The story of a cook

Chapter 358 Chatting with the Big Chef

After the competition, the masters who participated in the competition began to taste the dishes in front of the booth, and many employees also tasted together.

The three bosses came and chatted with Master and then went home.

I invited all the judges to dinner, and the four old guests said it was too late to go. Zheng Jiaqi each brought a gift as a souvenir, and they went back.

A Sheng, Lao Si, Chef Wang of Qinghua Pavilion, and Chef Hong Ji Qiao remained. We haven’t gathered together for a long time, and we are going to go out for a few drinks.I also brought Wang Chunlai and the head chef of the old shop. They are the head chefs. It is good to get to know and chat with these big chefs. Not only can you make friends, but you can also learn a lot.

Ah Sheng said to me: "Chef Tan, call your manager and the host just now, it's all because of how boring we old men are."

"It's not that I don't call them, I'm afraid you will lead them away." I joked.

Qiao Chu and Ah Sheng are also very familiar, he said, "Ah Sheng, you are the most lustful, and you want to find women everywhere."

Ah Sheng didn't care either, and said with a smile: "It's a man who is lustful, I just said it, I don't believe you are lustful."

Everyone laughed.I went to find Zhang Li and Li Shuang, they were happy to go, when Li Shuang went to call Zheng Jiaqi, Zheng Jiaqi said she wanted to go home and sleep, it was too late and she was a little tired.

At twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, I can only go to the barbecue stall to eat.

Caterers also like to eat barbecue. I am tired of watching cooking all day, and it feels good to eat some barbecue.

Chef Wang of Qinghua Pavilion told me: "Chef Tan, your family is the oldest dumpling restaurant in our provincial capital, why don't you develop it outside?"

"I also want to develop, but the board of directors has not been finalized." I said.

"I heard there are four directors in your family?" Chef Wang asked.

"Well, four, four brothers." I said.

"It's okay for the four brothers to agree, but it's hard to say if they don't." Chef Wang said.

"It's up to the board now," I said.

"Chef Tan, I heard that your old shop is going to be relocated after the Chinese New Year?" Chef Qiao asked.

"Yes, we will move out after the Chinese New Year." I replied.

"It's a pity to relocate, the old shop has been around for so many years." Chef Qiao said.

"It's a pity. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do. No one can fight against the Communist Party because of the actions of the government," I said.

I had a drink with everyone. They are here to be judges, so we have to take the initiative.

I introduced Wang Chunlai and the head chef of the old shop to everyone. Zhang Li and Li Shuang need no introduction, they have known each other for a long time.

Wang Chunlai and the head chef of the old shop stood up and had a drink with everyone.

When drinking, it can be seen that Wang Chu, Qiao Chu, Lao Si and A Sheng are talking and laughing happily. Wang Chunlai and the head chef of the old shop are a little nervous and can't let go. They are chatting there and they are just listening .This is the reason why they never communicate with the outside world. It stands to reason that the two of them are now the head chefs of the same restaurant, and they are on an equal footing with them, and Linjiangxuan's reputation is not small. so.The main reason is that Linjiangxuan has not developed, and the employees inside are too closed.

Take this competition as an example, Master Tong taught the chefs of Linjiangxuan a good lesson.It is talking about innovative dishes, but there are not many truly innovative dishes, either old dishes are refurbished or random combinations.The dishes that can have vitality and can eat people, that is, Master Xiao Cao's "slightly fried crescent bone" are not bad.The "Fish Ball Tofu" made by the head chef of the old shop is not considered an innovative dish, but it can only be said to be very well done and has a solid foundation.

The "crispy fried prawn balls" and "milk-flavored pumpkin" made by Master Tong are the real innovative dishes, especially the "crispy fried prawn balls", which are known in the provincial capital as the first launch of Gaode Hotel. It was well received by the guests, and many chefs went to his house to study, but they all learned the shape but not the spirit, and the dishes were not that good, but they were publicized for others.

Gao De's "crispy fried prawn balls" can be said to be a must. Through this dish, many customers have been locked in, especially when treating guests, this dish is a must-order dish. First, it is delicious, and second, it is beautiful. People's vision is a shock. The third is that everyone who has eaten this dish is very curious and appreciative. What is curious is how an ordinary shrimp is fried to such a large size, and it is not soft but very crispy.What I appreciate is the chef's production level. If the chef doesn't work hard, he can't cook such a good dish.

The so-called craftsman spirit, this is the craftsman spirit, only when the dishes are studied to the extreme, will they be respected.

The study of dishes cannot be done behind closed doors. The study of dishes is not the study of chemical weapons, it must be done in a closed laboratory.To study dishes, you have to go out to communicate with each other and learn from each other. Only by learning from each other's strengths can you study dishes well.

Wang Chunlai and the head chef of the old store have been closed for too long. They have been working in Linjiangxuan, and the work is still very stable. They have no awareness of going out to study, and have little contact with the outside world. What a new dish, so the innovation is very weak, or there is no innovation.

Master is right, there is no development without innovation.

If Qinghua Pavilion doesn't innovate and sticks to its laurels like Linjiangxuan, then it won't develop so fast, there are already dozens of branches.

Take Qinghua Pavilion as an example. The old Qinghua Pavilion in the provincial capital is the one where Chef Wang works. You can eat authentic Henan cuisine in his restaurant.People in the provincial capital go to his home if they want to eat Henan cuisine. Why?The reason is very simple. Qinghua Pavilion has a branch in Henan, and found that some Henan dishes are very good, which are very suitable for people in the Northeast, so they introduced it to the old restaurant in the provincial capital. If you want to eat Henan cuisine, go to Qinghua Pavilion. You can eat it at his house, which also locks in many customers.

Others also want to serve Henan cuisine, but there are no branches in Henan. There are only two ways to go to serve Henan cuisine.One is to invite a chef from Henan to come and operate it himself, and the other is to send the chef to Henan to learn.There is also a problem of ingredients, some ingredients are not available in the provincial capital, so they have to be shipped locally in Henan to the provincial capital.It is not suitable to send too little at one time and not enough for the freight. If too much is sent, it will not be able to sell and form a backlog of raw materials, and it will not make money.Unlike Qinghua Pavilion, which has many facades, it is enough to send goods to several stores for one point.This is also the difference between single store operation and chain store operation. The competitive advantage of chain stores is incomparable to single stores.

From this we can see the importance of development, and if it does not develop, no matter how good a company is, it will collapse.Qinghua Pavilion and Hongji both learned dumplings from Linjiangxuan. Now Linjiangxuan is not developing and is stagnant. Qinghua Pavilion and Hongji are developing. One day Linjiangxuan will be surpassed and squeezed by Qinghua Pavilion and Hongji It's an indisputable fact.

It has now been surpassed.

Chef Qiao asked Ah Sheng: "Ah Sheng, how are you doing now?"

Ah Sheng said, "It's not too good, the business is not as good as before."

Ah Sheng looked at the fourth child after finishing speaking, and said: "Now Chef Liang and his colleagues have great virtues and are developing rapidly. Some of our old customers have gone to their house."

The fourth child said: "Your Cantonese cuisine has been showing off in the provincial capital for many years, and it's up to our Northeast cuisine to decide."

"Your Binhai seafood is good, which has a great impact on us. In addition, your new dishes are also well developed. The Northeast cuisine is very authentic by you." A Sheng said.

Chef Qiao said: "Yes, now Gaode's new Northeast cuisine is very good, and the provincial capital is learning from Gaode."

"What we do is not very good, we all go out to learn." The fourth child said: "Our family has to send a chef out to study for a week every month. He goes everywhere. The boss will go to any place as long as he hears it is good. , go there and learn from others.”

Chef Wang asked the fourth child: "Chef Liang, are all the chefs in your family going to learn it?"

"Take turns." The fourth child said, "The monthly study fee of 8000 yuan is managed by my master. Every month, I take two chefs out to study, and when I come back, I start to make gestures. Sometimes I don't go out to study specifically. After cooking, I still need to learn management. Especially when I go to the south, the management of other hotels is better than ours, and we are far behind them.”

"Yes, we chefs can't work behind closed doors. We can't hold back anything at home." Chef Qiao said, "I don't know if I don't go out. When I go out, I will be shocked. Go to a restaurant with a good business to see us. It’s far behind others, and there are many places to learn.”

"Where did you all learn?" The fourth child asked Chef Qiao.

"I went to Shanghai and Hangzhou this year." Chef Qiao said, "I learned the 'Egg Yolk Baked Pumpkin' and 'Hangjiao Beef Tenderloin' in Shanghai and Hangzhou. If you don't go out to learn, you don't know that pumpkin and beef can be made like that. "

"Your family's 'Egg Yolk Baked Pumpkin' and 'Hangjiao Beef Tenderloin' are really good. Now most restaurants in our provincial capital learn these two dishes from your family, and so do mine." Chef Wang said.

"Your family's 'Sauce Roasted Ribs' is very good, who made it?" A Sheng asked Chef Qiao.

Hung Kee has four main dishes, which are "Sauce Roasted Pork", "Egg Yolk Baked Pumpkin", "Hangjiao Beef Tenderloin", and "Three Fresh Japanese Tofu".

"That's what I learned outside." Qiao Chu finished speaking and looked at me and said: "In the beginning we learned it from Tan Chu. Linjiangxuan has a signature dish 'Sauce Big Ribs' that sells very well, so we I came to study, and to be honest, I didn’t feel very good after I finished studying, and I didn’t plan to study after I went back.

"My family has this dish." I said.

"Don't worry, Chef Tan, you haven't come to Jiangxuan yet at that time." Chef Qiao said.

"It's okay, I don't care." I smiled.

"Afterwards we went to Harbin to study, and it felt good to eat a big row of dishes there. After I came back, I started to study the big row again, borrowing from Linjiangxuan's practice, using the Harbin method, and changing the seasoning. It’s not a whole rib in form, which would be inconvenient for customers to eat, but it’s changed to two connected ribs, and it’s quite popular if you don’t want to buy it.” Chef Qiao said.

"The main thing is that it's delicious." The fourth child said, "I ate your big row. It's really good. It should be cooked right now, pressured in a pressure cooker."

"Yes, it's made in a pressure cooker." Chef Qiao said, "It's mainly to ensure the freshness of the big row. It's okay to buy the sauce that comes out in advance. If it's over a meal, it won't taste good, and the color will be dark."

"If you want to cook delicious food, don't be afraid of trouble. It's easy to prepare everything in advance, but if customers don't buy it, they will turn themselves yellow sooner or later." Wang Chef said.

When talking about this, A Sheng said: "Bosses, my boss is going to launch two lines in Northeast cuisine, and there is a good chef to help introduce it."

Chef Qiao said: "You can cook Cantonese food at home, what kind of Northeast food are you serving?"

"If you can't buy it, you can't. Now customers are looking for local dishes from Northeast China. If you don't have any, you won't be able to buy them at your house. If you have no choice, you have to go to two lines." A Sheng said.

"Except for you, Lao Guang, all the chefs present here are Northeast cuisine chefs. Who do you think you are looking for?" I said.

"Chef Tan is just joking, you are all big brothers and my family can afford it." Speaking of this, he glanced at Master Tong who was sitting next to the fourth child, which meant that he fell in love with Master Tong.

"Master Tong?" The fourth child laughed and said, "See how much you paid? If you pay more, I will do it for you." The fourth child joked.

"At that time, Master Tong and I will talk alone." A Sheng said.

"Let me tell you, he won't take any money he gives, and he won't go anywhere unless I say something." The fourth child said confidently.

Everyone laughs.

Chef Qiao said to me: "Chef Tan, the format of this competition held by your family is very good. My family also holds new dish tastings every month, but there is no such atmosphere as you do. My family seems to be giving out tasks now." Yes, the chefs were very active at the beginning, but now some chefs have started to complain and are not willing to participate, and some have started to resign when they are in a hurry."

"Tan Chef's form is really good. It's like that. It doesn't feel boring to me. The chefs are willing to participate and they are all motivated. I estimate that all the chefs will wait at least half a month after the competition. Everyone is encouraged, and they will be very serious when cooking." Chef Wang said.

"It's the same with everything. If you value it, then employees will value it. If you give him incentives while paying attention to it, he will continue to value it." I said: "At the beginning, I also wanted to be simple. But if you don’t think about it, you have to make it like a real chef’s competition, so that the chefs will pay attention to it, and only when they pay attention will they have motivation. If they don’t pay attention, they will have no motivation.

"Chef Tan is right. Employees do two things. One is for you to check, and the other is for you to pay attention to. Learn from Chef Tan," Asheng said.

I said: "We are all sharing and learning from each other. Everyone is making great efforts. If the bosses didn't save face and came to be the judges in their busy schedule today, my competition this time would not be so smooth and successful. Thank you for your kindness. I would like to offer a toast to everyone." .”

Everyone made a toast together.

"Actually, there are several advantages of making the competition like this. The first and most important thing is to focus the attention of the entire kitchen staff on their work. As long as the staff's attention is concentrated on their work, it is a good thing, and there will be fewer problems with the dishes. Like what Chef Wang said just now, the chefs will be motivated for at least half a month after this competition. During this half month, the chefs will be very careful when cooking, and the overall quality of the products will be greatly improved. "

"Everyone has seen the red certificate issued. In addition to being an honor, that certificate can also be used to increase wages in the future. This is the biggest incentive. Second, through this competition, all The employees are all drawn in, and everything is like this. If you want to do a good job, get the recognition and effective execution of the employees, the best way is to let all the employees participate. Only when they participate will they pay attention. Like the front desk of my house today Employees are also involved. Some scorers, receptionists, food passers, cheerleaders, and performances, so that everyone has a sense of participation. If he participates, he will support him, and if he does not participate If there is no support, it can only be implemented better if the employees support it, which is why I want to hold it like this.”

"Thirdly, it is obvious that by the way, we have created a very good host, and at the same time made the cooperation between the kitchen and the front desk more closely, especially the cooperation with the manager. Through this competition, we know that the operation of a hotel is not only about good food. No matter how good your food is, if the front desk doesn’t recommend it to the guests, it’s useless. The delicious food is made by our chefs, and it’s the marketing of the front desk that makes money if the food sells well. .I want to subtly combine the front hall and back kitchen of the entire hotel through competitions, not as enemies like before, and always separate families.”

"Chef Tan, you kill three birds with one stone."

Ah Sheng laughed.

(End of this chapter)