From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming did not deliberately choose a very good location to open his two new stores.

He placed both new stores in locations with convenient transportation and not far from the commercial center.

Jiang Chengzhe said after watching the show: "Chef, you really are running our store like a fast food restaurant."

Feng Zhengming smiled and replied, "Yes, my two stores are the same as the one at the train station. They are fast food. Our main dishes are braised pork with rice, various rice bowls and noodles with toppings."

After listening to Feng Zhengming's words, Jiang Chengzhe and others were all very impressed by his design.

It’s not that there are no other small restaurants that serve rice or noodles with gravy.

But Feng Zhengming's approach is different from theirs.

He has integrated the forms of overseas Western fast food very well.

Some new ideas have also been introduced for rice and noodles.

While maintaining the original flavour of Chinese food, innovations are also made in the presentation of the dish.

It can be said that it ensures that customers are full and can also taste delicious food, making the meal good.

Compared with other small restaurants that serve rice with toppings, the cooking skills in Feng Zhengming's restaurant can be guaranteed to be stable.

The main and auxiliary ingredients of each dish are also cut very carefully.

This ensures that even rice or noodles can be presented in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

It won’t happen that some rice dishes have all kinds of ingredients mixed together.

The saltiness of different places in a plate may even be different.

The most important thing is that Feng Zhengming always maintains high quality and low prices.

Although it is more expensive than some roadside stalls.

But since each dish is freshly cooked and the presentation on the plates is quite nice.

A little more expensive may be acceptable to some people.

Of course, in reality this kind of design can only be done in the branch in Shanghai for the time being.

Some white-collar workers in Shanghai still have the leisure time to pursue good food.

According to Feng Zhengming's arrangement, he will rotate between the two new stores in the next six months.

He is responsible for guiding Sun Hai and Sun Decai, as well as some apprentices assigned to them.

The other store was handed over to Guan Wei and Zhang Lei.

Originally, Feng Zhengming wanted to hand over the store at the train station to Zhang Lei.

Let Zhu Xu and Guan Wei be responsible for another new store.

But Zhang Lei volunteered, he wanted to try the new store.

Moreover, Zhang Lei also admitted that he was not as good as Zhu Xu in the operation and management of the store.

He thought it would be better to let Zhu Xu be in charge of the store at the train station.

Feng Zhengming asked Guan Wei for his opinion again.

Guan Wei and Zhang Lei have the same judgment.

Guan Wei also felt that it would be better for Zhu Xu to be in charge of the store at the train station.

So Feng Zhengming kept Zhu Xu in the store near the train station and let Zhu Xu lead a group of newly recruited young chefs to work in the store.

These two stores are new, and neither person in charge has much experience in operation and management.

Feng Zhengming could only work hard running back and forth.

Fortunately, Guan Wei, Zhang Lei and Zhu Xu learned some business and management skills in the store at the train station.

Therefore, the key is to train Sun Hai and Sun Decai to operate and manage the branch.

Everything was arranged properly, the stove and table and chairs were all set out.

Next, Feng Zhengming’s two new stores in Shanghai opened almost on the same day.

At the same time, Feng Zhengming opened two new stores in Shanghai.

Huang Tao walked into the magazine office in Shanghai with his written manuscript.

Huang Tao's purpose for this trip was simple: to publish an article he had written that detailed Shanghai cuisine.

This was the first step of the plan he and Feng Zhengming had agreed upon.

Huang Tao did consult a lot of information for this article.

I also made a special trip to Shanghai to interview the chefs of local cuisine.

In order to ensure that the article would have enough influence after publication, Huang Tao even specifically sought out a master chef who was a master of Shanghai cuisine and co-authored the article with him.

When Feng Zhengming saw Huang Tao's article in the magazine, he had to admit that this junior master was indeed a good writer.

The key is that the young master-master also knows how to market, and he was able to get a local cuisine master chef to sign his name.

With the signature of a local cuisine master, Huang Tao's article that satirized local cuisine naturally became an instant hit.

The magazine was sold out in Shanghai at one point.

Not only local people in Shanghai, but also many people from other places are curious and buy them to see.

Especially many chefs who open restaurants and work in Shanghai.

Almost everyone had a copy of it, and they used it as a model for learning how to gain a foothold in Shanghai.

Through Huang Tao's humorous article, many people have a better understanding of Shanghai cuisine.

I also understand that the so-called "thick oil and red sauce" may not be the same as what everyone originally thought.

Even the concept of local cuisine is different from what many people think.

According to Huang Tao's research, the concept of "Bangbang cuisine" was originally derived from foreign cuisine.

And according to research, many techniques of Shanghai cuisine are a fusion of cuisines from all over the world.

Maybe many people have not understood these in detail in the past.

Through Huang Tao’s article, everyone can understand more.

Naturally, many people become interested in food.

After Huang Tao's article became popular, naturally a large number of magazines and newspapers began to ask him to write articles.

Even Huang Tao himself had never imagined that it would become so popular.

When he mentioned it to Feng Zhengming at his home, he felt incredible.

"Zhengming, I really didn't expect that article would have such a big response."

Feng Zhengming smiled and gave his junior uncle some encouragement.

"This is what you deserve. Junior Master, you spent so much time and energy writing this article, and you also contacted the chefs of this cuisine for interviews. You have put in so much effort, so you deserve this kind of influence."

Huang Tao was still very grateful for Feng Zhengming's encouragement.

After all, Feng Zhengming is the national number one scholar, and he is such a famous national number one scholar today.

Huang Tao felt more proud after receiving his recognition and encouragement.

However, Huang Tao actually came to see Feng Zhengming for another matter.

"Now so many newspapers and magazines are asking me to write articles. What do you think I should write next?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Didn't Master Uncle want to co-write with me before? I really don't have any idea of ​​publishing a cookbook for the time being, but I also have an article. I hope Master Uncle can polish it for me, and then we can publish it together under our names."

Huang Tao looked at Feng Zhengming with some surprise. He really didn't expect Feng Zhengming to be waiting for him here.

For a moment, Huang Tao felt a little surprised.

It seemed like everything was going according to Feng Zhengming's plan.

He already knew that if Huang Tao wrote a detailed introduction to local cuisine and published it under the signature of a local cuisine master, it would become a big hit.

He seemed to know that Huang Tao would encounter a bottleneck in his creations after becoming famous.

Therefore, he prepared an article early on, which he would publish jointly with Huang Tao.

Wait until Feng Zhengming took out an article he wrote and handed it to Huang Tao.

Huang Tao took a quick look and became even more certain that this was all Feng Zhengming's plan.

Feng Zhengming's article is a continuation of Huang Tao's article, which is titled "A Funny Talk about Local Cuisine".

This article by Feng Zhengming can be called "Foreign Cuisine in Local Shanghai".

These two articles can be said to be very well connected.

Although in Huang Tao's opinion, Feng Zhengming's writing style is indeed inferior.

But in terms of overall content, Huang Tao felt that it was very well written.

From a brief introduction to different cuisines from different places to some of the influences of different cuisines from different places on Shanghai cuisine.

Finally, I also intentionally or unintentionally praised Shanghai, an international metropolis.

After reading this article, Huang Tao clearly understood the intention of Feng Zhengming.

He also understood how he should polish it.

"Zhengming, at the end of your article, besides praising Shanghai, shouldn't you add something else? A guide to our recommended restaurants in Shanghai?"

Seeing that his junior uncle understood his thoughts, Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded.

"Yes, but I'm not very good at writing. I'm worried that it won't be natural enough, so I need your help, Junior Master."

Huang Tao smiled and nodded: "No problem, I will help you polish this article and then send it to those magazines. This time we will do more than one thing and publish this article in several magazines at the same time."

Feng Zhengming was a little surprised when he heard this: "Is this okay?"

Huang Tao smiled: "Don't worry, I'll go talk to them, I believe they will agree."

In the next few days, Huang Tao was running around.

Feng Zhengming didn't ask about it.

He runs between the two new stores every day.

When the new store opened, Feng Zhengming did not carry out any advertising.

But thanks to the reputation of the other two stores, it still attracted many customers.

And spread it among customers.

The two new stores also gradually began to attract more customers.

For most people, having a fast food meal from Feng Zhengming's top restaurant nearby is almost becoming a fashion.

It is even more popular in Shanghai than many overseas chain stores.

Of course, that's why it's so popular.

On the one hand, the cooking skills in Feng Zhengming’s restaurant are indeed great.

But this is not the most critical reason.

The most important reason is that Feng Zhengming's Western Restaurant on the street is well-known enough.

The Western Restaurant on Restaurant Street was advertised in Shanghai newspapers and on television.

In the eyes of many people in Shanghai, it is a fast food restaurant that even foreigners living overseas and in China have to queue up for.

With this layer of rendering.

It is natural that Feng Zhengming's other three stores are regarded as low-end substitutes for the Western restaurant.

It has even become like a certain overseas hamburger fast food restaurant in China, where some parents will bring their children to the store for a meal during holidays.

Or it could be a place where children are rewarded with a meal when they behave well.

But even so, Feng Zhengming felt it was not enough.

He was waiting for Huang Tao to polish his article and then wait for the article to be published.

He also planned to ask Huang Tao to write another promotional article about several of his stores.

This is what Feng Zhengming really wants to do.

Make Huang Tao a well-known food critic in Shanghai.

Then, Huang Tao wrote articles to promote his stores and elevate the status of his stores in Shanghai.

He wanted his stores to become more famous than those overseas fast food chains in Shanghai.

As Feng Zhengming and Huang Tao expected, after the article they jointly signed was published, it naturally caused quite a stir and attention again.

Huang Tao in particular has become completely famous, and some people have privately said that Huang Tao is the person who understands food the best.

After all, one of his two articles was co-signed with the local cuisine chef.

The second article was even more amazing, as it was co-signed with Feng Zhengming, the national top scholar in Shanghai.

Huang Tao soon received an interview invitation from Shanghai TV Station.

There are also Shanghai newspapers that want to interview him.

Huang Tao excitedly told Feng Zhengming the news as soon as possible.

After receiving the call from his junior master uncle, Feng Zhengming was also very happy for him.

"You should be happy and celebrate. Junior Master, your abilities have finally been recognized. After being interviewed by newspapers and TV stations, you have become a true gourmet in Shanghai."

Huang Tao was also excited: "Yes, then we can start working on our restaurant recommendation guide."

Feng Zhengming smiled and reminded on the phone: "Not yet, Junior Master, you need to bring in some more authoritative people, or even better, some ordinary passersby to serve as a recommendation guide."

Huang Tao was a little confused: "Looking for passers-by? Why do you want to look for passers-by?"

"It's very simple. Find a passerby. If your evaluation is consistent with that of the passerby, it can better reflect your fairness and justice."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, Huang Tao also felt that this was indeed the truth.

"Okay, I'll listen to you then. We'll build our reputation first, and then launch our restaurant recommendation guide to convince more people."

Feng Zhengming warned his junior uncle: "Remember, don't be influenced by utilitarianism."

Huang Tao was reminded by Feng Zhengming and agreed seriously on the phone.

"Okay, I'll definitely pay attention to that."

Afterwards, Huang Tao was interviewed by newspapers and television stations.

In the interview, he also directly mentioned that Feng Zhengming was his nephew, and that he came to Shanghai and wrote two articles on Shanghai cuisine and other foreign cuisines, and received guidance from Feng Zhengming.

He even publicly disclosed the fact that the main author of the second article signed by both of them was Feng Zhengming.

After Huang Tao's interview, he really became famous in Shanghai.

In the eyes of many people, he is already the representative of Shanghai gourmets.

In the past, many people felt that there were no food critics in the country.

At the same time, the reputation of some food critics in Hong Kong and overseas also spread.

After making some comparisons, everyone feels that Huang Tao is still more professional than those in Hong Kong and overseas.

After all, the two articles written by Huang Tao do contain quite a lot of details that most people don’t know.

And later, Mr. Cai and Wei Ling were invited to Shanghai to participate in an event.

When they were interviewed, they also said that they had read Huang Tao's article and felt that it was indeed very professional.

Of course, Mr. Cai and Wei Ling came to Shanghai at the invitation of Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe.

Feng Zhengming also informed the two people in advance.

Let Mr. Cai and Wei Ling also help recognize Huang Tao.

Of course, Feng Zhengming also introduced Huang Tao to them, and brought in Mr. Cai and Mr. Wei Ling to start preparing a restaurant recommendation guide for Shanghai.

When this recommendation guide was first published, Feng Zhengming and Mr. Cai and Mr. Wei Ling had different ideas.

Mr. Cai and Wei Ling were obviously influenced by some overseas places and felt that they should recommend tasteful and high-end restaurants just like those overseas.

But Feng Zhengming insisted: "We can't use that kind of recommendation method. We need to recommend more down-to-earth restaurants that can get good reviews from ordinary people and are liked by many ordinary people.

Please don't forget that our recommendation guide is to let outsiders who come to Shanghai know where to eat delicious food.

Instead of recommending them high-end restaurants that most people in Shanghai cannot afford.”

Under Feng Zhengming's insistence, Mr. Cai and Wei Ling finally compromised with him. (End of this chapter)