From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

On the second day after the three groups of Qilu Recommended Guide reviewers arrived in Taicheng, the three groups began their review separately.

Feng Zhengming, his wife and their daughter continued to eat at their own branch.

Li Taifeng was waiting for his master and the old masters to arrive in Taicheng Restaurant.

It's impossible not to be nervous.

The owner of Taicheng Restaurant also arrived at the restaurant early.

As it approached noon, other customers began to arrive at Taicheng Restaurant.

Grandpa Feng Zhengming and the masters arrived late.

Li Taifeng has already returned to the kitchen to busy himself in order to deal with customers.

When he learned that the judges were coming, he immediately wanted to drop what he was doing and go out to greet them.

But then he thought: Why would Master and the others come to the restaurant at noon when there are guests?
Could it be that Master and his companions deliberately wanted to come with other guests so that they could rate the restaurant based on a comprehensive consideration of the restaurant's normal business operations?
Thinking of this, Li Taifeng gave up his plan to go out to greet his master and the others.

He continued to work in the kitchen, strictly supervising everyone's work.

"Everyone, cheer up and don't make any mistakes. Remember, details determine success or failure. Whether our restaurant can be included in the recommended guide hosted by Feng Zhuangyuan depends on this time."

The people in the kitchen have all followed Li Taifeng for many years.

Everyone knows that this review is very critical.

And for everyone in the kitchen, who wouldn’t want the restaurant they work for to receive better reviews?
Many people in the province have witnessed the effectiveness of Feng Zhengming’s recommended guidelines in the past few years.

Many of the small restaurants that were included in the recommended guides have made a sudden turnaround.

Especially the recommendation medal awarded by Feng Zhengming.

It has even become a kind of certification, letting everyone know that it is a restaurant certified by Feng Zhuangyuan, and everyone knows that the taste must be good, so everyone is willing to eat in a small restaurant with a sign.

Even many snack bars became popular after Feng Zhengming put up their signs and there were queues everywhere.

Therefore, many large restaurants and hotels envy those small restaurants and snack bars that can be included in the recommended guides.

This year, big restaurants and hotels finally got their chance.

Feng Zhengming's recommendation guide now has a section specifically for large restaurants and hotels.

Naturally, big restaurants and hotels from all over the country are looking forward to being included in the recommended guide.

Taicheng Restaurant is the largest restaurant in Taicheng.

It has also existed in Taicheng for many years.

In the past, it was once a reception restaurant under the jurisdiction of the city.

Now Taicheng Restaurant is contracted out to an individual by the municipal government.

So it is indeed a little less famous.

But Taicheng Restaurant still hopes to be included in Feng Zhengming's recommended guide.

Because if Taicheng Restaurant was not included in the recommended guide, but other restaurants in Taicheng were, then the reputation and status of Taicheng Restaurant in Taicheng would be greatly affected.

Li Taifeng could not allow such a thing to happen.

Because he is Master Cui's apprentice.

Over the years, he has never let his master down, and he must not let his master down this time.

Feng Zonghe, Mr. Situ and several master chefs entered the restaurant after being greeted by the boss.

The reception work after entering the door made everyone feel that it was relatively standard.

I stepped into the private room and looked at the slightly old furnishings inside.

Master Su smiled and said, "It has a very retro feel."

Master Cui looked at the boss and said, "It's okay to keep the old style, but you still have to keep it clean and tidy. You don't just clean the tabletops and don't even change the tablecloths, do you?"

This question left the boss speechless, and in the blink of an eye he began to sweat all over his forehead.

Mr. Situ smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"Some details are still not done well, but it's not unacceptable. We still need to pay attention to these in the future. When guests come in to eat, they still hope that the environment is good enough."

The boss nodded: "Yes, yes, everyone please take a seat."

Master Cui sat down and asked, "Do you, as the boss, usually receive other guests in your restaurant yourself?"

When asked this question, the boss was stunned at first, then he remembered something Li Taifeng had said to him.

He immediately came to his senses and responded with a smile: "No, then please ask the waiter if you have anything."

After the boss left, several waiters came in soon.

Judging from the waiter's face, he might have been specially arranged by the boss.

Feng Zonghe, Mr. Situ and several masters looked at each other in bewilderment.

No one pointed this out.

Then everyone started ordering food.

Looking through the menu, the dishes ordered were mostly home-cooked dishes, and there was no high-end dish like sea cucumber.

Instead, I ordered some local dishes unique to Taicheng Restaurant.

Of course, the important thing is to order a few dishes that test Li Taifeng’s cooking skills.

It can also be regarded as a test of Li Taifeng's craftsmanship.

When Li Taifeng got the menu, he was stunned for a moment, then he immediately understood what his master and the others meant.

But the owner of Taicheng Restaurant seemed a little confused about this menu?

Ordered these home-cooked dishes? What can be judged from this?
But the boss couldn't just go in and ask.

So the boss could only go to the kitchen and remind Li Taifeng again to make good preparations.

When Li Taifeng saw his boss looking nervous, he smiled and tried to comfort him.

"Don't worry too much. Master and the others ordered these dishes to test my cooking skills. I will definitely not let them down."

Li Taifeng makes almost every dish himself.

From cutting to cooking to seasoning, he does the entire process himself.

This naturally results in the food being served much slower.

The old masters also figured it out quickly.

Master Su said to Master Cui with a smile.

"Lao Cui, your apprentice is really nervous."

Before Master Cui could speak, Master Xia sighed first.

"Li Taifeng really misunderstood our intentions. The more seriously he works for us, the more likely it is that his scores from the other two groups of judges will be affected."

Master Cui: "Let them be. If they don't suffer losses, they won't understand how to change some things."

Master Yan agreed with this: "Yes, these restaurants in our province still seem a bit rigid after all."

Almost all the judges, including Feng Zhengming's two grandfathers, nodded in agreement.

The problems of Taicheng Restaurant are similar to those of most old restaurants in various places.

In the past, these restaurants were more or less reception restaurants in the local city.

Although it is now contracted out to individuals for operation, many of the solidified operating and management methods of the past cannot be completely abandoned.

Not to mention competing with some restaurants in big cities like Shanghai.

Even some restaurants in Izumi City that have kept up with the times in recent years cannot compare to it.

Now the veterans understand why Feng Zhengming wanted to review the recommended guidelines separately.

What if we evaluate the restaurants in Qilu together with those in Shanghai?
I'm afraid that most restaurants in Qilu won't be included in the recommended guide at all.

If it is put together with those small street restaurants and snack bars, it is obvious that it cannot compare with those stores in terms of quality and price.

So Feng Zhengming published a separate restaurant recommendation guide.

The restaurant was judged together with the big restaurants.

And because it was the first year, Feng Zhengming deliberately announced the standards in advance.

The professional judging panel consisting of the two grandfathers and old masters also went to the restaurant to conduct the judging openly.

It was only after this meal at Taicheng Restaurant that the master chefs fully understood Feng Zhengming's good intentions.

He really wants to support restaurants across the province.

Allowing the master chefs to judge publicly is to give restaurants in various places a decent reputation.

If restaurants everywhere could understand this.

We should make some adjustments afterwards and learn from several restaurants in Quancheng, and slowly catch up with the gap.

Even if we cannot catch up completely in a short period of time, at least we have the recommended guide.

It can allow restaurants everywhere to sincerely improve their service and quality control.

That's enough.

It allows outsiders to taste authentic Shandong cuisine in all parts of Qi and Lu.

The professional judging panel, including Feng Zonghe, Mr. Situ and the master chefs tasted the food calmly.

I already have a score in my mind.

After all, there are ready-made examples in the four major restaurants in Quancheng.

Just need to make a comparison.

It's easy to give a rating.

After the meal, wait until everyone is about to leave.

The boss came in quickly and wanted to find out more.

Feng Zonghe smiled and said, "Boss, you should have confidence in your own store, or at least in the cooking skills of your chef. There's no need to be so nervous about the results."

Mr. Situ: "Yes, yes, be more confident. I believe that your chef can use his skills to get back your points."

The boss hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking: "Excuse me, are you satisfied with today's dishes?"

Master Yan: "Satisfied, this is the standard a master chef should have."

After hearing what Master Yan said, the boss immediately felt relieved.

Then the boss walked everyone out of the restaurant.

Master Cui saw his apprentice Li Taifeng when he was leaving.

After hesitating for a while, Master Cui waved to his apprentice.

Li Taifeng quickly trotted over to his master.

Master Cui reached out and gently patted Li Taifeng on the shoulder.

"Your skills are still there. You should have cut and prepared every dish yourself, right?"

Li Taifeng hesitated for a moment but finally nodded.

Master Cui: "You are still too nervous. In fact, just treat us the same way you usually treat us. Don't be afraid of problems. If there are any problems, just correct them."

Li Taifeng humbly agreed: "I know, Master."

Finally, Master Cui reminded: "If you have time, go to Quancheng and visit Huiquanlou in Zhengming. I believe you will understand where your gap is.
If you want your restaurant to go further, you need to learn what you need to learn and be brave enough to change what needs to be changed. "

After listening to his master's words, Li Taifeng nodded heavily with a serious face.

"Thank you, Master. I will take time to learn and run the restaurant better."

Master Cui had said all that needed to be said, so he stopped hanging around and, after saying goodbye to his apprentice, walked out of Taicheng Restaurant.

There is also a restaurant in Taicheng, and some larger restaurants were also evaluated.

In the end, all in all, Taicheng Restaurant did perform better overall.

The other restaurant is new and has a better environment than the old Taicheng Restaurant.

The quality control of the dishes is still slightly worse than that of Taicheng Restaurant.

As for some other larger restaurants.

Many of the cooking skills are really not as good as those at Feng Zhengming’s Fengjia Dry Rice Shop branch in Taicheng.

After some discussion, it was finally decided that only Taicheng Restaurant could be included in the recommended guide.

Even the recommended guide for Taicheng Restaurant can only give it three stars.

Feng Zhengming saw the final results given by the judges.

He was not surprised at all. Before leaving Taicheng, he sorted out the results of the entire evaluation, as well as the shortcomings of the restaurants and hotels in the evaluation, and left them to the local Chefs Association and Catering Association.

Then Feng Zhengming and his team left Taicheng and continued south into Jining.

Not long after Feng Zhengming and his team left, the Taicheng Chefs Association and the Catering Association held a meeting together.

Leaders from the city were also present to discuss this review specifically.

Li Taifeng took out the opinions given by the judges and distributed them to everyone present.

He first conducted a self-examination.

“This time I want to talk about my own problems first. I didn’t really take this review seriously. I was hoping that I could get some favoritism from my master.

So even though Feng Zhuangyuan announced the standards in advance, I did not pay enough attention and did not renovate the Taicheng Restaurant.

I would like to make a self-criticism to you all and also apologize to my leaders and you all.

Because I didn't pay enough attention, everyone else also didn't pay enough attention to this review.

Next, we need to learn lessons and summarize the problems encountered in this review.

I hope that in the future, the catering industry in Taichung can work together to do better and better.”

Li Taifeng has already reflected on himself, and others can only accept the result.

The city was actually relatively satisfied that only Taicheng Restaurant was included in the recommended guide this time.

The city had not originally thought that there would be other restaurants and large eateries that would be included in the recommended guide.

However, Li Taifeng has already reflected on himself, so the city naturally has to express its stance to encourage everyone.

"I hope that next year we can have more than one restaurant in Taicheng that will be listed in our Feng Zhuangyuan's recommendation guide, becoming another face of Taicheng cuisine and providing better catering services for tourists visiting Taicheng."

The city has already made this statement, and the restaurants and restaurant owners who failed to make the list have also expressed their willingness to work hard.

As the president of the city's chefs association, Li Taifeng also explained some issues to everyone seriously.

"Our chefs must be able to do a good job in quality control of the dishes. No matter when, craftsmanship is the most important."

The chefs present nodded one after another, and all said that they would pay attention to improving their cooking skills in the future.

The meeting in Taicheng has been held, and Feng Zhengming has already arranged the review in Jining.

Because Qufu is also in Jining, Xia's Shili Restaurant was also judged together.

In order to avoid suspicion, Master Xia didn't even go back to see his family.

Feng Zhengming also gave Jining Restaurant some time to prepare.

He took his wife and daughter to check out his own branch here first.

When I arrived at the store door, I didn't see any queues.

Even the Jining branch seemed a little deserted.

This situation made Feng Zhengming and Luo Qing look at each other in bewilderment, and both of them could not help but frown. (End of this chapter)