Feng Yifan cooked the dish again and asked everyone in the kitchen to taste it.
Walsh and Yu Quan were very grateful, and they both decided to ask the hotel headquarters to authorize the purchase of these two dishes.
After finishing the work in the kitchen, Walsh and Yu Quan accompanied Feng Yifan out of another door in the back kitchen and came to the outside of the restaurant kitchen together.
The three of them were silent for a while, and Yu Quan said, "Chef Feng, if you really want to recruit Luo Yu, you may need to make a dessert that she cannot surpass for the time being, and you may also need to make her completely convinced of you. Luo Yu is a very arrogant woman."
Feng Yifan looked at Yu Quan and asked, "You also have a deep impression of her?"
Yu Quan nodded and said, "Yes, in fact, everyone in the restaurant kitchen has a deep impression of her, not only because she successfully stole the skills of the previous dessert chef and squeezed out the previous dessert chef, but more importantly, she is very cheerful in life and seems to be able to make friends with everyone, but when she makes desserts, she is extremely serious and even ignores her relatives."
Through Yu Quan's narration this time, Feng Yifan had a deeper understanding of Luo Yu.
Originally, Feng Yifan thought that Luo Yu might be a very conceited and arrogant person.
But from what Yu Quan said, Luo Yu is not a conceited person. Instead, she is a very cheerful and friendly person. She can get along well with all departments in the hotel.
Even some people at the hotel front desk would receive some desserts she made at that time.
While she was studying, she would give the desserts she made to many people for them to taste.
Even after she achieved success, she would continue to send gifts and never became complacent because of her success.
Yu Quan said: "If you want to know more about her, you can talk to the girls at the hotel front desk. They are all Luo Yu's friends. They will pass by Luo Yu's dessert shop after get off work and buy some desserts to take home."
Feng Yifan nodded: "Okay, thank you."
Walsh then asked, "Feng Yifan, are you really not coming to Shanghai? With your cooking skills, you will definitely become a top chef in Shanghai. Even if your restaurant is located in a remote corner, diners from all over the world will find it and your business will definitely be booming."
Feng Yifan smiled and responded: "Do you think I still need that money and fame?"
Walsh was speechless when asked.
Feng Yifan added: "Walsh, you should be able to see that the life I have now is what I want, because I have more time to spend with my daughter, and I have a wife, parents and father-in-law at home, so I can't abandon them and run to Shanghai to open a store."
Walsh understood that Feng Yifan's focus now was his family.
"So where is your restaurant now?"
Feng Yifan replied: "In Huaicheng, a small city that is not very developed."
Yu Quan immediately said, "I know that Huaicheng is one of the birthplaces of Huaiyang cuisine. It has a lot of cultural heritage. The first Chinese cuisine menu selection was held in Huaicheng, which was a good start. Oh, by the way, you were there at the time, right, Chef Feng?"
Only then did Yu Quan finally remember that he seemed to have seen and heard of Feng Yifan somewhere before.
Now I finally remembered that Feng Yifan had appeared at the finals of the first Chinese cuisine menu selection held in Huaicheng, and he even cooked a Red Mansion dish on the spot.
Feng Yifan nodded: "Yes, I was there at the time. Actually, I was just pushed out. My uncle was also there at the time. He is the real master of the domestic culinary world."
Yu Quan asked curiously, "Who is your great uncle, Chef Feng?"
Feng Yifan said: "Mr. Zhuang Daozhong."
Yu Quan was instantly filled with awe.
"Ah, I know. Mr. Zhuang is the master of state banquet cuisine in our country. The first chef I learned from was Mr. Zhuang's nephew. But I am rather dull, so I didn't have the chance to see Mr. Zhuang in person, let alone learn cooking from him."
Yu Quan then asked curiously, "Chef Feng, your great uncle is Mr. Zhuang Daozhong, so who is your great master?"
Feng Yifan did not hide it: "In fact, my master is my father-in-law. My father-in-law's master is also his father, my wife's grandfather, Mr. Su Quansheng."
This time, Yu Quan was completely shocked, and he finally understood why Feng Yifan could make such authentic three ways to cook eel.
"Chef Feng, no wonder you are able to master both Eastern and Western cooking techniques. It turns out that you have a family background. Mr. Su Quansheng was the best chef at the state banquet back then. Everyone in the domestic cooking world knows him."
Walsh asked curiously, "Why is Su Quansheng, whom you are talking about, called the number one person at the state banquet?"
Yu Quan said seriously: "I heard from my master that many of the dishes on the state banquet menu today were finalized by Mr. Su Quansheng at that time, and many of the cooking techniques and the blending of various flavors were also determined by Mr. Su Quansheng."
Feng Yifan also said: "This is true. Because it is a state banquet, we need to cater to the tastes of different groups and ensure that they are healthy. Therefore, the cooking methods and seasonings need to be improved. Grandpa has indeed made a lot of efforts in this regard, but he can't be said to be the first person to do so."
Yu Quan was very serious: "No, Mr. Su Quansheng is definitely the first one."
Feng Yifan shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "Grandpa is a man who is indifferent to fame and fortune, otherwise he wouldn't have left the hustle and bustle and returned to his hometown to run his own small restaurant."
Yu Quan also said: "I have also heard from my master that Mr. Su Quansheng later left the capital and returned to his hometown to run a small restaurant. It seems that the restaurant was passed down by Mr. Su's ancestors, and there is also a very rare old plaque."
Feng Yifan nodded: "Yes, the restaurant was passed down from generation to generation by my wife's ancestors, and the old plaque does exist."
Walsh exclaimed: "Oh, Feng Yifan, you really have a great family background."
Feng Yifan responded: "That's my wife's family, but my wife has no brothers, so I have to inherit it. I went abroad for five years, and I also wanted to find the essence of American culture in various countries. Now I have found it, so I want to come back and support my wife's family's old restaurant."
Yu Quan said: "Well, in this way, Chef Feng, you are the same as Mr. Su Quansheng back then. After you became successful, you returned to run your small restaurant."
After hearing this, Feng Yifan felt that it was indeed the same.
"In fact, small restaurants are good. In small places, there is not so much competition. You can study the dishes more quietly and make more food that the neighbors will like."
After hearing this, Walsh and Yu Quan almost believed it.
If he hadn't known this, Feng Yifan would have invited the two dim sum chefs to his restaurant.
Walsh smiled and said, "No matter what, Chef Feng still hopes that his restaurant will be recognized, otherwise you wouldn't have come all the way to Shanghai, right? And your target is very clear, it's those two talented pastry chefs."
Feng Yifan did not hide it: "Well, it is like this. I hope that my restaurant can bring everyone the delicious food they want, so I need to expand the staff and let some young chefs who are as ambitious as me to show their talents in my restaurant."
Walsh asked: "But if you don't want to get three stars again, why did you invite two pastry chefs like that?"
Feng Yifan calmly replied: "Because only the two of them can create desserts that surpass Samsung."
After a pause, Feng Yifan continued, "Our restaurant wants to be a restaurant that can prove that Chinese cuisine is no less delicious than any Western cuisine. We don't need others to rate us because we are the standard ourselves and don't need the judgment of gourmets."
At this moment, Walsh and Yu Quan finally saw Feng Yifan's true ambition.
He wanted to create a set of judging criteria unique to Chinese cuisine.
Feng Yifan looked at the two people's surprised expressions and said with a smile: "When we open, you are welcome to come and taste it. Maybe we may not be able to reach the three-star standard, but we will definitely try our best to present food that everyone will like."
Walsh and Yu Quan looked at each other, and then both agreed: "Well, we will definitely go to taste it."
Feng Yifan then said goodbye to the two and walked towards the hotel lobby front desk alone.
When we arrived at the hotel front desk, several receptionists in charge of the front desk immediately stood up and asked questions.
"Mr. Feng, how can I help you?"
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm not here to cause trouble. I just want to ask, do you know Luo Yu?"
It has to be said that Feng Yifan's smiling face made the front desk staff feel relieved.
Then they heard him ask "Luo Yu", and several people nodded together to show that they knew her.
One of the more cheerful waiters said: "Luo Yu was our hotel's former pastry chef. She was very good and was self-taught. But the desserts she made were so good that even the hotel's former professional pastry chef was beaten by her. In the end, she was pushed out."
Hearing what the receptionist said, Feng Yifan smiled and asked, "Have you all tried Luo Yu's desserts?"
Several people nodded together.
Feng Yifan then asked: "So what do you think are the differences between her desserts and the desserts you usually buy in other places?"
Several receptionists looked at each other, not knowing how to answer for a moment.
After a long while, the female receptionist who had spoken before said, "Luo Yu's desserts are not as sweet as those sold in the shops on our street, but her desserts have some unique fragrance."
Feng Yifan asked: "Oh? What is that unique fragrance?"
The woman thought about it carefully and said, "Just like the Mont Blanc she made, it has a strong chestnut aroma, like eating a whole chestnut. The bread she made has a strong wheat aroma. Although it is not very sweet, it tastes very good. We all like it."
Several other people also nodded, indicating that they preferred Luo Yu’s snacks.
Feng Yifan asked, "Will Luo Yu still come to bring you snacks now?"
The same woman said, "Not now, because her store is very busy, but if we pass by after get off work, we will buy some, and sometimes we will go there specifically to buy them."
Others agreed again, and even one person who was not on his way made a special trip to buy it.
Feng Yifan finally looked at the woman who had been answering and asked, "Are you very close to Luo Yu?"
This time, others helped answer: "She is Luo Yu's best friend. They were high school classmates and have a very good relationship. The snacks we received from Luo Yu before were all thanks to her."
The woman immediately said, "No way, Luo Yu always makes just enough for everyone."
Feng Yifan smiled and asked, "May I ask what your name is?"
The woman also answered generously: "My name is 'Wu Tongtong', Luo Yu is indeed my best friend, Chef Feng, I heard that you want to invite Luo Yu to your restaurant? Are you going to open a top restaurant in Shanghai?"
Feng Yifan laughed when he heard this: "Hahaha, I may disappoint you, but I will not open any top-notch restaurant in Shanghai. However, I do want to invite Luo Yu and Chen Xu to my restaurant. But my restaurant is not a top-notch restaurant, it's just a small restaurant."
Hearing this, Wu Tongtong suddenly felt a little disappointed, and then said: "Chef Feng, then you definitely can't invite Luo Yu. She has long said that if she wants to be a dessert chef in a restaurant, she must go to the top one."
Feng Yifan did not argue, but smiled and said: "That can only mean that we are not destined to be together, but some things are often uncertain."
Then, Feng Yifan thought of Chen Xu, and he asked Wu Tongtong again: "You and Luo Yu are best friends, so what do you think of Chen Xu? Is he a good match for Luo Yu?"
Wu Tongtong is a woman who speaks her mind, so she did not hide her evaluation of Chen Xu at all.
"Chef Feng, I actually don't like Chen Xu because he is very arrogant. Although our Yu Yu did lose to him, sooner or later, our Yu Yu will definitely defeat him. When that time comes, I will make sure our Yu Yu leaves him."
Feng Yifan couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "Why does it seem like Luo Yu and Chen Xu don't have any romantic feelings for each other? I heard that's not the case."
Wu Tongtong said seriously: "There was no love in the first place. It was Chen Xu who deliberately lied to her in order to get Yuyu."
Feng Yifan asked: "How did you cheat?"
Wu Tongtong continued, "He told Yuyu that he was the apprentice of a dim sum master and that he could teach Yuyu how to make traditional dim sum and help her understand the traditional Chinese dim sum techniques. But in reality, how can those traditional dim sum be compared to Western desserts?"
After hearing what Wu Tongtong said, Feng Yifan smiled bitterly in his heart.
It is obvious that people have never really tasted traditional handmade dim sum, which is why they think it is inferior to Western desserts.
Feng Yifan said: "In fact, traditional dim sum often needs to be improved to keep up with the progress of the times and combine tradition with modernity. While retaining tradition, it can also be more in line with the tastes of modern people. This is what every chef needs to pursue."
The women at the front desk seemed to understand what was said, and Wu Tongtong didn't quite understand either.
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Thank you for telling me about Chen Xu and Luo Yu. I'll treat you to some snacks when I have time. Go ahead and do your work. I won't bother you anymore."
After saying that, Feng Yifan turned and left. The women at the front desk looked at his back, still not understanding the meaning of his last words.
Wu Tongtong had already made up her mind that she would go find Luo Yu after get off work today, relay what she had said, and ask Luo Yu what he thought.