From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The TV station broadcast an interview with Feng Zhengming, and by leveraging Feng Zhengming's current fame, it increased the attention to the provincial youth chef competition.

It also helped attract a lot of sponsors for the entire competition.

What made Feng Zhengming laugh and cry was that after the sponsors came to Quancheng, they all came to visit him.

This made Feng Zhengming feel somewhat embarrassed, as he felt that he still had his master, as well as some other masters like Master Cui, in Quancheng.

Even though he was the top student in the country, he didn't dare to say that his cooking skills were better than those of the old chefs.

In fact, Feng Zhengming now has a lot of innovations, and it is no longer the traditional Shandong cuisine.

The bosses of these sponsors found Feng Zhengming.

Almost everyone wants to cooperate with Feng Zhengming.

Many people want to invest in Feng Zhengming, hoping to cooperate with him to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant.

Feng Zhengming could only give some serious explanations to everyone.

"I don't need to invest for now. My stores in Qilu are all profitable, and my two stores in Shanghai are also doing good business.

If you want to invest in a traditional Shandong cuisine restaurant, I think you should ask a few chefs for advice. Although I am the top chef in the country, I dare not say that I can compare with the chefs in traditional Shandong cuisine. "

In the eyes of all the bosses who came to him, Feng Zhengming's reply seemed more like a kind of humility.

"Mr. Feng is too modest. We all know your skills."

"Yes, you don't actually have to go to our partner store in person. You just need to go there occasionally to give some pointers."

"That's right. I will find another team of chefs for my restaurant. I just hope you can spare some time to give us guidance."

"It would be best if we could hang up the sign you recommended, Mr. Feng, to promote our restaurant."

After hearing what they said, Feng Zhengming probably understood what these bosses were thinking.

Or they want to use his fame to increase the popularity of their own restaurant.

To put it bluntly, it's just some hype.

Let Feng Zhengming go there, give them a platform and improve the quality of their restaurant.

Feng Zhengming is very familiar with this kind of hype. I wonder how many times he has seen it in his past and present lives.

Not to mention too far away, there’s Chef Dai Long from Gangcheng.

He is an expert at using this kind of hype tactics.

After competing with Feng Zhengming, he immediately promoted himself to the outside world, portraying himself as a chef who had a very good relationship with Feng Zhengming, the national number one chef, and that the two had a lot of culinary exchanges with each other.

It is said that he later invited a tycoon from Australia to taste his dishes.

A plate of fried rice made with fresh abalone juice was sold to the Australian tycoon for 5000 yuan.

Later, he launched a simplified version in his own restaurant.

They even broke down the cooking process for the simplified version of fried rice and specially trained some young chefs to cook it for customers.

Although it is a simplified version, it tastes really good.

But the price is not cheap.

However, thanks to the help of the tycoon from Australia City, there are still many people willing to pay for it even though it is sold at a high price.

Feng Zhengming has fought with Dai Long and also tasted his cooking skills.

To say that Dai Long has no skills would definitely be a bit insulting.

It’s just that Feng Zhengming will eventually choose to cooperate with Jiang Chengzhe, and not with Dai Long.

Even if he cooperates with Dai Long, Feng Zhengming may become more famous through his marketing approach, and the business of his two stores in Shanghai may be even better than it is now.

It’s just that the two people have some different ideas, so Feng Zhengming will not choose to cooperate with Dai Long.

Now these people come to Quancheng in the name of investing and sponsoring the Qilu Provincial Youth Chef Competition, and specifically find Feng Zhengming to propose cooperation.

They thought that what they said was a very clever plan.

But in Feng Zhengming's eyes, they were all too low-level.

“If you really want to invest in the catering industry and want to promote the inheritance and development of Shandong cuisine, you really don’t need to cooperate with me.

Because I am the champion of the national cooking competition, my every word and action will be watched by many people, and I have to balance different cuisines from different places.

So if I actually went to your store, my harshness might affect your business.

Thank you all for coming to Quancheng to sponsor this Young Chef Competition.

I hope that with your participation, not only our Shandong cuisine, but also other cuisines from all over the country will be able to develop better and better in the future.”

Feng Zhengming said some nice words and rejected the sponsors' attempts to win him over.

However, Feng Zhengming also gave them some suggestions.

“Since you are sponsoring this competition, you can pay more attention to the young chefs in the competition. Many young chefs have good skills, but they just lack some opportunities.

I believe that if they can meet mentors like you, they will achieve great success in the future.”

After receiving Feng Zhengming's advice, the sponsors also realized that they really could not force Feng Zhengming.

Because Feng Zhengming is more than just a chef now.

He has many stores, especially his two stores in Shanghai, which are becoming more and more famous.

So he really has no shortage of investment.

In addition to his status as the national top scholar, he received official recognition and support after participating in the state banquet upon his return.

Indeed, no boss dares to say that he can touch Feng Zhengming now.

Although these bosses failed to impress Feng Zhengming and get him to cooperate with them.

But now that the bosses are here, it is natural that they will still sponsor this young chef competition.

And the bosses also followed Feng Zhengming's advice and paid attention to the many young chefs in the competition.

After the auditions ended in the first few days, several veteran masters all smiled and praised Feng Zhengming in private.

"Zhengming, you came back just in time this time. Otherwise, how could we attract so many people to pay attention to the young chef competition?"

"That's right, Zhengming, you also helped to attract so much sponsorship, further enhancing the influence of the young chef competition."

"This year, there are not only young chefs from our province who have signed up for the competition, but also chefs from other places."

"Yes, didn't Lao Wang bring a few young guys to participate in the competition?"

"Hahaha, now Lao Wang is a well-known cooking master in Beijing."

As he was speaking, the door to the small conference room was pushed open.

Master Wang, who had brought his apprentice back from Beijing specifically to participate in the competition, came in.

"I knew you old guys were going to talk about me behind my back."

Master Wang looked at Feng Zhengming and said, "Are they criticizing me again? Saying that I brought young chefs from Beijing to participate in the competition and snatched the opportunities of young chefs from our province?"

In front of outsiders, the masters are definitely serious and stern masters.

But in private, the masters often joked with each other. Only Feng Zhengming had the opportunity to see this kind of scene.

Feng Zhengming stood up with a smile, took the initiative to walk forward to arrange a seat for Master Wang, and poured tea for him.

"Uncle Wang, would you like some tea?"

Master Wang nodded: "Okay, you can watch it."

Master Yan immediately made a joke: "Wasn't it different if Lao Wang asked the champion to serve you tea?"

Master Wang was not angry, but smiled: "Zhengming is the top scholar, but he is still a junior in front of us. Do you feel sorry for pouring me a cup of tea?"

The old masters all laughed immediately, and the atmosphere in the small meeting room became pleasant.

Feng Zhengming poured the tea, sat down and looked at Master Wang with a smile on his face.

"I really didn't expect that Uncle Wang would bring his grand disciple to participate in the competition this time."

Master Wang sighed: "It is because of you, the top scorer, who came back to support us that everyone now knows that the Qilu Young Chef Cooking Skills Competition is an opportunity for young chefs to showcase themselves."

Master Cui asked, "Old Wang, your two apprentices seem to have pretty good skills."

A hint of pride appeared on Master Wang's face.

"It's OK. They were originally my son's apprentices. In order to participate in the competition, I gave them some intensive training, which improved their level a bit. They can barely keep up."

Feng Zhengming quickly smiled and said, "Uncle Wang is too modest. They are not just barely keeping up. I think they both have solid skills."

Several other masters also nodded, and they all agreed with Feng Zhengming's judgment.

Master Wang looked at Feng Zhengming and said, "Zhu Xu is also my disciple. He is with you. What do you think of the two I brought this time? How do they compare with Zhu Xu's skills?"

"Do you want to tell the truth?" Feng Zhengming asked this question cautiously on purpose.

Master Wang immediately said: "Of course I'm telling the truth."

At this time, all the masters present looked at Feng Zhengming together.

Zhu Xu is no stranger to the old masters.

Zhu Xu’s performance in the previous youth chef competition was obvious to everyone.

However, ever since Jubinyuan closed down, Zhu Xu’s master Cheng Guosheng followed the owner of Jubinyuan south and has not been heard from since.

Zhu Xu also went to Feng Zhengming's dry rice shop, and no one had any contact with Zhu Xu again.

So the masters are really curious about Zhu Xu’s current situation?

Seeing that everyone was curious, Feng Zhengming frankly stated the comparison.

"Uncle Wang, the two disciples you brought here have solid cooking skills, but there is a big gap between them and Zhu Xu. Now Zhu Xu is able to take charge of his own business in my store in Shanghai.

And I think if we give Zhu Xu some more time, he will be qualified to be the head chef of a big restaurant."

Feng Zhengming's words really surprised the old masters.

Master Sun couldn't help but ask.

"You're not deliberately praising Zhu Xu like this just because he's in your store, are you?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Uncle Sun, do you think I am that kind of person? If I really have selfish motives, then Huiquanlou should be ranked first in this year's Qilu Restaurant Recommendation Guide, and several of my branches should be on the list."

This was stated quite bluntly, but the veterans present were also very clear about it.

If Feng Zhengming is willing to do that, he can indeed do it.

Apart from anything else, the service and taste of Feng Zhengming's branches across Shandong and Qilu are indeed qualified to be included in the recommendation guide, and should be ranked very high in the recommendation list everywhere.

Feng Zhengming still sticks to his bottom line and does not allow all his branches and Huiquan Building to recommend the guide.

Master Wang couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect Zhu Xu to find a new way out with you."

Feng Zhengming spoke again: "You have to walk your own path. Maybe you, Uncle Wang, think that Brother Cheng's choice is inappropriate. I am going to Shanghai to open a branch now, and I understand Brother Cheng a little bit.

We need to keep pace with the times, keep up with the times, and understand the tastes and preferences of current customers.

Of course when I say keep pace with the times, we still have to preserve our traditional craftsmanship first.

Only by learning traditional skills well can we integrate different cuisines and new things in the context of the times, create new dishes and cater to market needs.”

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, all the old masters nodded their heads.

Everyone still agrees with what Feng Zhengming said.

Master Cui smiled and said, "Zhengming has traveled extensively over the past few years, and his philosophy has changed a lot. No wonder you can run your store so well in Shanghai. Even foreigners in Shanghai like your store."

In front of the master chefs, Feng Zhengming did not hide anything and shared some of the ideas behind his western restaurant on the street.

“When I first arrived in Shanghai and was looking for a suitable store, I specifically looked at some of the most crowded areas in Shanghai, such as the store on the street where my western restaurant is located, which I discovered at that time.

Not far from that street is a subway station on the Shanghai side, surrounded by many tall buildings.

I carefully observed the area for a long time and found that there were many white-collar workers from Shanghai and many foreigners coming and going every day. "

Master Wang was surprised: "Did you want to do business with foreigners? Did you want to compete with those Western restaurants for customers?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, because my kitchen team includes Jiang Chengzhe from Hong Kong City."

Except for Master Yan, all the other masters present were surprised to hear that Jiang Chengzhe had joined Feng Zhengming's kitchen team.

"Jiang Chengzhe is in your chef team?"

"No wonder. With the help of Hong Kong City's chefs, you can indeed compete with Western restaurants."

"Jiang Chengzhe is very famous in Hong Kong. Although he is young, he has been to many restaurants overseas for training. He does understand foreigners' preferences better."

Feng Zhengming explained: "In fact, the tastes of Shanghai locals are somewhat similar to those overseas."

Then he talked about how he improved the dishes of the restaurant on Western Restaurant Street.

Feng Zhengming did not introduce each dish individually.

He expressed his direction and ideas for improving the dishes.

The old masters will understand it immediately.

After a little thought, the old masters agreed with Feng Zhengming's improvement method.

The overall cooking techniques still mostly follow Shandong cuisine techniques.

However, we will make some changes in seasoning to make it more in line with the tastes of Shanghai and overseas.

Another thing is the way the food is served, which is learned from many street fast food methods overseas.

The meals are served to the guests one by one. The plates contain the dishes they ordered, accompanied by the staple foods they wish to eat, such as rice, noodles, mashed potatoes, etc.

It is a very simple way of serving food overseas.

But this form happens to suit the preferences of foreigners in Shanghai and those white-collar workers who always like to boast about learning about life abroad.

The old masters really didn't expect that Feng Zhengming could promote Shandong cuisine to foreigners in this way.

After listening to this, Master Wang looked at Feng Zhengming with admiration.

"Zhengming, you may really be the one who completely changes our Chinese food." (End of this chapter)