Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Cultural enthusiasts from all over the world gather here with admiration and curiosity about Cologne's history and culture.

After appreciating the magnificence of the cathedral, they often look for a dining place nearby that can satisfy their taste buds and experience the local culture. The emergence of the Cologne branch of Wang's All-System Hotel will undoubtedly become their ideal choice.

The decoration design of the branch is like a carefully composed symphony of cultural integration, ingeniously interweaving Chinese and French culture with the historical and cultural elements of Cologne. When you enter the store, the first thing that catches your eye is the decorative details created using the architectural elements of Cologne Cathedral.

The pattern design of the stained glass is cleverly integrated into the partitions and lamps. When the sunlight shines through the stained glass, the store will be shrouded in colorful light, as if being in the mysterious and solemn atmosphere of a cathedral.

The spire-shaped decorations are used on the decorative lines of the ceiling and walls, making the entire space more layered and three-dimensional, as if the majestic outline of Cologne Cathedral was miniaturized in the store.

The dining table was laid with exquisite tableware, printed with patterns of cultural elements from both China and France, including Chinese auspicious dragons and phoenixes and French elegant patterns, allowing people to inadvertently feel the fusion and collision of the two cultures.

In terms of menu design, the chef team fully explored the local special ingredients of Cologne, perfectly combined them with Chinese and French cooking techniques, and launched a series of unique and charming special desserts.

Among them, the "Pear Pudding with Chinese and French Mixed Cream" uses the famous Cologne pears in the Cologne area as the core ingredient. Cologne pears are large, thin-skinned, delicate and juicy, and exude a light fragrance.

The chefs peeled and cored the fragrant pears, cut them into small pieces, put them into a pot and boiled them until soft, then blended them into a fine pear puree in a blender. After softening the gelatin sheets, they added them to the pear puree, stirred them evenly, poured them into a mold and refrigerated them to set, making the fragrant pear pudding.

On top of the pudding, a layer of carefully prepared French and Chinese cream is poured. This cream combines the richness of French cream with the sweetness and delicacy of Chinese cream, with a light and rich taste.

Garnished with some mint leaves or edible flower petals, the whole dessert looks like a fine work of art. When customers taste it, they first feel the freshness of the pear pudding, the fragrance of the pear spreads in their mouths, followed by the smooth and rich Chinese and French mixed cream. The two blend together to perform a wonderful taste dance on the tip of the tongue, which is deeply loved by tourists.

As the branches continued to expand in Munich, Cologne and other places, Wang Jianye keenly realized that brand building is like creating a solid and dazzling flag for the hotel, which is crucial to the long-term development of the hotel in the fierce market competition.

He made a decisive decision and hired a professional brand planning team, which was like forming an elite brand building army, and developed a comprehensive and systematic brand promotion strategy for all Wang's hotels.

First, the brand planning team is committed to unifying the hotel’s brand image, just like unifying the uniforms and flags for an army.

They carefully designed the hotel's logo, which combines the essence of Chinese and French cultural elements. The hotel's name is outlined with Chinese calligraphy strokes, while elegant French lines and patterns are incorporated into the details, making it full of the charm of Eastern culture while retaining the fashion sense of Western culture.

In terms of decoration style, a strict standard manual has been formulated to ensure that each branch can follow the design concept of combining Chinese and French fusion with local characteristics. From the overall layout to the detailed decoration, customers can feel a strong and consistent brand atmosphere the moment they step into the branch.

The staff uniforms have also been redesigned, adopting a simple and elegant style that incorporates the distinctive clothing elements of China and France, such as the Chinese stand-up collar and French cuff design. The employees wear uniforms and move between restaurants in high spirits, becoming the hotel's mobile brand image spokespersons.

Secondly, strengthening brand publicity has become the core of the brand promotion strategy. The brand planning team has formulated a comprehensive media publicity plan, which is like a publicity campaign with multiple arms working together.

In local newspapers, exquisite advertising pages are regularly published. The advertising pictures take the hotel's special dishes and unique decoration style as the core elements, accompanied by concise and attractive text descriptions, such as "Wang's All-Series Hotel: A Journey of Chinese and French Cuisine Fusion, Munich/Cologne Branch Grand Opening, Taste Unique Food, Feel the Fusion of Multiculturalism."

The magazine has launched special reports that provide in-depth coverage of the hotel's brand story, the stories behind the development of its dishes, and its unremitting exploration of the integration of Chinese and French cultures. Through delicate text and exquisite pictures, it attracts readers' attention and interest.

The TV advertisements use vivid videos to show the lively scenes of the restaurant, the satisfied smiles of the customers and the preparation process of the delicious dishes, leaving a deep impression on the audience in a short period of time.

At the same time, the brand planning team keenly captured the trend of the Internet era and actively used the Internet platform to expand brand promotion channels. They carefully created the hotel's official website, which has a simple and beautiful interface design and complete functions.

Customers can easily browse menu information, branch locations, promotions and other content on the website, and can also make online reservations and take-out services.

On social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, regularly publish the latest hotel news, including the launch of new dishes, cultural activities, employee style showcases, etc.

Each post is accompanied by exquisite pictures or videos, attracting a large number of online fans to follow, like, comment and share, forming a good word-of-mouth effect.

In addition, the hotel is also actively involved in local charity and cultural exchange activities, like a cultural ambassador enthusiastic about charity, and has taken solid steps in enhancing its brand reputation and social image.

For example, we sponsor local art exhibitions, set up a special dining area at the exhibition site, and provide visitors with special food and drinks from all Wang's hotels, so that the audience can enjoy a unique dining experience while appreciating the works of art.

……

With the successful operation and expansion in Germany, Wang's entire chain of restaurants became a shining new star. Its reputation gradually spread across the European continent, attracting the attention of many diners and business partners.

London, the world-famous metropolis, as the political, economic and cultural center of the United Kingdom, is like a huge magnet, exuding endless charm and business opportunities. It naturally became the first choice for Wang's entire hotel series to enter the United Kingdom. Wang Jianye was fully aware of the importance and complexity of this expansion, and without hesitation, he personally led his elite team to London, and an intense and anticipated site selection work kicked off.

They are like industrious bees shuttling through the streets and alleys of London, from the bustling West End, where theaters and fashion trends converge, to the City of Finance, where high-rise buildings and financial elites gather;
From traditional residential areas full of life and close-knit neighborhoods to emerging commercial areas that are vibrant and full of innovation, they have traveled to every corner of London and inspected many potential store locations.

Wherever they go, they carefully observe the surrounding environment, record the size and time period of the flow of people, analyze the characteristics and needs of the surrounding consumer groups, evaluate the convenience of transportation and the active business atmosphere, and do not miss any details that may affect the future operations of the hotel.

Near Piccadilly Circus in the West End, they saw a bustling scene of crowds of people. Street performers performed various wonderful shows in the center of the square, attracting a large number of tourists to stop and watch.

Surrounded by shops galore, restaurants and cafes filled with people enjoying their free time, Wang and his team walked through the nearby streets, checking out potential properties.

Although some shops are located in prosperous areas, their internal space is small and the layout is unreasonable, which cannot meet the business needs of restaurants; others have too high rents, which are beyond the budget.

In the financial city, towering office buildings are lined up one after another, and business people in suits and leather shoes are in a hurry. They inspected several commercial spaces located on the ground floor of office buildings. The advantage here is that the customer base is stable and the spending power is high. However, the competition in the surrounding catering is also very fierce. Most restaurants are mainly fast business meals, lacking characteristics and cultural atmosphere.

After a long period of searching and screening, they finally found a suitable property like a pearl in a commercial complex in West London.

This place is close to the theater district. When night falls, the neon lights of the theater flicker, and wonderful performances are about to begin. Audiences come from all directions, resulting in a large flow of people and diverse consumption levels here.

The property itself is a century-old building. Time has left deep marks on it, but it has also given it a unique charm.

The exterior retains the brick and stone structure of the British classical style, with the heavy bricks and stones stacked tightly together, as if telling of the glory of the past;

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Exquisite carvings are found all over the building's facade. Whether it is the floral patterns around the doors and windows or the geometric patterns at the corners, they all demonstrate exquisite craftsmanship and delicate artistic beauty.

Wang Jianye stood in front of the building, looking up at it, his eyes revealing satisfaction and expectation. He walked slowly around the building, carefully examining every detail of the building, and gently touching the ancient bricks and carvings with his fingers, as if he was having a conversation with history.

He said to his team members: "This place is good and has great potential. Although it needs some renovation, as long as we manage it with care, we will definitely be able to create a unique restaurant."

The team members nodded in agreement. They were also attracted by the charm of this building and were full of longing for the future hotel.

Entering the building, they found that the space was spacious and tall, with huge beams supporting the ceiling, giving people a majestic feeling. Although the interior is a bit old, a little renovation can create a unique dining environment.

Wang Jianye walked and gestured, telling his team members about his renovation ideas: "We can build an open kitchen here so that customers can see the chefs' superb cooking skills; we can set up a small stage in the corner over there and arrange some music performances during dinner time to enhance the dining atmosphere."

The preparatory work was carried out quickly. While retaining the original characteristics of the building, the decoration team cleverly integrated Chinese, French and British cultural elements, starting a cross-cultural journey of decorative art.

The ceiling of the hall became one of the focuses of the decoration. The decoration team adopted the French dome design. The craftsmen carefully built the skeleton of the dome, and then covered it with special gypsum boards. After careful polishing and trimming, the dome presents a smooth and graceful curve.

In the center of the dome, there are gorgeous crystal chandeliers. Those crystal chandeliers are like shining stars, emitting soft and bright light.

When the lights come on, the whole hall is shrouded in an elegant and romantic atmosphere. The light of the crystal reflects gorgeous light and shadow on the dome and walls, as if bringing people into a dreamlike world.

On the walls are paintings related to food created by artists from China, Britain and France. These paintings have different styles. Some are delicate and realistic oil paintings, depicting the tempting forms of various foods;
Some are concise and vivid ink paintings that use unique brushstrokes to outline the artistic conception of ingredients and cooking; others are modern art paintings full of creativity and imagination, expressing the understanding and perception of food culture in abstract form.

Each painting has been carefully selected and arranged. They complement each other and add a strong artistic atmosphere to the hall. When customers walk into the hall and wait for their meals, they are often attracted by these paintings, stop to appreciate them carefully, and immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the fusion of art and food.

The choice of tables and chairs is also quite ingenious, combining the heavy texture of British style with the exquisite craftsmanship of Chinese style. The dining tables made of solid wood have wide and flat tabletops, clear and natural textures, and strong and powerful table legs, showing the calmness and grandeur of British furniture.

The details of the tables and chairs incorporate exquisite Chinese craftsmanship, such as the carved decorations on the edges of the tables and chairs, which use traditional Chinese flower and bird patterns or auspicious patterns. The lines are smooth and graceful, and the carvings are meticulous. Every pattern seems to be telling an ancient oriental story.

The seat cushions and backrests are made of high-quality fabrics, which are soft and comfortable, and have a good texture, providing customers with a comfortable and stylish dining experience.

In terms of dishes, in addition to retaining the classic Chinese-French fusion dishes, the chef team is well aware that in order to gain a foothold in the British market, they must boldly innovate based on the taste preferences of British customers. They deeply studied the characteristics and essence of traditional British cuisine, combined with Chinese and French cooking techniques, and embarked on a journey of exploration of food innovation.

For example, when developing the dish "British fish and chips with Chinese and French mixed sauce", the chefs first improved the traditional British fish and chips. They went to the local fish market in London to select fresh cod. In the fish market, there were all kinds of fresh sea fish, and the cod stall was surrounded by customers. (End of this chapter)