The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi continued, "I know everyone must be wondering, this is easier said than done. I ask you, what is the most important thing for a restaurant to grow bigger and better?"

Everyone looked at each other for a while, and Chef Liu said, "Of course it's the taste."

Min Xi smiled and nodded: "That's right, the most fundamental thing to attract diners is the taste. If the taste is not good, no matter how good the dining environment is, no matter how high-quality the service is, it is just a tree without roots. The reason why Yunxiang Restaurant has been open for so long and has not closed down, and there is a group of stable diners, is that the taste is still acceptable. Chef Liu has worked in Yunxiang Restaurant for so many years, I believe his level is not much worse. But if a restaurant wants to attract more diners in the competition, it needs freshness and continuous innovation. How many years have we not changed the dishes in our restaurant?"

Everyone was stunned by this statement. The waiters and kitchen helpers might not have been there long and might not know much about it, but Manager Fang and Chef Liu knew it very well.

Shopkeeper Fang said: "The signature dishes are handed down from our ancestors, and we haven't changed them for many years."

"When diners eat, they actually want to eat something new. There are people who are nostalgic for the past, but it is human nature to get tired of the old and love the new." Min Xi said this and looked at Yun Ji.

Yun Ji was a little confused by this look, and thought, is this said to me? I am not fickle.

Chef Liu looked at Min Xi and said, "Butler Min, do you mean that we need new dishes?"

Min Xi nodded: "That's right! This is actually quite easy to solve."

Chef Liu swallowed his saliva and said, "How, how do we solve this problem?" He had been a chef for more than 20 years and was already familiar with all the dishes he could cook. He couldn't think of any new dishes. Did Manager Min want to hire a new chef?

Min Xi said, "I'll help you solve this problem, we'll talk about it later. The second is the store decoration problem. Everything in our store is too old. Although everyone cleans it very well, the traces left by the years are indelible. For example, look at this table. It is indeed wiped very clean, but it still looks greasy. There is no way, the furniture will be like this when it is old. So I suggest that all of this should be replaced, and the store should be redecorated to meet the current aesthetics. Brother Qi, what do you think?"

Yun Ji nodded: "I think it is necessary."

"Right? The location of our restaurant is quite advantageous, on the most bustling and prosperous Qianmen Street. That's why our restaurant can still survive. When Zui Xiang Lou and He Ming Lou are full, they will choose to come here, or there are one or two dishes that can whet the appetite of diners. But I think it's a bit of a loss to only make this little money every year in such a good location. If the business is not going well, it's better to rent it out. The rent collected will be more than that from running a restaurant." Min Xi said.

After he said that, everyone's faces really looked unhappy. Many people had worked in Yunxiang Building for many years, some for twenty or thirty years.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Min Xi smiled and said, "I don't mean to close the store. I mean if it doesn't work out, I still have the confidence that I can do it well. This way, you don't have to think about finding new jobs."

Yun Ji said: "It takes time to make custom furniture and it also takes time to decorate, so we will have to close the business for a while."

"My idea is to replace all the tables, chairs, benches, bowls and plates, leaving only the signboard. How long does it take to have the bowls and plates custom-made and fired in a kiln?" Min Xi asked.

"That depends on what kind of porcelain it is." Yun Ji said.

Min Xi thought for a moment and said, "Of course, eating should be clean. Celadon or white porcelain will do. It doesn't need too many patterns. It should be simple and elegant, and the shape should be beautiful."

"Then choose the sweet white porcelain from Jingdezhen or the celadon from Longquan Kiln."

Min Xi asked: "This will take quite some time, right?"

"If it's customized, it will take about two months." Yun Ji said.

"There should be a store in the capital that specializes in selling porcelain. We will go there and pick out suitable porcelain and utensils, and then send someone to the kiln to make them specifically for us," said Min Xi.

Shopkeeper Fang opened his mouth but didn't say anything in the end. After all, he saw that his boss didn't seem to object, so this was really a no-brainer.

Min Xi thought of a question: "If it is specially customized, will it be expensive?"

"It should be OK, just a little time-consuming." Yun Ji knew that if Min Xi wanted to do something, he would do it to the best of his ability, so he supported him. As for the dishes made by Min Xi, as long as they were launched, they would definitely be popular throughout the capital. After all, that was the wisdom summed up by people hundreds of years later, and many dishes did not even exist in the Ming Dynasty.

"Then let's assign someone to fire this batch of porcelain first, and also assign someone to make the furniture. The decoration inside the hall can be done a little later. When the time is right, we will close the store for about half a month to a month, do a comprehensive renovation, and then reopen it." Min Xi said.

Everyone thought that was the end, but Min Xi looked at everyone and said, "Also, not only do we need to redecorate, but you all also have tasks. The chefs need to learn new dishes from me, and the waiters also need to learn new rules. We need to give Yunxiang Restaurant a brand new look and let the people of Beijing know Yunxiang Restaurant again. We need to let Second Master Yun and those people in our family see that although our boss is young, he is definitely capable of running Yunxiang and can do a hundred times better than Second Master Yun! And I assure you that working with the boss will definitely be better than before. The boss has let me manage all the stores, so the first thing I have to do is give everyone a day off, two days off per month."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces were filled with surprise and they looked at Yun Ji in disbelief.

Yun Ji nodded: "Whatever Manager Min said, that's what it is."

Min Xi said: "How to rest for these two days, you can discuss it. I think we can close the store for two days. This will indeed affect the business of the store. After all, as long as the store is open every day, there will be money in the account. But a good store, even if it is closed, will still make people miss it. But the store cannot be closed continuously, so you can only rest for one day each time. If your home is far away, you can't go back. Another way is not to close the store, but to keep the store open. Everyone can take two days off every month, and you can take consecutive days off, but you can't take leave at the same time. For example, the chef and the sophomore chef cannot take leave at the same time. After all, there is a limited number of people. If they all take leave, how can the remaining people handle it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone started whispering to each other.

Min Xi knocked on the table: "You can discuss how to rest, and give me a specific plan later."

Min Xi said: "After the rectification, if the restaurant business improves, we will definitely give everyone processing fees, and there will be dividends at the end of the year. So I urge everyone to work hard."

The news about processing money and dividends once again cheered everyone up. This was a good job. They would get more holidays and more wages. For a worker, who wouldn't be happy?

Min Xi also gave everyone some suggestions on kitchen management and waiter reception. This might be difficult to change, after all, everyone has formed habits over the years. However, his suggestions were derived from his own store management experience and were obviously better than the current situation of Yunxianghao. Although it was difficult to change, everyone had to change it slowly.

Because of his promise of vacation and processing money, everyone felt that changing their habits was not so difficult to accept.

It was almost noon when Min Xi got up and went to the kitchen: "Let everyone taste my cooking today."

All the chefs followed him into the kitchen because he said he wanted to teach everyone new dishes, which showed that he was extremely confident in his cooking skills. Of course, they all wanted to see Min Xi's cooking skills.

Including Min Xi and Yun Ji himself, there were a total of 16 people eating today. Min Xi asked the cooks to help him and made eight dishes.

Min Xi made boiled chicken, twice-cooked pork, braised carp, shredded pork with fish flavor, smoked bamboo shoots and bacon, stuffed tofu, Chinese toon and eggs, and finally a winter melon and meatball soup, which were basically all home-cooked dishes.

Each dish was served in duplicate, and we sat down at two tables.

Min Xi said: "Today I will make some home cooking for you to taste my cooking skills. There are also some dishes that I plan to teach you chefs. They are more complicated and take longer to make. I will teach you slowly while the store is being renovated."

Yun Ji had never eaten many of the dishes on the table, because Europe did not have so many seasonings and ingredients, and many dishes could not be made. So as the host, he said a few words to everyone, then sat down and started to taste the food. The first thing he tasted was naturally the white-cut chicken that he was familiar with.

Today's poached chicken sauce is completely different from the previous ones. The chicken is sweet, plump and tender, and the sauce is salty and delicious. It tastes better than the poached chicken I've eaten before. Yun Ji gave Min Xi a thumbs up while eating: "This is more delicious than before."

Min Xi smiled and said, "Of course, there weren't such a complete range of condiments before."

The shopkeeper, the head chef, and Min Xi were sitting at the same table. They waited until Yun Ji and Min Xi started eating before they started eating. They were surprised by how delicious the dish was.

The other table was full of waiters and kitchen helpers. Without the leader at the table, the eating was not so elegant. No one spoke, but you kept eating with your chopsticks.

Min Xi turned around to look at the other table, then asked with a smile: "How is it? Does it suit everyone's taste?"

"It's delicious, Manager Min, you are the one!" A bolder waiter gave him a thumbs up.

Chef Liu was very satisfied with the meal and said: "Butler, your cooking skills are so good, please teach us."

Min Xi smiled and nodded: "Okay, as long as you are willing to learn, I will naturally not be stingy with my skills. But before that, everyone must sign a contract with the owner, promising not to leave Yunxiang Restaurant within five years and not to teach the dishes to people outside the restaurant privately, otherwise I will not teach."