Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Wang Jianye smiled at the camera and said: "It's actually very simple, it's just about having a deep understanding of the local market and understanding the needs of customers.

While maintaining the core characteristics of the food, make changes to suit local eating habits and taste preferences.

More importantly, we should use food as a medium for cultural exchange, so that people can understand the culture behind the food while tasting it.”

The reporter also interviewed several customers who were dining: "What about you? What attracted you to this restaurant?" A customer said excitedly: "The food here is so delicious! Like this Chinese braised pork burger, it has a unique Chinese flavor and is convenient and fast.

And by dining here, I also learned a lot about Chinese culture, which was very interesting.”

Another customer added: "Yeah, before, all I knew about Chinese food was the common ones.

Through this restaurant, I discovered that Chinese cuisine has so many interesting varieties and such a deep cultural connotation behind it, which is amazing.”

After the interview, Wang Jianye stood at the door of the restaurant, looking at the store full of customers and the pedestrians coming and going on the street, and a deep sense of accomplishment and mission surged in his heart.

"I want not only to let Xuzhou cuisine take root here, but also to spread China's excellent food culture through it and let the world see the unique charm of Xuzhou."

He silently made a vow in his heart and looked into the distance with a firm gaze.

As the hotel’s popularity grows, more and more people want to join Wang’s full range of hotels.

Wang Jianye began to prepare for the chain franchise business.

He knew that this was a new opportunity and also a greater challenge.

"We want to promote the improved Xuzhou cuisine to a wider market, but we must keep the quality and cultural connotation unchanged."

Wang Jianye told team members at an internal meeting.

During the busy preparation process, Wang Jianye encountered various problems and difficulties.

Some people expressed concerns about the franchise model, while others were worried about the supply of food and the uniformity of standards.

But Wang Jianye always coordinates and resolves the problems patiently.

“We will definitely overcome these difficulties.

Every new challenge is an opportunity to grow.

We want to make Xuzhou cuisine an indispensable part of American cuisine, so that more people can enjoy this delicious food from the East.”

Wang Jianye encourages the team and also motivates himself.

After careful preparation and strict screening of franchisees, Wang's full range of restaurant chain stores opened in various areas of Los Angeles.

Each store maintains a unified decoration style and food quality, and business is very hot.

Wang Jianye felt very pleased as he looked at the franchise stores that were doing booming business.

……

In Los Angeles, as the popularity of all Wang's restaurant branches continues to rise, the number of customers in the store has increased dramatically.

The restaurant, which was once a little empty, is now always full of diners and is very lively.

In the kitchen, the stove is burning all day long, the chefs' hands move smoothly, and delicious dishes are constantly served on the table.

However, behind the apparent prosperity lies a crisis, and food supply has gradually become a huge stumbling block for Wang Jianye.

In the 1990s, international cold chain transportation technology was not mature enough and conditions were quite limited.

When importing spices and specialty ingredients with unique flavors from China, Wang Jianye often encounters obstacles due to various complex issues, especially the customs quarantine process, which gives him a headache.

On the eve of an important festival, the hotel welcomed its peak booking period. All tables were booked in advance, and diners were looking forward to tasting Wang's Hotel's signature dishes during the festival.

Wang Jianye stood in the restaurant, looking at the busy yet hopeful scene, feeling both joy and a hint of worry in his heart, because just a few days ago, he received news that a batch of vital ingredients were encountering trouble during transportation.

Sure enough, the bad news came.

The employee in charge of logistics came running over anxiously, his face full of panic: "Boss, this is bad! The entire batch of star anise and peppercorns shipped from China was seized by customs, saying that the packaging was not in compliance with regulations."

Wang Jianye's heart skipped a beat, his eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief: "How could this happen? The season before the festival is when the most spices are used. Without these spices, many of our signature dishes cannot be made. What can we do?" The employee shook his head helplessly: "I can't do anything about it, boss. Customs said we must follow the regulations."

Wang Jianye paced back and forth, his brain working rapidly: "It's too late to re-ship from China. We have to think of other ways quickly."

Suddenly, he thought of the Mexican spice supplier.

Although we have always been accustomed to using spices originating from China, we can only try it out at this moment.

Wang Jianye immediately picked up the phone and contacted the Mexican spice supplier.

A Spanish greeting came from the other end of the phone, and Wang Jianye tried to say in not very fluent Spanish: "Hello, I am the owner of Wang's Restaurant.

I'm in urgent need of a batch of chili peppers and cumin. Do you have any in stock?" The supplier's voice was a little puzzled: "Yes, but you suddenly need so much. Is there any special purpose?" Wang Jianye hurriedly explained: "I plan to use them to replace some Chinese spices. We are in an emergency now."

The supplier thought for a moment and said, “Oh, I see, we do have the product.

But the taste may not be exactly the same, are you sure you want it?" Wang Jianye gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I want it."

I can't care about so much anymore, I have to solve the urgent problem first."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Jianye still felt uncertain: "I hope the Mexican chili and cumin can be used. Otherwise, the restaurant will lose its credibility with customers at this critical moment."

Soon, spices from Mexico were delivered to the restaurant.

Wang Jianye immediately asked the chefs to try cooking with these new spices.

The chef looked at the colorful Mexican peppers and cumin in front of him, frowned and said, "Boss, this tastes too different from the star anise and pepper we usually use, will it work?" Wang Jianye patted the chef on the shoulder and said, "No choice, let's try it first.

Try tweaking the recipe as much as possible to see if you can get it to taste close to the original.

Customers are waiting, and we have to come up with a solution.”

The chefs began to get busy, carefully measuring spices in front of the stove, constantly adjusting the proportions, trying to make dishes that were close to the flavor of the signature dishes.

However, after several rounds of attempts, although the dishes tasted pretty good, there was still a clear gap compared to the signature dishes made with traditional recipes.

Wang Jianye tasted the newly cooked dish and frowned: "It still doesn't taste right, but there is no time to think of other solutions now.

Let’s just supply it on a small scale and see how customers respond.”

This thrilling pre-holiday crisis made Wang Jianye deeply aware of the seriousness of the food supply problem. He must find a thorough solution instead of always cramming at the last minute.

He sat in his office, staring at the map of North America on the wall, thinking about how to break through the current supply chain difficulties.

After careful consideration, Wang Jianye decided to rent land on a farm in central America and grow basic ingredients such as onions, ginger, and garlic.

He personally went to the farm. The owner was an honest American man. Seeing Wang Jianye's Asian face, he curiously asked, "Hello, sir. What are you going to grow on this land? Corn and wheat are the most common crops here."

Wang Jianye smiled and replied: "I want to grow onions, ginger and garlic, which are essential ingredients in our Chinese cuisine."

The farmer was a little confused: "Onions, ginger, and garlic? I've been farming for so many years, and I've never seen this grown on a large scale.

Are you sure you can make money?" Wang Jianye said confidently: "Of course you can.

I run a Chinese restaurant and use a lot of these ingredients, so growing them myself can ensure a steady supply.”

The farmer nodded and said, "Okay, but you have to pay attention to some technical issues when growing onions, ginger and garlic. I can give you some advice."

Wang Jianye said gratefully: “Thank you so much.

I will hire professional Chinese farm workers to take care of it, it should be no problem.”

After the land lease was agreed upon, Wang Jianye quickly found a group of experienced Chinese farmers and workers.

They looked at this new land with full anticipation.

Wang Jianye stood on the ridge of the field and said to everyone: "Fellow villagers, the onions, ginger and garlic we are growing now are related to the future of the hotel.

Everyone needs to plant carefully and strive to grow the best quality onions, ginger and garlic.”

The farmers and workers responded one after another: "Don't worry, boss. We are all experienced in growing onions, ginger and garlic. There will be no problem."

At the same time, Wang Jianye contacted a Chinese food factory in Canada through various connections.

He was negotiating with the owner of the food factory in the conference room.

Wang Jianye got straight to the point and said, "Our restaurant needs a stable supply of pre-made sauce packages and hopes to cooperate with your factory."

The food factory owner smiled and responded: “I’m happy to cooperate with you.

However, we must ensure that the sauce meets the food safety standards of the United States. Do you have the corresponding requirements and formulas? "Wang Jianye handed over a document: "This is the formula I made based on the taste of Chinese dishes and American standards. We hope that the sauce can retain the Chinese flavor while meeting the strict regulations here. "

The food factory owner flipped through the documents carefully and said, “I took a look and there is nothing wrong with these requirements.

But the production process may be more complicated and the cost will be relatively high.”

Wang Jianye answered without hesitation: "Cost is not a problem, the key is to ensure quality and stable supply.

We can sign a long-term cooperation agreement first.”

The boss of the food factory nodded and said, "Okay, then we will have a pleasant cooperation.

I will immediately arrange the R&D and production plans.”

But this is not enough. Wang Jianye knows very well that if he wants to solve the customs quarantine problem from the root, he must make the import process fully compliant.

So he spared no expense to hire a professional team of lawyers.

The head of the legal team was a serious and capable lady. When we first met, she asked, "Boss Wang, please tell me in detail about the problems you encountered in importing food ingredients."

Wang Jianye described in detail the previous incident where food materials were detained due to non-compliant packaging, and said worriedly: "Please see how we can solve this problem so that imports will be smoother in the future."

The lawyer thought for a moment and replied: “FDA regulations have very strict provisions for food packaging labels.

We need to redesign the packaging and labeling to ensure that all necessary information is included, such as origin, ingredients, production date, shelf life, etc.

There are also requirements for language, font size, and format.”

Wang Jianye had a headache: "It's so complicated, how should we do it specifically?" The lawyer said confidently: "We will carry out detailed design according to the regulations.

Just provide accurate information about the ingredients.

In addition, we can also assist with subsequent import declaration and other processes to ensure that all links comply with regulations.”

After a series of intensive preparations and efforts, the new supply system gradually began to operate.

On the farms in central America, onions, ginger and garlic are growing vigorously, and farm workers are carefully caring for these crops that carry Wang Jianye's hopes.

During the harvest season, baskets of fresh onions, ginger and garlic are transported to the restaurant.

"This batch of onions, ginger and garlic is of great quality. I feel more at ease knowing that I have grown my own food."

Wang Jianye looked at the onions, ginger and garlic that had just arrived and a gratified smile appeared on his face.

Chinese food factories in Canada produced pre-made sauce packages as required and delivered them to restaurants through special cold chain transportation.

The chefs opened the sauce packets, and the familiar and rich Chinese flavor filled the kitchen.

"This sauce is very close to the taste we want, so the taste of our signature dish can be kept stable."

The chef said excitedly.

The redesigned imported food packaging and labels also passed customs quarantine smoothly.

There will no longer be a situation where food is left behind due to packaging issues.

During this process, Wang Jianye did not relax the management and monitoring of the supply network.

He often discusses planting details with Chinese farmers and businessmen on the farm, maintains close communication with Canadian food factories to understand the production of sauces, and confirms regulatory updates with the legal team from time to time so that packaging and import processes can be adjusted in a timely manner.

Gradually, a stable multinational supply network was established.

Standing in the hotel's warehouse, Wang Jianye looked at the shelves piled with high-quality ingredients from all over the world, and was filled with emotion: "After so many twists and turns, we have finally solved the problem of food supply.

In the future, the restaurant can develop more stably and allow more customers to taste authentic Chinese cuisine.”

As time went by, the restaurant's business got better and better, and the stable supply of food provided a solid guarantee for the restaurant's continued prosperity.

Customers still rave about the restaurant's signature dishes, and the stories behind it about solving the food supply chain problem, although unknown to customers, have become the most unforgettable struggle experience in Wang Jianye's heart.

On a warm and comfortable night, the restaurant was as lively as usual.

Wang Jianye sat in the corner, quietly watching people enjoying the delicious food.

The waiter next to him smiled and said to him: "Boss, the supply of ingredients has been stable recently, and the customers are more satisfied with the dishes."

Wang Jianye nodded slightly: "Yes, this journey was not easy, but I finally made it through.

Thinking back to those difficulties now, it really seems like a nightmare.”

The waiter said with emotion: "If you hadn't kept thinking of ways, I really don't know what would have happened. (End of this chapter)