Wang Jianye stood in front of his office window, his eyes fixed on the bustling street below. Crowds of people were surging, cars were flowing, and the shops on the street were bustling. His eyes scanned back and forth in this prosperous scene, and suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind: hold a food festival to showcase the hotel’s unique Korean-Singapore fusion cuisine and use it to increase the hotel’s popularity.

As soon as this thought came to him, he immediately turned around, strode to his desk, reached out and quickly dialed Chen Yu’s number. After the call was connected, he said briefly and forcefully: “Chen Yu, come to my office.” After that, he hung up the phone and waited quietly.

Not long after, the office door was hastily pushed open, and Chen Yu walked in quickly. He was panting slightly, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and it was obvious that he had been jogging all the way. Wang Jianye looked at him and said straight to the point: “Xiao Chen, I want to hold a food festival to showcase our hotel’s Korean-Singapore fusion cuisine and increase its popularity. What do you think?”

After hearing this, Chen Yu’s eyes lit up instantly and he said excitedly: “Boss Wang, this is a great idea! But if you want to make it a success, you have to put a lot of effort into publicity and planning.”

“That’s right. You are now responsible for the promotion. Invite the media and food bloggers, and make the event as loud as possible so that the whole city will know about our food festival.” Wang Jianye said as he patted Chen Yu on the shoulder.

“Okay, Mr. Wang, I’ll arrange it right away.” Chen Yu responded, turned around and walked out of the office quickly, quickly diving into the intense preparatory work.

In the following days, Chen Yu was busy like a spinning top. He sat in front of a desk piled with documents, holding the phone tightly in his left hand and flipping through the documents with his right hand. The documents on the desk made a rustling sound. “Hello, are you a local media? Our Wang’s All-in-One Hotel is about to hold a grand Korean-Singaporean Fusion Food Festival. We would like to invite your media to report. There will not only be a wonderful cooking show, but also authentic Korean and Singaporean fusion cuisine. It is definitely not to be missed…”

“Hello, I’m Chen Yu from Wang’s All-in-One Hotel. I’d like to invite you to our food festival. There are not only a variety of delicious foods at the event, but you can also communicate with the chefs face to face and share the stories behind the food…” After the call, he immediately got together with the design team to discuss the production of promotional posters and event brochures. “The color of this poster should be brighter to highlight the characteristics of our Korean-Singapore fusion.” “Adjust the layout of the event brochure to put the key dishes and event process in a prominent position.” He carefully considered every pattern and every paragraph, revised it repeatedly, and strived to achieve perfection.

Meanwhile, Master Li was also very busy in the kitchen. Wearing an apron and holding a spatula, he repeatedly practiced making signature dishes in front of the stove. “Xiao Wang, bring me that bottle of special sauce.” Master Li called to his assistant Xiao Wang while stirring the ingredients in the pot. He skillfully poured the sauce into the pot, and a rich aroma instantly rose from the pot. “Master, which signature dishes will we feature at this food festival?” Xiao Wang asked curiously while handing over the sauce.

“We’ll make Korean BBQ, Singaporean chili crab, and our newly developed kimchi seafood fried rice our main dishes.” Chef Li answered while cutting the ingredients without even looking up, “These dishes best reflect the characteristics of our Korean-Singapore fusion. We must make them the best so that customers will never forget them once they have tasted them.” As he spoke, he picked up another piece of pork belly, expertly cut it into thin slices, and put it into the hot pot. With a “sizzling” sound, the aroma of meat instantly filled the entire kitchen.

On the day of the food festival, the entrance of the hotel was bustling with activity. A huge banner was hung high, with yellow characters on a red background that was very eye-catching: “Wang’s All-Series Hotel Korean-Singapore Fusion Food Festival”. Well-designed promotional posters were placed on both sides of the entrance, attracting passers-by. Many people stopped to watch, and some took out their mobile phones to take pictures. Media reporters arrived at the scene early. They skillfully set up cameras and cameras, debugged the equipment, and prepared to record every wonderful moment of this food feast. Food bloggers also arrived one after another. They were dressed fashionably, holding mobile phones in their hands to take pictures everywhere, and gathered together from time to time to communicate with each other and share their expectations for this food festival.

Chen Yu stood at the door with a warm smile on his face, welcoming guests from all sides and saying hello: “Welcome, welcome, please come in. We have prepared a lot of delicious food today, and I’m sure you will enjoy a feast!” As he spoke, he guided the guests in and answered their questions from time to time. “What is the process of the event?” “What special foods are there at the food festival?” Chen Yu patiently answered these questions one by one.

At the beginning of the activity, Master Li, wearing a clean white chef’s uniform, stood in front of a specially made cooking table in high spirits. Various fresh ingredients and brand-new cooking tools were placed beside him. Under the light, he looked extremely professional. He picked up a piece of fresh pork belly and skillfully cut it into thin slices. His movements were smooth and natural, as if he was performing an art performance. Then, he put the meat slices into the hot pot. A “sizzling” sound instantly sounded, and the aroma of meat spread, which attracted a burst of amazement from the audience.

“Look, this is how we make Korean barbecue. We use top-quality pork belly and marinate it with our special sauce. This sauce is our secret recipe, which combines the flavor of traditional Korean sauces with the unique spices of Singapore, and has a unique taste…” Master Li was operating and explaining at the same time, and the audience listened with gusto, watching his every move intently. Some audience members took notebooks and carefully recorded the production steps; some audience members kept taking pictures, wanting to record this wonderful moment. A food blogger held up his mobile phone and said excitedly to the camera: “Family, look, Master Li’s cooking skills are so amazing, the aroma of this barbecue has wafted over, and I can hardly bear it. I must eat a few more pieces later!”

However, as time went on, problems gradually emerged. The originally expected customer flow was far lower than the actual number of people who showed up. The restaurant was packed with people, and the crowds were shoulder to shoulder. The waiters had a hard time shuttling through the crowds to serve food and drinks to customers. “Excuse me, please.” “Please make way.” The waiters said as they carefully carried the plates, fearing that a drop of soup would be spilled.

“Waiter, why hasn’t my dish been served yet? I’ve been waiting for a long time!” a customer shouted, frowning.

“Sorry, I’ll be right there. I’m really sorry. There are too many people today. Please wait a moment.” The waiter Xiao Yang apologized while quickening his pace and running towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Chef Li and other chefs were busy and sweating. Their foreheads were covered with beads of sweat, which kept sliding down their cheeks, and their chef uniforms were also soaked with sweat. The speed of consumption of ingredients was much faster than expected, and some ingredients were about to run out.

“Master, the chili crabs are almost gone.” Xiao Wang ran over anxiously and said loudly.

“Cook the remaining crabs first. I’ll contact the supplier right away and ask them to send another batch over.” Chef Li instructed as he stir-fried the food in the pot, “Hurry up and don’t keep the customers waiting too long.”

Chen Yu also noticed the chaos at the scene, and he quickly called all the waiters together for an emergency meeting in a corner. “Listen everyone, there are too many people now, and our service and food supply are a bit slow. Everyone must stay calm and give priority to customers with special needs, such as the elderly, children and pregnant women. For other customers, try to calm them down and explain patiently.” Chen Yu said with a serious look and a firm tone.

“Manager Chen, we will do our best.” The waiters responded one after another, their eyes revealing determination. At this time, a media reporter came over and said to Chen Yu: “Manager Chen, the scene seems a bit chaotic now. Will this affect the effect of the event?”

Chen Yu smiled and replied: “Thank you very much for your attention. Today’s passenger flow is indeed far beyond our expectations, but our team is urgently making arrangements and will ensure that the event goes smoothly and everyone is satisfied. Don’t worry, we are confident that we can solve these problems.”

Master Li called the supplier in the kitchen: “Hello, is this Lao Zhang? I’m Master Li from Wang’s All-Inclusive Restaurant. Please send another 20 kilograms of crabs over here. They must be alive. Hurry! There are too many people here today, and we’ll soon run out of crabs.”

“Okay, Master Li, I’ll arrange for someone to deliver it right away. It should arrive in half an hour.” The supplier replied.

With everyone’s joint efforts, the service gradually returned to normal, and new ingredients were delivered in time. Master Li and the chefs worked faster, and delicious dishes were served on the table. “This barbecue is so delicious, the sauce tastes just right, with a moderate sweetness and saltiness, and a unique fragrance.” A customer ate the barbecue and praised it.

“Yes, this Singapore chili crab is also very authentic, the crab meat is tender and juicy, the sauce is rich and mellow, and the taste is no worse than what we eat in Singapore.” Another customer echoed.

The food festival lasted a whole day. Although there were some minor incidents in the middle, it ended successfully. After the event, Chen Yu and Master Li stood at the door of the restaurant and breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the crowd gradually disperse.

“Although this event had some twists and turns, it was generally a success.” Chen Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile.

“Yes, thanks to everyone’s efforts.” Master Li nodded in agreement, “But this time we also saw some problems. Next time we hold an event, we must make better preparations in advance.”

“That’s right. We need to learn from our experience and do a better job next time.” Chen Yu said, “This food festival has increased the popularity of our restaurant. Next, we need to build on our success and launch more new dishes to attract more customers.”

As they talked, the two walked into the restaurant and began to discuss the next plan. At this time, the hotel staff were also busy cleaning up the venue. Although everyone was very tired, their faces were filled with the joy of success. This food festival not only allowed customers to taste the delicious Korean-Singapore fusion cuisine, but also allowed Wang’s full-line hotels to emerge in the catering industry and lay a solid foundation for future development.

……

As the food festival came to a successful conclusion, media reports and food bloggers’ sharing spread widely on the Internet like a spark. With exquisite pictures and text reports and wonderful video sharing, the names of Wang’s restaurants have frequently appeared in the public eye, and their popularity has increased sharply. Wang Jianye sat in his office, staring at the computer screen, which was full of netizens’ praise for the restaurant and the rising customer flow data. Looking at these, his tense face finally showed a satisfied smile, but he knew in his heart that this was just the beginning, and there were countless challenges and opportunities waiting ahead in the future.

Therefore, Wang Jianye once again called together core team members including Chen Yu and Master Li to sit together in the conference room. The lights in the conference room were bright, and everyone’s faces were still tired after the busy food festival, but their eyes were full of expectations for the future.

Wang Jianye spoke first, his voice steady and powerful: “Our restaurant has been a great success at this food festival, and more people have learned about our Korean-Singapore fusion cuisine. However, a lot of problems have been exposed. Let’s all talk about it. We need to sum up our experience and make full preparations for the next event.”

Chen Yu leaned forward and said seriously, “Boss Wang, I think we must do a good job of preparation for the next event. For example, this time, the customer flow far exceeded our expectations, and the service and food supply could not keep up, which greatly affected the customer experience. Next time, we must find a professional market research team to accurately estimate the customer flow, and the food reserves must also be prepared according to the maximum customer flow. We can’t let this kind of mistake happen again.”

Chef Li continued to speak, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose: “Yes, I’ve also been thinking about it. During the event, customers gave us a lot of feedback. For example, the taste and portion of some dishes need to be improved. We need to adjust and improve the dishes based on this feedback to make customers more satisfied.”

At this time, Xiao Zhao, who is in charge of marketing, couldn’t help but interrupt: “I think we can develop some peripheral products limited to the food festival, such as special sauces. If customers eat our dishes and find them delicious, they can buy the sauces and make them themselves at home, which can also help us promote the brand. We can also develop aprons with our restaurant logo and the food festival logo printed on them. When customers wear them outside, they will become living advertisements.”

Xiao Qian, the operations manager sitting next to him, also agreed, “This is a good idea. In addition, I think we can cooperate with surrounding businesses to launch joint promotions. For example, we can cooperate with the movie theater next door. If you spend a certain amount of money in our restaurant, you can get a discount coupon for the movie theater. Or we can cooperate with nearby cafes to launch joint packages. By attracting traffic from each other, we will definitely attract more customers.”

Everyone was talking at once, the discussion was in full swing, and the conference room was full of sparks of thought. Wang Jianye listened carefully to everyone’s speech, nodded from time to time to show his approval, and quickly wrote down the key points in his notebook. He knew in his heart that a successful enterprise is like sailing against the current. If you don’t move forward, you will fall behind. Only by continuous innovation and progress can you remain invincible in the fierce market competition. (End of this chapter)