The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 6 Self-confidence is the embodiment of strength
Xu is always a child of an ordinary worker's family in the provincial capital. He graduated from junior high school and did not go to high school.

, I found a job for myself like a child from the countryside, and went to a restaurant to learn how to cook as a chef.After working for a month, I found that I am not a chef, and I have a natural sense of distance from green onions, ginger and garlic, but I have a great interest in front desk service.

So I came out of the kitchen and worked as a waiter at the front desk.In the position of waiter, I showed my talent, and was quickly recognized by the manager, and was promoted to be a minister.

The biggest reward for him from the front desk work is that in the process of serving, he listened to the experience of the bosses who came to the restaurant to talk about how to start a business and how to make money. This touched him a lot and determined to start a business and become a boss.

Hard work pays off. At the age of 26, I borrowed money from my family, and with the money I earned from part-time jobs, I opened my first restaurant in my life.Then from one to three, after 14 years of hard work, accumulated a wealth of 5 million.

Immediately after catching up with the city's expansion, the three restaurants were all relocated, and they were all relocated, so they rested for a year.

It stands to reason that it is okay not to do it, 5 million, many people will not earn it in their lifetime.He felt that he was just 40 years old and could not retire early, but had to continue to struggle.I have been doing catering for so many years, and I have always been a mid-range restaurant. I want to try a big restaurant and give myself an explanation.

At the beginning of last year, the first time I saw this place in Kanto, I immediately fell in love with it.

It is a single-family house with a main building and an auxiliary building. The parking lot in front is sufficient.Although it is not in a prosperous area, the location is a bit remote, but it has a large area, close to the aircraft factory, and 100 meters away from the main road of Huanghe Street. It is also convenient for people in the city to eat.And I heard that this used to be Laogen Mountain Villa, and the business was very good at that time. Later, it was closed only when SARS came, and it became a kindergarten.

Based on his years of experience, this is a place to open a restaurant!
The entire Santaizi area has a permanent population of 300,000 and a floating population of 150,000.Based on the 30.00% catering consumption ratio, more than [-] people spend in restaurants every day, which is a huge base.

Now Santaizi has great potential for development and tends to surpass the five major districts in the city.Mainly there is an aircraft factory here, with [-] employees in the factory, and they are groups with spending power. If this part of the main road is seized, the restaurant will not lose money.

Inspired by Lao Gen Villa, he wanted to build a farmhouse that reflected the Northeast style.As soon as this idea came into being, a picture popped up in my head: the little donkey pulling the mill, the little stupid chicken having fun, carp swimming in the fish pond, wild big loaches in the wooden basin, beans and potato ribs stewed in a small black iron pot, topped with With a large pancake, tofu nao and water tofu are made on-site——
As soon as this scene appeared, he was very excited, and decided to rent this place on the spot and open the largest farmyard in the provincial city.

This is the second time in his life to start a business. He put all his eggs in one basket, invested 4 million, and prepared to do a lot.

After seven months of careful renovation, it opened in October last year.After the opening, we are looking forward to customers with confidence. The business is booming, but the reality is very embarrassing. The attendance rate is less than 60.00%. The daily turnover of 30,000 to [-] yuan is far from the expected business of [-] to [-] yuan. .

Can you not be in a hurry to get angry?

If such a big store is supported, it cannot be said to be yellow, it is 4 million real money.

The restaurants I opened before were all more than 30 square meters, and the front and back together did not exceed 5 people. It was easy to manage, and even if I didn’t care about it, I did a good job.The business was surprisingly good, the money came in, and I made [-] million without knowing it.

Now that the restaurant is bigger, the decoration is better than before, and there are more people hired, they don't know how to play.There was a mess of porridge at the front desk, and a mess in the back kitchen, and I was in a mess.

Sometimes I wonder if my fortune is gone. I used to earn money easily, but now I am losing money.

120,000 in the first month of opening, and 130,000 in the second month.

If you continue to lose like this, you will have to close your business in a year.

The problem mainly lies in the management, lack of pre-opening preparations and inadequate staff training.After realizing this, start asking capable people to manage it.

The front desk has changed two managers one after another. After Zhang Li came, the management became more standardized. The service has improved, and the overall work has become more decent. It looks like a regular restaurant.

The most notable result is that you no longer lose money.

What's worse now is the kitchen.

Through the conversation, Mr. Xu felt that Lao Tan was quite capable, experienced and a talent.But there were two examples of the chefs before. For the sake of safety, I didn't make a decision right away. Instead, I called Wang Gang and asked him to taste with me to see if Lao Tan could do it.

After asking about the structure of the dishes, he discussed Wuchang management, processes and standards, and Lao Tan described these two in detail.The three chatted for a full hour and a half, and finally talked about key issues.

Mr. Xu asked: "Master Tan, what is your expected salary?"

Old Tan said: "When I was in Binhai, it was seven thousand."

Mr. Xu nodded and said, "Let's do this today first. I'll think about it. You wait for my call and I'll give you an accurate answer before ten o'clock tomorrow."

Old Tan politely shook hands with Mr. Xu and Wang Gang to say goodbye.

When Lao Tan left the office, Mr. Xu asked Wang Gang: "Wang Gang, how do you feel?"

Wang Gang said: "I think it's okay. I'm a manager. I think what people say is practical. I know I can't say it, and I don't know how to do it. People can not only say it, but also know how to do it. Our family lacks such people."

"When he comes, you have to learn from others. You can't lose your temper all the time and listen to them." Mr. Xu said.

"Don't you know who I am? I will listen to those who are better than me, and I can learn from them. If you are not as good as me, there is no guarantee that you can swindle money here, and I will leave without you talking. "Wang Gang said with a three-point anger.

"Look, if you don't come, you will get out of the society. I'm afraid that you won't get along with them, and you will lose your temper." Mr. Xu said.

Wang Gang grinned and said, "No, you didn't look at Master Tan. If he didn't say he was a chef, he would have thought he was a gangster."

"The two of you are a bit similar." Mr. Xu smiled and said, "Well, let's decide to use Master Tan with a salary of [-]." Mr. Xu said.

"I think it's okay, but I'm afraid that if Master Tan doesn't do it, he will only pay seven thousand in Binhai." Wang Gang said.

"Let's settle this first. I'll call him in the afternoon."

After Lao Tan came out of the office, he went directly to the second floor and met Li Shuang and Zhang Li.

Seeing Old Tan Li Shuang rushing over to hug him directly, Old Tan was quite embarrassed.

Zhang Li asked how the conversation was going, and Lao Tan said that the conversation was very good, but it was not finalized, so he went home and waited for news.Zhang Li said that it was almost settled, and it was the same when she came to talk.

Going west from the Kanto people's house, there is a small Wanfang Square in front of it. There is a morning market here in the morning, selling everything.On both sides of the square are restaurants, karaoke halls, bathing centers, and hotels, one next to the other.

Lao Tan walked across the square to Huanghe Street.

The Yellow River Street runs from north to south and is one of the main traffic arteries in the provincial capital.Go north along the Yellow River Street, and pass the Third Ring Bridge to the Santaizi Checkpoint, where you can go to Beijing, Heilongjiang, and Binhai.Three kilometers to the south is Songshan Road, which is Lao Tan's house.

There is a lot of traffic on the road, and there are shuttles going in and out of the city.There are many bicycles on the sidewalk, and there are also many electric vehicles. The speed is very fast, and they pass by with a swipe.

This reminds Old Tan of the streets of Binhai.The coastal terrain is not as flat as the provincial capital, and the urban area is also uphill and downhill. There are few cyclists on the streets, and more people walk. Sometimes it is very novel to see a cyclist.

Seeing so many cyclists felt that I was no longer working in Binhai.I can't help but sigh with emotion. It was originally planned to make Qinghua Pavilion the number one in Binhai this year, with a turnover exceeding [-] million.Unfortunately, the plan did not change quickly, and I never thought that I would be laid off.

Once a gentleman becomes a courtier, if the person at the helm changes, the management personnel under him will also change. This is the rule.

The scene of leaving Binhai appeared in front of my eyes. The kitchen brothers all had tears in their eyes and came up to hug him one after another, saying treasure in their mouths.Many female employees were weeping softly, and some of them were crying out loud.

The front desk clerks were all crying, calling Uncle Tan, reluctant to let you go——
Hundreds of people saw him off, and the scene was tearful.

It's worth it for catering to this level.

In three years, the four stores of Qinghua Pavilion have grown from 60 million to more than [-] million per year, and the fifth store will open soon. I am also very proud. It is estimated that no one can surpass such achievements.

Three years in Binhai is the pinnacle of his career as a chef.

Now back to the provincial capital, everything has to start from scratch.

People are like this in this life, with three ups and downs, how can they always be brilliant.

When will you have to speak with strength.

I may not be in a hurry to do other things in this life. I spend all my time on catering, and if I don’t understand how to organize the restaurant, it will be useless.

He believed that Xu from the Kanto family would always use him because of his absolute confidence in himself.

Self-confidence is also a manifestation of strength.

How can a person not have self-confidence?

When Lao Tan was about to walk to Songshan Road, Mr. Xu called and told him to go to work tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)