At the Jinjiang Trials of the 2023 Quanzhou Shanhai Chef King Competition, "New Fujian Cuisine · Most Minnan", held at the end of last year, the judges scored the dishes. (Figures provided by the interviewee)

Zheng Chunfa jumps over the wall to focus on a dish of Buddha jumping over the wall. (Courtesy of respondents)

Southeast Net reported on January 29 (Fujian Daily reporter Zheng Huang)

Core tips

On the 25th, the 2024 "Guide to Black Pearl Restaurants" was released in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. 341 restaurants in 30 cities around the world were on the list, including 6 restaurants in Fuzhou and Xiamen, among which Fuzhou restaurant was on the list for the first time. Since its first release in January 2018, this list has become one of the most "golden" selections in the refined catering industry by virtue of objectivity and impartiality.

The "Black Pearl" restaurant is recognized, on the one hand, by the restaurant and chefs' hard work, and constantly innovate on the basis of inheritance; On the other hand, it is also inseparable from the consumption atmosphere and good business environment created under the promotion of the government. The continuous emergence of "Black Pearl" shows that the upgrading of catering consumption has solid support, and good products and services will eventually be recognized by the market. The list of restaurants in Fuzhou and Xiamen reflects the closer relationship between Fujian cuisine and refined catering when the scale of China's refined catering market has been growing steadily for many years in a row. The prosperity of high-end catering industry has promoted the high-quality development of catering industry, which plays an important role in promoting the integration of culture, business and tourism.

Rich food territory

Zhang Jianming, chairman of Fujian Jingyuan Catering Management Co., Ltd., still has fresh memories of his experiences abroad more than ten years ago. At that time, he and his friends selected a fine restaurant according to the recommendation of the famous list. After making an appointment and queuing up, they finally ate. After a meal, I spent three hours "dozing off".

Zhang Jianming didn't understand such a restaurant at that time. Slowly, he figured out that the restaurant could also be like this: it is not just for you to eat, but also for you to slow down, relax and enjoy life. "It should not even belong to daily consumption, but can become an item in your wish list."

The seed of opening an exquisite restaurant is planted in Zhang Jianming's heart.

In 2018, Zheng Chunfa's Buddha Wall Jumping opened in Fuzhou Sandi Center, while Zhang Jianming's other identity is the inheritor of the fifth generation of intangible cultural heritage skills of Zheng Chunfa's Buddha Wall Jumping.

The restaurant adopts a set meal system. Strictly speaking, only one dish is prepared, and other dishes will be arranged by the chef according to the season. But for this cup of Buddha jumping over the wall, it is necessary to select 28 kinds of delicacies, 108 processes, and 72 hours of cooking, so as to truly achieve "one dish runs through the whole table, and one pot melts all flavors". When paired with Fuzhou bodiless lacquerware, the waiter will also introduce the origin and culture of Buddha jumping over the wall, which brings a sense of ritual.

Zhang Jianming was suffocating. He wanted more people to know that this "first soup in China" was created by Zheng Chunfa, his ancestor and a master of Fujian cuisine. He would also like to tell more people that Fujian cuisine can also be very exquisite and exquisite, not only the ingredients are integrated into the mountain and the sea, but also the taste is rich and diverse.

There is also such a restaurant. Since 2005, he has been hiding in Fuzhou Overseas Chinese New Village in a low profile, and has accumulated a stable customer group with good reputation. In the past 20 years of development, Xuanheyuan has always insisted on extracting fresh flavor from ecological ingredients without over seasoning, or even chicken essence and monosodium glutamate. Gao Feng, the founder of Xuanheyuan, said that what he yearned for was the Song style minimalist aesthetics, which was fastidious everywhere, but not elaborate. So was food.

This time, the above two restaurants were listed on the 2024 "Black Pearl" One Diamond Restaurant.

Catering consumption has always been one of the important windows for observing China's economy. In 2023, the national catering revenue will be 5289 billion yuan, up 20.4% year on year. In the opinion of insiders, brands that advocate high-end, differentiated and focus on demand and high quality price ratio have greater opportunities to take on the dividends of the times.

The latest China Fine Catering Report shows that the market size of China's fine catering will reach 66.5 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 12% year on year; The number of stores reached 6835, up 17% year on year.

The "Black Pearl" restaurant, which is characterized by "delicacy, high-end and characteristics", is regarded as a catfish, and is expected to drive the overall improvement of catering and even more industries.

The relevant person in charge of Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce said that the prosperity of the catering industry reflects the vitality of the city. At present, Fuzhou is building itself into an international consumption center city and a world food capital. As a pioneer in the development of new Fujian cuisine industry in our province, on the one hand, Fuzhou urgently needs to prosper the catering industry, play an important role of high-end catering brands in promoting the integration of culture, business and tourism, improve the city's popularity and reputation, and prosper the new scene of Fujian cuisine consumption; On the other hand, as the birthplace of Fujian cuisine, the introduction of high-end catering brands in Fuzhou is also conducive to improving the construction of the new Fujian cuisine production, learning and research system and promoting the high-quality development of the catering industry.

The Three Year Action Plan for Fujian Province to Accelerate the Innovative Development of New Fujian Cuisine (2023-2025) issued in November last year proposed that more Fujian cuisine enterprises should be promoted to be included in the list of authoritative food brands such as "Michelin", "Black Pearl" and "Golden Sycamore".

From the perspective of catering practitioners and competent departments, Fuzhou Restaurant's inclusion in the list not only enriches the food landscape of "Black Pearl", but also helps Fujian cuisine move to a larger stage.

Return to Fujian Cuisine

When it comes to the origin of Fujian cuisine and the "black pearl", Wu Rong is a figure who can't get around.

In this year's "Black Pearl" award, after Wu Rong, a native of Fuzhou and born in Xiamen, won the first "Black Pearl" Annual Cuisine Award with Lipu Taro Baked with Scallion Oil and Meat Juice, I also won the 2024 "Black Pearl Restaurant Guide" Annual Chef Award, and led Shanghai's Yuwaitan (BFC Bund Financial Center Store) and Xiamen's Yanyu · Fujian Huiguan (Xinjing Center Store) Won the honor of "Black Pearl" in 2024. He also became the first Grand Slam chef in the history of "Black Pearl".

In fact, "Banquet" was a very popular restaurant in Xiamen more than ten years ago. The combination of Chinese and Western cuisine, molecular cuisine, low temperature slow cooking... these can still be used as gimmicks today. "Banquet" has long been played.

But gradually, Wu Rong found that creative restaurants could not meet the increasing expectations of consumers; He also found that when he was immersed in how to make dishes "turn out flowers", he would ignore the taste, which was against his original intention to be a restaurant.

The path of creative dishes will become narrower and narrower. Wu Rong believes that Fujian cuisine should return to itself.

In 2016, Rong Xiansen · Fujian Pavilion, a member of Yanyu Group that focuses on people friendly prices, became very popular after it entered major shopping malls in Shanghai, greatly enhancing Wu Rong's confidence: "Even well-informed Shanghainese can satisfy, and Fujian cuisine can be accepted by everyone."

In 2018, Yanyu Group's high-end "Yuwaitan" opened its first store at BFC in Shanghai, which overcame the difficulties unknown at the beginning of its opening. By "strangers become acquaintances, and acquaintances lead strangers", "Yuwaitan" became popular, and it is still the only Fujian restaurant with a star in Michelin in China.

The success of "Encounter the Bund" made Wu Rong firmly believe that only by taking root in Fujian culture and focusing on Fujian cuisine, can we gain a firm foothold in the fierce catering market. He turned around and made a drastic transformation of the first brand store in Xiamen, Yanyu · Fujian Huiguan (Xinjing Store). In June 2021, the upgraded Yanyu · Fujian Huiguan will be opened, adhering to the same technology and spirit of "Yuwan Bund", and demonstrating the traditional authentic Fujian cuisine.

What is exquisite catering? It takes diners as the center and achieves emotional resonance through taste, vision, touch, hearing and smell.

In Yanyu · Fujian Huiguan, red bricks in southern Fujian, woven cane chairs in ancient houses, and simple screens come into sight one by one... In 2023, Yanyu · Fujian Huiguan won the "Guide to Black Pearl Restaurant" and successfully climbed the drill this year.

An annual dish of "Black Pearl Restaurant Guide" epitomizes Wu Rong's team's pursuit of details.

One taro is only taken from the most essential two pieces, and slowly baked with one jin of pork. The gravy is melted in soft waxy taro paste, which is like cream ice cream in the mouth. It is served with Minnan scallion crisp as a finishing touch.

It's easy to say but difficult to do. From research and development to serving, Wu Rong can't remember how many adjustments he has undergone.

The local taro has a strong flavor, but its rough fiber cannot bring the taste Wu Rong wants; After using Guangxi Lipu taro with glutinous taste, heat becomes the key. If the fire is too big, the taro is easy to disperse, but if the fire is too small, it is difficult to taste. Constant trial and error, control of cooking variables, product standards are determined.

With this ingenuity, Wu Rong became the leader of Fujian cuisine going global.

Today, the three brands of Yanyu Group are working in many cities at the same time - the main customers of "Rongxiansen" are families and young people; "Banquet" and "Encounter the Bund" pay attention to banquets. Wu Rong said that his goal remains the same, that is, to make Fujian cuisine go further with a more vivid new image.

Dig more possibilities

"Banquet" has gone through a "return" journey, and "return" is exactly one of the key words of the future refined catering summarized by Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan.

He said that consumers' pursuit of delicacies will continue to increase fine dining, but fine restaurants should give up high prices, short-term capital effects, luxurious decoration and excessive investment, and give more preferential feedback to more users. "Black Pearl" will also adhere to the long-term principle, encourage restaurants to return to the essence, taste, local ingredients, and business, and advocate more "Black Pearl" restaurants to create higher quality food through "return".

Meituan big data shows that in 2023, the online traffic of the newly listed domestic "Black Pearl" restaurants will increase by 150.82%, and the offline traffic will increase by 30% - 70%. In this year, Fujian cuisine fine restaurants also developed rapidly, with a year-on-year increase of 103% in the number of restaurants.

Under the obvious favorable flow, the phenomenon of "high opening and high closing" of exquisite catering stores is also worth paying attention to. A considerable number of fine stores in stock will be closed in 2023, higher than the level in previous years, which shows that the demand for fine catering has picked up steadily after the epidemic. At the same time, the industry competition has also intensified significantly, and the trend of consumers' pursuit of both ritual sense and cost performance has become increasingly clear.

Wu Rong believes that in the development process of the catering industry, the growth rate of different branches is different. If exquisite catering wants to have a great space for development, it needs to improve itself from the inside out and improve internal skills. At the same time, consumers are increasingly pursuing special tastes. Local cuisines from all over the country are receiving more attention, which also gains more space for the development of Fujian cuisine.

When Zhang Jianming returned from receiving the award, he was not too excited. He was busy holding a meeting with the team to discuss how to deal with the increased customer flow. After being listed, customers will have higher expectations for products and services. How to satisfy them, or even surprise them.

At present, Zheng Chunfa's new store, located in the three lanes and seven alleys of Fuzhou, is under renovation. This site selection is also meaningful. Zheng Chunfa's earliest store is located nearby.

The Chinese courtyard near the river gives Zhang Jianming enough space to play, and every plant and grass can be carefully arranged. The kitchen floor plan has been changed thirty or forty times. The designer has found six people, and has been overthrowing and starting again. He has high hopes of becoming a benchmark for refined Fujian cuisine.

In Zhang Jianming's imagination, this place will be built into a food space where Buddha jumps over the wall. In the future, the kitchen can be visited to show the cultural origin of Buddha jumping over the wall. He also plans to provide a tasting version of the Buddha Leaping over the Wall, which is more affordable and small in weight, and with refreshments to attract more young tourists to experience Fujian cuisine culture.

In fact, the change began earlier. On the basis of inheriting skills, considering the changes in tastes of diners, healthy diet and other factors, Zheng Chunfa and Buddha jumped over the wall and adjusted the proportion of raw materials and cooking methods accordingly. Today's Buddha Jumping Wall is more refreshing and delicious, with more balanced nutrition, and more in line with the needs of modern people.

Gao Feng said frankly that being listed as "Black Pearl" will let more people know Xuanheyuan, which also urges the restaurant to further provide customers with high-quality and healthy products. At the same time, they will not raise the price, even after building a better supply chain and reducing costs, the price may decline slightly.

It is said that the cultivation process of a pearl generally takes 18 to 24 months from the implantation of the pearl core to the collection, and the thickness of the pearl layer can reach the standard of no less than 0.8mm.

Every "black pearl" is valuable.