From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the chefs on both sides were stunned.

The other four judges also fell into deep thought.

Feng Zhengming saw that no one was saying anything.

He smiled and continued to talk about his views.

“In today’s banquet showdown, everyone actually saw some dishes made by the Shandong cuisine banquet, and various dishes made by the Hong Kong chefs’ banquet.

It may seem that Shandong cuisine and Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine are somewhat different, but in fact, they are both Chinese cuisine.

In our great land of China, every place has its own unique products.

Therefore, according to the different products of different regions, there must be quite a lot of different delicacies. "

After a brief pause, Feng Zhengming allowed everyone to digest the message.

Then he continued speaking.

"The characteristics of our Shandong cuisine are more systematic and mature cooking techniques, and different arrangements and combinations of various common ingredients. The flavors are also more integrated. There is no particular flavor that stands out, but all the flavors are integrated together.

So in my opinion, a very important feature of Shandong cuisine lies in the word "harmony".

Soft, our Shandong cuisine combines various flavors and ingredients together to make ordinary ingredients more delicious. "

After talking about Shandong cuisine, Feng Zhengming went on to talk about Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine is somewhat different from traditional Cantonese cuisine. Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine has more Western influences, and the taste is not just light, but slightly sweet, and even influenced by Southeast Asia.

In my opinion, the most important feature of Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine lies in the word "freshness".

The new thing means that Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine will have more new things that integrate foreign elements.

Freshness is the traditional cooking method of Cantonese cuisine, which focuses on fresh food.”

I talked about the characteristics of Shandong cuisine and Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine in my mind.

Feng Zhengming then answered the topic of mutual learning and reference he raised very seriously.

“So I think Shandong cuisine does not conflict with other cuisines. We can learn from and draw on the advantages of others, and we can communicate and learn from each other.

In the end, we learned the essence of each other, and if we apply it properly, I believe the dishes will be better. "

Feng Zhengming finally finished speaking.

It also allows the Shandong cuisine chefs and Hong Kong chefs present to understand.

The four judges also thought that what he said made a lot of sense.

The key to cooking is to cook the food well.

Therefore, what kind of cuisine it is is actually not that important.

There are many cooking techniques in cuisines from all over the world.

As transportation becomes more and more convenient, the transportation of raw materials will become faster and faster.

Under such circumstances, the differences originally caused by regional products may gradually disappear in the future.

Just like the current port city, there are actually not many local products in the port city.

However, with convenient and developed transportation, chefs in Hong Kong can obtain products and raw materials from all over the world.

This also gives Hong Kong chefs the opportunity to use products and ingredients from all over the world to create more different delicacies.

This is exactly what Feng Zhengming wanted to express.

That is, we should not be obsessed with the dispute over cuisine.

Instead, we should communicate and learn from each other.

Through communication and learning, you can get more professional cooking methods from others for some ingredients that you may have never used before, and make good use of the ingredients you have never used before.

When everyone can make good use of different local products and raw materials.

Be able to combine different cooking techniques to cook dishes.

I believe that every chef will be improved and can cook better and better.

Chef Hou understood all this and clapped his hands with a smile: "Zhengming is right. We should communicate more and learn from each other so that we can cook better."

The two Hong Kong tycoons also agreed with this point and believed that it was a right decision for Hong Kong chefs to come to Quancheng for exchanges.

At the same time, the chefs from both sides of the banquet smiled and shook hands with each other.

At this moment, the outcome of this banquet showdown is no longer important.

Everyone gained communication and learning through this confrontation.

Shandong cuisine chefs have been introduced to some ingredients that they had not often used in the past.

Hong Kong chefs also learn some techniques from Shandong cuisine chefs.

Both sides can be said to have reaped a lot.

Of course, Feng Zhengming's gain may be the biggest.

This time he was just a spectator and did not have to directly participate in the cooking of the dishes.

He can observe the cooking process of both parties more carefully.

In this way, you can learn different things from different chefs.

Of course, although the words were well spoken, it was still a banquet showdown after all, and the judges still needed to give scores to both sides.

The scoring starts with giving a score based on the overall performance of the banquet.

Then give scores based on the specific dishes.

In terms of the overall banquet, chefs from Hong Kong are slightly better.

This is not to say that the dishes prepared by Shandong cuisine chefs are not good.

Or maybe it’s because the chefs in Hong Kong are more prepared.

Under limited conditions, the chefs in Gangcheng even considered the utensils for serving the dishes.

In this regard, we really have to give extra points to the chefs in Hong Kong.

When it comes to specific dishes, these two dishes received the highest ratings on site.

One dish is pigeon wings cooked by a chef from Gangcheng, also known as the "Crane Needle".

This dish is really delicious, whether it is the soup, the tenderness of the pigeon, or the shredded shark fin and ham in the pigeon's belly.

And the technique of deboning a whole pigeon is indeed worthy of a high score.

For the Shandong cuisine chef, the dish that received the highest score was naturally the Fulu Duck.

This dish can be found almost everywhere.

But the dish made by the Shandong cuisine chef today is very characteristic of Shandong cuisine.

The charred brown crust is quite beautiful.

The filling inside actually tastes like the standard scallion-fried flavor.

This made Feng Zhengming feel that it was a really amazing seasoning.

After tasting it, Chef Hou praised it generously.

"It's delicious. This is the first time I've eaten this kind of scallion-flavored Fulu duck filling. The seasoning is really great. It seems that the Shandong cuisine chef has put a lot of effort into it today."

Similarly, the dish of Fu Lu Duck also received praise from the two Hong Kong tycoons.

"One is a strong duck, the other is a light pigeon. These are two wonderful experiences."

“Delicious, two really delicious dishes.”

Feng Zhengming also said with a smile: "The taste is unexpected. I admire the ingenuity of the chefs."

After two high-scoring dishes came out, the two sides were evenly matched in the following dishes.

Each has its own characteristics.

Moreover, both sides have obviously made adjustments in their tone.

Make the dish taste more palatable.

It can be said that many heavy flavors have been eliminated.

But it hasn’t lost its rich flavor.

Another national-level judge who came with Master Hou also expressed his admiration.

"Seasoning is something that a chef really needs years to study carefully." This statement was recognized by all chefs.

Although it is better to have a moderate seasoning.

But different people will have different tastes.

So seasoning is really a very difficult thing for chefs.

There are many chefs who have no problems with their techniques.

There are often big problems with the tuning.

Therefore, in some large-scale reception catering, light flavors are mostly used.

It doesn't have a pungent taste and is acceptable to most people.

This time, the Shandong cuisine chefs really made great preparations in terms of seasoning.

Perhaps it’s because they know the ingredients aren’t as luxurious as those prepared by chefs in Hong Kong.

Therefore, Shandong cuisine chefs put a lot of effort into the taste.

Almost every dish had the right flavor.

But it is not as heavy in taste as traditional Shandong cuisine.

These changes naturally made the two tycoons in Hong Kong City accept this taste.

After comprehensive scoring, the two sides still ended up in a tie.

But in reality, the chefs in Hong Kong are slightly inferior.

After all, many of the raw materials used by Hong Kong chefs are much better than those used by Shandong chefs.

So when the two sides ended in a tie, the chef from Gangcheng had already lost.

But as Feng Zhengming said, victory or defeat is no longer important in this duel.

Through this banquet duel, the chefs from both sides learned a lot from each other.

This is the purpose of the chefs from Hong Kong City coming to Quancheng for exchanges.

The last two tables of banquet were distributed to the people who came to watch the event after being photographed by reporters on site.

For many people, it was the first time to eat the precious ingredients used by Hong Kong chefs.

Afterwards, the provincial leaders and the two tycoons from Hong Kong City presented individual awards to the chefs with outstanding performances.

There was no public announcement as to which chef won.

The award ceremony was still very formal, and the province and the two Hong Kong tycoons had made preparations.

The province specially made certificates and prepared prizes for the winning chefs.

The two tycoons in Hong Kong gave a bonus.

The prize money is divided equally among all chef teams.

But even if it was divided equally, each chef still got a lot of money this time.

This amount of money may not be much for a chef in Hong Kong.

But there are still quite a lot of Shandong cuisine chefs.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but sigh that during this period, people's income in the mainland was still relatively low.

Several chefs shared tens of thousands of dollars equally, and each person got a few thousand dollars, which was really a very high bonus.

The Shandong cuisine chefs were all very happy to receive the bonus.

After this banquet showdown, Feng Zhengming saw many Shandong cuisine chefs privately contacting some bosses from Hong Kong.

Obviously, after seeing the generosity of the two tycoons in Hong Kong.

Many chefs have some ideas in their minds.

It was just a small exchange competition, but the prize money was equivalent to several months' salary for some chefs.

Under such circumstances, it would be difficult to prevent these chefs from having any ideas.

Besides, they had just demonstrated their skills on the spot.

Now, if you come into contact with some bosses in Hong Kong, you will indeed be looked up to by them.

Of course, no one took the initiative to try to contact the two Hong Kong tycoons.

Because everyone could see that the only chef the two Hong Kong tycoons liked at the scene was probably Feng Zhengming.

For example, now two Hong Kong tycoons found Feng Zhengming and asked directly when they could taste the squab he made.

When Feng Zhengming heard the two people asking this, he smiled and asked back.

"You two, are you trying to recruit me to Hong Kong City?"

The two Hong Kong tycoons were stunned by this question.

However, after looking at each other, the two smiled and expressed their attitude to Feng Zhengming.

"We really want Feng Zhuangyuan to go to Gangcheng."

"Yes, if Feng Zhuangyuan is willing to go, we are willing to give you an investment, and we can help you promote your restaurant in Gangcheng, and guarantee that you will gain a firm foothold in Gangcheng."

"You can still stick to Shandong cuisine when you go to Hong Kong. In fact, you don't have to cook Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong."

"But we can see that Feng Zhuangyuan has deep feelings for his hometown."

"They probably won't be willing to leave Quancheng for Gangcheng."

Listen to what the two Hong Kong tycoons say.

Feng Zhengming really wanted to say, please give me more money. If the money you give me satisfies me, I will definitely go.

Feng Zhengming just thought this in his heart and could not show it in front of the two Hong Kong tycoons.

He could only explain: "It's not that I have to stay in Quancheng, but mainly because I feel that my cooking skills are not really good enough, and I still need to learn a lot of things.

Moreover, if I go to Hong Kong rashly, I am unfamiliar with the place and have not understood the tastes of Hong Kong people. If I blindly open a restaurant, it may not be able to run well. "

The two Hong Kong tycoons have been in the business world for many years, so they could naturally tell that most of Feng Zhengming's words were excuses.

However, the two Hong Kong tycoons did not consider that Feng Zhengming wanted them to give him enough benefits.

Maybe it was because when we were judges together before, I heard Feng Zhengming describe the cooking methods of various dishes, especially the hidden details behind some of the dishes.

The two Hong Kong tycoons were given the impression that Feng Zhengming was a man who devoted himself wholeheartedly to cooking.

In addition, the two of them also conducted some investigation and understanding of Feng Zhengming when they came to Quancheng.

I know that Feng Zhengming’s two dry rice restaurants and Huiquanlou in Quancheng are doing very good business.

This made the Hong Kong tycoon believe that Feng Zhengming could not be bribed by money.

So, the two of them smiled and continued talking as Feng Zhengming said.

"If Feng Zhuangyuan feels that he is capable and wants to go to Hong Kong City, we welcome him at any time."

"Yes, if Feng Zhuangyuan wants to leave Quancheng and Qilu, you can also notify us and we will give you some help."

Feng Zhengming felt a little strange when he heard this.

"Why do you two favor me so much? Even though I'm the champion of a national cooking competition and I'm really good at cooking, you two shouldn't be short of top chefs given your financial status, right?"

These words made the two Hong Kong tycoons look at each other again.

Then they asked with a smile: "Do you know Mr. Situ?"

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming suddenly understood.

It turned out that it was all because of Grandpa Situ.

Then another Hong Kong tycoon gave another reminder.

"Before we came to Quancheng, we went to Beijing first. In Beijing, an old man also praised you highly, so we thought it would be a good idea to invest some money in you."

This really surprised Feng Zhengming.

I didn't expect that there were people in Beijing paying attention to me.

The two Hong Kong tycoons did not elaborate.

They just encouraged Feng Zhengming to stick to his ideas, not only to cook well, but also to truly better inherit and promote Chinese cuisine.

Feng Zhengming nodded seriously: "Don't worry, I will not give up my original intention of learning cooking." (End of this chapter)