From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 966 A Unique Restaurant

As all the invited guests departed, each person received a gift box before leaving.

These are snacks that Feng Zhengming, Jiang Chengzhe, and Lü Chongshan made together with everyone.

As a token of our gratitude to our guests for being invited to our restaurant.

All the invited guests felt that today's meal was truly worthwhile.

Furthermore, several of the invited business owners have already booked private rooms with Feng Zhengming, intending to invite some of their friends to come and enjoy the food as soon as the store officially opens.

Because Feng Zhengming had indeed drunk quite a bit, he had his wife handle the reservations.

The guests accompanying the uncle had already left before the other private rooms closed.

After sending the guests home, the uncle rushed back to the restaurant again.

After all, there were still family members in the restaurant who hadn't left.

When his uncle returned, he praised Feng Zhengming highly in front of the whole family.

"Zhengming, you were really great today. Not only are your cooking skills good, but the key is that your dishes didn't rely on too many expensive ingredients. It was entirely due to your skills that the dishes were able to better showcase their exquisiteness and deliciousness."

"Zhengming, remember to complete the formalities later. You'll be in charge of banquet arrangements for some meetings in Shanghai from now on."

Feng Zhengming smiled: "I guarantee I will complete the mission."

When the whole family saw Feng Zhengming standing upright with a serious expression, they all laughed.

Grandpa Situ: "It seems that Zhengming is really going to become the head chef of state banquets in the future."

Grandpa Feng: "Does that mean that Zhengming will have to cook for meetings in the future?"

The uncle smiled and explained, "There is a state banquet in Shanghai to receive foreign guests, and Zhengming will be the head chef and host the banquet."

This surprised the family, but upon closer reflection, it seemed reasonable.

Given Feng Zhengming's current reputation, hosting a state banquet would certainly not be a problem for him.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming's restaurant in this old villa has already showcased his culinary skills to everyone.

The key is that he has his own set of designs, and even very ordinary and common ingredients can always be made into something fancy by him.

This is also what state banquets require; it doesn't necessarily require a lot of ingredients, but rather to create something new.

Therefore, from this perspective, it is indeed very appropriate for Feng Zhengming to preside over the state banquet.

Grandpa: "Zhengming, you'd better do a good job."

Feng Zhengming solemnly agreed again: "Grandpa, don't worry, I will definitely do my job well."

After his wife and family returned to the hotel, Feng Zhengming's restaurant banquet for the day officially came to an end.

Feng Zhengming called out all the waiters and everyone in the kitchen.

In the lobby on the first floor of the old villa.

Feng Zhengming first expressed his gratitude to everyone.

"Thank you everyone. Without your hard work today, we wouldn't have such a successful banquet tonight. Our restaurant is officially open for business tonight. I hope we can all work together to make our restaurant one of the best in the country."

Feng Zhengming's words filled everyone present with a sense of pride.

Working at Feng Zhengming's restaurant and witnessing it become one of the top restaurants in the country is something everyone should be proud of.

The supervisor in charge of restaurant service stepped forward.

"Don't worry, Chef, we will all strictly follow the standards and do our jobs well."

The service staff all echoed in unison, "We will definitely do our job well."

Jiang Chengzhe, along with the kitchen staff, also expressed their full cooperation.

After praising them, Feng Zhengming changed the subject and asked, "Okay, the praise is over. Now everyone needs to think about whether there were any shortcomings today?"

These words stunned everyone, and then they looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm asking everyone to think about their shortcomings not to criticize you, but to help you recognize them so you can do better in the future."

Hearing Feng Zhengming say this and seeing the smile on his face, everyone relaxed.

Next, everyone began to point out some shortcomings they had discovered.

Some of these were shortcomings that the service staff themselves perceived as inadequate.

Feng Zhengming shook his head and said, "There is no need to provide excessive service. Although you need to provide services to guests, it does not mean that you have to serve them."

Service and serving are two different concepts. When you serve dishes to guests, introduce the dishes, change their plates, or serve them, these all fall under the category of service.

But that's all the service should do. You don't need to stand by the table all the time, and you certainly shouldn't be constantly serving food to guests; those are things the guests should do themselves.

Hearing Feng Zhengming say that made the service staff feel a little more upright.

Some of them were indeed considering whether they needed to provide more services.
But now Feng Zhengming is stopping them and has clearly stated the scope of the service.

Feng Zhengming even emphasized this to everyone.

"You all need to remember that not all guest requests must be fulfilled. You can refuse to do some unreasonable requests. Also, if any guest behaves rudely, you must report it to me immediately."

If I can't handle it, I will call the police for you. Please protect yourselves and uphold your moral principles.

Feng Zhengming's words immediately gave the service staff a sense of belonging to the restaurant.

They would feel that Feng Zhengming considered them as his own people and would stand up for them.

This is completely different from some other restaurants and eateries.

Of course, this is also because Feng Zhengming doesn't need to fawn over customers like other bosses and chefs.

Even if Feng Zhengming couldn't keep the restaurant afloat and had to close it down, he still cared.

He has other shops to support him, so he doesn't need to please anyone for the sake of business.

The restaurant owners who made reservations tonight are well aware of this.

Whether they were mainland bosses or several bosses from Hong Kong.

They all knew that they couldn't control Feng Zhengming.

To be honest, their reservation at Feng Zhengming's restaurant was more like an attempt to curry favor with Feng Zhengming.

While he was supporting the service staff, he also advised everyone to maintain a good service attitude.

"Our attitude is something everyone can clearly feel. I will not force you to provide excessive service, and I will stand up for you when you are deliberately harassed by customers. I will not allow customers to humiliate or bully you."

But I also hope that you will have a good attitude in your service and that customers will feel the service they deserve.

It's not about becoming friends with your guests, but about making them feel comfortable.

These words made all the service staff think seriously.

After talking about the service staff, Feng Zhengming then looked at the people in the kitchen.

Unlike his politeness towards the service staff, Feng Zhengming is much more pointed about issues in the kitchen.

Even the service staff standing next to him felt that Feng Zhengming was a bit harsh on the kitchen staff.

Feng Zhengming would point out the mistakes made by apprentices in the kitchen very seriously and require them to remember them.

“I don’t want you to make the same mistakes again and again. You only have one chance for any mistake. If you make the same mistake a second time, especially when there are customers, I will absolutely not tolerate it.” He looked at Feng Zhengming, whose demeanor was completely different from his previous amiable one.

Everyone in the kitchen understood.

When it comes to cooking, Feng Zhengming doesn't allow himself to be the slightest bit careless.

So, faced with Feng Zhengming's serious expression, everyone in the kitchen naturally became serious as well.

After Feng Zhengming pointed out some problems in the kitchen today.

No one dared to refute the argument, and they all expressed that they would definitely try their best to correct their mistakes in the future.

They gave him a stern warning.

Feng Zhengming then offered everyone a tempting treat.

"To reward everyone for their good performance today, as we agreed before, everyone will receive a bonus."

Upon hearing that there was a bonus, everyone's faces instantly lit up with smiles.

Although Feng Zhengming can be very demanding at times, working in any of his stores can be quite stressful.

However, he was never stingy with bonuses and salaries for everyone.

In this respect, no other grand restaurant can compare.

The most direct comparison is after Kong Xingli and his apprentices arrived in Shanghai.

The wages and benefits his restaurant could offer were really not as good as any of Feng Zhengming's restaurants in Shanghai.

Kong Xingli even had apprentices who privately checked accounts with Sun Hai, Zhang Lei, Guan Wei, and Zhu Xu, only to find that their kitchen income was not as high as that of the waiters at Feng Zhengming's branch.

For the opening of Feng Zhengming Restaurant, he invited many master chefs, including Kong Xingli.

Kong Xingli and several master chefs from Shanghai also chatted with Feng Zhengming, emboldened by the alcohol.

They hoped that Feng Zhengming wouldn't raise the salary and benefits so high.

This certainly puts a lot of pressure on their other businesses.

In other restaurants in Shanghai, their original wages were already quite high.

As a result, Feng Zhengming is now offering them higher salaries, making them seem quite low in comparison.

Feng Zhengming overheard their subtle hints that they hoped he could reduce his salary.

He naturally wouldn't agree to that, but he did agree that there would be no further salary increase for the time being.

But if wages aren't increased, Feng Zhengming can give everyone bonuses.

We'll give everyone a small bonus to help them out.

After all, Feng Zhengming has enough stores now. With so many stores, he can keep only 30% of the profits from each store and distribute the rest to the store employees.

But other restaurant owners and chefs can't do this kind of thing.

Taking advantage of having many stores, Feng Zhengming only kept 30% of the profits from each store, which added up to a considerable amount across all the stores.

Other restaurant owners and chefs only own one restaurant each.

No matter how good a restaurant's business is, how much profit can it make in a month?

Moreover, those bosses and head chefs are unwilling to give up their own profits.

This is why shrewd business owners almost never regard Feng Zhengming merely as a national culinary champion and a chef for state banquets.

In the eyes of the bosses, you, Feng Zhengming, are now the biggest boss in the catering industry in Shandong and Shanghai.

We treat you as an equal, the boss, so please don't act like a chef when you talk to us.

Savvy bosses understand this, but other master chefs might not.

So after that drinking session, most of them were still glad that they had persuaded Feng Zhengming not to raise the employees' wages, but they did not realize that they would still face pressure from Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming's goal was to gradually apply pressure, forcing some substandard restaurants to either "change or close down."

Only then could he redefine a set of rules that truly belong to Chinese cuisine in his own way.

How can you open a restaurant and get customers to buy your food?

Therefore, it is necessary to follow the standards and rules.

The opening of Feng Zhengming's restaurant in an old villa in Shanghai quickly became news in Shanghai and even across the country.

Although we have entered the new millennium, for most people in China, the impression of high-end restaurants is still that of Western restaurants.

Most people still can't imagine what a high-end Chinese restaurant in China would look like.
Therefore, when the report was published, it naturally attracted nationwide attention and discussion.

Many tourists visiting Shanghai even make a special trip to visit the area around Feng Zhengming's restaurant.

However, most people are too afraid to go in and eat there.

Many people are worried that vegetable prices are too high and they may not be able to afford them.

To this end, Feng Zhengming also sought interviews from television stations and newspapers to clarify the prices of dishes at his restaurant.

"Many people may misunderstand and think that as long as it is a high-end restaurant, the prices of the dishes will be very high and unaffordable for ordinary people."

In fact, the prices of our restaurant's dishes are only slightly higher than those of some restaurants in Shanghai.

My restaurant is a traditional private kitchen, and we will provide a better environment for everyone.

Of course, we will be more particular about the ingredients used in our restaurant, and I personally oversee all the purchasing.

We will also provide the best service.

With all these factors combined, I think that when we translate our vegetable prices into average individual spending, most families can still afford them.

After Feng Zhengming announced the menu prices, the restaurant naturally saw a surge in customers.

It's no longer just big bosses who make a special trip to book private rooms at his restaurant.

Some local white-collar workers in Shanghai also book Feng Zhengming's restaurant during holidays.

In addition, Feng Zhengming also arranged small tables in the lobby on the first floor.

This allows tourists visiting Shanghai to have a quick meal in the lobby on the first floor.

However, if you choose to eat in the lobby on the first floor, you'll almost always have to queue.

On the one hand, after learning about the price, many people really wanted to try the cooking skills of Feng Zhengming, the national culinary champion, and also wanted to experience such a high-end restaurant.

On the other hand, the space in the lobby on the first floor of the old house is limited, and there really isn't enough room to put so many tables there.

This is still the result of Feng Zhengming's renovation, where he opened up and expanded part of the first-floor rooms.

Fortunately, the old house was indeed built on a large enough site.

Some of the big restaurants in Shanghai originally thought that as time went by, many people would have eaten at Feng Zhengming's restaurant and would think it was just so-so, and that business would decline.
As a result, they overlooked what kind of place Shanghai was.
Shanghai is a major metropolis recognized in China, a place where a large number of people from all over the country flock in every day.

Feng Zhengming's restaurant is now unique, and there are queues every day.

Even the private rooms upstairs often require queuing due to the large number of reservations.

Seeing how popular Feng Zhengming's restaurant is, it has made many people envious.

(End of this chapter)