Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Chapter 531

With such good word-of-mouth communication, the popularity of Wang's entire series of restaurants in Berlin has gradually increased, attracting not only ordinary citizens to dine there, but also attracting the attention of many local media, food critics and cultural figures.

Some media reporters would come to the restaurant to conduct interviews and reports. They would take pictures of the restaurant environment, dishes and customers' dining scenes with their cameras, and then go back to write articles to introduce the uniqueness of this restaurant to more Berlin citizens. Food critics would come to taste the dishes like ordinary customers.
However, during the tasting process, they will more carefully observe and analyze the taste, ingredient combination, cooking techniques, etc. of each dish. After returning, they will write professional review articles, highly praising the restaurant's dishes, further enhancing the restaurant's reputation.

……

However, the business process was not all smooth sailing.

Local German restaurants, relying on the long heritage of food culture and the Germans' deep affection for traditional flavors, have long taken root in the hearts of the people and have a rock-solid mass base.

Whether it is the classic German roast pork knuckle and sausage platters served in traditional pubs on the streets, or German delicacies such as Wellington steak served in those exquisitely decorated high-end restaurants, they are all deeply loved by local residents and tourists, with customers coming in every day and business booming.

At the same time, with the sweeping wave of globalization, various exotic restaurants have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. With their own unique flavors and cultural characteristics, they have poured into the vast German catering market, trying to get a piece of the pie.

French restaurants attract customers who pursue a high quality of life with their romantic and elegant dining atmosphere and exquisite French cuisine; Italian restaurants have won the favor of many diners with their wide variety of pasta and pizza and enthusiastic service style; not to mention those restaurants from various Asian countries, which have aroused the Germans' strong curiosity and desire to explore with their mysterious and diverse oriental food flavors.

In such a market environment surrounded by powerful competitors and fierce competition, if Wang's entire hotel chain wants to firmly occupy a place in Berlin, it will undoubtedly need to constantly respond to various challenges that come one after another. Just like a ship sailing in a rough sea, it must always stay vigilant and flexibly respond to the wind and waves that may arise at any time.

For a period of time, several restaurants specializing in other Asian cuisines opened one after another around Wang's All-Inclusive Hotels. As soon as they opened, they attracted a lot of customers with their low-price strategy.

These restaurants put up eye-catching posters outside the store, with attractive prices and rich menu combinations written in large fonts, and colorful food pictures printed on the posters, which makes people feel that the price-performance ratio is extremely high. There are also enthusiastic promoters arranged at the door. They hold promotional leaflets and take the initiative to introduce the store's discounts to passers-by, and keep shouting: "Come and try it, authentic Asian food, affordable prices, and large portions!"

Many customers who used to frequent Wang's All-inclusive Restaurant were attracted by the low prices. For a time, the customer base of Wang's All-inclusive Restaurant was affected to a certain extent. Some empty tables appeared in the restaurant that was once very lively. The bustling dining scene was no longer as common as before. The waiters in the restaurant were no longer as busy as before. Occasionally, they would stand aside with a worried look on their faces, and quietly communicate with their colleagues about the recent decrease in customer base.

Wang Jianye was keenly aware of this change and knew that if effective measures were not taken in time, the hotel's operation would fall into a more passive situation. Therefore, he immediately decided to organize a team meeting to discuss countermeasures, hoping to pool wisdom and find a way to reverse the situation as soon as possible.

The meeting was held in a conference room at the hotel. On the long table in the conference room were notebooks, documents and several cups of steaming coffee. The atmosphere was a little serious. Wang Jianye sat at the main seat at the conference table. He was wearing a neat suit, sitting upright, with a focused look. He scanned each team member in turn and broke the silence first, saying in a steady tone:

"As everyone knows, several new Asian restaurants have recently opened in the area, which has had a significant impact on our customer base. I called everyone here today to discuss how we should deal with this situation. Let's all share our ideas."

After hearing what Wang Jianye said, the marketing manager frowned slightly, then opened the notebook in front of him, cleared his throat, sat up straight and said:
"Boss Wang, I have been observing and analyzing the market situation for some time. I think we can launch some special set meals to attract customers with more cost-effective prices while ensuring the richness and quality of the dishes. Nowadays, price is indeed an important consideration for many customers when choosing a restaurant, but we can't just rely on low prices, we must also highlight our unique advantages.

Therefore, we need to strengthen the promotion of our Chinese-French fusion characteristics, so that customers can understand the difference between us and other Asian restaurants, and understand that our dishes have a unique cultural heritage and taste charm that cannot be found anywhere else. "

The marketing manager gestured with his hands as he spoke, his eyes revealing a hint of determination, as if he had already thought out the specific promotional plan and package combination in his mind.

The head chef spoke next. He was wearing a neat chef's uniform and a white chef's hat. His face was slightly tired from working in the kitchen for many years, but his eyes were bright, revealing his love for cooking and professional concentration. He bowed slightly, looked at Wang Jianye and said:
"I also agree with the idea of ​​launching set menus. In addition, we can also regularly update the menu according to the season and the supply of local ingredients, launch some limited-time dishes, maintain freshness, and attract customers to keep trying new flavors. Germany has different special ingredients in different seasons, and we can use them and combine them with Chinese cooking techniques and seasoning methods to create novel and delicious dishes, so that customers can have new expectations every time they come, which will firmly attract them."

When the chef spoke, his tone was steady and powerful, and every word revealed his confidence and control over the development of dishes. The other team members listened and nodded slightly, thinking that this suggestion was very feasible.

Wang Jianye listened carefully to everyone's speeches, crossed his hands in front of his chest, nodded from time to time, and his eyes revealed a thoughtful gleam. After everyone finished speaking, he was silent for a moment, and then said decisively: "Everyone's suggestions are very good and targeted, and we will do as you say.

The marketing department should work out a specific plan for the special set menu as soon as possible, and carefully match it to ensure that it can reflect our characteristics and be attractive in price. The head chef should hurry up to design limited-time dishes according to the season and ingredients to ensure the quality and taste of the dishes. The service team should also think of ways to further optimize the service details and enhance the customer's dining experience. We must work together to stabilize the source of customers and allow the hotel to continue to develop steadily. "

After saying that, Wang Jianye looked around, his eyes conveying a firm determination, making every team member present feel the weight of responsibility and the urgency of the task.

After receiving the task, all departments took immediate action and began to implement various response measures in full swing.

The marketing department staff quickly started planning the special packages. They collected and sorted out the information of the classic dishes that were popular with customers, analyzed the cost, popularity and matching possibilities of different dishes. After repeated discussions and adjustments, they finally launched several carefully matched business packages and family packages.

The business package is mainly aimed at office workers in the surrounding office buildings. Taking into account their tight meal time and certain requirements on the portion and nutritional combination of dishes, the marketing department combines an exquisite Chinese stir-fry, such as "Kung Pao Chicken" or "Fish-flavored Shredded Pork", with a refreshing and delicious vegetable salad, a small portion of German grilled sausage, and a freshly squeezed juice to make a business package.

These Chinese stir-fried dishes have been modified by chefs to make their taste more in line with German preferences while retaining the unique flavor of Chinese cuisine. The vegetable salad uses local fresh lettuce, cucumber, tomato and other ingredients, and is topped with a special Chinese salad dressing. It has the freshness of a Western salad and incorporates the unique flavor of Chinese cuisine.

The German sausages are purchased in cooperation with local suppliers with good reputations, ensuring the authentic taste. The entire business package is not only moderate in size, which can meet the energy needs of office workers for a lunch, but also has a much lower price than the single-order dishes, which is very cost-effective.

The family package focuses more on the richness and variety of dishes and the characteristics of being suitable for the whole family to share. For example, a family package includes a "Chinese-French pan-fried salmon with lemongrass cream sauce", which uses fresh salmon.

First, the fish is marinated in a Chinese way to fully absorb the flavor of the seasoning, and then fried in a Western way until both sides are golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It is paired with a unique sauce made from lemongrass and cream. The taste is fresh and unique, and is loved by adults and children. In addition, there is also a "Chinese Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs", which is a classic Chinese dish. After the chef's careful preparation, the ribs are bright red in color and sweet and sour in taste.

The meat is tender and boneless, and is a favorite of children. The set meal also comes with a portion of German mashed potatoes, which has a delicate and smooth taste, and a portion of Chinese-style stir-fried seasonal vegetables, ensuring a balanced nutrition.

Served with a homemade fruit drink, the whole family can enjoy it together. The portion of the family meal is enough for the whole family to eat and be satisfied, and the price is much more cost-effective than ordering these dishes individually, which is very attractive to customers who have family gatherings.

In order to promote these special packages, the marketing department produced exquisite leaflets and posters, which detailed the composition, taste characteristics and preferential prices of each package, and were accompanied by high-definition pictures of the dishes, making people salivate at the sight of them. The posters were posted in the hotel's windows, doors and surrounding places with high traffic.
Such as bulletin boards in office buildings, shopping malls, and residential areas. At the same time, waiters will also take the initiative to introduce special packages to customers when they enter the store to dine, hand them leaflets, and enthusiastically recommend:
"Hello, we are now offering several very cost-effective special packages, which include our hotel's classic dishes as well as new combinations of delicious snacks and drinks. The prices are very affordable, you may want to consider it."

On the other hand, the head chef leads the chef team to carry out the research and development of limited-time dishes in an orderly manner according to the season and local food supply.

With the coming of spring, everything comes back to life. Fresh spring bamboo shoots begin to appear in the German market. These bamboo shoots are tender and juicy, with a unique spring freshness. When the chef saw them, his eyes lit up and he immediately decided to use this special ingredient, combined with local German mushrooms and high-quality fish, to develop a limited-time spring dish - "Fish Slices Stewed with Spring Bamboo Shoots and Fresh Mushrooms".

The chefs first carefully selected high-quality spring bamboo shoots, peeled off their shells, leaving only the freshest and tenderest parts, then cut them into thin slices and soaked them in clean water to remove the astringency of the bamboo shoots themselves.

Next, wash the fresh mushrooms and cut them into small pieces for later use. For the fish, a local fish with tender meat and few bones is used. After the fish is slaughtered and cleaned, it is sliced ​​into evenly thick slices and marinated with salt, cooking wine, egg white and other seasonings to make the fish slices smoother and more tender.

After preparing the ingredients, start cooking this dish. On the stove, pour a proper amount of oil into the pot. When the oil is hot, add the onion, ginger and garlic to sauté until fragrant. Then add the fresh mushroom cubes and stir-fry until soft. Then add the spring bamboo shoots and continue to stir-fry for a while. Then pour in a proper amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, add the marinated fish fillets, and stir gently.
Let the fish fillet be evenly heated, and soon the fish fillet will become white as jade, rolling in the pot, and the soup will become thick. At this time, add appropriate amount of salt, light soy sauce, white pepper powder and other seasonings, and finally sprinkle some chopped green onions and coriander as embellishment, and the dish of "Spring Bamboo Shoots and Fresh Mushrooms Stewed Fish Fillet" is done.

When this dish was served, the soup in the dish was milky white, and the bamboo shoots, mushrooms and fish slices were intertwined, with attractive colors and bursts of fragrance. After tasting it, customers praised it highly, saying that the tenderness of the bamboo shoots, the smoothness of the mushrooms and the delicate taste of the fish slices were perfectly integrated together, creating an excellent refreshing and tender taste that left people with endless aftertaste.

With the change of seasons, in summer, chefs have introduced "Chinese cold noodles with diced German roast pork knuckle", which utilizes Germany's abundant vegetable resources in summer, paired with Chinese cold noodles, and topped with diced German roast pork knuckle. The unique taste and rich layers are deeply loved by customers.

In autumn, there is "Chinese-French chestnut roast chicken with German apple puree", which combines seasonal chestnuts and apples with Chinese roast chicken to present a different autumn flavor. In winter, "Chinese hot pot with German cheese hot pot dip" is even more ingenious, combining the lively atmosphere of Chinese hot pot with German-style cheese hot pot dip, bringing customers a novel and warm dining experience.

(End of this chapter)