From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Knowing that Feng Zhengming was still in Quancheng, the province contacted him and Huiquanlou and arranged a reception dinner at Huiquanlou.

The person who received them was from the capital. The province did not specify who he was, only that he was a relatively important person.

Moreover, the staffing arrangement was only for one table, and Huiquanlou was required not to accommodate other customers that night.

Feng Zhengming roughly guessed that it might be a very important guest.

Huiquanlou has frequently received this type of reception work in recent years.

It won't cause too much trouble to everyone in Huiquanlou.

It’s just that in terms of purchasing, we have to go through some provincial channels and screen the materials.

Also, don’t be too extravagant in choosing dishes.

When Feng Zhengming arrived at Huiquan Building, the entire Huiquan Building was already in a semi-closed state.

Even the vehicles that usually parked at the door have been parked elsewhere.

When Feng Zhengming entered the door, he saw some staff members from the province who were in charge of reception services.

When they saw Feng Zhengming, they all greeted him respectfully.

"Mr. Feng, you are here."

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work. Let's all work together tonight to do a good job of reception."

The staff all smiled and nodded: "Okay, Mr. Feng has worked hard too."

Feng Zhengming walked into Huiquanlou and first bumped into He Yunqing.

Then confirm tonight’s menu with He Yunqing.

And show the menu to the staff supervisor.

After looking at the menu, the supervisor smiled with satisfaction.

“The menu designed by Feng Zhuangyuan always brings some surprises to everyone.”

Feng Zhengming also responded with a smile: "These are also classic dishes of our Shandong cuisine. I just made some minor adjustments. The techniques are still Shandong cuisine techniques, and I will make the seasoning a little lighter."

The supervisor nodded: "Yes, it needs to be lighter."

Feng Zhengming: "We have many Shandong cuisine techniques, not all dishes are black and slimy."

The supervisor smiled and said, "Yes, Mr. Feng, you definitely won't have to do that."

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "It's not just me who can do it. Any good Shandong cuisine chef can do it."

The supervisor changed his tone: "Yes, every Shandong cuisine chef is great. Watching the competition organized by Feng Zhuangyuan really opened our eyes."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said: "The main purpose of the competition is to let everyone communicate more. Although Shandong cuisine is our Qilu local cuisine, in fact, Shandong cuisine's techniques have influenced cuisines all over the country.

Since I am the national champion of Shandong cuisine, I have the responsibility to carry forward Shandong cuisine and eliminate people’s misunderstanding of it.”

"Hahaha, Feng Zhuangyuan is worthy of being Feng Zhuangyuan. He has a big picture."

Feng Zhengming was talking to his supervisor when a man walked in from outside and took over the conversation with a happy smile.

Following the sound, Feng Zhengming also smiled and took the initiative to come forward.

"Leader, you are here."

"I heard what you said just now as I walked in. It's well said." The leader shook Feng Zhengming's hand.

"Zhengming, you are really the treasure of our Shandong cuisine. With you, our Shandong cuisine has reached a new level. Good, really good."

Feng Zhengming smiled awkwardly: "I am embarrassed by your praise, Boss. I am just doing what a chef should do. Besides, if I don't cook well, I can't let people spend money."

The leader laughed again: "Hahaha, it's obvious that I admire your honesty. You have the ability and you are open and honest. We make money with our skills, so we don't have to worry about what others say."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, I make a living by my cooking skills, and I am honest in my life and cooking."

Leader: “Okay, that’s a good point.”

Then the leader confirmed the menu with Feng Zhengming again.

Looking at the dishes prepared by Feng Zhengming, the ingredients are not very expensive. Perhaps the most expensive one is the sea cucumber used in the scallion-fried sea cucumber.

The leader was very satisfied: "That's good. The people we are hosting this time also want to eat some of our classic Shandong dishes, not those dishes with expensive ingredients."

Feng Zhengming: “In China, we still pay too much attention to the price of ingredients and not the skills of chefs.

Our Chinese cuisine has never relied on ingredients to win. Our chefs from ancient times to the present have to be able to turn ordinary ingredients into delicious dishes. Only those who can turn ordinary ingredients into delicious dishes are real chefs. "

The leader agreed again: "Yes, we must respect the value of every good chef's skills."

Feng Zhengming confirmed the menu and said, "Boss, I'm going to change my clothes and go to the kitchen."

The leader smiled and said, "Okay, go ahead and get busy."

Feng Zhengming turned and walked towards the locker room, changed into chef's uniform and walked into the kitchen of Huiquanlou.

In the kitchen, the eldest and fifth brothers were already preparing the ingredients with everyone else.

When they saw Feng Zhengming come in, everyone took the initiative to greet him.

Feng Zhengming first walked to the eldest and fifth senior brothers and greeted the two brothers.

Then start preparing the materials one by one and check them.

I paid special attention to the soup I prepared tonight.

The thick soup, milk soup and clear soup used for cooking have all been stewed in advance.

According to Feng Zhengming's prior request, two servings of clear soup were specially prepared.

One portion is a tea-colored clear soup prepared using the traditional Shandong cuisine soup-sweeping technique.

There is also another one that is still simmering slowly on the fire, and it is a clear soup that is really as light as water.

The two broths have different purposes.

The brown clear soup is used to prepare some soup dishes.

Clear chicken soup is a clear soup prepared before the meal to moisten the mouth and stimulate the appetite.

These are also some of the changes made by Feng Zhengming.

It is a combination of some elements from other cuisines.

After checking the soup, Feng Zhengming checked the other ingredients.

Point out some problems with some unqualified materials.

"This cabbage is not good. When cooking cabbage with prawns, you should not use the center part. You should use the outer part. This way the cabbage will have some bones and will not be too mushy when cooked. It will retain some of the taste."

Hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the young chef in the kitchen wrote down the instructions and quickly prepared them again.

Seeing them peeling cabbage, Feng Zhengming reminded them: "Don't throw away the leaves outside. Save them for cooking later. Don't waste anything."

Then Feng Zhengming checked the prawns, and they were all relatively fresh and large.

"When you mince the shrimp, you must leave the tail part out, and then mince it like this to make it flat. This way it will look good when you serve it on the plate. Do you understand?"

Feng Zhengming even personally taught the apprentices how to grind shrimps.

Corrected some incorrect practices.

After checking, Feng Zhengming looked at his eldest and fifth senior brothers.

"Big Brother and Fifth Brother are worthy of being the top 100 Shandong cuisine chefs. Their cooking skills and ability to train apprentices are beyond reproach."

These words made the two brothers burst into laughter.

Cao Zhiguo smiled and said, "This kid picked out a lot of faults and made fun of us. Senior Brother, are you going to teach him a lesson?"

Li Huidong: "I can't teach him a lesson. He is the head chef. He was the one who issued our top 100 chef certificates."

This remark immediately made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere in the kitchen instantly became relaxed.

In the following time, Feng Zhengming and his two senior brothers, together with everyone in the kitchen, prepared the ingredients.

During this process, Feng Zhengming also demonstrated many differences in his skills and understanding.

He also told his two senior brothers without reservation all the experiences he had gained from exchanges in other places.

Li Huidong and Cao Zhiguo were also greatly inspired by the experience of their junior brothers who learned from abroad. At the same time, the two brothers also realized that Shandong cuisine is still very powerful in terms of techniques.

However, there is indeed a lot to learn about some aspects of dish design and taste.

Because times are changing, we cannot simply follow or imitate others.

However, we can absorb some excellent things and integrate them into traditional Shandong cuisine.

Feng Zhengming has done very well in this regard.

An afternoon of preparation.

It was already dark outside when the guests arrived one after another.

Accompanied by several provincial leaders, the guests also visited the kitchen.

Everyone was a little excited when they saw the guests coming to the kitchen.

This may be the first time many people actually meet the leader face to face.

Feng Zhengming led two senior brothers to step forward and greet them.

When the guest saw Feng Zhengming, he smiled and extended his hand to him.

“This is our top pick.”

Feng Zhengming stretched out his hands and shook hands with the guest.

"Feng Zhengming."

The guest nodded: "Zhengming, your cooking skills are really good. You have been working hard to promote Shandong cuisine. We have seen and heard about it. It's great."

Feng Zhengming responded: "These are what I should do. As a chef, I should cook the dishes well so that everyone can enjoy good and affordable food.

Of course, as a chef, I also need to gain a certain amount of respect for us chefs.

Let more people realize the importance of a chef’s skills and understand the efforts our chefs put into making a delicious dish.”

"Okay, okay." The guest showed a relieved smile on his face.

"Our champion has a champion's vision, not limited to the perspective of customers, nor just from the perspective of chefs."

The guests agreed with what Feng Zhengming said.

“Chefs and guests are not opposing parties, but should complement each other. Chefs should use their good skills to let guests enjoy delicious and affordable food.

It is normal for customers to give good feedback to the chef, express their respect for the chef, and pay for the chef’s good cooking. ”

Feng Zhengming also respectfully thanked the guest for agreeing with his point of view.

Then the guest asked, "What dishes has our champion prepared for us tonight?"

Then Feng Zhengming took the guests to look at tonight's dishes.

I see that the ingredients for tonight’s dish aren’t that expensive.

Make guests feel very good.

"Hahaha, our number one scholar is worthy of his title. These seemingly ordinary things can be made into delicious dishes by him. This skill deserves respect."

Feng Zhengming also gave a detailed introduction to some of tonight's dishes.

Clearly expressed his design for tonight's banquet.

After hearing this, not only the guests from Beijing, but also the leaders accompanying them from the province expressed their approval.

Nothing too fancy or expensive materials.

It is to show the beauty of Chinese cuisine purely through craftsmanship.

But this is precisely the hardest thing to do.

During the visit to the kitchen, Feng Zhengming also took out the intestines that were prepared to be used to make the nine-turn large intestine.

"Please try it. This large intestine is cooked. We braised it using our own recipe."

Seeing Feng Zhengming bring out such a dish for the guests to taste, the accompanying people became a little nervous.

However, the guest was not nervous at all and waved his hands to tell everyone not to be nervous.

He picked up a thin slice with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.

While chewing, your lips and teeth can feel the unique fragrance.

There is not even the slightest bad smell, it is really just the aroma of pure oil and a light taste of salt.

The customer was a little surprised: "This tastes really good. If you hadn't told me in advance, I really wouldn't have been able to tell it was large intestine. It's very fragrant. Although it only has a light salty taste, it's still very delicious."

The guest then asked everyone else to have a taste as well.

Everyone who accompanied us also tasted a thin slice.

Once they tasted it, everyone was amazed.

Almost everyone has eaten large intestine.

But many times, if the smell of large intestine is not removed completely, it will be difficult for people to accept it.

But today I ate the braised large intestine from Feng Zhengming’s kitchen.

There really is no off-flavor at all, just the flavor of meat, a hint of salt, and spices.

This unique taste is the first time many people have tasted it.

The guests saw that everyone accepted it and thought it was delicious.

"Hahaha, it seems that our top scholar's craftsmanship is indeed recognized by everyone. Did you underestimate our top scholar's craftsmanship before?"

Several people who came from Beijing laughed and said that it was indeed an underestimate.

The guest looked at Feng Zhengming again: "Zhengming, I really want to transfer you to Beijing."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "The masters in Beijing all have superb skills. I'm afraid my little skills can't compare with them."

"Zhengming, you are being modest now. You don't want to go to the capital, right?"

When asked this question, Feng Zhengming also answered: "Yes, I don't want to go to Beijing for the time being."

After hearing Feng Zhengming's answer, several accompanying leaders from the province became a little nervous.

But the guest still asked: "Can you tell me why?"

Feng Zhengming is very frank: "There are many chefs in Beijing, and each chef has his own unique skills. I don't want to go to Beijing and ask them to change some of their previous habits.

That would be disrespectful to the skills of the master chefs. I believe that everyone is equal and everyone has their own strengths.

As long as they insist on making Chinese food well, they are all good chefs. "

These words left the guest speechless.

The guest stared at Feng Zhengming: "Okay, then I will give you, the top scholar, an important task."

Feng Zhengming immediately became serious and straightened his chest: "Please go ahead."

Customer: "You need to open a restaurant in Shanghai that can truly showcase Chinese cuisine. You need to outdo those restaurants in Shanghai that are neither Chinese nor Western, as well as those high-end Western restaurants that are popular."

After saying this, the guest asked, "Do you think you can do this?"

Feng Zhengming asked in return: "Can I get all the good food supplies?"

The guest smiled and said, "Of course, the country will definitely give you some preferential treatment in this regard."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, I will definitely try my best to do it."

The guests laughed: "Hahaha, good, this is the spirit of our top scholar, we will all wait and see."

After visiting the kitchen, Feng Zhengming invited everyone to go upstairs and visit the private rooms.

Guests are very satisfied and appreciate the unique design of each private room.

I feel that Feng Zhengming's aesthetic is really in line with Chinese aesthetics.

Finally, they sat down in the private room and the guest smiled and said to Feng Zhengming, "Okay, now it's time to watch your official performance."

Feng Zhengming said confidently: "Okay, please wait a moment." (End of this chapter)