From a celebrity chef in Beijing to the chairman of a catering group and the "best hand" of many fine catering brands, what is special about his experience and thinking?
This article was originally published by Red Meal Network (ID: Hongcan18), author: He Peiling, editor: Hong Jun.
On the second floor of Beijing Zhongxiu Building, there are two restaurants with very different styles - Xin Shijiu and Xin Jingxi, the former focuses on the inclusive and new Beijing cuisine, and the latter is the hot and trendy Beijing hot pot, both restaurants are from the same hand - Duan Yu, the founder of "New Beijing Cuisine" and chairman of Jingyu Restaurant Group.
In the second half of this year, Red Meal Network met Duan Yu in the new Shijiu Zhongxiu Building store, compared with the life stage of "Chef Duan Yu" in the past, Duan Yu now has a lot of new burdens - Xinshijiu, Xinjingxi, Jingyun and Shanchuan, these brands have been created and personally managed by him in the past three years.
In the catering industry, it is rare to find chefs with first-class cooking skills and brand management capabilities at the same time, and therefore, Duan Yu has been highly regarded by the industry in recent years, and Chen Xiaoqing, the chief director of "A Bite of China", and Dong Keping, the consultant, have praised him.
The dual identity of chef and brand manager, which one does Duan Yu focus more on?
When talking about his recent work, Duan Yu said that his day's work schedule is relatively simple, if he is not on business, after a morning meeting in the office, he will go to the restaurant to patrol the restaurant, and stay in the restaurant all day. "I don't try the food when the restaurant is busy, and I try the food when they're done. Every day, every year, I do that. ”
When talking about his current working status, Duan Yu's tone reveals a sense of composure and self-consistency, "Along the way in catering, each brand I manage has gradually found its own way of expression. ”
Five ventures, three "white tosses".
A celebrity chef in Beijing turned into the chairman of a restaurant group
As the "boss" of the catering group, why shouldn't Duan Yu shake his hands and take charge of the shop?
Duan Yu said that he was a chef and had the experience of letting others take care of the restaurant on his behalf in the past, but the business failed, so when he left the high-end hotel and started his business again, he established the quality of production as the core of his brand.
I have had four entrepreneurial experiences before, the first three were my own 'toss', selling breakfast, opening fast food restaurants, opening sheep and scorpion hot pot restaurants, among which the ** pot shop was handed over to my wife to take care of, I went to work while guiding from the side, but the store closed down in less than a year. ”
The fourth venture was in 2016, when Duan Yu took the initiative to bid farewell to the five-star hotel where he was the executive chef, and went all out to prepare for the fine dining brand Shijiu, officially transforming from a chef to a restaurant operator.
Duan Yu didn't dwell too much on it at the time, "Opening your own restaurant is every chef's dream. ”
Since 2019, Duan Yu has chosen to start again and start his fifth business and founded Beijing Jingyu Catering Management *** hereinafter referred to as Jingyu Company). Soon after the establishment of the company, new Jingxi, Jingyi Hanlin Academy, Xinshijiu, Shanchuan and other brands were launched one after another.
The new Jingxi focuses on the old Beijing shabu hot pot;Relying on Beijing's urban culture, Jingcheng focuses on courtyard dining and government cuisineBased on Jinglu cuisine and Beijing's cultural heritage, Xinshijiu focuses on the integration and innovation of new Beijing cuisineShanchuan focuses on new Sichuan cuisine.
With creative menus, chic décor and sophisticated management experience, several new brands have quickly made a name for themselves in the fine dining market. With a per capita consumption of 2,000 yuan, the Beijing Hanlin Academy won the honor of being a one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Beijing in just one year.
In September last year, just a few days after the opening of the first store in Chengdu, Xinshijiu was selected as a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chengdu. Duan Yu said bluntly: "It is a bit surprising that Xin Shijiu quickly became on the list. This also made me realize that outside of the first-tier cities, there is still a broad market space in the fine dining market. ”
Based on this discovery, Duan Yu also has a new plan and thinking about its brands. "There is still a demand for fine dining in new first-tier and second-tier cities, so several brands under Jingyu will also go to more new first-tier and second-tier cities in the future to bring quality lifestyles to more new middle-class groups. ”
To do niche business, there must be "new" meaning
When mentioning the development essence of several brands, Duan Yu has been emphasizing one word - "new".
It is necessary to create new products with new catering concepts and expressions, and combine them with humanistic trends in the new era to bring a beautiful lifestyle to more people who pay attention to the quality of life. ”
In his opinion, several of his brands are not a popular business, but a niche business for fine dining consumers, so there must be "new" meaning.
How can I be innovative?Specifically, the brand should achieve a unique style in terms of products, services, drinks, scenes, aesthetics, etc., and fit or even lead the lifestyle of the city's new middle class and urban nouveau riche. At the same time, it is also necessary to form differentiation between multiple brands and meet the needs of consumer groups in echelons.
For the group of the new middle class in the city, Duan Yu believes that there is a type of consumer group that needs to socialize from time to time, their own age is relatively young, and the taste of the production and environment is not low, and they need a place that can show their own taste and show the humanistic atmosphere of the city when they entertain foreign friends and guests. "For example, the target customers of Jingcheng Hanlin Academy are those who want to take their friends to eat a good meal of Beijing cuisine and understand the culture of Beijing courtyard. ”
In terms of price, it can also be seen that Duan Yu adopts a gradient strategic design for its brands. For example, the three main brands of Xinjingxi, Xinshijiu and Jingyi, the unit price of customers is 180-300 yuan, 300-400 yuan, and 1000-2000 yuan, and the tonality is also divided into three different echelons according to business attributes, humanities and arts, and urban humanities.
Duan Yu believes that the model of multi-brand development in echelons will be more flexible at the tactical level, and can be targeted according to the different characteristics of each city and the stage of the enterprise.
For example, the new Jingxi has a higher unit value and is a pioneer brand in opening up new markets. For Xin Jingxi, Duan Yu's plan is "not too much in the essence", "In the past two or three years, Xin Jingxi will strive to become the head brand of the shabu meat category, and the single store effect must be very prominent." ”
"Jingmao currently has two stores in Beijing, and its store model is relatively 'heavy', opening in a courtyard house, which is not suitable for expansion. As a representative of modern government cuisine, we hope that it can play a role in consolidating the brand foundation and promoting cultural communication. ”
The new Shijiu is more like a foundation-like existence, carrying Duan Yu's original intention and dream, inheriting Beijing cuisine while integrating its own new expression. Based on tradition, make new dishes and balance the old with the new. In order to maintain the "new" meaning at all times, Xinjing cuisine is now co-creating with other brands, such as in 2021, Duan Yu joined hands with Weng Yongjun, the founder of Yongfu, to create persimmon Heyuan Xinjing cuisine, bringing Xinjing cuisine to Shanghai.
In the next step, Xinjing cuisine will go to Xi'an, Qingdao and other cities. ”
In addition to shabu hot pot, official cuisine, and Xinjing cuisine, Duan Yu is still trying more cuisines and more categories, "The main Sichuan cuisine will be our next main brand, and in addition, I want to return to my hometown cuisine next year and make a high-quality Yu cuisine brand." ”
Constantly learn Xi and improve aesthetic ability
If the brand development does not advance, it will retreat
After opening several brands and more than 20 stores, Duan Yu admitted frankly that the pressure on his shoulders was not small. "The pressure is mainly due to my requirements for my own learning Xi. ”
From rural Henan, from being a chef to a business, without resources and background, to this day, Duan Yu has been constantly learning and Xi, and he always warns himself that if he does not move forward, he may retreat.
And the Xi he refers to is not just about cooking. "To do fine dining, you must improve your artistic and aesthetic skills. There are many ways to learn Xi, such as reading more foreign art and design magazines and exhibitions, and then combining personal interests to create. ”
If you pay close attention, you will also find that Xin Shijiu, Jingyi Hanlin Academy, and Xin Jingxi have all incorporated Duan Yu's aesthetic preferences. For example, the patterns of the tables and chairs on the new cloth surface and the decorative patterns of some of the paintings in the dining room are all patterns with contrasting light and dark tones, which form a strong contrast with the overall modern and hard decoration with a lot of Bauhaus style furniture.
In the new Jingxi restaurant, a combination of tradition and modernity is also adopted, integrating elements such as Beijing shabu shabu-shabu, Peking opera and bars to construct a contrasting aesthetic.
From restaurant production to decoration design, Duan Yu's pursuit of beauty has silently infiltrated the development of several brands.
Write at the end
Internally, I'm mainly responsible for production, and another partner is responsible for managing operations. Duan Yu said.
The "production" in his mouth not only refers to the production of dishes, but also includes complex "production" such as restaurant positioning and aesthetic presentation, and the brands under Jingyu Group have incorporated many of Duan Yu's ideas and concepts.
The future is full of uncertainties, and the only thing I can be sure of is to manage each brand well, and let the market and the industry know that Duan Yu is a good chef. Duan Yu said. Kunpeng Project