From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Because of the judges including Huang Tao, Mr. Cai from Gangcheng and Mr. Wei Ling, as well as two master chefs of Shanghai local cuisine.

This year is Feng Zhengming's Shanghai Recommendation Guide again. For the first time, a separate recommendation guide for high-end restaurants and hotels has been launched.

All of a sudden, all the high-end restaurants and hotels in Shanghai became busy.

Everyone is vying to have their own store on this first edition of the recommended guide.

Some people even went to Huang Tao and Mr. Cai and Mr. Wei Ling from Gangcheng, as well as two chefs of local cuisine, to intercede for them.

I hope I can spend some money to buy a good rating, so that I can be included in the recommended guide.

Just when these cunning people try to find them.

I found that I couldn’t contact these five judges at all.

Needless to say, Mr. Cai and Mr. Wei Ling are both from Hong Kong, and their residence in Shanghai was specially arranged by Feng Zhengming.

So ordinary people really can't see them.

Huang Tao also seemed to have disappeared suddenly.

We found Huang Tao's rented home in Shanghai and discovered that his wife and children had been sent back to his hometown in Qilu.

Then I went to the magazine to find Huang Tao, and the magazine also said that Huang Tao would not return to the magazine for a while.

Finally, some local chefs in Shanghai went to the homes of the two masters.

As a result, the family said that the two masters were also missing.

I can’t contact my family members for the time being.

As a result, those who try to find connections can only find Feng Zhengming in the end.

Facing several chefs from Shanghai's time-honored brands and the current owners of the time-honored brands.

Feng Zhengming didn't wait for them to speak, and directly interrupted them.

“It’s no use for you to come to me. I don’t know where they are now, when they will come to your store, or how they will rate you in the end.

I think this is the best way to ensure fairness and justice.”

These words really blocked the words that came to others.

Feng Zhengming then said to everyone.

"Actually, as long as you go back and do a good job in the service, hygiene, and food quality control of your respective restaurants, I think you should all be included in our recommended guide this year."

The head chef of a time-honored restaurant in Shanghai couldn't help but speak up.

"Vice President, you looked at us before and we made all the changes according to your requirements. Can you give us a little bit of preferential treatment this time?"

Feng Zhengming laughed when he heard this.

"Your reform is not for me, right? Since you invited me to be the vice president, I must be responsible to the customers, right?

You are all the chefs of local cuisine, and you are the ambassadors of local cuisine. If you cannot guarantee quality control, won’t it make others think that local cuisine has declined?”

At this point, Feng Zhengming simply took out the first issue of his magazine from his own store.

“Look for yourselves, in this first episode, I introduced various local dishes, as well as you all, I have elevated you all to such a high position.

If you don’t do a good job of quality control, will people come to my store with magazines and yell at me?
Others might think that I accepted your favor and only published a special feature on your local cuisine in the first issue of the magazine.”

Feng Zhengming's remarks really left several local cuisine chefs speechless.

He then looked at the current owners of the several stores that had come with him.

"I think you still want your old shop to maintain its reputation because you stick to your craftsmanship, right? So you shouldn't have come to me today."

Several bosses looked at each other.

Unlike the chefs in the store, there is nothing to say.

Several bosses still have their own opinions.

"Feng Zhuangyuan, you are the top scholar. Your cooking skills are obvious to all. We all admire you very much. But now that you are working on a guide to recommended restaurants and hotels in Shanghai, it has put too much pressure on us."

"Yes, we used to run our store well. Even if our quality control is not strict sometimes, most of the time our quality control is still very good, right?"

"Yes, most of the dishes we cook are still popular with local people. You can't ask us to change the local taste according to your standards, right?"

Feng Zhengming didn't expect that the bosses were actually quite tough.

And he came up and put a hat on himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you mean that what I'm doing is hurting the preferences of the locals?"

When asked this question, the bosses naturally didn't dare to say a word.

Feng Zhengming continued, "But many locals here have told me that many dishes in your restaurants are not as good as before and the taste is different from before."

Once these words were spoken, the bosses naturally could not swallow their anger.

"Who said this?"

"That's right, this is a slander against our master chef's craftsmanship."

"That's right. The chefs in our store have been passing down the tradition from generation to generation. How could the taste change?"

Several master chefs were also a little unconvinced.

“We do it the same way we did in the old days.”

"Yes, we do what our master taught us."

“These are all inherited craftsmanship, so the taste will definitely not be bad.”

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "It seems that you are still unwilling to admit that some of your performance is not as good as before?"

Seeing that no one said anything, Feng Zhengming directly gave examples.

"Take the three-shredded pork with shredded pork as an example. I would like to ask you guys, are you still sticking to the old craftsmanship and making the three-shredded pork with shredded pork the way it should have been in the past?"

This example left the master chefs speechless.

In fact, not many customers order "Three-Sided Rice" now, so the chef often doesn't make it himself.

It's not just the dish of three shredded vegetables, many dishes are not cooked by chefs themselves nowadays.

This leads to deviations in the quality control of many dishes.

But in fact, if the master chefs are willing to supervise their apprentices to pay attention to the details.

Even if the chefs don’t do it themselves, they can still ensure quality control.

Just like Feng Zhengming’s store, the quality control in the kitchen can be guaranteed whether he is in the kitchen or not.

Because he enforced very strict requirements when he was there, everyone in the kitchen has become accustomed to those almost harsh requirements for details.

Feng Zhengming also gave everyone in the kitchen enough respect and gave them a sense of honor and disgrace.

So even if Feng Zhengming is not in the kitchen, everyone in the kitchen will do their job seriously.

But in the kitchens of some other restaurants, the chefs may keep their own food to themselves.

You can’t teach your disciples everything at once.

Secondly, many master chefs are so busy themselves that they often don’t have the time to watch their apprentices work.

Feng Zhengming didn't want to point these out, nor did he want to educate the chefs.

After all, the chefs are all adults and are already famous chefs.

Even though Feng Zhengming is the top scholar in the country and is now the vice president of the Shanghai Chefs Association, he is indeed not qualified to teach other chefs their work.

After thinking it over, Feng Zhengming could only say one last thing.

"Instead of begging me here, why don't you go back and do everything well in the store? I believe that as long as you do a good enough job and ensure the quality of the dishes, they will definitely be included in the recommended guide." Several bosses wanted to say something.

Feng Zhengming once again stopped them from saying anything.

“I have already told you all about the standards when I went to my Senior Brother Kong’s restaurant for dinner. Moreover, before I recommended the review of the guidelines, I had already given you all some warnings in the name of checking time-honored brands.

Have you not made any changes at all in such a long time?

Or do you just not want to change at all? Do you want to continue to rely on your old brand name to get by?
If that's the case, then you don't need to come to me. I promise I won't take down your old brand.

But you don’t need to be on the Shanghai City Recommendation Guide.”

Feng Zhengming had already said this, and the bosses were indeed too embarrassed to argue with him any further.

In the end, several bosses and chefs left together.

After they left, Luo Qing held her daughter and moved closer to her husband.

Put the daughter on the table in front of her husband.

Then Luo Qing stood behind her husband and reached out to gently pinch his shoulders.

Feng Zhengming slowly relaxed as his wife massaged his shoulders.

At the same time, he saw his daughter sitting at the table in front of him, stretching out her little hand and calling him with a smile.

"dad."

Feng Zhengming smiled at his daughter and reached out to pick her up.

"Our Youyou is still well-behaved."

Luo Qing continued to massage her husband's shoulders.

"These people are really something. They are all chefs. How can they be so shameless as to come to you?"

Feng Zhengming: "They still feel the pressure. Since I came to Shanghai, there has been an influx of cuisines from all over the country. Now there are restaurants in Shanghai serving cuisines from all over the country.

So they are very anxious and nervous, worried that their local restaurants will be outshined in the recommended guide this time.”

Luo Qing curled her lips: "Then they should work harder. Why come to you?"

Feng Zhengming: "Aren't they afraid? They are afraid that after working hard, the results won't meet their expectations."

Luo Qing: "That means they didn't work hard enough."

Feng Zhengming: "No one is willing to easily admit that they are not working hard enough, let alone admit that they are not good enough."

Luo Qing: "Do you think they can be included in the recommended guide this time?"

Feng Zhengming: "I don't know either. There are three groups of judges this time. It's hard to say how many points they will give in the end. We can only see their specific performance."

Luo Qing: "They should come to the store to learn from you and take a closer look at how you manage the kitchen and the store."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "Ask them to humble themselves and come to learn from me? I'm afraid they can't lower themselves to that level."

Without waiting for his wife to speak, Feng Zhengming looked at his daughter in his arms smiling at him.

"Right? Our Youyou knows that I cook Shandong cuisine in Quancheng. Will anyone take the initiative to come to me for advice? They all want to suppress me and surpass me.

Not to mention that in Shanghai, they don’t even cook the same cuisine as me.”

Although Feng Nuanyu didn't understand what her father said in his arms, when she saw her father smiling at her, she clapped her hands happily and kept calling her father.

"Dad, Dad, Dad."

Feng Zhengming was also very happy when he heard his daughter calling him constantly.

Luo Qing came close to her daughter and said, "What about me? Call me mom."

When Feng Nuanyu saw her mother suddenly appear, she changed her mind quickly and immediately changed her words.

"mom, Mom, Mom."

Luo Qing smiled happily and reached out to gently touch her daughter's little face.

After her mother touched her little face, Feng Nuanyu also touched the little face that her mother had touched with her little hands.

When Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing saw their daughter's look, they both found it very interesting and laughed together again.

The family of three was so happy interacting and laughing in the store.

The waiters and people in the kitchen couldn't help but look over.

The waitress in particular couldn't help but envy.

"That's great. The chef and the boss lady have a really good relationship."

"Yes, our Youyou is really cute."

"I also want to have a lovely daughter like that in the future."

Upon hearing this, an apprentice in the kitchen immediately responded: "Okay, let's give birth to a beautiful and lovely daughter together."

The waitress immediately scolded: "Fuck you, who wants to have a baby with you?"

After being scolded by the waitress, the other apprentices in the kitchen also laughed at the apprentice who took over the conversation.

The young chefs in the kitchen watched the apprentices and young waitresses playing around, but did not try to stop them.

The store is usually very busy, so everyone should enjoy these relaxing moments.

Jiang Chengzhe couldn't help but mutter, "It's really uncomfortable to see the chef showing affection with his wife and daughter."

Xia Hui immediately responded: "Then why don't you find one quickly?"

Jiang Chengzhe was helpless: "I wonder, isn't there no chance?"

Deng Huaichuan smiled and took over the conversation: "Chef Jiang, I think it will not be difficult for you to find a suitable partner if you reveal your identity."

Li Yao nodded: "How about we introduce you to Chef Jiang?"

Han Rui echoed, "Yes, yes, Chef Jiang, what kind do you want? We will recommend it to you."

Jiang Chengzhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You two guys are still single, and you're introducing me here? Why don't you solve your own problems first?"

Li Yao: "Actually, my family has introduced me to it."

These words made everyone in the kitchen look at Li Yao.

Jiang Chengzhe: "Really? Have you seen it?"

Li Yao: "I haven't met him yet. My family just said that someone came to my house and asked if I would like to meet him."

Everyone in the kitchen immediately encouraged him: "Go and meet him."

As soon as everyone in the kitchen finished speaking, Feng Zhengming's voice rang out.

"Go and meet them. You must go and tell them that you will be the head chef of the top restaurant in Shanghai in the future. Ordinary girls are not worthy of you. Show your power."

Luo Qing smiled and patted her husband.

"Why are you so excited? Li Yao, don't listen to your chef. When meeting a girl, you should be more polite and talk to each other first to get to know each other.

The key is to pay attention to your image, to leave a good impression on others, and to dress yourself in a sunny and clean manner. "

Feng Zhengming agreed with his wife: "Yes, that's right, dress up in advance and go to meet her openly."

Feng Zhengming then asked, "Does your family introduce anyone to you? Be sure to tell me. If you want to go back to your hometown to meet, I can give you a holiday."

As a result, the topic in the store suddenly turned to blind dates and matchmaking.

Everyone in the store started brainstorming.

It really gives people a feeling like a family discussing together. (End of this chapter)