From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Newspapers and magazines of all sizes in Hong Kong, as well as television stations, have reported on Feng Zhengming and his team a lot.

Especially Feng Zhengming and his team were working on the map of the mountains and rivers of the motherland, and there was also the map of the True Sea Bream Continent made by Feng Zhengming.

They have all become key figures that the media are vying to interview.

Some overseas media that came specially were more concerned about the friendship between Feng Zhengming and Kofman.

Feng Zhengming and Kofman also worked together to make pig's trotters.

This time, Kofman used his connections to airlift sheep pancreas from England.

The addition of lamb pancreas makes Kofman’s pig’s trotter complete and takes the flavor to a new level.

Feng Zhengming also made further improvements to the braised imitation bear paw in Shandong cuisine and Confucius Mansion cuisine.

He followed Coffman's previous advice and did some Western processing on both the chicken puree and the beef puree.

In addition to tendons, Feng Zhengming also added some mushrooms to the filling to enhance the flavor.

As for fat, Feng Zhengming did not use butter, but he added some mixture of beef tallow and mutton fat.

It adds a certain wild flavor, making the flavor of the whole dish more unique.

When cooking, Feng Zhengming did not shape it into the shape of a bear paw.

He cooked the entire deboned pig's trotter in the broth.

Then fill it with the filling you prepared.

It is also steamed first, and then braised, and the braised sauce is poured on the pig's trotters.

The resulting shape is actually quite similar to Kofman's pig's trotter.

However, the flavors of the two pig's trotters are completely different.

The two people worked together to make two pig's trotters, and finally put them on a plate and showed them to some media.

The tycoons and chefs who were invited to taste the food on the spot were all impressed by the taste of the duo's pig's trotters.

In terms of flavor, it can be said that Feng Zhengming’s and Kofman’s pig’s trotters have completely different flavors.

Feng Zhengming’s red braised pork is a very traditional Shandong cuisine.

It is mainly salty and fresh, but Feng Zhengming's red braised sauce also has a sweet taste.

This salty and sweet taste is quite suitable for most people's taste.

The pig's trotters made by Kofman are also salty and fresh.

The difference is that after adding lamb pancreas to the pig's trotter stuffing made by Kofman, the flavor and taste will have a very unique change.

The whole dish tastes very similar to Feng Zhengming’s red braised pork, but when eaten together, you will feel that the flavor is very different.

Two pig's trotters on one plate, so to speak.

It allows people to taste the different flavors of Chinese and Western food.

But who cooks better?
There is really no way to distinguish them.

Overseas media reported in great detail on the pig's trotter dish made by Feng Zhengming and Kovman.

Media from all over the country also reported on the incident in the same way.

In everyone's reports, the friendship between Feng Zhengming and Kofman was praised at length.

Naturally, the matter was also known to senior domestic officials.

Everyone highly praised the friendship between Feng Zhengming and Kofman.

It can even be said that Feng Zhengming's performance this time really exceeded almost everyone's expectations.

After finishing the exchange in Gangcheng, Feng Zhengming and his team were about to leave.

The Kofmans even gave Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing a box of red wine specially sent there.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing were very grateful for this, but they had no return gift and could only invite the Kofmans to Quancheng again.

"Please come to our Qilu. We will definitely treat you well and take you to taste more classic Shandong cuisine. I believe we will also learn a lot from each other."

The Coffmans naturally agreed, saying that they would visit Qilu after they returned to England and arranged some things.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing did not return to Yangcheng, Guangdong Province with other chefs from all over the country.

The couple flew directly from Hong Kong to Shanghai.

The chefs from Shanghai also joined them.

On the plane back, she took the initiative to get close to Feng Zhengming.

The chef who leads the Shanghai chef team is Zong Desheng.

He and Feng Zhengming participated in the National Cooking Skills Competition together, and later went to Beijing together to participate in the return state banquet, so the two can be considered old acquaintances.

On the plane back, Zong Desheng expressed his admiration to Feng Zhengming.

"Zhuangyuan, you have really brought honor to our Chinese cuisine this time. After your fight with that Kofman, I think those overseas chefs have become more polite to us."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Master Zong, we don't need to call me Zhuangyuan in private. You can just call me Zhengming."

Zong Desheng agreed with a smile: "Okay Zhengming, you speak foreign languages ​​so well, when did you learn it?"

Feng Zhengming replied: "He is my grandfather's childhood friend. After Grandpa Situ came back, I learned from him. My spoken English is quite limited.

This time when I communicated with Kofman and others, I still found some deficiencies in my spoken English, especially some professional vocabulary, which I still haven’t mastered.”

Zong Desheng was a little surprised: "Oh, so Mr. Situ is actually your grandfather's friend, Zhengming?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, Grandpa Situ and my grandfather are childhood friends. Before Grandpa Situ went abroad, he always took good care of my grandfather."

Zong Desheng said with emotion: "No wonder you have no problem communicating with those overseas chefs."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Master Zong, I think that we chefs also need to learn some foreign languages ​​in the future. It's not that we are going to work there, but that when they come to our country in the future, we can communicate with them better."

Zong Desheng agreed: "That's right. We in Shanghai have actually been promoting foreign language learning for a long time. Our Chefs Association has also organized some young chefs to learn foreign languages."

Speaking of this, Zong Desheng looked helpless again.

"It's a pity that there are fewer and fewer people in Shanghai who are willing to learn cooking. Most of the young chefs in Shanghai are not from Shanghai, and they are not even from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, whose tastes are similar to those of Shanghai."

Feng Zhengming immediately thought of the same issue that several chefs of Suzhou cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine had raised before.

Especially Suzhou cuisine, there are almost no local chefs for Suzhou cuisine now.

Huaiyang cuisine is relatively better in comparison, and some local young people who are familiar with Huaiyang cuisine are willing to learn cooking.

Feng Zhengming thought of this and sighed: "This also shows that the living standards are indeed getting better and better. After all, being a chef is a very hard job. The improvement of living standards makes many young people more willing to choose more decent jobs."

Zong Desheng nodded in agreement: "That's true. I wanted my son to learn cooking before, but he didn't want to learn it. He said that being a chef is too tiring and he felt that being a chef has no status."

As he spoke, Zong Desheng looked at Feng Zhengming.

"I later used you as an example to him, and he actually started to be interested in cooking. But now I think about it, there are only a few chefs who can achieve such success as Zhengming."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "Master, you can't say that. I never thought I could achieve what I have now."

Zong Desheng asked: "When you have children in the future, will you let them learn to cook?"

Feng Zhengming thought for a while and said: "If he is willing to learn, I will definitely let him learn. If he is not willing, I really can't force him." After saying this, Feng Zhengming laughed.

"Hahaha, Master Zong, you just said that your son doesn't want to learn cooking. It looks like my cooking skills may be passed down to future generations."

Zong Desheng smiled at first, but then he quickly expressed his opinion.

“No, your skills are proven, and there should be successors. I saw the pig’s trotters made by you and Chef Kofman, and to be honest, we were all surprised.

If you hadn’t made the pig’s trotters like that, we wouldn’t have imagined that pig’s trotters could be made like that.”

What Zong Desheng said was indeed true.

It can be said that chefs from all over the country never expected that Feng Zhengming and Kofman could cook pig's trotters in so many different ways.

In particular, many chefs realized after tasting the food that the boundary between Chinese and Western food is not so clear.

Just like Kofman’s pig’s trotter, Feng Zhengming could actually find a similar recipe in Shandong cuisine.

The pig's trotters made by the two people are very similar in taste, but they also reflect the characteristics of different regional cultural backgrounds.

If you want to ask if it tastes good?

Zong Desheng doesn’t dare to say that everyone will find it delicious.

At least he and other chefs from home and abroad who tasted the food together thought that the food cooked by Feng Zhengming and Kofman was delicious.

It sounds simple, but both of them try to remove the fishy smell of pig's trotters as much as possible.

Then add some other flavors to the pig's trotters.

Retain the most essential collagen of pig's trotters.

Then add some other ingredients with different tastes and flavors.

Of course, the most important thing is the roasting and braised soup, which adds a three-dimensional sense to the whole dish.

It can be said that after tasting the pig's trotters made by Feng Zhengming and Kofman.

The domestic and overseas chefs at the scene suddenly felt a unique resonance.

It turns out that cooking has no borders, and we all have a lot in common when it comes to cooking.

Zong Desheng recalled and couldn't help but say something again.

"It turns out that we still need to learn foreign languages. If we all know foreign languages, it will be much more convenient to communicate with overseas chefs. We can communicate better on many things."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, Master, that's right, learning a foreign language well doesn't mean we are worshipping foreign things, it is to enable us to communicate better with each other.

We can also learn more from others, technologies that are more useful to us, and surpass ourselves.”

Zong Desheng agreed: "Yes, knowing foreign languages ​​will help us better spread our Chinese cuisine overseas."

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook his head: "This may still be difficult, after all, the tastes of people in different places are still very different, maybe everyone will have some common points.

But overall, the differences in taste between people in different regions and living habits are still very obvious.

It’s like the same Sichuan peppercorns, but the flavors of the Sichuan and Chongqing peppercorns are totally different.”

Zong Desheng also nodded with a smile: "Just like in the eyes of others, our local dishes are sweet."

Feng Zhengming added: "It's rich and red, not just sweet."

Zong Desheng sighed, "Yes, we are indeed not just sweet, but most people may only remember that our dishes are too sweet, which is also related to the fact that there are fewer and fewer local chefs of local cuisine nowadays."

Feng Zhengming sighed helplessly when he saw Zong Desheng.

He smiled and consoled: "I think we don't have to change other people's impressions. We chefs should first serve the tastes of local people, and then add some tastes from other places.

Nowadays, transportation is becoming more and more convenient. I believe that in the future our domestic transportation will be well-connected.

The movement of people from all over the world will become more frequent, so we can no longer stick to the old tastes of the past, but must make some appropriate changes.

We need to make sure the taste is suitable for people everywhere.”

Zong Desheng looked at Feng Zhengming and said, "Oh, today I finally understood why everyone likes to chat with you, Zhengming.

Zhengming, you are really very forward-thinking. Many of your ideas can bring a lot of inspiration to all of us. Talking to you, it seems that everything becomes clear all of a sudden. "

Feng Zhengming smiled and said: "As long as we all work hard to make the dishes better, I believe it will get better and better."

It is indeed very fast to take a plane from Hong Kong City to Shanghai City. After Feng Zhengming and his friends landed.

When they walked out of the airport, Zong Desheng was waiting for Feng Zhengming and others, and wanted to invite them to stay at the hotel where Zong Desheng worked.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing did not refuse and simply followed Zong Desheng to the hotel where he worked.

The hotel where Zong Desheng works is the restaurant of the very famous Peace Hotel in Shanghai.

Thanks to Zong Desheng's relationship, Feng Zhengming and his wife got some discounts and stayed at the Peace Hotel.

The manager of the Peace Hotel also greeted Feng Zhengming personally.

Feng Zhengming was also very polite.

He turned down the banquet originally scheduled for the Peace Hotel.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing settled down, took a shower and changed their clothes, then went out together.

The Bund and Nanjing Road are just outside the Peace Hotel.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing held hands and began to stroll along Nanjing Road.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing are no strangers here.

When Feng Zhengming came to participate in the National Cooking Skills Competition, he already had a lot of knowledge about this place.

When I came again this time, there were still many familiar places.

Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing first strolled along Nanjing Road.

Afterwards, the two walked to the Bund together.

Standing by the river, look at the International Building.

Luo Qing smiled and asked, "Are you still planning to open your restaurant in Shanghai here?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "Of course, opening a restaurant on a high-rise building here so that customers can see the river view outside should be a very good enjoyment."

Luo Qing looked towards the other side of the river again: "I think it's okay to drive to the other side."

Feng Zhengming put his arm around Luo Qing's waist: "The other side is also OK. Maybe we can open a bigger restaurant on the other side."

Luo Qing couldn't help but feel curious: "Where are you going to open a restaurant?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "We need to take a closer look at this. Opening a restaurant in Shanghai is not something that can be done carelessly. Not only do we need to find a suitable location, but we also need to consider the audience of our restaurant."

Luo Qing asked: "What about Huanghe Road? Is that also possible?"

Feng Zhengming shook his head this time: "I don't plan to go there, as the majority of restaurants there serve local cuisine.

Our restaurant will focus on Shandong cuisine and Cantonese cuisine, as well as some Chinese and Western fusion dishes.

It is not suitable to go to the Yellow River Road and compete with those local restaurants for business. "

After saying this, Feng Zhengming looked up again with a serious face, at the high-rise buildings with different architectural styles from overseas countries across the road from the Bund. In his heart, he hoped to open a restaurant on top of one of the buildings here. (End of this chapter)