From selling box lunches to becoming a famous Chinese chef

Chapter 281 Becoming a leader among young chefs

Starting at less than two o'clock in the afternoon, when all the dishes of the young chefs on site were finished, it had already been dark for a long time outside.

It was already eight o'clock in the evening.

The young chefs who finished the dishes first have already had their dishes tasted by the judges.

Not long after Feng Zhengming’s Bazhen Budai Chicken Soup was completed.

Xia Mingye’s Confucius first-grade eight-treasure cup was also completed at the scene.

Tai Fung House’s young chef Shi Yongjin’s mullet egg soup is also served out of the pot.

Naturally, these three soups became the three that the judges paid the most attention to.

This time, neither Zhu Xu from Jubinyuan nor Duan Jinsheng from Jufengde could match the popularity of Feng Zhengming and the other three.

Among them, Master Sun, when he heard everyone praising his disciple, his face was naturally filled with pride and joy.

Especially Feng Zhengming seems to be really having sex with the Xia family of Confucius cuisine.

Through observation, Master Yan determined that Feng Zhengming's character was not bad and brought him back to Yanxi Tower.

So from the comparison of the on-site color, fragrance and shape.

He is what every family begs for, hoping to find a job and make money through their own efforts.

In fact, Master Yan himself never thought that after the closure of Yanxi Tower.

"Zhengming should be the number one pick. His points from the previous two games are there. Even if this dish is only rated fifth today, he should be able to win the number one pick based on his total points."

Undoubtedly, Feng Zhengming’s Bazhen Bag Chicken is the unshakable number one.

And judging from the dishes in the three competitions, Feng Zhengming did not give up on improving his skills because of business.

He no longer just worked hard, but began to study and ponder secretly in the kitchen.

At that time, Feng Zhengming was thin, tall and dirty, looking for work on the streets.

Not only did his young apprentice not get discouraged, but he only needed half a year to establish himself and make a name for himself in Quan City.

There was actually a demonstration of a whole chicken being deboned today.

After Feng Zhengming and Xia Mingye cooked two such good dishes yesterday.

I never tire of fine food, and I never tire of fine food.

It wasn't until more than three years ago that Feng Zhengming suddenly seemed to have an enlightenment.

Shi Yongjin's mullet egg soup was made during these days of competition. Master Sun urged him to study every day. Master Sun even taught his apprentice his secret recipe without reservation when it came to seasoning.

"Congratulations, Lao Yan, for having such a powerful apprentice."

A head start from the first game.

From Feng Zhengming’s three dishes, you can see the true essence of Shandong cuisine.

Master Yan finally came up with the idea of ​​recruiting a disciple.

In the second session, we made braised chestnut pigeon after observing Confucius cuisine.

Because Master Yan felt that although Feng Zhengming was practical in his work, he lacked some spirituality.

The master chefs on site had already expressed their congratulations to Master Yan in advance.

From then on, Master Yan discovered that Feng Zhengming had become very spiritual.

The skills Feng Zhengming demonstrated are enough to make him a master chef in any restaurant.

However, Master Yan never thought of accepting him as his apprentice at first.

Feng Zhengming really integrates various techniques of traditional and classic Shandong cuisine, and incorporates some fresh and fashionable things, treating every dish as a work of art.

But Master Sun still didn't expect anything.

Let’s go to the third scene, the eight-jean bag chicken.

"Lao Yan, Xiao Feng is going to win the top prize this time."

After seeing Feng Zhengming himself asking for advice from his senior brothers and secretly observing in the kitchen, his cooking skills were slowly improving.

From the time he started working in the kitchen, Feng Zhengming was extremely serious and hard-working.

Chef Yan thought at that time that perhaps because Feng Zhengming had stayed in the kitchen for a long time and watched too many details of his fellow apprentices' cooking, he was suddenly able to cut the ingredients, and later even went to the stove to prepare staff meals for his fellow apprentices.

Master Yan looked at his young apprentice with joy, and the first meeting between master and apprentice many years ago vaguely appeared in front of his eyes.

"That's right, Zhengming must be the top pick."

Even if he couldn't find a suitable job, he never thought of stealing, robbing or begging for food when he was hungry.

On the last day, the two of them still didn't relax.

Moreover, Feng Zhengming’s Bazhen Budai Chicken Soup can be said to be another version of Kongfu’s first-class Bazhen Soup.

"This time Lao Yan really stole the show."

The purpose is to allow Shi Yongjin to show off this move in the last game.

When Master Yan heard the congratulations from Master Yan, he was naturally filled with pride.

For traditional masters, the final apprentice must be spiritual enough to learn, learn, and learn all the skills taught by the master. After mastering the skills, he must be able to integrate various techniques and create a new career. own stuff.

Only in this way can the master's sect be supported and the master's craftsmanship continue.

Before Master Yan accepted Feng Zhengming, he had been looking for such a young apprentice.

After finally seeing Feng Zhengming awakening, Master Yan decided that Feng Zhengming was the one.

For more than two years, Master Yan taught almost all his skills to Feng Zhengming.

Even when he went out for cooking exchanges, he always took Feng Zhengming with him.

The purpose is to let Feng Zhengming see more and learn more. After increasing his knowledge, he can better inherit the craftsmanship.

This provincial young chef cooking exchange competition really allowed Master Yan to witness the skills of his young apprentices. The young apprentices can not stick to tradition and boldly innovate on the basis of tradition.

At the same time, Feng Zhengming is not innovating for the sake of innovation. He has not discarded traditional things.

Master Yan felt relieved after witnessing all this.

The old master knew that Feng Zhengming would pass on his craftsmanship in the future.

This is also the result a master hopes to see most.

The master chefs praised Feng Zhengming for a long time, but Master Yan didn't say anything and kept staring at Feng Zhengming.

Master Su joked: "Hahaha, it seems that Lao Yan is really too happy and has no time to talk to us."

These words made the other masters laugh, and Master Yan immediately came back to his senses.

Master Yan sighed with emotion: "I was just thinking that from the time Zhengming entered Yanxi Tower to when he was officially accepted as my apprentice, seven years have passed without knowing it. His growth has been so rapid, which is really surprising. That’s what I expected.”

Hearing Master Yan's emotion, the masters also felt a little emotional. Many old chefs started working in the kitchen when they were fifteen or sixteen years old.

To be able to truly become a master requires a long period of training, especially to be favored by the master, in order to learn the true craftsmanship from the master.

Today the masters are here, and outsiders can only see the respect they receive and the disciples and grandsons who surround them.

But once upon a time, master masters were also apprentices, and they were also young.

Even when they were young, they experienced and suffered more than the young chefs today.

Looking back on the past, the old chefs really felt a little envious of today's young chefs.

They can get more resources and can show themselves and learn many techniques from old chefs in such province-wide young chef cooking exchange competitions.

Similarly, the old chefs saw Feng Zhengming, Xia Mingye, Shi Yongjin, Zhu Xu, and Duan Jinsheng, the best among the young chefs.

It was as if they had seen themselves when they were young, and they had been so high-spirited back then.

After the master chefs talked and expressed their feelings, they went forward together as judges to taste the last three soup dishes.

First up is Shi Yongjin’s mullet egg soup.

It is very delicious and has a small spicy and sour taste. You can hardly taste the fishy smell of the mullet eggs.

The judges really felt their appetites were whetted after drinking a bowl, and they all felt that it was indeed the best soup among Shandong cuisine.

Next, the judges tasted Xia Mingye’s Confucius First Grade Eight Treasures Cup.

There is no sourness or hotness in the previous mullet egg soup, but the Kongfu Yipin Bazhen Cup is pure deliciousness.

The soup has a light salty flavor, combined with the umami flavors of various ingredients. This soup seems very light, but it tastes no less delicious than the mullet egg soup.

The last thing I tasted was Feng Zhengming’s Bazhen Budai Chicken.

Feng Zhengming kept simmering the soup over low heat to prevent it from getting cold.

After everyone came over, Feng Zhengming opened the bag of chicken for the judges on the spot.

Ladle the Bazhen meatballs and soup to each judge.

Bowl after bowl was handed to each judge.

When the judges tasted Feng Zhengming's soup, they found that the taste was completely different from the previous two soups.

It's not as hot and sour as the mullet egg soup, but it's also richer in flavor than the chicken soup from Kongfu Yipin Bazhen Cup.

Then eat a Bazhen meatball, wrapped in five kinds of silk, which can be soft and waxy, or crispy. The meatball made of pureed shrimp and chicken has a Q-bomb. After biting open, there is a wrapped tendon inside.

This Bazhen meatball really has a variety of unique tastes.

Finally, take a sip of the soup, which is really delicious.

The three soups each have their own characteristics, and after tasting them, it was really difficult for the judges to judge.

After tasting it, Mr. Su couldn't help but sigh: "The soup of our Shandong cuisine is really brought out to the fullest. The three soups are all very delicious. After drinking it, you will have endless aftertaste. The three soups stacked together are even more incredible."

Li Zhifeng was a little excited: "Who said our Shandong cuisine only has stir-fried and dark dishes? Even soup dishes will not lose to other cuisines."

This statement was naturally approved by most of the judges present.

Master Hou and several judges from Beijing looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

They could understand Li Zhifeng's excitement.

After all, it may be that over the years, other areas outside have had serious stereotypes about Shandong cuisine.

Especially in recent years, southern Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine have become more and more popular.

Invisibly squeezing the market of Shandong cuisine.

It is gradually forming that Sichuan food is eaten in ordinary restaurants and Cantonese food is eaten in high-end restaurants.

Shandong cuisine has been inherited in an orderly manner and could once be called the root of northern cuisine. However, now it seems to be limited to this province and cannot spread as widely as Sichuan cuisine and Cantonese cuisine.

What is particularly difficult for Li Zhifeng and some master chefs from other places to accept is that even though everyone has the same professional title, Cantonese and Sichuan chefs will receive more wages than Shandong chefs.

So this is the provincial young chef cooking exchange competition.

Li Zhifeng also has his own ambitions, hoping to showcase and promote Shandong cuisine through such exchanges and competitions.

And Li Zhifeng hopes that more young Shandong cuisine chefs will go out of the province in the future.

We need to go to a national or even larger stage to showcase and promote Shandong cuisine.

The judges tasted the last three soups, and dinner was prepared for the busy young chefs participating in the competition.

Li Zhifeng told everyone: "After dinner today, all the young masters can go back and rest first. Tomorrow morning will be our closing ceremony. At that time, the top three in this competition will be announced, and the gold, silver and bronze medals will also be announced. Award-winning single dish.”

Obviously after several days of competition, the judges may still need to have a serious discussion in the evening.

In particular, individual dishes that receive gold, silver, and bronze awards require some detailed scoring and review.

Although it is impossible for the chefs to make the previous dishes again, there are photos taken by a dedicated on-site photographer to facilitate the judges' discussion.

Feng Zhengming had dinner with the players, and each of them left one after another with different moods.

When Feng Zhengming, Xia Hui, Sun Hai, Yang Peng and Zhang Lei were preparing to leave, they happened to meet Jubinyuan, Taifeng Tower, Jufengde, Kongfu Xiajia, Master Cui's apprentice, etc.

When everyone met outside the stadium, they were naturally polite to each other.

But this time, the young chefs, including Jufengde Duan Jinsheng, were no longer dissatisfied with Feng Zhengming.

Zhu Xu of Jubinyuan, Shi Yongjin of Taifeng Tower, Duan Jinsheng of Jufeng De, Xia Mingye of Confucius Caixia family, and several other disciples of the old master respectfully addressed Feng Zhengming as "Uncle Master".

At this moment, although the final results have not yet been announced, Feng Zhengming has been recognized by the younger generation of chefs.

Feng Zhengming responded with a smile: "You don't need to be so polite. We are about the same age. Some of you are older than me. We can still be friends with each other. In the future, we can exchange more cooking skills and work together to make our Shandong cuisine better." develop."

At this time, several masters present expressed their opinions.

"It seems that Zhengming will be the leader of young chefs in the future."

"Yeah, from now on it's up to you young people."

"I hope you can do better than us, just like the master chefs there, making Shandong cuisine better and better."

"We need to go out, beyond our province, and go to the whole country like Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine."

"That's right, Zhengming, you have to lead these young people well."

Feng Zhengming saw that the masters encouraged him so much that even Xia Hui's father was no longer hostile to him and asked him to help take care of Xia Hui and teach Xia Hui well.

After this province-wide young chef cooking exchange competition, Feng Zhengming truly succeeded in gaining recognition from most people in the kitchen industry.

Feng Zhengming said seriously to everyone: "Don't worry, everyone, I will definitely work hard to lead our Shandong cuisine to go global. When the time comes, I hope everyone can work together to inherit and promote our Shandong cuisine well."

All the young chefs expressed their determination to work hard with Feng Zhengming.

After everyone said goodbye to each other, Feng Zhengming led everyone on the bicycle and returned to his dry rice shop.

(End of this chapter)