From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Ren Shouxiang was born into a family of culinary experts. According to him, his ancestors were imperial chefs.

Later, because of concerns about the ingredient issues, I did not dare to announce this matter to the outside world for many years.

Now we are entering the 21st century.

Because of Feng Zhengming's appearance, many people in China have started to pay attention to Shandong cuisine again.

The province's annual cooking skills exchange competition for young chefs has also sparked a craze for learning to cook in all parts of Shandong.

Ren Shouxiang originally worked in the canteen of a factory in his hometown.

He also taught some apprentices in the cafeteria.

Now that the factory is not doing well, the canteen is naturally the first place to be streamlined.

Ren Shouxiang had always had problems with the factory leaders.

As a result, he had a falling out with the factory leaders over the issue of downsizing.

He had a falling out with the factory boss and was laid off from the factory canteen.

Originally, Ren Shouxiang felt that he had been in the canteen for many years and had trained many apprentices. Wouldn't he be able to command a lot of support if he left the factory canteen?
He was already prepared to open a restaurant with his apprentices trained in the canteen.

Unexpectedly, all the disciples in his cafeteria chose to break away from him, and in the end only the youngest disciple was willing to leave the cafeteria with him.

Ren Shouxiang wasn't even sure whether the young apprentice was willing to leave with him because he was grateful to him for teaching him the craft?

Or is it because the young apprentice has not yet been promoted to a regular employee?

However, after leaving the factory canteen, Ren Shouxiang's luck really turned around.

First, he opened his own private restaurant with his little apprentice and his daughter.

Because Ren Shouxiang's skills were there, and the place where he opened the restaurant was by opening a door in the wall of his own courtyard facing the street, and then he set up a shed in his own yard to do business.

In the absence of rent, Ren Shouxiang focuses on offering good quality and low prices.

So his private restaurant quickly became famous in their local area.

By this year, the factory's performance had become even worse.

The factory canteen was the first to be hit and all workers were laid off.

All the apprentices in the cafeteria who were unwilling to follow their master Ren Shouxiang were laid off at once.

Several apprentices also took the initiative to come to him, hoping to gain forgiveness from their master and want to continue working with him in Ren Shouxiang's own private restaurant.

Ren Shouxiang is not a person who holds grudges, and he knows that the apprentices in his cafeteria all have some skills.

But if you accept all the apprentices who were laid off from the canteen.

Ren Shouxiang also faced a problem, which was that his private restaurant had to expand its business.

There was no need for so many people in the small space of his own home.

Ren Shouxiang discussed the matter with his wife, daughter and his young apprentice.

Then the daughter gave Ren Shouxiang an idea.

That is to let Ren Shouxiang bring his young apprentice to the provincial capital, Quancheng, to participate in this year's Young Chef Cooking Skills Exchange Competition.

If the young apprentice can get a good ranking in the competition.

By then, he could leverage on his young apprentice's reputation to expand the business of his family's private restaurant, and could also employ all of Ren Shouxiang's apprentices in the factory canteen.

Although Ren Shouxiang's daughter Ren Juan has no talent in cooking, she is indeed very good at management.

The family's own private restaurant is almost entirely managed by Ren Juan.

Ma Jingcheng, Ren Shouxiang's young apprentice, and Ren Juan are already in love.

Therefore, his daughter Ren Juan’s advice carries a lot of weight in Ren Shouxiang’s heart.

Ren Shouxiang also felt that if Ma Jingcheng could really win a place in the provincial youth chef competition.

After returning and marrying his daughter, he will indeed be able to expand the business of his private restaurant.

At that time, they will reveal the identity of the Ren family as the imperial chefs in the palace.

Ren Shouxiang felt that by then, wouldn’t the Ren family be able to soar to great heights?
Especially in Ren Shouxiang's opinion, his little apprentice Ma Jingcheng is also very talented in cooking.

He couldn't help but think of Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming also became famous from the provincial youth chef cooking skills exchange competition.

He went all the way from the province to the whole country, and finally became the top winner in the National Cooking Skills Competition.

It is because Feng Zhengming has come this far.

Therefore, in Qilu, the Youth Chef Competition held at the end of each year in recent years has attracted much attention.

Many young chefs hope that they can become famous through the Qilu Young Chefs Cooking Skills Competition like Feng Zhengming.

Then, like Feng Zhengming, you can fight your way into the National Cooking Skills Competition.

I dare not say that I can directly win the national top spot.

At least I can show my face in the national competition.

Even if it’s just winning a bronze medal for a dish.

It is also enough to give young chefs more advantages in their subsequent job search.

Like most people who come to Quancheng to participate in the provincial youth chef competition, the first thing they do when arriving in Quancheng is to try the food at Feng Zhengming's several stores.

Ren Shouxiang also came to Fengjia Restaurant with his daughter and little apprentice.

But they were luckier than some of the other contestants.

I just happened to see Feng Zhengming from afar outside the door.

So that's why there was the conversation between the three of them before they entered the door.

Ren Juan was full of expectations and admiration for Feng Zhengming, the top scholar.

Ren Shouxiang and his young disciple Ma Jingcheng were more or less trying to find out the bottom line of the top scholar.

The master and apprentice didn't think Feng Zhengming's skills were much better than theirs.

Ren Shouxiang believes: "Feng Zhengming is exposed to more cooking techniques and ingredients from different places. He knows how to better integrate those techniques, so he can make some novel dishes."

Ma Jingcheng agreed with his master's opinion: "If it really comes to making Shandong cuisine, Feng Zhengming's cooking skills may not be better than our master's."

Having already sat down in the old shop, Ren Juan looked around with some concern when she heard what her father and Ma Jingcheng said.

"Dad, can you guys keep your voices down? This is someone else's shop, and Mr. Feng is still inside. If you speak so loudly to them, aren't you afraid that they will come out and chase us out?"

Ren Shouxiang looked at his daughter and said, "She is the top scholar, she shouldn't be so stingy."

Ma Jingcheng said even more honestly: "He kicked us out because of a few words. How can he be called the top scholar?"

Seeing the looks on her father and Ma Jingcheng's face, Ren Juan was truly helpless.

Looking at it this way, Ren Juan even felt that Ma Jingcheng was more like her father's son.

Fortunately, the food they ordered was served soon.

Ren Shouxiang wanted to test the dishes in Zhuangyuan Restaurant.

He specifically ordered three stir-fried dishes and a stir-fried double flower.

We ordered two dishes that are quite challenging for a Shandong cuisine chef.

These two dishes are also the signature dishes of Ren Shouxiang’s private restaurant.

When the two dishes were served, Ren Shouxiang and his apprentice Ma Jingcheng immediately realized that something was different.

Stir-fry three things: pork kidney, pork liver, and pork tenderloin.

These three items need to be sliced ​​to even thickness, marinated and coated separately, and fried separately.

Finally, stir-fry it in a pan.

The sauce should be evenly coated but not too thick.

Whether it is pork kidney, pork liver or pork tenderloin slices, they must be tender and smooth.

This is a dish that tests the chef's knife skills, fire skills and spoon skills.

The stir-fry should have the aroma of the wok, but the ingredients should not be overcooked. It can be said that it requires a lot of skills from the chef.

The fried double flower dish is pork loin with squid slices.

That’s why it’s called double spending.

Both the pork loin and squid need to be cut into pieces.

After being stir-fried, the pork loin and squid slices are all sharp.

It's like two kinds of flowers complementing each other on the plate.

Although both dishes seem to contain pork kidneys, there is a clear difference in taste between the two dishes.

The sauce for the stir-fried three dishes needs some color by adding soy sauce.

In order to ensure that the white color of the squid is not affected, the sauce in the bowl should be white sauce and should not have any color.

The two dishes were served, and the air was filled with the rising steam from the wok.

Looking at it this way, the master and disciple Ren Shouxiang and Ma Jingcheng have already understood the gap between themselves and others.

It’s not that Ren Shouxiang and Ma Jingcheng, master and apprentice, can’t cook these two dishes.

It’s because the master and the apprentice can’t achieve the same level as others.

When you put it in your mouth, you can taste the tenderness, smoothness and crispness intertwined in your mouth.

And they use stock to season it, which gives it a very soft and delicious taste.

I don’t know how to describe it, so I’ll use the most straightforward words to evaluate these two dishes.

That is, each dish has the flavor it should have. They are not two dishes that taste the same.

But in most restaurants, even in restaurants across Qi and Lu.

The final taste of the two dishes, stir-fried three ingredients and stir-fried double flowers, may not be much different.

Today in Feng Zhengming's old shop, master and apprentice Ren Shouxiang and Ma Jingcheng could tell the difference between the food.

Three stir-fried dishes with soy sauce, and two stir-fried flowers without soy sauce and simply seasoned with broth.

There is indeed a noticeable difference in taste.

What’s more important is that no matter whether it’s stir-frying three things or stir-frying two flowers in oil, the heat is absolutely just right.

The kidneys were cooked to a degree that was almost raw.

The pork liver is also not hard when you bite it.

Not to mention the tenderloin, it is so smooth and tender that it makes your teeth feel very comfortable when you bite it.

The squid in the fried double flower dish is also quite crispy and tender.

Ren Juan saw that the master and disciple stopped bragging and just ate quietly.

She couldn't help but laugh: "It seems that you two, master and disciple, are convinced by his craftsmanship?"

Ma Jingcheng raised his head and looked at Ren Juan: "Juan, why are you trying to boost my prestige?"

Ren Juan asked with a smile: "Do you think you can make these two dishes?"

Without waiting for Ma Jingcheng to answer, Ren Juan pointed to the entire old shop.

"Look, there are a lot of customers here today. Can you still make two dishes like this with so many customers? And guarantee the quality of each dish?"

Ma Jingcheng was obviously unconvinced: "How do you know he can guarantee this quality?"

Ren Juan patted him and pointed to another table not far away.

Ma Jingcheng turned his head and saw a plate of three stir-fried dishes in front of the table of customers.

When he looked away, Ma Jingcheng caught a glimpse of the fried double squid on another table not far away.

I can only say that from the outside, each plate looks not much different from the ones on their table.

Ma Jingcheng turned around and looked at Ren Juan.

See the smile on Ren Juan’s face.

Ma Jingcheng continued to be stubborn: "He just came back from abroad. The dishes in the restaurant today may not be made by him personally. Maybe the chefs in his kitchen make these dishes every day, so they are better at it."

Ren Juan was a little amused. She didn't expect that Ma Jingcheng would still argue even with the facts before her eyes.

But this time, before Ren Juan could speak, a voice rang out beside their table.

"Oh, the dishes that were just served were all made by me. Is there anything wrong?"

Hearing the voice, Ren Shouxiang and his daughter and apprentice all looked up in surprise.

Then they saw Feng Zhengming standing next to their table at some point.

Not only the people in the Ren family were surprised to see Feng Zhengming standing nearby.

Customers at other tables were also pleasantly surprised.

"Oh, our top scholar is back."

"So these dishes were made by the champion himself? No wonder they taste different."

"Zhuangyuan, your cooking skills are still so good, nothing is bad."

"Yes, yes, the champion's moves are really different, they are delicious."

"No problem. What could go wrong with this dish made by the top scholar himself?"

The customers' compliments were not meant to flatter Feng Zhengming.

Many old customers noticed the difference in the dishes as soon as they were served.

As a regular customer of Feng Zhengming's old shop, it is easy to tell that the dishes served today are different from usual ones, just by the color of the dishes on the plate.

When you put it in your mouth, you can directly feel the difference from usual.

For gourmets, the subtle control of the heat can be easily felt as soon as the dish takes a bite.

As for the seasoning, it is not much different from that in the usual old shops.

But for dishes like stir-fried three ingredients and stir-fried double flowers, what matters is the taste and the right amount of cooking.

Ren Juan was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up and apologized to Feng Zhengming.

"I'm so sorry, Zhuangyuan. We were just discussing this. It's not that I'm dissatisfied with your food. There's nothing wrong with the food you made yourself."

Feng Zhengming looked at Ren Juan, then lowered his head to look at Ren Shouxiang and Ma Jingcheng, the master and his apprentice.

"Are you here to participate in this young chef competition?"

When their identities were revealed, the Ren family members were surprised again.

Ma Jingcheng simply stood up and said, "Yes, I am here to participate in the competition."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Do your best."

Hearing this, I saw a smile on Feng Zhengming's face.

Ma Jingcheng was stunned and didn't know what to say for a long time.
Ren Shouxiang stood up and said, "Hello, Mr. Champion. Before we came here, we were a little dissatisfied with you. But after eating the dishes you cooked today, we are really convinced."

Feng Zhengming: "Hello, it seems that you are the master of this young chef?"

Ren Shouxiang replied: "Yes, my last name is Ren, and several generations of my family have been chefs. This is my apprentice, Ma Jingcheng."

"Master Ren also has a family background in martial arts. It looks like this little Ma brother is a strong contender this year."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Ren Shouxiang felt a little embarrassed and his old face suddenly turned red.

"I don't dare to claim that I am a chef. How can I say that this is a family tradition? It's just that this little skill was passed down in my family. When I was a child, my grandfather told me that my ancestors used to be cooks in the palace."

Someone in the crowd nearby suddenly exclaimed: "Wow, a royal chef family? That's amazing."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "The royal chef who came from the palace must have great cooking skills."

He looked at Ma Jingcheng again and said, "I am looking forward to your performance in this year's competition."

Ma Jingcheng said seriously: "I want to be like you, first win the title of young chef, and then challenge to win the title of national chef."

As soon as these words came out, the old shop fell into silence. (End of this chapter)