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Red Network Moment News correspondent Hu Xiao reported from Changsha
In recent years, the Hunan cuisine industry has developed to a new peak, and more and more Hunan restaurants have opened all over the country, and Hunan cuisine is becoming more and more loved by consumers. However, the number of restaurants is more, but the variety of dishes is less, and people's impression of Hunan cuisine is only chili, small stir-fry, and down-to-earth.
As one of the eight major cuisines, Hunan cuisine is naturally indispensable for exquisite high-end dishes, and traditional kung fu cuisine is one of them. But in the face of plate after plate of chili stir-fried meat in the Hunan restaurant, people can't help but ask, where did the traditional Hunan cuisine go?
In Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, there is a restaurant that truly specializes in traditional Hunan cuisine - Moquan Fengwei, which is jointly created by Hunan cuisine taidou Wang Moquan and his son Hunan cuisine master Wang Yanfeng, gathering the power of Hunan cuisine families to make traditional kung fu Hunan cuisine.
"Taste of Hunan" invited Master Wang Moquan to talk about the skills and connotations of traditional Hunan cuisine, as well as the intention and inheritance of Moquan peak taste, and how to make traditional Hunan cuisine on the table of more consumers under the momentum of rapid development of Hunan cuisine.
After 60 years of cooking, the joy is endless
"Taste of Hunan": Hello Master Wang Moquan, first of all, please share with us how you got involved with the chef industry in the first place?
Wang Moquan: I entered the chef industry in 1961. I had just graduated from high school and was sent to drama school, but my father thought that art was not a serious job and did not allow me to go, so I chose to learn to cook. The purpose of my cooking is also very simple, the first is to learn a skill, the second is to feed myself, but I didn't expect to do it for more than 60 years.
"Taste of Hunan": What kind of force has kept you stuck in the Hunan cuisine industry for more than 60 years?
Wang Moquan: This firm belief is accumulated bit by bit in the post. At that time, the working conditions in the catering industry were relatively difficult, and there were many kinds of miscellaneous and tiring work. When I first started in the industry, I had a lot of brothers and brothers, and most of them left the industry one after another.
I was shaken too, but I persevered and concentrated on doing the work at hand. After three years of apprenticeship, I started stir-frying on the stove, and at that time I was a little fat, everyone called me Little Fatty, and they all said that the dishes made by Little Fat were delicious. It is precisely because of the recognition of more and more people that I am full of confidence in this industry, and it also makes me realize that being a chef is fun, and I have been doing it until now.
Between black soil and white water, the peak of Hunan vegetables
"Taste of Hunan": Moquan Fengwei focuses on traditional kung fu Hunan cuisine, presenting master works for customers, why did you think of opening such a Hunan restaurant in the first place?
Wang Moquan: When I decided to focus on traditional Kung Fu Hunan cuisine, I also made a lot of determination. On the one hand, I see that many traditional dishes are being lost, and the current young Hunan chefs, their traditional dishes are too shallow, and they only produce chili peppers, but in fact, only 20% of traditional Hunan dishes are spicy dishes.
Inheritance of Kansai sea cucumbers.
On the other hand, many Hunan cuisine skills are also facing loss. Hunan is an inland province, and in the past, many of the ingredients we used were dry goods, such as dried abalone, dried sea cucumbers, dried squid, etc., so dry goods are an important skill of traditional Hunan cuisine, and now they are facing loss. So I hope to open a shop that only makes traditional Kung Fu Hunan cuisine and inherit the dishes and skills of Hunan cuisine.
"Taste of Hunan": Moquan Fengwei has been highly recognized by consumers and catering peers in the market, what do you think is the secret of success?
Wang Moquan: My son Wang Yanfeng is the chairman and head chef, and my apprentice Liu Zhonghe is the general manager and production director, and the two of them have been cooking on the kitchen line since their opening. Many chefs are only responsible for management after opening a restaurant, and the restaurant owner may be one of the few in Changsha to cook himself, and this valuable spirit of treating production is a major reason why our restaurant is recognized by the industry.
Our dishes are very strict in terms of operation and craftsmanship, and are all prepared according to traditional methods and traditional flavors. There was a chef with more than 10 years of experience before, who worked with us for a month and left by himself, because he knew most of them small stir-frying, and had not been exposed to these traditional Hunan cuisine techniques and dishes, many of our dishes had to be battered, hung batter, oil temperature and heat must be mastered particularly accurately, and he learned far from what he learned, so he felt that he could not enter this threshold.
I also often go into the kitchen to point out the chefs' shortcomings in the dishes and cooking. In the two months of Moquan Fengwei decoration, we let the chef team gather, and the teacher took the young chef to cook these traditional Hunan dishes every day, make them every day, eat them every day, constantly familiarize themselves with them, and constantly improve.
Whether it is local or foreign, peers or ordinary consumers, after coming here to eat, they will understand what traditional Hunan cuisine is, so that my purpose is achieved. So I think the secret of success is that we made this restaurant according to the traditional techniques and craftsmanship of Hunan cuisine and using traditional catering culture.
"Taste of Hunan": What kind of Hunan cuisine brand do you want Moquan Fengwei to become? What have we done to build brands?
Wang Moquan: I think Moquan Fengwei is cultivating a new type of team that makes real traditional Hunan cuisine. Many of the young chefs we are recruiting now are college students, and they come out to work and come into contact with traditional Hunan cuisine, so these traditional skills and culture can be divided into the bones and can learn the essence of Hunan cuisine tradition.
For brand development, our idea is very simple, that is, to cultivate good internal strength and create a good brand. Now many developers have approached my son and hope to open a branch of Moquan Peak Flavor in their place. But not for two years, because we are developing our team. When we have trained enough excellent chefs and mastered the skills well enough, we will expand and open more branches while further passing on traditional Hunan cuisine.
My grandson also came to work here after graduation, and now three generations of us are doing it. But he learned something different, and his teacher was the most famous molecular chef in the Netherlands. Introducing this foreign culinary art into Moquanfeng taste, so that we have both traditional Hunan cuisine, innovative Hunan cuisine, and molecular Hunan cuisine.
Black pearls, how much is the selection worth?
"Taste of Hunan": Could you please introduce the main aspects of the selection criteria for black pearls?
Wang Moquan: I am not very clear about the details of the entire selection criteria, but it can be roughly divided into four aspects. The first is that the restaurant environment needs to be distinctive, which is a content about catering culture, catering art, and catering science; The second is that the dishes should be different, have excellent flavors, and have unique raw materials; The third is to be recognized by the society, and to have good feedback and evaluation from the perspective of the industry and the market; The fourth is that the service must be in place, and our guests at a table are equipped with up to 5 waiters to ensure that the dining process is comfortable and satisfactory.
"Taste of Hunan": As one of the first restaurants in Hunan to be selected as Black Pearl, how did Moquan Fengwei stand out?
Wang Moquan: Our restaurant has "five retention" requirements, the first is that the management must "retain fruit", and through management and training, ensure that all aspects of the entire restaurant operation are clear and clear; The second is that the environment must "retain people", when the guest comes here, the restaurant environment will make him feel enjoyable and make him like to stay in this space; The third is that the service must "keep the guest", and the guest must feel at home after he comes; The fourth is that marketing must "stay friends", after the guest comes once, we write down his name and contact information, and come to us is a friend; The fifth is that the product must be "mindful", this attention is not only when we are careful when cooking, but also to keep the customer's heart here.
Hair strands cow shutters.
In addition, I have four requirements for them in terms of dishes, the first is that the dishes are served in front of the diners, and the customers have not yet tasted them, but the appearance and aroma can make him salivate; The second is that after the customer tastes it, he can make him stunned; The third is that after the customer has eaten, the meal makes him have endless memories; The fourth is that after the customer has been here once, he can linger and become our regular customer.
To this extent, our dishes will be successful and our restaurants will be successful. Therefore, we must follow the traditional method and meticulously make the dishes, so that the admiring customers can eat the traditional Kung Fu Hunan cuisine, come happy and go satisfied.
"Taste of Hunan": At present, there are Michelin, Black Pearl, Golden Wutong and other awards in the catering industry, what do you think of these awards and selections in the catering industry? What is the significance for the development of the industry?
Wang Moquan: These are all new things, which were not available before. I think that these selection agencies can evaluate the national catering in this way, which can promote the development of our catering culture, catering art, and catering science.
In 2022, the market share of Hunan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine and Sichuan cuisine will be 17.6%, 16.2% and 16.1% respectively, and Hunan cuisine ranks first. The Hunan vegetable industry has been constantly progressing, first of all, it is inseparable from the strong support of provincial and municipal leaders at all levels to promote the development of the Hunan vegetable industry; The second is the extensive and in-depth publicity and reporting of Hunan cuisine by various news media, especially Hunan Provincial Television; The third is the selection list of Black Pearl and Golden Wutong, so that more people can see what good catering should look like, and they are cheering for the catering industry and injecting strength into the development of the catering industry.
The future of Hunan cuisine is promising, and the young force is promising
"Taste of Hunan": As a Hunan cuisine master, in what dimensions do you think the future development of Hunan cuisine should be strengthened? What obstacles need to be overcome?
Wang Moquan: Hunan cuisine has developed rapidly over the years, but there are still shortcomings. On the one hand, the presentation of flavor types is not rich enough, there are more than 30 flavor types of traditional Hunan cuisine, but the current market is still mainly spicy, if these flavor types can be done well, Hunan cuisine will be more suitable for the taste of people in the country and even the world.
On the other hand, the skills of traditional Hunan cuisine need to be passed on more, and Hunan cuisine people need to organize more training and learning. As a restaurant specializing in traditional Kung Fu Hunan cuisine, we Moquan Fengwei can be said to be the first in Changsha, and we are also doing this to train our team into a team that does traditional Hunan cuisine well.
Therefore, to develop Hunan cuisine better in the future, first of all, we must pass on the skills and dishes of traditional Hunan cuisine, and secondly, we must continue to innovate, look forward on the basis of tradition, and innovate without keeping the old; The third is to introduce the essence of other cuisines to further enrich Hunan cuisine; The fourth is to hope that today's young chefs will learn better, continue to study cooking knowledge, put down the shelves, and truly serve the people.
"Taste of Hunan": You are the inheritor of Hunan cuisine, you have won countless honors in your brilliant career, peach and plum are all over the world, what kind of message and expectations do you have for young Hunan cuisine people?
Wang Moquan: My disciples have now had six generations, totaling more than 10,000 people. I think the inheritors of Hunan cuisine from generation to generation are the hope of our industry.
I often say to young chefs that you must have two spirits, one is the sponge spirit, the more water the sponge absorbs, the more water it squeezes out, the more knowledge you receive, the more things will be released; The second is the spirit of the elevator, the elevator can go up and down, and we as cooks must also be able to go up and down. Even if you become a head chef, you must stick to the front line and bring good skills.
People always say that the Buddha Sea is boundless, I think the cooking ocean is no less than the Buddha Sea, because the knowledge of cooking is too broad, raw material knowledge, geographical knowledge, physics knowledge, chemical knowledge can be used in cooking, for example, there are more than 100 kinds of sea cucumbers in the world, can we all know, all understand.
Many people ask me, Mr. Wang, how do you innovate dishes so quickly? You can create a new dish at will. I say this is knowledge, I have more than 400 innovative dishes, all because I swim in the ocean of cooking and understand the knowledge of cooking, so I can continue to innovate.
I have been swimming in the ocean of cooking for more than 60 years, but I am still on the seashore and have not yet penetrated into the middle of the sea, so I earnestly hope that young chefs will work hard to the depths of the ocean, and can truly bring Chinese culinary culture, culinary art, and culinary science to the extreme, and exercise themselves in practice, so that the future of our Chinese cooking and Hunan cuisine will be brighter, stronger and more prosperous.
Postscript:
In the development of the times, Hunan cuisine people should firmly guard the foundation of inheritance and establish a sense of dedication, otherwise Hunan cuisine will be as empty and empty as a rootless wood. As Master Wang Moquan earnestly expected, we expect more Hunan cuisine people to do a good job and make deep traditional Hunan cuisine, so that Hunan cuisine can go one step further and show the essence and charm of Chinese culinary culture.