Yes, "Zhang Dashao" is not a chef from a well-known restaurant.
From this perspective, he is just a cook in the "Polar Bear" cafeteria.
With this status, he seems to be very far away from being a famous chef.
Don't forget, this old man is not an ordinary canteen master.
That was when I had a small canteen of my own in "Polar Bear" and only cooked for the factory leaders.
Not only did he get his first salary, but he was already past the retirement age. The "Polar Bear" didn't even say that he was quitting, but instead coaxed him even more.
Apart from anything else, this "Zhang Dashao" is different from others when it comes to giving out benefits during the holidays.
He is actually on the same level as the factory leaders.
Zhang Shihui is the most powerful witness to this matter.
Don't forget, "Zhang Dashao" is a lonely old man. He can't eat anything given out by the factory.
So after the old man became acquainted with Ning Weimin and Zhang Shihui, he often asked Zhang Shihui to go to the factory to collect the money on his behalf, saying that it would be worth the money he spent on cigarettes and alcohol from the store on weekdays.
As a result, when Zhang Shihui arrived at the "Polar Bear", she found that Chef Zhang was treated completely differently from ordinary employees.
It was the factory leader who sent something to "Zhang Dashao". Not only did he get a lot of stuff back, but it was also good.
There are even many things that are mutually adjusted within the Light Industry Bureau, and there are not even friendship stores.
Even the people in charge of welfare and administration were extremely polite to him.
Obviously I thought he was a relative of "Zhang Dashao" and I didn't dare to offend him.
It's as if "Zhang Dashao" is not a cook, but a deputy factory director or deputy secretary.
Is this score big?
Then why did the old man end up like this?
There is only one answer, and that is excellent cooking skills!
Don't believe it yet.
If this kind of thing is still a bit false, then the most tangible evidence is probably the human tongue.
Because the human tongue will never lie.
Whether it tastes good or not, you will know once you taste it.
To be honest, it started from the first time I tasted the food cooked by "Zhang Dashao".
Ning Weimin didn't think much of those "village dishes".
Because although those famous restaurants and time-honored stores have some unique skills, the quality of their dishes is extremely unstable.
Often the only things that people appreciate from the bottom of their hearts are those expensive signature dishes.
Most of the rest of the cookbook is mediocre and sloppy.
Even sometimes, if these catering companies are too popular and busy, even the signature dishes will have to be lucky.
If you don't do it right, you'll end up with a meal that's not worth it.
But the craftsmanship of "Zhang Dashao" is not like this.
What impressed Ning Weimin the most was every dish he had ever tasted was cooked by "Zhang Dashao".
There has never been any delicacies from the mountains and seas, strictly speaking it is just the common home-cooked dishes.
But there is nothing that is not delicious or delicious.
They say that skill can be found in the ordinary.
Being able to cook an ordinary plate of stir-fried cabbage to the point where people can't stop mouthing and eat nothing. This is much better than cooking several high-sounding dishes.
Because delicacies from mountains and seas should be made delicious, otherwise it would be a pure waste of materials.
But on the other hand, if something that is commonplace and commonplace can be transformed into something magical.
It is absolutely impossible to do it without transcendent skills.
In the past, Ning Weimin was really a bit obsessed with eating and drinking. He was just addicted to it and didn't quite understand the knowledge involved.
But after I heard about Kang Shude's talk about the differences between the grades of restaurants in Jingcheng, I started to understand a little bit about it.
If nothing else, he could discover it through recall.
I dare "Zhang Dashao" to cook them for him. They are all delicate dishes that require the most heat and skill.
Not to mention the pot-stuffed tofu with shrimp paste and Qiankun's poached crucian carp inside, it is a whimsical dish made with special cooking methods.
You can never see or eat in the restaurants outside.
Just like cabbage with vinegar and fish fillet with soy sauce, these are home-cooked dishes that are available in almost every restaurant and that everyone can cook.
In Zhang Dashao's hands, the ingredients, knife edge, cooking, time, stove, etc. are also very particular.
Taking the heat alone as an example, if someone else does it, the cabbage will become soft in the burnt area and the aroma of vinegar will disappear if it is cooked for a while.
The sauce on the fish will also spread and it will easily become unpalatable.
But if it came from Zhang Dashao, such a situation would never happen.
The old man is amazing at being able to master these subtle seconds of heat.
In the blazing flames, stir-fry the vinegar to thicken the sauce.
It's easy to make these dishes extraordinary and indescribably delicious.
And probably no one would believe it.
Once, Ning Weimin and Qiao Wanlin actually saw with their own eyes that Zhang Dashao used a large iron pot in the kitchen to make two dishes at the same time, one stir-fried and the other completely different in taste, materials, and heat requirements.
Thinking about it this way, this is simply a unique skill that is as magical as magic.
At least Ning Weimin doesn't know how to achieve it, and who else can do it.
It can be seen from this that he forgot to stuff those dishes into his mouth.
Not knowing how to appreciate or praise, just eating blindly, how ignorant and ignorant you are, how ignorant you are of blessings.
That really ruined Zhang Dashao's cooking skills, and he was ashamed of those delicacies that seemed ordinary but were really rare!
If these are enough for Ning Weimin to judge that Zhang Dashao is a truly famous chef.
Then there are some extraordinary things that Zhang Dashao showed in his daily life, which made Ning Weimin admire him. He can be regarded as a master chef who is hiding in the city.
What does a true chef look like?
In fact, Ning Weimin was unable to give a very accurate definition or answer.
However, he understands the principle that "big things in the world must be done in detail".
He knows that the ultimate in any industry is to strive for precision, attitude, and make "fine" even finer.
So in his opinion, if there is someone in the kitchen who can be called a master.
Then you have to be like Zhang Dashao, who is fully devoted to cooking and has a patient approach.
In everything related to cooking, we must be meticulous and never make do with anything.
If nothing else, let’s talk about the raw materials.
An average chef can make do with whatever ingredients are given to him, even if he doesn't have good ones.
But Zhang Dashao is not the same. He is very particular about the selection of ingredients.
In addition to identifying whether it is fresh or tender, he also knows very well what dishes a certain raw material is suitable for.
Or what are the best ingredients to use to make certain dishes.
When is the best quality of this raw material throughout the year, and where should it be produced?
What are the specifications, how to buy them in the market, and what ingredients, seasonings, and condiments are needed.
Its ingredients, condiments, and condiments also have a series of quality and location issues.
When cooking a certain dish, should you buy it now and make it now, or do you need to buy it in advance?
He knows all of these by heart and is very confident.
So when Zhang Dashao cooks in his own courtyard in Huanghuamen, he has to go to the vegetable market to pick out even a few heads of garlic or a green onion.
Should we use white garlic, single-head garlic, or purple-skinned garlic? Or should we use chives, Beijing onions, croissant onions, or Shandong green onions?
He all has his own requirements.
There are even some vegetables, such as wild mushrooms, that cannot be found in the market, so he just picks them himself.
Ning Weimin probably knew that Zhang Dashao would often go to You'anmen and Yongdingmen areas, trying every possible means to find wild mushrooms.
Although it is difficult for novices to discover, the old man seems to have his own secret routes and tricks.
If you patrol every few days, you will definitely find something.
Ning Weimin was very lucky to have eaten a kind of mushroom stewed by the old man with shredded chicken and peas.
He has never seen this kind of mushroom, but it has been the old man's long-term personal hobby for twenty years.
The taste was really delicious and unmatched by any mushroom Ning Weimin had ever tasted.
Obviously, there is no point in being envious. No one can master such a skill easily. It must be accumulated over many years of experience.
And this kind of persistence and dedication to raw materials is not something that ordinary chefs can achieve.