Yuan Zhou had heard of tan Mingxin’s great name before. As the current successor of the tan family’s dishes, the old man’s reputation wasn’t any worse than Zhou Shijie ‘s. Moreover, they weren’t from the same generation. It was only a dozen years after the rise of the old man that Zhou Shijie emerged in the cooking world.
The old master was already over 70 years old. Compared to Fang Yiming, the old master Fang was slightly younger. However, the two of them belonged to the same generation. In the end, it was because elder Fang had started learning how to cook much later than the old master tan, who had been in the kitchen since young.
He became famous around the same time. However, due to his talent, elder Fang became the best in the country, while master tan was not as good.
The reputation of the tan family’s dishes was also passed down from generation to generation. In addition, the cooking skills were really good, so the old master’s reputation was also very well-known.
“Hello, head chef tan. Nice to meet you.” Yuan Zhou greeted him politely.
“Hahaha, it’s good that you don’t mind this old man disturbing you.” Tan Mingxin was very happy.
The old man was already over 70 years old, but he didn’t leave everything behind and go out to play like elder Fang. Instead, he continued to shine in the Beijing cuisine Association.
Beijing cuisines were the cuisines of the capital, but many of them were famous cuisines from various local cuisines. They were diverse and the situation was very complicated. Without a person of virtue and prestige, it was basically impossible to control them.
Grandpa Tan’s name was still very useful and dignified. Moreover, Grandpa tan was a person with a strong sense of responsibility. As long as his physical condition allowed him to, he would be stationed in the Beijing cuisine Association almost at any time. His level of dedication to his work was even better than Zhou Shijie ‘s.
“I won ‘T. Head chef tan, please come in.”
Yuan Zhou made a gesture of “please” and invited Grandpa tan Mingxin and his assistant, Xiao He, into the restaurant. Then, he directly led them to the backyard.
Even though it was still early in the morning, the spring rain that had fallen the night before had made the weather less heavy than winter, and more vibrant than spring. In the cracks of the limestone Road, a few unremarkable blades of grass had begun to grow under the spring rain and spring breeze.
It stretched its tiny leaves and poked its head out, intending to experience the baptism of the world. It was unyielding and wanted to express its desire to pursue the sun in its heart.
It had rained last night, and the sun had already peeked out in the morning, so the wet table and stone bench were already dry, and there was still some water that had washed them.
Yuan Zhou placed a thin cushion on the cool stone bench and then invited Grandpa tan Mingxin to take a seat. This was prepared by Yin ya. Many chefs who came to exchange pointers with Yuan Zhou were not young anymore. The stone bench was cool. It was fine in summer, but in other seasons, it wasn’t so friendly to the older people.
After he had officially moved into master chef Restaurant, because of the addition of a meticulous female owner, many small places had begun to change, and this was only one of them.
“I came here to ask head chef Yuan about Beijing cuisine. I didn’t expect him to have already served the dishes. I’m so honored.”
“There’s one more thing, but I’m not sure if I should say it?”
As soon as he sat down, tan Mingxin was the first to speak. He first explained the reason why he came. It was out of courtesy. Then, he raised a question. After all, this was a very important matter, and it was also a question that he had been thinking about for a long time.
While waiting outside, tan Mingxin had received a call from his old friend, Qiu Minglu, asking the same question. It was also this call that made him change his previous idea of exchanging information about Beijing cuisine with Yuan Zhou. Instead, he put this question on the surface first.
“Head chef tan, if you have something to say, please speak.” Yuan Zhou said.
At first, he thought that Grandpa tan was here to ask about Beijing cuisine. After all, it was the only dish that wasn’t on the menu, so it was normal for people to be concerned. But now, since there were questions, they had to solve them.
“It’s like this. Head chef Yuan has always been giving his all for the development of Chinese cuisines. Even old guys like us are ashamed of our inferiority, especially when every cuisines takes in in an in-name disciple. He has really made an outstanding contribution to our Chinese cuisines. Now, many of the chefs who had acknowledged head chef Yuan as their master can take on the main responsibility.”
Tan Mingxin’s face turned red, probably because he found it hard to say the last part of his sentence. However, he licked his lips and continued.
“It’s also because old people like us don’t live up to expectations. We didn’t cultivate too many successors for our cooking world. Today, I mainly want to ask head chef Yuan your opinion. Can some of the in-name disciples who have completed their studies continue to accept disciples and pass on the cooking skills of their own cuisine? of course, I’m just asking. I have no intention of forcing head chef Yuan to agree.”
After all, one person’s energy was limited. Although the older generation of chefs really admired and respected Yuan Zhou and naturally hoped that he could teach more disciples, they couldn’t let one person exploit them. Therefore, they came up with such a method to see if those registered disciples could continue to be the new ones with potential.
They hoped that there would be more and more talented people in the Chinese cooking circle in the future. They also hoped that the cooking circle would become better and better, but that couldn’t hide their intention to take advantage of Yuan Zhou.
As a senior in the culinary arts, his qualifications were obvious. To be honest, it was really embarrassing. However, Yuan Zhou was indeed the world’s best Chef in name and reality. With just his craftsmanship, one could tell that his strength was absolutely unparalleled in both ancient and modern times just by looking at the simple scorched circle of the soy milk.
“Regarding the matter of taking in disciples, it is entirely up to the disciples to decide. However, I can mention your intentions to them, head chef tan. However, this can only be done after they finish their apprenticeship.” Yuan Zhou thought for a while and then said.
Yuan Zhou had always respected his disciples “wishes, regardless of whether they were his direct disciples or in-name disciples. However, the rules couldn’t be broken. They could only think about other things after they had finished their apprenticeship. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good if they were distracted.
“Of course, we have to respect the will of the person involved. I really have to thank head chef Yuan for his generosity.”
Tan Mingxin’s eyes were filled with emotion. Yuan Zhou agreed to take his disciple as his disciple because he didn’t mean to treasure his own belongings and pass on his culinary skills. He couldn’t help sighing at Yuan Zhou’s generosity and boldness. Many people couldn’t be as selfless and open-minded as Yuan Zhou.
“It’s fine, it’s just a small matter. As long as my disciples have no objections, I don’t have any either. “
Yuan Zhou really didn’t think much of it. He wasn’t afraid that someone would surpass him, because he would continue to improve. As long as he could still cook, he wouldn’t stop.
“There’s one more thing. I wonder if head chef Yuan has heard of Qiu Minglu’s name?” Tan Mingxin asked.
“The head chef Qiu who is proficient in eight ethnic cuisines and is known to be well-rounded?” Yuan Zhou knew such a person.
“Yes, it’s him. He’s on his way to Chengdu. He knew I’m here and asked me to ask you if you have time in the afternoon. He wants to visit you and talk about the ethnic cuisines.”
No one knew whether it was intentional or not, but tan Mingxin had been addressing Yuan Zhou with respect since the beginning. It was not only out of admiration for Yuan Zhou’s character but also out of respect for his craftsmanship, regardless of his age.
“It’s about the honorary disciple of the ethnic minority cuisines, right? I already have a plan in place. I’ve invited Chairman Zhou and a few other Masters of the ethnic minority cuisines to come over for a discussion this afternoon, but I haven’t been able to contact head chef Qiu. It’s such a coincidence that we can meet up.” Yuan Zhou said.
……
