Why is the old craft lost?

Where exactly is the inheritance of the old brand in the road? The reporter investigated and found that the fact that is now in front of us is that the old enterprises in the "master" superb craft heritage more and more difficult. Because the work is too hard too tired, low income, in the old food production force, young power to assume the main role of the situation is becoming less and less, there are many old "masters" are not willing to teach their craft.

High threshold of the old craft

In the kitchen of the long-established catering company Hong Changxing, Master Li, who has been in the business for 30 years, is performing a "masterpiece": rolling out the dough, wrapping the meat filling, using the thumb as a fulcrum, and the index finger and middle finger working together in tandem, wrapping it up into a circle, and in just three seconds, the beginnings of a beef omelette are complete and standing in the palm of your hand. The first time I've ever seen a beef bun, I've seen a beef bun in the palm of my hand.

Master Li said, he began at the age of 15 to do apprenticeship, do beef fried bread on the water temperature, ingredients, crust have to pay attention to, take and noodles, the need to alternate between hot and cold water repeatedly poured into a large pot, and then through the fingers to test the temperature of the water, "there is no specific standard, according to the air temperature to control the temperature of the water, such as the weather, 50 ℃ or so on the can! ".

At the butterfly pastry skills competition, pastry chefs from Shanghai's long-established catering companies such as Apricot Tower are also showing off their skills. Zhou Zhigang, senior technician of Shanghai pastry, said that as a typical representative of Shanghai pastry, butterfly pastry has high requirements for technical process: "Even the most experienced masters can't guarantee the clarity of the texture level of the final product before it comes out of the oven."

Many young apprentices quit halfway through the process

The working environment is one of the dilemmas of passing down the old craft, and many masters have lamented, "Few people are willing to do this now, it's too hard."

Hong Changxing's staff said the backroom masters start working at 10 a.m. every day and finish at 2 p.m. After a two-hour break, they continue at 5 p.m. and work until 8 p.m. Many young apprentices are willing to come into the old school to learn when they have zero foundation, "but after a long time, they can't take the pain, and many of them have left."

The old boss Chang's confectionery chef Miao said, every day in the kitchen to stay seven or eight hours, once busy even have no time to look at the phone, and such working hours and workload of only 4,000 yuan per month, "in Shanghai, I think the income is a little low." Master Miao said.

Learning a skill is never an overnight task

A small fried bun and a butterfly pastry may be the result of the experience of several generations of artisans who have worked tirelessly on them. To touch the essence of these old snacks is not something that can be done overnight.

Zhou Zhigang said it would take at least eight years to master the art of butterfly pastry making: "A new apprentice would take three years to wipe the dishes."

Master Li of Hong Changxing said that according to industry regulations, masters with apprentices, from inheritance, help to teach, every aspect of the craft requires 3 years to let the basic maturity, and this "maturity" is only the apprentice can operate independently of some of the basic things for the apprentice, 3 years to learn are the basics! The first is to learn the basics, not the essence of the old-fashioned food production.

Some masters do not want to teach

Shanghai Chinese old enterprise association vice president Shao Yuling said that the city **** there are 180 "Chinese old" enterprises, of which "Shanghai old" 42, but dozens of old face a ****. Dozens of old brands face a **** the same problem: some masters are not willing to continue to pass on the craft, leading to the old craft heritage has become more and more difficult.

Reporter interviews found that many of the food production process of the old catering has been gradually transitioned from manual to fully automated equipment, take the most commonly used flour, for example, and flour, open the surface of the process has been the use of machines instead of manual. Master Miao said, for many old masters, the difference between machines and manual labor always exists, "in making things, although people will not be as uniform as the machine, but the machine will not be as meticulous as the manual craftsmanship."