Zhang Dashao, also known as Zhang Mingwu, was born in 1918. Ning Weimin knew this.
And Zhang Dashao's apprenticeship must have a deep connection with the real imperial chef of the Qing Dynasty. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Ning Weimin to have such a thorough understanding of palace cuisine.
But Ning Weimin never expected that Zhang Dashao's entire family had been working for the Qing royal family for generations.
According to Kang Shude, since the 30th year of Qianlong's reign, Zhang Dashao's ancestor was brought to the capital from his hometown in the south because of his superb cooking skills, and became the "Tatan" in front of the emperor.
Since then, the Zhang family has been carrying the golden rice bowl rewarded by the emperor, and has never returned to their hometown. They have become out-and-out Beijing residents.
The only thing is that people in the same industry look down on each other, and there are cliques everywhere. This golden rice bowl is not easy to maintain.
The palace chefs are mainly from Shandong, but the Zhang family are authentic southerners and are good at southern-style dishes.
Although being transferred from the private sector to the imperial dining room of the Qing Palace was a step up to the sky, he was still fighting alone.
With no support from the top, no support from fellow villagers, and deeply disliked by colleagues, wouldn’t there be conflicts between right and wrong?
However, the Zhang family’s ancestral temperament is more straightforward and stubborn than the northerners.
They belong to the second class of people mentioned by Du Yuesheng.
He has talent but also has a bad temper. He only knows how to get what he wants from the song, but he doesn’t know how to seek what he wants from the song.
So although the ancestors of the Zhang family were admired by Qianlong, they did not know how to engage in interpersonal relationships and almost offended all their colleagues.
It was only a generation of glory. Since the death of Qianlong, the "Bo Le", and the replacement of Jiaqing, who advocated frugality, as the master, the situation of the Zhang family has become worse than that of Wang Xiaoer during the New Year. .
From then on, ostracism from all directions came one after another.
No matter how good your craftsmanship is, you can't stand it when others join forces to mess with you, calling you around in circles without giving you a chance to show your face.
Want to leave?
I can’t leave even if I want to.
Do you want to go back to your hometown with the reward and live a good life?
Where can you get what you want!
If I don't torture you to the point where you have your fingers pointing to the sky, or if I don't torture you to the point of poverty, you don't know how powerful the palace is.
In this way, during the Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng dynasties, several generations of the Zhang family had almost done all the forty-eight places in the imperial kitchen.
Wherever you go, you go wherever you are busy, and wherever you go, you go wherever you are miserable, but you get nothing.
Not to mention such wonderful things as promotion, sharing of profits and silver, and selling out the ingredients from the palace.
In order to cope with the fault finding, the family fortune was almost lost.
The grievance was really great.
But you have to say it twice, blessings and disasters lie behind blessings.
Because generations of the Zhang family have been doing hard labor in disguised forms like donkeys, whether in the external dining room or the internal dining room.
The meat and vegetable bureau, the vegetarian bureau, the dinner bureau, the stove bureau, the snack bureau, the wild food bureau, the pantry bureau, and the wine and vinegar bureau are all too bad.
I have taken care of all the meals for my brother, concubine, guards, maids, and eunuchs.
Therefore, the Zhang family has thought through almost everything about the food and drinks in the palace.
From Bazhen Banquet to Sula Sauce, you are proficient in all kinds of southern cuisine, northern cuisine, Manchu banquet, Han banquet, and Manchurian and Mongolian barbecue.
The menus of the internal and external dining rooms recorded by generations of people are enough to fill three large books.
To put it bluntly, in terms of understanding the food situation in the palace, the Zhang family is qualified to be the chief official of Guanglu Temple and the chief of the imperial dining room.
Not to mention the royal chefs, if they want to cook, they should go home and take care of their children.
So gold always shines.
Just once, the Queen Mother got angry at her servants because of her improper diet.
Shan Zheng was really cornered and wanted to hang himself, so he thought of "Zhang Dashao"'s grandfather.
Needless to say, this is a God-given opportunity for the Zhang family.
After a try, it turned out to be fate. The grandfather of "Zhang Dashao" relied on the family's "cherry meat", "fried elm mushrooms", a plate of "yellow noodle dumplings" and a bowl of "Qiaochun". "Soup", the Queen Mother's appetite was whetted on the spot, and she was transferred to the longevity dining room.
As a result, he became a popular person in front of the Queen Mother of the West, and the rewards were endless.
After here, it was the Zhang family’s turn to take the lead in their craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, the Zhang family's luck is still a bit lacking.
Although I had to meet the "Ming Lord", I finally met Cixi, an old lady who was more delicious and luxurious than Qianlong.
But this matter came a bit late.
Because at this time, the Queen Mother of the West was not only over sixty years old, but also quite unable to control her mouth.
She is too greedy and has no restraint.
As long as your stomach feels a little empty, as long as there is nothing better to do, you have to eat.
For example, once, "Lafayette" had just finished eating snacks in the "Jingfu Pavilion" of the Summer Palace, and was walking to the "Huaqu Garden" to eat.
I didn’t expect that I suddenly stopped while walking. I don’t know why. I was about to eat fish soup.
Well, "Zhang Dashao's" grandfather had to quickly take out the small stove he brought with him, make it on the spot, and serve it on the spot.
That's not all. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and eat "roasted pork rinds", and my favorite "braised duck" is served every time.
The water chestnut pancakes stuffed with minced meat and fried triangles must be eaten as they are oily as soon as you bite them.
Think about it, how can an old lady of this age resist all this greasy food!
Yes, in the late autumn of 1908, the old queen mother suffered from autumn dryness, improper conditioning, and diarrhea.
Eventually it turned into dysentery.
To put it bluntly, the old queen mother did not die at the hands of her political opponents or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, but she died on her own lips.
As a result, the tree fell and the hozens scattered, and the original good job became a ruin.
As soon as the Shoushan Room was disbanded, no one escaped. The grandfather of the Zhang family and the masters recruited by the people left the palace together and dispersed to make their own living.
However, although he lost his job, fortunately, at this time, the grandfather of the Zhang family had already gained a foundation and reputation through the Queen Mother of the West. Many princes and nobles came to recruit him and asked him to join the government as a chef. .
The grandfather of the Zhang family was also very shrewd. He refused to hang himself from a tree. He claimed that he would only do catering services for a price of more than 1,000 yuan per seat, and would only accept temporary employment.
In this way, people will become more popular. That is making money every day.
Finally, Mr. Zhang taught his son Zhang Zhi to the church, and he himself lived in a big house and became an old man comfortably.
At that time, Na Tong from Jinyu Hutong and Zeng Chong from Qinlao Hutong, the two wealthy men of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, were the Zhang family's main customers.
There is such a sentence in "Natong Diary", "Tonight I will eat Zhang Zhi."
Most people would never understand this, but it actually meant inviting "Zhang Dashao's" father into the house to serve as a caterer.
If you look at the "Sheep Head Horse" who sells a hundred white water sheep heads at the front door every day, he can live in a big house and support his three wives and a large family just by making snacks.
You can imagine how nourishing the life of the Zhang family was.
So in fact, it is no exaggeration to say that "Zhang Dashao" was born in a large house with three entrances and a cross-yard.
As the only son of the Zhang family, when he was a child, among his toys were small gold ingots and small pots made of jade.
And despite the fact that his life is no worse than that of a young master from an aristocratic family, he does not have the same bad habits as a young master from an aristocratic family.
Because the Zhang family is a craftsman, "Zhang Dashao"'s father asked him to learn cooking from him since he was a child, and he would never raise a young master. But "Zhang Dashao" is also talented in this area. He knows it at a glance. He loves to eat and cook, and he is looking for delicious food and drinks all over the capital.
At a young age, he knew how to combine the methods of banana dishes with it to create fashionable new dishes such as "Breaded Chicken" and "French Prawns".
This not only made Zhang Zhi proud, but also made the Zhang family's "catering" banquet more famous.
Why am I worried?
He thought that his son would never be poor in his life.
It’s a pity that craftsmen who don’t study have limited knowledge.
The Zhang family's thoughts are all on the kitchen stove, and they don't realize that there is a country bigger than home. Everyone is always affected by the current situation.
They did not understand at the time that relying solely on craftsmanship would not create a comfortable home.
At critical moments, good luck and bad luck can often come at the same moment.
Just because you are ignorant, you may make a mistake and regret it later.
Perhaps there is a kind of karma curse, which dictates that things must be returned to where they were taken from.
The fate of the Zhang family and his son finally changed again because of Xuantong, the submissive emperor.
In 1932, Puyi went to Changchun and planned to establish the puppet Manchukuo in Changchun.
Because he was dissatisfied with the cooks in the Northeast and the manpower he brought was not enough, he sent his men to look for old people.
When the subordinates came to the capital, they asked one by one where the old people in the imperial kitchen of the Yangxin Palace were, hoping that they could go and help.
Unexpectedly, everyone dislikes the long distance and is annoyed by the Japanese. No one likes to go there.
As for the actual situation, not many people can escape.
Because the Royal Chef, this sign is valuable.
People from the old imperial dining room, represented by Wang Yushan, the "King of Speculation", had already set up the "Fangshan Tea House" east of Wulong Pavilion in Beihai at that time, and the business was booming.
Most of the other people also found their excuses in the big restaurants in the capital. Is it necessary for them to go?
As a result, these men encountered obstacles everywhere.
After searching and searching like this, they finally focused on the Zhang family and his son as their main target.
Because first, although Cixi did not have a good reputation among the people, she was a "noble person" to the Zhang family and his son.
Since the Zhang family left the palace, they have been thinking about the good son of the old Queen Mother. This is a well-known thing.
Secondly, the Zhang family is not only good at craftsmanship, but also has heart problems.
The Zhang family’s father and son are truly capable. They are unparalleled among the imperial chefs in Ouchi. They are not only sophisticated but also comprehensive.
With them, it means that they can take on all the work in the imperial kitchen, and they can do it.
But precisely because of this, they always feel that it is unfair for several generations of their family members to have only the best ones be in charge.
I am really angry about this, and people always complain about the palace.
Even because of this, he is quite alienated from other royal chefs and has no contact with him.
Thirdly, the Zhang family father and son are one of the few people who do not have fixed jobs.
They live no more freely than other chefs. The main business is in the major offices.
As long as you don’t have a job, you can leave if you want, without worries.
So these are the places where they get most into trouble.
Pu Yi's people came to the door and first complained about the Queen Mother's "kindness".
Following that, they were promised the official position of Imperial Shanfang Shanzheng, and finally paid a deposit of 100 taels of gold on the spot, saying that they would be released as long as they worked for two years.
In this way, Zhang Zhi was fascinated by the small favor and became tempted.
He thought it would be better to just make a trip, not only to repay his old master's favor, but also to satisfy his ancestor's regret, and to make a fortune at the same time.
At the same time, it can also give my son a long experience and see what the real royal system is and how appropriate it is.
It's a pity that the father and son slapped their butts and left, which means they were trapped in the dragon's den and the tiger's den.
The Zhang family and his son never thought that the Japanese were actually in charge of Northeast China.
To put it bluntly, even Puyi has slowly become a prisoner. If they follow this unlucky puppet, how can they be better off?
The Zhang family and his son in the Northeast are so worried. Their treatment is okay, but they have a home and cannot return.
In addition, traitors have a bad reputation.
The key is that the Japanese special grandson deliberately let Zhang Zhi become white-faced in order to control the people around the emperor.
But that's not the worst thing. Unexpectedly, there was a major general of the Kwantung Army who came from a noble family because he admired their cooking skills.
They were forcibly recruited and taken with the army further north.
Well, now it’s bad luck.
Not to mention the harsh environment, this is a battlefield, it’s just a joke.
Later in 1939, the Battle of Nomenkan broke out between the Japanese army and the Soviet army, and as expected they were involved.
The Japanese major general was later killed by a shell, and Zhang Zhi's drug-addicted body could not withstand the ice and snow. When he fled with the army, he died of illness halfway.
"Zhang Dashao", who had just turned twenty-one, was also captured by the Soviet army during a raid by the Soviet cavalry.
If ordinary prisoners of war were to be released, I'm afraid they would have to be sent to the western part of the Soviet Union for mining. Just like the Soviet army's treatment of Japanese prisoners of war, it was a matter of narrow escape.
But the good thing is that people of any race in the world have to eat and are willing to eat well.
At this critical moment, the ancestral craftsmanship saved the life of "Zhang Dashao".
A meal of "breaded chicken", plus Lafayette's favorite royal pastry "six-pin soufflé", was a feast for the Soviet general.
For this reason, "Zhang Dashao" received amnesty and became the special chef of the Soviet generals.
But it must be said that fate is fickle, and it doesn't play enough tricks on people.
In the second half of 1941, the Soviet army and the German army started fighting again, and "Zhang Dashao" was captured by the German army again, and was then detained in Germany and France.
Not only had to serve an SS officer, but he also often had to work with several French chefs to contribute to the banquets held by the officer to attract the "French traitors" who surrendered to France.
But this was not over yet. When the German army was defeated in 1943, "Zhang Dashao" was actually captured by the US military again, and served an American lieutenant colonel who admired French cuisine for two years.
Only then was he handed over to the National Government and eventually sent back to China.
To put it bluntly, although Zhang Dashao is just a cook, he is definitely not an ordinary chef.
He is a cook who has served senior military officers and upper-class people from the two major Axis powers and the two major Allied countries!
The fact that he is still alive after being tossed around so many times is enough to show the profoundness and appeal of our country’s food culture.
The saying that art does not overwhelm the body is absolutely correct.
But you must also know that after being away from home for twenty years, Zhang Dashao returned to the capital and joined Si Zhang's people.
Not only is the family gone, but his father is dead and he has to face trial and jail time.
How could he not hate this?
Pu Yi, the Japanese, and the foreign devils led the national army. He almost hated the whole world.