From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

When Feng Zhengming said he couldn't buy the best rice, the gourmets looked at each other in bewilderment.

Soon they all showed a knowing smile.

"Some good things are really hard to come by."

"Shouldn't you have connections, Scholar Feng?"

"That's right, that's right. You're the national culinary champion, you must have your own channels."

“The price is negotiable. As long as it’s done by you, Feng Zhuangyuan, you can name your price.”

"That's right, none of us are short of that money."

Hearing these comments from the gourmands, Feng Zhengming knew, of course, that they were not short of money.

These gourmets each own multiple properties in Shanghai.

One of them was from a building that used to house department stores.

So for these guys, money is definitely not an issue.

However, we shouldn't treat them like suckers. In the past, many restaurants have taken advantage of them, so naturally, they won't go back after just one visit.

Now they are willing to come to Feng Zhengming's place to eat every day.

They valued Feng Zhengming's honesty.

On the one hand, Feng Zhengming and the chefs in his kitchen are indeed very skilled.

Secondly, he discloses what ingredients he uses and would never use inferior ingredients.

Often, when you can't get a certain dish at Feng Zhengming's restaurant, it's not because the chef doesn't know how to make it, but simply because the right ingredients aren't available.

In this respect, even gourmets might feel that Feng Zhengming is sometimes too harsh.

But it is precisely because of his strict self-discipline that his restaurant has earned a good reputation among gourmets.

As for those who booked private rooms upstairs, the gourmets considered them nothing more than pretentious show-offs.

Those people simply don't know how to eat or how to enjoy food.

Most people who book private rooms do so to show off.

Of course, Feng Zhengming is also very particular. He does not charge a service fee when eating in the lobby on the first floor, but he will charge a service fee for the private rooms upstairs.

After all, there are always service staff available in the private rooms.

There won't be any staff members standing by the tables in the lobby waiting for you.

Several gourmets had previously asked Feng Zhengming about this.

Why are they not charged a service fee when they eat on the first floor? Do they think they can't afford it? Or do they simply not want to provide the service?

Feng Zhengming's answer was also quite interesting: "I don't charge a service fee to customers in the main hall so that more people have the opportunity to come to my restaurant to simply enjoy the food without having to pay for anything extra."

The gourmets found Feng Zhengming's answer reasonable.

Entering Feng Zhengming's restaurant and sitting in the lobby on the first floor, one should be drawn by the culinary skills of this national culinary champion.

Then the money should be spent wisely, and not on things other than Feng Zhuangyuan's skills.

After finishing the Three-Cup Chicken Stew with Abalone that Feng Zhengming had given them, the gourmets were finally satisfied.

"It's so delicious!"

"It's still more comfortable to eat here at Feng Zhuangyuan's place."

"Haha, Feng Zhuangyuan is a true master chef!"

"That's right, Scholar Feng always manages to surprise us."

"By the way, Scholar Feng, it seems I've finished my batch of wine. I'll send over another batch tomorrow; this time it'll be new. Could you have someone store it for me?"

"Hey, Old Li has some new stuff again?"

"Old Li, let us have a taste tomorrow."

The gourmand, known as Old Li, chuckled and said, "No problem. Come over tomorrow and let Scholar Feng open a bottle for you to try my new stuff."

After saying that, Old Li added, "I'll only treat you to drinks; you'll have to pay for the food yourselves."

These words made the other gourmets laugh.

Clearly, for this group of gourmets, treating each other to drinks is acceptable, but treating each other to a meal at Feng Zhengming's place is not.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "How about this, after Mr. Li's wine arrives, I'll treat everyone to a few side dishes to accompany it?"

Upon hearing this, the gourmets present were immediately thrilled.

Old Li: "Great, Scholar Feng is so generous. We'll be waiting for Scholar Feng's delicious food."

The other gourmets couldn't help but chuckle and take the opportunity to tease Old Li a few times.

"Old Li, you left your wine here and then asked them to treat you to a meal. How can you be so shameless?"

"Exactly, Old Li, aren't you going a bit too far?"

"Old Li, aren't you going to give me something in return?"

With several gourmets deliberately making fun of him, Old Li naturally couldn't let it go so easily.

"Don't talk about me. Since I asked Feng Zhuangyuan to store the wine for me, I'm naturally going to come and drink it. I have a few friends coming over at the end of the month. Feng Zhuangyuan, please reserve the biggest private room on the third floor for me."

Also, the price for that banquet can't be less than 30,000. As for what dishes to serve, you, Scholar Feng, can decide."

After Old Li said that, the other gourmets naturally stopped teasing him.

For these gourmets, spending 30,000 yuan or more on a single meal is really nothing.

After all, they treat the old villa restaurant as their canteen every day, and a single meal can easily cost over a thousand yuan.

It wasn't that Feng Zhengming intentionally treated them like easy prey.

They are really picky eaters, and the dishes they eat require a high level of skill from the chef.

Feng Zhengming has always emphasized the value of chefs.

Since the dishes you ordered require the chef to be highly skilled, you should pay for that skill.

On this point, Feng Zhengming will never compromise.

Because of Feng Zhengming's actions, the gourmets in Shanghai held him in high regard and were willing to dine at the Old House Restaurant. Even when Feng Zhengming was not around, it was still their first choice for meals.

The gourmets enjoyed their drinks and found emotional satisfaction at Feng Zhengming's place.

They paid their bills one by one and then left.

Outside the old-style restaurant, several luxury cars were parked to pick up some of the guests and drive them away.

It also broadened the horizons of some people who came specifically to dine at the old villa restaurant.

"Am I seeing things? She's dressed so casually, how can she drive such a nice car?"

"You don't understand, do you? We're just here occasionally to experience a high-end restaurant run by national culinary champions. They treat this place like their own home canteen. Would you wear a suit to eat at home?"

"Really? Is this restaurant run by the national culinary champion really that good?"

"Don't be unconvinced. Since he is the national culinary champion, his skills are naturally top-notch."

"I heard that the price is really not cheap."

"Of course! Otherwise, if the top-priced restaurant sets its prices low, how are other restaurants and eateries supposed to do business?"

The groups of people who entered heard one of them say this, and after thinking about it carefully, they all agreed that it made sense.

Feng Zhengming is a national culinary champion; if he sets his prices too low...

How do other large restaurants price their food?

And those small restaurants on the street are even less able to do business.

Therefore, the pricing of Feng Zhengming's restaurant is somewhat acceptable to many people.

In particular, the ingredients used in Feng Zhengming's restaurant, as well as the dedication of each chef, are truly impeccable.

Most importantly, with the arrival of the new millennium, a large number of overseas Western restaurants have flooded into China, especially in Shanghai.

Many restaurants and eateries are learning from the minimalist and artistic approach of overseas restaurants. This means serving very little on the plate, but making the dishes look as exquisite as possible.

Feng Zhengming's restaurant did not do that.

He always ensured the weight of the dish.

Each dish is served in generous portions, maintaining the proper portion sizes for Chinese cuisine.

So from this perspective, compared to some restaurants and eateries that advertise overseas cuisine.

People would consider Feng Zhengming's restaurant to be good value for money.

Feng Zhengming's return made the restaurant's business more stable.

The restaurant closes at 10 p.m.

According to Feng Zhengming's regulations, the restaurant will no longer accept new guests at 9:30.

This arrangement is to give the chefs and service staff enough time to clean and also to allow everyone to get a good rest at night.

After closing for the night and seeing off the last table of customers.

Feng Zhengming first gathered all the service personnel.

"Everyone did a great job while I was away. Thank you all for your hard work. I won't mention the minor issues for now. I hope you can adjust yourselves in the future. I don't want to receive any reasonable complaints from customers."

The staff looked at each other, then all responded at once.

"Understood, Chef."

Feng Zhengming didn't say anything more and told the staff to clean up before leaving get off work.

Then he went into the kitchen.

The kitchen has been almost completely cleaned.

Upon seeing Feng Zhengming enter, everyone immediately became serious.

Everyone knew that Feng Zhengming was definitely going to say something.

"Everyone has worked hard these past few days, especially Xia Hui, Deng Huaichuan, Wang Hanwen, Huang Yunliang, Li Yao and Han Rui. You have lived up to my trust and cooked the dishes very well."

During this time, the people in charge of cooking looked at each other in bewilderment.

Xia Hui was the first to stand up: "Master, I'm not actually doing well enough. There are some dishes that I can't quite get right."

Upon hearing Xia Hui's words, the others were about to join in and share their own questions.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Don't be so self-deprecating. You've actually done very well. I heard from those bosses today that your cooking skills are at least 60 or 70 percent as good as mine. It's fantastic."

These words made Xia Hui feel a little excited; she really didn't expect to receive such high praise.

Then Feng Zhengming looked at the other young chefs.

“Li Yao and Han Rui, you two both come from a background in Shanghainese cuisine, but you should also understand that the sweetness of Shanghainese cuisine is not easy to replicate directly in restaurants, so you need to learn to strike a balance.”

Li Yao and Han Rui nodded immediately.

“I understand, Chef. I’ve been researching and experimenting with different seasonings lately.”

"I'm also trying to figure out how to make some local Shanghai dishes more acceptable to a wider audience?"

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "This time I went to Jiangxi Province and ate a lot of local dishes. To be honest, Jiangxi cuisine and Shanghai cuisine are definitely two extremes: spicy and sweet."

Upon hearing Feng Zhengming's words, everyone immediately laughed, and then their eyes subconsciously turned to Wang Hanwen.

As a young Sichuan cuisine chef, Wang Hanwen noticed everyone staring at him and quickly tried to explain.

"Don't look at me like that. Sichuan cuisine is not just about spiciness. We have many different flavor profiles in Sichuan cuisine. Spiciness is just one of them. In fact, Hunan cuisine and Jiangxi cuisine are definitely spicier than Sichuan cuisine."

Feng Zhengming also laughed: "Sichuan cuisine is indeed not just about spiciness. There are many flavor profiles in Sichuan cuisine. Some are derived by combining other flavors on the basis of spiciness, while others do not use chili peppers at all and simply combine other flavors."

Then Feng Zhengming continued the previous topic.

"Continuing our previous topic, why are local Shanghai cuisine and Jiangxi cuisine not as famous as other cuisines? The reason lies in their overly simplistic flavors, which make one flavor too extreme."

Li Yao, Han Rui, you should know that my restaurant aims to attract customers from all over the country.

Therefore, when you cook, you need to make sure that customers all over the country can enjoy the food.

We need to experiment and innovate more in terms of flavor, just like Sichuan cuisine, combining different flavors.

Li Yao and Han Rui gained some insights from Feng Zhengming's words.

They had already been experimenting with it before, and this new inspiration has given them even more ideas.

"Don't worry, Chef, I will definitely try my best."

"I will also conduct some further research to combine more flavors."

Feng Zhengming: "And in terms of materials, we need to learn to use more materials. What raw materials can't we buy in Shanghai? If you don't use the raw materials you buy, how can you demonstrate your capabilities?"

Upon hearing this, not only Li Yao and Han Rui, but also the other young chefs felt somewhat embarrassed.

The old-style restaurant has a dedicated supplier, and various ingredients are delivered every day.

Feng Zhengming even had fresh, chilled yellow croaker delivered to him every day through his connections.

However, young chefs often cannot make full use of all these fresh ingredients.

This does indeed reflect some of their shortcomings in ability.

At most, Xia Hui would try to make it for customers based on some of Professor Feng Zhengming's methods.

In terms of raw materials, Li Yao and Han Rui are the two worst.

Huang Yunliang, a master of Fujian cuisine, is arguably the one who makes the best use of ingredients.

Feng Zhengming then commented on some of the issues raised by each person.

Finally, he told Li Yao, Han Rui, and Deng Huaichuan to go back to the restaurant on the street where the Western restaurant was located.

"Now that I'm back, the six of you will continue to take turns working in the restaurant's kitchen, just like before."

No one had any objections to Feng Zhengming's arrangements.

After giving his instructions, Feng Zhengming then gave a lecture to the apprentices and general workers in the kitchen.

The general workers didn't say much, but they were encouraged to do their jobs well and to keep learning. They were told that there are many things to learn in the kitchen so that they could get more opportunities.

Regarding apprentices, Feng Zhengming emphasized that they must learn and improve on their own.

"You are indeed apprentices. Although you are not qualified to work in the kitchen, you must remember that you must study more to improve your abilities. Only when you have sufficient abilities will you get more opportunities."

The apprentices all readily agreed, promising not to slack off.

After he finished speaking, Feng Zhengming told everyone to go home and rest.

"have a good rest."

Everyone said goodbye to Feng Zhengming, and then left the restaurant one after another, either in groups or alone.

In the end, only Feng Zhengming, his fifth senior brother, and Xia Hui remained, and the three of them were going to leave together.

Cao Zhiguo exclaimed, "Zhengming, your restaurant is really great. I haven't cooked much here these past few days, but I still think your restaurant has a fantastic atmosphere."

Feng Zhengming laughed: "Why don't you come and cook for a while, Fifth Brother?"

Cao Zhiguo was indeed somewhat tempted, but ultimately declined.

"No, I'll go back and work with my senior brother to make Huiquan Tower a success for you."

Feng Zhengming: "Huiquanlou can actually be held up by its elder brother."

Cao Zhiguo: "Big brother can definitely handle the situation, but as you know, Huiquanlou has a lot of banquets. When there are banquets, it's really too hard for the eldest brother to do it all by himself."

Feng Zhengming listened with a serious expression: "Fifth Brother, thank you for your hard work, Big Brother."

Cao Zhiguo paused for a moment, then chuckled and patted Feng Zhengming on the shoulder.

"Haha, we're in the hard-working business. How can we make money if we don't work hard? Compared to other chefs, you treat us much better. Don't be so polite, we're all family."

Feng Zhengming nodded: "Okay, Fifth Brother, I'll go shopping with you tomorrow and buy some things for you to take back."

Cao Zhiguo: "Alright, have a good look around and bring back some things for Senior Brother and Third Senior Brother." (End of Chapter)