How does Fujian cuisine on the tip of the tongue lead the way again?

Source: Taiwan Straits Network

Fujian cuisine is one of the eight major cuisines in the country, and it is famous for its Buddha jumping off the wall, chicken soup and sea mussels. How to better play the important role of the catering industry in prospering the market, stimulating consumption and expanding employment? Recently, Fujian Province issued the "Three-Year Action Plan for Promoting the Prosperity of Fujian Cuisine", from the aspects of making a large Fujian cuisine enterprise, enhancing the Fujian cuisine brand, improving the Fujian cuisine chain, strengthening the publicity of Fujian cuisine, and gathering Fujian cuisine talents, strengthening the Fujian cuisine industry, smoothing the fujian cuisine logistics, building a Fujian cuisine market, serving the people's livelihood, and creating a whole chain of Fujian cuisine industry.

It is time to prosper Fujian cuisine

At nightfall, the Sanming Building on Hualin Road in Fuzhou City, the "Source Taste Sanming" and "Min Cuisine Restaurant" logos on the LED screen are also eye-catching, and the red lanterns printed with the words "Fujian Cuisine Restaurant" are also newly hung in front of each stall. Here is a demonstration point for the creation of a "Fujian cuisine restaurant" in our province.

In Fuzhou's catering industry, Sanming Building has a certain degree of popularity with authentic ingredients and high cost performance in the place of origin, and has also attracted a group of stable consumer groups. However, the relatively single dish makes the hotel lack new profit growth points and faces the bottleneck of difficulties in improving economic benefits.

"This selection of the 'Fujian Cuisine Restaurant' demonstration site is a very good opportunity for us to improve." Yu Jiapan, the person in charge of Sanming Building, introduced it. The unified publicity of Fujian cuisine brands organized by the government is a shortcut for enterprises to improve their visibility and recognition.

After accepting the task of creating a demonstration of "Fujian Cuisine Restaurant", they acted quickly, updating the logo, atmosphere, clothing, tableware, etc., and the hardware upgrade work was basically completed. However, the improvement of the connotation, especially the richness of the dishes, takes a long time, and we are currently stepping up the training and replenishment of the chefs, hoping to make the customers who come to consume feel the obvious change before the end of June.

In the "Three-year Action Plan for Promoting the Prosperity of Fujian Cuisine", "Fujian Cuisine Restaurant" was identified as the publicity business card of Fujian catering industry, and our province will support catering enterprises with Fujian local cuisine flavor above the limit (main business income of 2 million yuan and above), create a number of "Fujian Cuisine Restaurants", and authorize them to use the "Fujian Cuisine Restaurant" VIS visual image logo.

The more ambitious goal has also been anchored: to actively explore the domestic and foreign Fujian cuisine market, shape the image of the new Fujian cuisine, and continuously promote the branding, specialization, standardization and scale of the Fujian cuisine industry, so as to make positive contributions to the high-quality development of the province's economy and society.

"Fujian cuisine" is known for its good production of mountain treasures and seafood, with light, tender, mellow and timeless flavor characteristics. Ingenious knife work, unique craftsmanship; exquisite soup dishes, endless changes; strange seasoning, unique; delicate cooking, elegant and generous, etc., these unique features, so that Fujian cuisine successfully ranked among the eight major cuisines in the country.

However, out of the home of Fujian, the name of Fujian cuisine is not ostentatious, and it cannot be equated with sichuan, Hunan and Cantonese cuisines that bloom all over the country.

"It's time to propose the prosperity of Fujian cuisine." In the view of Zheng Fang, general manager of Fuzhou Mingshang Advertising Co., Ltd. and vice president and secretary general of the Fujian Catering Industry Association, Fujian cuisine can be expected in the future. She believes that Fujian cuisine has the characteristics of strong taste inclusiveness, relatively close price, health care, health care, etc., which are in line with the needs of current consumers and are easy to be accepted. On the other hand, infrastructure such as transportation and cold chain distribution has been greatly improved, creating possibilities for Fujian cuisine to go further. With the addition of young restaurant operators, the brand awareness of Fujian cuisine merchants has gradually strengthened, which is very helpful to enhance the image of Fujian cuisine.

Fusion innovation and deconstruction improvement

After hanging the "Fujian Restaurant" logo, how to be more "worthy of the name" is what Yu Jiapan has been thinking about.

According to the plan, the renovated and upgraded Sanming Building will still be based on the concept of "big Hakka", expanding the original single Sanming cuisine into South Sanlong cuisine (guide Ping, Sanming, Longyan dishes - Editor's Note), and then hiring influential chefs to increase the classic Fujian cuisine that meets its own positioning. "We hope to be able to strengthen the imprint of Fujian cuisine while retaining our own characteristics, so that foreign guests can taste a more representative, richer and more diverse taste of Fujian." They are also considering the advantages of incorporating other cuisines, such as the popular small hot pot.

"The pursuit of raw materials will not change, but we hope to give consumers more choices and let the essence of everywhere take root." Yujapan said.

Obviously, practitioners have realized that the catering industry has always been a fiercely competitive industry, and backwardness will be beaten. Its advantage lies in incentivizing all parties to constantly innovate and change to promote the prosperity of the industry, while the challenge is that brands have sprung up and brought about a variety of novel shocks.

Adhering to the concept of integration and innovation, Wu Rong and his "Encounter the Bund" also made the fire in Shanghai.

Wu Rong, who has had a strong interest in cooking since childhood, has a wish to promote Fujian cuisine and let it go out of Fujian and be appreciated and favored by more people. After his success in the province, he opened his Own Fujian Restaurant in Shanghai, hoping to let people encounter authentic and innovative Fujian delicacies on the Bund, which is a perfect interpretation of modernity and history.

"Encounter the Bund" focuses on southern Fujian cuisine, but the three major cuisines of Fujian and other branches are involved in the store. The top brand of Fujian cuisine, Buddha jumping off the wall and chicken soup with sea mussels, Hakka cuisine of River field chicken, Putian cuisine in the sleeve of intestines, Northern Fujian cuisine in bamboo shoots, plate duck and other ingredients are all on the menu.

Although he has an orthodox and solid foundation in Fujian cuisine, Wu Rong likes to visit the origin of ingredients in Sifang and communicate with excellent chefs from all over the world, and has more thinking and choices in cooking techniques. In his view, innovation keeps the classic alive; the classic is the foundation of innovation.

Here, Shacha meets lobster, the most traditional Minnan vinegar meat, but with Iberian black pork. A foodie commented: "'Encounter the Bund' let me see Wu Rong's innovation of Minnan cuisine, saw his understanding of common dishes in his daily life, deconstructed and improved, insisted on using good ingredients, integrated cooking techniques, and presented in a simple and fashionable way, which is probably an important reason for the breakthrough of 'Encounter the Bund' in Shanghai." ”

"The recognition of the market is the greatest recognition"

Earlier this year, Wu Rong and his "Encounter the Bund" won a one-star honor in the 2021 "Shanghai MICHELIN Guide" and also won the "2021 Michelin Shanghai Young Chef Award".

This makes the list of well-known cuisines have another Fujian cuisine figure.

Previously, the popular Michelin-starred restaurant "Putian Restaurant" in Southeast Asia and "RongGui Hometown" not only opened stores in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, but also opened stores in Fuzhou last year, which was quite sought after by diners.

However, what makes many Fujian cuisine practitioners and enthusiasts "grumpy" is that in addition to the Buddha jumping off the wall that many people hear its name but do not know its taste, For a long time, Fujian cuisine has been "raised in the deep boudoir", even professional gourmets do not know much, and the hot black pearl, Michelin and other gourmet lists have not yet set foot in the provincial capital Fuzhou.

How to increase the exposure of Fujian cuisine in the country? The "Three-Year Action Plan for Promoting the Prosperity of Fujian Cuisine" proposes that our province should cultivate a number of Fujian cuisine promotion activities with regional characteristics to create an important platform for promoting Fujian cuisine, disseminating Fujian cuisine culture, and experiencing characteristic tourism. At the same time, relying on major exhibitions and business activities in the province, activities such as Fujian cuisine display, food experience, brand promotion and production and marketing docking are held.

Stepping into the catering industry for more than 20 years, Zheng Fang has witnessed the development of Fuzhou's catering industry, seen many catering brands from scratch, and also seen the loneliness of many Fujian restaurants. In fact, the Fujian Restaurant Association, which is composed of the founders of Fujian local catering brands, currently has more than one-fifth of the more than 100 member units positioned as Fujian cuisine.

Of course, her company has also helped well-known Fujian cuisine catering brands such as Ziyang Seafood Building and "Wangzhuang Ami" food stalls to plan and create market positioning, publicity and promotion, brand packaging, etc., which also makes Zheng Fang feel that she has a responsibility to help Fujian cuisine develop and grow.

In Zheng Fang's view, today's catering industry is fiercely competitive, fresh and unique good ingredients, high-quality meals, comfortable dining environment and considerate service are essential conditions, but from a single indicator point of view, it is difficult to open a large gap. A successful catering brand relies more on a sense of comprehensive experience to win.

She stressed that skill is the "soul" of Fujian cuisine, but at present, it is the post-80s young people who are changing and seeking new tastes, and their first contact is still "shape".

"The recognition of the market is the greatest recognition." She believes that the development of Fujian cuisine can not only rely on masters or several signature dishes, but also needs a large number of catering entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs. In order to truly achieve prosperity, Fujian cuisine is not only dependent on a dish or brand to open the situation, but must have a sound technology, channels and brands.

"In order for Fujian cuisine to be accepted by more people, we must first break the impression of the inherent sweetness and sourness of Fujian cuisine, soup and water." Zheng Fang said that the essence of Fujian cuisine is not limited to certain dishes or techniques, but lies in the respect for ingredients and the pursuit of "fresh", conforming to the consumer market, letting go of hands and feet, retaining the characteristics of Fujian cuisine, boldly adding fresh elements such as Western food, molecular cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, etc., to give young people a stage, and the inheritance and development of Fujian cuisine can become wider and wider.

The reporter's handwriting >>>

Prosperity in Fujian cuisine has a long way to go

The launching ceremony of the "Eight Fujian Cuisine Global Sharing" Fujian Cuisine Publicity and Promotion Series Activities was held at The Yuehua Hotel in Fuzhou. Photo by Fujian Daily reporter Zheng Huang

If only from the perspective of quantity, the number of Fujian restaurants in the country is not in the minority. According to incomplete statistics, in the Meituan App, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other 11 popular cities across the country, the number of Fujian restaurants totaled 3744. Among them, There are more Fujian restaurants in Hangzhou, Wuhan, Tianjin and other cities. Further analysis found that Shaxian snacks accounted for a relatively high proportion of them, more than 3,000.

However, Fujian cuisine is far more than Shaxian snacks. It is the product of the interweaving of Central Plains culture and Minyue culture, is a member of the eight major cuisines in the country, and is also a typical representative of mountain treasures and seafood.

In the pen of the food writer, Fujian cuisine is a bit like Jin Yong's Runaway School, which is a broad and profound sect that gathers all kinds of miscellaneous studies. In fact, the fusion of various cuisines, you have me, I have your diversified taste, it is the unique charm of Fujian cuisine.

Why is it that the broad and profound Fujian cuisine has not become popular on a larger scale? Some people have analyzed that the production and consumption of Fujian cuisine are more complicated and are not suitable for public promotion and consumption; the taste of Fujian cuisine is light and not suitable for the popular fashion of heavy catering; Fujian cuisine is too dependent on ingredients, and seafood transportation is inconvenient.

Perhaps it should be fortunate that today's consumers are not loyal to tastes and are willing to try and make mistakes, and the high demand for ingredients can also be achieved with the help of a well-developed logistics network. In the view of industry insiders, the objective restrictions that hinder the "going out" of Fujian cuisine have been greatly reduced. But they are also soberly aware that Cantonese cuisine and Sichuan cuisine, which continue to be popular throughout the country, have made great achievements in fusion cuisine and innovative cuisine in recent years, while most Fujian chefs still stick to their original tastes and lack the ambition and desire to explore and progress in cooking techniques.

Promoting the prosperity of Fujian cuisine is a systematic project. A considerable number of high-quality Fujian cuisine talents, smooth raw material supply chain, operable Fujian cuisine standardization system, etc., are indispensable. These basic conditions are in place, so that more catering people "go out" to dare to fight, so as to expand the Fujian vegetable market and influence. Otherwise, with only a short promotion experience, the highlight of Fujian cuisine can only stay in the "eight major cuisines".

In fact, it is not without precedent for success. The success of Shaxian snacks is inseparable from the all-round support of local government funds, materials, training and other aspects. Although experience cannot be simply copied, it is also instructive. (Reporter Zheng Huang)