From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The opening of Feng Zhengming's two stores caused a huge sensation on the first day.

Many media outlets in Shanghai also conducted special interviews and reports.

Almost all customers who have eaten at the two restaurants said that the chefs are worthy of being the best in the country and the dishes are really amazing.

The taste fully caters to the tastes of people from all over the world.

Even for overseas guests who come to the restaurant because of its reputation, Feng Zhengming's dishes are tailored to their tastes.

The most popular dish at this restaurant on Western Restaurant Street is stuffed pig's trotters.

Many people in China and overseas customers who come here for this dish all like Feng Zhengming's seasoning and the overall taste of the cooking.

"Oh, the soft and chewy texture of the pork skin on the outside, combined with the layered texture of the fillings inside, is really great."

"I've eaten this dish made by Chef Coffman in England before, and I didn't expect a Chinese chef could make such a dish."

“Although the fillings are different, they are all top chefs and each has its own unique taste.”

"I like Chef Feng's dish more. The filling tastes like foie gras."

Among the media interviewing outside the door, there are media that specialize in interviewing overseas customers who come to the store.

Some of them want to see Feng Zhengming being criticized by overseas customers.

But no one expected that the overseas customers who came to the restaurant to eat today would praise Feng Zhengming for his best cooking skills.

On the contrary, some white-collar workers in Shanghai have some complaints about Feng Zhengming's dishes.

But when asked if I thought it tasted good.

These white-collar workers who all looked down on Feng Zhengming to some extent were too embarrassed to say directly that the food was not tasty.

After all, many people saw them wolfing down the food in the store.

So these people changed their angle to criticize.

"Their cooking skills are indeed good, but the way they blend some Chinese and Western elements is really strange."

"That's right. This street is full of Western restaurants. Their store is totally out of place here."

"It really makes people wonder, why is there a Chinese restaurant like this on the street with Western restaurants?"

"Also, the flavors of the braised pork in their store seem a bit strange. It's delicious, but since it's their local specialty, shouldn't they stick to their local methods?"

"Yes, their various improvements make it seem neither Chinese nor Western, and it is no longer Shandong cuisine."

These people criticized Feng Zhengming's store from other perspectives.

Naturally, it was recorded by some media outlets who wanted to find fault.

The media who wanted to find fault with Feng Zhengming's Xindian spared no effort in trying to dig out the problem.

There were even media outlets that asked indirectly about various hygiene issues within the store.

But Feng Zhengming had indeed prepared the two stores too well, and it was really hard to find any problems.

Then in the next few days, some media deliberately provoked the topic.

This has sparked a lot of debate about whether Feng Zhengming's combination of Chinese and Western cuisines and different cuisines is appropriate.

However, the emergence of such controversy not only did not cause Feng Zhengming's store business to deteriorate, but instead it indirectly promoted Feng Zhengming's store and helped him attract more people to come and eat.

Among the customers who came specially to eat at the restaurant, there were many celebrities.

Because the greater the controversy, the more it will arouse other people's curiosity.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming simply ignores those media outlets that deliberately stir up various controversies.

He even deliberately contacted his junior uncle Huang Tao and asked him to help write a few articles criticizing the bad media for deliberately misinterpreting customers, and published them in newspapers, magazines and on television to arouse some doubts about Feng Zhengming's Shanghai store.

Huang Tao has always felt guilty towards Feng Zhengming because of what happened before.

So he simply contacted the newspapers and magazines he had connections with and sent out a few articles, which really seemed like a very personal output.

As a result, the several articles Huang Tao published under Feng Zhengming's instruction were like adding fuel to the fire.

This brought even greater controversy to Feng Zhengming’s new store in Shanghai.

Naturally, it also made Feng Zhengming's new store in Shanghai more famous.

So even though the debate is quite loud, it will not affect Feng Zhengming's business at all.

Naturally, Feng Zhengming and everyone in the store completely ignored those controversies.

About half a month after the two new stores opened in Shanghai.

Many celebrities and stars have visited the restaurant.

It was generally rated very highly.

Some celebrities even expressed this specifically in interviews.

“The two restaurants of Feng Zhuangyuan can really be regarded as the benchmark of our Chinese cuisine, which can integrate some elements of Western cuisine very well without losing the traditional characteristics of Chinese cuisine.

Coupled with the better dining environment and the exquisiteness of all the dishes, we understand that even in a fast food restaurant, our Chinese food can still be very exquisite and delicious.”

With the support of celebrities and stars, the questioning voices from the media were quickly suppressed.

That day, Jiang Chengzhe was found by a friend in Gangcheng.

This friend is active in the Hong Kong entertainment circle.

He approached Jiang Chengzhe to help inform him in advance, hoping to book Feng Zhengming's Western Restaurant on the street for one night.

"Azhe, I won't hide it from you. There are several celebrities from Hong Kong coming to Shanghai to attend an event. They have heard about your restaurant, so they want to book it for a night to taste the cooking skills of your number one chef."

Jiang Chengzhe laughed after hearing this: "Hahaha, if you want to book us for a whole night, I'm afraid the price will be quite high."

The other party didn't say anything more: "You can name your price. The people who came this time are all big names."

Jiang Chengzhe was curious: "Who are they?"

The other party lowered his voice and introduced the personnel in detail.

"The main ones are my brother, Aunt Mei and the others, and my eldest brother is also here."

Jiang Chengzhe was really surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect so many Hong Kong stars to come all of a sudden.

However, he soon realized that it seemed that so many Hong Kong stars gathered in Shanghai because they were here to participate in a charity performance in the country to raise funds for a major flood.

Jiang Chengzhe immediately introduced this friend from Hong Kong who found him to Feng Zhengming.

After hearing this, Feng Zhengming said very directly: "No need to pay. I know they are performing for charity in Shanghai this time. It is my honor that they can come to my restaurant for dinner. I can't charge you any money."

In fact, Feng Zhengming is also concerned about the domestic floods and has donated money to various places in his hometown.

At the same time, he also donated money to various disaster-stricken areas.

He also contacted his third uncle and prepared to personally lead people to the disaster-stricken areas to cook for those in temporary shelters.

I learned that the stars from Hong Kong who were coming to Shanghai for a charity performance were going to come to my restaurant for dinner.

Of course Feng Zhengming was determined not to accept their money.

This made the people who came to Jiang Chengzhe feel a little embarrassed. Seeing that the other party was embarrassed, Feng Zhengming smiled and said: "I am a chef. I can't go to the front line to help, and I can't raise funds through charity performances. Cooking a delicious meal for everyone at the charity performance is also within my ability.

Please go back and tell everyone that I will not only invite the stars, but also all the staff at the charity performance.

Please come and enjoy the meal. If there is not enough space for everyone here, I will contact a larger restaurant and bring people over to prepare a banquet for everyone."

Jiang Chengzhe’s friends from Hong Kong were shocked to hear what Feng Zhengming said.

"Mr. Feng, are you kidding me?"

Feng Zhengming said in a serious tone, "Of course I'm not kidding. The Hong Kong stars have come all the way to Shanghai to perform and raise funds for disaster relief. We should give them the highest level of reception as a way of thanking them."

Jiang Chengzhe took the opportunity to say, "You probably don't know that our chef not only donated money and supplies, but also contacted people in his hometown to help receive the victims."

Feng Zhengming quickly waved his hand: "I only accepted a small part of it. We still have to thank our motherland. With the strong backing of our motherland, we can better protect those people."

Jiang Chengzhe added: "Aren't we going to the disaster area to help later? Didn't you say you contacted the army and wanted to cook for the soldiers in charge of disaster relief?"

Feng Zhengming frowned slightly: "Needless to say, what I did were just small things. Anyone who encounters such a disaster will try their best to do their part."

After listening to the conversation between Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe, the people in Gangcheng looked at Feng Zhengming differently.

After thinking for a moment, the person from Hongcheng said, "Okay, thank you, Chef Feng. The performance time has been booked. We will contact you again at that time. If possible, it would be great if you could provide lunch boxes."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Don't worry, we will arrange it."

After seeing off the people from Gangcheng, Feng Zhengming then called together the staff from the two stores for a meeting.

"I believe everyone knows that this flood is really severe and many cities have been affected. Although it is impossible for us to rush to the front line to fight the flood, we can also do something within our capacity.

This time some stars from Hong Kong are coming to Shanghai to hold a charity performance, and we are going to provide them with some catering services.

It will be hard work not only for the stars but also for all the staff at the charity show. I hope everyone can take it seriously."

After hearing Feng Zhengming's words, everyone in the two stores immediately agreed.

"Chef, rest assured we will do our best."

"That's right. We cook for people. It's our honor to cook for those charity performers."

"Don't worry, chef. We will also cooperate with the service and ensure that all cast and crew members can eat well."

Seeing that everyone was very enthusiastic about participating, Feng Zhengming also took the initiative to express his gratitude to everyone.

His eyes fell on his wife Luo Qing again.

Luo Qing immediately said, "Don't worry, I've already spoken to my uncle on the phone, and he has also helped me get supplies such as vegetables and rice, which should be shipped over later to ensure our supply.

Third uncle also said that second uncle has already made the contact for you, and if you really want to go and cook for the flood fighting troops, he will make the arrangements when the time comes.”

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, after we prepare meals for the stars of the charity performance, I will lead people to cook for the troops."

Luo Qing's eyes revealed worry.

Although it is impossible for Feng Zhengming to go directly to the front line, there is no guarantee that there will be no danger.

But Luo Qing also knew that her husband's decision could not be changed.

In the next few days, the staff in Feng Zhengming's two stores became busy.

Various preparations are being made to supply meals for the charity performance in Shanghai.

The vegetables, rice, and various meats and eggs that Uncle San helped to arrange were also quickly delivered from Qi and Lu.

With this large supply, many of Feng Zhengming’s problems were solved.

The Shanghai Chefs Association learned that Feng Zhengming was going to cook for the stars of the Shanghai charity performance.

They also took the initiative to send people to participate, to help Feng Zhengming prepare the meal better.

On the day when the charity performance was held in a large gymnasium in Shanghai.

Feng Zhengming led the chef team to prepare various meals in advance and delivered them to the scene as soon as possible.

The staff at the performance venue and the stars participating in the charity show were all a little surprised.

I never thought that the lunch boxes at the performance would be so rich and delicious.

After asking afterwards, they found out that it was Feng Zhengming who provided it to them for free.

A well-known singer in Hong Kong actually talked about this matter on the spot when he went on stage.

He expressed his gratitude on behalf of many performing stars from Hong Kong and the Mainland.

In fact, Feng Zhengming was originally able to go to the venue to watch the performance.

But he and his team of chefs gave up.

Because they were in the restaurant, preparing a dinner for everyone in the performance team.

Following Jiang Chengzhe's suggestion, Feng Zhengming held the dinner in the form of a buffet.

We didn’t prepare any high-end or luxurious dishes, and the menu was basically based on relatively light Cantonese and Hong Kong stir-fries.

It will also be paired with some Western meals.

Wait until the charity performance over there is over and all the stars come to the restaurant.

They saw the meals Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe prepared for them.

All the stars were a little surprised.

Several big stars from Hong Kong took the initiative to find Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe.

"You guys cooked this dish tonight very well. You didn't serve us any heavy meat dishes. It's light and delicious. It's really tasty."

"Yeah, we're very tired after the performance, and we definitely can't eat greasy food."

"Feng Zhuangyuan, Chef Jiang, we meet again. Your cooking skills are getting better and better."

"Thank you for the meal you provided us today, and for the banquet tonight to celebrate the end of the benefit performance."

Feng Zhengming, on the other hand, bowed deeply to everyone.

"I should be the one thanking you. People from so many provinces have been hit by the disaster. Under such circumstances, you can come to Shanghai for a charity show to raise funds for disaster relief. I really appreciate you very much."

Feng Zhengming then added: "We have only contributed a little bit tonight. It is our honor to make you feel that the food is good."

Hong Kong stars were also very moved by what Feng Zhengming said.

After the dinner, Feng Zhengming received a notice from his second uncle.

Tell Feng Zhengming to meet up with the convoy transporting supplies.

Feng Zhengming asked Jiang Chengzhe to stay in Shanghai to look after the store, and he took Sun Hai and his senior brother's apprentice Zhang Lei to meet up with them.

On this trip, Feng Zhengming also found a truck and filled it with supplies that he had tried every possible means to purchase.

When Feng Zhengming met up with the army's supply convoy, he saw many familiar faces in the convoy.

Gao Yongfu and Hou Dong were also in the team, and it was an important mission for both of them before they retired from the army. (End of this chapter)