OLYMPICS /
Spotlight
Story of an Olympic chef
By Yang Jie
Chinadaily.com.cn Staff Writer
Updated: 2008-08-12 16:17
How many guests do you expect during the Games? How many guests do you have on ordinary days?
We expect 400 to 500 people every day. On a normal day we entertain more than 1,000 people.
The reason we will entertain fewer guests during the Games is that we want to make sure that we can provide quality services to all our customers and that each customer has our full attention.
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Chongcaohua Liaoshen, a signature dish of China People's Palace Hotel, is ready to be presented to customers. Chongcaohua Liaoshen is made by boiling live Liaoshen, a special kind of sea cucumber growing in China and Japan, together with Chongcaohua, a kind of cultured fungus. [On the Courtesy of China People's Palace Hotel]
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Will you raise prices of dishes during the Games?
No, of course not. Our restaurant has been in operation for many years and the prices of dishes have always been fairly set. If we raise prices during the Games, people will not come to our restaurant any more.
Though this may be the first time that most Olympic guests have come to our restaurant, we will still try to provide food to them at the same prices we provide food to local residents.
We also keep in mind the different dietary habits of our foreign customers, so we increased the portion of beef in our menus.
How many hours do you work each day?
We get to the restaurant at 10:00 am and start preparing lunch after having a meal. We get off work at 2:00 pm and some people may take a nap. Then at 5 pm we are back to work and start preparing for dinner after having a second meal. We wrap up at night at 9 pm.
What's your pay?
Honestly speaking, chefs at China People's Palace are paid pretty well compared with other four-star hotels. We have generous employee insurances and housing allowances besides a nice salary.
Do you cook at home? What dishes do your family like most?
Sure, I cook also at home. Both my wife and my child like the dishes I cook.
They most enjoy three dishes I cook, Hongshaoyu (fish braised with thick sugar juice), Tangsu Paigu (sugar and sour ribs) and Mapo Toufu (spicy and tongue-numb Toufu).