Speaking of Cheng Ruming's name, the younger generation will probably feel very strange. He was a chef, but he was not ordinary, and was once named a national treasure of Chinese cooking masters, and even Chairman Mao praised his dishes.
In order to be able to eat the delicious food cooked by Cheng Ruming himself every day, Chairman Mao resigned all the cooks around him and let Cheng Ruming be his exclusive chef, but Cheng Ruming destroyed the chairman's menu after each meal. Let's take a look at the legendary experience of Cheng Ruming, who went from a farmer to a national famous chef, in his life.
Fledgling
In October 1926, Cheng Ruming was born in a small village in Shandong, China, to ordinary peasant parents and poor family conditions. In order to support his younger siblings, Cheng Ruming was particularly sensible at a very young age, and at the age of 9, he began to go to the field with his parents to farm, which also led him to stay away from the academy and the path where knowledge can change his destiny. At that time, in the background of that era, everyone felt that only going to school meant that there would be a career when they grew up, but the young Cheng Ruming had a different view from most others, he believed that it was necessary to "go out" to change poverty.
When Cheng Ruming was 13 years old, he made up his mind to bid farewell to his parents and the small village he was familiar with, carrying heavy baggage and full of enthusiasm to the big city of Tianjin. He entered the famous Huizhong Hotel in Tianjin and became a primary school apprentice who was greedy in the morning.
The work of doing apprenticeships is very hard, often busy "oiling the soles of the feet", even the saliva can not drink, the small palms and soles of the feet also grind out a lot of blisters, but Cheng Ruming still did not want to give up, as if there is a force, no matter how painful it will not cry out, strong bitter support. The hard work he was doing day after day, one day an idea popped up in his mind, he wanted to become a respected chef, this ideal seemed ridiculous to others, but Cheng Ruming rooted it in his heart, he firmly believed that he could one day realize it.
Fame
In the 13 years from 1939 to 1952, for this ideal, Cheng Ruming worked and studied in a number of Chinese and foreign restaurants in Tianjin, whether it was Chinese food or Western food, he had his own unique insights. With his own efforts and super understanding and practice, he has won the recognition and respect of the culinary industry, and is getting closer and closer to his dream.
In 1952, Cheng Ruming had the honor of catering services for the Peace Conference in the Asian and Pacific region, which was widely praised by leaders at home and abroad, and even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave him a super high affirmation, making him famous in the culinary world in one fell swoop, adding great self-confidence to Cheng Ruming. Two years later, because of his outstanding work achievements, the state appointed him as chairman Mao Zedong's exclusive head chef, responsible for the entire diet of the chairman and the chairman's family, which was a great honor. Cheng Ruming not only achieved his ideals, but also exceeded his original goal, and since then he has officially entered a legendary culinary road.
As a Hunan native, Chairman Mao did not often eat Western food, his favorite cuisine was Hunan cuisine, and he also liked the noodles in the north. Cheng Ruming is already good at making Chinese food, Hunan cuisine and noodles are not a problem, which gives him a place to show.
Chairman's Head Chef
Chairman Mao once wrote in "Water Tune Song Head: Yangtze River" that "only drink the water of the Yangtze River, and eat Wuchang fish", the Wuchang fish here is the One that Chairman Mao cooked through Cheng Ruming when he crossed the river in Wuhan in June 1956. The chairman thought that this Wuchang fish was caught on the spot in the river, but it was actually Brought by Cheng Ruming from Changsha. Chairman Mao loved the Wuchang fish made by Cheng Ruming, and he felt that after eating the Wuchang fish at noon, he still felt that the fragrance of the fish lingered in his mouth and heart at night, and he couldn't help but write an inscription. It can be seen how superb Cheng Ruming's cooking skills are, and it has the effect of "going around the beam for three days and constantly hearing".
Braised pork is Chairman Mao's favorite, but he can't put soy sauce when he eats braised meat, the reason is that when the chairman was a child, he saw that the soy sauce tank at home was fermenting soy sauce, because the weather was too hot, there were many small bugs, strange and disgusting, so he never ate soy sauce again, but he was not picky eaters. In order to make the chairman a delicious braised pork without soy sauce, Cheng Ruming thought of more than a dozen methods, and finally developed the use of brown sugar to replace the coloring of soy sauce, which perfectly reproduced the sweetness and color of authentic braised pork. After tasting it, the chairman praised this improved version of braised pork, saying that he would only eat braised pork made by Cheng Ruming in the future.
Chairman Mao Zedong is a person who advocates simplicity and does not waste a lot, and Cheng Ruming makes Chinese New Year's Eve meal for the chairman's family, and there are only a few simple dishes and leftovers that have not been eaten in the morning, which is very concise. Cheng Ruming, who Chinese New Year's Eve finished cooking Chinese New Year's Eve, was invited by the chairman to go to the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner together, and remembered that the chairman was very close to him, and looked at him and smiled, so cheng Ruming felt very warm when he thought about it.
Destroy the menu
Being the chairman's head chef is not an easy task, and Cheng Ruming has many rules to be strictly observed and cannot go wrong. These rules are not because the chairman is picky about his tastes, but because of the decisions that have to be made to defend the health and privacy of the country's leaders.
Cheng Ruming has cooked too many dishes for the chairman in his life, and he himself can't remember clearly. At that time, there were disciplinary regulations in Zhongnanhai, and Cheng Ruming was the chairman's exclusive head chef, so it was even more strict to abide by them. One of them is that the staff is not allowed to leave the menu after each meal.
When Cheng Ruming first knew this rule, he did not understand it very well, and asked his colleagues to know that it was originally to protect the privacy of the country's leaders, in case the information in the menu reflected the health of the chairman to the enemy and was unfavorable to the country.
Cheng Ruming in order to keep secrets, many things even the family also have to hide, the family only knows that Cheng Ruming's mail address is "Zhongnanhai 101", until the death of the chairman did not understand, the original "Zhongnanhai 101" is Chairman Mao's home. Cheng Ruming said that in this life, he felt that it was worth it to find a blessing for the chairman.
epilogue
Entering the chef industry is the fate of Cheng Ruming and Chairman Mao Zedong, and it is doomed to an intractable story between them. Focusing on the diet of Chairman Mao and his family has laid a solid foundation for the good stability of the whole country, which is a low-key and great cause. He has never forgotten his pursuit of cooking and his responsibility as a chinese child, his life has contributed to the cooking art and the country, he has composed an irreproducible legend with a serious and responsible attitude towards life and super high chef skills. Such a diligent and conscientious spirit is worth learning from everyone who has worked hard in the workplace.