From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The fact that Feng Zhengming, the top scholar, recruited apprentices indeed attracted the attention of the national culinary industry, and chefs from all over the country who had a good relationship with him came to Quancheng one after another.

Everyone wants to see who will be accepted as Feng Zhengming's first official disciple?
In the past, it wouldn’t be a big deal for a chef to take in an apprentice.

Even with the advent of mobile Internet, most chefs taking in apprentices doesn't cause much of a stir.

But Feng Zhengming is an exception. Ever since he became the champion of the national cooking competition, he has been appearing in various media over the years.

Coupled with the branches he opened in various parts of Shandong and Shanghai, he has become a star chef in the country.

In addition, the recommendation guides he compiled and published in recent years have become a must-buy and must-read for many people every year, and then a reference for selecting restaurants when traveling to various places in Shandong and Shanghai.

All the things Feng Zhengming does are constantly increasing his fame.

Therefore, when he accepted an apprentice this time, it was natural that he attracted the attention of the top chefs in the domestic culinary industry.

Those chefs who had participated in the state banquet with him and kept in touch with him in recent years and would talk to him about dish innovation from time to time, almost all came to Quancheng from all over the country.

Feng Zhengming also welcomed everyone's arrival and even rented a large number of guest rooms in several hotels in Quancheng.

Every day we receive several master chefs who come and arrange for them to stay in hotels in Quancheng.

There are also hotels in Quancheng that have contacted Feng Zhengming, hoping to hold his apprenticeship ceremony in their hotel.

However, Feng Zhengming rejected them all, as he felt it would be better to put them in Huiquanlou.

In fact, Feng Zhengming had another plan for Huiquan Building.

Before preparing to start the apprenticeship ceremony, Feng Zhengming specifically contacted a bank in Quancheng.

Entering the bank’s safe, I saw the old plaque of Yan Xilou again.

This old plaque has passed through many hands since Yan Xilou closed down, and was eventually temporarily kept by a bank.

Feng Zhengming also used his identity to contact people in the province and Quancheng City, and finally found a bank, and spent a lot of money to buy the ownership of this old plaque.

Now this old plaque belongs to Feng Zhengming, or rather, to his Zhengluxing Catering Company.

During this disciple-taking ceremony, Feng Zhengming planned to take out this old plaque.

He wanted to announce to everyone that he used to be a chef at Yan Xilou.

He also wanted his disciples and apprentices to remember that their roots were in Yan Xilou.

Feng Zhengming was still very excited when he saw the old plaque of Yanxilou again.

He has been working hard over the years, hoping to reopen Yan Xilou one day.

Now the time for Yan Xilou to reopen is getting closer and closer.

The bank staff looked at Feng Zhengming standing in front of the old plaque in silence.

"Mr. Feng, do you want to take the old plaque away?"

Hearing the bank staff's question, Feng Zhengming came to his senses, turned his head and smiled at the other party.

"Yes, I will take the old plaque over during my apprenticeship ceremony."

The bank staff nodded: "Do you need us to deliver it to you?"

Feng Zhengming: “Is it okay?”

Staff: "Yes, we can deliver it to you and bring it back for you."

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, thank you for your help."

Staff: "You're welcome. We will also charge a certain fee."

Feng Zhengming: "It's okay to charge a fee, as long as you help me preserve the old plaque."

Another staff member asked: "Mr. Feng, when are you going to reopen Yanxilou?"

When Feng Zhengming heard this question, he looked at the old plaque in front of him.

"It's almost there. It should be soon."

After communicating with the bank and confirming that the bank would send the old plaque to Huiquanlou and then transport it back for preservation, Feng Zhengming left the bank.

As everyone who came to watch the ceremony arrived, Feng Zhengming took Xia Hui and five apprentices to familiarize themselves with the kitchen.

"How is it? Can you guys get familiar with Huiquanlou's kitchen as soon as possible?"

Xia Hui was very familiar with the place because she had worked in the kitchen of Huiquanlou in the past.

The other five apprentices looked at each other, and soon they all felt that they could quickly familiarize themselves with the situation.

"Master, don't worry. We can get familiar with it as soon as possible."

"Yes, the kitchen at Huiquanlou is not much different from other kitchens."

"No problem, I'll definitely get started as soon as possible."

"Master, rest assured that we will get to know each other well."

"I won't hold Master back."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "You won't be a drag. I don't think you can drag me down. The main thing is that you have to perform well and let others feel that you take your job as a chef seriously."

Feng Zhengming then encouraged everyone: "It doesn't matter whether your skills are good or not, but your serious attitude is very important."

Including Xia Hui, several people nodded seriously to show that they understood.

Feng Zhengming finally listed a menu and confirmed the dishes he and his disciples would prepare for the apprenticeship ceremony.

Huiquanlou’s purchasing department also specifically helped Feng Zhengming purchase all the raw materials he needed.

Before the apprenticeship ceremony began, Mr. Cai, Mr. Wei Ling, Long Kunbao and Dai Long from Gangcheng also arrived one after another.

Luo Jinliang, who co-founded a sauce factory with Feng Zhengming, also made a special trip to Quancheng.

Everything was ready, and Feng Zhengming set up a banquet at Huiquan Tower to welcome all the friends who came to congratulate him.

On the day of the apprenticeship ceremony, Feng Zhengming rushed to Huiquan Tower early in the morning.

As a result, I saw Xia Hui, Sun Decai, Hou Dong, Gao Yongfu, Tang Yong and Lu Haisheng were already waiting at the door.

Feng Zhengming walked forward with a smile: "What? You didn't sleep last night?"

Tang Yong yawned: "Master, I haven't had a good sleep these days."

Feng Zhengming: "Is it that serious? In your current state, can you still cook for me today?"

Tang Yong immediately stood at attention, looking very energetic: "Master, I can do it."

Feng Zhengming glanced at the other people present and finally his eyes fell on Xia Hui.

"Big sister? Are you ready to show off your skills today?"

Xia Hui nodded seriously: "Master, don't worry, I'm ready."

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, let's go in."

He led his apprentices and students into the kitchen of Huiquanlou.

The ingredients Feng Zhengming will use today have been prepared in the kitchen.

Feng Zhengming started teaching his apprentices and students how to make soup.

"When cooking soup, you must pay attention to a few points. First, you must be diligent in making the foam. Second, you must add enough water at once and not add more water. Finally, you must also add enough scallions, ginger, and peppercorns. In particular, I have taught you that scallion roots and ginger skins must also be collected for cooking soup."

All the disciples took note of Feng Zhengming's words carefully.

Even though Feng Zhengming emphasized these things more than once and demonstrated them to them more than once, the disciples still followed their master's pace carefully in their first lesson today.

When Feng Zhengming cooks soup, in addition to raw onions and ginger, he also adds some residue from boiling onion oil to enhance the flavor of the soup.

This is a little secret, a small detail that many young chefs may not notice.

Feng Zhengming was still unreserved today and demonstrated everything to his disciples.

When it came time to make the foam, Xia Hui and the five apprentices took over the task. Feng Zhengming finally handed it over to Tang Yong.

After all, Tang Yong is the youngest among the apprentices.

Feng Zhengming felt that he needed more experience.

Tang Yong carefully cleaned the foam from the soup.

Then, turn down the fire as Feng Zhengming requested.

Feng Zhengming suddenly asked: "If I want to cook clear soup, how should I cook it?"

When Xia Hui heard this question, she answered almost immediately without thinking.

"If it's a clear soup, you should turn the heat down to the lowest setting and not let the soup boil."

Feng Zhengming: "That's right. Let me tell you, if it's clear chicken soup, don't add peppercorns. Just use green onions and ginger to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor."

After saying this, Feng Zhengming suddenly asked again: "Do you want to add salt?"

This time Sun Decai answered quickly: "No salt."

Feng Zhengming: "Yes, no salt, remember that."

The disciples all nodded seriously.

While the soup was cooking, Feng Zhengming started to process the shrimps and fish.

"Carp, your master's specialty, sweet and sour Yellow River carp. This is not a Yellow River carp, and it may have a stronger fishy smell, so it must be cleaned before cooking. Who among you will do it?"

Gao Yongfu immediately volunteered: "Master, I'll do it."

Feng Zhengming gave the task of processing the carp to Gao Yongfu.

Gao Yongfu completed the entire process from slaughtering the fish to cleaning the large scales in one go, even the fish teeth were cleaned off.

According to Feng Zhengming's request, the black film on the surface of the carp was scalded and scraped clean.

After completely cleaning the carp, Gao Yongfu carefully cut into the pieces according to the method taught by Feng Zhengming, and then soaked it in scallions, ginger and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell.

Someone takes care of the fish, and someone definitely needs to take care of the shrimps as well.

Hou Dong took the initiative to take over the job of processing the shrimps.

According to Feng Zhengming's request, some of the shrimps had their heads and claws cut off, and their tails and shrimp threads pulled off, and were prepared to be braised in oil.

Another part is to directly peel the shrimp, and the shrimp heads need to be kept separately to prepare for frying shrimp oil.

Sun Decai and Lu Haisheng were left, one was responsible for processing various meats and the other was responsible for processing seafood.

Xia Hui followed Feng Zhengming and prepared all the things that needed to be cut and prepared in advance, as well as some things that needed to be coated with flour and fried in advance.

In one morning, Feng Zhengming and his team prepared a large number of things.

These will be prepared after the apprenticeship ceremony at noon and will be served to today's guests.

At about half past nine, several of Feng Zhengming's senior brothers came to Huiquan Building.

When I entered the kitchen, I saw Feng Zhengming and his apprentices still busy.

The third brother asked jokingly: "Zhengming, do you want our help?"

Feng Zhengming: "Okay, you all come and help."

But he was stopped by senior brother Li Huidong.

"We can't help. Today is Zhengming's day to accept a disciple, so let him and his disciples cook the dishes. We are here to watch the ceremony, how can we help?"

Yang Bin was amused: "It's not that I don't want to help, it's that Senior Brother won't let me."

Feng Zhengming: "It doesn't matter, we can finish it even without your help."

Fifth Brother Cao Zhiguo: "Today is the day to test your ability to lead a disciple, Zhengming, you must perform well."

Before Feng Zhengming could speak, Xia Hui took the lead and said, "Master, there must be no problem. If there is a problem, it must be because we did not learn the skills well from Master."

Xia Hui's words made several senior uncles laugh immediately.

Chen Zezhi said with a smile: "Female disciples are indeed good. Female disciples know how to speak for their master."

Feng Zhengming: "What's up, second brother? Do you want to recruit a female disciple as well?"

Chen Zezhi immediately changed his tone: "No, I am already very tired of teaching several apprentices now. I can't teach female apprentices. Besides, most women can't bear this hardship."

Sixth senior brother Zhang Minghai also rushed here from Yancheng.

"Xia Hui is really great. She has been with Zhengming for so many years and has always been very hardworking. She is also able to endure the hardships of working in the kitchen."

Feng Zhengming: "We chefs are hard workers. Hard work is a must. Without hard work, how can we develop good cooking skills?"

Li Huidong: "It is clear that your presence has elevated the status of the chef industry and given most chefs more strength."

Yang Bin: "Yes, without you, Zhengming, the dishes made by many restaurants are not as good as those made by small restaurants on the street. Which restaurant in Quancheng dares to cook dishes casually now?"

Feng Zhengming: "So it's not that they can't do it well, it's just that they were unwilling to make the effort to do it well before."

After hearing what Feng Zhengming said, several senior brothers looked at each other in bewilderment and were unable to speak.

In fact, what Feng Zhengming said is indeed correct.

If any chef can become a master, it means that his skills are definitely good.

So why do the same chef’s cooking show ups and downs?

The kitchen is too busy, so it is inevitable that the chef will make mistakes.

But this reason can be used to explain it once or twice.

If the same problem occurs many times and there is no change, it is not a mistake made in a hurry, but the chef himself does not want to do it seriously at all.

Once the chef himself doesn't want to take cooking seriously, it's almost impossible to make a dish well.

This was a common problem in most restaurants and hotels in the past.

Even though the food is poorly cooked, they still get business, which makes them even more unscrupulous.

But things are different now. With the appearance of Feng Zhengming, his seriousness has led many people to have higher requirements for chefs.

What's more, in all parts of Qi and Lu, if you don't do well enough, Feng Zhengming's branches across the country will snatch your business.

This forces restaurants and hotels to prepare the dishes well and the chefs have to be serious in their attitude.

Li Huidong understood what his junior fellow apprentice meant: "In the past, no one urged them. Now that you are urging them, they dare not cook casually. They know that they must stick to their craft."

Feng Zhengming looked at his apprentices and said, "Did you hear me? You must always live up to your craftsmanship."

The disciples immediately responded in unison: "Understood, Master."

After watching for a while, Li Huidong took his fellow apprentices and left the kitchen, leaving it to his younger apprentice and his apprentice.

Li Huidong and his friends went to the front to help greet some guests who came today.

Starting from ten o'clock in the morning, guests who wanted to watch the ceremony arrived at Huiquan Tower one after another.

Feng Zhengming had to leave the remaining work in the kitchen to his apprentices, and he himself had to go out to receive the guests.

Several Shandong cuisine masters arrived and were arranged by Feng Zhengming to sit in the largest private room upstairs.

There were also a group of master chefs from the capital, as well as master chefs from all over the country who came to watch the ceremony. They were originally supposed to be arranged in the private rooms upstairs, but they all expressed their desire to watch the apprenticeship ceremony.

Feng Zhengming had no choice but to ask the waiter at Huiquanlou to arrange for everyone to stay in the lobby downstairs.

Finally, people from the province came, and even Chen Sifu came with Grandpa Feng and Grandpa Situ.

Although the entire Huiquan House is not open to the public today, it is unusually lively. (End of this chapter)