Feng Yifan washed his hands carefully, put on disposable gloves, took out a knife, and began to carefully debone the duck on the plate.
Catherine and Tom were watching from the side, their eyes gradually becoming filled with surprise.
They had indeed seen Feng Yifan's knife skills in the kitchen of Perovence restaurant, but they had never expected that his knife skills were so exquisite.
Feng Yifan was slowly deboning a steamed duck with a small knife.
The key is that every piece of meat Feng Yifan took out was very complete.
In the end, only half of the duck's skeleton was left.
The meat on the plate was very intact.
Afterwards, Feng Yifan seasoned the meat on the plate.
No salt or other seasonings were added.
Feng Yifan instead found another plate, put very thinly sliced melon slices underneath, placed the boneless duck meat on top, and finally sprinkled some osmanthus flowers on it.
With this decoration, the half-leftover steamed duck with fermented rice wine seemed to have become another dish.
Before preparing to steam it again, Feng Yifan suddenly opened the front door and ran out.
Not long after, he quickly ran back from outside.
Because Su Ji opened the door, many people on the ancient street naturally tried to peek inside, but they were all blocked by Feng Yifan, who then locked the door again from the inside.
The people on the ancient street were a little confused when they saw the door was locked again.
"What's going on? Is it open for business?"
“It shouldn’t be open for business, right?”
"Wasn't that Chef Feng who just ran out?"
"Yeah? Chef Feng is here, why not open the business?"
"It looks like Chef Feng is cooking in there."
"Are you cooking in there? Doesn't that mean it's going to open soon?"
"Wow, is Su Ji opening today?"
"Hey, definitely not. Chef Feng said in an interview before that he is currently studying the menu and will develop a unique menu before opening the restaurant."
"That was a waste of joy."
The crowd watching at the door couldn't help but feel a little helpless, but everyone understood that all they could do now was wait.
Feng Yifan came back from Fan Chaodong and Wang Cuifeng's rice wine shop.
Brought back a bottle of wine.
Feng Yifan poured the fermented rice wine along the edge of the plate into the center of the plate.
When the fermented glutinous rice was poured out, the whole kitchen was immediately filled with the sweet aroma of the fermented glutinous rice.
Catherine and Tom didn't know much and were both very curious.
Shi Jiahui explained to the two people that this thing is called Jiuniang, which is a kind of fermented rice wine, but it has not been fully fermented into wine.
Feng Yifan was ready and put the dish into the steamer.
Because the duck inside was cooked, I didn’t steam it for long this time, just five minutes.
Basically, it means to evaporate the alcohol in the fermented rice.
When Feng Yifan turned off the fire and opened the lid of the pot again, the whole kitchen was filled with a rich aroma.
The sweet aroma of the fermented rice, paired with the fragrance of osmanthus, the fragrance of the melon on the plate, and the fragrance of the duck, really makes people drool.
Feng Yifan took a plate out of the pot, put it aside and said, "Well, this is more like a formal dish."
When others took a closer look, they saw that the dish looked as beautiful as an unfolding painting.
It was still the meat from the same half duck, but after Feng Yifan removed the bones and rearranged the dish, it was really very beautiful. Coupled with the fragrance, it was like a lotus emerging from the water.
Feng Yifan saw everyone's appetite was aroused, so he smiled and said, "Sorry, you can't eat this. This is for my mother and my daughter."
Upon hearing this, everyone who was ready to taste the food was stunned.
And Su Jinrong smiled and said, "Hahaha, Yifan is such a filial son and a good father."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Dad, you can try it when we have dinner tonight and give me some suggestions."
Su Jinrong joked, "Then I wouldn't dare."
Feng Yifan laughed immediately after hearing this.
The others started laughing too.
After everyone finished laughing, Feng Yifan asked, "How was your performance today? Did you come up with any new dishes?"
The smiles on Catherine and Tom's faces disappeared instantly, and they both shook their heads bitterly.
Feng Yifan nodded: "Well, it seems a bit difficult for you. How about this, wait for the customized tableware and tables and chairs to be delivered, and then open the western restaurant first."
These words surprised both Catherine and Tom.
Catherine then asked, "But chef, the menu?"
Feng Yifan walked out of the kitchen and quickly brought back a menu from a cabinet in front.
"Since you haven't come up with a new dish yet, just use mine first."
After taking a look at the menu given by Feng Yifan, Catherine and Tom were instantly surprised. They didn't expect that Feng Yifan had actually prepared the menu for the Western restaurant.
Feng Yifan explained: "This menu is what I prepared based on the positioning of our western restaurant. If you have suitable dishes in the future, you can add them to this menu, and we can also prepare a new one at that time."
Feng Yifan gave a menu with two sets of meals.
There are two portions, one with beef as the main dish and the other with fish as the main dish.
Of course, there are also some side dishes and some single items on the menu.
The two main set meals are not the ones commonly seen in Western restaurants.
The beef is grilled over charcoal and served with nut butter and vegetable juice to make a steak patty, which is not a traditional steak.
Fish fillets are made by frying and grilling a whole piece of fish.
As for some single items, one of them is a modified version of the butter lobster that Feng Yifan previously made in the Shanghai Hotel Restaurant.
As for desserts, they mainly feature Luo Yu and Hans’ specialties.
After giving the menu, Feng Yifan said, "In addition, there are also drinks. This is your strong point, Tom. You can select according to the menu. If you want to contact a specific winery, you can tell me and I will give you a letter of recommendation so that you can contact them conveniently."
Tom quickly responded, "Yes, chef."
Su Jinrong and Shi Jiahui stood aside, watching Feng Yifan instruct Catherine and Tom on various matters.
At this moment, they witnessed with their own eyes Feng Yifan's side as the chef of a top restaurant.
Especially about contacting wineries.
They can provide letters of recommendation to prove that Feng Yifan once had connections with those wineries, and it is obvious that the wineries will do Feng Yifan a favor.
From this point, it is not difficult to prove that Feng Yifan is very famous abroad.
Everything was arranged properly, Feng Yifan smiled and said: "Catherine, you are the sous chef of the western restaurant, you must be a good sous chef."
Catherine responded seriously, "Yes, Chef."
Shi Jiahui saw Feng Yifan had arranged the western restaurant next door and sighed, "It looks like we have to speed up the process, right? We need to get Su Ji open as soon as possible and can't lag behind the one next door."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Big Sister, Su Ji, don't worry. We still need to think carefully about the menu of Su Ji."
Shi Jiahui rolled her eyes and said, "How about you also get a copy of the Su Ji menu?"
Feng Yifan shook his head: "No, I can't overshadow your talents, Senior Sister."
Shi Jiahui immediately laughed and scolded: "Get lost, you obviously just want to exploit us."
Everyone in the kitchen started laughing too.
Feng Yifan also smiled and said, "Big Sister, I just want to inspire your fighting spirit and potential. Think about it, Big Sister, have you been cooking those traditional dishes all these years? Have you ever really used your imagination to cook a dish?"
After hearing what Feng Yifan said, Shi Jiahui thought about it seriously and it seemed to be true.
Ever since Shi Jiahui became an apprentice and left her father's side, she has been cooking dishes from traditional recipes, basically without making any major changes.
But after coming to Su Ji, she has created an innovative dish in a short period of time.
Although the flavor is still the same as fried soft-shelled buns, the cooking method is different and has its own characteristics.
Thinking about it this way, Shi Jiahui felt that at Su Ji, under the pressure of Feng Yifan, there was indeed room for improvement.
Although he thought so in his heart, Shi Jiahui still said: "Humph, even if there is a breakthrough, I won't think highly of you. Anyway, you are the boss who exploits employees."
Feng Yifan had no choice but to appease her: "Okay, as long as Senior Sister is happy, you can call me whatever you want."
Shi Jiahui was quite satisfied.
Afterwards, Feng Yifan said to Catherine and Tom, "Wait until the business next door is over. You don't have to go to Ruifeng to help in the next few days. The three of you should familiarize yourself with this menu as soon as possible. I will make it for you tomorrow. The rest is up to you to figure out on your own."
Catherine and Tom naturally agreed immediately.
Shi Jiahui was a little surprised: "You only did it once? You want them to figure out the rest on their own? Aren't you asking too much?"
Catherine helped to speak up: "Sous Chef, that's not the case. After the business opens, the chef will definitely have to guide us for a while. During the process of the chef guiding us, we will also be familiar with the process. So the chef will start to demonstrate it once, which is to give us a general demonstration."
Shi Jiahui still felt that Feng Yifan gave too few demonstrations.
Feng Yifan said, "If they can't figure it out on their own after I do it once, then the three of them should be fired."
Shi Jiahui asked curiously, "Aren't you being too absolute?"
Tom asked Catherine to help translate and also to express his own point of view.
“The cooking methods of Western dishes are not complicated. The only complicated part is the control of the heat and some deviations in seasoning. These cannot be learned through multiple demonstrations. We may need to follow the chef in cooking and let the chef taste our dishes again and again before we can finally determine the taste.”
After Catherine finished translating for Tom, Feng Yifan said seriously, "Many times, the difference in taste is not something you can understand just by watching me make it."
Shi Jiahui also agreed with this point: "Well, this is true."
After Shi Jiahui agreed with this, she looked at Catherine and Tom and said, "It seems that you have to study hard tomorrow."
Catherine and Tom looked bitter at first, but then they looked serious and said they would try their best.
Su Jinrong said at this time: "Yifan, since you want to let the restaurant next door open first, you have to be careful. After all, the ancient street is an old street with ancient charm. A Western restaurant may still seem a little out of place. You must handle it well and don't let some people say that you are worshipping foreign things."
After hearing this, Shi Jiahui felt that what his uncle said made sense.
"Yes, the Internet is quite developed nowadays. You should be careful about some criticisms in this area. It may have a very negative impact on your reputation."
Feng Yifan nodded: "I know, so I plan to invite Li Fei'er and Meng Shitong to film and do an interview. I will personally explain some issues to everyone."
Su Jinrong nodded: "Well, this is the best way, it can avoid a lot of trouble."
Shi Jiahui also agreed with Feng Yifan's approach.
Seeing his father-in-law and the eldest sister being so cautious, Feng Yifan was still a little puzzled: "Not really, right?"
Shi Jiahui said seriously: "There will be trouble indeed. If you open a Western restaurant in other places, there will be no problem, but this ancient street is after all an old street dominated by ancient buildings, so it will definitely be criticized by some people, who think that a Western restaurant is out of place here."
Catherine said, "But the tableware and chairs that the chef asked us to customize this time are actually more in line with the Chinese style."
Hearing this, Su Jinrong and Shi Jiahui were also a little surprised.
Feng Yifan no longer concealed it and directly took out some of the photos he had ordered.
"Dad, you and Senior Sister take a look."
After looking at the photos on Feng Yifan’s phone, Su Jinrong and Shi Jiahui were finally relieved.
The tableware and tables and chairs that Feng Yifan customized for the Western restaurant this time are indeed very much in Chinese cultural style. Perhaps the interior decoration of the restaurant is not that Chinese, but if it is matched with more Chinese-style tables, chairs and tableware, it does have a unique flavor, and it also matches the style of the ancient street outside.
Especially for some of the water cups, Feng Yifan directly customized porcelain covered bowls, but without lids.
Then there are all kinds of Chinese patterns on the plates used to serve the various dishes.
Shi Jiahui looked at it and asked, "Yifan, can these tablewares you bought match the dishes you want to make?"
Feng Yifan nodded: "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I'm sure they can be matched."
Shi Jiahui couldn't help but look forward to it: "I'm looking forward to the dishes on your menu, Yifan."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Don't worry. When we open, I will ask Senior Sister to come and taste the food to see if my western restaurant suits your taste."
Shi Jiahui agreed: "Okay, I will definitely go and try it when the time comes."
As everyone was chatting, it was almost time, so Feng Yifan started to prepare dinner for everyone, but mainly for his daughter and her two friends.
At the same time, the little girls who had already finished school from kindergarten had started learning in the dance studio.
In addition to various basics today, Guo Hong also taught the children some simple dance steps.
One class is also very fulfilling and the children can really learn enough.