Master Chen Songru was born in Ziyang, Sichuan. Because of his poor family, he was introduced to Chengdu Tao Letian Restaurant as a chef at the age of 65,438+02, and worked as an apprentice for three years under Mr. Chen Changming. Due to poor working conditions, overwork and lack of money to see a doctor, his leg has caused lifelong disability. Then I worked as a chef in Chengdu Hotel and Duoyi canteen in Xiyu Street, Chengdu.
According to the old man, during the National Day of 1958, Marshal Chen Yi once said to Chairman Mao at the gate of Tiananmen Square, "You can't eat hometown food in Beijing". Chairman Mao replied, "Then open a restaurant to cook home-cooked dishes." . So that evening, Premier Zhou asked his secretary to contact the Chongqing Municipal Committee and send excellent Sichuan chefs and waiters to Beijing to open a shop as soon as possible. Soon the team was formed, went to Beijing and stayed at Beijing Hotel for a trial meal. The trial meal was a great success, and Chen Songru became the first kitchen supervisor (chef).
Under the specific leadership of Master Chen, the kitchen work has been done very well and many important tasks have been successfully completed. It fully embodies his leadership and superb cooking skills. It was during that period that Master Chen cooked for Chairman Mao and many important leading comrades.
At the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution", the Gang of Four took Sichuan Hotel as a "black stronghold" in Li Jingquan, sealed it down, and all the staff were scattered, pointing at the party and country such as Premier Zhou and Vice Premier Chen Yi. In the middle and late period of the Cultural Revolution, veteran cadres were liberated in batches. The Gang of Four had to agree to reopen the Sichuan Hotel, but it could not be called "Sichuan Hotel". Finally, a compromise was reached and it was named "Chengdu Restaurant". The superior decided to let Chen Songru be the head chef, and the new manager and trade union chairman took me to Chengdu to take Master Chen back to Beijing to take office.
Master Chen lives in Chengdu and his family is very happy. Life has been very stable since I returned to Sichuan. My wife works as a manager in a department store. Master Chen, who has no intention of returning to Beijing, is both happy and contradictory to see us, and the scene of the "Cultural Revolution" in which Sichuan Hotel was destroyed emerges in front of him. But when the leader asked him to report to Beijing in the name of the organization, he resolutely obeyed the organization's decision and left home and his wife until he died at work. Master Chen is such a noble and respectable old man.
Master Chen's friends are almost all insiders. The culinary circles in Chengdu respect him very much, and they often discuss dishes and cooking techniques together. When I was training in Chengdu, I was lucky enough to be introduced by Master Chen, and I got to know famous Sichuan chefs such as Kong Daosheng, Liu Daosheng and Liu Daosheng.
Fan, Huang Ziyun, Dai Dailiang and others have more contacts with Mr. Chen Lao in Beijing. From these masters of the older generation, we not only learned cooking, but also learned a lot about being a man. Their selfless work enthusiasm and selfless professionalism laid the foundation for our industry today.
Many people know the situation of Sichuan Hotel after the Cultural Revolution, but few people know the situation before the Cultural Revolution. When the hotel was first established, as the head of the kitchen (chef), Master Chen's job was not easy. Chefs include Huang (Luo's master, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and we respectfully call him Master Huang), his apprentice, Wang Yuequan (Luo's apprentice), and senior chefs from Zigong, Chongqing, Yibin, Chengdu, Nanchong, Xinjin and Luzhou in Sichuan, which can be described as a gathering of elites. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve unity in taste and technique, and the contradiction is quite prominent.
Master Chen always does everyone's work patiently and meticulously. He never speaks or deals with problems from the standpoint of a certain faction. But starting from the requirements of the guests, standing in the overall interests and uniting comrades from the perspective of work, we have to unify our tastes and techniques. He played a central role in establishing the brand dishes of Sichuan hotels. Master Chen not only respects Master Huang, but also unites Master Chen in dealing with problems. At that time, the business of "Sichuan Hotel" was very good, and the superior leaders and the central leaders were very satisfied. Clear soup Yan, boiled cabbage, braised chicken in oil, preserved duck with bean dregs, dried shark's fin, ternary abalone, home-cooked sea cucumber, Kung Pao prawns, thick milk soup and other Sichuan dishes are all signature dishes at the banquet. Master Chen Dawei.
It has made great contributions to the creation of Sichuan hotel brand dishes.
Master Chen is skilled, especially good at red cases. He has to open banquet menus and cost accounting every day. To this end, he designed a "Sichuan Hotel Banquet Zero Cost Accounting Sheet", which is very applicable and effective. And the working efficiency is improved.
Master Chen has many disciples, such as Xiao Jianming and Luo in Chengdu. In the 1960s, Cui, Yu Fengxian, Sun Mianjian and I all studied under Mr. Chen in Beijing. After the Cultural Revolution, the technical school of the First Battle Bureau resumed, and Master Chen trained a large number of new people. Yu Jianmin, Zheng Shaowu, Yao Yufu and Hou Xinglin all became disciples of Master Chen.
Master Chen inherited the traditional style of Sichuan cuisine, combined with the specific situation that Beijing is a cosmopolitan city in the world, and based on the principle of "making the past serve the present, making foreign things serve China, learning from other people's strengths and forming its own system", he reformed and created a unique Sichuan cuisine system.
He has a high reputation in the industry. Approved by the Beijing Municipal People's Government as a first-class chef and elected as a representative of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress. 1987 performed in Singapore, causing a sensation in the Lion City. He is regarded as a "national treasure" master of Sichuan cuisine in contemporary China. 1992, Master was awarded the "World Famous Chef" costume by the World Famous Chef Association.
Recalling the past, I miss Master Chen Songru even more. He will always be our role model and our teacher.