Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

At the Nairobi branch, the restaurant was bustling with laughter and chatter from customers. However, when Chen Yu was inspecting the restaurant, he noticed that some customers seemed to be unsatisfied. He walked over to a table of customers and asked with a smile, "Are you satisfied with our food and service? If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know."

A young man put down his cutlery and said, "The food tastes great and the service is very attentive. But I think the dining environment can add some interactive elements to make it more interesting. For example, we can watch the chef cook up close, which will make us feel more involved."

Chen Yu carefully wrote down the customer's suggestions, and after returning to the office, he immediately called a meeting of team members to discuss the matter.

"As we all know, customers hope that our restaurant can add some interactive elements. I think we can set up some live cooking areas in the restaurant so that customers can watch the chef's cooking process up close. What do you think?" said Chen Yu.

Team members expressed their opinions one after another, some suggested that the location of the on-site cooking area should be reasonably planned, and some suggested ensuring the hygiene and safety of the cooking process. After some discussion, everyone reached a consensus.

The next day, the restaurant began to adjust its layout. Workers carefully moved equipment and ingredients to build an open cooking area in a corner of the restaurant. The chefs also actively cooperated and organized their cooking tools and ingredients.

When the on-site cooking area was set up, a chef began to prepare Korean-style spice roast beef on site. He expertly cut the beef into thin slices, marinated it with Korean-style spices, and then grilled it on the grill. The beef sizzled on the grill, and the aroma quickly filled the entire restaurant.

Customers gathered around and curiously watched the chef's cooking process. A child excitedly pulled his mother's hand and said, "Mom, look, the chef is so good!"

The man who made the suggestion was also watching, with a satisfied smile on his face. He said, "This is a good change. We can enjoy the chef's cooking skills while dining. It's very interesting."

As Wang's entire hotel chain continues to grow and develop in Africa, Wang Jianye, Chen Yu and Master Li are well aware that an enterprise must not only pursue economic benefits but also assume social responsibilities.

In Cape Town, the sun shines on the sparkling sea, and the sea breeze gently blows the trees on the shore. The marine protection activities sponsored by Wang's All-inclusive Hotels are in full swing. At the event site, various promotional posters and display boards were placed to show the importance of marine protection.

Wang Jianye stood on the stage with a serious and determined look, and said to the audience: "Dear friends, the development of our Wang's entire hotel chain is inseparable from the rich local marine resources. However, the marine environment is now facing many challenges. We have the responsibility to protect this beautiful ocean so that more people can taste fresh seafood. I hope everyone can take action and contribute to protecting the marine environment."

There was warm applause from the audience, and many local residents and environmental volunteers expressed their support.

Afterwards, Wang Jianye and others participated in the marine garbage cleaning activity. They put on gloves, took garbage bags, and carefully picked up garbage along the coastline.

"Mr. Wang, look, we have picked up so much garbage, and this garbage is very harmful to marine life," said an employee.

Wang Jianye nodded and said, "Yes, through this activity, we want to make more people realize the importance of protecting the marine environment and develop good environmental protection habits."

In Nairobi, trucks loaded with school supplies and food slowly drove into a local poor school. Master Li and his employees unloaded the supplies and placed them neatly on the playground.

When the children in the school saw the supplies, they smiled brightly and gathered around. Master Li was filled with emotion as he looked at the innocent smiles of the children.

"Children, these school supplies and food are given to you by our Wang's full-service restaurants. We hope you can study hard and grow up healthily." Master Li said with a smile.

A little boy came forward, took the schoolbag handed over by Master Li, and said excitedly: "Thank you uncle, I will study hard!"

Master Li touched the little boy's head and said, "You're welcome. We should not only do a good job in the restaurant business, but also pay attention to the development of society and help those in need. I hope you can become a useful person to society in the future."

……

At the entrance of the Cape Town branch of Wang's All Series Hotel, a unique community gathering was taking place. Full of gratitude and enthusiasm, local residents spontaneously organized and carefully prepared this grand celebration just to express their deep recognition and respect for Wang's All Series Hotel.

The exterior of the restaurant is carefully decorated, with colorful balloons hanging high at the door, swaying gently in the wind, as if happily expressing joy. Colorful ribbons hang from the ceiling, contrasting with the African-style paintings posted on the walls, creating a warm and warm atmosphere. Inside the restaurant, warm lights softly illuminate every corner, and exquisite flowers are placed on the dining table. The rich fragrance of flowers and the aroma of food are intertwined, making people intoxicated.

At this time, the restaurant was already crowded with people, and laughter and joy could be heard one after another. The residents were dressed in colorful traditional costumes, with sincere smiles on their faces, and they talked enthusiastically with each other. Children were running and laughing in the crowd, and their laughter was as clear as silver bells, adding a lot of vitality to the party.

A local old man with gray hair, wearing a simple but neat robe, had a kind and grateful look in his eyes. He slowly walked through the crowd and walked straight towards Wang Jianye. Wang Jianye was talking with several local community leaders. When he saw the old man coming, he immediately stopped talking and walked forward with a smile. The old man stretched out his hands, which were full of traces of time, and held Wang Jianye's hand tightly. He said in a trembling voice: "Mr. Wang, your restaurant has really brought us so many surprises and joys. Those delicious foods, every bite is intoxicating, as if taking us to appreciate the food customs from all over the world. But more importantly, everything you have done for our community is seen and remembered by everyone." As he spoke, the old man's eyes were slightly red.

Wang Jianye gently patted the old man's hand, still with a friendly smile on his face, and responded gently: "Old man, you are too polite. This is really what we should do. We came here in the hope of integrating into this community and working with everyone to make the place where we live a better place."

At this time, Chen Yu and Master Li also walked over from the crowd. Chen Yu was wearing a neat shirt and holding a notebook, ready to record the residents' suggestions at any time. Master Li was wearing his iconic chef uniform. Although he had been busy all day, his face was still full of enthusiasm.

The residents nearby saw them and gathered around. A young mother holding her child said with a smile: "Manager Chen, Chef Li, your restaurant is really great. My child especially likes the Korean seafood pancakes you make and eats them with gusto every time he comes. But I'm wondering if you can offer some more nutritious meal packages suitable for children?"

Chen Yu nodded quickly, and while taking notes in his notebook, he said, "Your suggestion is great. We should really consider the needs of children more. We will definitely develop some nutritious and delicious children's meals as soon as possible, so that children can eat happily and parents can rest assured."

Chef Li also smiled and added: "Yes, we will use the freshest ingredients and make the dishes both delicious and beautiful, and we guarantee that the children will like them."

A tall local man continued, "Master Li, I particularly like your Korean new spice roast beef. It tastes absolutely amazing. I was wondering if you could show us some unique cooking techniques during the roasting process? This way, our customers can not only taste the delicious food, but also learn some cooking knowledge."

Chef Li's eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "This is a great idea! We can set up some cooking demonstration areas in the restaurant to demonstrate the techniques of grilling and the mixing of spices. This will not only make dining more interesting, but also allow everyone to better understand our dishes."

There were bursts of applause and cheers from the crowd. Everyone expressed their love for the restaurant and their expectations for the future. Wang Jianye, Chen Yu and Master Li listened carefully to everyone's speech and interacted with them from time to time. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

However, the development of the restaurant was not always smooth. When preparing for a community food sharing event, many difficulties were encountered. The original plan was to invite some local food suppliers to showcase African specialty ingredients on site, but a few days before the event, several important suppliers suddenly informed us that they could not provide the ingredients on time due to transportation problems.

Chen Yu was extremely anxious when he heard the news. He immediately discussed countermeasures with Wang Jianye and Master Li. "Boss Wang, Master Li, what should we do? If we can't supply the ingredients, this event will be ruined." Chen Yu frowned, his face full of anxiety.

Wang Jianye pondered for a moment and said firmly, "We can't give up just like that. Xiao Chen, contact other suppliers immediately to see if we can urgently allocate some ingredients. Chef Li, let's readjust the activity plan and focus more on the display of our existing dishes and the explanation of cooking techniques."

Chef Li nodded and said, "Okay, I will arrange for the chef team to prepare some dishes that are simple to make and can reflect our characteristics for demonstration."

With the joint efforts of everyone, after several days of running around and coordination, the food problem was finally solved. On the day of the event, although there were some twists and turns in the process, it was still a complete success. Local residents tasted the delicious food, learned cooking skills, and praised the team spirit and adaptability of Wang's All-Series Restaurant.

In another community cultural exchange activity, the hotel planned to hold a food culture lecture and invited a well-known food expert to explain the integration of African food culture and food from all over the world. However, just before the lecture was about to begin, the food expert suddenly fell ill and was unable to come.

Faced with this sudden change, Wang Jianye did not panic. He quickly decided to go on stage himself and explain to everyone based on his years of experience in the catering industry and his understanding of African cuisine. Standing on the podium, he said confidently: "Although the experts we invited today cannot come, I believe that our love for food and pursuit of cultural integration will remain unchanged. Today, I will share with you the world of food in my eyes."

Wang Jianye vividly described how all Wang's restaurants combined African specialty ingredients with Asian cooking techniques in the process of developing dishes. The residents in the audience listened with great interest and exclaimed in amazement from time to time.

As time goes by, Wang's full range of restaurants have become more and more solid in their roots in Africa. They not only continue to strive for excellence in food and service, but also actively participate in more community building. In Cape Town, they sponsored a youth football club, providing training venues and equipment for the children. Wang Jianye said at the sponsorship ceremony: "Children are the future of the community. We hope that by supporting football, they will have a healthy body and a positive spirit."

In Nairobi, the hotel organized employees to visit the elderly in nursing homes regularly, bringing them delicious food and wonderful performances. Chef Li personally prepared some light and easy-to-digest food for the elderly. He sat next to the elderly and patiently asked about their taste. The elderly's faces were filled with happy smiles.

In the days ahead, Wang's full range of restaurants will continue to work hard in this vast land of Africa. They know that only by constantly exploring and innovating, and closely integrating with local culture and eating habits, can they launch more amazing and delicious dishes. In the food research and development room, Chef Li and his team of chefs sat around a table full of ingredients, enthusiastically discussing the creativity of new dishes.

"Master, I think we can combine African cassava and Korean bibimbap to create a new staple food," said a young chef excitedly.

Master Li thought about it for a while, nodded and said, "This is a good idea. We can try it. Cassava has a unique taste, and the cooking method of stone pot bibimbap is also very unique. Combining the two may have unexpected results."

At the same time, they will continue to actively participate in community activities and give back to the society with practical actions. Chen Yu discussed the plan for the next community activity with community staff. He said seriously: "We hope that through these activities, we can enhance the communication and feelings between community residents and let everyone feel the warmth and cohesion of the community." (End of this chapter)