Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

After tasting the special dishes, a foreign tourist gave a thumbs up and said, "Not only is the food in this restaurant delicious, but you can also feel the local cultural heritage from the dishes. It's really great!" However, just as the restaurant was gradually recovering, new twists and turns arose.

Due to the significant increase in passenger flow during the event, the frequency of use of kitchen equipment also increased greatly, and some old equipment began to malfunction.

One evening, near the peak dinner time, the stove suddenly began to emit thick smoke and could not be used normally.

The chef ran to Wang Jianye in a panic and said, "Boss, this is bad. The stove is broken. What should I do?" Wang Jianye was startled for a moment, but soon calmed down and said, "Don't worry. Contact the maintenance staff immediately to see if it can be fixed as soon as possible.

At the same time, notify other chefs to adjust their cooking plans and give priority to using other available equipment.”

The maintenance personnel haven't arrived yet, but the phone for food orders keeps ringing.

The operator, Xiao Wang, said anxiously: "Boss, many customers have ordered meals, but this stove..." Wang Jianye took a deep breath: "First calm the customers and tell them that we will do our best to ensure the supply of dishes. The serving time may be slightly delayed. Please understand."

Under Wang Jianye's orderly arrangement, the employees worked together, adjusted their working methods while waiting for maintenance personnel, and tried their best to ensure the supply of food.

The maintenance personnel finally arrived, and after some intensive repairs, the stove resumed normal operation.

"It's finally fixed. It really hurt!" The chef wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Jianye patted him on the shoulder and said, “Thank you for your hard work.

This also reminds us that we should regularly check and maintain the equipment in the future to prevent such a situation from happening again."

After this minor setback, the hotel resumed its normal business pace.

As word of mouth accumulates, more and more customers become loyal fans of Wang's Restaurant.

Not only Suzhou local residents often visit this place, but also tourists from other places come here to visit.

"We heard that this restaurant combines the specialties of Suzhou and Xuzhou, so we came all the way here to try it."

A group of tourists from the north said excitedly.

In a corner of the restaurant, a food critic was tasting the dishes carefully and taking notes in his notebook from time to time.

After the meal, he found Wang Jianye and said, “Boss Wang, I have tasted delicious food in various places for many years, and your restaurant has left a deep impression on me.

Whether it is the taste of the dishes or the way of dealing with the crisis, they all show a very high standard. ”

Wang Jianye said modestly: "Thank you for your recognition, we will continue to work hard and keep improving."

……

In the mid-1990s, Jiefang Road in Ma'anshan was extremely bustling.

There are shops lining both sides of the street, and the bustling crowds of people. Various hawking sounds and laughter are intertwined, forming a lively market picture.

With his love for food and vision for the future, Wang Jianye opened a branch specializing in Xuzhou-style dishes in this bustling area.

On the day the branch opened, the store entrance was decorated with lights and colorful banners, festive red banners fluttered in the wind, and the sound of firecrackers echoed throughout the street.

Wang Jianye stood at the door of the store with a confident smile on his face, his heart full of expectations for the future of the store: "My authentic Xuzhou flavor will definitely make a name for itself in Ma'anshan!" The decoration inside the store is simple and generous, the tables and chairs are neatly arranged, and there are several paintings on the wall showing the customs and people of Xuzhou.

In the kitchen, the chefs were already ready, the flames on the stove were roaring, and all kinds of ingredients were emitting tempting aromas.

However, reality dealt Wang Jianye a heavy blow.

In the first week of opening, the hotel business was not as good as expected.

Customers walked into the store and tried to order the signature "Xuzhou Earth Pot Chicken", but when the dishes were served, problems arose one after another.

A local lady in a light-colored cheongsam frowned, took a bite of the clay pot chicken, gently put down her chopsticks, and said to the waiter: "Miss, this chicken is too spicy. We Ma'anshan people can't eat such spicy food. Can you help me return it?" The waiter looked embarrassed and replied helplessly: "I'm sorry, I'll ask the boss."

After a while, Wang Jianye came hurriedly and said apologetically: "I am really sorry for giving you a bad experience.

This dish is a specialty of our Xuzhou, and the spiciness may not be to your taste.

How about I change another dish for you?" The lady shook her head: "Forget it, maybe I'm not used to the taste.

I hope you can improve on this.”

After saying that, he and his companions got up and left.

Wang Jianye looked at the departing customers and felt very disappointed: "How could this happen? This is a very popular dish in Xuzhou, why is it so popular in Ma'anshan..." Similar situations occurred one after another, and many customers returned the clay pot chicken because it was too spicy.

The atmosphere in the store became a little dull, and the chefs all had frowns on their faces.

At the same time, Mr. Huang, the owner of the Caishiji Dried Tea Shop next door, heard the noise here, showed a mocking smile on his face, walked over slowly, and said in a sarcastic tone: "Boss Wang, I heard that your rough northern dishes are not very popular in Ma'anshan? How can they compare with our fine dishes? Our Ma'anshan dishes are a fusion of the salty and fresh Anhui cuisine and the light Huaiyang cuisine. They are exquisite.

I'm afraid your Xuzhou cuisine, which is heavy in salt and sauce, will have a hard time finding a market here."

Wang Jianye felt a surge of anger in his heart, but he still suppressed it, gritted his teeth and said, "Boss Huang, you can't say that.

The cuisine of each place has its own characteristics, and I believe my Xuzhou cuisine will definitely find a place here.”

Boss Huang smiled contemptuously: "Hmph, then I'll wait and see how you turn things around!" After saying that, he turned around and walked back to his shop.

Looking at Boss Huang's departing back, Wang Jianye felt a surge of unwillingness to admit defeat: "I just don't believe it. I must make sure Xuzhou cuisine takes root in Ma'anshan!" In order to find out the problem, Wang Jianye decided to visit the vegetable market in Ma'anshan with his team of chefs.

In the early morning, the vegetable market is already bustling with activity.

Various stalls are lined up, offering a wide variety of fresh vegetables, lively river fish, and colorful soy products.

When Wang Jianye and his party walked into the vegetable market, they were immediately attracted by the scene before them.

They shuttled between the stalls and observed the locals' shopping preferences.

In front of many stalls, river fish such as mandarin fish and river shrimps are very popular. The stall owners are shouting their wares enthusiastically while handling the live fish and shrimps skillfully.

Wang Jianye walked towards a fish stall owner and asked with a smile: "Boss, the river fish here is very popular. Usually, most of the customers are locals, right?" The stall owner replied cheerfully: "Of course, we Ma'anshan people love river fish. It's fresh and delicious."

Not far away, a bean product stall was also surrounded by people.

Wang Jianye walked over again, picked up a piece of dried tea, and asked the stall owner: "Master, your dried tea is very popular. How do you usually eat it?" The stall owner enthusiastically introduced: "There are many ways to eat this dried tea. It is delicious when mixed with vegetables or stir-fried. It can also be used to make soup. It tastes so delicious."

After some visits and observations, Wang Jianye had an idea in his mind.

He gathered the chefs together and said seriously: "As you can see, people in Ma'anshan prefer fresh river food and soy products.

We have to improve the dishes according to local tastes.

Take the clay pot chicken for example, it can be changed to 'Ma'anshan River Fresh Pot', adding river fresh fish such as mandarin fish and river shrimp, and stewing them with local dried tea. This can not only retain some of the characteristics of our Xuzhou cuisine, but also meet the tastes of local people. "

The chef hesitated: "Boss, this is a big change, will it work?" Wang Jianye said firmly: "Of course it will work! We came to Ma'anshan to make customers accept our dishes, and we will not be able to do it without making changes."

The chefs nodded in agreement. Although they were still a little worried, seeing Wang Jianye so determined, they mustered up the courage to start experimenting with the development of new dishes.

Back at the restaurant, the kitchen was bustling with activity.

The chefs carefully select fresh mandarin fish, lively river shrimps and delicate dried tea leaves, and wash and process them meticulously.

The pot on the stove was heated, and the chef took charge of the cooking himself. He first fried the mandarin fish until both sides were golden brown, then put in the river shrimp and stir-fried it briefly, then added the chopped dried tea, poured in the soup prepared in advance, covered the pot and simmered it slowly.

After a while, an enticing aroma emanated from the pot.

"Master, this smells so good, it should feel good."

A young chef said excitedly.

The chef smiled and said, "I hope this will be successful and live up to the boss's expectations."

After many attempts and adjustments, the "Ma'anshan River Fresh Pot" was finally finalized.

Wang Jianye decided to let the store employees try the food first to see the effect.

The employees sat around and couldn't wait to pick up their chopsticks to taste the food.

"Wow, this tastes amazing! It has the freshness of river seafood and the mellowness of dried tea, a perfect blend."

a waiter exclaimed.

The others also nodded with satisfied smiles on their faces.

Wang Jianye was relieved when he saw everyone's reaction: "It seems that this improvement is in the right direction. The next step is to promote it to customers and see how the market responds."

In addition to the "Ma'anshan River Fresh Pot", Wang Jianye also thought of an improvement plan for the braised pork.

He heard that Dangtu rice wine was famous far and wide, so he had an idea and decided to use Dangtu rice wine to reduce the juice and launch the "Wine-flavored Braised Pork".

When making "Wine-Fragrant Braised Pork Belly", chefs cut the selected pork belly into neat cubes, blanch them in a pot, then add appropriate amounts of soy sauce, onion, ginger, garlic and other seasonings, and then pour in the fragrant Dangtu rice wine.

As the meat simmers over low heat, the aroma of the rice wine gradually permeates the meat, and the whole kitchen is filled with a rich aroma of wine.

"This piece of meat smells so good. The flavor of rice wine makes the meat more mellow."

One chef couldn't help but say.

“Yeah, I hope the customers will like it.”

Another chef responded.

After the new dishes were ready, Wang Jianye re-publicized and promoted the store.

He had eye-catching posters made and posted them at the store entrance and in prominent locations on the street. The big words "New Dishes on the Market" on the posters were particularly eye-catching.

On the first day of the launch of the new dishes, the store welcomed many customers.

A regular customer walked into the store and saw the new dishes on the menu. He curiously asked the waiter, "What do your new 'Ma'anshan River Fresh Pot' and 'Wine-flavored Braised Pork' taste like?" The waiter enthusiastically introduced, "This 'Ma'anshan River Fresh Pot' is stewed with fresh mandarin fish, river shrimp and dried tea, and it tastes especially delicious.

'Wine-flavored pork with pork belly' is made with Dangtu rice wine, and has a strong wine aroma. You can try it."

After hearing this, the customer was very excited: "It sounds good, let's have one each to try."

After a while, the new dishes were served on the table.

After tasting the "Ma'anshan River Fresh Hotpot", the customer's eyes lit up immediately: "Wow, this tastes so good! The freshness of river fresh and the fragrance of dried tea are so well integrated. This is the first time I have eaten such a special dish."

Then, he took another bite of the "Wine-flavored Pork Buns" with a satisfied smile on his face: "This pork buns melts in my mouth and has a light aroma of wine. It's really good! Your new dish is a success."

Hearing the customer's praise, Wang Jianye finally put his mind at ease: "That's great, as long as the customer approves, it seems that all my efforts have paid off."

As more and more customers tried and accepted the new dishes, Wang's Restaurant's business gradually improved.

The store is no longer deserted as before, but is filled with laughter.

New and old customers came in droves to taste the new dishes, and through word of mouth, the restaurant's popularity grew.

When Mr. Huang from the "Caishiji Dried Tea Shop" next door saw this scene, he was a little surprised and a little impressed.

One day, he took the initiative to come to Wang Jianye’s store and said with a smile: “Boss Wang, you really made it big! I underestimated you before.

You are really good at adapting dishes to local tastes."

Wang Jianye responded with a smile: “Boss Huang, thank you for the compliment.

Every place has its own unique food culture. Only by integrating and learning from each other can we do business well. "

Boss Huang nodded: "That's indeed the truth.

Your innovative spirit is worth learning from.

Maybe my tea shop will have to make some changes in the future as well.”

The two smiled at each other, and the previous conflict seemed to disappear in this smile.

In the following days, Wang Jianye was not satisfied with the status quo.

He continues to lead his team of chefs to study how to more perfectly integrate Xuzhou cuisine with the local characteristics of Ma'anshan, and constantly introduce new dishes.

Once, an old customer made a suggestion to Wang Jianye: "Boss Wang, your dishes are getting better and better.

But I was thinking, can we combine some of our famous snacks in Ma'anshan with Xuzhou cuisine? Maybe there will be some new surprises."

After hearing this, Wang Jianye's eyes lit up: "Your suggestion is great! We will definitely study it carefully."

Back in the kitchen, Wang Jianye and the chefs immediately started a discussion.

They thought that the Chongyang cake in Ma'anshan was very distinctive, and wondered if they could incorporate elements of Chongyang cake into Xuzhou cuisine. After many experiments, they crushed the Chongyang cake and added it to a stew, which had the effect of enhancing the flavor and thickness, and launched a new dish "Chongyang Cake Stewed Pork Ribs".

This new dish was also well received by customers as soon as it was launched. (End of this chapter)