From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

On the day of the National Day banquet, Feng Zhengming and the others got up very early and tidied their clothes in the dormitory.

Then we ate breakfast together at the cafeteria near the dormitory.

Then they took the arranged minibus to the kitchen of the Great Hall of the People.

Upon entering the kitchen, Feng Zhengming gave a special briefing to the head chefs in charge of each group.

Then he led Xia Hui, Sun Decai, Tang Yong, and Lu Haisheng to their assigned tasks and began to work.

Although the banquet was in the evening, there were actually some small banquets at noon.

Therefore, Feng Zhengming and his team not only had to prepare for the dinner banquet, but also had to cook for the small lunch party at noon.

And to prepare meals for the many service staff inside and outside the Great Hall of the People.

It's fair to say the workload was enormous.

So when Feng Zhengming and his team arrived at the kitchen of the Great Hall of the People, it was still dark outside.

In the morning light, the kitchen of the Great Hall of the People was bustling with activity.

Various aromas filled the kitchen.

The chefs' busy figures created a rather magnificent scene.

Feng Zhengming led Xia Hui, Sun Decai, Tang Yong, and Lu Haisheng in the kitchen, where they completed their assigned tasks while also filling in any gaps in their work.

Although this time there won't be a massive chart like the one depicting the landscape of the motherland.

However, it's also necessary to prepare some market data to reflect the eager anticipation for National Day.

These dishes were prepared by chefs with superb knife skills, arranged by Feng Zhengming.

They can be incredibly precise at slicing, shredding, and dicing.

The key to good plate preparation is that the vegetables must be sliced ​​and cut evenly.

This requires extremely high skill in knife work.

Moreover, even though it's about watching the market, you still need to be able to profit from it.

Otherwise, it would be a waste to just display it.

Therefore, the kitchen will also arrange people to steam and boil the various dishes on the platter, and finally cover them with a layer of gravy to make the platter look more attractive.

In order not to delay the banquet, most of the dishes were prepared in advance.

Then it was handed over to the banquet hall staff for arrangement.

With all the preparations complete, Feng Zhengming and his team then proceeded with various stewing and cooking processes.

Most stewed dishes need to be prepared in advance.

For the small lunch banquet, Feng Zhengming specially prepared some side dishes.

One of the classic dishes is braised beef in a pot.

Feng Zhengming also added some distinctive dishes to the small lunch banquet.

For example, there's the clear-stewed lion's head meatballs in Huaiyang cuisine, the braised sea cucumber with scallions in Shandong cuisine, and the shrimp balls cooked with fish-fragrant sauce in Sichuan cuisine.

At just this small lunch banquet, Feng Zhengming dared to use ingredients from different cuisines.

Moreover, whether it's braised lion's head meatballs, braised sea cucumber with scallions, or fish-flavored shrimp balls, they are all classic dishes.

This design was somewhat unexpected for many people.

But the fact that he did it further proves his confidence in his craft.

After a morning of preparation, all the materials are ready.

Once the small banquet at noon begins, Feng Zhengming and his group can start serving the dishes.

Before the small lunch banquet began, Feng Zhengming and his colleagues ate their staff meal in the kitchen.

Not only Feng Zhengming and his kitchen staff, but also the service personnel and staff inside and outside the Great Hall of the People, all rushed to the large dining hall outside the kitchen to eat first.

After all, everyone has a lot of work to do at noon, and if they wait until the small banquet ends, most people probably won't be able to have lunch.

During lunch, everyone was quite relaxed, chatting and laughing together.

They all praised the lunch prepared by the cafeteria.

"Our top chef is truly amazing; he can even make such excellent staff meals."

"He couldn't possibly have cooked our staff meals himself."

"But under his direction, the food in the kitchen tasted better than usual."

"Haha, you guys are really something. Our staff meals aren't usually that bad, are they?"

"It's not just not bad, our staff meals have always been excellent."

"Without comparing one to the other, even the top-scoring chef wouldn't dare say that his skills definitely surpass those of several master chefs, right?"

"That's right, that's right, this meal is one of the perks of working here."

"Haha, we can all be considered people who get to eat at state banquets."

The relaxing time was short, with everyone only having about half an hour for their meal.

After lunch, we still need to prepare for the small midday banquet.

Therefore, most of the women responsible for greeting guests do not dare to eat too much.

After a half-hour lunch break, everyone returned to their posts to prepare for the small lunch banquet.

Feng Zhengming was in the kitchen, waiting with everyone for the small banquet to begin.

At 11:30 a.m. sharp, the final preparations for the small banquet began.

The people in charge of the banquet went to the kitchen first for a final check.

Feng Zhengming also made a final confirmation of the preparation of various dishes.

After confirming that there were no problems, someone was sent to inform that the small banquet was ready.

Soon, the small banquet began.

Under Feng Zhengming's command, everyone in the kitchen quickly got to work.

Braised beef in a pot is probably the simplest, because it is prepared in advance in the morning, divided into small pots, and only needs to be steamed before serving.

Secondly, the lion's head meatballs were also stewed in advance and placed in a large clay pot.

Each dish was served individually in a small bowl, garnished with pre-prepared bok choy and goji berries.

The broth in the lion's head meatballs is simply a prepared clear broth.

The sea cucumbers in the braised sea cucumber with scallions were all stewed in an earthenware pot to absorb the flavor.

After being taken out, the sea cucumbers and scallion segments are arranged separately, and then the scallion sauce is reduced and poured over them.

The only dish that might be a little troublesome is the fish-flavored shrimp balls.

The key is to prepare the fish-fragrant sauce properly. The flavor shouldn't be the traditional spicy kind; instead, it should be slightly sweet and sour with as little spiciness as possible.

Everyone in the kitchen of the Great Hall of the People is trained, so the food serving process is very smooth.

As soon as the order to serve the dishes was given, Feng Zhengming immediately arranged the dishes and sent them out, and then a female server delivered the dishes to him.

They didn't need to worry much about serving the food.

They simply prepared each dish and handed it over.

The entire process was completed without a single delay, thanks to the concerted efforts of a large number of kitchen staff.

The timing of the dishes was remarkably precise. At noon, when the banquet was announced to begin, each dish was served to the guests.

The first dish is a clear, watery soup with a tender, white lion's head meatball.

Unlike the lion's head sculptures outside, Feng Zhengming shrunk the lion's head sculpture.

And it uses a very light broth.

It can be described as a uniquely flavored appetizer soup.

The guests at the lunch banquet all raved about the unique soup.

"This soup tastes really good."

"Is that a lion's head meatball? I feel like if I scoop it up and put it in my mouth, it would melt in my mouth with just a slight touch."

"Yes, you hardly need to bite or chew."

"This is what lion's head meatballs should be like! It's not even greasy at all." "With such a light first dish, it looks like the later dishes will be a bit more flavorful."

The second dish was fish-flavored shrimp balls.

Each customer is served a large shrimp ball.

The shrimp used are authentic Bohai king prawns.

Everything delivered was very fresh.

Each shrimp ball is almost the size of a child's fist.

Tasting this shrimp ball, the fishy aroma on its surface acts like a hook, completely awakening the guests' taste buds.

It really whets the appetite, and the shrimp balls are quite bouncy and smooth to eat.

The shrimp balls created a unique texture compared to the previous lion's head meatballs.

Next up is the prepared braised sea cucumber with scallions.

With the scallion sauce personally prepared by Feng Zhengming, the moment the pretty waitresses lifted the lid after serving the dish, everyone could smell the rich aroma of scallions.

The rich yet mild aroma of scallions alone, combined with the slightly sweet and sour flavor of the previous dish, whetted the appetite and made the guests look forward to it.

When you eat it, you'll find that you can use chopsticks to pick it up and eat it even without a knife and fork.

Since the sea cucumber has been cut into small pieces, it is very convenient to eat it with chopsticks.

When you put the scallions and sea cucumber in your mouth, the unique sweetness of the scallions complements the flavor of the sea cucumber and scallion sauce.

The guests couldn't help but praise the delicious braised sea cucumber with scallions once again.

"Okay, this braised sea cucumber with scallions is really delicious."

"I heard that the national culinary champion was invited this time, and the taste is indeed his work."

"Does it make any difference?"

"It should be said that every Shandong cuisine chef has a different flavor of scallion sauce."

"Yes, the scallion sauce used by Shandong cuisine chefs is different."

"But the scallion sauce that Scholar Feng makes has a very unique flavor; you'll love it once you've tried it."

Some guests have already waved to the staff, asking for a small portion of rice.

The staff quickly went to the kitchen to find Feng Zhengming.

Feng Zhengming seemed to have anticipated this, so he had made preparations in advance.

Furthermore, he didn't prepare much rice; he just had a small bite delivered by the server.

Seeing that someone ordered rice, many others naturally followed suit.

Some foreign visitors couldn't help but find it strange.

When asked by foreign guests, the staff responsible for hosting the lunch banquet provided some explanations.

The foreign guests found it amusing, so they followed suit and ordered rice as well.

The rice served with the scallion sauce was so delicious that many foreign guests raved about it.

Finally, the braised beef in a pot was served, marking the end of the meal for everyone.

Make sure all the guests can have a full meal.

Then comes the finishing touch: fruit and snacks.

The lunch wasn't a very formal reception banquet, but it made the guests feel relaxed and comfortable, which set a good precedent for the dinner.

The luncheon was well-received by the guests, which made everyone in the kitchen very happy.

Feng Zhengming smiled and said, "Thank you all for your hard work. Our small banquet at noon received unanimous praise, so we will work even harder for the dinner."

The braised pork head meatballs and sea cucumbers we had at lunch will not be served at the dinner banquet; we will be preparing even more dishes for dinner.”

The dishes Feng Zhengming prepared for dinner were completely different from those for lunch.

Although he is a Shandong cuisine chef, the dishes he prepares almost cover cuisines from other regions.

Throughout the afternoon, Feng Zhengming and his team continued their final preparations.

The dinner is quite important, so the preparations need to be more meticulous.

Not only the dishes need to be prepared, but also all kinds of utensils.

Feng Zhengming checked the dishes again and again to ensure that there would be no problems when the dishes were served.

For example, at the banquet, Feng Zhengming used chicken porridge, a dish from Huaiyang cuisine.

Another example is the Cantonese dish "Treading Snow to Find the Dragon".

Jiao Liu Fish Segments, a dish from Shandong cuisine.

This time, Feng Zhengming used the classic Sichuan dish, boiled cabbage in clear broth.

Besides these four major cuisines, there is also the Peony Swallow Dish from Henan cuisine, which is prepared with greater delicacy and uses very high-quality bird's nest.

They also combined the orchid bear paw from Liaoning cuisine with the deboning technique from Shandong cuisine and Confucius cuisine to create a mock bear paw.

It can be said that Feng Zhengming skillfully utilized various regional cuisines, combining them to prepare many unique dishes for the banquet.

There are even some Western food elements incorporated to ensure that they suit the tastes of guests from all over the world.

As the time drew near, Feng Zhengming and his team gradually became more nervous.

After all, it was a state banquet-level dinner, and it was held on National Day.

So everyone is really afraid of making mistakes.

Feng Zhengming meticulously checked the prepared materials again and again.

To ensure that there are no deviations or problems in any aspect.

He even tasted the dishes again and again to make sure there were no problems with the seasoning.

His meticulousness further revealed his obvious nervousness.

The two senior brothers found an opportunity to chat with him alone for a few minutes.

"Zhengming, you don't need to be so nervous."

"Yes, we know you're afraid of making mistakes, but you're no longer the junior apprentice in Yanxilou's kitchen. You're now a top chef."

Yang Bin: "You should believe in your own abilities."

Cao Zhiguo: "Just think about it, you've managed to establish yourself in Shanghai and make those foreigners like your food."

"Think about it again, you can actually hold your own against such a famous Western chef."

Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo encouraged their junior apprentice, genuinely worried that he was under too much pressure.

Feng Zhengming smiled instead: "Thank you for your concern, Third Brother and Fifth Brother. I'm fine. I don't feel much pressure. I just hope we can show our best skills."

Besides, we'll need to host a welcome-back dinner for the athletes later.

Seeing the smile on Feng Zhengming's face and hearing his words.

The two senior brothers quickly confirmed that he was not very nervous, and they were relieved.

Feng Zhengming hugged his two senior brothers: "What excites me the most is that I can bring the three of you and Fifth Brother, and Xia Hui and the others here, so that you can stand here with me."

Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo looked at each other, then they both looked at Feng Zhengming and smiled.

Six years have passed since Yanxilou went bankrupt.

In just six years, Feng Zhengming became a top chef recognized by everyone in the country.

They could even be brought along to participate in the preparation of state banquets.

Just thinking about it makes my heart race.

Feng Zhengming: "We have a brighter future ahead of us. I firmly believe that if we all work together, things will get better and better, and one day we can come to Beijing and reopen Yanxilou."

Yang Bin and Cao Zhiguo also put their arms around their junior brother.

"Yes, it will definitely work."

"No problem, we'll bring Master to Beijing for the ribbon-cutting ceremony."

"Hahaha..." Feng Zhengming and his two fellow disciples laughed heartily. (End of Chapter)