at the Young Chefs Cooking Exchange Competition. You must promote my brand."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the young chefs in Huiquanlou’s kitchen were all looking forward to it.

Qi Jiale couldn't help but laugh and made a joke.

"Chef, aren't you afraid that we will become the top young chefs and stop working at Huiquanlou?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers looked at each other and smiled.

Feng Zhengming decisively gave a hand to Qijia Le.

"Okay, Lao Qi, I think you can get one of the top three this time. If someone tries to poach you, I will definitely let you go immediately. When you leave, I can just hire some chefs with lower salaries, and I can save money."

"Hahaha……"

This made everyone present laugh.

Qi Jiale never expected that Feng Zhengming would say that.

"Chef, you are too cruel. Why don't you even try to keep me here?"

Feng Zhengming asked back: "Why should I keep you? People always want to move up. If you have a better place to go, I will definitely be happy for you."

Feng Zhengming looked at the other young chefs present.

"I also hope that you can all have a better place to go and become independent chefs in the future. But no matter where you go in the future, I hope you can stick to the heritage of Shandong cuisine and cook it well."

Hearing these words, the young chefs present were really moved.

For young chefs, Feng Zhengming is not only their chef, but also their teacher.

After being in Huiquanlou for so long, they have learned a lot from Feng Zhengming.

Everyone also felt that Feng Zhengming really taught them very comprehensively.

Not only instruct them on the details of cooking.

We will also teach them some methods of managing the kitchen.

The most comfortable thing for young chefs at Huiquanlou is.

In the kitchen of Huiquanlou, they can also try out some of their own ideas.

It can be said that many of Huiquanlou’s most popular dishes are created with the participation of young chefs in the kitchen.

This sense of participation makes the young chefs quite satisfied.

The last and most vulgar point.

The salary and benefits that Feng Zhengming of Huiquanlou gave them were indeed quite good.

Take charge of the kitchens of Huiquanlou and the two dry rice shops.

Feng Zhengming and several of his fellow students arrived at the Culinary Association at the appointed time to attend the seminar on the Young Chefs Cooking Exchange Competition.

Several old masters, including Master Feng Zhengming, were also invited to attend.

Master Yan saw that almost all his apprentices had come. The master was somewhat surprised: "You guys are all here? How are the businesses of your Huiquan Restaurant and Ganfanpu?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded to his master: "With other chefs here, I believe they should be able to handle it. This can be regarded as giving them a chance to grow."

After hearing this, Master Yan was even more surprised: "You are really brave, aren't you afraid of problems?"

Feng Zhengming was very confident: "Master, don't worry, nothing serious will happen."

After hearing what the young apprentice said, Master Yan believed that the young apprentice should make some arrangements.

Then he thought of his disciples coming together, and they must have some ideas they wanted to express at this seminar.

"You brothers are attending the meeting together. Have you already thought about what to say?"

Li Huidong did not hide anything from his master and told him some of the ideas that Feng Zhengming had shared with him before.

"We all think that Zhengming's ideas are very good, and we want to work with him to present them at the seminar to promote their implementation."

After listening to it, Master Yan thought about it and agreed: "It is indeed a good idea. It can help the competition solve the funding problem."

Feng Zhengming took the opportunity to whisper to his master: "If I had enough funds, I would like to invest in the competition."

Hearing what his little apprentice said, Master Yan laughed happily.

"You are really ambitious, you should first manage Huiquan Restaurant and the two dry rice restaurants well."

Feng Zhengming smiled confidently: "Master, don't worry, with the help of several brothers, there will be no problem."

Master Yan looked at the other three disciples beside the young disciple.

"I see, you are more like a master than I am now."

Feng Zhengming was stunned by what he said.

Li Huidong, Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo were also stunned.

When I came to my senses, I saw that my master had a smile on his face.

The fellow disciples also started laughing.

Cao Zhiguo took the opportunity to "complain" to his master.

"Master, you don't know that Zhengming is becoming more and more demanding. If there is something wrong, he will ask the kitchen staff to redo it, and he always watches us do it."

Then the third senior brother Yang Bin also followed suit and "complained".

Master Yan was left in a state of confusion by the behavior of his two apprentices who complained about him.

In the end, he could only warn Feng Zhengming with a smile.

"You have to be more careful. After all, you are a junior brother. You should give your senior brothers some face."

Feng Zhengming looked at his fellow brothers and did not expect that they would take the opportunity to complain to the master.

He could only respond: "Okay Master, I will pay attention."

Then Feng Zhengming and his fellow brothers surrounded the master and walked into the seminar venue.

Soon the president, vice president of the Cooking Association, and some provincial and municipal leaders also showed up.

When they saw Feng Zhengming arriving, they all smiled and nodded to him.

As expected, at the beginning of the seminar, the issue of funding for the Young Chefs Cooking Exchange Competition was raised.

What the province means is that the province can provide funding, but it also needs to expand its influence so that the Young Chef Cooking Exchange Competition can continue to be held smoothly.

On this point, the chefs on site all had different opinions.

Some people think that there should be more publicity, and it can be carried out on provincial television.

Just like Feng Zhengming won the national top prize before.

The provincial television stations and newspapers all followed up with reports, and publicity began as soon as the preparations for the competition began.

In response, provincial leaders said the incident would definitely be reported.

But leaders don’t want to hear such empty propaganda.

Does the leader want to see someone come up with a plan?

At least we have to do publicity, and we have to know how to do it.

It’s a pity that the provincial leaders were somewhat disappointed.

Those who proposed to increase publicity efforts did not come up with a suitable publicity plan.

The meeting seemed to be at a stalemate.

Feng Zhengming put forward his own plan.

"We can promote it on TV and in newspapers. First, we can use newspapers and TV to inform young chefs across the province and encourage them to sign up. Then we can let TV stations and newspapers follow up with reports."

When Feng Zhengming said this, he deliberately paused and looked at the expression of the leader on the scene.

Seeing a happy smile on the leader's face.

Knowing your plan, the leader is generally satisfied.

Feng Zhengming took the opportunity to express his ideas about finding sponsors for the competition.

“I think that the competition cannot just rely on provincial funding. If we want the competition to continue to develop in a healthy way and be better held, we should conduct some commercial investment promotion and get some corporate sponsorship for the competition.

Of course we don't want their sponsorship for nothing, we can help them advertise during the competition.

This could be a win-win situation, as companies that sponsor the competition also get a chance to build their reputation.

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the provincial leaders, the president and vice president of the cooking association, and the chefs invited to attend the seminar all felt that Feng Zhengming's idea was very bold.

But this bold idea can indeed solve the big problem of competition funding.

If this model can succeed.

In the future, every young chef competition will receive sufficient sponsorship and there will be no need to worry about competition funding.

Seeing that everyone was lost in thought, Feng Zhengming emphasized very seriously.

"Sponsorship is sponsorship. We must agree with the sponsors in advance that they cannot interfere too much in the competition. The entire Young Chef Cooking Exchange Competition must ensure absolute fairness and justice."

Feng Zhengming's sudden emphasis on these words won the attention of everyone present.

Maybe everyone originally thought that sponsorship from sponsors might affect the competition.

However, according to Feng Zhengming, sponsors are not allowed to interfere with the competition.

At the end of the seminar, it became entirely Feng Zhengming's own interpretation.

Everyone else present felt that Feng Zhengming had a very clear mind and he had thought of almost every problem that anyone could think of.

So the whole package is quite complete.

The provincial leaders present at the scene were also very happy to listen.

According to what Feng Zhengming said, the province would not need to allocate funds.

With sponsorship, the competition can be held with greater ease.

Feng Zhengming finally said: "Young chefs are the future of Shandong cuisine, so I think the Young Chefs Cooking Exchange Competition must create a loud enough reputation and brand.

In the future, we can discover more outstanding young chefs through competitions and better inherit and promote Shandong cuisine.”

These words, coming out of Feng Zhengming's mouth, made everyone present feel a little strange.

Because Feng Zhengming himself is considered a young chef in terms of age.

But everyone thought again: Feng Zhengming's cooking skills are there, and he can't be considered a young chef.

If he, the national champion, still participates in the young chef competition, then other young chefs probably don't need to compete. (End of this chapter)