From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

The following day, upon learning of Feng Zhengming's arrival, some members of the local chefs' association, as well as local master chefs who had a good relationship with Feng Zhengming, all came to the hotel to pay their respects to him.

Feng Zhengming naturally had to deal with everyone, but he didn't seem uncomfortable at all.

After all, we're all friends in the culinary industry.

Moreover, the fact that Feng Zhengming chose Jiangxi Province for his first branch outside of Shandong and Shanghai made the Jiangxi culinary industry very happy.

At the banquet held in reception, Feng Zhengming was also very open and frank.

"When I opened this shop, I followed the same approach as my Zhengluxing Dry Rice Shop branch, focusing on my four signature dishes: braised pork belly, five-spice braised pig's trotters, pork hock, and four-happiness meatballs."

Of course, in addition to these four items, we will also incorporate some of your local specialties into our menu.

So we might need your guidance and suggestions, and ask you to recommend some of your local famous dishes.

"It will definitely appear on our branch's menu, preferably dishes that are common and characteristic of local households."

After hearing Feng Zhengming's words, the local chefs looked at each other in bewilderment.

After a long silence, a veteran chef specializing in Jiangxi cuisine finally spoke up: "Hahaha, Scholar Feng, are you here to steal our jobs?"

Feng Zhengming: "Master Zhang, you're too kind. I'm here to learn. No matter how good I am, I can't cook your local dishes as well as your local chefs."

Du Liangsheng, a master chef of Jiangxi cuisine who participated in the national competition with Feng Zhengming, spoke with a smile.

"Haha, Zhengming, don't be modest. Everyone knows you're a culinary copy machine. Any dish from anywhere can be perfectly replicated by you, even better than what our local chefs make."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, Senior Brother Du, you're really exaggerating."

Du Liangsheng: "I'm not exaggerating. I know Jiang Chengzhe is right there with you."

Feng Zhengming: "A Zhe is with me, which is just what makes up for my lack of skills."

Du Liangsheng: "Don't lie to us. I know Jiang Chengzhe was very arrogant back then. If you couldn't convince him with your skills, why would he be willing to work for you?"

After being told that, Feng Zhengming was indeed somewhat unable to refute it.

However, Feng Zhengming remained humble.

"Brother Du, to be honest, I'm not very good at using chili peppers. If you're talking about non-spicy dishes, I can definitely do them very well in terms of technique, but I'm really not good at adding chili peppers."

Feng Zhengming directly admitted: "To be honest, my wife and I can't handle spicy food very well."

These words made the Jiangxi cuisine chefs present laugh.

Master Xiong chuckled and said, "I never expected that our top scholar couldn't eat spicy food."

Feng Zhengming didn't know what to say, because he really couldn't handle spicy food.

However, since Master Xiong had already spoken, Feng Zhengming took the opportunity to make some requests of him as well.

"Master Xiong, could you recommend a few young chefs for me? I'd like some hardworking and reliable young chefs. I can't stay here forever, so the branches here will probably need to rely on local chefs."

Upon hearing this, Master Xiong smiled and looked at the other chefs present.

"What do you say? Should we recommend our top scorer?"

The master chefs present looked at each other in bewilderment, but Du Liangsheng spoke up with a smile.

“Zhengming, since you’ve already asked, I’ll recommend someone to you. He’s my wife’s nephew, and he just graduated from vocational school. He’s an apprentice in my kitchen.”

Upon hearing this, Feng Zhengming looked at Du Liangsheng with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He felt that Du Liangsheng should know him well, knowing that he wouldn't show any mercy in the kitchen.

Let alone Du Liangsheng's wife's nephew, even if it were Du Liangsheng's son, he would definitely treat him strictly if he entered the kitchen of Feng Zhengming's shop.

Du Liangsheng also guessed Feng Zhengming's thoughts.

“Zhengming, I won’t hide it from you in front of my master. That kid has been quite mischievous since he was a child, but he really does respect people with real talent.”

I didn't want to get involved in his affairs, but my wife's younger brother and sister-in-law came to my door several times to beg me to stay.

I arranged for him to go to a vocational school in our area to learn a trade.

After he finished learning, his parents came to my house again, begging me to take him on as their apprentice.

In the end, I couldn't persuade him otherwise, so I let him start as an apprentice in the kitchen and learn from me.

Feng Zhengming smiled upon hearing this: "Senior Brother Du can't control him, so he hopes I can help you discipline him?"

Du Liangsheng was a little embarrassed: "Zhengming, if you feel it's inconvenient, then forget it, pretend I didn't say anything."

Feng Zhengming never expected that Du Liangsheng would say these things in public.

Logically, he could have discussed this with Feng Zhengming privately.

His public statement likely caused him considerable trouble, likely due to his wife and nephew.

Feng Zhengming thought for a moment and said, "How about this, when my branch opens, we can let him come and try out the job. If he passes my test, he can start as an apprentice in the kitchen."

Du Liangsheng: "Thank you, Scholar Feng."

After Du Liangsheng spoke up, the other local master chefs also recommended some people to Feng Zhengming.

The people they recommended were all apprentices, just like Du Liangsheng.

Feng Zhengming didn't care at all; he was just being polite.

After all, if you're going to open a shop in someone else's area, you should show enough respect to your local chef colleagues.

The saying goes, "Courtesy first, then force."

I have already asked you to recommend young chefs, but you yourselves are unwilling to do so.

He can then solve the manpower problem in his own way.

After the meal, Master Xiong still had a private chat with Feng Zhengming for a few minutes.

"Regarding the manpower issue, if you really need it, I can recommend a few young chefs to you."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "No need, I can recruit publicly."

Hearing this, Master Xiong stared at Feng Zhengming for a while.

"Alright, I still hope you can go easy on me."

Feng Zhengming naturally understood what Master Xiong meant.

Master Xiong was worried that Feng Zhengming would go too far and make it difficult for the other local chefs to handle him.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm just here to open a branch, not a hotel or a restaurant."

Master Xiong breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

He was indeed worried that if Feng Zhengming really came to open a restaurant or a high-end restaurant, it would have a significant impact on the local catering industry, causing some local chefs to be under too much pressure.

Unlike others, Master Xiong has a very good eye for talent.

He knew very well that if Feng Zhengming truly wanted to improve the local Jiangxi cuisine, it wasn't impossible.

He was just like the young chefs from other cuisines under his command.

With just a little encouragement, Feng Zhengming could get some young chefs specializing in Jiangxi cuisine to volunteer their help.

What Master Xiong was really worried about was that all the young chefs had followed Feng Zhengming. However, Feng Zhengming had no plans to open a restaurant or a high-end eatery.

Master Xiong believes that the fact that some young chefs of Jiangxi cuisine choose to learn at Feng Zhengming's restaurant will greatly promote the future development of Jiangxi cuisine.

Feng Zhengming could roughly guess what Master Xiong and the local master chefs were thinking.

Ultimately, they still retain some local protectionist tendencies.

I don't want my craft, which I've cherished for so many years, to be further challenged by others.

You could say they're overly conservative, but their dedication to preserving and passing on their cuisine is still worthy of respect.

"Don't worry, I'm openly recruiting young chefs from Jiangxi cuisine. I will still try my best to let them focus on Jiangxi cuisine. In the future, they can learn something in my restaurant and open their own restaurants."

"I won't stop them from going back to some of your local well-known restaurants and eateries."

Master Xiong was stunned for a moment after hearing Feng Zhengming's words.

Then he sighed: "Scholar Feng, you truly deserve to be called the top scholar. It is I, this old man, who am too old-fashioned and lack your vision and perspective."

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Please don't say that. You have dedicated your life to Jiangxi cuisine and made great contributions to its inheritance and development. No one can deny that."

Master Xiong felt somewhat embarrassed after hearing Feng Zhengming's words.

After saying goodbye to Feng Zhengming, Master Xiong returned alone.

Feng Zhengming also returned to his hotel room alone.

His wife and daughter were waiting for him to come home.

Seeing him return, his wife stood up: "How was it?"

Seeing his wife's anxious expression, Feng Zhengming went over and asked her to sit down first.

"Okay, don't get excited. Now we can go ahead and do it."

Hearing her husband's words, Luo Qing was stunned for a few seconds, and then she burst out laughing.

"Haha, good, good, I knew they didn't have your vision, they definitely wouldn't be willing to send anyone to help you."

Seeing his wife laughing, Feng Zhengming smiled along with her.

"It was expected. After all, not every chef is willing to let outsiders take charge of their work, so it's normal that they are unwilling to provide manpower to support me."

Luo Qing laughed: "No matter where you go, no one will offer to help you."

Feng Zhengming: "That's good too. We can go ahead and do it without worrying about offending anyone."

Luo Qing: "We're here to do business, so what's the big deal about offending anyone?"

Feng Zhengming: "I'm different. I'm the national champion they all acknowledge, so we still have to give them face. We have to be polite first and then resort to force."

Luo Qing: "That's right. We'll be polite first, then use force. If we give them face, they won't blame us for being ruthless next."

Seeing his wife's expression, Feng Zhengming kissed her forehead.

"You've been wronged this time, I'll definitely help you get revenge."

Luo Qing: "I'm not afraid of them at all. I just think they're wrong. They're clearly doing something wrong, but instead of taking the initiative to admit their mistakes, they're resorting to underhanded tactics."

Feng Zhengming: "Haha, after all, we are outsiders to them."

Luo Qing: "Then we need to let them know that one of our branches can beat all of theirs."

Seeing his wife's high spirits, Feng Zhengming naturally wanted to win back her face.

Next, Feng Zhengming acted very quickly.

He rented a very spacious two-story shop on a bustling street in the city center of the capital city of Jiangxi Province.

Next, they found a local construction team and quickly carried out the renovation.

During the renovation process, Feng Zhengming directly advertised in local newspapers and even on television, publicly informing everyone that he was opening a branch here.

They openly recruit staff, even directly hiring young chefs for the kitchen.

In the job advertisement, Feng Zhengming specifically stated that...

"Young chefs with a background in Jiangxi cuisine will be given priority."

This statement truly makes things clear to everyone.

I, Feng Zhengming, am opening a branch store, and I'm also going to recruit your outstanding young Jiangxi cuisine chefs to my store.

After the job advertisement was posted, it quickly attracted a large number of local young chefs specializing in Jiangxi cuisine.

Feng Zhengming also seriously conducted some theoretical and practical tests.

He also knew that there must be other people sent by master chefs among them.

Therefore, during the inspection process, Feng Zhengming would be quite straightforward and clear.

"Once you're in my shop, I expect you all to take cooking seriously. I can tolerate other issues, but I will absolutely not tolerate any problems in the kitchen."

I don't care how you did things in the past, or whose apprentices you were. In my kitchen, Feng Zhengming's kitchen, you are all the same.

If anyone causes a problem, I will hold them accountable. I will not only fire you, but also make you compensate me for my losses.

He first gave the young chef who came to apply for the job a hard time, making him realize that he was not someone to be trifled with.

Then Feng Zhengming gave the young chefs who applied for the job some additional benefits.

"As you probably know, you will receive better treatment in my shop. The wages I can offer you are definitely the highest in the area. Moreover, you will have the same opportunities as the chef apprentices in the kitchens of my other branches, and you will also have the opportunity to participate in training and be transferred from the rice shop to the restaurant."

Salary and benefits may not be the most attractive factors for young chefs.

However, the opportunity to transfer to restaurants and eateries is the most attractive feature for every young chef applicant.

They were well aware that the restaurant Feng Zhengming mentioned was Huiquanlou, and the restaurant was the old villa restaurant that was already famous throughout the country.

In the eyes of most chefs in China, Feng Zhengming's old villa restaurant in Shanghai is definitely the top restaurant in the country.

It's no longer just a restaurant; it's a true temple of Chinese culinary art.

Nowadays, chefs from all over the country will try to visit old-style restaurants in Shanghai if they have the opportunity to go there.

Almost all the chefs I've met have the same opinion.

"This is truly a restaurant of unparalleled excellence."

Every dish at the old-style restaurant is prepared like a work of art, leaving the master chefs with absolutely no faults.

In some places, people have already started trying to imitate this.

However, both the culinary industry and the catering industry believe that it is impossible for anyone to imitate Feng Zhengming's restaurant.

Therefore, for any ambitious young chef, being able to enter the kitchen of that old-style restaurant would definitely be the highlight of their career, and even just going there for training would be something to brag about.

Therefore, after Feng Zhengming revealed his trump card, all the young chefs who applied for the job put all other thoughts aside.

To infiltrate one's own master's inner circle? Could the master be more capable than Scholar Feng? (End of Chapter)