From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When the judges came, Song Jinsheng and his restaurant partners were surprised that Feng Zhengming did not show up.

Song Jinsheng and his partners thought that Feng Zhengming would definitely come forward to judge such matters.

Unexpectedly, Feng Zhengming did not show up during the entire review process.

However, although Feng Zhengming did not show up, he was still very serious in front of several Shandong cuisine masters Song Jinsheng and his partners.

The service provided by several old masters can also be said to be very good.

But they didn't notice that behind the masters, there were two other groups of judges.

The three groups of judges arrived at the restaurant almost at the same time.

Among them, the third group of judges even entered the restaurant among the ordinary guests.

Since they were not taken seriously, naturally the service the other two groups received was different from that of the old masters.

But overall, Song Jinsheng does take service seriously.

So other customers cannot be treated like the old masters, but the service is indeed not bad.

After tasting, the masters did not give any comments on the spot.

This made Song Jinsheng's partner a little uneasy.

So when the masters left, he still subconsciously asked questions.

The restaurant owner raised questions about the review.

The old masters looked at each other.

Finally, it was Master Cui who stepped forward to give the answer.

"I can't tell you the specific score right now, but after we finish the score calculation, we will give your restaurant a specific score sheet for each item, so you can see where you are lacking."

After hearing what Master Cui said, partner Song Jinsheng was still a little reluctant.

"Master Cui, can you please give me a clear answer? Can our restaurant be included in the recommended guide?"

Master Cui: "You can go in. Your restaurant is definitely qualified to go in."

Seeing Master Cui say this, the restaurant owner breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help asking, "How many stars can it get?"

Hearing this question, the masters present couldn't help but laugh.

Master Cui calmly replied: "I don't know yet. The exact number of stars it can get depends on the final total score."

Then, without giving the other party any chance to ask further questions, Master Cui and the others left the restaurant together.

When Song Jinsheng heard that his partner stopped the chefs to ask questions, he immediately gave instructions on the work in the kitchen and hurried out.

However, he did not stop the partners from asking questions to the masters.

Song Jinsheng had been hiding in the dark, listening and observing quietly.

I heard Master Cui say that their restaurant could be included in the recommended guide.

Song Jinsheng was secretly relieved.

But later I heard the partner ask, how many stars can their restaurant get?
Song Jinsheng became nervous again. He also wanted to know how many stars he could get.
But in the end, Master Cui did not give an accurate answer, which made Song Jinsheng a little disappointed.

Song Jinsheng didn't come out from his hiding place until all the masters had left.

The partner saw Song Jinsheng and said, "Why didn't you come out just now? Now that everyone has left, you come out? Are you so afraid of facing those masters?"

Song Jinsheng did not quibble: "Yes, I am afraid to face them."

Partner: "You are a chef after all, why don't you dare to argue with them?"

Song Jinsheng: "They are the authority on Shandong cuisine. Each of them can be called a master of Shandong cuisine. When they get together, no one can argue with them."

The partner was stunned for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.

Song Jinsheng looked at the backs of the masters as they left.

Thinking back on his performance today, Song Jinsheng felt that he should have no shortcomings.

The review process in Texas is quite fast.

According to the final scoring results, Song Jinsheng's restaurant received a final score of three stars.

It was just a little bit short of four stars, and Feng Zhengming originally wanted to give him four stars.

But Master Cui didn't let Feng Zhengming give it four stars.

"Three stars is three stars. Let them make further progress. As the president of the Texas Chefs Association, shouldn't he set a good example and make his restaurant go further?"

After hearing what Master Cui said, Feng Zhengming also agreed to give Song Jinsheng's restaurant three stars.

Master Su smiled and said, "Old Cui seems very dissatisfied with Xiao Song this time? He is also your apprentice, so you don't have to be so strict with him, right?"

Master Cui sighed: "He graduated from my cooking training school. I always treat the students of the cooking training school as my own apprentices, so I will be more strict with them."

After a brief pause, Master Cui continued to express his dissatisfaction with Song Jinsheng.

"But if Song Jinsheng could put more thought into his cooking, even though I am being laughed at by you today, I would still give him four stars."

Master Cui's words left the other masters present speechless.

Song Jinsheng's restaurant does have good service, and most of the dishes are also well made.

However, there were too many problems in some small details that shouldn't have occurred.

For example, when making cabbage and shrimp, the shrimp and cabbage used are not very good. It’s not that there is any problem with the taste, but the flaw in the selection of ingredients that affects the taste of the whole dish.

In addition, Master Cui specially ordered a dish of stir-fried kidney.

You can clearly see the flaws in the knife skills in cutting the kidney, and also the lack of control over the heat.

The kidneys in particular had a noticeable oily texture, which resulted in a lot of oil at the bottom of the plate.

These small details cannot be concealed in front of the master craftsmen.

But do you think these minor flaws will affect the restaurant's operations?

It will definitely not have much impact, nor will it affect the experience of most guests.

This is also the reason why the judges from the other two groups did not have many opinions on the dishes.

Master Cui still didn't want to give Song Jinsheng any chance of luck.

We need to make him understand that when cooking, one must do it seriously and to the best of one’s ability without any compromise.

The other masters had no objection to Master Cui's strictness.

Along the way, the masters have seen the career development of their apprentices in various places, and they have also seen some of their apprentices' shortcomings.

There are some problems that make the old masters very angry, as they feel that their apprentices are not sticking to their skills well.

Some questions made the masters want to laugh, and they thought the mistakes made by the apprentices were really funny.

But no matter who the apprentice is, as long as there is a flaw in the dish, the master chefs will not show any mercy.

Because your flaws will be exposed in front of your master, so can you imagine what the dishes you usually serve to your guests will be like?
So the masters tacitly decided to teach their apprentices some lessons.

After the review in Texas was over, Feng Zhengming and his team did not return directly to Quancheng.

Instead, we went to Zibo, the last stop of the provincial review.

The reason why Zibo is the last stop.

On the one hand, it is because Zibo is very close to the Spring City, and on the other hand, it is also because Boshan cuisine is a major faction of Shandong cuisine.

So Feng Zhengming put Zibo last to form a kind of echo. The bus arrived in Zibo and was warmly welcomed by Zibo.

Luan Bosheng personally led all the members of the Zibo Chefs Association to welcome them.

Several local leaders from Zibo were also present to welcome them.

Even the director of the Tourism Bureau was present in person.

Feng Zhengming had to admit that Zibo really had the biggest welcome for them among all the places in the province.

The old masters were also surprised by the welcome scene in Zibo.

When they met Luan Bosheng, the old masters all said that he made too much of a scene.

"Xiao Luan, this scene is a bit too big for you."

"Yeah, Bosheng, why do we need such a big scene?"

“It made us all a little embarrassed.”

"But let's make it clear first, we will review the same way as before."

"Yes, we will not show you any favoritism just because you have a grand welcome."

Luan Bosheng and the director of the Tourism Bureau stepped forward to greet them.

Luan Bosheng spoke first: "My fellow seniors, please don't be polite. You can judge as you should, but we welcome you like this as a sign of respect."

The director also nodded: "Yes, it is a respect for all the masters of Shandong cuisine, and also for Feng Zhuangyuan."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "I don't dare to be respected together with the masters. It is more important to respect the masters."

The atmosphere was originally a bit serious, but everyone couldn't help laughing after hearing what Feng Zhengming said.

Under the local arrangement in Zibo, Feng Zhengming and his team first checked into the hotel here.

Then Feng Zhengming and the master chefs were invited to hold a symposium with local tourism, catering and chefs.

At the meeting, Feng Zhengming expressed his idea of ​​making a recommendation guide quite clearly.

“I think all of you should know that there is a recommendation guide that is very famous overseas and can even affect the business of a restaurant.

Many countries around the world are now introducing that recommended guideline, hoping to obtain ratings from that recommended guideline.

I can honestly tell you that I learned from them when I made this recommendation guide. "

Feng Zhengming's honesty made everyone present admire him.

"Our recommendation guide will be better based on the characteristics of Chinese cuisine, or Shandong cuisine, and will take more into account the technical characteristics of Shandong cuisine.

At the same time, we will also draw on some overseas reviews of good restaurants, which is reflected in the service review.

Service is the focus of a restaurant, but what is more important is the quality control of the food.

This is also the rating point that we prioritize in our recommendation guidelines.”

Feng Zhengming speaks very directly and does not beat around the bush.

If you want to get a high score, you must do well in all aspects.

"Of course, our recommendation guide is more for recommending excellent restaurants and hotels in our province, so we will not deliberately make harsh demands on everyone. We hope that everyone can recognize their own shortcomings through the review, improve themselves in the future, and do better in service and quality control."

Feng Zhengming's speech still convinced everyone.

Over the years, Feng Zhengming's recommendations for various small restaurants and street food stalls have indeed benefited many of them.

And he didn't ask for any reward. He was just promoting those small restaurants and snack stands.

On this point, indeed no one can say a word against Feng Zhengming.

Now he also reviews restaurants and inns, and simply publishes a recommendation guide to recommend restaurants and inns.

It is also a promotion for large restaurants and hotels.

So everyone hopes to seize this opportunity.

Then some chefs at the scene began to ask Feng Zhengming questions.

"Mr. Feng, do you think that the standards you set are more suitable for Shandong cuisine?"

Feng Zhengming nodded: "I think it is in line with the characteristics of Shandong cuisine."

"Mr. Feng, do you think that a chef who doesn't meet the standards is not a good chef?"

Feng Zhengming: "It cannot be said that you are not a good chef, but it should be said that you may not have done your best. I believe that you all still want to do your best. If you are willing to do your best, you should work hard to do it."

“What if I try my best but still can’t achieve my best?”

Feng Zhengming smiled: "If you work hard, how can you not achieve the best?"

"Then even if we work hard, it's impossible for us to become the top scorer in the country like you?"

Feng Zhengming: "Are you so unconfident? Do you think you can't surpass me?"

This question stunned all the chefs present.

Feng Zhengming continued, "I was able to become the champion of the National Cooking Competition by growing up step by step, competing with the best chefs in the country in the national competition.

Don't you have the guts to challenge the best chefs in the country?"

This question still stumped everyone.

To be honest, most of the chefs present here are not confident enough to challenge the best chefs in the country.

People have self-knowledge.

Most chefs are still aware of their limitations.

This is not a question of courage, but a question of ability.

If you know you don't have the ability but still dare to challenge yourself, wouldn't that be asking for humiliation?
Most people still want to retain a little bit of dignity for themselves.

So many people may say that they are not convinced.

But they will not really challenge higher peaks.

Seeing that the chefs at the scene were silent, Feng Zhengming changed the subject: "Believe in yourself. Maybe you can't challenge the best chefs in the country, but as long as you cook your dishes well and win over diners, you will be successful."

I didn't attack anyone, nor did I ridicule anyone, or make fun of anyone.

Feng Zhengming still recognizes everyone and still encourages every chef.

This also made the chefs present feel much better.

At least he had gained the recognition of Feng Zhuangyuan.

At this moment, all the chefs present still had the determination to persevere.

Since Feng Zhuangyuan recognized me, why shouldn't I cook well?

After Feng Zhengming finished his speech, the old masters also said a few words.

The symposium ended in a harmonious atmosphere.

After that, big restaurants and hotels across Zibo began to prepare.

Facing the judges from the senior chefs, the chefs were somewhat nervous.

Especially since Zibo is the last stop of the judging, the veteran judges will be more meticulous in their judging.

This puts more pressure on the chefs in Zibo. (End of this chapter)