From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Xia Zhennan walked to his father, and Master Xia introduced him to the chefs including Master Hou.

"This is my good-for-nothing son. He has now taken over the Xia family's Kongfu cuisine."

After being introduced by his father, Master Hou and the judges from Beijing all politely shook hands with Xia Zhennan and got to know him.

Feng Zhengming also introduced Xia Zhennan to Kofman.

Kofman and Xia Zhennan shook hands and talked about the bone-removing technique of Confucius cuisine.

Feng Zhengming helped translate. Xia Zhennan was a little surprised that Kofman, an overseas chef, would discuss deboning techniques with him.

In the past, Xia Zhennan always felt that many overseas chefs were just superficial in appearance.

The so-called Western food looks good, but actually there are not many cooking techniques involved.

After talking with Kofman, Xia Zhennan realized that his vision was indeed too narrow.

It turns out that famous Western chefs like Koffman also pay attention to cooking techniques.

And it turns out that Kofman also knows a lot about various cooking techniques.

Relatively speaking, Xia Zhennan doesn't know many techniques of Western cuisine.

Fortunately, Feng Zhengming was there to help translate. Feng Zhengming also used some Chinese cooking techniques to explain Western cooking techniques.

This did not make Xia Zhennan look embarrassed, and he also communicated well with Kofman.

After finishing the conversation with Kofman, Feng Zhengming accompanied the Kofman couple to leave first.

Xia Zhennan returned to his father.

"Dad, Zhengming is really amazing. Not only does he know foreign languages ​​and can communicate with the foreign chef in foreign languages, he can also explain some of the Western cooking techniques mentioned by the chef using our Shandong cuisine techniques."

Master Xia looked at his son and smiled: "Many things can be learned by analogy. In this regard, few people can do it as well as Zhengming.

You should now understand why Xiaohui and Xiaoye are willing to stay in his shop, right?"

Xia Zhennan nodded: "I feel that being able to learn from Zhengming will indeed help me improve my cooking skills."

Master Xia sighed: "Why don't people say that his title is of high quality?"

Xia Zhennan was also convinced.

"His title of No. 1 is indeed of high quality. The key is that I always feel that he is still learning, studying the best features of cuisines from all over the world, even from foreign cuisines."

Master Xia: "Yes, those who never give up learning will become stronger and stronger."

After a short pause, Master Xia said, "Zhengming helped us promote Confucius cuisine this time. We must thank him later."

Xia Zhennan nodded: "Yes, yes, we should thank him."

Feng Zhengming didn't care whether the Xia family would thank him or not.

He accompanied Coffman and the judges to visit the competition site.

This is the last time I took a detailed look at the on-site layout.

At the competition site, both JN city and Qufu local people gave great support.

Of course, Feng Zhengming and sponsors also invested money and made a lot of arrangements for the layout of the on-site stoves and the transportation of various ingredients.

It is ensured that there are enough stoves on site for the chefs participating in the competition, and there is also an adequate supply of various raw materials.

In this regard, my third uncle and Gu Zhicheng in the island city helped.

A lot of seafood was shipped over from the port on the island city.

Some of the ingredients are purchased from overseas with the help of Yuan Wenzi in the island city.

It can be said that Feng Zhengming's series of arrangements for this game seemed impeccable.

It is also necessary to compare it with the previous 4th National Cooking Skills Competition.

The comparison between the two once again makes the 4th National Cooking Skills Competition seem like a makeshift team.

Obviously, the conditions in the country are better in all aspects now.

In many aspects, it is obviously not as good as the previous three sessions.

You have to know what the domestic environmental conditions were like during the first session?
But under such circumstances, the first National Cooking Skills Competition is still talked about by everyone today.

Talking about the first competition, the award won by Master Yan was also considered to be very valuable.

It’s because I don’t care whether the ingredients are expensive or not.

In a cooking skills competition, the key point is still cooking skills.

In the third session, Feng Zhengming emerged, and chefs from Hong Kong, Macau and even Taiwan were invited to participate in the competition.

It really raised everyone's expectations for the National Cooking Skills Competition.

So before the fourth session started, many people were particularly looking forward to it.

Unexpectedly, although the fourth session seemed lively, it was criticized by many people because Feng Zhengming withdrew from the judges, and it ended in a rather hasty manner.

The individual competition did select a large number of dish awards, but there were no more shocking and innovative dishes like Feng Zhengming's.

The judges from Beijing were also a little confused, as the conditions were obviously better and there were more materials available.

Why can’t we make innovative dishes like Feng Zhengming that shock everyone?

This time I was invited to Qilu to be a judge for this competition.

Some judges in Beijing seemed to have found the reason.

Ultimately it’s the gap in basic skills.

How can you possibly create anything new if you just think about innovation without learning the traditional skills well?
Master Hou thought that maybe he should take some time to go to Shanghai.

I want to go to Feng Zhengming's store in Shanghai to take a look.

Let’s see what it’s like for Feng Zhengming to conquer restaurants at home and abroad?

After visiting the site, everyone was generally satisfied with the layout of the site.

I feel that competing in such a large venue should give all participating chefs ample room to perform.

Master Hou praised: "Zhengming, your layout is really good. It seems that I will need to consult with you to arrange the venue for the national competition in the future."

Feng Zhengming: "Master Hou, you are too polite. I actually learned this from the national competition."

Chef Hou: "You don't have to be modest. Everyone knows that you, the champion, are the representative of our Chinese cuisine."

“Master Hou, I am not being modest. I really modified the design of the on-site layout based on some arrangements of the national competition. It’s just that the domestic economic environment is better now, and the sponsorship for this competition is more sufficient.

Therefore, we have also been more meticulous in some of the on-site arrangements, striving to provide a good experience for the chefs, judges, and audience.”

Master Hou smiled and said, "When will you sponsor our national cooking skills competition?"

Feng Zhengming waved his hands quickly: "Master Hou, please don't laugh at me. How can I sponsor a national competition?"

Master Hou: "Look, you're being modest again, aren't you? How come you can't sponsor the national competition?"

Without waiting for Feng Zhengming to speak, Master Hou took the initiative to apologize to him on behalf of the judges.

"We didn't do enough for the national competition. We didn't arrange the on-site competition well, and you almost suffered an unjust accusation. I hope you won't be angry, Zhengming.

If you have time, you can come to Beijing later. We really need you to give us more suggestions. "

After hearing what Master Hou said, Feng Zhengming understood what Master Hou meant.

This is because I hope to go to Beijing and communicate more with them.

You can also participate in some training for judges in Beijing, and become a national-level cooking judge in the future.

Of course, what Master Hou said was tantamount to representing the capital in surrendering to Feng Zhengming.

Or should we say, he admitted defeat.

I don’t know as much as Feng Zhengming about many conceptual things.

So the judges in Beijing conceded defeat to Feng Zhengming, hoping that Feng Zhengming could join and establish a more complete review system.

Feng Zhengming smiled and agreed: "Master Hou, don't worry, I will definitely find time to go to Beijing to study. Although my skills may not be bad, I still lack some theoretical knowledge.

If I have the chance, I will definitely go to Beijing to study hard and improve my theoretical knowledge.”

Master Hou smiled and said, "Okay, okay, we welcome you to come, Zhengming."

The other judges from Beijing also welcomed him with a smile.

After deciding on the venue, the next step is to arrange the chefs’ competition.

Feng Zhengming also wants to do this personally.

We also need to communicate with the 100 participating chefs in advance.

The judges and participating chefs were also present at the exchange meeting.

Feng Zhengming was more direct: "Dear participating chefs, if you have any opinions, please let us know."

This is different from most games.

In normal competitions, the opinions of participating chefs are generally not sought.

Basically, no matter how the competition venue is arranged, the participating chefs can only follow the rules.

Now Feng Zhengming asked the participating chefs to give their opinions.

The chefs looked at each other in bewilderment.

After a long while, Cheng Guosheng finally spoke up and expressed his opinion.

"Mr. Feng, will we have 100 people cooking together on the spot? Will there be a time limit? Do we have to cook the whole thing ourselves? Or are we allowed to bring some assistants?"

These questions were also in the minds of the 40 invited celebrity chefs present.

Feng Zhengming also gave a frank answer.

"We have already set up the venue, which is large enough for 100 people to compete together, and all the food supplies are sufficient for everyone to choose from.

The rules of the competition are that each chef has three dishes, which means one dish per day.

Our judging panel will score your dishes on the spot.

The top ten dishes with the highest scores will receive gold medals, and chefs who cook the same dishes will have the opportunity to advance directly to the challenge.

If a chef wins more than one gold medal for a dish, we will select ten chefs based on the ranking of the scores.”

Feng Zhengming explained some of the rules of the competition in very detailed terms.

"During the cooking process, please cook by yourselves. After all, we are competing on cooking skills, so you cannot bring assistants to help."

Hearing that Feng Zhengming still had this request, Master Hou and several other judges from Beijing looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

They obviously understood that Feng Zhengming always insisted on testing the chef's personal abilities.

There is indeed nothing wrong with this.

After all, what matters to chefs is their skills.

How can a famous chef convince others if he can't cut and prepare food himself?
What's more, this competition was organized by Feng Zhengming.

It was also a competition for Shandong cuisine chefs, so the judges invited from Beijing were not in a position to interrupt.

After getting an answer from Feng Zhengming.

Cheng Guosheng still raised some of his own personal questions.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, if we win by the most points, will the ten chefs with the highest scores receive any kind of title? Or do they have to challenge you and a few other chefs to get it?"

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh in his heart, he knew this was what Cheng Guosheng cared about most.

The reputation is very important to the future development of Cheng Guosheng and Jubinyuan.

Therefore, Cheng Guosheng really wanted to know what kind of title he would get after winning.

Feng Zhengming unfolded the certificate he had prepared long ago.

"If you rank in the top ten, you will be awarded the title of Top Ten Shandong Cuisine Chefs. This is a certificate, stamped and certified by the Provincial Chefs Association and the Chefs Association."

Seeing Feng Zhengming take out the certificate, the 100 participating chefs were very excited.

Feng Zhengming then showed another certificate.

"Don't worry if you don't make the top ten. We have a certificate for 'Top 100 Shandong Cuisine Chefs' and this certificate will go to someone else."

Both of Feng Zhengming's certificates are recognized by relevant national authorities.

It has the official seal of the Chefs Association and the official seal of the Ministry of Labor.

Therefore, these two certificates are absolutely authoritative.

And judging from the standards of this competition, these 100 chefs are indeed qualified for such a title.

Of course, the one hundred Shandong cuisine chefs present, whether they are master chefs or young chefs.

They all still want to obtain the certificate of "Top Ten Shandong Cuisine Chefs".

This is more than just a compliment to every chef.

It will become a guarantee for them to find jobs and open their own shops in the future.

Even with this certificate, some master chefs should be able to get higher salaries.

So everyone's eyes suddenly became eager.

Cheng Guosheng had to admit that he was also full of desire.

Aspire to be one of the top ten Shandong cuisine chefs.

That way, both he and Jubinyuan will be able to attract more customers.

Or it should be said that Cheng Guosheng can also give an explanation to the investors behind him.

But when Cheng Guosheng saw Feng Zhengming showing his certificate, he felt a little jealous.

It is obvious that Feng Zhengming is so young and of the same generation as himself.

As a result, now he can sit there and show his certificate.

And he also became the person who issued the certificates to everyone.

Comparing the two, Cheng Guosheng's status as one of the "Top Ten Shandong Cuisine Chefs" is still lower than Feng Zhengming's.

Especially when he looked around, he saw his apprentice Zhu Xu among the 100 chefs.

Cheng Guosheng felt even worse.

During this competition, Cheng Guosheng found Zhu Xu and invited him.

He hoped that Zhu Xu could return to Jubinyuan to help him, and Cheng Guosheng even said that he could let Zhu Xu become the deputy chef in Jubinyuan's kitchen.

But in the end, Zhu Xu rejected it.

Cheng Guosheng still remembers exactly what Zhu Xu said at that time.

"Thank you for your teachings over the years, Master. I think now that I have graduated, I should have my own way to go. I am already the chef in the kitchen at Master Feng's place, so I don't want to leave Master Feng's place."

Cheng Guosheng also said at the time: "But the store you are in charge of with Feng Zhengming is just a fast food restaurant at the train station."

Zhu Xu laughed instead: "Master, although yours is a fast food restaurant, my restaurant is ranked first on the Shanghai Public Restaurant Recommendation Guide as a must-eat restaurant."

This sentence left Cheng Guosheng completely speechless.

Yes, you can say their restaurant is a fast food restaurant.

But their fast food restaurant is ranked number one as a must-eat restaurant in the Shanghai public restaurant recommendation guide.

Such a restaurant, even if it is a fast food restaurant, is obviously more famous than Jubin Garden. (End of this chapter)