How the "Black Pearl" was made

　　The Black Pearl restaurant was quickly recognized. On the one hand, it was due to the fact that the restaurant and its chefs practiced their internal skills and continued to innovate on the basis of inheritance, gaining more consumer recognition and recognition; and a good business environment.

　　"In the past three years, no Black Pearl restaurant has closed down, and many of them opened after November 2019. Even in 2022, when the situation at home and abroad is severe and complicated, the number of new Black Pearl restaurants on the list will reach 65 , a record high.” At the release site of the “2023 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide” held recently, Zhang Chuan, Senior Vice President of Meituan, revealed such a set of data.

On the one hand, this shows that the upgrading of catering consumption has solid support and has a strong ability to resist risks; on the other hand, it also proves that the value of good products and good services will eventually be recognized by the market.

　　The creation of each Black Pearl restaurant is a long-term and meticulous "slow effort".

At present, there are 304 Black Pearl restaurants across the country. How are these "pearls" selected by the Chinese themselves made?

　　backed by economic

　　Over the past period of time, one of the references for Chinese consumers to judge whether a restaurant is good or bad is the foreign "Michelin".

With the long-term improvement of my country's economy, domestic consumers have gradually shifted from being satisfied with "eat enough" to pursuing "eat well", giving birth to the "black pearl" of China's catering industry.

　　A large number of exquisite restaurants with Chinese characteristics have developed rapidly, covering more cities.

The Black Pearl restaurant, which focuses on consumption upgrades, came into being, which is closely related to the development of the regional economy.

As a well-known economic powerhouse in the country, Chaoyang District of Beijing has 26 Black Pearl restaurants on the list, ranking first among all districts in the country, accounting for 68% of the total number of restaurants in Beijing.

The economic "leader" Shanghai, as the vane of fine dining consumption, will have as many as 66 restaurants on the list in 2022, and 12 new restaurants will be on the list, making it the city with the most new restaurants in mainland China.

Chengdu has a total of 19 restaurants on the list, and it is the city with the fastest growth rate of new restaurants among the top 5 cities on the list, with a year-on-year growth rate of 150%.

This speed is in line with Chengdu's economic status of officially entering the "GDP2 trillion club" in 2022.

It can be said that every "Black Pearl" restaurant benefits from the strong local consumer demand, and every city where "Black Pearls" gather relies on the full support of the economic market.

　　On the sixth floor of the SKP shopping mall in Chaoyang District, Beijing, a Cantonese restaurant called "Beijing Kitchen" has impressed many diners and was successfully selected into the 2023 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide.

Gu Zhihui, the manager of the restaurant, told the reporter that the choice of the location in Chaoyang is due to the fashionable and strong commercial atmosphere here.

"The more economically developed and commercially active a place is, the more it can attract catering businesses to join. In the past two years, as Chinese people have higher and higher requirements for food safety and quality, it is obvious that consumers' enthusiasm for fine dining is growing. Improve. Cantonese cuisine has high seasonal requirements for ingredients, and we restore the original flavor of ingredients in our cooking concept, which is in line with the trend of consumers' healthy eating." Gu Zhihui said.

　　Catering consumption has always been one of the important windows to observe China's economy.

After the epidemic, catering was the first consumer industry to recover.

According to the data from the China Cuisine Association, from January 21 to January 27, 2023, the revenue of the catering companies surveyed increased by 24.7% year-on-year, which was an increase of 1.9% compared with the Spring Festival in 2019; passenger flow increased by 26% year-on-year, compared with the Spring Festival in 2019 Basically the same.

　　"We judge that Black Pearl will enter a growth period in the next five years." According to Zhang Chuan, this judgment comes not only from the growth curve of Black Pearl Restaurant itself, but also from confidence in the long-term stability of the Chinese economy.

　　Innovation explores more possibilities

　　Eating well does not mean eating expensively.

On the Dianping platform, some Black Pearl restaurants also sell a set meal for two for more than 300 yuan, which is not much different from ordinary restaurants.

The 2023 Black Pearl Restaurant Guide pointed out that the list of Black Pearl restaurants is going to the public. With the continuous innovation of restaurants, some local and niche tastes are gradually discovered.

　　Yuwaitan (BFC Bund Financial Center Branch), which specializes in Fujian cuisine, is one of the five diamond-enhancing restaurants this year.

In this restaurant, instead of simply steaming the Pippi shrimp, they are made into drunken shrimp, and the soft Lipu taro is baked with onion oil. A little creativity is welcomed by diners.

Wu Rong, the owner of the restaurant, said that consumers' enthusiasm for Fujian cuisine is heating up. Not only Fujianese who have worked hard outside come to find the taste of their hometown, but diners from all over the world also come to the restaurant to experience Fujian food culture.

　　The well-known restaurants attract consumers by adding a sense of ritual and enriching the experience.

At Da Dong, a Beijing restaurant famous for its roast duck, the chef makes on-site production, health and organicity a selling point.

　　"What impresses me most is the dining process. In addition to traditional roast duck, mushroom soup, meat dishes and even cold dishes, the chef cooks them on the spot, and also introduces the special cooking techniques of the ingredients." Li Yu, a consumer in Chaoyang District, Beijing, specially chooses the meal after the festival. This three diamond restaurant.

"The thing that surprised me the most is that the restaurant has now 'rolled' onto the water. Da Dong uses VOSS water for serving meals and cooking. I bought it in the supermarket, and a bottle costs more than 20 yuan. Big The chef uses this water to make mushroom soup, which is very delicious with just a little salt. Everyone likes this dish very much.”

　　"Chinese consumers are increasingly pursuing healthy diets. Many people prefer to drink healthy water and eat a light diet. After entering the Chinese market, our business has developed very fast." said Zhong Hao, head of the Chinese market of Voss, Voss It has been recommended by Black Pearl for two consecutive years. Among the 304 Black Pearl restaurants, about 100 have become partners of Foss, and the number is still expanding. Even some restaurants that have not been included in Black Pearls have begun to serve Foss water.

　　A bottle of water, a new seasoning, or even changing the cooking place, the food and beverage consumption has more possibilities.

Innovation has also become an indispensable "seasoning" in the Chinese catering industry, including Black Pearl Restaurant.

　　Joint efforts to promote consumption recovery

　　The "firework gas" curls up, and the "happiness flavor" rises.

The rapid recognition of the Black Pearl restaurant is due to the fact that the restaurant and its chefs have worked hard to improve their internal skills, and continue to innovate on the basis of inheritance, gaining more consumer awareness and recognition; Good business environment.

　　See the "big" of economic development from the "small" of diet.

In order to help the recovery of the catering industry, many places across the country issued special consumption coupons for catering and introduced measures to develop the night economy.

For example, the Shenzhen Municipal Government has continued to introduce a large gift package policy for catering support, issuing 100 million yuan in Spring Festival consumption vouchers in installments; Xinjiang has proposed to carry out urban business promotion actions to speed up the construction of the city's "15-minute" convenient living circle and promote the recovery of catering consumption.

　　As the venue of Black Pearl Catering this year, Chaoyang District in Beijing can be described as a typical representative of promoting catering consumption across the country.

This year's Black Pearl unveiling ceremony received high-profile advertising treatment - Beijing's Chaoyang District Government cast a huge light advertisement on the sightseeing tower of the Olympic Park, directly calling for the Black Pearl.

In recent years, Chaoyang District of Beijing has made every effort to create brand consumption on the tip of the tongue, forming a number of iconic activities such as "Jintai Market·CBD Coffee Youth Festival" and "Belt and Road International Food Carnival".

　　Increase support for the development of "Night Capital City" landmarks such as Sanlitun and China World Trade Center; encourage "Night Capital City" business districts such as Blue Harbor and World Trade Center to enrich consumption services such as catering and entertainment; introduce various high-quality catering enterprise brands to enrich nighttime consumption of food and beverages Supply... With the "Black Pearl" as the medium, Chaoyang District will continue to tap the vitality of nighttime economic catering.

Liu Jia, director of the Bureau of Commerce of Chaoyang District, Beijing, said that Chaoyang District will continue to create a number of "late night canteen" characteristic dining blocks, relying on themed light shows, night cultural tourism and sports activities, etc., to "light up" the night economy and activate the night consumption atmosphere.

　　"In the future, Chaoyang District will start the construction of Chaoyang food IP, and promote the first store of well-known food brands to settle in, select a group of food brands recognized by the market and loved by consumers, and launch a food consumption map; promote business innovation and product innovation, such as DIY experience in western food production , bakery workshop, research and development to add pre-made dishes and takeaway categories. In addition, we will also promote the successful experience of cooking robots in the Winter Olympics Village and innovate the business model of smart restaurants.” Liu Jia said.

　　The 10th edition of "Economic Daily" on February 25, 2023