From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming's words made everyone who came to visit him express their understanding.

The leaders of Hangzhou, in particular, expressed their stance to Feng Zhengming.

"Zhengming, if you are willing to open a store, Hangzhou will definitely give you all the support. Not only will they help you with publicity, but you can also choose any store in the city."

Hearing what the leader said, the presidents of the catering association and the chefs association present looked at each other in bewilderment.

However, they also knew very well what Feng Zhengming coming to Hangzhou to open a branch meant.

Hangzhou really needs a top chef like Feng Zhengming.

It would be great if Feng Zhengming could come to Hangzhou from Shanghai to take charge.

Even if Feng Zhengming himself cannot come to Hangzhou to take charge, he can put up the signboard and select good chefs to work in the store, which can also drive the development of Hangzhou's catering industry.

The local authorities are considering how much profit they can make by relying on Feng Zhengming to open a store in Hangzhou and using his fame.

Feng Zhengming himself was thinking that opening a store in Hangzhou required integrating the characteristics of Hangzhou into the store.

Why did Feng Zhengming’s store in Shanghai receive positive reviews from local people?
Because his restaurant not only has the specialties of Shandong cuisine such as Baozi Rou, but more importantly, you can eat some very authentic local dishes in his restaurant.

This is where Feng Zhengming’s store opening gained recognition from everyone.

He will respect the tastes of the locals.

When you go to his restaurant, you can eat more than just the classic braised pork, pork elbow and four-happiness meatballs.

Feng Zhengming adds some local specialties to every store he opens in different places.

For example, in the three restaurants outside of Shanghai’s Western Restaurant Street, Feng Zhengming even added Shanghai’s more famous large wontons.

Moreover, the large wontons in Feng Zhengming's store are all made with fillings prepared by himself according to the tastes of Shanghai locals after he had eaten at many restaurants in Shanghai.

The large wontons in the three stores are freshly made every day.

It is his attitude of not fooling customers that truly sticks to the bottom line of a chef.

That's why he was able to put his three stores on the recommendation guide he set up in Shanghai, and no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

In fact, Luo Qing helped Feng Zhengming to settle the accounts.

Among his four stores in Shanghai, it seems that the other three stores have more popular business every day, with people queuing up almost every day.

But the store that really makes the most money is the one on Western Restaurant Street.

After deducting various costs from the other three stores and the high salaries he paid to the kitchen staff, Feng Zhengming actually made little money from those three stores.

But for Feng Zhengming, he actually doesn’t care whether the other three stores make money or not.

Just because there is a Western restaurant on the street, it is enough for Feng Zhengming to make money.

After all, most of the dishes in the Western Restaurant on the street are not much different from those in the other three restaurants.

It’s just that Feng Zhengming and Jiang Chengzhe made a variety of designs.

Then they sell it to urban white-collar workers and overseas friends, and the price is at least doubled.

So what Feng Zhengming needs to consider is, is he coming to Hangzhou to open a boutique store similar to the one on Western Restaurant Street?
Or should we open several street shops at once like the other three in Shanghai?

After talking about opening a store in Hangzhou, several visitors talked to Feng Zhengming about this competition.

Feng Zhengming also took the opportunity to point out that it was inappropriate not to arrange accommodation for individual players in this competition.

“Chefs from all over the country come to participate in the competition with a pilgrimage heart, but after registering here, they still need to find accommodation by themselves.

This actually discourages those aspiring chefs.

Moreover, it is impossible for them to find accommodation near the competition hotel, so they need to rush over to participate in the competition.

The time and energy wasted on the road will also affect their performance in the game.”

The Hangzhou leader nodded and said, "Yes, your suggestions are correct. It is us who did not make preparations in advance.

We should indeed prepare accommodation in advance so that the chefs who sign up for the competition can have a good rest environment so that they can better cope with the competition."

Feng Zhengming continued to give some of his own suggestions.

“For the individual competition, there will definitely be an audition at the beginning.

There are many individual chefs who have signed up this year, and their levels may vary, so an audition is a necessary process.

My suggestion is that since there is an audition, all personal chefs should participate.

Just because some chefs have celebrity chef recommendations doesn’t mean they can skip the audition process.”

These words surprised everyone present.

Especially the president and vice president of the Chefs Association, they didn’t know what expression to use at this moment.

Immediately afterwards, Feng Zhengming made new requirements.

“Also, since it’s an individual competition, the chefs participating in the individual competition must compete on their own. They can’t compete in an individual competition and bring a few helpers to cook.

I'm not just talking about the audition stage, I'm talking about the entire competition stage, they shouldn't have helpers."

The request made by Feng Zhengming made several people from the Chefs Association look a little unhappy.

In fact, because there are many individual chefs who have signed up for this competition, quite a few of them came with the recommendation of their own masters.

There are also many chefs participating in the individual competition, and they bring their apprentices with them.

It is obvious that these chefs who brought apprentices with them wanted the apprentices to help them.

Now Feng Zhengming has spoken, first depriving those who want to apprentice to famous chefs of the opportunity to skip the auditions.

Then he directly requested that the chefs in the individual competition must compete on their own.

In the past, many people might have thought these two requirements were necessary.

But at this time, some people will feel that it is intentional to make things difficult.

This is also due to some chaos in the culinary industry in recent years.

Although on the surface, there are master craftsmen in charge in various places.

There are also master chefs who participated in the last national cooking competition with Feng Zhengming and are maintaining the tradition of their craft.

There is also a well-known and skilled person like Feng Zhengming.

But it is also because of Feng Zhengming's existence that the culinary industry has been elevated.

This has led to some chaos in the culinary industry.

Some people who try to take advantage of the situation make friends with some master chefs, and then form cliques and factions to create conflicts between cuisines in different places.

There are also some who have no basic skills at all, but relying on some random titles and being good at socializing, they have successfully gotten a position in a local chefs association.

Then he took advantage of his position in the Chefs Association to promote some of his own stores and attract customers.

There are also those who, under the banner of protecting local cuisine, make some local snacks seem real and half-hearted, and use their personal communication skills and media connections to hype themselves up and turn themselves into the inheritors of certain special cuisines.

This is also why the competition was opened to individual chefs this year.

This is the reason why so many people sign up for the National Cooking Skills Competition.

There are too many people trying to take advantage of the situation and gain fame.

Then they can better promote their own stores. If they are really skilled, or if they really inherit the local specialties.

Feng Zhengming would certainly be willing to help the other party with publicity.

But he knew very well that as the millennium approached, there were too many counterfeit old brands emerging one after another.

That is why Feng Zhengming requires that all chefs participating in the individual competition must compete alone.

Since you have signed up for the individual competition, do you want to gain fame for yourself through the individual competition?
Then show your true abilities in the individual competition.

The leader who came to Hangzhou was also a provincial leader, and he strongly agreed with Feng Zhengming's requirements.

"Zhengming, you are absolutely right. Since we are going to hold the individual competition of the National Cooking Contest, we must show the individual level, so we cannot allow someone to use their connections to skip the previous competition.

Also, since it is an individual competition, it will definitely test the individual's overall ability, so it is reasonable that helpers are not allowed."

As soon as the leader here opened his mouth, he blocked what the people from the Catering Association and the Chefs Association wanted to say.

But a vice president from the Chefs Association couldn't help but speak.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, the competition system of the individual competition has also been confirmed by the leaders. Now you want to make a temporary change in our Hangzhou competition venue. I'm afraid this will affect the overall schedule, right?"

Hearing what the other party said, Feng Zhengming smiled and apologized to several people.

Then he took out his cell phone and made a call.

"Hello, hahaha, Master Hou, I'm Zhengming, yes, I'm in Hangzhou, and I happened to be chatting with the organizers of the national cooking competition in Hangzhou about the individual competition.

It’s like this, Master Hou. I have some suggestions. Please listen to them and see what you think of them.
I think our individual competition should better reflect individual standards and strengths.

Right, so my suggestion is..."

Seeing Feng Zhengming making a direct call, the vice president of the Chefs Association who had just spoken suddenly changed his expression.

When everyone heard that Feng Zhengming was contacting Master Hou in Beijing directly, they naturally understood his intention.

Sure enough, the person on the other end of the phone waited until Feng Zhengming finished speaking about his suggestions.

Master Hou agreed without even thinking about it.

"Zhengming, your suggestion is very good. It seems that we should notify you in advance of some domestic cooking competitions in the future, and you must come and participate in the discussion with us.

A competition should be held in the manner of a competition. We cannot just randomly come up with several different sets of standards.

This time we held separate individual competitions in the hope of selecting more outstanding individual chefs.

So your request is very correct, everyone must participate in every round of the competition.

Also, you definitely cannot bring helpers with you to compete in individual competitions."

Hearing that Master Hou agreed to his suggestion, Feng Zhengming smiled and expressed his gratitude on the phone.

"Thank you Master Hou for your support. This incident may cause you some trouble. When the finals come, I will go to Beijing in person to thank you."

Master Hou laughed on the other end of the phone: "Hahaha, Zhengming, we have agreed that when you come to Beijing this time, you must talk to us about your experiences in Shanghai."

Feng Zhengming immediately agreed on the phone: "Okay, I will definitely ask Master Hou for advice this time."

After some polite exchanges, Feng Zhengming hung up the phone.

He looked at the people from Hangzhou who were present.

"I have already told Master Hou, who is in charge of the event, and he agrees with my plan, so we must strictly implement the requirements I just mentioned in this competition."

The people from the Catering Association and the Chefs Association present naturally couldn't say anything.

Feng Zhengming went directly to the organizers of the National Cooking Competition to make suggestions.

And we have also obtained the consent from the capital.

Then the content of the next game must be carried out according to what Feng Zhengming said.

The leaders in charge of the event who came tonight were very happy.

"Okay, Zhengming was right to invite you to Hangzhou. We must host this competition better than the other two places and better showcase our Chinese cooking skills."

After seeing off several people who came to visit tonight, Luo Qing walked out of the bedroom.

"You are very offensive."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Hahaha, why should I be afraid of offending people? I am trying to save the value of the National Cooking Skills Competition."

When Feng Zhengming said this, his expression became serious.

"Some holes cannot be opened. Once opened, there is no way to make up for it."

Without waiting for his wife to speak, Feng Zhengming remained serious and continued talking.

“Cooking skills are like most other skills. Once the inheritor is no longer willing to pass on the skills, it will inevitably face an irreversible decline.

Maybe there will still be people willing to persevere, but there are too many bad coins in the market.

Those who stick to their traditions may see their living space squeezed.

In order to survive, the bottom line will be broken again and again."

After hearing what her husband said, Luo Qing also felt that this seemed to be the truth.

Just like Feng Zhengming’s many stores, they always receive unanimous praise.

But it's not just because the things in his store are not expensive.

More importantly, it’s because what Feng Zhengming sells in his store is real craftsmanship.

All customers know that the cooking skills in Feng Zhengming’s kitchen are genuine.

Even though the prices in Feng Zhengming's restaurant are higher than some of the surrounding stores, it still attracts many people to eat at his restaurant.

This is something he holds fast to, so he doesn't want it to be destroyed by others.

A day later, the National Cooking Skills Competition announced the requirements for individual competitions to the whole country.

Just like what Feng Zhengming suggested.

All chefs who register for the individual competition must advance through rounds of competition.

No helpers are allowed in individual competitions.

When this news was announced, it immediately attracted the attention and discussion of many people in society.

It makes those who want to use the national competition to raise their status feel miserable.

However, after the news was announced, the authority of the National Cooking Skills Competition was greatly enhanced.

Most passers-by expressed support for these two decisions.

Everyone thinks that since it is an individual competition, all chefs should compete with their real skills.

Moreover, the national cooking skills competition for individual chefs should test the comprehensive abilities of each chef.

If the chefs are asked to help with cutting and preparing food during the competition, how can their abilities be demonstrated?

The old masters who received this news could almost guess that it was the suggestion given by Feng Zhengming.

Amidst the discussion, the 4th National Cooking Skills Competition kicked off. (End of this chapter)