From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After ordering a few dishes and Peng Lei left, Feng Zhengming looked at Shen Jing and sat down.

He smiled and asked, "Is your boyfriend's family the owner of this restaurant?"

Shen Jing was a little surprised when she heard this: "Master Chef, you figured it out?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and asked, "Is this hard to tell? If this restaurant wasn't owned by your boyfriend's family, your boyfriend wouldn't be able to chat with us so freely for so long."

Shen Jing thought about it and felt that what Feng Zhengming said was indeed correct.

After all, this is the time when the store starts to receive customers.

The kitchen should also be quite busy.

As an apprentice in the kitchen, Peng Lei has been away for such a long time. If he were placed in a small restaurant, I'm afraid the boss would not be happy about it, and he would be scolded by the chef in the kitchen.

But Peng Lei was able to stand there for a long time and no one in the hotel dared to ask any questions.

There was no one from the kitchen who came out to ask him to go back.

Then his identity is not difficult to guess.

If he is not a relative of the boss or the chef, then the only possibility is that the restaurant is owned by his family.

Shen Jing took the initiative to pour a cup of tea for Feng Zhengming, and stood up to respectfully offer the tea to Feng Zhengming.

"Chef No. 1, I apologize again. I didn't mean to trick you into coming here. I just thought that if you, a talented national No. 1, could teach my boyfriend, he would definitely improve quickly."

Feng Zhengming drank the tea as a token of his acceptance of Shen Jing's apology.

"Is the chef in the restaurant's kitchen hired by your boyfriend's family?"

Shen Jing nodded: "Yes, the chef is a good friend of my boyfriend's father. He said that his father and the chef grew up together."

Feng Zhengming continued to ask: "Why would he want to be a chef when he could be a young master?"

Before Shen Jing could reply, another voice suddenly appeared and answered.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Mr. Feng. Xiaolei has loved eating since he was a child. When he saw his uncle Wang cooking delicious dishes in the kitchen, he wanted to learn from him."

Hearing the sound, Feng Zhengming and others turned their heads to look.

I saw a middle-aged man whose features looked somewhat similar to Peng Lei.

Feng Zhengming immediately guessed that this person should be Peng Lei's father.

"It looks like you must be the boss here. Hello, Boss Peng."

As he spoke, Feng Zhengming stood up and extended his hand to the other party.

Seeing this, Boss Peng quickly stepped forward and held Feng Zhengming's hands with both hands.

"Hello, Mr. Feng, hello. I never thought you would come to Heze and come to our hotel specifically."

Feng Zhengming smiled and looked at Shen Jing: "I have to thank Teacher Xiao Shen. She took the kindergarten children to the Peony Garden today. We just happened to meet there. Teacher Xiao Shen successfully attracted my attention with a group of cute children."

Shen Jing was a little embarrassed by what he said: "Master Chef, I really didn't arrange those kids on purpose."

Boss Peng smiled at Shen Jing, and then said to Feng Zhengming: "Don't blame Mr. Feng. Little Shen is young and ignorant. We should have visited you specifically instead of tricking you into coming here."

Feng Zhengming smiled and responded: "It's okay, I'm not angry, just think of it as a favor to those kids."

Shen Jing quickly said, "Thank you, Chef Zhuangyuan."

Boss Peng also sat down and talked with Feng Zhengming about some issues concerning the restaurant's management.

Feng Zhengming gave some suggestions, such as the layout of the restaurant and the service attitude of some waiters.

“Your hotel lobby should be decorated with a little bit of romance. My suggestion is to keep half of the large tables and replace the rest with small square tables. Remember to change and wash the tablecloths frequently.

And you waiters, your attitude should be more enthusiastic. When you see customers come in and sit down, you should take the initiative to greet them. You don’t have to smile all the time, but at least you should show some courtesy to the customers.”

The two points raised by Feng Zhengming were just casual remarks.

After all, the boss had come forward, so he might as well say a few more words.

Unexpectedly, the boss took note of it very seriously and expressed his gratitude to Feng Zhengming very sincerely.

Just at this moment, the food started to be served to Feng Zhengming and his table.

It can be seen that the chef in the kitchen also wants to show himself in front of Feng Zhengming.

So every dish is prepared with great care.

The first things served were some cold dishes, judging by the way they were cut and presented.

Feng Zhengming could tell at a glance: "Hahaha, you arranged the dishes specially because I was here, right? Normally you wouldn't be so meticulous."

This surprised Boss Peng: "Mr. Feng, you actually figured it out?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It's not hard to tell. If you usually arrange the dishes so carefully, how could you possibly serve so much on a plate of braised beef?"

Hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but laugh.

This plate of braised beef really gives a lot of food at once.

The plate was almost filled with slices of beef.

There were also several other cold dishes, all of which were obviously and deliberately presented in a very delicate manner.

It is not difficult to see from the small flowers dotted on top that it is not usually served to customers like this.

Feng Zhengming picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of beef and put it into his mouth.

After chewing for a while, he shook his head and said, "They put too many spices in the beef stew. I can hardly taste the meat flavor. Besides, they stewed it for too long, so it's a bit too mushy."

Feng Zhengming also tasted the other cold dishes and pointed out some problems with them.

I also gave Boss Peng a small recipe for cold dish seasoning.

After the cold dishes, hot dishes were served to Feng Zhengming and his friends.

Feng Zhengming also specially ordered a few mutton dishes.

Because mutton soup is very famous in Heze, Feng Zhengming thinks their mutton should be pretty good too.

There happened to be several lamb dishes on the menu, so he simply ordered them.

The first dish to be served was the cumin lamb chops.

Feng Zhengming shook his head helplessly after seeing it.

"These lamb chops should have been fried in advance, but you shouldn't just sprinkle them with cumin and chili powder and serve them on the table. At least stir-fry the cumin and chili powder first to bring out the aroma, and then put the fried lamb chops back into the pan.

After stir-frying, the lamb chops and the cumin and chili powders can be better blended. "

Having said that, Feng Zhengming simply went on to talk about another approach.

"In fact, there is another way to cook this, which is to stew the lamb chops first, then coat the surface with a thin layer of flour, and then fry them in high-temperature oil to create a crispy crust on the surface.

After that, you still need to add cumin powder and chili powder into the pan and stir-fry until fragrant. You can stir-fry them dry or with oil.

If you are stir-frying with oil, add a little bit of diced onion after the aroma comes out and adjust the taste.

After that, put the lamb chops back into the pan and stir-fry quickly over high heat to coat the surface of the lamb chops with the spice powder before serving.”

After listening to Feng Zhengming's instructions, Boss Peng felt that the food would definitely taste great if he did as he said.

The next two dishes served seemed too similar to Feng Zhengming.

One dish is stir-fried mutton offal, and the other is stir-fried mutton with green onions.

The key point is that when these two dishes are served on the table, they look like one dish.

Not to mention Feng Zhengming, Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong all looked at the scene in a way that they didn't know how to describe it.

However, in terms of cooking skills, the chef in the kitchen is still quite skilled, especially the stir-fried lamb with green onions, which really shows the basic skills of knife skills.

The mutton slices are cut quite thinly, marinated and coated well, and are very tender after being fried.

However, the stir-fried mutton offal seemed a little bit less presentable.

This time, Feng Zhengming did not rush to comment on the meal, but waited quietly for the next dish.

The last dish was served personally by the head chef and Peng Lei.

It is a dish of braised lamb trotters in a pot.

It can be seen that this dish should be considered the signature dish of this restaurant.

The chef's expression also shows that he is very confident.

Feng Zhengming took a closer look and admitted, "Well, this pot of braised lamb trotters is really good."

Receiving the compliment, the chef smiled and said, “Thank you for the compliment.”

Feng Zhengming then pointed out problems with some other dishes.

"In fact, mutton offal does not have to be stir-fried. Since you have stir-fried mutton with green onions, you can make a dry pot with mutton offal. I think it will be a great way to cook it and will be recognized by customers."

Then we talked about some different ways to cook cumin lamb chops.

Feng Zhengming had previously told the boss about the frying method, and he then told the chef about the roasting method.

"Lamb chops can also be grilled, which also requires stewing in advance and then grilling the surface until it is crispy. Another option is to fry them in a frying pan, which also requires frying the surface until it is crispy.

But no matter what method you use, I still recommend that you stir-fry the cumin powder and chili powder to bring out the aroma.

Otherwise, if you sprinkle it on top, it won’t have much flavor and will taste a bit dry.”

Faced with the problems pointed out by Feng Zhengming, the chef humbly accepted them.

After the meal, although the restaurant owner wanted to give him a free bill, Feng Zhengming still forced the payment.

"Boss, you really don't have to give me a free meal. It's a blessing that we meet. I hope you can make good dishes in the restaurant and run the restaurant better and better."

Feng Zhengming did not stay for long, as he had said almost everything he needed to say.

He also didn't think about going to the kitchen to demonstrate a few dishes.

In Feng Zhengming's opinion, there are some things that chefs need to figure out on their own.

If you follow the method he demonstrated exactly, the final result may not be good.

Of course, Feng Zhengming also reminded the boss to be more patient with his son.

"Learning to cook is a very hard thing. Since Peng Lei is willing to learn well, let him learn well in the kitchen. He must be patient and lay a solid foundation. Maybe he will achieve success in the future."

I had said almost everything I needed to say, and finally gave Peng Lei a few words of encouragement.

"Work hard and remember that basic skills are the key. Since you have chosen this path, don't give up easily."

Peng Lei hesitated for a while, but when he saw that Feng Zhengming was ready to leave, he couldn't help but speak.

"Master Chef, can I have a chance to study in your restaurant?"

After hearing this question, Feng Zhengming burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, I knew you would have such thoughts."

This made Peng Lei's father and the chef in the kitchen somewhat amused and helpless.

Feng Zhengming quickly put away his smile and warned sternly: "If you want to study at my restaurant, it depends on whether you have the ability. The Young Chef Cooking Competition will start at the end of the year. You can try to participate in the competition.

If you can show some ability in the competition, maybe you will have the opportunity to learn from me."

These words immediately ignited Peng Lei's fighting spirit.

Feng Zhengming said goodbye to everyone and left with Ding Yuan and the other two.

Watched Feng Zhengming and others leave.

The chef looked at Peng Lei and said, "You want to learn cooking from them, but your current level is still far behind. Just like what they say, basic skills are the key, and you are far from the basic skills now."

Peng Lei looked at the chef and responded seriously: "Don't worry, uncle. I will definitely practice my basic skills well."

The chef was not polite: "Okay, then you go to the kitchen, and remember to clean the counter and stove."

Peng Lei agreed without any hesitation: "Okay."

I saw Peng Lei turn around and run in, looking quite enthusiastic.

The chef couldn't help but smile and said to Boss Peng: "Your son has succeeded in chasing his idol, so he should start working hard to improve himself."

Boss Peng asked with a smile: "Isn't this great?"

The chef sighed: "As expected of the number one scholar, I really learned a lot from his few words."

Boss Peng couldn't help but joke with his friend: "Did your confidence suffer a big blow?"

"That's right." The chef was indeed a little shocked.

He had been thinking that he could watch Feng Zhengming go into the kitchen to demonstrate.

Unexpectedly, just some of the things that the other person said at the table made the chef realize his own gap.

Perhaps the chef's skills are enough for their small restaurant.

But it is obvious that if you want to go further, the level of the chef is not enough.

In Feng Zhengming's view, this meal was an accident.

He didn't take it too seriously.

After lunch, the four people strolled around the city of Heze.

In the evening, I ate some local snacks on the snack street here.

After returning to the hotel and sleeping for a night, the four of them continued their journey the next day.

Continuing northward, Feng Zhengming and his team soon entered Liaocheng.

After entering Liaocheng, Feng Zhengming and his four companions first went to Yanggu County.

At this point, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but want to sing a few hero songs loudly.

However, thinking that this song seems to have not been sung yet, he held back.

Ding Yuan, Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong were obviously a little excited when they entered Yanggu County.

Hou Dong couldn't help but ask: "Can we go see the place where Wu Song killed the tiger?"

Gao Yongfu joked, "You probably want to see the place where Pan Jinlian threw the stick, right?"

Hou Dong immediately retorted: "Nonsense, I want to go to Jingyang Ridge."

Ding Yuan smiled and asked, "You also want to drink 18 bowls of old wine to fight the tiger?"

This statement made everyone laugh.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

"Since we are here, we must go and take a look. I am actually curious about what the place where Wu Erlang killed the tiger looked like back then."

The four of them did not hesitate and headed straight for Jingyang Ridge.

At this moment, the four people really felt like they were running on the wind. (End of this chapter)