This shows that special dishes are very attractive to guests. Many years ago, Jing 'an Hotel in Shanghai made its catering business prosperous with the special dish of "Crystal Shrimp". Without characteristics, there is no vitality, which has become an unwritten law in the industry. Therefore, in order to improve the competitiveness of the market, creating special dishes has become a top priority for chefs in hotels and social restaurants. I am also working hard and exploring for this purpose. The following is my summary of the creation method of special dishes for the reference of peers. First, the selection of characteristic raw materials (characteristic cooking raw materials) The so-called special dishes are generally divided into two categories. One is local specialties. Local specialty dishes are dishes with local taste characteristics made with local unique cooking materials or local unique cooking methods, so they are also called local flavor dishes. According to the above properties, it should be the first choice to cook dishes with local unique food raw materials. Because people travel to other places on business, they always want to taste the food and local specialties that are not available in their hometown. Therefore, as long as chefs try their best to explore and develop local unique cooking materials to create dishes, even if the cooking method is ordinary and the taste is average, they will achieve better results. For example, the shad, hairy crabs and Taihu Lake in the south of the Yangtze River; All kinds of seafood in coastal areas, etc., just use steaming cooking methods to keep their original flavor, which is the local specialty. Another example is to explore the use of some raw materials that people don't commonly use to cook dishes, which can also become local specialty dishes. For example, Sheshan Forest Hotel in Shanghai is a hot dish of Sheshan tea and shrimp, which is made of rare Sheshan tea powder and cooked with green leafy vegetable juice. With the introduction of the allusions of Sheshan tea, it has become a special dish deeply loved by the guests. Another example is "Roasted Rabbit Head", a special dish in Quzhou Hotel, Zhejiang Province, which is processed and cooked into "Roasted Rabbit Head" with strong local flavor by using rabbit heads abandoned by ordinary people. Because of its special selection of materials and outstanding local flavor, this dish is deeply loved by all guests and has become a brand dish of the hotel and a special flavor dish in Quzhou area. The other category is the special dishes of hotels and restaurants. It is in the same area that several dishes cooked by this restaurant are of higher quality, new method and pure taste than the same dishes cooked by other restaurants in the same area, so these dishes have become the special dishes of this restaurant. For example, most hotels and restaurants in Shanghai can cook "Braised River Eel" and "Braised Three Threads". However, the "Braised River Eel" and "Braised Three Threads" cooked by the old restaurants in Shanghai Yuyuan Mall are the most famous in Shanghai in terms of shape, color and taste. Therefore, "Braised River Eel" and "Braised Three Silk" have become the specialties of this restaurant. The same examples are "instant-boiled mutton" in Donglaishun, Beijing, "Beijing Roast Duck" in Quanju, "Dongpo Meat" and "West Lake Vinegar Fish" in Louwailou Restaurant in Hangzhou. Shanghai Green Wave Gallery's dim sum "Mei Mao Su" and so on. The other is that several dishes cooked by this restaurant have unique styles, which are not available in other restaurants in the same area, so they have become the special dishes of this restaurant. For example, the dish "Sheshan Bamboo Fragrant Meat" in Shanghai Sheshan Forest Hotel is made of pork belly wrapped with orchid bamboo shoots and cooked with bamboo leaves outside. This dish is unique in the local area, so it has become a special dish of this hotel. Another time, Xinya Cantonese Restaurant in Shanghai created a unique dish "Smoked Pomfret" with a combination of Chinese and Western tastes. Because no other restaurant could cook it at that time, it became the specialty of this restaurant. Second, innovative cooking methods (unique cooking methods) Generally, most hotels and restaurants use common raw materials, but if the cooking methods are unique, they can also become the special dishes of our restaurant. For example, there is a traditional "three-fresh rice crust", that is, when the dishes are served, the hot three-fresh braised dishes are poured into the freshly fried rice crust on the spot, which causes the crackling sound to bring auditory stimulation to the guests, and the guests also call it "the sound of spring thunder", thus becoming a special dish at that time. According to this principle, there are also "iron plate series dishes" in previous years, that is, the cooked dishes are poured on a hot iron plate container, and the effect is better; Now it is developed to pour the grass shrimp and the flavored soup into a wooden container filled with hot pebbles, and suddenly the soup in the container boils and the hot air rolls. This scene is like grass shrimp taking a sauna, so people call this dish "sauna shrimp". "Sauna Shrimp" is more interesting than the first two dishes, so it has become a special dish. Nowadays, there are some things that do the opposite, such as "chilled grass shrimp", which is to pour grass shrimp into a container after boiling, and cover it with edible ice particles. This dish is more popular in summer. It can also be a feature to cook some dishes on the spot, that is, the dishes that were originally "operated behind closed doors" in the kitchen, such as boiled shrimps, were cooked in front of the guests on the operating car on the spot, which dispelled all kinds of doubts that the guests were afraid of replacing the live shrimps and crabs with dead shrimps and crabs in the kitchen, and greatly improved the fun of the guests' dining. There is a hot pot restaurant in Shanghai where the processing of "spicy crab" is carried out at the guest table, thus winning the trust of the guests and thus winning the business. There is also a "flame shrimp" that operates directly on the desktop and so on. All of the above is to stimulate the hearing, vision and touch of guests by changing the cooking form, using sound, fire and ice to produce a new and peculiar effect, thus becoming a feature of dishes. Another method is to start with the study of cooking techniques and make dishes special with unique cooking methods. For example, the cold pot chef of Sheshan Forest Hotel in Shanghai skillfully brewed pine eggs and salted duck eggs to make a unique "special double yellow egg", which amazed the guests and won the gold medal in the municipal competition. Eating Chinese food in the west is also one of the typical ways to create special dishes. For example, the Wuxi Roast Duck Restaurant in Jiangsu changed the traditional practice of sliced duck with bread, and stacked the sliced duck with lettuce, mango slices, bread and Kraft wonderful sauce to cook it into a "Xiangmang sliced duck" which is eaten in the west, and achieved strange results; The chef of Sheshan Forest Hotel in Shanghai put the sliced mandarin fish, mango slices and crispy noodles with Thousand Island Juice in the oven, and then put lettuce on it, which became a Chinese and western "baked mandarin fish with fragrant mango crispy skin", which also achieved good results and won the second high score in the national freshwater fish cooking competition. Third, pay attention to taste characteristics. When people travel on business trips to other places, they always have to taste the local specialties, and local guests like them, because they have been used to eating since childhood. The formation of specific tastes is related to geographical, climatic and cultural customs of the region, and it takes a long time to form, which is difficult to change. If there is no pepper in several dishes, people in central and southwest areas such as Sichuan can't stand it. Northerners can't stand eating garlic all the time. There is also the sweetness in Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, the "bad smell" in Ningbo and so on. Therefore, when creating dishes, we should keep these specific local tastes, otherwise foreign guests will not recognize them and local guests will not like them. For example, in a restaurant in Hefei, Anhui Province, Guangdong chefs were hired to take charge of the kitchen. The chef's skill is very good, and the dishes are also good, but the local guests don't like them. Later, the operator had to change the chef. It turns out that local guests are used to eating Anhui dishes, and they have already developed a strong and spicy taste. However, although the dishes cooked by Guangdong chefs are good in color and shape, the guests like them, but they are not used to them because of the light taste of the dishes. So the next batch of chefs learned their lesson. They kept the advantages of Cantonese cuisine in color and shape, improved the light taste, and blended the taste into the flavor type that local guests were used to. As a result, they were greatly welcomed by local guests. Another example is jiaozi, where northerners like to eat leek stuffing, while Jiangnan people like to eat shepherd's purse. Therefore, when creating special dishes, we must pay attention to the taste characteristics of guests in this area. Fourth, launch a series of varieties When a special dish is successfully created, it is necessary to extend the characteristics of the dish into a series of dishes with the help of the reputation of the dish to form a brand effect. For example, after the creation of "Sheshan Bamboo Fragrant Meat" is successful, we can use the principle of this dish to create a series of bamboo-flavored dishes such as "Bamboo Fragrant Fish" and "Bamboo Fragrant Chicken". Another example is that after the success of "Spicy Crab", which was popular in the south of the Yangtze River at that time, spicy series dishes such as "Spicy Shrimp" and "Spicy Fish" can be introduced while it is hot. Jiaozi of Shanghai Chang 'an Dumpling House has a variety of 108, and has also created dumpling banquets and so on. This gives guests a choice. For example, some guests like the cooking method and taste of "Sheshan Bamboo Fragrant Meat", but they don't eat meat. Then he can choose to eat "bamboo fragrant fish", "bamboo fragrant chicken" and so on. Another example is that guests like the flavor of "spicy crab" but don't like crabs. Then he can choose to eat "spicy shrimp", "spicy whip bamboo shoots" and so on. Fifth, skillfully match the dish container. When creating special dishes, you can also use utensils to brand. If some restaurants want to play a brand of soup, they will put a big urn in the shop. The urn is filled with this soup and accompanied by the instructions for making it. This urn is the brand image of soup. Some dishes are directly named after the name of the vessel, such as "casserole fish head", "bad bowl head", "pot beef brisket", "steamed shrimp with sliced slices", "bamboo rice" and so on. There are also restaurants named after utensils, such as red mud casserole. Now all kinds of special-shaped pots, folk coarse pottery, artistic vessels and pictographic vessels are very popular, which also shows that chefs also attach great importance to using vessels to create special dishes. If the utensils are selected, the characteristics of the dishes can be highlighted, such as "pot bass" in fish-shaped pots, "clear soup and fish balls" in glassware, and "Buddha jumping wall" in a bowl with a statue of the Buddha's head. The use of these utensils can fully show the theme, shape and color of the dishes. Sixth, create allusions to side dishes. Traditional special dishes generally have some allusions and legends, which makes the dishes more legendary and allows guests to enjoy the culture while tasting these dishes. Therefore, when chefs create special dishes, don't forget to dig up the corresponding allusions, legends and cultural backgrounds of these dishes, and sort them out or rewrite them. For example, in the special dish "Shrimp with Sheshan Tea" created by us, there is a legend about Sheshan tea; The special dish "Sheshan Bamboo Fragrant Meat" contains allusions about Emperor Kangxi and orchid bamboo shoots. If there are no allusions and legends, explain the characteristics of raw materials, cooking characteristics and nutrition knowledge. If there is no story to tell about the dish "Special Double Yellow Eggs", we will start with the cooking characteristics, let the guests guess its making method first, and then explain the secret of cooking when the guests are excited to guess, so that the guests can not only taste the special dish, but also get the way to make it, so the food interest is greatly increased. Similarly, there is no allusion to the snack "steamed corn dumplings". Because the shape of the snack is corn and the stuffing is also made of corn, we will explain its raw material characteristics and nutritional value. At the same time, it also enables guests to taste this snack and gain food nutrition knowledge. At the same time, the guests will also spread these special dishes and make free advertisements for you. Sometimes, we can use the local cultural background to create special dishes. For example, we use the western religious culture of the Notre Dame Hall in Sheshan as the background to create a series of special dishes that Chinese food is eaten in the west and western food is eaten in the west. Such as "pineapple steamed duck clip", "baked mandarin fish with crispy skin", "sweet potato egg tart" and so on. Seven, keep up with the food fashion to create special dishes should also be consistent with the food fashion in society. For example, in the past, people's living standards were low, and they wanted food and clothing. At this time, the dishes were full of oil and heavy taste. Later, public funds were used to eat and drink more, and it was required to eat well. At that time, the dishes paid attention to high-grade raw materials, seafood and turtles. Now that people's living standards have improved, they pay more attention to nutrition and health care, so they pay attention to the use of green food, which is low in sugar, sodium, fat and protein. Therefore, the current special dishes should be designed and created according to modern food fashion to meet the dietary needs of modern people. For example, our special dish "Yuanyangsu Wonton" is made of pumpkin and wax gourd, and stuffed with wild shepherd's purse and free-range grass chicken. Because it meets the requirements of current food fashion and has beautiful shape, this dish has been greatly welcomed by guests as soon as it is launched. Then there are the popular "farm dishes" around the country. Although their cooking methods and tastes are very common, it is because the raw materials used are all planted and raised by themselves, which are fresh and pollution-free. Moreover, it is dining in farmers' homes, with a strong local flavor. It caters to the modern popular diet fashion of returning to natural nutrition and health care. Therefore, it is also welcomed by people and becomes a feature. Another example is the popular wild mushroom dishes, aloe dishes and saffron dishes, which are developed to meet the needs of modern people's diet fashion. Eight, adhere to the quality first to create special dishes. It is also important to maintain the quality of special dishes. It takes some time to create a brand, so that guests can understand and identify it. During this time, the dish can always maintain its quality, and it must not be time-lagged, so that it can become a real brand dish. Therefore, we should pay attention to the collection, sorting and archiving of various materials of special dishes, and make quantitative determination of them, and formulate standard recipes and standardized operating procedures to ensure the quality of special dishes. Restaurant managers should establish a strict quality management system, from the incoming of raw materials to the production of dishes, and strictly manage them at all levels. Otherwise, no matter how creative the dishes are, they will not succeed. Nine, pay attention to advertising. After the creation of the special dish, it is still not successful. It needs to be publicized to let the guests know about it. In the past, "the smell of wine is not afraid of the depth of the alley", but now it is "good wine must be shouted". Because of the fierce market competition, many hotels have opened in the alley, and the alley mouth is also crowded with wine stalls. The aroma of your wine has long been concealed by other alcohol. If you want to succeed, you must put billboards in the alley mouth, let your buddies shout, and even go door to door to promote sales. Otherwise, no matter how good your wine is, the guests don't know, and they can't come in to buy it. Therefore, after the creation of special dishes, we should make full use of all the media to publicize and introduce them, and also decorate and publicize them in various places in the store to recommend them to guests.