From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Everyone from the other three stores left, and Feng Zhengming asked Xia Hui and the others to take their people to prepare food for the evening.

He called Jiang Chengzhe out to talk alone about the old villa they had visited.

After hearing Feng Zhengming's description, Jiang Chengzhe was immediately moved.

But after hearing Feng Zhengming's offer, Jiang Chengzhe's heart sank instantly.

"It's indeed a good place, and overall, it's suitable for us to run a high-end private restaurant, but the price is a bit too scary."

Jiang Chengzhe knew the current profits of Feng Zhengming's four stores in Shanghai.

According to the quoted price for that old villa, it would take them more than ten years to run their four stores at full capacity.

It has been more than ten years since the four stores were able to maintain their current profit level.

Even with such a huge sum of money, Jiang Chengzhe still felt quite stressed.

Feng Zhengming was more relaxed: "There is definitely pressure, but without pressure where would the motivation come from? If we can successfully acquire that old house and then open our own private restaurant there, it will definitely become a national benchmark."

Jiang Chengzhe naturally believed this, based on Feng Zhengming's current fame and skills.

Together with himself and other young chefs in the kitchen, they can definitely run the restaurant very well.

Seeing that Jiang Chengzhe didn't say anything, Feng Zhengming asked, "What would Ah Zhe like to do with me?"

Jiang Chengzhe looked at Feng Zhengming. He naturally understood what Feng Zhengming meant.

This was an invitation to him to take over the old house together and run a truly benchmark top-notch Chinese restaurant in that old house.

Jiang Chengzhe smiled: "Okay, let's do it together."

With Jiang Chengzhe's support, Feng Zhengming also smiled.

The two then discussed some details.

Then I went back to the kitchen to join in the busy work.

In the evening, on this street in Shanghai where many western restaurants are located, neon lights are lit up in all the stores.

The most eye-catching among them is naturally Feng Zhengming's Zheng Luxing.

Located in the middle of the street.

Now this store has been expanded and has become even bigger after merging two surrounding shops.

It is also divided into two floors.

Unlike most restaurants and hotels, the second floor of this store is not accessible from the store on the first floor.

You can go upstairs from the separate staircases on both sides of the store outside.

The original second floor was a terrace that was not included in the two stores merged by Feng Zhengming.

Now that the two stores on both sides have been merged by Feng Zhengming, he specially hired someone to renovate them, connecting the original roofs of the three stores and converting the terraces into independent compartments.

Sitting in the compartment on the second floor, you can clearly see the entire brightly lit street below through the window.

You can also see the bustling night scene of Shanghai, a metropolis, from afar.

The most important thing is that it was renovated by someone hired by Feng Zhengming.

Because you don’t need to pass through the first floor of the store to go to the second floor.

The compartments on the second floor are independent of each other, and the compartments are well decorated and have good sound insulation.

Therefore, it has become the choice of some celebrities who come to Feng Zhengming's restaurant for dinner.

Some big bosses in Shanghai usually choose the second floor when they bring their families to dine.

Of course, the private rooms on the second floor usually need to be booked in advance.

And according to Feng Zhengming's request, people are not allowed to order food in the private rooms on the second floor.

When booking the private room on the second floor, Feng Zhengming will inform the other party of the several different price packages launched today.

Customers who make reservations can choose a suitable package based on the number of people coming.

The main dishes of the set meal are the same, but some corresponding dishes will be added at different price points.

At first, some customers who make reservations may have doubts about the package.

I feel that I cannot order my own dishes, and the dishes provided in the set menu may not taste good.

But if you have really eaten the set meal, you will find that the set meal provided by Feng Zhengming actually contains many more exquisite dishes.

Each set meal is a very prestigious banquet.

A proper meal will be divided into appetizers, cold dishes, main courses, soups, appetizers, staple foods and snacks.

It can be said that every dish is carefully prepared by Feng Zhengming and the chefs in the kitchen.

Almost everyone who has eaten the set meal will sigh with emotion.

"You really deserve to be the national champion. Your skills are really amazing."

"No wonder they say that Feng Zhuangyuan's restaurant gathers the best chefs in the country. It's really delicious."

“Not only does it taste good, but every dish is beautifully prepared.”

“Even the staple food and snacks are so exquisitely prepared.”

“And there’s not just Shandong cuisine, there are also famous dishes from other cuisines.”

When the reputation spreads, it will naturally attract more and more people.

If you can’t book a private room on the second floor, you can still enjoy delicious dishes on the first floor.

You can order food on the first floor. Feng Zhengming's restaurant now has a kitchen staff that includes outstanding young chefs from different cuisines including Shandong, Guangdong, Sichuan, Huaiyang and local styles.

It can be said that each of them has his or her own unique skills.

Therefore, when they get together, they can really make delicious dishes.

No matter what your taste preference is, Feng Zhengming's store can almost satisfy it.

And it doesn't matter whether you are eating alone, as a couple, or with a few friends.

They can also get their own satisfaction in Feng Zhengming's store.

Even on the first floor, Feng Zhengming's layout will leave enough space for everyone.

People who dine will not be too close to each other and will not feel that they will be disturbed at will.

Most people who come to the restaurant to dine will also abide by some of the restaurant's rules.

Or it should be said that the atmosphere in the store makes everyone consciously maintain a quiet dining atmosphere.

This feels like what is written in reports on TV, newspapers and magazines.

Eating at Feng Zhengming's restaurant is a unique experience.

It’s as if you’ve left the bustling metropolis the moment you step into the store.

Feng Zhengming's shop can isolate himself from all kinds of disturbances from the outside world.

Let every guest return to the simplest dining.

Just need to enjoy the food.

This is also similar to the temperament of those western restaurants on Western Restaurant Street.

It can even be said that Feng Zhengming's store is more elegant and calm in temperament.

This puts other western restaurants on the street to shame.

The remaining Western restaurants on the entire street are also trying their best to improve themselves under the pressure brought by Feng Zhengming's store.

Some of them even specially hired chefs from overseas.

In this way, the Western restaurants on Western Restaurant Street now look like what a Western restaurant should look like.

Perhaps no one would have thought that Feng Zhengming is a national champion in Chinese cuisine.

His Chinese restaurant actually affected the business of Western restaurants.

Forcing Western restaurants to run their businesses better.

Forcing the owners of Western restaurants to hire serious Western chefs from overseas.

However, this also makes this street of western restaurants more popular.

It will attract more people to come here every night. Many white-collar workers in Shanghai and people from overseas think that they can find their favorite restaurants on this street.

Even if you can't get a table at Feng Zhengming's restaurant, you can still make do with other Western restaurants.

Maybe it was because I had such a good meal at Kong Xingli Restaurant at noon.

Or maybe it was some stimulation from Kong Xingli Restaurant.

Everyone felt some pressure.

So everyone in the kitchen works very hard at night.

Feng Zhengming was relatively leisurely, mostly standing aside and staring at other people in the kitchen.

Different chefs will be dispatched so that everyone can appear in the right position.

Many overseas guests like to sit around the bar outside the semi-open kitchen to eat.

Because sitting here, they can see the busy figures in the kitchen.

We can see Feng Zhengming and his people in the kitchen, busy but leisurely preparing dishes one by one.

This semi-open kitchen allows customers to see the scene in the kitchen.

This shows that Feng Zhengming and his team are absolutely confident in their cooking skills.

Because of the distance from the bar to the kitchen, you can almost see everything in the kitchen clearly.

Even some small mistakes made by the apprentices will be seen by the customers sitting at the bar.

Whenever a small mistake occurred, Feng Zhengming would never scold the apprentice.

Instead, he would go over and demonstrate, and patiently explain to the apprentices who made mistakes.

After Feng Zhengming’s explanation and demonstration, the apprentices will carefully do it again.

If the apprentices do a good job, Feng Zhengming will give them affirmation without hesitation.

Such a harmonious kitchen atmosphere will give people a comfortable feeling like family.

This is also the reason why many people like to sit at the bar and watch the food being prepared.

Each dish is completed and Feng Zhengming makes final adjustments before it is served to customers outside.

Just like Feng Zhengming asked every apprentice to carry a small spoon with them.

He also carries a small spoon of his own.

The taste of every dish produced will be checked at any time.

If there is any deviation in taste, Feng Zhengming will ask the chef to redo it.

"Lao Wang, try it yourself. This taste is not right. Reduce the spiciness. You need to get used to it. This is not Sichuan or Chongqing. The taste cannot be that strong. It needs to be lighter."

Wang Hanwen gently wiped the soup on Feng Zhengming's spoon with his finger and tasted the soup himself.

"I understand, Chef. I'll change it right away."

Then Wang Hanwen will modify the taste according to Feng Zhengming's request and let Feng Zhengming taste it first.

Only after making sure that there is no problem with the taste will Wang Hanwen collect the sauce and serve the dish.

Often after this kind of rework, in order to save time in serving the dishes, Feng Zhengming would help serve the dishes.

This way, the plating can be completed faster, and then the progress before the rework can be caught up.

People who sit at the bar and watch everything in the kitchen are often amazed by the small details of the rework.

When you finally serve the dish, the rather chic painting on the plate will make it very unique.

Although Feng Zhengming does not do as many Western-style plating methods, such as drawing a line with sauce and then putting a little bit of food on it and serving it to the customers.

It's just for the sake of appearance, it doesn't actually make it taste better.

But Feng Zhengming’s plating also has his own unique design.

The food portion will be given while ensuring that the presentation looks good.

When the dishes are ready, everyone in the kitchen will shout, "Serve the dishes."

This is a kind of mutual encouragement.

It can allow the busy people in the kitchen to distract themselves and relieve some stress.

In fact, everyone was embarrassed to shout like that at first.

But later, when Feng Zhengming led them, everyone started to feel something after shouting for a while.

Shouting like this will make everyone feel refreshed.

Dishes are served one by one, allowing the guests to witness the exquisite craftsmanship of Feng Zhengming and his colleagues.

After a busy night, the last batch of customers left.

Feng Zhengming sincerely expressed his gratitude to the kitchen staff and waiters.

"Thank you all for your hard work today."

Everyone responded to Feng Zhengming in unison.

“Thank you for your hard work, chef.”

Feng Zhengming: "Everyone, please be careful on your way home. You don't have to go to work too early tomorrow. Come after 9:30 and everyone must be at the store before 10 o'clock."

Naturally, everyone agreed.

Then everyone cleaned up and left the store one after another.

In the end, only a few young chefs including Feng Zhengming, Jiang Chengzhe and Xia Hui were left.

“There’s not much to say today. I believe everyone has some feelings after going to Kong Xingli’s restaurant today. I hope everyone can better think about and digest what they saw and heard today.

We cannot stand still, we must continue to learn and improve to keep our craftsmanship at the forefront.”

Feng Zhengming's words were also recognized by young chefs.

In fact, they went to Kong Xingli Restaurant today, and the meal really brought a lot to everyone.

Kong Xingli's craftsmanship, combined with the layout of a high-end restaurant, is really quite interesting.

Young chefs also gained a lot of inspiration from Kong Xingli’s dishes.

Feng Zhengming did not mention to everyone the matter of opening a private restaurant in the old villa.

Because that matter still requires some preparation, Feng Zhengming felt that there was no need to explain it too clearly to everyone now.

I'd better wait until the old villa over there is finalized before I mention this matter to everyone.

According to what Feng Zhengming had in mind, he still wanted to let the young chefs take turns to be the head chef there, so that they could have the opportunity to show themselves and make his private restaurant more distinctive.

Then Feng Zhengming asked everyone to go back and rest.

He drove his wife and Xia Hui back home.

After returning home, Feng Zhengming talked to Xia Hui alone about the private restaurant.

Xia Hui was also shocked when she heard what Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing said.

"Uncle Master, you want to buy such an expensive old house to open a restaurant? Isn't that too big of an investment?"

Feng Zhengming smiled: "It seems like you all have the same reaction?"

Luo Qing put her daughter, who had already fallen asleep, in the small bed in the bedroom.

She tiptoed out of the room: "Your uncle just wants to do something different. He said this is called setting a benchmark for the catering industry.

Let everyone see what a truly top-notch restaurant looks like.”

When Xia Hui heard this, she was stunned for a moment, thought about it briefly, and felt that this was indeed the right thing to do.

“That’s right, Master is the national champion, the real champion, and should be the benchmark for the industry. There are many restaurants and hotels in the country that claim to be high-end restaurants, but there is indeed no unified standard.

So, Master Uncle has set this benchmark to let everyone know what is considered high-end and premium.”

Luo Qing laughed after hearing this: "See, you guys think so too. Your uncle is qualified to run a restaurant like that."

Xia Hui nodded: "Yes, only Master Uncle is qualified."

Feng Zhengming: "Hahaha, no need to make it sound so grand, we just want to set a benchmark so that everyone can respect the skills of our chefs." (End of this chapter)