"Private cuisine" refers to the small-scale catering "buying and selling" in residential buildings or office buildings without licenses, waiters and fixed menus, and only chefs have skills. The history of "private cuisine" can be traced back to the Guangxu period in the late Qing Dynasty. It is said that Tan Congqing, an aristocratic family whose ancestral home is in Guangdong, was an official and ate well. His father, Tan Zongjun, mixed Cantonese cuisine with Beijing cuisine in his hometown, making Tan Jiacai's voice shocked Beijing. Later, his family fell into a trough, and Tan Zhenqing lived on empty pay, so Tan's "private kitchen", which is well known to chefs or concubines, helped to make family plans. There is a banquet at home, with three seats per night, which should be booked three days in advance and one month in the peak period.

Private cuisine originated from the delicacies in ancient deep houses. At that time, high-ranking officials and tycoons "kept beautiful kitchens at home, and compared tastes with each other in the first meaning of life" eating ". Under the joint action of their "famous products" and their famous chefs, famous dishes came into being, and private kitchens were formed because of their own characteristics.

As the name implies, private cuisine is private cuisine, which is private cuisine. What you eat in someone else's house is the good food cooked by the host. Private kitchens usually have no store signs, fixed menus and full-time waiters, but the cooking techniques of these dishes are often ancestral, with unique flavor, and the supply in private kitchens is limited, which can't be eaten in restaurants on the market. It is said that this kind of restaurant originated from the ancient deep house compound, which is relatively remote, unique and low-key.

"In the residential area of ordinary people in Hong Kong, a wooden door suddenly opened. You must rush in and close the door before the patrol arrives." This is the description of "private cuisine" by Hong Kong people.

In addition, there are two kinds of sayings: first, it refers to a table of good dishes cooked separately for the couple after the wedding, after relatives and friends have left; Second, it refers to the dishes specially cooked by women in old Shanghai for their husbands or boyfriends. Private cuisine does not represent upper-class culture, on the contrary, it is closer to ordinary people and working class.

Private cuisine is not a big dish, but "cooking small and fresh can rule a big country." There are two theories about its origin. One is from the late Qing Dynasty, which refers to the dishes cooked in private kitchens. Eating private cuisine means that everyone huddles in a place similar to home and eats the host's specialty. After dinner or after dinner, the host will come out for a while, and after several encounters, the diners and the host will become friends. Many famous dishes actually evolved from private kitchens, such as Tan Jiacai, Confucius and Duan Jia dishes.

Another way of saying it is an extension of official dishes. In the past, official chefs cooked around the word "meticulous", and the links were quite complicated. After leaving the mansion, they lived in large houses, and they were also very particular about style in their diet. Having a chef, especially one from the government, is a symbol of their wealth and status. On the basis of making official dishes, these chefs have further integrated cooking techniques to cater to the tastes of their hosts. Over time, it has become a category of its own.