From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 965 Repeated Toasts (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

After all the dishes were served, Feng Zhengming went from room to room toasting guests with a wine glass in hand.

The first room to be used for toasting is for the most mysterious guests of the night.

These guests arrived without even disturbing the other guests invited that evening.

However, these guests were very important, and they were accompanied by Feng Zhengming's uncle and aunt.

Before entering, Feng Zhengming carefully straightened his chef's uniform and gently knocked on the door.

Then came the response from inside: "Come in."

Feng Zhengming had to wait for the door to be pushed open from the inside before he stepped into the private room.

We entered the private room and sat down at the dining table.

The old man sitting in the main seat looked up at him.

"Haha, our top scorer is here to offer a toast."

Feng Zhengming was very excited and respectfully greeted the other party: "I really didn't expect you to come all this way."

The guest smiled and said, "You are our top student. Didn't you say you wanted to open your own top-notch restaurant? So we definitely have to come and support our top student."

Feng Zhengming: "Thank you, and thank you all for coming. It's truly an honor for me tonight."

Guest: "Don't get excited, your dishes today were excellent. You really showed us what the true art of cooking is."

At this moment, a guest next to him spoke up: "It seems that you still held back at the state banquet."

Feng Zhengming: "We really didn't do that back then. During the last state banquet, my fellow students and I really gave it our all."

The guests in the room immediately burst into laughter.

"Haha, our top scorer is still very young and can't stand being teased by us old men."

"The top scorer is very down-to-earth, just like our top chefs in China, who value honesty and practicality."

Feng Zhengming: "That's how my master taught me. He said that cooking starts with being a good person. You have to be a down-to-earth person and you have to be a serious cook."

These words made the guests nod in satisfaction.

"Great, that's right. Cooking with care is essential. It's truly remarkable that our top student has achieved what he has today."

“Top Scholar, we have to agree that you will be hosting banquets at some of the summits in Shanghai later.”

"Haha, right, right. Since you're in Shanghai, you have to host the summit banquet there."

Feng Zhengming certainly understood what the guests present meant by saying that.

It was as if he had been handpicked to be in charge of the state banquet when Shanghai hosted international summits.

It can be said that at this moment, Feng Zhengming is already a true head chef for state banquets.

Feng Zhengming glanced at his uncle who was accompanying him, and then agreed without hesitation.

"Yes, I will definitely do a good job with the banquet."

"Hahaha……"

The guests in the room were very satisfied with Feng Zhengming's answer.

Then the guests stood up together and invited Feng Zhengming to join them for a toast.

After toasting the guests in the room, Feng Zhengming left the room and didn't dare to take a deep breath until he went downstairs.

The arrival of those guests tonight was indeed somewhat unexpected for Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming originally planned to contact several leaders in charge of the catering industry through his uncle and aunt.

To Feng Zhengming's surprise, his aunt went to Beijing.

He invited several truly VIP guests to his home.

Although the identities of the guests must be kept secret, their arrival must not be known to the other invited guests tonight.

However, their arrival will eventually be known to the guests invited tonight.

Moreover, the guests tonight have already designated Feng Zhengming as the head chef for the state banquet in Shanghai.

This honor is indeed extraordinary.

Upon arriving on the second floor, Feng Zhengming first went to toast his master and the other senior craftsmen.

Upon entering the room, one could hear the master craftsmen arguing.

It seems that the master chefs were having a friendly debate about the techniques used in several of Feng Zhengming's dishes.

Feng Zhengming walked to the dining table with his wine glass and saw the veteran chefs arguing heatedly.

He quickly tried to smooth things over: "Master, fellow disciples, please don't argue. Let's have a friendly discussion. Can you tell me what happened first?"

Upon seeing Feng Zhengming enter, the veteran craftsmen immediately stopped arguing and all looked at him.

Then the master spoke first: "Zhengming, tell me yourself, is the order in which you serve the dishes from steaming to boiling, stewing, then stir-frying, and finally braising?"

When his master asked him this question, Feng Zhengming answered seriously, "It is in this order."

Master Yan: "You see, I told you this is the correct order."

However, another experienced craftsman then spoke up.

"Zhengming, that's not right. Some of the dishes you've stir-fried or sautéed actually don't belong to those methods, right? Like that cabbage, shouldn't it be considered a stir-fried dish?"

Feng Zhengming hadn't expected that he had originally added a dish of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar because he was worried that the flavors would be too monotonous.

In addition, he also incorporated dishes using other techniques into some of the steamed, boiled, and stewed dishes, which became the focus of debate among the master chefs.

This left Feng Zhengming somewhat amused and exasperated, feeling that the veteran chefs sometimes resembled a group of young cooks.

Feng Zhengming carefully explained to the veteran craftsmen his idea of ​​incorporating other techniques into the process.

The argument among the master craftsmen was quickly quelled, and then Feng Zhengming formally toasted them.

Originally, the master had told Feng Zhengming to pay respects to each of them one by one.

But there were just too many people, and there were other guests we needed to toast later.

Feng Zhengming could only offer a toast along with everyone else.

Thank you again to the experienced craftsmen for visiting.

After toasting, Feng Zhengming went to the room where some of the invited bosses were staying.

Upon entering the room, the owners were already quite drunk.

Upon seeing Feng Zhengming enter, the group immediately stood up and gave him a thumbs-up in praise.

"Wow, Mr. Feng, your dishes are really excellent."

"That's right, we can't call you Chef Feng anymore, you'll really be Boss Feng from now on."

"We should definitely call him Boss Feng. He must be a big boss to be able to open a restaurant like this."

"It's a huge undertaking; we really can't afford to open it even if we wanted to."

"Mr. Feng, if you have time, could you give us some pointers?"

"Yes, yes, come over and give us some pointers so we can improve as well."

"Mr. Feng, how about we go into partnership? You don't need to put up a single penny; I'll cover all the expenses. All you need to do is provide technical support and help train some good chefs for me."

"Haha, then you should cooperate with me. Not only will I not let Mr. Feng spend a single penny, but I will also pay Mr. Feng an annual consulting fee."

As they talked, the business owners started comparing themselves to each other.

They all said they were willing to cooperate with Feng Zhengming and were willing to give him an investment.

They all hoped to open another restaurant with Feng Zhengming.

Some even hope that Feng Zhengming can collaborate to open a restaurant that surpasses the current one.

Feng Zhengming didn't say much; he took it all as drunken ramblings from the bosses.

I toasted the bosses.

A group of business owners had already started calling Feng Zhengming brothers. It took Feng Zhengming quite a bit of effort to finally get out of the room.

He had just come out when Bao Ruiheng followed him out.

"Chef Feng."

Feng Zhengming turned to look at Bao Ruiheng.

"Does Young Master Bao have anything to say?"

Bao Ruiheng: "Chef Feng, please don't call me that. Just call me Xiao Heng. My parents were very impressed with you after we met at the seaside resort hotel last time."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Bao and Mrs. Bao."

Bao Ruiheng then went on to explain his reasons for calling Feng Zhengming over.

"When Chef Feng heard my parents praise you before, I felt that you were no longer just a chef, but more like a businessman, and a very business-minded one at that. You wanted to establish your own set of rules for the domestic catering industry."

But after eating your cooking today, I have to say, I really hope you'll set the standards.

Feng Zhengming laughed when he heard this: "Haha, thank you and your parents for your affirmation of me."

Bao Ruiheng: "If I have the chance in the future, could I come to your shop to learn?"

Feng Zhengming: "Well, it's not absolutely impossible. If you really want to learn, I can arrange for you to go into the kitchen to observe. If you really want to learn how to cook?"
My advice is, don't learn it. Your family already has enough wealth for you to live comfortably; let us earn some money too.

These words startled Bao Ruiheng, but he quickly recovered and laughed.

"Haha, Chef Feng, you really do look like a businessman."

Feng Zhengming: "I am now a businessman. I am no longer just a chef. I need to do a lot for each of my stores, such as ensuring the procurement for each store and coordinating the employees of each store."

Most importantly, I must manage the kitchens well to ensure a stable supply of food across all my stores.

Listen to the many things Feng Zhengming needs to do for each store.

Bao Ruiheng was genuinely a bit bewildered.

"So, opening a store requires handling so many things?"

Feng Zhengming: "Have you ever observed your parents' work?"

Bao Ruiheng: "My parents now? My dad is rarely seen, and my mom has stopped working."

Feng Zhengming: "If you have time to go and see your father's work, you might understand."

Bao Ruiheng thought about it carefully: "I think I understand now, thank you Chef Feng."

Feng Zhengming: "You're welcome. As the ancients said, 'Those who are not in a position should not concern themselves with its affairs.' You don't think about that now because you still have your parents to rely on."

"You and I don't need that. From the beginning, I had nothing to rely on; I could only rely on my own efforts."

Bao Ruiheng: "I hope that Chef Feng can truly become the best chef and boss."

Feng Zhengming smiled and extended his hand to shake hands with Bao Ruiheng: "I also hope that one day I can call you President Bao."

Bao Ruiheng smiled and said, "Okay, I will definitely work hard."

After saying goodbye to Bao Ruiheng, Feng Zhengming continued to offer toasts.

Next came my fellow apprentices and some senior masters who came to offer their congratulations.

Once there, Feng Zhengming knew he couldn't escape and was forced to drink several glasses of wine.

Fortunately, he was somewhat prepared. Although he was also flushed and a little confused after being given alcohol, he was still able to keep up.

However, he still tried his best to stay sober and deal with the interrogation from his senior brothers and masters.

Although the invited master chefs all had a good relationship with Feng Zhengming.

But when they've had too much to drink, they still tend to say some of their innermost thoughts.

From everyone's words, Feng Zhengming could sense that they were somewhat jealous of him.

It can be said that, including Feng Zhengming's senior apprentices, they went through a very long time and made tremendous efforts to rise from junior apprentices to master masters.

However, in everyone's opinion, Feng Zhengming's success was more or less due to luck.

People might be too embarrassed to say this normally, but today, after having a few drinks, they started to say it.

Faced with some doubts, Feng Zhengming asked directly, "Fellow senior brothers, which of the dishes tonight do you think is not delicious?"

The question silenced the entire room for several seconds.

What I fear most most is sudden silence.

Such a sudden moment of silence really made the atmosphere a bit awkward.

In the end, even the master chefs present were helpless.

"Yes, there really isn't a single dish that's not delicious tonight."

"There's really nothing we can do, Feng Zhuangyuan is Feng Zhuangyuan."

"We senior students are indeed not as good as them."

"But I just can't accept it. I've been a chef for so many years, and I never thought I'd lose to you, Feng Zhengming."

“Who can argue with that? I’m more than twenty years older than Feng Zhengming, I can’t compete with him.”

Hearing everyone's comments, Feng Zhengming couldn't help but laugh.

These senior brothers were still verbally defiant, but they all knew in their hearts that they were no match for Feng Zhengming.

But even if you're no match for him, you can't lose in words.

So next, a group of people started to force Feng Zhengming to drink.

Fortunately, his senior brothers protected their junior brother, allowing Feng Zhengming to escape successfully.

He then toasted some friends and the families of the store's employees.

Finally, he came to his own table to offer a toast.

Upon entering the room, one could see Grandpa, Grandpa Situ, Aunt, Second Aunt, Third Uncle and their families, as well as Luo Qing and her parents and older brother, Luo Qing's maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents, and Luo Qing's uncle and aunt.

When Feng Zhengming came in to offer a toast, his family members immediately stood up with smiles to greet him.

"Welcome to our chef!"

"Our chef's skills are getting better and better."

"That's right, I don't even dare to touch these dishes tonight."

"It's really amazing, every dish is different."

"Many of the dishes are ones we've never tried before."

"Yes, yes, that cherry foie gras, I ate it for a long time and thought it was cherry-flavored chocolate."

"I thought it was ice cream."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you, my family. Without your support, I, Feng Zhengming, would not be where I am today. My restaurant is also thanks to everyone's support."

After expressing his gratitude, Feng Zhengming downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Luo Qing said with some concern, "You've already drunk quite a bit, drink less."

Upon hearing Luo Qing speak, the family members also advised Feng Zhengming not to drink too much alcohol.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Family is the best. My family won't let me drink too much, but it's okay. I won't drink much tonight because I still have some guests to see off."

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this, his family felt much more at ease.

Grandpa concluded by encouraging Zhengming on behalf of the family: "Keep up the good work, Zhengming. We all believe you can do it. Your restaurant will definitely be successful in the future. We all support you."

Everyone raised their glasses together: "We all support Zhengming, keep it up!"

For Feng Zhengming, no amount of recognition from anyone else could compare to the encouragement and support from his family.

With encouragement and support from his family, he was truly satisfied with the evening.

(End of this chapter)