From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After some interviews on the scene, they walked out of the airport one after another and boarded the cars sent by the province to pick them up.

Feng Zhengming naturally returned to his car with his uncle.

Next, the group went to the province first, where they held a formal welcoming ceremony and then some seminars.

The provincial leaders, the tycoons who traveled with Gangcheng, and the team leader Li Guansheng also made speeches.

After all parties had spoken, Feng Zhengming was called upon to say a few words.

"Zhengming, you should say something too. You are the champion of our national cooking competition. This time the Hong Kong chef group is coming to Quancheng, so you are the host anyway. You should say something."

He saw that everyone's eyes were on him.

In fact, Feng Zhengming had been informed in advance about the speech and was ready to make it.

Originally, Feng Zhengming saw so many people talking at the scene that he might not be able to use the speech he prepared.

Now that the symposium was about to end, Feng Zhengming was called upon to speak.

He was a little embarrassed to take out the prepared manuscript.

I could only recall it and improvise a few words on the spot.

“First of all, I would like to welcome all the famous chefs from Hong Kong to come to our Qilu, to our Quancheng, to have this exchange with our Shandong cuisine.

Just as several leaders before and those from Hong Kong City have said.

Shandong cuisine and Cantonese cuisine are two major cuisines, one in the south and one in the north. Both of them radiate outward, causing some surrounding areas to be more or less influenced.

Many people would like to compare Shandong cuisine and Cantonese cuisine to find out which is better.

I don't think it is necessary. China is a vast country with great differences in natural and cultural aspects from north to south. The eating habits of people in different regions may also vary.

Therefore, under the different eating habits in different places, there is no distinction between good and bad or superior and inferior among different cuisines.

I think our communication this time should be more about understanding each other.

With the development of the times and economy, transportation in our various places is becoming very convenient.

People from all over the world have the opportunity to go out of their local area and travel to other places to see more different scenery and culture.

You can also taste different cuisines from different regions.

This will pose a greater challenge to us chefs.

In order to create flavors that people from all over the country will like, we should communicate more with chefs from all over the world.

This time I am not here as a national champion, but as a chef apprentice. I hope that through this exchange, I can learn more about Cantonese cooking skills from the famous chefs in Hong Kong.

I will make up for my own shortcomings so that I can make more delicious food that more people will like in the future. ”

Feng Zhengming's speech attracted great interest from everyone present.

His speech was different from that of previous leaders, without too many formal words.

All of them talk about very practical cuisines, different eating habits in different places, and cooking skills.

The people from Hong Kong City were also fascinated by what they heard.

Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but mutter after hearing the end: "He is really amazing. How can he think of so many things? It seems that he not only understands cooking, but also various aspects of culture."

When Jiang Chengzhe was muttering, Long Kunbao who was sitting next to him vaguely heard it.

Long Kunbao whispered some of his thoughts to Jiang Chengzhe.

“Feng Zhengming is not just studying cooking, he is also studying food culture. If you listen to his speeches, you will find that he emphasizes the different eating habits and cultures in different places, and he does not have that condescending attitude.

Many times, some chefs can't help but be a little arrogant.

Especially when facing chefs of different cuisines, it is inevitable to look down on others with a certain superiority.

Feng Zhengming has absolutely no such thing.”

After Long Kunbao mentioned this, Jiang Chengzhe also quickly discovered this.

"Feng Zhengming is certainly not arrogant. He has never said that Shandong cuisine is superior to other cuisines."

Long Kunbao nodded: "This is his strength, he can treat chefs of different cuisines with an equal attitude."

After Feng Zhengming finished his speech, the audience actually spontaneously applauded him.

Obviously, his remarks were recognized by most people present.

As he said in his speech, there should be no distinction between good and bad, high and low between different cuisines from different places.

When exchanging ideas about cooking, one should first put aside the prejudices in one's mind.

Maybe some dishes are not cooked properly in your opinion.

But we should still respect other people’s cooking habits.

The key is whether the final dish is delicious?
There are many different ways of cooking. As long as the final dish is delicious, we should respect other people's different cooking methods.

This is also the purpose of the Hong Kong chef group’s visit to Quancheng for exchanges.

After the applause, this first meeting of everyone came to an end.

The lunch reception was arranged at Jufengde.

On the way to Jufengde, Jiang Chengzhe and Long Kunbao were chatting with Feng Zhengming.

Jiang Chengzhe was very surprised and asked, "Why don't we go to your restaurant at noon?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied: "It was arranged by the province. Although my Huiquan Restaurant has also existed in Quancheng for a long time, it is far less famous than Jufengde. Jufengde is more authentic in terms of Shandong cuisine."

Long Kunbao nodded and agreed, "Jufengde is indeed very famous. I heard about it before I came to Quancheng. It is said to be a time-honored brand of Shandong cuisine in Quancheng that has been passed down to this day."

Feng Zhengming introduced Jufengde to the two of them.

"Jufengde was originally run by several famous Shandong cuisine chefs. The reason why it was called Jufengde was actually because it was composed of one character from each of the names of three well-known restaurants at that time.

Since its inception, Jufengde has become the top restaurant in Quancheng. Many of the now famous classic Shandong dishes were created by Jufengde chefs.”

Jiang Chengzhe was a little surprised: "So, Jufengde has been around for hundreds of years?"

"Yes, more than a hundred years." Feng Zhengming nodded in acknowledgment.

Jiang Chengzhe immediately put away his original disrespect towards Jufengde.

"Then we really need to go to Jufengde to see the heritage of an old restaurant that has been passed down for hundreds of years."

Feng Zhengming is not worried about Jufengde at all.

After all these years, the craftsmanship of Master Jufengde is still very impressive.

Even most of the chefs in some restaurants and taverns in Quancheng come from Jufengde.

What's more, Jufengde now has Master Su in charge.

I heard that Master Cui even showed up to welcome the Hong Kong City chef team this time.

With several master craftsmen present in person, Jufengde has nothing to worry about.

Facts have proved that with Master Cui and Master Su in charge, Jufengde has indeed performed at a sufficient level.

Whether it is the chefs from Gangcheng or the tycoons who traveled with Gangcheng this time.

They were all very satisfied with the dinner at Jufengde.

Jufengde does indeed perfectly present a variety of traditional classic Shandong dishes.

Of course, perhaps the only drawback is that every dish at Jufengde is cooked in a very traditional way and served in a very traditional way.

It’s not that the food is bad, every dish is cooked to a very high standard.

But since it is the most traditional method, the taste of some dishes may not be suitable for people in Hong Kong.

This minor flaw is actually not enough to outweigh the merits.

Still won praise from the people in Hong Kong.

After the dinner, the province arranged for Gangcheng and his group to return to the hotel to rest.

However, when Feng Zhengming was about to go back, Jiang Chengzhe found him.

"Mr. Feng, are you going back to your restaurant? Can I go with you to take a look?"

Feng Zhengming saw Jiang Chengzhe was about to follow him, and couldn't help but ask with a smile: "Aren't you tired? After running around for so long, won't you feel sleepy after eating?"

Jiang Chengzhe was quite energetic: "I'm not sleepy, Feng Zhuangyuan, you wouldn't disagree with me, would you?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "Of course not, if you want to go, then let's go together."

Jiang Chengzhe immediately laughed and left the hotel with Feng Zhengming.

When Feng Zhengming walked out of the hotel, his third uncle Feng Jiandong’s car was waiting for him.

I saw Feng Zhengming coming out with Jiang Chengzhe.

Feng Jiandong was a little surprised: "You are the youngest chef from the Hong Kong City Chef Group this time, right? Why did you come out with us?"

Jiang Chengzhe responded with a smile: "Anyway, there are no other activities. I plan to go with Feng Zhuangyuan to see his restaurant."

Feng Zhengming had no choice but to correct his address: "Don't call me Feng Zhuangyuan, just call me Zhengming."

Jiang Chengzhe immediately agreed: "Okay, I'll call you Zhengming and you call me Azhe."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, Azhe."

Then he asked his uncle to take them there: "Uncle, please ask the driver to take us to Huiquanlou."

Feng Jiandong, who was sitting in the passenger seat, asked the driver to go to Huiquanlou.

On the way, Jiang Chengzhe kept looking at the scenery outside with curiosity.

From time to time, I heard him sigh.

"Quancheng really has a lot of ancient monuments. It's not like Hong Kong, which is full of tall buildings. It's too modern and you can't see anything from the past."

Feng Jiandong, who was sitting in the passenger seat, asked curiously, "Is modernization bad? Many places in the mainland are also undergoing modernization."

Jiang Chengzhe explained to Feng Jiandong: "It's not that modernization is bad, I just think that not all cities should be modernized in the same way, with high-rise buildings and fewer historical sites."

Feng Zhengming helped Jiang Chengzhe explain more directly: "What Ah Zhe means is that we should preserve some of the city's past characteristics, right?"

Jiang Chengzhe immediately turned his head and looked at Feng Zhengming: "Yes, that's right, that's what I mean. Every city should have its own characteristics."

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but sigh in his heart, how many cities will be able to retain their own characteristics in the future?

Most cities gradually abandoned their own characteristics in the following decades of development.

When only high-rise buildings are left, we will go back and try to rebuild the former features.

Unfortunately, what was finally restored was no longer the same as before.

Feng Jiandong has a different opinion on this.

“I think that if a city wants to develop and modernize, these are inevitable processes, and those things left over from ancient times that are worth preserving should be sent to museums.

Those that have no preservation value and will affect the city's development should be demolished to make way for urban modernization."

After Uncle San said this, Jiang Chengzhe in the back row was really at a loss for words for a moment.

Feng Zhengming didn't even think about refutation.

In his opinion, people should do things according to the times.

This is the feeling he gained from his experiences over the years since he came to this era.

For this era where economic development is urgently needed.

You ask people of this era to consider various issues such as protecting historical sites and protecting the environment.

In fact, it is still somewhat unrealistic.

We cannot say that we should pay attention to those things that will affect economic development.

But for people of this era, they simply have no time to care about those things.

As the wheel of time rolls forward.

After all, some different ideas of individuals can never affect the flow of the times.

So in Feng Zhengming's opinion, in this era, his uncle's idea is not wrong.

Feng Jiandong probably realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the car, so he changed the subject and started talking to Jiang Chengzhe about cooking.

Although Feng Jiandong is not a professional, he has seen the world over the years.

So he talked to Jiang Chengzhe about some foreign food, which quickly aroused Jiang Chengzhe's interest.

Jiang Chengzhe told Feng Jiandong in detail about some of the ideas he had gained from foreign culinary experiences.

"In terms of complexity, Chinese food is definitely more complex. There are indeed many cooking techniques for Chinese food, and Chinese food can make many different variations of one ingredient.

In many foreign cooking methods, the simpler the better, and they often strive to preserve the original flavor of the ingredients.

We can’t say who is good or bad. As Zhengming said in his speech this morning, it is a result of different eating habits.”

Feng Zhengming laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha, you really know how to copy my words."

Jiang Chengzhe also laughed, and the atmosphere in the car suddenly became lively.

On the way, Feng Zhengming, Jiang Chengzhe and Uncle San talked about many things about cooking at home and abroad.

Jiang Chengzhe also talked about some of the delicious food he had eaten in Southeast Asia.

"Some Southeast Asian cuisines are really well made. They are not just mushy. They also make great use of spices. I don't think they are inferior to ours at all."

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked, "It seems that we have a lot of spices that originally came from them."

Jiang Chengzhe nodded: "Yes, many spices come from them."

Jiang Chengzhe then introduced some of the things that are popular in Hong Kong today.

"Hong Kong is actually quite obsessed with the use of certain spices now. In the past, many chefs in Hong Kong did not use spices from Southeast Asia, but now they have started to use them."

Feng Zhengming thinks this is a good thing: "That's great. Food should be diverse, not static."

Jiang Chengzhe looked at Feng Zhengming and sized him up: "Zhengming, I always feel that many of your ideas are very advanced. I feel like you seem to have seen more of the world than I have."

Feng Zhengming smiled and waved his hands: "Don't praise me like this, I will be proud. I have never seen much of the world, and I can't compare with you. For example, I have never been abroad, and I don't know a lot of foreign food like you do."

Jiang Chengzhe immediately extended an invitation to Feng Zhengming.

"Zhengming, you must go to Hong Kong City when you have time. Also, if you have the chance, you should go abroad to have a look. Go to more places and taste more different flavors. Your cooking skills will definitely get better."

Feng Zhengming nodded and agreed: "Okay, if I have the chance, I will definitely go."

While chatting, we arrived at Huiquanlou without realizing it. (End of this chapter)