The story of a cook

Chapter 6 Eye-opening
More than ten days passed quietly, and it was November in a blink of an eye.

The leaves of the poplar trees on both sides of the street have all fallen, and the bare branches are standing stubbornly in late autumn, ready to welcome the arrival of the long and cold winter.People put on sweaters, woolen trousers, and cotton-padded jackets and trousers for the elderly, and put on hats to enter winter early.

After lunch, I went to the dishwashing room to wash the dishes. Li Yanhua came over with a letter.

"Brother Tang, look—"

"Mine?" I asked suspiciously.

"yours."

After receiving the letter from Li Yanhua, she was very excited, wiped her hands, and opened it impatiently.

The fifth sister said in the letter that everything was fine at home and that my mother was in good health, so there was no need to worry about it.The autumn harvest is over, and the corn harvest this year is quite good, which can be regarded as a bumper harvest.During the Chinese New Year, I don’t ask my mother to plant the land anymore. This winter, I will lease out the land to my uncle and elder brother in the backyard.Tell me not to worry about my family, learn to cook well outside, and don't have to send money home all the time, my mother's pocket money is enough.

She told me to go home during the Chinese New Year, my mother missed me.

I also miss my mother, homesick.

After reading it, my confidence became more at ease, and I stood there for a long time.The mother's face appeared in front of my eyes, as well as the family's yard, the old house, the corn pile on the yard, the outhouse, and the backroom——finally, the frame was fixed on the mother.

A head of gray hair, a wrinkled face, gray eyes, a thin body, and the familiar white-washed double-breasted clothes——and, my mother was peeling corn by herself in the yard, picking ears of ears After pawing for a while, I looked up at the sky, thinking of my son who was in the provincial capital, then heaved a long sigh, came back to my senses, and continued to paw one ear at a time——
Tears welled up in the eye sockets.

my mother—

Li Yanhua walked into the dishwashing room with a box of removed tableware. Seeing my eyes filled with tears, she couldn't help but tugged in her heart. She put down the lunch box and asked in a low voice, "Why are you still crying? What happened?" ?”

Quickly wiped his eyes, smiled and said to her: "It's okay, I'm just a little homesick."

Li Yanhua looked at me with wide eyes, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong, she let go of her gripping heart, patted me and said: "I thought something was wrong, I was shocked, and I won't send you the letter if I know that. I'm telling you to worry!"

Smile at her, and then continue to wash the dishes.

The water case of serving dishes with Li Jianhan quit. The boss and Master Chen made a plan, and instead of looking for water cases, they found a female full-time dish washer and transferred me to serve dishes with Li Jianhan.I do odd jobs while I dry the sink, but I don't have to do the dishes.

I am very grateful to the boss and Master Chen for giving me this opportunity. If it weren't for them, I would have to work hard at odd jobs until the Chinese New Year.

After working in the kitchen for a long time, I know that it is not so easy for an odd job to be a water table. Even if the knife is skilled at the water table, it is useless to have no one to support, so I can only stay in the odd job honestly.

There are many people who learn to cook. If you don’t know the kitchen people, no one will have a hard time going from odd jobs to water tables.Usually it is the person brought by the head chef, or the relatives of the boss who have such an opportunity.Doing water table is not only a promotion of position, but also means that from now on, it will be a technical job, and the salary will also increase, which is one step closer to the position of chef.

I was lucky to meet a good boss and a good head chef.

He didn't forget the well digger when he was drinking water, and he was going to invite Master Chen to have a meal.After I expressed this idea to him, he said: "If you are not transferred to do the water case just for a meal, do you think Brother Chen is like that? Do your job well and do your job well." It’s all there, and it’s useless to talk about it.”

His words warmed my heart. I am lucky to meet such a warm-hearted person while working abroad.I became more active in my work, and told myself that I must seize this opportunity and learn water cases well.

We have no capital, and it doesn't matter, what we have is a lot of strength and the energy to work hard.Some odd jobs can't get a water case after a year of work. After five months, I got a water case very quickly. I feel satisfied and continue to work hard.

Go to the kitchen at [-]:[-] every morning, cut up the small ingredients, clean up the vegetables, cut up the shredded and sliced ​​meat, and pack up all the seafood and frozen goods.

He worked non-stop every day, and did Li Jianhan's after his own work. He saw that I was serious and asked me to cut everything. At the same time, he taught me how to paste and pickle ingredients.

I got into a frenzy of learning.

Because the preparation work is done well, I can help the cold dish chef after serving the dishes at the meal, and I can also learn a few simple cold dishes that come and go again and again.

Master Chen told me some knowledge about cold dishes.

"Cold dishes, like hot dishes, also have a lot of knowledge. Cold dishes pay attention to knife skills. The knife skills must be fine, and the arrangement must be artistic. Cold dishes are not just the simple mixed dishes you see now. They are divided into mixed vegetables, roast meat, There are many kinds of brine, smoked sauce, sashimi, etc. A good cold dish master is not inferior to a good stir-fry master."

"Either you know how to stir-fry or you are a chef. A chef must not only know how to stir-fry vegetables, but also cold dishes and pasta. This is a chef. Only those who know how to stir-fry vegetables are called cooks, not chefs."

"Brother Chen, do you have to learn cold dishes and pasta to be a chef?" I asked.

"Then what do you think about? You don't necessarily have to learn to a certain extent, but you must understand. For example, a restaurant is a classroom, and the kitchen learns mathematics, physics and chemistry, that is, hot dishes, cold dishes and pasta. The front desk learns Language, that is, service. Even if you don’t understand physics and chemistry in optics and mathematics, you are not a chef. When you learn all mathematics, physics and chemistry, you will be a chef.”

Master Chen opened a door for me. Before this door, I found that I need to learn a lot, and now it is just a glimpse of the door.Tell yourself not to worry, take it little by little, learn everything, you must learn all mathematics, physics and chemistry, and become a qualified chef.

I know that I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, and I can't dig a well with a shovel.Do everything step by step, don't rush.

As Lao Tzu said, if an enterprise does not stand up, a crossover will not work.

Fortunately, over the years, I have honed my mind to be more stable, and I don't have those short-tempered tempers, and I can take a long-term view. I can calm down and learn the craft, and I can endure loneliness more.

Li Yanhua was very happy after being involved in the water case, and said to me: "Brother Tan, you finally made it through."

I smiled and nodded.

Seeing me laughing, she said: "Brother Tan, you actually look pretty when you smile, please smile more from now on."

"Okay, listen to you."

"Don't keep a straight face all day long, you always seem to have a lot of things on your mind."

"Really? I didn't think so, my face is just like this."

"You just look a little fierce, and you look a little old, nothing else, just smile more in the future."

I know what I look like, and I also know that I don’t like to laugh. When I talk to others, the so-called smile is to squeeze the corners of my mouth. Those who know are smiling, but those who don’t know think I’m impatient.I always look affirmative, it has been like this since I was a child, and I can't change it.

A few days later, Li Jianhan's birthday was celebrated, and Master Chen was going to celebrate him at Xiao Wu's. He wanted to invite Li Yanhua to participate, but it was a pity that Li Yanhua really didn't like him, so he ruthlessly refused.

When young men and women work together, they are easily attracted to each other and develop feelings for each other.In addition, Li Yanhua is beautiful and capable, so she is naturally the object of pursuit.Those who like Li Yanhua are not only Li Jianhan, but also Xiao Wu.

After work, the five of us, Master Chen, Cold Dishes Master, Tie Chu, and Li Jianhan went to Xiao Wu's.

Master Chen first spoke on behalf of everyone, wishing Li Jianhan a happy birthday, everyone had a drink together, and then began to drink it lively.

President Xiao Wu went to Shengmei. Ever since he met Li Yanhua, he was fascinated by her beauty, and he could not forget it all the time. He asked me: "Brother Tan, are you and Li Yanhua from the same hometown?"

I said, "Yes, we are fellow villagers."

Xiao Wu's question immediately aroused Li Jianhan's vigilance.He can't drink much wine, and when he drinks, his face turns red, even his eyes are red.At this time, he said to Xiao Wu with red eyes: "Xiao Wu, don't even think about it, Li Yanhua is mine."

Xiao Wu was also not polite, and directly attacked: "I don't participate in birthdays, and I'm still blowing."

"She's embarrassed to come to know, we're in a relationship right now."

"I also said that the two of us are in a relationship. We have to provide evidence for this, at least for birthdays."

Xiao Wu once again used his birthday to attack Li Jianhan. Li Jianhan lowered his head and looked at Xiao Wu with resentment.Xiao Wu didn't care either, with a smile on his face.

Master Chen said: "Both of you calm down for a while, Li Yanhua doesn't like you two at all, don't be so affectionate there. She is passing her life, not like other little girls, so you two had better not flirt with her. , I want to pick up a little girl and find someone else."

Xiao Wu said, "I'm serious this time."

Master Chen looked at Xiao Wu with contempt, as if he had seen through him, and said: "You are serious every time, and you and a director are never seen, don't always treat yourself as a lover, the little girl is also You're not stupid. If you don't want to marry someone, don't talk about it, and be honest if something happens."

Xiao Wu was not angry when he was exposed, and tried to defend himself: "Look, you still don't believe it, Lao Chen, I'm really serious this time."

Master Chen said: "Okay, even if it's serious, I'll take a look at it, Li Yanhua doesn't care about you."

Xiao Wu was told by Master Chen, and Li Jianhan snickered aside, Master Chen said to him: "You are the same, if you have the time, practice cooking more, don't always pick up on little girls when you have nothing to do, go out to find Miss if you can't help it, don't harm the serious Other people's children."

After they finished speaking, they turned their heads and said to me: "Tanzi, don't learn from them. You won't learn well. I know what they are like best. They are smarter than anyone else, so I can't control myself. Don't be serious if you have nothing to do. Yes, I only want to pick up the little girl, or I will be cooking on the stove in the morning."

Master Chen was upright, he said whatever he wanted, and what he said was reasonable, Li Jianhan and Xiao Wu didn't dare to refute it.But it can be seen that the two of them are undecided, and they have the posture of not shedding tears when they see the coffin, and not giving up when they don't see the Yellow River.

The next day, after noon, Xiao Wu came to the restaurant, just in time, I soaked my work clothes in the morning, and Li Yanhua said she would wash me at noon.When Xiao Wu came, I was cutting work meals. Li Yanhua ran to the kitchen and asked me, "Brother Tan, where are your work clothes?"

"Where is the water room?" I said.

"Then I'm going to wash."

After speaking, she went to the water room to help me wash my work clothes, but I didn't care, and continued to cut work meals.Xiao Wu had a panoramic view of all this, and after Li Yanhua left, he came to me and said, "I didn't see it, Brother Tan, I'm still struggling with this, so you've already started."

"What did you do early?" I was taken aback by what he said.

"Tan Zi, he said that you have already attacked Li Yanhua." Li Jianhan explained from the side.

It turned out that this was the case, and he said to Xiao Wu: "Isn't it normal for us two fellows to help with a piece of laundry?"

"Why doesn't she wash it for me?"

"You two are not fellow villagers."

At this time, Master Chen came down from the stove and said to Xiao Wu: "Don't you always brag? This time I'll give you a chance. If you can let Li Yanhua do your laundry for you, I'll treat you to a big meal."

Master Chen's words aroused Xiao Wu's ambition. The handsome man went straight to the water room. It was only 2 minutes before he came back dejected and said, "It's too shocking." Then he didn't look back. Gone, leaving the kitchen laughing.

Afterwards, Li Yanhua told me that she was washing my work clothes, Xiao Wu went in, heyed her, and then called her sister, and asked about the laundry if he had nothing to say.Li Yanhua looked up at him and said, who do you call your sister? Who is your sister?Can I not see if I wash or not?This is a water room. If you want to eat, go to the front hall, if you want to go to the toilet, go inside, if you want to find a girl to go to the hotel, there are no girls here, so hurry out, don't go out and call people.So Xiao Wu came out in despair.

"You are good enough." I said with a smile.

"Huh! Just like him, he always picks up girls when he sees it, thinking I don't understand anything."

"What if someone wants to date you?"

"I don't look for a partner like him, it's no different from Li Jianhan."

"You, Li Jianhan didn't offend you."

"It didn't offend me, but I'm annoyed by that. It's not a good cake to look at people!"

She said it very simply and firmly.

【Plan yourself】

In the mid-90s, the catering industry in the provincial capital flourished.There are not only local time-honored brands, but also new-type restaurants developed later.

Time-honored brands include Yushan, Shaoyuan, Lumingchun, Xinhuayuan, Fuji and so on.The shortest of these time-honored brands has been developed for four to 50 years, and most of them are nearly a hundred years old. For example, Fuji Dumpling Restaurant has a history of 160 years.Yushan and Shaoyuan were famous restaurants in Fengtian City during the period of the Republic of China, not to mention Lumingchun, together with Minghuchun and Poyangchun, they were also known as Northeast Sanchun Restaurant, where the generals ate.

After liberation, these time-honored restaurants became public restaurants through public-private partnerships, and after the reform and opening up, they were all contracted by individuals. They began to rejuvenate in the [-]s, and in the [-]s they became the leading restaurants for local dishes in provincial cities.The chefs from these time-honored restaurants are all competing for them in all major social restaurants, and they are all famous chefs.

There are also some famous chefs in the provincial capital. They do not work in social restaurants, but in major hotels.Such as Provincial City Building, Phoenix Building, State Guesthouse, Friendship Hotel, Trade Union Building, Zhongshan Building and so on.There are one or two well-known master chefs in these large hotels of government departments, and they all have their own team of chefs. They are unshakable catering overlords.

Take the Trade Union Building as an example, it is a unit directly under the Provincial Trade Union, supported by strong funds, and the development of catering is very fast.Master Chen's master is a provincial famous chef, and he is the executive chef and deputy general manager here.The master chef has very strict requirements on the quality of the dishes, so the products produced by the Union Building are second to none.

In addition to time-honored restaurants and these government hotels, some large-scale social restaurants have also developed. The famous ones are Weilong Cantonese Cuisine, Gexian Hotel, Summer Palace, Seafood Dragon Palace, *** Water Park, etc. These new social restaurants While developing Northeast cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine and ethnic catering were incorporated, making the catering industry in the provincial capital present a flourishing state.

Cantonese cuisine is high-grade, and it occupies the high-end market as soon as it enters the provincial capital. It is a status symbol to be able to eat Cantonese cuisine.

Zhongshan Building was the first to introduce Cantonese cuisine. It hired a chef from Hong Kong. The abalone, shark's fin, and sea cucumber are top-notch. It is normal for a meal at Zhongshan Building to cost tens of thousands.Many savvy bosses find that Cantonese cuisine makes money, so they rush to eat Cantonese cuisine, so Cantonese cuisine is all the rage in the provincial capital, and the price of Cantonese cuisine chefs is also sky-high, often tens of thousands, or even tens of thousands.

I heard Master Chen talk about Cantonese cuisine, how high-end it is, how strict the workmanship is, how fine the division of labor is, how overbearing the production is, how high the chef's salary is, and so on.It is said that chefs use stir-frying pots instead of spoons for cooking, steaming things are not steamers but seafood steaming cabinets, and the stoves they use are all Cantonese-style stoves. Once you open a large fire pillar, put the stir-fry pot on it for a while, and the bottom of the pot will turn red ——
What he said was something I had never seen before, and my heart was itchy, and I always hoped to have a chance to see it.

When I was at the Stretch Noodle Restaurant on Beisi Road, I saw the chef cooking at the home-cooked restaurant next door, and told myself that I could just do what he did, and 500 yuan a month was quite good.A big hotel like Gexian Hotel that advertises on TV can't even think about it. It's a high-ranking existence, and it's enough to be able to look outside the door of other people's stores.

When I came to Shengmei, I saw that the kitchen was bigger than a home-cooked restaurant, and the head chef earned more than 1000 yuan a month. The original goal of earning 500 yuan was naturally overturned, and I started to move towards 1000 yuan.At the same time, I don't set myself in a small restaurant anymore, and I think that I must work as a chef in a big restaurant like Shengmei.

With the gradual deepening of the understanding of the hotel, coupled with what Master Chen told me, I know that Shengmei is not a big hotel, but a mid-range hotel in front of a real big hotel, not even a mid-range hotel.There is a vast space outside Shengmei. The catering industry is a big world. In this world, I am just a small apprentice who has just started, a drop in the ocean.

I am just a small case, and I will be beaten back to my original shape anytime and anywhere.In Shengmei, with the trust of the boss and the support of Master Chen, you can do water cases. If you go to a larger restaurant, it is a small job, and it may not even be a small job to go to the Gexian Hotel.

Above the water table, there is a chef, then a chef, above the chef is the head chef, above the head chef is the executive chef, and above the head chef is the director.In my heart, I dreamed that one day I would become a chef, standing on the stove to cook vegetables in style, and when the capital was raised every month, the money in my hand would be calculated in thousands, what an honor——

Tell yourself that since you have embarked on the path of a chef, you should be the culmination—the director.

The ambition is there, everything has to start from scratch.Learning to be a chef is a long process of cultivation, and it cannot be completed overnight.Whatever you do, you must have a goal, and say in your heart that this is the goal in this life, so work hard.

Xiao Wu hasn't come for a week since he was hit by Li Yanhua. This week, the hotel is busy and he's very tired every day. Master Chen and we didn't go to Xiao Wu's place either.Xiao Wu came this day and told Master Chen that the kitchen of the Union Building was being renovated and that he was going to introduce Cantonese cuisine.Master Chen said that he had time to go back and have a look, and he also saw the master of Cantonese cuisine.

Another week later, the kitchen of the Union Building was renovated and started to operate. Master Chen was about to go back, and asked me if I would go, and I said I had to.

We both went to the union building during our lunch break.

With excitement, I entered the legendary kitchen.

To be honest, there is a feeling of Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.The eyes are not enough, everything is new and strange.

The most advanced one is Leng Hun Room.

A cold meat room is as big as the entire kitchen of Shengmei Hotel, and it is divided into three parts: the vegetable mixing room, the brine room, and the roast meat room.I am familiar with the mixed vegetable room, but I am unfamiliar with the brine room and the roast meat room. This is the first time I have seen it.Master Chen said that the brine room is for Cantonese-style braised meat and Northeast smoked pickles, and the roast meat room is for roasting suckling pig, roast goose, and roast duck.

Coming out of the cold meat is the hot food operation room.The first feeling is that it is big, as big as the entire lobby of Shengmei Hotel.The second feeling is that it is clean, very clean. The case, operating table, and sink are all made of stainless steel. Even the sewer grate is made of stainless steel, which is too clean.

This is the first time I saw a stainless steel cooktop, it was amazing and a little shocking.Ten sets of stainless steel stoves are lined up, more than 30 meters long, and the scene is very spectacular.There is a seasoning table between each two groups of stoves, and a seasoning cart is placed in the middle, standing at attention according to the rules.The faucet is directly installed on the stove, which is very convenient to use, hygienic and clean.

Above the stove is a stainless steel exhaust hood with a fireproof grate inside. The more than 30-meter-long exhaust hood was polished and polished, without any oil stains.

There are two rows of console cabinets behind the stove. I know that one row is for water cabinets, and I don’t know who uses the other row. I asked Master Chen, and Master Chen said it was for Hetai.I don't know what a lotus table is, and I don't know what a lotus table is for.I thought I would ask Master Chen when I got back, but it would be a bit embarrassing to ask now.

After visiting the hot dish room is the pastry room.The pastry room is also very large, similar to the cold meat room.I saw a three-meter-long noodle case, as well as a noodle mixer, a noodle press, a stuffing machine, an oven, etc., which I have never heard of before.There is only one type of rolling pin on the noodle case, and I don’t know the rest.There are two pointed ones, some with wooden shafts, and wooden hammers. I don’t know what they are for?
Finally, I looked at the storage room and the decontamination room.

There are rows of shelves in the storage room, and the raw materials are neatly placed on them.There is also a row of large freezers. Most of the frozen goods inside have never been seen before, which dazzles me.

The dishwashing room is no stranger, but the sink in the dishwashing room has hot and cold water, so it is much more convenient to wash dishes.

After the visit, Master Chen asked me: "How is it?"

"Shocking, eye-opening and insightful." I said sincerely.

"If you want to be a chef, you still have to learn a lot, and you are just getting started."

"Now I find that it's not even an entry, but a person who just saw the door."

I was a little puzzled and curious and asked Master Chen: "Brother Chen, why don't you work here when it's so good?"

"I'm also studying now. My master asked me to go to the social restaurant to practice. I can't stay in front of him. I don't know how powerful the world is with him. Before I came out, I thought the food in the social restaurant was nothing, and it had nothing to do with the building. Fabi. After working in a social restaurant, I found out that this is not the case at all. The social restaurant is the taste of the common people.

Master Chen's words taught me a lot.

After returning from the trade union building, I made a good plan for myself.

The first step is to practice basic skills at the water table, master knife skills, get familiar with various raw materials and corresponding knife techniques, and learn cold dishes indirectly.It will take two years to prepare to spend in Shengmei.

The second step is to find a place like the Trade Union Building and study hard for two years, and systematically learn how to mix vegetables, brine, roast meat, and pasta. alright.

The third step is to find a place like Shengmei Hotel to be a chef to cook. First, I will work for two years to practice the basic skills of cooking, and then I will start working as a head chef.

The fourth step is from head chef to head chef, and then to director.

Believe in yourself, as long as you persist and work hard, the poor boy in the countryside can also reach the top of the catering industry.

(End of this chapter)