Opening remarks
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the past 75 years, generation after generation of Jiangsu people have worked hard and continued to struggle, and the appearance of the land of Jiangsu and the lives of the people have undergone earth-shaking changes. Among them, as an important participant and witness of economic development, the majority of Jiangsu enterprises have continuously contributed to the rapid development of the province's economy by virtue of their courage and enthusiasm to seize the day. At this historical juncture of great significance, this newspaper launched a column entitled "Seventy-five Years of Building Fanghua and the Development of Jiangsu's 'Jing' Colorful Story", focusing on the province's catering, cultural tourism, water conservancy, transportation and other industries, showing the magnificent chapter written by Jiangsu in the process of economic development in the past 75 years.
The people live on food. Local cuisine represents the characteristic culture of the water and soil, and also carries the memory of the tongue of the masses of generations. In Jiangsu, there are a large number of time-honored enterprises focusing on food production and catering services, which have won the favor of many diners for a long time with their unique exquisite skills and perseverance passed down from generation to generation. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, some of them have experienced ups and downs and faced survival choices, or have fallen into a crisis of inheritance because no one has taken over the baton, but they have all radiated new youth in the new era through the innovative spirit of taking the initiative to change. Recently, the reporter approached the heads of some of the representative time-honored enterprises to find the new "food" fashion shown by these time-honored brands in the vicissitudes of the times.
Looking back on the past, the original intention remains the same, through a hundred years of wind and rain
"This dish is the representative of our Republic of China cuisine, which has a history of more than 300 years and is recorded in the culinary classic "Suiyuan Food List". When making, 300 to 400 grams of eel need to be used, first scrape the bones and then cross with a wooden stick to make the meat loose, and then stew with the pork belly, so that the soup is thick, the taste is crispy but does not lose its shape...... "Walking into the Jiangsu restaurant located on the bank of the Yangtze River and the south bank of the bridge in Nanjing, the fireworks are rising and the diners are endless, and Zhou Jun, the inheritor of the cooking skills of the provincial intangible cultural heritage of Jingsu cuisine, is introducing the production process of the store's signature dish Fuxing stew to the onlookers. Founded in 1946, Jiangsu Restaurant, formerly known as Fuxing Restaurant. As an important part of Jiangsu cuisine - the originator of Jingsu cuisine, the restaurant has been committed to better inheriting and reviving Beijing-Suzhou cuisine since its opening. From only 6 tables at the time of opening, to 150 tables in the 70s of the 20th century, Jiangsu Restaurant has witnessed the glory of Jingsu cuisine and has become the cradle of Jinling's famous chefs.
However, the development of the restaurant has not been smooth sailing. In the late 90s of the 20th century, affected by factors such as changes in the city's business pattern, the operation of Jiangsu restaurants gradually declined, and even was on the verge of bankruptcy for a time. At this time, Yan Dunzhi, chairman of Gunandu Group, stood up. "Yan Dunzhi was an apprentice at Jiangsu Restaurant when he was young, and has worked here for more than ten years, and he is full of affection and gratitude for the restaurant. He overrode public opinion, brought the Jiangsu Restaurant, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, under the management of the group, and began to carry out transformation, and the appearance of the enterprise has changed significantly. Jin Can, assistant general manager of Gunandu Group Catering Corporation, told reporters. In 2009, Jiangsu restaurants needed to be demolished due to municipal construction, and enterprises were once again faced with a choice. With the determination to protect the time-honored brand, with the support of the municipal and district governments, Gunandu Group once again invested more than 3,000 yuan to rebuild Jiangsu Restaurant at the current site. The rebuilt restaurant not only maintains the simple and elegant European style during the Republic of China, but also integrates the modern atmosphere, and can receive nearly 1,000 people at the same time. The delicious delicacies of the Republic of China can continue to bloom in the taste buds of the new generation of consumers.
Also experiencing the rebirth of Nirvana is the time-honored Haitang Spring Tea House in Taizhou. On the streets of early summer, the tea house is full of guests and friends, and many foreign tourists do not hesitate to queue for an hour or two, just to eat a bite of authentic Taizhou morning tea. Founded in 1925 and inscribed by the patriotic industrialist Zhang Jian in the late Qing Dynasty, this century-old store has also experienced ups and downs in its development history: in 1931, it was flooded due to the flood in Taizhou; In 1944, it was smashed by the Japanese army for saving compatriots; In 1954, it was flooded again due to the Taizhou flood...... "After the founding of New China, Haitangchun mainly existed as a meeting place for members of the Taizhou Democratic League, and its external operations were intermittent until the original site was demolished in 1999, and the operation of the tea house for a period officially came to an end. Yuan Haijun, the great-grandson of Yuan Yanqing, the founder of the tea house, told reporters. So, why did the time-honored brand that once fell silent reappear in front of the world? Yuan Haijun told reporters that carrying the expectations of his ancestors to revive the tea house, in 2017, by chance, he learned that there was a vacant shop in Fenghuangdun Old Street in Taizhou for rent, and immediately decided to use this as a new site to rebuild Haitang Spring. To his relief, when the new store was still being renovated, many old guys from the previous store spontaneously came to the door and took the initiative to join the construction and operation of the store. Thanks to the concerted efforts of everyone, now, Haitang Spring has once again become a beautiful business card of Taizhou morning tea, attracting countless diners to come. Talking about the vicissitudes of the tea house over the years, after the reform and opening up, especially since the 90s of the 20th century, he was deeply impressed by the development opportunities obtained by the private economy: "The older generation often said that as long as you are willing to work hard, you can earn money. ”
Based on the present, keep pace with the times, and serve sumptuous dishes
Times are changing, and consumers' preferences for food are constantly changing, especially in the 21st century, with the rise of social media and the rise of Generation Z, consumption hotspots are changing with each passing day. If a time-honored brand wants to stand for a long time, it must keep pace with the times while inheriting excellent traditions, and constantly absorb and integrate new elements and trends of the development of the times. In Suqian, the Yejia Bakery has been passed down to the 11th generation after hundreds of years, and its processing and production of "Qianlong Gong Cake" has won the love of local consumers with its fragrant, crispy, crispy and transparent characteristics. However, this time-honored brand, which was once appreciated by Emperor Qianlong, did not blindly lie on the "historical merit book", but continued to innovate in accordance with the development of the times: Ye Rujin, the eighth-generation successor, re-"came out of the mountain" after the reform and opening up to develop it protectively; Ye Shuhua, the ninth generation, improved the dough fermentation method and invented the "dough mixing method"; Liu Dayong, the tenth generation of successors, has launched a series of new products on the basis of retaining the original traditional characteristics, and has recently carried out nearly 400 quick-freezing experiments on the pie crust, laying a good foundation for the systematic, large-scale and chain development in the future; Even Liu Yichen, the eleventh generation descendant who has not yet officially "gone out of the mountain", has also innovated and developed the "two simmering" baking method, and improved the product packaging through design, so that the shelf life of food has been effectively extended...... In Liu Dayong's view, the original intention of continuous product innovation is first to better meet the needs of consumers of all ages. "After the reform and opening up, many foreign condiments, raw materials and novelty foods have entered China, and customers' taste buds have been opened, and then there are more consumption choices. Not far behind, we have developed fillings such as cream, meat floss, red bean paste, and mung bean paste according to the seasons and new consumption habits. "In addition, the continuous innovation of technology is also aimed at making the production process more perfect and reducing the heavy manual labor." For example, if you want to make dough, the traditional hand-made dough needs to go through multiple steps such as the first fermentation of the old dough, the second fermentation of the dough, and the adjustment of the pH of the dough with alkali, which takes a lot of time and effort to make a qualified 'Sanguang' dough. Now, the use of a dough mixer makes dough preparation easier and more successful, greatly improving labor efficiency. Liu Dayong said.
In Haitang Spring, innovation is also the eternal theme of the development of the tea house, which can be known from a series of improvements made by the tea house in recent years. "For example, sake made from buckwheat has a bitter taste. The traditional method is to directly add rock sugar to remove bitterness, but modern life pays more attention to a healthy diet with low sugar and low fat, so I put a certain amount of glutinous rice in the process of buckwheat brewing, and constantly adjust the ratio of glutinous rice to buckwheat, and use the sweetness of glutinous rice to hedge the bitterness of buckwheat. After two or three years of adjustment, our home-brewed wine finally lost its bitterness, and even a little sweet. Yuan Haijun said, "For example, the hemp cakes baked at our house used to be more used as dry food, so each piece was very large, which also no longer meets the needs of modern people." Therefore, we have improved it into a small, thin and crispy package, so that it can be used not only as a delicate snack for tea tasting, but also as a gift......"
Facing the future, inheriting and innovating, and opening up a larger market
While excellent time-honored enterprises are rejuvenated, it should also be noted that in recent years, some time-honored brands have failed to keep up with the pace of the times due to sticking to traditional thinking, losing skills, and lack of new market development, and have been abandoned by the market. Facing the farther future, in order to make time-honored enterprises invincible in the increasingly fierce market competition, people who still need to devote themselves to this business will continue to do so. In 2019, Gunandu Group established a technology research institute, aiming to use modern technology to inherit classic dish varieties and excellent cooking techniques, and modernize and upgrade the taste, presentation form and production method of dishes, so as to continuously enrich the taste experience of products. "From the historical allusions of dishes to the specific production process to the actual operation of the trainees, the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage rely on the technical research institute to personally guide and train, and strive to pass on the intangible cultural heritage skills to the younger generation." Jin Can said that in the future, Gunandu Group will still insist on carrying out intangible cultural heritage skills training, so that its time-honored catering enterprises such as Jiangsu Restaurant, Luliuju, and Ma Xiangxing will have successors. While continuing to increase the research and development of new products, the Group will also tap the potential of time-honored brands, rely on the advantages of Jiangsu restaurants close to the Yangtze River to introduce more new consumption scenarios, and create a new landmark in the north of Nanjing. In order to break the barriers to the spread of time-honored brands and attract more young consumers, they will also graft more new retail platforms, tap new traffic on social platforms, open short video promotion and live sales, and cooperate with more brands and channels loved by young people to further promote the food culture of time-honored brands.
For Liu Dayong, the first focus of later inheritance and development is still the innovation of product taste. "In the near future, I am preparing to make full use of Suqian's local specialty ingredients such as Luoma Lake whitebait, Luoma Lake king crab, and Suqian black pork, and develop whitebait filling, crab roe filling and fresh meat filling Qianlong Gong Crisp." In addition, considering that freshly baked tribute cakes have high requirements for taste, he also plans to increase dine-in publicity and guidance, so that customers can taste the best taste of Qianlong tribute cakes at the best time to eat. "In the future, on the one hand, we will increase the online live broadcast sales model, so that customers can have a more intuitive understanding of the production process of tribute pastry; On the other hand, customers are guided to experience the whole production process of gongshu offline, so that consumers can fall in love with time-honored brands in the process of continuously improving their understanding of time-honored brand craftsmanship. ”
Jiangsu Economic News reporter Zhou Kaihang