Food Intelligence King

Chapter 159 Walls Have Ears; Small Portion Dishes Prepared

When Chen Zhou went to the farmers' market in the afternoon, he ran into Lao Zhang and chatted with him for a while.

Chen Zhou joked, "Hey, Uncle Zhang, you've been pretty busy lately. I haven't seen you much while you were delivering goods! I've been missing you a little."

"It's kind of you to remember me, brother," Old Zhang grinned. "I was just thinking about setting up another stall."

"So, what's the new location in mind?" Chen Zhou asked.

"I have no clue," Old Zhang scratched his head. "I'm still the one who spends money the most."

The older brother lost his father's business in futures trading and now understands the hardships his father endured.

Chen Zhou encouraged him, "It's getting better slowly, isn't it? You'll be fine."

"Thank you very much." Old Zhang nodded to Chen Zhou with a deep look in his eyes.

Having bought meat from him for so long, Zhang Jinsheng has gained a lot of trust and recognition.

Have you considered a harmonious farmers' market?

Old Zhang thought for a moment, "The place is nice, but I've never been there before."

Chen Zhou smiled:

"The young man who came to our store, his family used to rent a shop in the Harmony Vegetable Market, and they are planning to sell it."

"Besides, I know someone there, a kind-hearted lady who sells spices. She can ask around for you."

Old Zhang said happily, "This is great."

Chen Zhou didn't make any definitive statements, "This is just for your reference; you'll have to study it carefully."

“That makes sense,” Old Zhang then asked:
"I see you've hired a young man for your shop. Does that mean you're planning to expand your business?"

Chen Zhou replied, "I'm planning to try making smaller portions of dishes at lunchtime, similar to boxed meals, and sell them at the restaurant."

Old Zhang is somewhat of a restaurateur; he analyzes things more from the customer's perspective.

"If I were alone, I would be happy to eat at a restaurant like this, order a few dishes, and try a variety of things."

"Besides, eating here gives me peace of mind; it's much more reliable than eating at roadside stalls."

The conversation between the two ended with a familiar exchange of business compliments.

When we get home for dinner in the evening, it's time for a family meeting.

The proprietress carefully recalled the dishes she had recently made for Chen Zhou.

"Boiled prawns, crab roe soup dumplings, stewed pork ribs, braised pork tail and winter melon meatball soup."

Many of these recipes were obtained from people around us, but they had never actually been served in the community canteen.

Ms. Lin's information was even clearer than Chen Zhou's on the system.

"You don't have a little notebook here, do you?" Chen Zhou joked.

Ms. Lin rolled her eyes at her husband: "Hmph."

Although my wife was sometimes absent from running the business, she was always quietly watching over me and my little shop.

Keep these things in mind.

Even her seemingly indifferent account was always used to drive traffic to Chen Zhou's store.

Of course, Ms. Lin would not say these things unless she was drunk.

"How's the braised eggplant today?" Chen Zhou asked her.

"It tastes pretty good."

0.5 has been received; Chen Zhou just wants to hear his wife say it herself.

However, despite Ms. Lin's extensive comments, he felt that the focus of offering smaller portions should first be on a simple lunch.

The core principle is to offer affordable dishes with a relatively wide selection and just the right portion size.

If the portion is small, adding two large shrimp and a piece of pig's tail is probably within an acceptable range.

I'll have to watch it slowly later.

The couple sat opposite each other, and Chen Taotao listened intently the whole time.

But it would definitely take Chen Taotao a bit of effort to describe all the delicious things her father had made.

She remembered her signature dish:

"Dad, don't put green chili peppers in the scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

Chen Zhou smiled and said, "Okay, this must be added."

After listening to her father's words, Chen Taotao was puzzled for a moment, unsure whether to add it or not.

Chen Zhou explained to her, "It's essential to add it to the scrambled eggs with tomatoes." Chen Taotao nodded, "Absolutely!"

There are no fixed rules for eating; what suits one's taste is precious.

The question of whether or not to include green peppers reminded Chen Zhou that the dishes needed to be adjusted according to the local people's tastes.

After initial research, Chen Zhou decided on the following initial menu items for the community canteen's smaller portions:

Stir-fried eggs with tomatoes, shredded potatoes, braised pork, and braised eggplant.

It wasn't a particularly rich meal, but it was good with rice and easy to prepare in the kitchen. The braised pork was even ready-made.

We chose winter melon and meatball soup.

The shop also has loofah and egg soup, which you can also make use of.

Of course, there are also Ms. Lin's favorite cold dishes, which Chen Zhou mixes himself at the store.

The next issue is pricing.

Separating meat and vegetables and calculating by quantity is the most transparent approach, and this requires someone to be specifically responsible for this task.

Furthermore, the tableware in the store no longer meets the requirements.

A large plate for holding steamed buns is definitely not suitable.

Ideally, they should have compartments for easy portioning of the food. Otherwise, the flavors will mix.

We also need to consider this when packaging.

Therefore, we need to purchase a batch of tableware.

Another issue is the kitchen layout. Currently, the layout is designed to facilitate the serving of steamed buns.

When customers are allowed to choose their own dishes, they should at least be able to see what dishes are available.

Just thinking about it briefly, there are quite a few things to consider when launching smaller portions.

Ms. Lin really did have a small notebook, and she helped write it down.

"Um""

She handed the notebook to her husband.

Chen Zhou glanced through it; it was a whole page of to-do items.

It's not a job that can be done in just one or two days.

We still need to do some preliminary customer research.

Once everything is almost ready, we should also post it in the owners' group and see what the feedback is.

Online promotion was left to Ren Danruju.

When the topic of the video account came up, Ms. Lin said to her husband:

"Teacher Li on the Internet | Starting Anew, he followed me and has millions of followers."

Ms. Lin was slightly surprised when she first saw this post.

Chen Zhou smiled and said, "That's great."

The next day, the community canteen did the same business as usual.

The initial preparations for the smaller portions are underway. Chen Zhou has delegated the tasks that can be assigned to three employees.

The girl next door, Zhang Jing, mentioned in this customer update, also came to eat today.

She came all the way from home this time.

There was no need for my junior sister to send a telegram.

It just so happened that Lao Meng and Tony, who were neighbors at the community canteen, were also eating at the restaurant, and the group chatted with Zhang Jing for a few minutes.

There was a sense of reluctance to part.

Thinking that once she leaves her job, I might not be able to see this girl often anymore.

Chen Zhou also asked the two of them directly about his doubts.

"If Xiao Zhao knocks from this side, can you hear it in the next room?"

The junior sister looked at Zhang Jing and said, "She said it's okay."

Zhang Jing nodded:
“This wall was filled in later; you can hear it if you knock on it next door.”

Chen Zhou: "Oh, is that so?"
-
"Yes, only the rental and sales center and your store are like this."

After hearing Zhang Jing's explanation, Lao Meng stopped knocking on the wall.

(End of this chapter)