From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Feng Zhengming returned to Quancheng and directly took over the competition that had already been promoted by the investors behind Cheng Guosheng.

The way the game is played and the things that are promoted have been changed.

He even changed the name of the competition.

But everything he did received support from almost everyone, including the provincial government.

As for the investors behind Cheng Guosheng, they have also tried to argue their case.

I want to take the hosting rights of the competition back into my own hands.

For this purpose, they also contacted the provincial governments of Qilu and even invited the old masters to put pressure on Feng Zhengming.

Unfortunately, Feng Zhengming was well prepared.

Without waiting for the other party to put pressure on him, Feng Zhengming led the sponsors he invited to the meeting.

The investors behind Cheng Guosheng instantly realized that they had lost.

Among Feng Zhengming's sponsors, there is a well-known tycoon from Hong Kong City and Macau City respectively.

At the same time, in Yangcheng, Boss Wang helped to make the connections.

Several domestic entrepreneurs also came forward to sponsor.

More importantly, as a major shareholder of Quancheng Sauce Factory, Feng Zhengming naturally became one of the sponsors of this competition.

With such a luxurious lineup of sponsors, how could the investors behind Cheng Guosheng have any right to compete for anything?
Although somewhat unwilling, they had no choice but to quietly hand over the hosting rights.

Feng Zhengming took over the hosting rights. He was both the sponsor and the organizer, so naturally he could dominate the entire process of the competition alone.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming publicly stated: "I am the organizer and also the representative of the sponsor, so it would be unfair for me to participate in the competition myself. I'd better give the opportunity to more young chefs. As a judge, I think you should have no objection, right?"

How could anyone have any objection to his statement?

Originally, the provincial government and the veteran masters all felt that since Feng Zhengming had made such a big fuss, it was indeed unfair for him to continue in the competition.

Then Feng Zhengming suggested that he and the masters have an exhibition match.

This can be regarded as an opening for this international Shandong cuisine competition.

This matter naturally received support from the province and sponsors.

At this point, Feng Zhengming has completely put himself on the same level as the old masters.

Cheng Guosheng found the result absurd and unbelievable.

But in the eyes of others, such a design is actually very appropriate.

Because in everyone's mind, Feng Zhengming has long been qualified to be on par with the old masters.

After all, in the previous three national cooking competitions.

The achievements of Shandong cuisine have not been very good.

Before Feng Zhengming, the best result was that Master Yan won the Outstanding Chef Award in the first session.

Feng Zhengming used the most traditional techniques of Shandong cuisine, combined with innovative elements, and with his solid basic skills, he won the top prize in one fell swoop.

It speaks volumes about his ability, and the old masters really didn’t have anything to teach him.

If he had not been so young, he would have been regarded as a master of Shandong cuisine long ago.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming had an exhibition match with the old masters.

It has also become the most watched area in this international Shandong cuisine competition.

It's natural, and also because Feng Zhengming and the old masters are going to put on an exhibition match.

When this competition truly becomes a major event that attracts attention overseas.

Feng Zhengming returned to Quancheng and made a special trip to meet the Kofman couple who were invited to watch the game.

The arrival of the Coffmans also caused quite a stir.

Feng Zhengming had previously come into contact with the Kofmans in Hong Kong City.

Although there are many rumors, no one is sure about his relationship with the internationally renowned chef Kaufman.

Now the Coffmans have come to the Springs City on a special invitation.

Mrs. Kofman also gave Luo Qing a warm hug and gave her a set of wine that she had brought specially.

This confirms the previous rumors.

Everyone recognizes that Feng Zhengming and Kofman have a very good relationship.

Even Mrs. Kofman and Luo Qing have a good relationship.

When Cheng Guosheng learned the news, he felt a little bit embarrassed when facing his investors.

Before, he always thought that the gap between him and Feng Zhengming was not that big.

Although Feng Zhengming was the top scholar in the country, he felt that his skills were no worse than Feng Zhengming's.

But now seeing Feng Zhengming's interpersonal relationships.

He can easily resolve the plans made by the investors behind him.

Just based on this strong strength, Cheng Guosheng knew that he was indeed no match for his opponent.

No wonder he can stand on equal footing with the old masters and can be a judge himself.

The sponsors and judges they invited are beyond the capabilities of Cheng Guosheng and the investors behind him.

Feng Zhengming received the Kofmans at Huiquan Building.

She cooked several dishes herself, combining Chinese and Western elements for the Kaufmans to taste.

Kofman was quite surprised to eat the fusion dishes made by Feng Zhengming.

"Feng, your skills have improved."

It was awkward to hear Kofman speaking in Chinese with a heavy accent.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you Mr. Kofman for the compliment. I am still exploring. I hope that one day I can bring our Shandong cuisine abroad so that more people from other countries can like it."

Among the dishes served to the Kofmans, Feng Zhengming specially prepared his master's specialty, warm pork kidney.

This dish also involves cutting the pork kidneys, but instead of stir-frying them, the kidneys are slowly cooked through with warm water.

Nowadays, if you want to eat this dish at Yan’s Restaurant, you need to make a reservation in advance.

Feng Zhengming recommended this dish to the Coffmans.

The Coffmans were amazed as they ate.

I didn’t expect kidney slices to taste like this.

Especially when mixing kidney slices, Feng Zhengming used some Western flavors.

This makes the dish taste more in line with Western tastes.

Of course, Feng Zhengming also specially set aside a small plate and mixed it with the most traditional Shandong cuisine flavor.

Of the two flavors, Mrs. Coffman prefers Western flavor.

However, Kofman thinks that Chinese flavor is also very special.

"Wow, Feng, your cooking skills are really great. If you hadn't told me about this dish, I really wouldn't have been able to tell it was pork kidney. There's not even a bit of fishy smell. And your knife skills are so beautiful."

Mrs. Coffman agreed: "Yes, this dish is really beautiful."

Feng Zhengming smiled and introduced: "Knife skills are the basic skills of Chinese chefs. Every chef must master this."

Mrs. Coffman was surprised: "Can every chef cut it so beautifully?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "This is the basis. If a chef wants to be employed, he must be able to do this."

In order to prove it to the Kofmans, Feng Zhengming invited them to visit the kitchen of Huiquanlou after dinner.

The young chefs in the kitchen demonstrated the dishes to the Kofmans.

See that almost every young chef can do it easily.

Mrs. Coffman was very surprised.

Coffman smiled and applauded each chef.

"Feng, the chefs here are all great." Feng Zhengming: "Yes, they are all the younger generation of Shandong cuisine chefs. In the future, some of them may surpass me."

Coffman smiled: "Surpassing you is inevitable. We should hope that they will surpass us."

After accompanying the Kofmans to visit Huiquanlou, Feng Zhengming personally drove them back to the hotel.

The hotel had already made arrangements to ensure that the Coffmans could check in smoothly.

In the next few days, many people came to visit the Coffmans.

The Coffmans would meet most people who came to visit, but would decline invitations to dinner.

The investors behind Cheng Guosheng also visited Mrs. Coffman.

Among the investors behind him, there is one who knows Coffman.

Coffman listened to their introduction.

He said calmly: "I still trust Feng more. His cooking skills and his dedication to food make me feel that he is trustworthy.

As for your saying that he stole the results of your competition, I think that if it weren't for him, your competition would not have such a big influence.

I probably won’t come to observe, let alone be invited to be an overseas judge for this competition.”

Coffman's words were quite straightforward.

The investors behind Cheng Guosheng were helpless.

Finally, Kaufman said: "It is not shameful to admit Feng's excellence. You should cooperate with Feng more instead of resisting communication and cooperation with him or trying to defeat him."

Kofman said this to the investor who knew him.

However, Kofman also realized that his words were not recognized by these people.

Kofman knew very well that these people just wanted to defeat Feng Zhengming, a chef who was loved by the people of his country.

Then they can use their own standards to define Shandong cuisine, or even Chinese cuisine.

Coffman was familiar with their methods.

Before he became famous, he was suppressed by them in the same way.

The only difference is that Kofman's approach is to further improve the standards based on theirs.

Make yourself a benchmark among standards, and everyone will agree with his standards more.

In the end, Coffman's strict demands on himself and impeccable craftsmanship made it impossible for these people to control his restaurant.

Now they want to use the same approach, only this time their standards must be recognized.

They did encounter some major obstacles.

The biggest obstacle is Feng Zhengming.

Before they came, Feng Zhengming had already used various means to raise his fame to an extremely high level.

He also made recommended guidelines for the entire province of Qilu and the city of Shanghai.

Thanks to his reputation as a top scholar, most people now agree with the standards of his recommended guidelines.

He is the national champion in cooking.

And it has a craft that is recognized by most people across the country.

Moreover, the restaurants recommended in his recommendation guide are mostly based on the general taste preferences.

This makes it natural for Feng Zhengming's recommended guidelines to be easily recognized by everyone.

They are famous and have gained public recognition.

During this period, the investors behind Cheng Guosheng have also seen through the situation.

Like Cheng Guosheng, they overestimated the country's development progress.

Because what they saw before was Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou on the southeast coast, and the former port and Macau cities.

All this led them to make some wrong judgments.

I think Quancheng can also have high-end restaurants like those in Shanghai.

It turns out that most ordinary people in the country are still not willing to pay for high-priced dishes.

On the contrary, Feng Zhengming's more people-friendly design is more popular with the public.

Cheap, delicious, and respectful to the public.

These are the ones that are most likely to gain the support of the majority.

It has to be said that the investors behind Cheng Guosheng do conduct detailed investigations of the market.

Through investigation, they can also quickly discover the mistakes in their decision-making.

And these investors have already discovered it.

If they had introduced the overseas standards into China before Feng Zhengming.

Now they should be able to easily seize the right to speak.

Unfortunately, they were just a little bit late.

Now they have found Kofman in the hope that he can help them suppress Feng Zhengming and reverse the situation that is unfavorable to them.

But it was clear that Coffman was unwilling to cooperate with them.

It should be said that Kofman does not want to be like them and interfere in the definition of food standards in other regions.

Although Kofman does not understand Chinese culture, he still believes in one truth.

People in every region have their own dining habits.

This is something that has been accumulated by our ancestors from generation to generation.

You shouldn't force others to change.

If you want to enter someone else's market, you should take the initiative to cater to and improve it, rather than simply using other means to make others accept your habits and standards.

After hearing what Kofman said, these overseas restaurant group investors realized that it was impossible for them to convince Kofman.

In the end, these people could only say goodbye and leave.

After they had gone, Mrs. Coffman came out.

"You've been influenced a lot by Feng."

Coffman nodded: "Yes, he did have a great influence on me. You know, in the past I also insisted that my craftsmanship was the best and should be liked by everyone.

But after meeting Feng, I realized that I might have been wrong in the past. I catered to those who set the standards.

I am not like Feng, who pays more attention to the public taste and caters to the tastes of people in different regions.

These are some of my mistakes.”

Mrs. Coffman smiled. "But everyone really likes your food, right? You also add the unique characteristics of each region in your own way."

Coffman smiled. “I was unconscious in the past, but after meeting Feng, I am consciously changing. You should be able to feel it.”

Madam: "Yes, I know, you are making some changes."

Coffman asked again: "Remember before we came here, we arrived in Shanghai, where we went to eat at Feng's, a restaurant that many people in Shanghai like?"

Madam: "Oh, I love that restaurant so much. I like that style."

Coffman smiled: "I like it too. It has Western elements, but it looks more Chinese. They even have egg tarts. They taste great, don't they?"

Madam: “Yes, it is a restaurant that combines the beauty of the East and the West. It is unforgettable.”

Coffman: "So I choose to support Feng. I hope he can set the standard for his hometown cuisine."

The wife also smiled and said, "Isn't that the way it should be? No one knows the standards of hometown cuisine better than the chefs in their hometown."

With the support of all parties, Feng Zhengming successfully pushed the competition forward.

In order to balance the various parts of the province, he set up three competition venues in three places in the province, learning from previous national competitions.

They are placed in Yancheng, Daocheng and Boshan respectively.

The three regions will select 20 winning chefs, who will go to Quancheng to compete with 40 invited Shandong cuisine chefs. (End of this chapter)