Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

During the renovation process, team members often came to help and learn. Xiao Zhang watched the workers laying tiles and asked curiously: "Master, are there any tricks to laying tiles?" The workers answered while working: "There are many tricks, such as cutting the tiles to the correct size and applying the glue evenly, so that the tiles will be firm and beautiful when laid." Xiao Zhang listened and nodded thoughtfully.

Xiao Li was watching the carpenter making tables and chairs. "Master, why is the mortise and tenon structure better than nails?" Xiao Li asked. The carpenter stopped his work and explained, "The mortise and tenon structure is stronger and more durable, and it is also flexible and can withstand greater pressure. It also looks good. This is a good craft passed down by our ancestors." Xiao Li sighed and said, "It turns out that there is so much knowledge in this."

At this time, Xiao Zhao, who was in charge of purchasing, came over and said to Wang Jianye, "Boss Wang, we found the red lanterns. Please take a look and see if they are suitable."

Wang Jianye took the lantern and looked at its texture and light transmittance. "This lantern is good, prepare it like this. When hanging it, pay attention to the spacing, not too close or too sparse." Wang Jianye instructed. Xiao Zhao nodded and wrote it down.

As the renovation work progressed step by step, the store slowly took shape. Tiles were added piece by piece to the arch frame of the entrance, and colorful patterns gradually emerged.

The walls of the store are decorated with traditional Mexican geometric patterns and Chinese wooden decorations. Workers are installing lights and adjusting the brightness.

Wang Jianye walked around the store, looking here and there, and occasionally made some small suggestions. "The lights should be brighter, otherwise some corners are too dark." Wang Jianye said to the worker who was installing the lights. The worker immediately adjusted it.

The designer brought some samples of decorations: "Boss Wang, take a look at these decorations. How about putting them in the store as decoration?"

Wang Jianye picked up a ceramic ornament with Mexican characteristics, looked at a Chinese wood sculpture, thought for a while and said, "These two go well together, but the placement has to be careful and well-arranged to highlight the feeling of integration." The designer wrote it down in a notebook.

Xiao Wang watched from the side and expressed his opinion: "Mr. Wang, I think we can put some Mexican plants in the corner, like cacti, to add some local characteristics."

Wang Jianye thought it made sense. "Okay, that's a good idea, but we have to choose the right species to maintain, otherwise it will be difficult to take care of."

During the renovation period, many locals passed by and walked in to take a look. One local resident asked in broken English: "What kind of store are you going to open? The decoration looks very special."

Wang Jianye smiled and answered in simple Spanish: "It is a restaurant that integrates Chinese, French, American and Mexican cultures."

The residents showed interest when they heard this: "It sounds very interesting. I hope it will open soon." Wang Jianye responded: "We will see you soon."

In this way, with everyone's joint efforts, the decoration work proceeded in an orderly manner. Wang Jianye was in the store every day, paying attention to every detail, and looking forward to the store being presented in the best fusion style to welcome customers.

……

In Mexico City, hotel preparations are in full swing, with the chef team’s task of developing dishes being particularly critical.

In the early morning, as the sun shines on the streets of Mexico City, the market is already crowded with people. Various stalls are lined up, filled with a wide variety of ingredients, and the air is filled with the freshness of fruits and vegetables and the rich aroma of spices. The chef team members shuttle between the stalls, constantly scanning the various ingredients, looking for inspiration for developing dishes.

Chef Lao Chen stopped in front of a stall. The brightly colored Mexican peppers and plump avocados on the stall immediately caught Lao Chen's attention. As he stared at the ingredients, an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he couldn't help muttering to himself: "If I combine avocados with Chinese salad and add some Mexican spices, I might be able to make a special appetizer."

At this time, the young chef Xiao Liu happened to pass by. Hearing what Lao Chen said, he came over curiously and said, "Master Chen, are you going to combine avocado with Chinese salad? This idea is quite novel, but how do you do it specifically?" Lao Chen's eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "I'm thinking of cutting avocado into small pieces, pairing it with cucumbers, carrots and other vegetables commonly used in Chinese salads, and then adding our special Chinese sauce, and finally sprinkle with Mexican spices. What do you think?" Xiao Liu's eyes also lit up after hearing this, and he nodded in agreement, "It feels quite creative, and it may taste very good. Let's try it when we get back."

The two quickly purchased the ingredients they needed and hurried back to the hotel kitchen. As soon as they entered the kitchen, Lao Chen couldn't wait to call the other chefs: "Come on, I just had an idea in the market. Let's try to combine avocado with Chinese salad to make a new appetizer." The other chefs gathered around after hearing the call. Chef Lao Sun pushed his glasses and said, "This is a good idea. Avocados are very common in Mexico. Combining them with Chinese salad may give customers a different taste experience."

The chefs quickly divided up the work and started working. Lao Chen picked up an avocado, cut it in half with a knife, dug out the core, and cut the flesh into small pieces of uniform size, placing them neatly on a plate. Xiao Liu picked up a cucumber and a carrot and washed them carefully at the sink, making the sound of water running.

After washing, he put the cucumber on the chopping board and slashed it into evenly thin strips. Then he diced the carrot. Another chef, Xiao Li, stood at the cooking table nearby, concentrating on mixing a special Chinese sauce. He added soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, minced garlic and other seasonings to the bowl in turn, stirring while muttering: "This taste has to be adjusted well, not too light, not too strong, it has to be just right."

After the ingredients were prepared, Lao Chen brought the plate with avocado cubes, cucumber shreds and carrot cubes to the workbench and poured them into a large bowl. Xiao Li picked up the prepared Chinese sauce and carefully poured it into the bowl, and then Lao Chen sprinkled Mexican spices on it. Lao Chen put on disposable gloves and began to mix the ingredients and sauce in the bowl. During the mixing process, he stopped from time to time, dipped his finger in the sauce and put it in his mouth to taste it, and then said to Xiao Li: "Xiao Li, the taste of this sauce is not good enough, add some sugar to enhance the freshness." Xiao Li hurriedly responded: "Okay, Master Chen." As he said, he picked up the sugar jar, added a small spoonful of sugar to the bowl, and continued to stir. After adjusting the taste many times, a new dish gradually took shape. Lao Chen looked at the colorful ingredients in the bowl, straightened up and said: "Let's give this dish a name, how about calling it 'Mexican Salad'?" The other chefs nodded in approval, thinking that this name not only reflects the dish's fusion of Mexican and Chinese characteristics, but also highlights its unique style.

While the appetizers were being developed, some chefs were discussing the main dishes at the other end of the kitchen. Chef Zhang, the head chef, stood in the middle of the group and said, "We are considering improving the classic 'American steak with Chinese and French sauces'. Mexican tequila is very special, so we can add some when marinating the steak to add a unique flavor."

As for the sauce, we retained the Chinese and French sauces and added the spicy flavor of Mexican peppers to make it more in line with the Mexican taste. What do you think? "The chefs nodded in agreement with this idea.

Young chef Xiao Zhao volunteered to prepare the steak. He took out a fresh steak from the refrigerator, slammed the door shut, and placed the steak on the chopping board. Then, he took up some kitchen paper and carefully blotted the surface of the steak dry, saying, "I have to blot the surface dry so that the steak will taste good when fried." Then, he took salt, black pepper, and tequila and evenly applied them on both sides of the steak. During the application, he reminded himself, "I have to apply the tequila evenly so that the steak can fully absorb the aroma."

Meanwhile, Chef Xiao Qian was preparing the sauce at the stove nearby. He first put butter in the pot, turned on the stove, and with a "poof" sound, blue flames jumped out. As the butter gradually melted, Xiao Qian put in chopped onions and kept stir-frying them with a spatula. The chopped onions made a "sizzling" sound in the pot, and the aroma slowly emanated. Then, he poured in red wine, beef broth, etc., and simmered slowly over low heat.

When the sauce began to thicken, Xiao Qian picked up the chopped Mexican peppers and carefully added them to the pot, stirring while muttering to himself: "This pepper needs to be controlled in quantity, it can't be too spicy, otherwise it will affect the overall taste."

After the steak is marinated, Xiao Zhao puts the pan on the stove and pours a little olive oil. When the oil is hot, he puts the steak into the pan. As soon as the steak touches the bottom of the pan, a "sizzling" sound is heard, and the aroma of the steak quickly spreads. Xiao Zhao stares at the steak intently, his eyes closely following the state of the steak, and occasionally uses tongs to turn the steak over, controlling the heat and time of frying.

After a while, the steak was fried to perfection, and the surface showed an attractive golden color. Xiao Zhao took out the steak and placed it on a plate. Xiao Qian quickly poured the prepared sauce on the steak, and a modified "tequila-flavored steak" was ready.

The chefs gathered around and prepared to taste the food. Chef Zhang said, "Try it and see how it tastes. If there are any problems, we can adjust it." Everyone picked up their knives and forks, cut a piece of steak and put it in their mouths to taste. Xiao Liu was the first to say while chewing, "The taste of this tequila is quite unique, and it goes well with the steak. However, if the spiciness of the chili is slightly reduced, it may be more suitable for the public taste."

Other chefs also expressed their opinions, some said the steak could be fried at a slightly better temperature, and some thought the sauce's consistency could be improved. Chef Zhang listened carefully, nodded from time to time, and took notes.

The dessert R&D area was also bustling. The chefs planned to combine Chinese red bean paste with Mexican tortillas to create a new dessert. Chef Lao Ma said: "Wrap the red bean paste in tortillas, fry them and sprinkle them with powdered sugar. The texture should be crispy, sweet but not greasy." After hearing this, the chefs thought this idea was feasible and started to make it.

Lao Ma first put the red bean paste on the chopping board and rubbed it into small balls of uniform size with his hands, with skillful and neat movements. Another chef, Xiao Wang, picked up the corn tortilla, placed the red bean paste ball in the middle of the corn tortilla, and carefully wrapped it up, pinching the edges carefully to prevent the red bean paste from leaking out.

After wrapping, Xiao Wang handed the corn tortilla wrapped with red bean paste to the chef Xiao Zhou. Xiao Zhou poured a proper amount of oil into the pan, turned on the stove, stared at the bottom of the pan, and waited for the oil to heat up. When he saw the oil began to smoke slightly, Xiao Zhou put the corn tortilla into the pan. With a "hiss", the corn tortilla quickly began to bubble with golden color in the oil. Xiao Zhou kept turning the corn tortilla over with chopsticks to ensure that both sides were heated evenly.

After frying, Xiao Zhou took out the corn cake, put it on a plate, picked up the powdered sugar can, and sprinkled a layer of powdered sugar evenly. Lao Ma looked at the finished snack and said, "Let's give it a name, let's call it 'Mexican Sweet Cookies'." Everyone thought that this name was very appropriate, reflecting the fusion of Chinese and Mexican cultures and highlighting the sweet taste of the snack.

During the tasting session, the chefs tasted the "Ink Sweet Cookies" and discussed it one after another. Xiao Zhou took a bite and said, "It is indeed crispy, but the amount of red bean paste can be adjusted. Sometimes I feel that the red bean paste is a little less after taking a bite." After hearing this, Lao Ma nodded and said, "Okay, pay attention to adjusting the amount of red bean paste next time." Other chefs also made some suggestions, such as adding some chopped nuts to the corn tortillas to increase the richness of the taste.

In this way, with the unremitting efforts of the chef team, dishes such as "Mexican-Style Salad", "Tequila Flavored Steak" and "Mexican Cookies" that combine Mexican characteristics with the original style of the hotel have gradually taken shape.

……

In Mexico City, the hotel's storefront renovation work is in full swing, with the roar of cement mixers and the buzz of electric drills interweaving, workers busy shuttling between them, walls gradually being painted, tables and chairs being put in place. At the same time, employee recruitment is also being carried out intensively in the hotel's lobby, which has not yet been fully completed.

The recruitment site was very lively, with applicants lining up from the entrance of the hall to the street. Wang Jianye stood in the makeshift interview area, where there was a table and several chairs, surrounded by applicants' resumes. He was wearing a neat shirt and looked at every interviewee intently.

A job applicant walked up to Wang Jianye, who pointed to the chair opposite him and said with a smile, "Please take a seat. What do you think is the most important thing in providing quality catering services in Mexico?"

The applicant was a middle-aged man. He straightened his clothes, thought for a moment and answered: "I think we should first understand the tastes and needs of local customers. Mexicans have unique taste preferences for food, such as their love for chili peppers and corn products. We have to take them into consideration. And the service must be warm and thoughtful, so that customers can feel at home." (End of this chapter)