From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After the game, the discussion about the game is still not over.

Which chef performed better in the competition?
And which dish in the competition was more beautiful?
And which dish looks like it will be the best in the competition?
Discussions about this are happening all over the country.

Feng Zhengming asked the young chefs in Shanghai to return first, but he himself did not return with them.

Because he has something more important to do next.

That is to collect detailed information about the top 100 chefs in this competition.

At the same time, Feng Zhengming also needs to collect the past information of several masters.

This time, he planned to participate in the compilation himself.

I want to make a directory of famous Shandong cuisine chefs.

All the old masters and top 100 Shandong cuisine chefs are included.

After being compiled into a book, it can be published as a record of famous Shandong cuisine chefs.

This matter has also received support from the province and even the Chefs Association.

As a national-level judge in Beijing, Master Hou also strongly supports Feng Zhengming in doing this.

"This is a great thing. There are many famous Shandong chefs, but no one introduced them in detail in the past, so many people don't know much about them.

If you compile this book well, I think it will become a very good research material.

In addition, you also need to include some famous Shandong cuisine chefs from the past, so that everyone can learn more about the development of Shandong cuisine.”

With the affirmation from Master Hou, Feng Zhengming naturally became more confident and decided to go all out.

"Master Hou, rest assured. I will prepare this matter carefully and try my best to include all the famous Shandong chefs."

Master Hou smiled and said, "And you, don't forget to write about your own experiences."

Feng Zhengming laughed along, "It seems inappropriate for me to write about myself. I'll give it to my junior uncle and ask him to write one for me and put it at the end."

Chef Hou: "It's ok to put it last. Anyway, you are now the most accomplished Shandong cuisine chef."

Feng Zhengming waved his hand and said, "I can't say that. I am just famous, but I can't say I have the highest achievements. Those Shandong cuisine chefs who have created some dishes are the truly famous chefs with high achievements."

Chef Hou smiled and said: "You are still so humble. You have achieved a lot and you have also created many new dishes. Without you, how could Shandong cuisine be so famous now?

You may not know this yet, but the whole country is watching this competition, and the ratings of this competition broadcast on your provincial TV station have gone up.

Many people from all over the country have learned more about Shandong cuisine through the competition, and many people have expressed their desire to visit Qilu and eat authentic Shandong cuisine.”

Feng Zhengming is also very happy. The fact that Shandong cuisine has gained such great recognition and popularity is exactly what he wanted to achieve.

"We will definitely welcome guests from all over the world and let them taste the high-quality and inexpensive Shandong cuisine."

Master Hou: "I believe that your stores are definitely the most cost-effective."

Speaking of this, Master Hou also reminded Feng Zhengming.

"After this competition, many of your top 100 chefs will be poached. You must be careful about this. This is not a good thing. You should remind some of the old brands to pay attention to the replacement of old and new personnel."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Master Hou, don't worry, I have already reminded Master and the others."

Chef Hou sighed: "People always strive for higher goals. Now the economic conditions are getting better and better. Whether it is Beijing or Shanghai, there are really too many temptations. Not to mention young chefs, even the chefs can't resist those temptations."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "I think this is a good thing. If they go to other places, they can spread Shandong cuisine more widely."

Master Hou also laughed after hearing this: "Hahaha, it turns out you are more open-minded."

Feng Zhengming then explained: "This is because I myself took a group of the best young chefs to Shanghai, so I naturally cannot stop other chefs from leaving."

Master Hou was amused, and after thinking about it, he felt that Feng Zhengming was right.

Several of his young chefs in Shanghai have been included in the top 100 chefs this time.

This shows that he indeed has the best young chefs under his command.

Master Hou doesn't think there is anything wrong with this.

Feng Zhengming himself is still a young chef. He is good enough and can even be said to be a standout.

Since Yan Xilou closed down, Feng Zhengming has been selling box lunches in front of the train station.

Now in 2000, he is the champion of the National Adult Cooking Skills Competition.

It can be said that in recent years, some outstanding young chefs have emerged in various places.

But so far no one can match Feng Zhengming.

This has a lot to do with the fact that he has always focused his attention on the kitchen.

The most important thing is that Feng Zhengming worked his way up from the bottom step by step.

His basic skills are truly unique.

Master Hou participated in some chef examinations in Beijing, and would often talk about Feng Zhengming with the chefs in the examination room.

Every time he would sigh: "Do you think the assessment standards are a bit harsh? But your assessments can have errors, but Feng Zhengming can achieve that standard without any errors.

If you really want to compare yourself with him, you might not get any points in many of the assessment items."

Anyone who has seen Feng Zhengming's basic skills will have a feeling.

He is like a machine and can really perform the basic skills as required.

Just like when making cuts on pork kidneys, Feng Zhengming can make the cuts very evenly and symmetrically.

He can achieve whatever is required.

In addition to the basic skills, Feng Zhengming has also begun to study different cuisines in recent years.

He integrated various cuisines and even learned a lot about Western cuisine.

The so-called learning for application.

It doesn’t mean that you can cook Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine and Western cuisine.

Instead, they are able to be integrated with each other, and the underlying technique of a dish is still that of Shandong cuisine.

You can use some Cantonese cooking methods when processing the ingredients.

You can use some Western flavors when seasoning.

This is what we call a comprehensive understanding.

In fact, traditional Chinese chefs are somewhat resistant to this point.

They will stick to tradition more and are unwilling to make changes.

It cannot be said that they are wrong to stick to tradition.

Traditions always need to be upheld and passed down from generation to generation.

It’s just that times have changed. With convenient transportation, there are more choices in raw materials.

In this case, it is possible that in the past, the cuisine of a certain place did not have the method of making that kind of raw dish at all.

You need to learn some cooking methods from other cuisines, and even Western cuisine.

Accept something new and innovate based on tradition.

This is also what a chef should constantly strive for.

Master Hou left a message to Feng Zhengming before leaving.

"Zhengming believes in you. Not only can Shandong cuisine be improved, but also our Chinese cuisine can be developed better. You need to spread some of your ideas so that more chefs can learn from them." Feng Zhengming promised: "Master Hou, rest assured, I will do my best."

After communicating with Master Hou, Feng Zhengming and his junior uncle Huang Tao seriously began to write the resumes of the top 100 chefs and master chefs.

Feng Zhengming even drove to the place where several old masters learned cooking to interview them.

I also took a lot of photos and visited the birthplaces of the top 100 chefs.

It can be considered as a truly detailed interview of the life stories of all the chefs.

We even dug up some interesting stories about the old masters when they were young.

Feng Zhengming would first write down those interesting stories and then go back to Quancheng to verify them with the old masters.

There are some interesting stories that even the old masters themselves can’t remember clearly.

However, when Feng Zhengming mentioned it and saw some photos of old friends taken by Feng Zhengming, the old masters all fell into reminiscence.

Master Cui looked at an old photo and sighed: "Back then, when I was thirteen years old, I started working in the kitchen with my master. The master at that time was not like us later, who kept face for you and did not easily take action.

Back then, we had to work really hard, and the kitchen was fueled by coal.

We have to prepare coal briquettes and light the stove for the master early in the morning.

If the master gets up and sees that the stove is not lit yet, he will have to start beating it. "

Master Yan then sighed: "I still remember the first time I cooked for a leader, I was very nervous, thinking that it would be the same as in the old society. If I didn't cook well, wouldn't the leader drag me out and shoot me?
As a result, the leader came to the kitchen to see us. At that time, the leader held my hand and told me that I had worked hard.

Later, when we finished cooking, the leader bowed to us and thanked us for the food we cooked.

Who would have thought that just by cooking a home-cooked meal, those high officials in the old society would bow to us and thank us? "

Master Yan's speech made the other masters very emotional.

Several of the masters came from the old society.

They all worked in old restaurants in the past.

They all entered the kitchen when they were very young, and started out as odd jobs, hoping to learn a skill from the masters as a means of making a living in the future.

Master Cui even had the experience of preparing a family dinner for a high-ranking official in the old society, but something went wrong and he was almost beaten to death.

"That time, really, if Master and the others hadn't shown us a few tricks at the end, we might have been beaten to death."

After saying that, Master Cui's eyes were filled with tears.

Then Master Cui compared what happened after liberation.

"Zhengming, it's just like what your master said. When we later received those leaders, we never thought that they would personally come into the kitchen to shake hands with us and would not dislike us at all.

At that time, we were still burning coal, and our leaders would burn coal with us and chat with us about various family matters.

Every time he finished his reception work, he would shake hands with us one by one and say thank you to us in person."

After listening to the old masters talking about these comparisons, Feng Zhengming also asked his junior uncle Huang Tao to write them down.

These will also be recorded as some future deeds.

Master Su also spoke a few words.

"I still remember that one year he came to our Qilu and bought two fried dough twists from our Jufengde. They were fried dough twists I made myself. I never thought that he would eat the fried dough twists I made. Oh, I am so excited when I think about it now."

Master Sun agreed with a smile: "We also participated in the reception that time, including Senior Brother Cui, Lao Yan, and Lao Wang. We all went."

The old masters all laughed happily.

They were seen laughing and talking about past experiences.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help but sigh in his heart that each of the old masters is really a book.

They all have their own unforgettable experiences.

They all have their own proud experiences.

The experience that makes them proud is not winning any award for cooking skills.

But who did they receive?

Not only did we receive former leaders, but we also received model workers, front-line workers and farmers' representatives.

These are their most glorious and memorable experiences.

Everything seemed as if the masters had experienced it yesterday.

Feng Zhengming took careful notes and prepared to include them in a published list of famous chefs.

In addition to detailed investigations of the old chefs, Feng Zhengming also investigated the master chefs.

Learn about the early experiences of some master chefs.

Many of these master chefs also went through hardships step by step in the early years.

It’s just that their attitude towards some of the hardships in the past is different from that of the old masters.

They will feel that the sufferings they experienced in the past were indeed too bitter.

At that time, even if they were in the kitchen, they often did not have enough food rations.

Master chefs still prefer the present, feeling that they can truly gain respect with their skills, and can also earn money that was unimaginable in the past with their skills.

There are huge differences in concepts between the master chefs and the old masters here.

However, young chefs have different ideas from old and master chefs.

Young chefs hope to continue to work hard and learn.

I aspire to become a master of ordering like the old master.

Of course, not everyone is like this. Some young chefs feel that it is a very good life now to be able to make money with their skills. They are more willing to improve their skills so that they can gain more recognition and achieve greater results.

These differences in concepts are still related to the times and experiences.

We can't just say who is right and who is wrong.

Feng Zhengming was just a bystander and made some records.

He himself does not express any opinions.

Nor would they use any kind of Spring and Autumn style of writing to make indirect criticisms when writing.

Feng Zhengming feels that everything should be left to the people who will read the book in the future to decide.

Huang Tao also agrees with this: "This is right. We are editors, we just record everyone's thoughts truthfully. We don't need to make too many comments. The comments are left to the readers."

Of course, the last part is some biographical writing about Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming completely handed this aspect over to his junior uncle Huang Tao.

Huang Tao interviewed Master Yan, Feng Zhengming's six senior brothers, as well as Feng Zhengming's grandfather, family members and wife.

He also interviewed the young chefs who followed Feng Zhengming, and even went to Shanghai to interview Jiang Chengzhe.

Of course, before the Kofmans left, Huang Tao also interviewed Kofman specifically.

It can be said that all the evaluations of Feng Zhengming in various aspects are collected completely.

Then Huang Tao began to write a detailed introduction to Feng Zhengming's life. (End of this chapter)