From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Kong Xingli's departure from Jufengde did not have much impact on Jufengde, after all, Master Su was still in Jufengde.

Even Jufengde announced that Master Su had returned to business, which made Jufengde's business much better.

Of course, Master Su’s return is not to continue working on his own, but to help a new chef take over.

The new chef of Jufengde after Kong Xingli left is also the master chef who participated in the "International Shandong Cuisine Master Chef Challenge" this time.

He was even one of the sixteen winning chefs.

Feng Zhengming and his fellow seniors sat together and talked about this master chef.

Cao Zhiguo was somewhat emotional: "Jufengde is indeed a company with a solid foundation. I didn't expect that Liu Chongzhi also graduated from Jufengde and is Master Su's apprentice."

As the eldest senior brother, Li Huidong has spent longer in Quancheng and has some understanding of Liu Chongzhi.

"Liu Chongzhi was an apprentice in the same batch as me, but I joined Yanxilou and he was assigned to Jufengde. Later, he went back to work in his hometown.

Judging from this competition, his skills have indeed not declined, but have improved a lot.

And it seems that he is also researching some new things at his hometown unit.”

Second Senior Brother Chen Zezhi, who had not yet returned to Texas, calculated and said, "Since I was an apprentice with you, Senior Brother, I am almost fifty this year, right?"

Li Huidong smiled and said, "Yes, I'm almost fifty."

Chen Zezhi also laughed: "We are all old too."

Li Huidong sighed: "I still remember when I first entered Yanxilou as an apprentice. At that time, I really didn't know anything and was scolded all day long. Although my master was good-tempered and didn't use force, other masters really did use force."

Chen Zezhi: "Big Brother, you haven't been beaten much, but when I was an apprentice, I was beaten a lot."

Third Senior Brother Yang Bin couldn't help but say: "You haven't been beaten as much as I have."

Chen Zezhi looked at Yang Bin with a smile: "You asked for it when you got beaten. Who told you to always like to improve your skills? You always wanted to steal from me in the beginning. If you don't get beaten, who will?"

These words made the fellow disciples couldn't help but laugh.

Li Huidong went on to say, "How glorious was Yanxilou in the past? When the second and third brothers and I went in, there were five master chefs and more than a dozen senior chefs in Yanxilou."

Chen Zezhi continued: "Yes, the staffing of Yanxilou back then was not inferior to that of Jufengde at all."

Feng Zhengming knew that the Yan Xilou mentioned by his senior brothers was still a state-owned enterprise at that time.

At that time, Yanxilou, Jufengde, Taifenglou and Jubinyuan were truly the most splendid and magnificent restaurants in Quancheng.

And although it looked like a big restaurant at that time, the prices of dishes were actually not that high.

It is a truly popular restaurant and anyone in Quanzhou can afford to eat at Yanxilou.

Later, someone started to contract it out, and after privatization, Yan Xilou gradually changed.

Even though the person who contracted Yan Xilou kept Master Yan.

But purchasing and pricing are controlled by the other party.

Master Yan is often in a situation where “a good cook cannot cook without rice”.

The buyers brought back all kinds of rotten vegetables and bad meat.

Master Yan didn't dare to use it at all.

Most of the time, Master Yan and his apprentices including Feng Zhengming need to conduct very careful screening to select usable raw materials.

In this situation, no matter how skilled Master Yan is, he has no way to display his skills.

Eventually, Yan Xilou fell into decline and was once disliked by many people in Quancheng.

Before Yan Xi Tower closed, most of Feng Zhengming's fellow apprentices had also left.

At that time, the eldest brother had already contracted the brewery canteen.

The second brother also went to a unit in another place.

Fourth brother had already gone south to seek better development.

Sixth Senior Brother went back to the restaurant in Yancheng.

Before Yan Xilou closed down, only Feng Zhengming and his third and fifth senior brothers were left in the kitchen to accompany their master, as well as a number of apprentices and handymen.

Because at that time, Yan Xilou had no business most of the time.

It can be said that the collapse of Yan Xilou was inevitable.

But Yan Xilou shouldn’t have gone bankrupt.

If Yan Xilou had been handed over to Master Yan and his apprentices to run.

It should still be possible to support Yan Xilou.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs.

Master Yan never liked to compete with others throughout his life. He just wanted to cook well, teach his apprentices how to cook well, and pass on the skills he learned from his predecessors in a better and orderly manner.

But times have changed, and Master Yan’s silent persistence is ultimately no match for the tide of the times.

So Master Yan returned to Quancheng again and no longer interfered with the development of his apprentices.

In the past, Master Yan would definitely not let his son use the Yan family cuisine as a signature dish.

Now Master Yan also understands that this is what the market needs.

The fellow disciples turned the topic back to Liu Chongzhi.

"Liu Chongzhi's return to Jufengde should be able to quickly make up for the impact of Kong Xingli's departure. Jufengde is still the biggest competitor of our Huiquanlou."

Hearing what Cao Zhiguo said, Li Huidong smiled and said, "Don't consider Jufengde as a rival. Quancheng is big enough, and many people have visited Quancheng in recent years. It is impossible for any of us to take on so many customers."

Feng Zhengming agreed with his senior brother: "That's right, Huiquanlou just needs to do its job well."

Yang Bin suddenly asked: "Zhengming, I heard that Kong Xingli is also taking people to Shanghai this time. Will you become competitors?"

Feng Zhengming still answered no.

"Third brother, the people who poached Kong Xingli want him to bring people to Shanghai to open a high-end Shandong cuisine restaurant. The customers they serve are not the same group of people as the customers of my four stores."

When he heard about the high-end Shandong cuisine restaurant, Yang Bin naturally thought of Jubinyuan, which Cheng Guosheng had reopened after returning.

"Is it the same as Cheng Guosheng's Jubin Garden? Can that kind of restaurant really be successful?"

Feng Zhengming: "It's OK in Shanghai."

There is no need for Feng Zhengming to explain, Second Senior Brother will help to explain.

"Shanghai is a commercial center after all, and there are many big bosses gathered there. When those big bosses entertain business banquets, they pay attention to appearance. Many times, they don't care what the food is.
What they want is the style, as long as the restaurant is of high enough grade and the decoration inside is good enough.

Those big bosses will be willing to book tables for business banquets.

So it is indeed a good choice for Kong Xingli and his team to go to Shanghai to do this.”

Yang Bin thought about it and couldn't help laughing: "Then Cheng Guosheng is at a loss, right?"

Li Huidong: "It's not a big loss. After all, he now runs Jubinyuan, which is the first high-end restaurant in Quancheng. He is also the first to try it."

Feng Zhengming spoke at this time: "Brother is right, the domestic economy will get better and better in the future, and there will definitely be big bosses coming to Quancheng, and they will also need some business banquets.

Jubinyuan may not be doing well now, but it may become a popular restaurant in the future.”

The fifth brother couldn't help but laugh and said, "But that only requires him to be able to hold on until later, right?"

Feng Zhengming: "Fifth brother, he should be able to hold on. He ranked second in the total score of this competition. The investors behind him will give him enough publicity, which should help Jubinyuan's business to pick up." These words stunned Cao Zhiguo for a moment, but then he sighed with emotion.

“It’s true. In the past, when we followed our master, we only knew how to learn the skills, cook the dishes well, and let the customers eat well and be full, so that the customers would come again.

It’s different now. When I was in Beijing, I found that the food in many restaurants and hotels was not very good at all.

But they are all very good at publicity, and all kinds of publicity and boasting are really overwhelming.

Then it can attract a large number of people to eat there. Many restaurants and hotels rely on those boastful publicity to overwhelm those restaurants and hotels with good craftsmanship and good taste. "

The fellow disciples were all quite emotional.

The domestic economic environment is indeed getting better and better.

It seems that anyone can make money as long as they work hard.

With money, people's demands on all aspects will also increase.

It’s just that in the past everyone was concerned about reality.

But now, people are starting to care about fame and face.

The restaurants and hotels I want to eat in must be famous enough, have famous chefs, and the decoration and layout of the restaurants and hotels must also be high-end.

Especially those bosses who have gradually gained purchasing power, they don’t ask for good food, but only for expensive food.

Therefore, chefs nowadays not only need to be able to cook, but also need to know how to promote themselves.

Of course, Feng Zhengming is no longer on this list.

He is a little too famous now.

It can be said that people come to all his stores, including Huiquanlou, for him.

Even if customers know he is not in the restaurant, they will be willing to pay if they know that the dishes in the restaurant are designed by him and that he personally teaches the chef how to cook.

Another reason is that the prices in all Feng Zhengming's stores are always slightly above average.

Such a price is absolutely a good value for those bosses.

Even a restaurant like Huiquanlou is affordable for some ordinary families if they contribute a little.

Besides, who wouldn’t invite guests once or twice throughout the year?

With just one or two customers, no one would mind spending a little more money.

The key is to make sure the guests eat well.

Therefore, Huiquanlou will naturally become the first choice for most people in Quancheng.

After all, Feng Zhengming, the top scholar’s ​​senior brother, is in charge of cooking, and everyone thinks the food will taste good.

After listening to the brothers' sighs, Feng Zhengming smiled and said to them, "After this competition, don't worry, I will help you promote it. The eldest brother and the fifth brother are in Huiquanlou, the third brother is in Laopu, and the second brother is in Dezhou.

The business of your stores will definitely be good. We won’t compete with Cheng Guosheng for those big bosses who care about face. We can just run a normal family business well.”

The fellow students all laughed at once, and everyone felt that Feng Zhengming was right.

There is no need to follow Cheng Guosheng and learn his way.

Huiquanlou must have its own style.

Maintain tradition and incorporate the innovation of Feng Zhengming, the top scholar.

This is the characteristic of Huiquanlou.

If Huiquanlou really needs to make high-end dishes, Li Huidong and Cao Zhiguo can also do it.

Not to mention the classic scallion-fried sea cucumber in traditional Shandong cuisine, they can also make bird's nest, shark fin and lobster.

So even if it is not promoted, if you go to Quancheng and ask, people will definitely recommend Huiquanlou first.

Li Huidong laughed after hearing this: "It is clear that even if you don't promote us, your fame is enough to guarantee our business."

Feng Zhengming: "That's different. I am me. You brothers also need to make a name for yourself. After all, you are all masters of Shandong cuisine.

Master and his family are getting older, and Shandong cuisine needs you, brothers, to support the restaurant."

Yang Bin asked: "What about you?"

Feng Zhengming: "Me? Of course I try to promote our Shandong cuisine outside, so that people are willing to come to Quancheng to eat authentic Shandong cuisine and learn about our Shandong cuisine."

The senior brothers couldn't find any fault with what the junior brother said.

Most of the old masters are very experienced, just like Master Su who has now returned to the kitchen.

But it is impossible for Master Su to personally prepare every dish like he did in the past.

The other masters are in similar situations.

Therefore, in order to ensure the inheritance of Shandong cuisine and prevent its reputation from declining, we really need master chefs like Li Huidong to hold up the stage.

It can’t be that Feng Zhengming attracted people from Shanghai, only to find that when they arrived in Quancheng, they couldn’t eat authentic Shandong cuisine at all.

No matter how hard Feng Zhengming tries, he cannot change the reputation of Shandong cuisine by himself.

Li Huidong smiled and said, "Okay, let's do as Zhengming said. We will be responsible for maintaining our craftsmanship, and leave the rest to Zhengming. We must not embarrass Zhengming."

The others also laughed after hearing this.

This conversation among fellow apprentices also determined the future development of Feng Zhengming and his group.

Huiquan Tower was officially handed over to the eldest and fifth senior brothers.

The dry rice shop branches in various places in Qi and Lu are respectively managed by the second, third and sixth brothers.

Feng Zhengming's focus remains on Shanghai, and he continues to increase his efforts to promote Shandong cuisine.

"By the way, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fifth Brother, isn't it time for you to take in some apprentices?"

These words startled several senior brothers.

Feng Zhengming went on to explain: "Sixth Brother now has quite a few disciples. Big Brother has Yang Peng by his side, and Zhang Lei is with me. Big Brother is also preparing to accept two new disciples.

Third brother, you have only accepted Sun Hai as your disciple, and he is still in Shanghai, so you should also accept a new disciple.

Second brother, fifth brother, you also need to take in apprentices, the craft needs to be passed down."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, several senior brothers thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"It's time to take in some new apprentices."

"I have also picked out two in Texas and am going to test them again. If their character is acceptable, I will accept them."

"Then I'll observe and see if there are any good ones among the new batch of young chefs at Huiquan Restaurant."

The eldest senior brother suddenly said, "Zhengming, you can't transfer all of our new disciples to use this time. You have to let us have disciples around us."

The eldest brother's words made the other brothers nod in agreement.

Feng Zhengming couldn't help laughing: "Hahaha, okay, okay, big brother, your apprentice will follow you this time."

The third senior brother reminded: "Zhengming, you should also accept a few apprentices. I think Xia Hui is really good, and Guan Wei is also OK."

The other brothers also agreed, thinking that since Xia Hui and Guan Wei had been with Feng Zhengming for so long, they were indeed ready to accept disciples.

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and said, "I will also observe for a while. Then, next year, I may open another store in Shanghai. Then I will find an opportunity to let Xia Hui and Guan Wei become my apprentices." (End of this chapter)