From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The Shandong cuisine chefs demonstrated various techniques, which really dazzled many people at the scene.

But the precious ingredients used by the chefs in Gangcheng also amazed many people at the scene.

Feng Zhengming saw that after Long Kunbao finished removing the bones of the baby pigeon, he processed the pigeon inside and out.

Then season the prepared shark fins and ham shreds and stuff them into the boneless pigeon's belly.

Then overlap the head and the pigeon's wings and make a knot.

Make sure it is sealed well and blanch the pigeons first.

During the blanching process, you need to use a bamboo stick to poke holes in the pigeons to let out air.

Prevent the pigeon's back from expanding due to heat and causing its abdomen to burst.

After blanching, put the pigeon in a small bowl and add the soup that has been prepared in advance.

Then put it in the steamer and steam it.

It can be seen that Long Kunbao is quite familiar with this dish, so his preparation process is also quite entertaining.

Master Hou looked at it and asked with a smile: "Zhengming, I heard that you are also very good at cooking squab. How do you think your dish compares to the pigeon wings made by the chef in Gangcheng?"

When Feng Zhengming heard Master Hou ask this, he immediately understood that Master Hou was intentionally pointing at him.

In fact, there are not many dishes in Shandong cuisine that use pigeon as an ingredient.

However, Feng Zhengming had previously participated in a provincial youth chef cooking exchange competition, where he made a braised pigeon dish using the yellow braising method, which really left a deep impression on many people at the time.

As a result, Master Hou was here today and directly said that Feng Zhengming is good at cooking squab.

Naturally, these words immediately attracted the attention of the two Hong Kong tycoons.

"Oh? Mr. Feng is also good at making squab?"

"It seems that it is not very common to use squab in Shandong cuisine, right?"

Feng Zhengming saw that the two Hong Kong tycoons had asked this question.

He glanced at Master Hou.

Seeing Master Hou’s smiling face, it was obvious that he hoped he wouldn’t be modest in front of the Hong Kong tycoon.

After all, Hong Kong chefs are really good at cooking squab.

As a national-level judge, Chef Hou naturally does not want mainland chefs to lose face in front of Hong Kong chefs when Hong Kong has not yet returned.

Feng Zhengming looked at the two Hong Kong tycoons and explained with a smile the recipe of his braised pigeon.

"My method is actually derived from the braised chestnut chicken in Shandong cuisine. I used squab instead of chicken to make such a dish. It was an attempt when I participated in the provincial young chef cooking competition before."

At this point, Feng Zhengming looked at Master Hou again and said, "I didn't expect that you still remember it."

Chef Hou smiled and nodded: "Of course I remember, that dish tasted quite good."

What Master Hou said naturally aroused the curiosity of the two Hong Kong tycoons.

The two tycoons in Hong Kong can also be called top foodies.

They are naturally curious about food they have never eaten before and want to try it.

Feng Zhengming could only change the subject.

"Let's continue watching the cooking. If you have time later and you want to try it, you can go to Huiquanlou and I'll cook it for you."

As soon as these words came out, Chef Hou and another national-level judge immediately invited the two Hong Kong tycoons to go to Huiquanlou for a tasting.

The two Hong Kong tycoons agreed in unison with a smile.

At this time, at the banquet duel, Jiang Chengzhe, as Li Guansheng's apprentice, took out the abalone that Li Guansheng prepared for him.

It is a six-head abalone of very good quality.

Upon seeing this, Master Hou immediately exclaimed: "The chef from Gangcheng really came up with something good. He actually brought out six abalones."

The two Hong Kong tycoons immediately laughed and said that six-head abalone was nothing.

"Six-head abalone is good, but it's not considered a very expensive abalone."

"Yes, Mr. Li didn't make a move today, otherwise there would be at least three or four."

Feng Zhengming took over the words of the two Hong Kong tycoons.

"Six-head abalone is already great. This is a banquet showdown after all, not a real treat for distinguished guests, so it doesn't have to be that good. The key is to make it taste good."

This statement was also recognized by other judges.

Jiang Chengzhe makes abalone himself, which is also very particular.

It can be seen that he did study under Li Guansheng.

The cooking process is really quite skillful.

While Jiang Chengzhe was cooking, Dai Long showed off his roasted suckling pig skills.

Everyone was quite surprised to see Dai Long roasting suckling pig on the spot.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help laughing when he saw how Dai Long roasted the suckling pig.

Seeing Feng Zhengming smile, the other judges couldn't help but become curious.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, what are you laughing at?"

Feng Zhengming quickly stopped smiling and explained carefully to the judges.

"Oh, I just thought of a little knowledge about roast duck."

These words immediately aroused the curiosity of the judges present.

“What little knowledge do you have about roast duck?”

Feng Zhengming then slowly began to talk about some little-known facts about Peking duck.

"The original method of making roast duck was derived from roast suckling pig. After the Qing Dynasty fell, the rich and powerful could no longer afford roast suckling pig, so they began to look for a cheaper alternative.

Then I found the head of the roast duck and roasted it the same way I roasted a suckling pig.”

The two Hong Kong tycoons were somewhat surprised to hear what Feng Zhengming said.

“The method of roasting duck actually originated from roasting suckling pig?”

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this.”

Master Hou smiled and nodded: "It is indeed a technique derived from roast suckling pig, and the best roast duck chefs in the capital back then were all from Rongcheng in Qilu."

After hearing Master Hou talk about the interesting stories about roast duck, the two Hong Kong tycoons naturally became even more curious.

Seeing that the two Hong Kong tycoons also liked what he said, Master Hou simply continued.

"Later, the Quanjude whole duck banquet was restored, and the roast duck chefs were still only employed from the people of Qilu Rongcheng."

Speaking of this, Master Hou added a sentence.

"Of course, nowadays, there is no regional requirement, and the roast duck technique has gradually spread."

The two Hong Kong tycoons found these anecdotes very interesting indeed.

Feng Zhengming then went on to introduce some inside stories about Beijing roast duck.

"It is said that roast duck had to be force-fed in the past. The ducks used by Quanjude had to be Baihe Pu ducks, which could not be raised for more than a day and had to be force-fed to more than 5 kilograms before they could be slaughtered.

But now we can’t eat it anymore because the White River Duck is extinct.”

After listening to Feng Zhengming's introduction, Master Hou also looked at him with a new respect.

"I didn't expect that you, Zhengming, also have such research on roast duck?"

Feng Zhengming looked at Chef Hou and responded: "I may be different from other chefs. I became a chef because I like to eat and cook, so I like to study different kinds of dishes."

After hearing this, the other judges immediately smiled and nodded.

Master Hou knew something about Feng Zhengming.

I know that he is a person who really likes to study food and likes to cook it himself.

So in Master Hou's opinion, Feng Zhengming's cooking skills are so good and he does have the corresponding background.

The two Hong Kong tycoons have been observing and understanding Feng Zhengming during this period.

Found this out as well.

Feng Zhengming is a person who really loves cooking. Perhaps for many chefs, being a chef is just a job.

For Feng Zhengming, chef is the profession he truly loves.

How can a person who treats his hobby as a profession not do well?
Everyone chatted while watching the cooking process.

From time to time, some audience members would exclaim in surprise.

Both Shandong cuisine chefs and Hong Kong cuisine chefs showed off their excellent skills.

Whether it is from the technique or the presentation of the final dish.

The two sides are indeed almost evenly matched.

Although the ingredients used by Shandong cuisine chefs may not be as expensive as those used by Hong Kong chefs.

Abalone, shark's fin and sea cucumber have almost all been used.

But Shandong cuisine chefs still have more diverse techniques.

So we can make quite exquisite dishes with ordinary ingredients.
Of course, because the Shandong cuisine chefs competing in this banquet are all quite authentic Shandong cuisine chefs, what they have learned are all very authentic methods.

So the dishes they cook are basically very traditional classic Shandong cuisine.

Unlike the dishes cooked by Feng Zhengming at Huiquanlou, he often adds a lot of his own designs.

We will create some new twists on traditional classic Shandong cuisine.

However, even the traditional classic Shandong cuisine still tests the skills of every chef.

Just like the dish of lamb chops with sea cucumber.

When cooking on the spot, you also need to use a big flipping spoon.

This in itself is attractive enough.

Finally, after several hours of busy work.

The two tables of banquets prepared by the Shandong cuisine chefs and the Hong Kong cuisine chefs were slowly completed.

When both parties put the final dishes on the table.

Feng Zhengming stood up and led the applause for the chefs.

Led by Feng Zhengming, the scene erupted into thunderous applause.

After the thunderous applause, Feng Zhengming shouted loudly: "I don't think there is a loser in today's banquet showdown. Whether it is our Shandong cuisine chefs or the chefs from Hong Kong City, they have all demonstrated their high-level skills.

I want us to applaud again and give a sincere round of applause to our chefs, thanking them for providing us with two tables of such delicious banquets. "

Feng Zhengming's words naturally won the approval of everyone present.

The other four judges also stood up and applauded the chefs along with the people present.

There was thunderous applause again and again.

Finally, after the applause completely subsided.

Feng Zhengming and his friends walked towards the two banquet tables together, ready to start a serious evaluation.

These two banquets can be said to showcase the exquisite skills of Shandong cuisine chefs and Hong Kong chefs.

The bird's nest, shark's fin, abalone and sea cucumber used by chefs in Hong Kong are really all different.

In addition to the pigeon swallowing wings, there is also a pigeon swallowing swallow.

Then there is the very beautiful abalone, and the majestic and domineering figure of walking in the snow to find dragons.

The whole table of dishes highlights the sense of luxury.

But the Shandong cuisine table next to it doesn’t look inferior to the one served by the chef from Gangcheng.

Shandong cuisine chefs also showed off their superb cooking skills.

Several classic Shandong dishes are cooked quite beautifully.

There is a red nine-turn large intestine that looks like a red date.

There is a bear paw imitation in the Confucius Mansion that looks like a real bear paw.

There is also the classic scallion-fried sea cucumber with a fragrant onion flavor.

There are also the Four-Happiness Meatballs, which are very common at wedding banquets in Quancheng.

Also add the classic Shandong soup, mullet egg soup.

Of course, there is also the rather conspicuous sweet and sour Yellow River carp.

The carp used to make this sweet and sour carp is actually a big carp from the Yellow River.

It was purchased specifically for this banquet showdown.

It can be said that in terms of ingredients, Shandong cuisine chefs are not much inferior to Hong Kong chefs.

After seeing the dish, the two Hong Kong tycoons were also amazed at the exquisiteness of Shandong cuisine.

"Today I have seen that Shandong cuisine is indeed worthy of its profound heritage. This table of Shandong cuisine is really not inferior to the banquets in Hong Kong."

"Yes, these dishes are all very beautifully prepared. This Fulu duck is really delicious."

Receiving praise from the two Hong Kong tycoons brought smiles to the faces of Shandong cuisine chefs such as Kong Xingli and Lin Guofu.

For them, receiving praise from a Hong Kong tycoon may be more important than beating a Hong Kong chef.

Chef Hou praised the chef from Gangcheng.

"You guys who came all the way from Gangcheng, your cooking skills are really amazing. These Gangcheng's famous dishes are cooked very beautifully by you. Let us all see the cooking skills of Gangcheng chefs."

Another national judge also echoed: "Yes, the craftsmanship of the chef from Gangcheng is really amazing."

Both sides praised the Shandong cuisine chefs and the Hong Kong cuisine chefs respectively.

At this time, everyone's eyes naturally fell on Feng Zhengming, who did not express his opinion.

Facing everyone's gaze, Feng Zhengming still did not rush to make any comments.

"Don't look at me like that. I think the other judges have said it very well. I don't have anything to say."

Hearing this, the chefs on both sides were somewhat dissatisfied.

Dai Long said bluntly: "You are the top scorer and also a judge this time. You can't help but tell us your opinion. You have to tell us your feelings, right?"

Lin Guofu then spoke up: "Yes, you should give your opinion."

Feng Zhengming saw that both parties wanted him to give an evaluation.

He was somewhat helpless and could only express his own opinion.

"In fact, I already said it when I asked everyone to applaud. I think both sides are winners today. You both cooked very well. At least I dare not say that I am definitely much better than you in cooking."

Hearing this, Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but interrupt: "You are too evasive."

Long Kunbao echoed: "Yes, you should just state the problem directly."

Feng Zhengming was really at a loss whether to laugh or cry at this moment.

There are clearly two Hong Kong tycoons and two national-level judges here.

Why do you all care so much about my opinion?

But seeing that everyone was staring at him, it seemed that he was not going to let him go unless he explained the reason.

Feng Zhengming had no choice but to express his thoughts clearly to everyone.

“I think that both of you should learn more from each other. Some things don’t mean that you are not good at them, nor do they mean that the other party is better than you.

But times have changed and we should no longer think about disputes over cuisines.

To make delicious food, it may not be the case that any particular cuisine is necessarily delicious and any particular cuisine is necessarily not delicious.

I should watch more cooking methods of other chefs, maybe I can learn some useful techniques for myself.”

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, everyone present felt a little confused?
For a moment, I didn't understand what Feng Zhengming meant.

Seeing that no one seemed to understand, Feng Zhengming had to say it more bluntly.

"The dishes you cook are all great, but I think if you two can communicate with each other and combine some of your methods, maybe the dishes you cook will be even better." (End of this chapter)