From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

After receiving the guests from Beijing, Feng Zhengming was invited to attend several meetings.

However, Feng Zhengming's identity was different in these meetings.

At some meetings he attended as the president of the provincial chefs association.

In some meetings he appears as an entrepreneur.

In some meetings, he even became a representative of the CPPCC.

Feng Zhengming didn't expect that he would have so many more identities all of a sudden.

However, when attending meetings in different capacities, Feng Zhengming would make some corresponding preparations in advance.

As the president of the Chefs Association, Feng Zhengming will make some speeches on behalf of the chefs at the meeting.

Feng Zhengming wrote the speech manuscript himself and asked his junior uncle Huang Tao to help polish it.

At the meeting, he was also passionate and expressed his many insights on Shandong cuisine, especially some suggestions for its inheritance and development, very clearly.

The people who came from Beijing to attend the meeting also recorded Feng Zhengming's speech in detail.

And the guest from Beijing also gave some instructions to the province.

"We need to pay attention to the opinions of chefs and do a good job in teaching and inheriting Shandong cuisine, so that more young chefs can have the opportunity to communicate and learn."

Moreover, after the meeting, the guests from Beijing acknowledged the status of Feng Zhengming in organizing the "International Shandong Cuisine Master Chef Challenge".

It has become a recognized exchange competition at the national level.

The purpose is to better promote Shandong cuisine and promote its spread overseas.

All the chefs in Qilu were very happy to obtain such certification.

Cheng Guosheng privately had to admit that Feng Zhengming's contribution to the inheritance and development of Shandong cuisine is indeed unmatched by anyone else.

At the provincial entrepreneurs' meeting, Feng Zhengming did not speak much, but mostly listened and took notes.

Learn more about what entrepreneurs should do.

Although the country has indeed provided a lot of favorable conditions now, entrepreneurs are also required to make corresponding contributions.

In particular, we should not just think about making money and exploit employees in the company like overseas capitalists do.

Feng Zhengming was cited as an example in this regard during the meeting.

He said that it was a very good practice for Feng Zhengming to distribute most of the revenue to the chefs in the kitchen.

Of course, there is no requirement for all companies to do this. After all, different companies face different problems.

Therefore, we still need to make some designs according to the situation of each enterprise.

Feng Zhengming did not make much speech at the entrepreneurs' meeting. Instead, he learned from some entrepreneurs and exchanged experiences with them on running businesses.

But Feng Zhengming is still regarded as a distinguished guest by many entrepreneurs.

This is also because Feng Zhengming has opened many stores in recent years, and the key is that business in all his stores is very good.

In addition, he also has a sauce factory in Quancheng, which has received investment from Gangcheng.

This is what many companies in Qilu hope to achieve.

Faced with the goodwill expressed by the entrepreneurs, Feng Zhengming himself didn't know how to tell others.

After all, his situation is somewhat special, and it can only be said that the title of the country's top culinary talent is indeed very useful.

So for some entrepreneurs, they also want to cooperate with Feng Zhengming and use his title as the top scholar to boost their reputation.

Feng Zhengming could only respond to some invitations with a smile and a polite refusal.

We are willing to cooperate with some companies that truly have certain technical support.

In short, at the entrepreneurs' meeting, Feng Zhengming is more of a student, unlike at the Chefs Association meeting where he takes the lead.

This change also makes many Qilu entrepreneurs feel that Feng Zhengming is a very good person.

Therefore, in a series of meetings, Feng Zhengming learned a lot and also spread some of his own ideas.

The most important thing is that Feng Zhengming helped some agriculture in various parts of Qi and Lu gain attention.

The reason is that when purchasing vegetables for all his stores, he gives great support to the growth of vegetables in the province.

This is why, at the CPPCC meeting, Feng Zhengming was naturally surrounded by many agricultural representatives.

Feng Zhengming was also very friendly with them and chatted with them about various new planting techniques and the transportation and procurement of various vegetables.

Feng Zhengming even directly expressed his hope that some of the vegetables could be shipped directly to his store in Shanghai.

Vegetable farmers from all over Qi and Lu are of course very happy about shipping their products to Shanghai.

"Don't get excited, we should concentrate on shipping the goods there. The demand from my four stores in Shanghai is not enough to meet the demand. I think this is ok.

When I return to Shanghai this time, I can discuss with some restaurants and chefs there, and I can unite a few of them to purchase from here.

This way you can save a lot of transportation costs by shipping in large quantities at one time.

Don’t worry about the price, we will definitely not let you lose money.”

The agricultural representatives attending the meeting all expressed their agreement with Feng Zhengming's promise.

This is not Feng Zhengming's nice words, he really plans to purchase vegetables directly from Qilu.

On the one hand, the industrialization and scale of vegetable cultivation in Qilu have been very good in recent years, and the technology is also very advanced. Many vegetable varieties that are not available in other places are almost all available in Qilu.

On the other hand, it is natural to support the vegetable industry in his hometown, and Feng Zhengming thinks this is also a good selling point for the restaurant.

The dish is Shandong cuisine, using vegetables from Qi and Lu, which makes it more authentic.

After Feng Zhengming communicated with many agricultural representatives, he was very grateful to the guests from Beijing for arranging for him to attend the meeting.

It really brought him great benefits, especially connecting him with many vegetable companies.

Although Feng Zhengming had had a lot of contact with them before.

For example, ask his third uncle to help export some vegetables.

But after this meeting, Feng Zhengming's contact with them became closer.

It just happened to fill the gap left by Feng Zhengming, who was more in Shanghai in the past one or two years and lost contact with some vegetable farmers in Qilu.

After this contact, Feng Zhengming also discovered that some places already had vegetable companies.

This allows vegetables to be planted uniformly over a large area.

Planning appropriate areas and carrying out differentiated planting can ensure land utilization to a greater extent.

The vegetable companies then purchase the vegetables in bulk, and many of them are packaged for export.

There is even a company in which my third uncle Feng Jiandong has invested.

This surprised Feng Zhengming somewhat.

Uncle San had a unique vision. He thought of the vegetable export trade in advance and thought it would be a good idea. He simply set up his own vegetable company and got involved in it in advance.

During the meeting, Feng Zhengming also met his third uncle Feng Jiandong. It happened to be when he was finalizing the supply with vegetable farmers' representatives from various places.

Uncle San came forward with a smile and helped Feng Zhengming take all the orders.

"Hahaha, everyone, Zhengming will be returning to Shanghai soon. As his uncle, I will definitely take over the vegetable supply list for his store in Shanghai first. You can discuss it with me later."

Seeing Feng Jiandong come forward, the vegetable farmers' representatives were willing to negotiate with him.

"Okay, I didn't expect that Mr. Feng and Mr. Feng are relatives."

"I've heard for a long time that Mr. Feng is the uncle of Feng Zhuangyuan. It turns out to be true."

"Okay, with President Feng here, we can all rest assured."

Feng Zhengming also smiled: "I feel relieved that my Third Uncle is here. You can discuss the specific supply with my Third Uncle later. I am waiting in Shanghai to use our Qilu vegetables to make our Shandong cuisine and serve customers from all over the world."

If someone else said this, people might think it was bragging.

But when Feng Zhengming said this, everyone knew that he was telling the truth.

Which chef in China can cook dishes that can attract foreigners?
That must be the top scholar Feng Zhengming.

This is no longer a secret and has been reported by many people in the country.

Therefore, representatives of vegetable farmers all expressed that they would prepare to supply as soon as possible.

After the meeting, Feng Zhengming was called in front of the guests from Beijing again.

The guest saw Feng Zhengming again and looked him up and down.

"Yes, such a champion is also very impressive. It's good to be young."

Feng Zhengming smiled and shook hands with the guests.

The guest asked Feng Zhengming: "How did your talk with the vegetable farmers go? Are you ready to buy vegetables from them?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Yes, I have talked to them. I think that in the future, all the restaurants in Shanghai will use vegetables from Qi and Lu. This is the authentic Shandong cuisine."

The guest burst into laughter: "Hahaha, you really made such a decision. Very good. This is to promote things from your hometown."

"In fact, our Qilu vegetable base can really provide vegetables from all over the world. If I buy them from my hometown, it will save me a lot of trouble."

The guest nodded: "Yes, you Qilu is really good in this area, you are worthy of being the hometown of Shandong cuisine."

The customer then said, "You must help promote these vegetables to Shanghai so that more people can eat them."

Feng Zhengming promised: "I will."

Finally, he shook hands with Feng Zhengming and encouraged him to do it according to his own ideas.

"Just go for it, Zhengming. We will support you and believe you will do a good job in promoting our Chinese food."

Feng Zhengming also promised: "I will definitely pass on the traditional skills, and at the same time I will actively absorb and accept new things so that our cooking skills can keep pace with the times and become better."

This made the guest from Beijing very satisfied, and he said goodbye to Feng Zhengming.

After the meeting, Feng Zhengming went back with his uncle.

On the way, Feng Zhengming chatted with his uncle about vegetable supply.

“Uncle San, please don’t try to suppress the price. I know most vegetable farmers are willing to give me a low price, but I don’t want to suppress their price because if I suppress the price, their vegetables will not be sold at a high price.

The price should still be based on the market price. I can sell it in Shanghai anyway."

This made Feng Jiandong laugh: "Hahaha, you are really too good to your hometown. You want to make money from others to support your hometown, and you even bring people from your hometown to make money from them."

Feng Zhengming also laughed: "A lot of the money I earned was from foreigners."

Feng Jiandong nodded: "That's right, I heard that your Shanghai store has a lot of overseas customers."

"Yes, if Third Uncle is free, he can go with Third Aunt and bring my sister to have a look."

Feng Jiandong agreed: "No problem, let's go and have a look together during the holidays."

Talking about this, it was natural to talk about Feng Shengnan's desire to work during the holidays.

"You agreed too hastily to let Shengnan work in your store. That girl must want to go to your store to chase stars. If you let her work there, she will definitely not work hard for you."

Feng Zhengming smiled and comforted his uncle: "It's okay, uncle. I think my sister can gain some experience by going to Shanghai. With more experience, my sister will not be easily deceived in the future."

After hearing this, Uncle San thought about it and nodded, thinking it made sense.

"Yes, if that's the case, we should let Shengnan try."

Feng Zhengming: "Don't worry, Third Uncle, I will take good care of my sister. Besides, there is Luo Qing over there, she will also take good care of my sister."

Uncle San: "I'm not worried at all. She might make us worry less if she goes to your place than if she were at home."

Then the uncle asked again: "Zhengming, aren't you planning to open a high-end restaurant in Shanghai?"

Feng Zhengming laughed and asked back, "Why do you keep asking me this question?"

Feng Jiandong sighed: "I heard that Kong Xingli was poached, and it is said that the person who poached him wanted him to open a high-end Shandong cuisine restaurant in Shanghai.

Others have already run ahead of you, shouldn't you also hurry up?
If you are short of funds, Third Uncle can help you. We should have enough money on hand now."

Feng Zhengming shook his head: "Uncle, it's not about money. I need to think about it again."

Uncle San was very surprised: "What else is there to consider? With your current fame and your cooking skills, it would be easy for you to open a high-end restaurant in Shanghai. There will definitely be many people willing to go there."

Feng Zhengming: “I know that if I open a high-end restaurant like that, it will definitely attract enough people.

But I haven’t figured out how to present dishes to customers in my high-end restaurant. Should I learn from Western cuisine or Chinese cuisine? ”

Feng Jiandong opened his mouth and wanted to answer.

But when the words came to his lips, he suddenly realized what Feng Zhengming's problem was.

If it were simply a high-end restaurant that served Chinese food, it would actually be not much different from Feng Zhengming's other restaurants.

But if it is presented in the form of Western food, it will look a bit out of place.

The key is that Feng Zhengming needs to design a complete menu.

Consider the form of serving and the various designs for each dish.

None of this can be done just by saying it.

Especially since Feng Zhengming is now famous, it is impossible for him to open a store without any scruples.

Feng Jiandong thought about this and couldn't help but sigh: "It's really difficult. The biggest challenge for you in a high-end restaurant is not other people, but how you defeat your past self."

Feng Zhengming looked at his uncle and said, "Yes, I want to defeat my past self."

Uncle San reached out and patted Feng Zhengming gently: "It's okay, take your time, we all support you."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "I'm not in a hurry. If you don't think things through, you won't be able to do it well if you rush into it."

Uncle San also agreed with this and stopped asking about the high-end restaurant.

The uncle and nephew continued to talk about supplying vegetables to Shanghai. Feng Zhengming also suggested to his uncle that they could also supply vegetables to other parts of the country, so as to better expand the market for the vegetable industry in Qilu. (End of this chapter)