From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming returned to Quancheng. Before the New Year, there were some meetings in the province that required him to attend.

Feng Zhengming did not speak much at the meeting of the Chefs Association.

Let the old chefs talk more, as he was mostly surrounded by young chefs asking questions.

Many young chefs also want to try their luck in the industry.

I think Feng Zhengming can open four restaurants in Shanghai at once by relying on Shandong cuisine.

Then why can't I go?

Many young chefs think that they can start from a small shop.

Or you can try working in some restaurants first, and then try to open your own shop after accumulating experience.

In response to their questions, Feng Zhengming gave relatively pertinent and practical suggestions.

“If you want to work in other places, you must first understand that different places have their own eating habits, and it is impossible for people from all places to like the taste of our Shandong cuisine.

But the basic skills of our Shandong cuisine are solid, and often the Shandong cuisine chefs have better basic skills when they go out.

So you need to demonstrate this characteristic of Shandong cuisine chefs and use your solid basic skills to adapt to the tastes of people from different places.”

Feng Zhengming's words made some older chefs feel strange.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, didn't you also open four restaurants in Shanghai, all of which serve Shandong cuisine? This shows that Shandong cuisine still has a market outside of Shanghai."

Feng Zhengming also felt helpless about such problems.

"I have made a lot of adjustments to the flavors of my four restaurants in Shanghai. I have also eaten at many local restaurants in Shanghai and eaten local snacks with locals on the streets.

Just to feel the taste of the locals, as well as the taste of many outsiders and even overseas people in Shanghai.

Finally, I blend multiple flavors to create the unique taste of my four stores.

Able to adapt to the taste preferences of locals, outsiders, and foreigners.

But I don’t recommend that you follow this path to learn. You should stick to your craft.”

Feng Zhengming is not stingy in sharing some of his experiences with everyone.

Master Cui pointed out that some of Feng Zhengming’s experiences are not applicable to everyone.

"He was the top student in the country. He quit his job as a judge in this national competition and has not shown up since then. But he is still talked about by many people, so you can't learn from him."

Master Cui's words made the other masters all smile and express their agreement.

Feng Zhengming didn't know how to refute anything, as what Master Cui said was indeed true.

Master Yan then said, "We still have to follow what he said. Craftsmanship comes first. As long as you have the skills, you will have a meal no matter where you go."

Master’s words are more realistic.

Feng Zhengming also agreed with his master's words.

Although Feng Zhengming's success has made many people have higher aspirations in their hearts.

Who wouldn’t want to be like Feng Zhengming and open multiple branches in other cities, especially in big cities like Shanghai?

But everyone also knows that what Master Cui said is right.

Feng Zhengming's experience is not something that others can learn.

Perhaps before the start of this year's national competition, many people will want to win the top prize in the national competition like Feng Zhengming, and then learn from his methods to open their own store.

It’s a pity that the 4th National Cooking Skills Competition, from the very beginning of its competition system, cuts off any chance for individuals to stand out.

In addition to the individual competition, the National Cooking Competition also includes team competition and public banquet competition.

The team competition is attended by kitchen teams from some well-known restaurants.

The mass banquet competition is similar to the team competition, except that most of the participants are hotels and the competition is also in the form of a banquet.

These two competitions have brought out chef teams from some well-known restaurants, especially the kitchen teams from many Beijing restaurants.

Another thing is that we vigorously promoted some banquets launched by various hotels.

The national competition was designed in this way with the intention of better promoting the culture of Chinese cuisine.

But in this way, the team competition and the public banquet competition are obviously more interesting.

As a result, not many people paid attention to the individual competition.

In addition, Feng Zhengming pointed out some things in Hangzhou that were not presentable in individual competitions.

It is natural that the authority of individual competitions has fallen to the bottom.

The result is that after the Fourth National Cooking Competition, there was hardly any discussion about the chefs with strong individual skills.

On the contrary, after watching the team competition and the public banquet competition, more people planned to try the award-winning restaurants and hotels in these two events.

In fact, Feng Zhengming has communicated with the old masters, and everyone thinks this might be what the organizers want to see.

After all, in order to make the fourth competition bigger, we attracted a lot of sponsors through bidding.

With sponsors, the competition becomes more commercialized and naturally requires more commercial elements.

However, in Feng Zhengming's view, such an approach would undoubtedly greatly reduce the reputation and authority of the national competition.

Therefore, after the national competition, there were no more famous chefs like Feng Zhengming emerging.

Or it should be said that some people do not want to see another eye-catching personal chef like Feng Zhengming.

Instead, it was the restaurants and hotels that won the team competition and the public banquet competition.

The status of their kitchen staff also rose accordingly.

Master Su seemed quite helpless when talking about the national competition.

"Jufengde sent a team to participate in the competition, but in the end they were defeated by several companies in Beijing."

Feng Zhengming could still hear that although Master Su didn't say it, his voice was full of dissatisfaction.

But the result of the competition has come out, and even if you are not satisfied, there is nothing you can do about it.

Master Cui is more open-minded.

"Hahaha, Lao Su, take it easy. After all, our Shandong cuisine has a top scholar like Zheng Ming to support it, so it's still better than other cuisines.

And Zhengming is now very famous, which is why the national competition deliberately weakens the individual competition. "

Feng Zhengming looked innocent: "It's not that I want the national competition to change the competition system like this."

Master Cui nodded: "Of course it wasn't you who asked them to change it, but the change was because of you. Your appearance broke some mainstream things, so the mainstream needs to consolidate its position."

Master Yan then said: "Many things are not about whether you want them or not, but your appearance breaks some rules."

Master Su spoke again: "That's right. You found another way. The key is that you succeeded in finding a way and increased your influence. Then you can't give others the chance to find a way."

Feng Zhengming was somewhat surprised by what the masters said.

Now he seemed to understand what his master had always meant when he emphasized to his fellow disciples the importance of keeping a low profile.

Once you make something too high-profile and it affects the original rules, you will become a thorn in the eyes of some people.

However, Feng Zhengming no longer cares about certain targeting.

"Master, fellow uncles and uncles, don't worry, our Qilu Young Chef Cooking Skills Competition will still be held as usual. As long as we keep our things, that's enough.

Later I can open some more stores to give capable young chefs a place to display their abilities.

I believe that in the near future, our Shandong cuisine restaurant will be able to open again in many places across the country." Feng Zhengming paused for a moment and announced to the chefs with confidence.

"We don't have to follow other people's rules and standards. We just need to stick to our own standards and make delicious food that the public likes and make it affordable for more people. That's enough."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, the old masters all laughed.

It can be said that Feng Zhengming took a different path from some people.

He did not give up the fight for the right to speak and define, but took a grassroots approach to fight in the opposite direction.

You are so high and mighty, and you want to use your power to suppress others?

Then I will let the public eat well and let the public choose me voluntarily.

The old masters also approve of Feng Zhengming's approach.

After attending the Chefs Association’s pre-annual meeting.

Feng Zhengming was invited to attend a tea party with well-known entrepreneurs.

Feng Zhengming originally didn't quite understand why he was invited to the entrepreneurs' meeting.

After arriving there, Feng Zhengming realized that it was because of the sauce factory.

Feng Zhengming himself did not expect that the sauce factory would get out of its predicament with the technical support from Luo Jinliang of Gangcheng and some publicity from Feng Zhengming.

Now the brand of the sauce factory has been re-launched and has been rolled out across the province.

We have even started shipping to surrounding provinces.

This was a situation that the Quancheng Old Soy Sauce Factory had never imagined in the past.

So Feng Zhengming, the owner of the factory, would of course be invited to attend the entrepreneurs' meeting.

At the entrepreneurs' meeting, Feng Zhengming also met an old acquaintance.

Zhao Chaoxing.

"Hahaha, Boss Zhao, I didn't expect to meet you here?"

Zhao Chaoxing was also very happy to see Feng Zhengming and greeted Feng Zhengming warmly.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, I saw you on the invitation list, and I was thinking about meeting you."

Feng Zhengming then congratulated Zhao Chaoxing with a smile.

"I heard that Boss Zhao, your store is expanding much faster than mine. Now there are supermarkets of yours in many places across the province."

Zhao Chaoxing said modestly: "I can't compare with you, Feng Zhuangyuan. Your restaurants all cook freshly made dishes, while my restaurants mainly serve braised pork and boxed lunches. We can't compare, we can't compare."

Feng Zhengming said with emotion: "Boss Zhao, I really admire you. You are working hard to make our Qilu specialties in your own way.

My branch format does seem to be more advanced than yours, but in fact the speed of expansion is not as fast as yours.

So your store can be spread faster and in large numbers."

Feng Zhengming truly admires Zhao Chaoxing's courage.

Following Feng Zhengming's original advice, he gave up following Feng Zhengming's path.

Instead he went his own way.

We focus on making steamed pork belly and pair it with various boxed lunches.

This approach also enabled his Chao Xingxing to successfully open up the market.

In just one year, Zhao Chaoxing's Chao Xingxing has opened many branches across the province.

The number of stores has already exceeded Feng Zhengming's by several times.

Even Zhao Chaoxing is still continuing to expand the market.

We are already preparing to open branches outside the province.

In terms of store management capabilities, Zhao Chaoxing can be said to be better than Feng Zhengming.

"Mr. Feng, you are making fun of me. Everyone knows that you are the champion of Shandong cuisine. Last year, there was no new champion in the national competition, and the national competition nominally expanded the number of individual chefs who could participate.

But in fact, their practice of allowing individual chefs to sign up freely is tantamount to lowering the standards of individual chefs.

So in the future, I don’t think there will be a nationally renowned top scorer like you in the national competition.

Your position as the top scholar should be unshakable."

Feng Zhengming laughed at what he said: "Hahaha, keep a low profile. You still need to be low-key."

Zhao Chaoxing smiled and continued, "Besides, you have fewer stores than me, but your quality is higher than mine. I have done a survey. As long as there is a branch of yours in a city, my store will always be ranked behind yours."

Now when Zhao Chaoxing said this again, he no longer felt unconvinced.

In the early years, Zhao Chaoxing did want to compete with Feng Zhengming.

I feel that my skills in cooking braised pork belly are not necessarily inferior to Feng Zhengming's.

But in the past two years, Feng Zhengming has gone from taking over Huiquanlou to becoming the champion of the national cooking competition.

It participated in the state banquet for the return of the country and opened branches in various places in Qi and Lu.

He even opened a branch in Shanghai.

Zhao Chaoxing has already understood that he and Feng Zhengming are no longer on the same level.

He can open branches of his own Chao Xingxing all over the province, or even the country.

However, Chao Xingxing could never surpass Feng Zhengming's branches.

This is the difference in craftsmanship.

Zhao Chaoxing was unable to catch up commercially.

Feng Zhengming responded to Zhao Chaoxing with a smile.

"We all sell steamed meat. As long as we do our job well, we will definitely have our own customer base. My business model means I cannot open a large number of stores.

So our two stores are actually complementary to each other. Some of the market share vacated by my store is just taken over by your store."

Zhao Chaoxing also laughed when he heard this. The branches he opened in various places this year were indeed all due to the influence of Feng Zhengming's store.

Feng Zhengming finally emphasized to Zhao Chaoxing: "But since we are cooking, we must ensure hygiene."

Zhao Chaoxing's expression also became serious: "Don't worry about that. The meat in my store is absolutely fresh and good. I also emphasize to them that the food they eat must be hygienic no matter what."

Hearing what Zhao Chaoxing said, Feng Zhengming smiled and nodded: "That's good. We can't ruin our own brand."

Zhao Chaoxing also nodded. He agreed with Feng Zhengming's statement.

Next, a meeting of entrepreneurs from across the province began.

Provincial leaders spoke at the event and also allowed representatives of entrepreneurs to speak separately.

Feng Zhengming was also asked to go on stage and speak.

Although he was asked to go on stage at short notice, Feng Zhengming still said a few words seriously.

None of the entrepreneurs present looked down on Feng Zhengming.

After all, everyone knows that this top-winning chef in the national cooking competition is no longer just a chef. The value of the branches he owns is quite high.

The key is that he also owns a soy sauce factory, which should not let others underestimate him. (End of this chapter)