Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Next, he preheated the frying pan to the specified temperature, put the steak in and fry it, and checked the heat and the color change of the steak from time to time. When making the Chinese-French sauce, he added the seasonings in precise proportions and stirred it constantly with a spoon to ensure that the taste was even.

The apprentice beside him was studying carefully and asked: "Master, does the ratio of the sauce have to be so precise every time?" The master replied: "Of course, only in this way can we ensure the taste of each dish is stable."

Over time, through a series of efforts, Wang's full range of restaurants has firmly established a place in the New York catering market. The branches in Manhattan and Queens are crowded with customers every day.

In the restaurant, customers were enjoying the fusion cuisine and chatting with satisfaction. A couple sat in a corner, and the girl said happily: "The dishes in this restaurant give me a new feeling every time I eat them, like this Chinese-French-American burger, the flavor combination is amazing."

The boy nodded in agreement: "Yes, and the environment and service are also good. You can come here often in the future."

……

Consumers in different areas of New York have their own characteristics in consumption habits and taste preferences.

After successfully opening restaurants in Manhattan and Queens, he set his sights on Brooklyn. Brooklyn has a rich and diverse culture and a strong artistic atmosphere. Local residents and tourists are very receptive to novel dining experiences. It is obvious that this is a market with huge potential. Wang Jianye did not hesitate and decided to open the third branch of Wang's All-in-One Restaurant here.

As soon as the preparations began, Wang Jianye and his team plunged into Brooklyn. They shuttled through the neighborhoods and carefully observed everything around them. Everywhere they went, they had to look at the business environment, the types of stores, and the business performance.
The flow of people also needs to be calculated. You need to know the reasons why there are more or less people at different time periods. The distribution of competitors is even more important. What are the characteristics of their operations, what is worth learning from, and what should be avoided. All of these need to be analyzed thoroughly.

On this day, the team stood on a busy street. There was a constant flow of cars and pedestrians on the street. The shops on the street were next to each other and their business seemed to be pretty good.

Wang Jianye pointed to a bustling restaurant across the street where customers were coming in and out, and said to the team members beside him: "You see, there are so many people in that restaurant. The consumption potential of this area must be huge. We have to find a perfect location that can attract nearby residents and make passing tourists happy to come in and sit down."

The team members looked in the direction he pointed and nodded in agreement. One of the young members quickly took out a small notebook from his pocket and said while recording: "Mr. Wang, there is indeed a lot of traffic around here. I see there are many office buildings nearby, and lunch is a big demand for office workers.

We have to find a good place quickly." Another experienced member followed up and said, "Yes, and the restaurants around here all have different main dishes. We have to find a location that can differentiate ourselves from the competition."

After a thorough search, they finally found an ideal store in an art district in Brooklyn. This place is next to an area where art galleries are concentrated. Art exhibitions and activities are held every now and then, which naturally attracts many art lovers and tourists. The store is spacious, but it looks a bit old. It needs to be fully renovated to fit in with the unique style of Wang's full-line hotels.

The decoration design team acted quickly and tailored a unique decoration plan for the branch based on the cultural characteristics of Brooklyn. The construction workers walked into the store and looked at the layout of the original building. The exposed cement ceiling and retro brick walls came into view. The decoration team felt that this industrial style element was quite distinctive and decided to retain it and incorporate cultural elements from China, France and the United States on this basis.

At the entrance of the restaurant, the decorators began to build the display rack according to the design. This display rack is not simple. It will be used to display special tableware and small artworks from China, France and the United States. At this time, a young decorator asked the master curiously: "Master, why do you put these things here?" The master answered while working: "You don't understand this. This allows customers to feel the characteristics of our restaurant integrating the cultures of the Three Kingdoms as soon as they enter the door."

After the display rack was built, everyone started to put items on it. The Chinese blue and white porcelain vase, with exquisite patterns painted on the bottle and delicate porcelain with a soft luster, was carefully placed in the middle; the French crystal wine glass, with exquisite cutting craftsmanship, reflected the dazzling light under the light, was placed next to the blue and white porcelain vase; the American Indian style ornaments, with unique shapes and rich local cultural atmosphere, were placed in a corner of the display rack.

Walking into the restaurant, carpenters are making tables and chairs. They select wood with natural textures, carefully cut and polish them, and make the frames of tables and chairs. Workers nearby put colorful cushions on the chairs. The cushion patterns cleverly integrate the cultural symbols of the Three Kingdoms: the Chinese auspicious clouds have smooth lines and auspicious meanings; the French curly grass patterns are elegant and graceful, full of romance; the American Stars and Stripes elements are simple and eye-catching, highlighting the characteristics.

A young carpenter apprentice looked at the cushions and couldn't help saying, "The patterns on these cushions are really beautiful. It feels like they combine the characteristics of three countries." The old craftsman next to him smiled and responded, "This is the characteristic of our store, fusion. Look at these tables and chairs, not only the cushions, but everything from the material selection to the style must reflect this fusion."

At the same time, the workers in charge of wall decoration were carefully hanging the works of artists from China, France and the United States. Afterwards, they fixed the food-related murals created by local artists on the wall one by one. These murals vividly show food scenes from different cultural backgrounds. Some depict the scene of chefs carefully cooking in Chinese kitchens.

The chef holds a spatula and stares intently at the dishes in the pot; some present the elegant dining scene in a French restaurant, with customers dressed appropriately and enjoying food under soft lighting; others show the lively atmosphere of an American family barbecue, with a family gathered around the grill with smiles on their faces.

When a worker was hanging a mural, he accidentally knocked it crooked. Another worker quickly reminded him: "Hey, it's crooked, move it a little to the left, and a little up. Yes, now it's fixed. This mural is really exciting to look at, it feels like it brings you into the scene in the painting."

While the renovation work was going on at full speed, the chef team was also busy. They devoted themselves to the research and development of new dishes based on the characteristics of Brooklyn's consumer groups.

In the kitchen, a chef is preparing "artistically inspired pasta". He first washes the spinach and puts it into a juicer to squeeze out the green juice, then cuts the tomatoes and squeezes out the red juice. Then, he mixes the flour with the spinach juice and tomato juice respectively and kneads them into dough. He repeatedly rubs and rolls the dough in his hands until it gradually becomes a dough sheet of uniform thickness, and then uses tools to cut the dough into noodles of uniform thickness.

On the stove next to him, another chef started making the sauce for the pasta. He poured a proper amount of olive oil into the pot, and when the oil was hot, he added chopped green onions and sautéed them until fragrant. Then he added sweet noodle sauce and stir-fried it. The aroma of the sweet noodle sauce instantly spread. Then he added French white sauce, and the two sauces blended in the pot. He kept stirring to make the sauces fully mixed.

At this time, the head chef came over, looked at the chef who was making the sauce, and asked, "How is the sauce?"

The chef replied: "Chef, I think the taste is OK now, but I feel that the two sauces can be blended together a little more."

The chef took a bite, thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, the taste of the sweet noodle sauce is a little strong. Add some white sauce to neutralize it and make the taste more balanced." The chef nodded and made the adjustments according to the chef's suggestion.

Over there, a chef was preparing nut crumbs. He put American nuts into the oven and roasted them at low temperature until they were fragrant. He took them out and put them on the chopping board, and crushed them gently with a rolling pin. A young chef was watching and asked, "Master, why do you have to roast them at low temperature?"

The chef replied: "Low-temperature baking can better preserve the aroma and nutrition of the nuts. If the temperature is too high, they will burn easily and the taste will be bad."

The chef who was making the "Brooklyn Fusion Stew" was also busy in an orderly manner. He first cut the beef into pieces of appropriate size, peeled and diced the potatoes and carrots, and set them aside. Then, he poured a little oil into the hot pan, put the beef cubes in and fried them until the surface was golden brown, and then served them for later use.

He then added a proper amount of oil to the pot, added potatoes and carrots, stir-fried them for a few times, and then added the fried beef. He then added Chinese star anise and cinnamon, French bay leaves, rosemary and other spices, added some water, covered the pot, and simmered it on low heat. As time went by, the aroma of the stew gradually emanated.

At this time, Wang Jianye walked into the kitchen, looked at the busy chef team, and asked, "How is the development of this new dish going?" A chef looked up and replied, "Mr. Wang, 'Artistic Inspired Pasta' and 'Brooklyn Fusion Stew' are both going as planned. Please try this sauce and see if it tastes good."

As he spoke, he handed over a spoonful of sauce.

Wang Jianye took the spoon, tasted it, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "The combination of sweet bean sauce and white sauce is good, but the chopped nuts should be a little coarser, and the taste may be richer. For stews, the flavor of spices can be stronger."

The chefs nodded, wrote down the suggestions, and continued to work on perfecting the dishes.

At the renovation site, the designer was communicating with the construction manager. Pointing at the wall, the designer said, "Adjust the positions of these murals. This one showing a Chinese food scene should be placed closer to the entrance to attract more customers."

The construction manager responded while taking notes: "Okay, no problem, we'll adjust it right away. And the placement of the tables and chairs, do you think this spacing is okay?"

The designer walked around the restaurant and said after thinking: "If it is a little wider, customers will dine more comfortably. And we can put a few double tables near the window to facilitate couples to dine." The construction workers immediately made adjustments as required.

As time goes by, the renovation work is gradually coming to an end, and the new dishes are constantly being perfected. The display shelves at the entrance of the restaurant have been arranged properly, and various special tableware and artworks are placed in an orderly manner. Inside the restaurant, the tables and chairs are neatly arranged, and the paintings and murals on the walls complement each other.

In the kitchen, the chefs are still making the final adjustments to the new dishes. The colors of the “artistically inspired pasta” are becoming richer, and the flavors of the “Brooklyn fusion stew” are becoming richer and mellower.

In this process, the team members performed their duties and worked closely together. From Wang Jianye leading everyone to find a store, to the decoration design team carefully creating the store environment, to the chef team concentrating on developing new dishes, every link embodies everyone's hard work.

Everyone is looking forward to the early opening of this new store, which combines the characteristics of Brooklyn with the style of Wang's entire restaurant series, to bring customers a new dining experience.

As Brooklyn was busy preparing for the opening of Wang's full-line restaurant branches, troubles arose one after another. Some local residents were skeptical of this foreign brand, fearing that it would disrupt the local cultural atmosphere and catering ecology.

At a communication meeting with local community representatives, the small meeting room was packed with people, and the atmosphere seemed to become tense. Community residents were either sitting on chairs or standing against the wall, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Wang Jianye.

At this time, a community resident wearing a plain shirt and with messy hair stepped forward, frowning slightly, and asked in a questioning tone: "If you open a restaurant here, will it make our place too commercial and lose its original artistic atmosphere?"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a buzz of agreement around him, and other residents nodded, expressing similar concerns.

Wang Jianye stood in the middle of the crowd, with an upright posture and a modest smile on his face. He responded in a steady and sincere tone: "We respect the cultural and artistic atmosphere of Brooklyn very much. Our restaurant will not only not destroy it, but will become a platform for cultural exchange. We will incorporate local elements and let more people know about the charm of Brooklyn through delicious food."

After saying this, he looked calmly at the resident who asked the question and the people around him, with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

Xiao Li, a team member standing next to Wang Jianye, also quickly added: "Don't worry, our team has been deeply acquainted with Brooklyn during this period and found that the art and culture here have given us a lot of inspiration. We will incorporate these elements into the dishes and decoration, making the restaurant a part of Brooklyn culture."

At this time, a resident who was wearing glasses and looked quite gentle said: "That's what I said, but it's hard to guarantee it in practice."

Wang Jianye quickly responded: "We already have a specific plan, such as displaying the works of local artists in the restaurant, so that everyone can enjoy the art of Brooklyn while enjoying the food." (End of this chapter)