1. Time-honored brands have a high technical threshold

In the kitchen of Hong Changxing, a time-honored catering company, Li Shifu, who has been in the business for 31 years, is exerting his unique skills: rolling the dough and wrapping the meat stuffing, and wrapping it into a circle with his thumb as the fulcrum and tacit cooperation between his forefinger and middle finger. However, in 3 seconds, the prototype of a beef fried bun is completely standing in the palm.

Li Shifu said that he has been an apprentice since he was 2115. He pays attention to the water temperature, ingredients and dough. Take dough mixing as an example, you need to pour hot and cold water into a big basin repeatedly and alternately, and then test the water temperature with your fingers. "There is no specific standard for temperature. You should control the water temperature according to the temperature, like the current weather, about 51℃ is enough."

In the Butterfly Crisp Skills Competition, pastry chefs from Shanghai's time-honored catering enterprises, such as Xinghualou, are also showing their unique skills. Zhou Zhigang, a senior technician of Shanghai West Point, said that as a typical representative of Shanghai West Point, Butterfly Crisp has high requirements on technology: "Even experienced masters can't guarantee the clarity of the texture level of the final product before they are baked."

2. Many young apprentices give up halfway

The working environment is one of the difficulties in the inheritance of time-honored craftsmanship, and many old masters sigh, "Few people are willing to do this job now, it's too hard."

Hong Changxing's staff said that the chefs start work at 11 a.m. and finish at 2 p.m. every day. After two hours' rest, they continue to work from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.. Many young apprentices are willing to enter the time-honored brand to study at the time of zero foundation. "But after a long time, they can't eat hard, and many of them have left."

Miao Shifu, a pastry chef at Laodachang, said that he had to stay in the kitchen for seven or eight hours every day, and once he was busy, he didn't even have time to look at his mobile phone. However, the monthly income from such working hours and workload was only more than 4,111 yuan. "In Shanghai, I think the income is a bit low." Master Miao said.

3. Learning skills is by no means an overnight

A small fried bun and a butterfly cake, which may be condensed with the valuable experience left by generations of craftsmen through unremitting research. Want to touch the essence of these time-honored snacks is not a one-off event.

Zhou Zhigang said that it would take at least eight years to master the skills of making butterfly cakes: "It takes three years for a new apprentice to clean dishes."

Li Shifu of Hong Changxing said that according to industry regulations, it takes three years for an old master to take an apprentice, from inheritance, help to teaching, to make the craft basically mature, and this "maturity" is only that an apprentice can operate some basic things independently. For an apprentice, what he learned in three years is the basic skills, not the essence of time-honored restaurant production.

4. Some masters are unwilling to give their money to each other

Shao Yuling, vice president of Shanghai China Time-honored Brand Enterprise Association, said that there are currently 181 "China Time-honored Brand" enterprises in the city, including 42 "Shanghai Time-honored Brands", but dozens of time-honored brands face the same problem: some old masters are unwilling to pass on their skills, which makes it more and more difficult to pass on their skills.

The reporter found that many food production processes of time-honored restaurants have gradually changed from manual to fully automatic equipment. Take the most commonly used flour as an example, and machines have been used to replace manual work in the processes of mixing and opening noodles. Master Miao said that for many time-honored masters, the difference between machine and labor always exists. "When doing things, although people don't do it as evenly as machines, machines don't do it as carefully as manual craftsmanship."