As soon as she took the first bite of the dish, Shen Anning believed what Peng Zhe said. It was the same Kung Pao Chicken, but the taste was different when cooked by professionals!
"Well, it tastes very good. This cooking skill is not an exaggeration for a state banquet." Hearing Shen Anning's praise, the chef smiled.
"Boss Shen, you're too kind. My father did prepare a state banquet in early 1971, but he's old now and can no longer lift the iron wok. My cooking skills are far inferior to his."
There are two chefs, four second chefs, and six helpers in the courtyard. Chen Zhiyuan's family is all here. Today is the food tasting, and the kitchen is very busy. After listening to Shen Anning's evaluation, Dad Chen continued to work.
Seeing Peng Zhe looking for praise, Shen Anning asked, "Have you thought of a name for this place?"
Student Peng Zhe was completely confused!
Can't it be a private restaurant? What else should it be called? The private restaurants he had eaten at before were all called Tan's, Wang's, etc.
Seeing that Shen Anning was serious, Peng Zhe asked cautiously: "What should we name it then? Should we call it Chen's Private Kitchen?"
Shen Anning shook his head. This was too unoriginal. In addition to the bosses who came to discuss business, there were also many gourmets who came to eat private dishes. Dongzhimen was already lively, with many old Beijingers living there. There were also many bannermen who lived in the nearby alleys. They were all rich and picky eaters.
"Don't worry, let's take our time and think of something special. We're still two days away from officially opening. Once we come up with a name, we can make a plaque and hang it up."
At noon, Shen An Ning called home directly and asked her grandparents to come over for dinner. Shen's father and mother went out on a date, probably for another day of fun. Shen An Ning had been watching them loving each other since she was a child, and she was already numb. Shen's mother had given birth to four children, and she was in her forties, but she was still like a little girl in front of her father. With her father around, she definitely couldn't go hungry at noon.
Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen heard that they were here to taste the food, so they also called Grandpa Cao and Grandma Cao, as well as several friends from the nearby alleys. Cao Jingheng had been on duty at work since he came back because he had been in Sichuan for a week.
Good food needs to be paired with good wine. Peng Zhe bought two bottles of Moutai. A group of old men and women all lived through the war. They ate at the table while reminiscing about the past. It was so refreshing!
Kung Pao Chicken, Stir-fried Fish Fillet, White Fungus Vegetable Paste, Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables, Shredded Pork with Beijing Sauce, White Pork in Clay Pot, Four-Happiness Meatballs, Mushu with Vinegar...all the specialties of old Beijing were served at noon. Shen Anning had lunch with her younger brother and sister-in-law and roommate Peng Zhe. It was no exaggeration to say that there was not even a shredded green onion left on the table.
The Chen family is worthy of its ancestral craftsmanship. Shen Anning feels that these dishes taste even better than the private restaurant that Cao Jingheng took her to before.
Taking advantage of the weekend, everyone was busy in the afternoon, determining the menu, setting prices, buying bonsai, etc. There were a lot of things waiting to be done.
Peng Zhe and Shen Anning calculated the money they had spent on the preparatory work in the house. The renovation of the courtyard house accounted for the largest part of the money. The glass roof and mahogany table were the best, plus the stone slabs in the yard and the painting of the walls, which added up to nearly three thousand yuan.
"Peng Zhe, have you and Master Chen agreed on a set of rules? Will they hold shares or be paid salaries? And where will the dishes be ordered from every day? We should agree on these things in advance to avoid disputes later."
"Sister, you're right. When I was talking to Chen Zhiyuan, he said his father had long wanted to go it alone. Although his family is a descendant of the imperial chef, they don't have a big house in Beijing. They all live in a large courtyard. However, his grandparents live in the suburbs of Beijing. The meat and vegetables are delivered to us by the villagers there every day. With his grandfather helping to check them, the quality is definitely good."
"As for Uncle Chen and his family, they agreed that in addition to their monthly salary, they would take 20% of the profits."
"Uncle Chen and the other head chef earn 120 yuan a month, the four assistant chefs earn 80 yuan a month, and the remaining helpers mainly chop vegetables and wash dishes, so their salary is a little lower, 35 yuan a month."
After hearing this, Shen Anning also felt that it was reasonable for the time being. According to the Chen family's craftsmanship, if they opened a restaurant of their own, they could make more money. It's just that now they have no place to display their cooking skills, so Peng Zhe picked up the opportunity.
"For the next two years, we'll sign contracts with them as you just mentioned. After two years, we'll see how profitable this place is and whether we need to make any changes to their salaries and dividends."
"Also, since this is a private restaurant, we can't just have traditional dishes. We'd better have some novelties. You can discuss it with Chen Zhiyuan. His grandparents live in the suburbs of Beijing. If anyone there catches wild game in the mountains, they can send it here and serve special dishes that day. We will make as many copies as we can while stocks last, first come, first served."
In fact, the specialty dish that Shen An Ning thought of was spicy crayfish. In her previous life, she knew how popular spicy crayfish was in the mid-1980s. If their private restaurant was the first in Beijing to launch this dish, diners would give priority to them when they wanted to eat it in the future.
However, this idea may not be realized until another year later. When the train can rent carriages to transport goods, she will definitely develop the crayfish market first.
After Grandpa Shen and Grandma Shen finished their meal and sent their old friends away, they began to find fault with the decoration of the private room. The entire wall was bare, and there was no other furnishings in the room except tables, chairs and benches. It was very monotonous and did not have the style of a private restaurant.
Peng Zhe was helpless when he heard his grandparents say this. "Grandpa, the renovation of this yard alone cost three thousand. Where can I buy those things? They're so expensive. If I buy a fake one, it would be even worse if someone recognized it."
Grandma Shen had a lot of good things in her hands, and she couldn't help but express her gratitude when she heard her grandson say that. However, after all, they were placed in the house and people would come every day, so it would not be appropriate to have too expensive things. So she picked out some modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting works and young porcelain ornaments, and customized the mounting frames and glass display cabinets. With this, it really looked a lot better.
November 4th is the day for the opening of the business and the attraction of wealth and treasure. Shen Anning gave VIP discount coupons to some professors in the school. They can get a 20% discount on their first consumption and can also bring their relatives and friends. You have to know that people in the literary circle are the most sophisticated and like this kind of special place.
Although the "Xingwei" private dishes are not that good, they are still much more special than other cookie-cutter ones. In the first three days of opening, they were busy from morning to night. The private dishes were not open in the morning, only for lunch and dinner. Even so, Shen An Ning calculated that the turnover in the first three days was as high as 10,500. It turned out that Chinese people are still the most willing to spend money on food!
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