Chapter 750 Hell’s Kitchen
Ning Weimin has been sparing no effort to support the inheritance and development of traditional crafts in the capital.
Not only did it cost a lot of money, it also took a lot of energy and time.
So at this sculpture art exhibition, although these things he ordered shocked everyone when they were publicly unveiled, and made many guests feel dazzled.
It has also attracted many colleagues in the art industry to praise it, and many art magazines rushed to report it.
Even those large works of art, with the recommendation and promotion of the Artists Association, have a good chance of being selected into art teaching materials for primary and secondary schools.
But for Ning Weimin, this is not that unexpected.
Although he was very proud, relieved and happy, he was not very excited about it because there was no suspense.
The cost and quality of these exquisite products made by well-known masters are obvious. It is inevitable that they will receive unanimous praise.
In contrast, it was another thing he did quite casually, which was a bit unintentional
Although it was only for a short month or two, he didn't pay much attention or extra effort.
But the harvest far exceeded his initial expectations, making him overjoyed.
That is to let several chefs from Tan Palace go to Maxim Restaurant to learn cooking.
Speaking of this matter, Ning Weimin’s original purpose was actually very simple, mainly for three points.
The first is to make technical preparations in advance for going abroad.
Going to Tokyo to open a Tan Gong branch is a matter of course that Ning Weimin must carry out.
But there is not a single Japanese restaurant in Beijing these days.
The one opened by Jingcheng Hotel is said to be the first Japanese restaurant in Beijing by the "five people and common people". It will not open until April 1985.
So considering that the daily meal is small and requires exquisiteness, it does not exclude the characteristics of raw food and cold food.
It is obviously a more practical approach for Ning Weimin to send his chef to Maxim Restaurant to learn French cuisine.
In this way, you can not only learn new cooking skills, but also adapt to more advanced kitchen equipment.
Secondly, Ning Weimin also wanted to use this matter to make a temporary arrangement for Jiang Dachun and Xiaocha, who wanted to come to Tan Palace to work at the risk of their iron jobs.
Ning Weimin is very optimistic about these two boys. They are young, good-tempered, daring, daring, smart, and capable of adapting to changes.
He already thinks that these two boys are his best helpers in going to Tokyo, and of course he must work hard to train them.
The third is that it can comprehensively improve the level of Tan Palace’s own dishes.
The biggest advantage of Western food over Chinese food is its exquisiteness and beauty.
This is not to say that Chinese food is not exquisite and lacks beauty.
But the problem is that because of different cultural attributes, the aesthetics are different.
Chinese food has always placed more emphasis on content than form. It allows people to gain maximum satisfaction from the taste of the food itself and through the process of eating.
So the elegance and pomp of Chinese food are reflected in the color, aroma and flavor of the dishes themselves.
There must be enough dishes, expensive ingredients, and wonderful taste.
As for everything else, it doesn’t matter.
Even things like food carvings were first used in sacrifices and were not used to decorate dishes.
This skill is commonly used in high-end banquets and was developed only after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
So according to tradition, the presentation of Chinese banquets is very particular.
Usually it's just a table surround, gold and silver wine glasses, and ivory chopsticks.
There were never any flowers or other decorations on the table. In the past, there was even no tablecloth.
This is not a result of stinginess or poverty.
It’s because according to old etiquette, the seating of guests should be arranged according to the wood grain of the tabletop.
On the other hand, Western food is very different.
The foreign devils are actually completely opposite to us, placing more emphasis on form and ignoring content.
Probably because there are too few dishes, there won’t be any obvious changes. They are focusing on other than food.
For example, the decoration of tables and chairs, the exquisite satin or silk, the style of utensils, the variety of wines, and the display of flowers are all extremely particular.
In the past, people often drew special patterns and made special utensils for a treat.
Even the importance of the menu, music, flowers, and lights must be ranked before the food itself, and more emphasis is placed on the comprehensive experience.
In the end, when it comes to innovating dishes, it is naturally easier to get entangled in the external beauty of the food.
To be honest, Ning Weimin’s idea of running Tan Palace is based on the business methods and concepts of some Western restaurants.
Purchase beautiful utensils, focus on service, use cultural atmosphere and decoration to enhance the taste of food, and combine the respective strengths of Chinese and Western food into one.
This makes his Tan Gong Restaurant look tasteful and stylish, which not only shocked the Chinese people, but also became very popular among foreigners.
So Ning Weimin believes that if we make it more detailed, it is necessary to pay close attention to the appearance of the dishes.
If you are just talking about sentences, learn from the barbarians and learn skills to control the barbarians.
If we can learn other people’s skills and combine them with our own advantages, wouldn’t the dishes of Tan Gong Restaurant be even more perfect?
What I didn’t mention is that both internal and external skills are strong enough, which is a double bonus.
At that time, the foreign exchange of the foreign devils will of course become more convenient and justified.
It should be said that Ning Weimin's wishful thinking has definitely been refined enough.
But then again, he is not a professional chef after all, and he does not know enough about cooking, so he has limitations and biased expectations.
You know, French food is recognized as the largest cuisine in the Western world.
The status of Shandong cuisine in the Western world is just like that as the only native cuisine of Chinese food and the leader of the eight major cuisines in our country.
The essence of French cuisine is not limited to the external appearance.
There are many cooking methods and rich dishes. Although it cannot compare with Chinese food, it is the best in Western food and has unique features.
What's more, in order to expand the market in the Republic, the three foreign chefs hired by Maxim Restaurant were not ordinary people.
Everyone is a well-known and experienced figure in the French catering industry.
One of the pastry chefs, Lafontaine, is 36 years old and a senior pastry chef who has served at the Elysée Palace in France.
His craftsmanship was favored by French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who visited China in 1980.
As Executive Sous Chef LeGoff, despite being only twenty-six years old, his talent is astonishing.
Before he was hired to go to China, he had just made a name for a little-known restaurant in Paris and won a Michelin star with his innovative dishes.
In addition, Le Goff is also a disciple of the world-renowned French chef Joel Robuchon, and was fortunate enough to learn from this famous chef for three years.
Joel Robuchon is also known as the chef of the century and the legendary star chef. At the age of sixty-three, he managed sixteen restaurants around the world.
His legend is that he has won thirty-two Michelin stars in his life, and is the world-recognized record holder for the most stars.
The last executive chef was named Dominic. At forty-three years old, as a master chef in the kitchen, he is not only older and more qualified, but also has the greatest background.
Because not only has he been employed by two Michelin three-star restaurants and served as executive chef for many years, but he is also a member of the French Catering Institute.
Académie Culinaire de France, also known as the French Academy of Chefs, was founded in 1883 by Joseph Favre, a famous Swiss chef and author of the "General Dictionary of Cooking and Food Hygiene".
It is the oldest catering and pastry society in the world, and its members are all famous chefs from all over the world.
It is very difficult to apply to join. It requires at least nine years of experience as a chef in France and outstanding contributions to the catering industry.
It also takes a year to pass various reviews and resolutions.
So this society has less than a thousand members around the world, and most of them are chefs in Michelin-certified restaurants.
To put it bluntly, this society is too difficult to join, and it is also too amazing.
The status in the world of catering is equivalent to the status of Shaolin and Wudang among all the famous sects in Jin Daxia's martial arts novels.
Think about it, such an awesome cuisine and such an awesome chef.
In addition, Tan Palace is the only restaurant in the country that sells authentic palace dishes, and it is also a leader in Chinese food.
The chefs sent by Ning Weimin are all selected from the best. They are chefs who have been trained by many famous chefs and are willing to learn and practice hard.
The collision of these two good things, two profound catering cultures, and the resulting collision reaction, how earth-shattering is it?
An appropriate metaphor is needed.
It was originally thought to be a collision between a bow and an arrow, but it turned out to be a nuclear bomb colliding with a hydrogen bomb.
All in all, both sides miscalculated.
Ning Weimin despised French food, and those French chefs did not pay enough attention to Chinese chefs.
In this era of relatively limited information, there is a serious gap between Chinese and Western cultures.
Naturally, a big collision of food culture that no one expected happened in the back kitchen of Maxim Restaurant.
The resulting drama, as well as the significant impact and wonderful consequences, cannot be estimated in advance by anyone.
As for the specific process, what was it like?
First of all, it should be admitted that the three French chefs at Maxim Restaurant all have quite a bit of prejudice against Chinese food.
This mainly depends on their own arrogance and self-confidence, as well as their bad impression of French Chinese food.
Yes, there are many Chinese restaurants in France.
It is a pity that time has changed and the legend of Wanhua Tower, which was the first to cause a sensation in Paris, has long been lost in history.
In this day and age, the number of Chinese restaurants in France is number one in Europe.
Ke Ke is famous for its single cuisine and outdated patterns.
It is not too much to say that the menus of almost all Chinese restaurants are the same, and the tastes do not change much.
It is even still famous for its bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and tofu, which were the most symbolic Chinese food at that time.
In addition, the family management model is outdated, the next generation of expatriates cannot afford to suffer, food hygiene is not up to standard, vicious competition, abuse of MSG, and other unfavorable factors.
And the exposure of the "dog meat incident" in the Chinese restaurant industry in the Netherlands has led to widespread distrust of Chinese food among Westerners.
This has led to the complete decline of the French Chinese restaurant industry.
Many restaurants even have to fake Japanese food to stay in business.
Can such Chinese food be delicious?
It’s not that several French chefs have never eaten it, but they despise it precisely because they have eaten it.
Of course, these French chefs cannot be said to be completely disappointed with their attempts at Chinese food.
During the renovation of the Maxim restaurant in Beijing, Song Huagui gathered all the domestic chefs and waiters he hired and sent them to the Maxim headquarters in Paris, France for three months of "intensive training."
During the training, those domestic chefs cooked a relatively authentic Chinese meal for the French chef.
Based on the existing ingredients in the restaurant, domestic chefs have very limited choices.
In addition, these chefs are almost all young people from Chongwenmen Restaurant, their skills are not high, and they are not comfortable using Western kitchen utensils.
In the end, they only made some home-style pancakes, kung pao chicken, and a hot and sour soup.
After eating it, even though the French chef gave it a thumbs up, they generally thought it tasted good.
But I still regard these Chinese meals as just fresh snacks, which only strengthens the misunderstanding that there are no big dishes in Chinese meals.
Later, after the three chefs came to the capital, they were hosted by the Chinese and ate Judequan’s roast duck.
Although it was really delicious that time, don’t forget that in this era, Chinese restaurants in our country generally use a lot of oil.
Well, just this meal was enough to satisfy these masters who are used to eating raw meat and drinking blood.
The three of them were all grinning and had diarrhea in obscurity for several days.
Think about it, what a painful realization this is!
It’s strange that they can have a good impression of Chinese food.
They began to have a deep-rooted misunderstanding that Chinese chefs were unhygienic and lazy.
Chinese food generally has serious food safety problems, and it is not something for people to eat.
And it is difficult not to bring this negative emotion to their kitchen work.
In fact, since the opening of Maxim Restaurant in Beijing.
Domestic chefs generally feel that the three of them are difficult to deal with.
It seems that after three months of training, everyone has lost all friendship with them. That is called turning one's face and not recognizing anyone.
The kitchen, managed by the three of them, was like hell.
A series of work requirements, especially in terms of hygiene, are much more stringent than in Paris, almost harsh.
And because of the language barrier, there is a misunderstanding about Chinese chefs.
Their work attitude is extremely rough and arrogant. They yell and curse at every turn. There is no respect at all.
So much so that everyone in the country is resentful and dissatisfied with them.
When he wasn't working, he kept a respectful distance from all three of them, and even nicknamed them "Hell Chefs" behind his back.
LaFontaine is called "Pull List" by everyone.
Le Goff was called "a fart."
The most distinguished executive chef Dominic is nicknamed "White Hair" because of his gray hair.
To put it simply, Maxim Restaurant has been open for just over a year.
Seventy percent of the domestic chefs in the kitchen were replaced, and most of them were transferred because they couldn't stand their bad temper and humiliation.
No matter how much money you give, you can earn almost twice as much as working in a hotel in China, but few people can tolerate this grievance.
The chefs of Tan Palace came to Maxim Restaurant under such circumstances.
(End of this chapter)