When Feng Yifan returned to the restaurant from the kindergarten, the matching tables and chairs, tablecloths, ornaments, tablecloths and tableware ordered by the restaurant had just been delivered.
Shi Jiahui and Catherine were leading people to take inventory to make sure that nothing was missing from the ordered items.
After Feng Yifan entered the room, he saw Catherine and others were counting the items, while several men seemed to be doing nothing.
He immediately clapped his hands, called the men together and said, "Okay, men, our ladies are taking inventory, let's work together, first assemble these tables and chairs, and then put them all in place, and see how they should be placed properly."
When the men heard Feng Yifan's words, they immediately rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
The first thing was to unpack all the tables and chairs, and then everyone divided the work and started to assemble the tables and chairs.
There are a total of 22 sets of tables and chairs.
After the inventory was completed, Feng Yifan asked everyone to start preparing for the display.
At this time, Shi Jiahui said, "You guys are going to put the tables and chairs in place. Do you want to call Ruoxi over? After all, she is the boss's wife. Don't you want to ask for her opinion?"
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "I'm the boss here, why do I need to ask the boss's wife?"
Luo Yu immediately said, "Of course, you are the chef and are responsible for the quality of the dishes, but the layout of the restaurant must be approved by the boss lady."
Feng Yifan was somewhat helpless: "Is my boss so miserable?"
This sentence made everyone laugh immediately.
While laughing, everyone said in unison: "Of course we have to listen to the boss lady."
There was no other choice, Feng Yifan had to call home, and then everyone waited together for Su Ruoxi to come.
Su Ruoxi had already woken up from her nap when she called Feng Yifan to ask him to remember to bring snacks to her daughter, so she rushed over with her mother-in-law Lu Cuiling after receiving the call.
As they entered the restaurant, led by Catherine and Luo Yu, everyone except Shi Jiahui immediately greeted the proprietress respectfully.
"Welcome, Madam Boss."
Su Ruoxi was startled at first, then looked at everyone strangely, and finally her eyes fell on her husband's face and asked, "What's going on?"
Feng Yifan also looked helpless: "I don't know either. Anyway, my words as the boss don't count now. Everyone unanimously requested that the restaurant layout should be decided by you, the boss lady."
Su Ruoxi was a little confused: "But, this western restaurant was rented by Ma Xiaolong, and didn't he let Catherine and the others run it? How come I am the boss's wife now?"
Ma Xiaolong immediately said, "The rent is not that much. Besides, weren't some of our later decorations designed by you, the boss lady? So you must be the boss lady, and we will definitely follow your arrangements and instructions."
Catherine also said: "That's right, Hans, Tom and I are only in charge of the kitchen, the overall operation of the restaurant is up to you, the boss."
Su Ruoxi smiled and looked at her husband: "Is that so?"
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "Well, that should be the case, but the boss lady, remember to pay them their wages."
Su Ruoxi suddenly exclaimed: "Oh, we didn't sign an employment contract."
Shi Jiahui smiled and said, "Do we still need to sign an employment contract?"
Su Ruoxi said with a smile: "Yes, otherwise I won't pay when the time comes."
Lu Cuiling suggested another solution: "You don't need to sign any employment contracts. Why don't you just divide the restaurant into shares and let everyone own a portion of the shares? At the end of the year, you can all distribute the profits for the whole year according to the number of shares you own, right?"
Feng Yifan and Su Ruoxi thought their mother's idea was good, but it would be good to seek everyone's opinions.
But before the two of them could speak, Catherine, Hans and Tom had already agreed.
Chen Xu and Luo Yu also agreed.
Luo Yu also said with a smile: "We came here mainly to study, but we can get a share for free. This is a good deal for us."
Feng Yifan said: "Since everyone agrees, let's go back and find professionals to help divide the shares of the western restaurant, so that everyone can get a share and get dividends at the end of the year."
Su Ruoxi added: "Not only the Western restaurant, but also Su Ji."
Feng Yifan looked at his wife and said, "Su Ji? Su Ji is yours."
Su Ruoxi asked seriously, "So how much do you think you would pay everyone per month if they came to cook at Su's?"
Feng Yifan also became serious: "It doesn't matter how much money you give, but Su Ji definitely can't get a share."
Shi Jiahui smiled and said, "Alright, alright, as for Su Ji, we definitely can't take the shares. After all, no matter what, Su Ji is your family's family restaurant, Ruoxi, and it's considered ancestral property. The old plaque has been passed down for hundreds of years, so we can't just split it up casually."
Others also agreed and said that with shares in the western restaurant, Su Ji could take less salary.
Feng Yifan then said very seriously: "Well, since I invited everyone here, then as for Su Ji's wages, we will follow the standard. We will first compare it to the Fujinglou kitchen. Later, as Su Ji's reputation increases, we will also compare it to the corresponding restaurant standards."
Shi Jiahui heard this and said, "Yifan, if you do this, you will have to invest a lot of money in the early stage."
Feng Yifan confidently asked the senior sister: "Don't you believe in my ability?"
These words instantly made everyone feel a little bit of awe.
Feng Yifan's words have shown that he is confident that he can turn Su Ji into a top restaurant, make it profitable in a short period of time, and be able to pay everyone's high wages.
Since the boss is so confident, naturally no one has any objections.
Next, under the design of the proprietress Su Ruoxi, everyone quickly set up 22 tables.
According to Su Ruoxi's arrangement, a standing space was left at the entrance of the restaurant so that people can feel a sense of openness as soon as they come in.
In terms of vision, you can see the open kitchen directly from the door.
The dining tables are located near the door and against the wall, neatly arranged in a row inside the restaurant, completely surrounding the kitchen on three sides.
The remaining part is arranged in front of the food serving counter in the back kitchen.
Moreover, the four square dining tables are not placed in alignment, but at an angle, so as to maximize the use of the internal space of the restaurant.
Although there are no large tables in the entire restaurant, if there are many guests, two or even three tables can be joined together to expand the seating area.
Under Su Ruoxi's command, Feng Yifan and the men quickly placed all the tables and chairs as required.
Shi Jiahui, Catherine and others have also finished counting the other things.
Catherine said, "Chef, everything is ready. We are just waiting for your order to open the restaurant."
Feng Yifan smiled and asked, "Is everything ready? What about the ingredients?"
This sentence made Catherine stunned for a moment, and then she quickly said: "Oh, I forgot about the ingredients. We still need to buy a lot of ingredients."
Feng Yifan took out the list he had made in advance.
"I have already purchased the foreign ingredients and some domestic specialty ingredients in advance. As for the remaining common vegetables, you can go to several markets in Huaicheng in the next few days and try to buy everything."
Lu Cuiling took a look and said, "Can we really buy all these things in the market in Huaicheng? Otherwise, I can ask Qingsong to help me transfer some from other places."
Feng Yifan said: "No need, mom. Most of these are common ingredients that can definitely be bought in the local market. Letting them go shopping is also a form of training for them."
Seeing that everyone had agreed, Lu Cuiling didn't say anything more.
After everything was assigned, Catherine suddenly spoke up and made a suggestion.
"Chef, I think the first appetizer of your seafood set meal should be changed. You shouldn't use the same appetizer as the other set meal."
Feng Yifan looked at Catherine and asked, "Oh? So you have your own ideas?"
Catherine then brought out a dish she had prepared.
On the white plate, there are very small and crystal clear shrimp dumplings.
Feng Yifan was a little surprised when he saw this.
"Did you make this, Catherine?"
Catherine said: "This is what I discussed with Chen Xu and Luo Yu. It is in the form of traditional Chinese shrimp dumplings, filled with fresh river shrimps, and added with some caviar. In terms of seasoning, we also follow your appetizers, seasoning with salty, fresh and slightly spicy.
Moreover, Chen Xu added a special flavor to it, so we would like to invite you, the chef, to taste it.”
Feng Yifan looked at Catherine with a smile, then looked at Chen Xu and Luo Yu.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, he picked up a small shrimp dumpling.
The dumpling skin is very thin and translucent, so you can clearly see the rich fillings inside.
After looking at it carefully, Feng Yifan opened his mouth and ate the shrimp dumplings.
When you start chewing in your mouth, the shrimp is slightly chewy and paired with the delicious caviar, it is really delicious. In addition, between the salty and spicy taste of the chili peppers, there is also a slightly sour taste, which just neutralizes the two tastes.
Such a small shrimp dumpling really meets the requirements of an appetizer.
After Feng Yifan finished eating, he said seriously: "Well, sure, let's replace the appetizer with this dish and put it in the river seafood set meal."
Catherine, Chen Xu and Luo Yu were immediately excited to receive such permission.
Feng Yifan continued, "I didn't expect that you guys could actually come up with such a new dish in just a few days."
Chen Xu immediately said, "Chef, we were actually inspired by your appetizer."
Luo Yu also said: "Yes, your appetizer is French shortbread, so let's discuss whether we can use another Chinese dim sum as an appetizer as well?"
Catherine continued, "Chen Xu and Luo Yu came to me and put forward their suggestions. I thought it was worth a try. Then we made a lot of Chinese noodles, buns, dumplings, and even siu mai. In the end, we decided on this small shrimp dumpling."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "It looks like this was made by Chen Xu, right?"
Chen Xu said: "No, I am responsible for the skin, the sous chef is responsible for the seasoning, and Luo Yu is responsible for the final shaping."
Catherine nodded: "Yes, it was done by the three of us."
Feng Yifan said: "So, we need to pool our wisdom. I hope you can cooperate more with each other in the future so that we can make more good dishes."
Everyone absorbed this point and started thinking about their own dishes.
Lu Cuiling took a closer look at the shrimp dumplings on the plate and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh, these little dumplings are so delicate. I really admire your craftsmanship to be able to make such small and exquisite dumplings."
Luo Yu immediately said, "Aunt Lu, please try it."
After Lu Cuiling picked up one, Luo Yu distributed the rest to everyone.
After tasting the dumplings, everyone was amazed by their taste.
The dumplings are not big, just like the ham rolled pastry, but they are bite-sized.
But the filling is full of rich flavor.
First of all, there is the salty freshness of the shrimp and fish roe, followed by the slight spiciness of the chili rings mixed in. The mixture that neutralizes the two flavors creates a very fresh sour taste.
After tasting it carefully, Ma Xiaolong couldn't help but ask: "Is the sour taste at the end vinegar?"
Chen Xu nodded and said, "Yes, it's vinegar."
Lin Ruifeng was a little puzzled: "But how did you put this vinegar into the dumplings? The key is the taste of this vinegar, it seems to be very special."
Chen Xu smiled and said: "We actually used the pork skin jelly method. We added rice vinegar from Zhenjiang to the boiled pork skin jelly. After cooking it for a while, we froze it into jelly in the refrigerator and then mixed it into the stuffing. In this way, the filling of the steamed dumplings will have this vinegar aroma."
Su Ruoxi was a little surprised when she heard this: "It's amazing that you guys could come up with this idea. This is such a magical idea."
Feng Yifan smiled and said, "I have a suggestion for you. I think you should steam the dumplings first, and then garnish them with caviar when you serve them on the plate. This way, the freshness of the caviar will not be lost."
Upon hearing this suggestion, Luo Yu immediately said, "Yes, that's what I said before. Look, the chef really agrees with my approach."
Feng Yifan continued, "Change the shape of the dumplings and leave an opening on the top to make it easier to put the caviar on the plate at the end."
Following Feng Yifan's suggestion, Chen Xu, Luo Yu and Catherine also quickly tried it.
Chen Xulai was in charge of making the dough, Catherine was in charge of seasoning the filling, and finally Luo Yu was in charge of shaping it.
Feng Yifan gave some instructions. When pinching the dumplings, leave an opening on the back. This way, when they are put into the steamer and steamed, they will look like small dumplings with a flower opening on the back.
After cooling, place the caviar in the opening at the back of the ravioli when serving.
It just holds up the caviar, making the dumplings distinctly black and white, adding a touch of ink-and-wash charm.
After looking at it, Su Ruoxi said, "Well, this is good. It's the same as the other appetizer, with two colors. That one is fiery red and orange, and this one is black and white."
In this way, a considered innovative dish was completed and officially included in the menu of the Western restaurant.