In Gourt Suite’s Heaven on Earth private room, Jiang Feng was slightly startled when he entered. Heaven on Earth? Is this really appropriate? He later found out that the best private room in Gourt Suite was called Heaven on Earth, a na given by Boss Duan Feng. Jiang Feng didn’t pay much attention to it.
The private room was large and pleasant, with an air of subtle luxury.
Duan Feng had specially called over Lobby Manager Liew i.
"This is the lobby manager, extrely capable. All matters except for the kitchen can be entrusted to her; there will definitely be no problems," Duan Feng introduced her to Jiang Feng.
"Mr. Jiang, hello." Liew i imdiately greeted him with a smile, her attitude very reserved and careful.
"Hello." Jiang Feng responded with a light chuckle, then said to Duan Feng, "I rember her; she’s quite good."
The system had purchased the entire restaurant, including the original furniture, but Jiang Feng still wanted to renovate it, at least to change the current layout.
"This is Executive Chef Zhang Hu, in charge of kitchen affairs. He’s also a skilled cook," Duan Feng made another introduction.
Duan Feng hoped Jiang Feng would retain the original staff. Duan Feng was a good person but not a good boss; he treated his employees fairly well, but his business was failing, and he had lost a lot of money. The employees were all quite good, which was why Duan Feng recomnded them to Jiang Feng. However, the specific arrangents were still up to Jiang Feng. For Jiang Feng, he only needed to manage these two people. Liew i would handle all front-of-house matters, including reception, serving, cleaning, and hygiene, while Zhang Hu would organize the kitchen. With an accountant added to the team, all aspects of the restaurant would essentially be covered. Jiang Feng only planned to replace the accountant. After all, accounting was an area prone to issues, and he wanted soone reliable for peace of mind.
"Boss Jiang, the restaurant is yours now. What are your plans?" Duan Feng asked.
Liew i and Zhang Hu also looked towards Jiang Feng.
"Simple," Jiang Feng shared his plans. "Keep the basic personnel unchanged, but the restaurant needs to be renovated and its layout altered.
"This is a comrcial street, where dining establishnts can be very successful. I plan to focus on ho-style cuisine.
"I will mainly target individual custors and will stop hosting banquets."
"No hosting banquets?" Duan Feng was taken aback. Banquets could bring in significant revenue at once, and he couldn’t bear to give up such inco.
But Jiang Feng’s idea was quite straightforward. In fact, new-style Chinese Restaurants were already erging, becoming highly popular due to their pleasant atmosphere. They were suitable for both family gatherings and romantic dates; as long as the food was delicious, there would be no shortage of business. Duan Feng, now over fifty, had been in the restaurant business for a long ti but was sowhat out of touch with current trends.
"Alright, the restaurant’s yours now. I wish you booming business," Duan Feng toasted Jiang Feng.
"Good, thank you." Jiang Feng drank with him.
During the al, Jiang Feng inquired in detail about the restaurant’s situation. Everything else was relatively straightforward to deal with, but chefs were the hardest to find. According to Jiang Feng’s plans, the kitchen would need at least fifteen chefs, including stove chefs, cutting board specialists, prep cooks, porters, dishwashers, roasters, and pastry chefs. These days, larger restaurants operated like assembly lines, with several people working on multiple dishes simultaneously rather than one person being responsible for a single dish. Each role required a relevant professional. Ideally, he would find a master chef who could bring apprentices, thus managing the entire team.
Finding a head chef skilled in authentic Shandong Cuisine was tough. Such chefs generally ca from a specific lineage and wouldn’t easily move to other restaurants. Furthermore, Jiang Feng’s restaurant was new and unknown, which made recruiting difficult. Jiang Feng planned to keep all the original chefs, as he lacked an extensive network and needed to utilize the existing team. He placed particular importance on the head chef, especially since he himself was a chef.
Jiang Feng chatted with Zhang Hu on the side.
He said to him, "My Chinese Restaurant specializes in Shandong Cuisine, and you are all professionals.
"I will be tasting dishes tomorrow and will offer so feedback.
"If you et the requirents, I can add ten to twenty percent on top of your current salaries."
Currently, the total salary for the fifteen people in the kitchen was 130,000. The executive chef earned the most at 28,000 a month, and those doing porter duties earned the least, just 4,500. Adding ten percent ant an extra 13,000 per month, which wasn’t a significant expense for Jiang Feng.
"Okay, no problem," Zhang Hu imdiately agreed.
Running this restaurant seed easier than I thought; both Zhang Hu and Liew i are quite capable, Jiang Feng mused. He planned to hire a competent accountant to manage finances, and then everything would be in place. Now, it was ti to see how the kitchen perford.
That evening, Jiang Feng left the restaurant. He contacted a design company specializing in Chinese Restaurant interiors to inspect the site, and they ca up with a few design plans. The plan, simply put, involved adding partitions and dividers to the main hall. Screens and carved wooden walls would section off different areas, creating spaces for four-person tables, six-person tables, large round tables, and private rooms. Each area would be designed with a simple yet elegant aesthetic. Custors would walk along a lantern-lit corridor. Each sectioned-off area would contain only four tables, ensuring it felt neither too sparse nor too crowded—everything just right. It was estimated that the restaurant would be completely transford within half a month of construction.
「The next day, Jiang Feng arrived in the kitchen.」
The kitchen of Gourt Suite was very large. When the chefs heard that the new boss was coming for a tasting today, they all took it very seriously. The tasting would determine whether they could continue working at the restaurant. None of them wanted to leave; after all, the location was good, the pay was decent, and they had all grown accustod to it. Therefore, they had to prepare dishes that would satisfy the new boss.
But when everyone entered the kitchen, they were stunned. They saw the new boss actually dressed in a white chef’s uniform! What? The head coach is warming up?! What on earth does the boss want to do?
Jiang Feng remained very calm.
Once everyone had arrived and Zhang Hu had introduced Jiang Feng, Jiang Feng addressed them, "I am now the boss of Gourt Suite, but it won’t be called Gourt Suite for much longer.
"I don’t know how many of you know , but I am also a chef. I used to run food stalls in various places."
At this remark, many people’s eyes suddenly lit up.
"It’s him! It’s really him! That incredibly popular stall owner!" one exclaid.
"My god, he’s the boss of Gourt Suite? He must be so rich!" another whispered in amazent.
Jiang Feng continued, "I have also studied many Shandong Cuisine recipes, and in fact, Shandong Cuisine is what I am most proficient in.
"So, before the official tasting, let cook a few Shandong Cuisine dishes for everyone to try.
"Otherwise, when I offer suggestions later, you might not be convinced."
Jiang Feng’s words baffled everyone again. Normally, during a tasting, the chefs cooked for the boss. Now, however, the roles were completely reversed! This boss is quite interesting, they thought.
Naturally, the chefs were eager to taste his cooking.
So, Jiang Feng began his preparations. He announced he would make three dishes: Deep-Fried Crispy Pork and Chicken Gizzards, Kong Family Mansion’s Pot, and Sweet and Sour Carp.
In the kitchen, Jiang Feng began to busy himself. Executive Chef Zhang Hu personally assisted him, preparing the ingredients.
As the saying goes, "When a professional sets to work, one can see whether there’s real skill." As soon as Jiang Feng started, Zhang Hu knew he was dealing with a true professional, and a highly skilled one at that.
Jiang Feng’s first dish was Deep-Fried Crispy Pork and Chicken Gizzards. He took out a pork stomach and began to trim the unusable parts. Jiang Feng’s knife skills were steady and swift. As he began to cut the at, everyone’s attention was imdiately captivated.
Lobby Manager Liew i was also in the kitchen. She didn’t understand cooking, but she understood her boss; she knew she needed to be there at such a mont.
After Jiang Feng cleaned the pork stomach, he selected the freshest, tenderest part and began to score it with his knife. He was executing a "fishnet score," an extrely difficult technique. The pork stomach was thin, and the slightest lapse in attention could cause the knife to cut completely through it. Scoring a precise net-like pattern without piercing through the at required exceptional knife skills.
The kitchen staff gathered around. Zhang Hu himself was sowhat surprised. I knew the boss understood cooking, but not to this extent! he thought. This isn’t sothing an ordinary chef could achieve; it’s impossible without years of practice! Moreover, Gourt Suite didn’t normally serve this dish. Anyone who wanted Deep-Fried Crispy Pork and Chicken Gizzards had to order at least two days in advance. This dish is too difficult!
Jiang Feng quickly sculpted the fishnet pattern on the pork stomach, then cut it into several large pieces and set them aside on a plate. Next, he took out chicken gizzards, selected the tenderest parts, and again applied his intricate knife work. Jiang Feng was completely imrsed in the cooking process. This dish was on a completely different level from the ones he had made before. If Jiang Feng can successfully make this dish, he truly deserves the title of a great chef, Zhang Hu thought. Even I can’t guarantee I could do it better than him.
Jiang Feng scored the chicken gizzards with a "chrysanthemum cut." The tenderest part of each gizzard was ticulously shaped to resemble a blooming chrysanthemum.
"Boss, your knife skills are incredible!" Zhang Hu exclaid, his eyes wide with amazent.
The row of chefs standing nearby didn’t dare to utter a word. In that mont, they were all reminded of their apprentice days, watching master chefs at work.
Jiang Feng processed several pork stomachs and chicken gizzards in succession. After scoring them, he placed them to soak in separate bowls. The two main ingredients required different frying tis and thus had to be kept separate; even their marinades were different. All the chefs gathered closer, intently watching Jiang Feng cook. We never expected the boss to be this skilled! they marveled internally.
Next ca the steps of coating with starch, deep-frying, and final stir-frying. These steps demanded extre control over the heat. The frying tis for both ingredients, as well as the duration of the final stir-fry, had to be precisely managed. Finally, the perfectly stir-fried pork stomach and chicken gizzards were arranged on a plate, garnished with a red chili pepper placed upright on top. The dish was complete. The preparation thods for Shandong Cuisine are quite intricate, and truly good Shandong Cuisine is hard to co by.
"Alright, everyone, try this while it’s hot!" Jiang Feng called the chefs over to taste.
They imdiately picked up chopsticks and gathered around. With just one bite, they were astonished by the stir-fried pork stomach and chicken gizzards. The exquisite aroma and the tender yet springy texture were the epito of culinary delight. They couldn’t believe Jiang Feng’s cooking skills had reached such a level.
I’m a chef in a Chinese Restaurant, and the boss’s cooking skills are better than mine. Who am I supposed to complain to about this? This is just incredible! one of them thought, completely in awe.
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