Years of experience and refining his skills result in head of new restaurant being in Michelin's spotlight, Li Yingxue reports.

Chef Zeng Donghai is no stranger to receiving accolades from such as Michelin, Black Pearl and Forbes Travel Guide. For 14 years, he participated in building Jin Sha restaurant in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and helped it grow into a mainstay in the fine dining scene.

But stepping into the spotlight as executive chef of the Song Chinese restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel, Hangzhou Center, and receiving his own Michelin star was a novel experience for the 38-year-old. At last month's Michelin award ceremony in Hangzhou, Zeng found himself in the limelight for the first time.

Zeng joined the Song restaurant team last year to prepare for its opening. In less than a year, the restaurant earned Michelin recognition.

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"To receive a Michelin star so soon was a surprise. The starting point of this new restaurant is incredibly high," he says. "But the honor belongs to the whole team."

Achieving a Michelin star serves as both validation and motivation for Zeng and his team. While the accolade brings a surge of new guests eager to try the restaurant, it also accelerates its development pace.

"We hoped to take things slowly, one step at a time," Zeng reflects. "But now, after winning this award, we can't pause but must move forward."

The star is a testament to his years of hard work. Born in Xinyang, Henan province, Zeng spent his summer vacations in Hangzhou as a child, where he helped his parents run a breakfast stall. Later, when he decided to become a chef, he settled in Hangzhou, where he has lived for over 20 years.

In 2010, during Jin Sha's preparation phase, he joined the team and met Head Chef Wang Yong. Over the next 14 years, he grew alongside Wang, rising from kitchen supervisor to second-in-command chef, becoming Wang's trusted right-hand man.

Leading a team of 40, he helped maintain the restaurant's reputation through innovative dishes, consistent quality, and impeccable service. "Fine dining in Hangzhou is fiercely competitive," Zeng says. "The restaurant's success comes from innovating its signature dishes and delivering them at the perfect temperature."

Last year, the preparations for the new restaurant officially began, presenting him with the opportunity to manage a brand-new restaurant.

After consulting with Wang, Zeng chose to dedicate the new restaurant to Ningbo (Zhejiang province) cuisine. With extensive experience in broader Jiangsu province and Zhejiang styles, he narrowed his focus and deepened his expertise by exploring Ningbo's distinctive flavors and ingredient-driven approach.

Ningbo cuisine is renowned for highlighting the natural tastes of high-quality seafood and local produce, giving the dishes a subtle balance between simplicity and sophistication, according to Zeng.

Standing in Song's unfinished kitchen in May last year, his mindset had evolved from when he first walked into the still-under-renovation Jin Sha kitchen 14 years earlier. He felt a greater sense of responsibility. "I thought, this might be my battlefield from now on," he recalls.

Trial operations began in August. From that moment until the Michelin star announcement, Zeng never took an extended break, maintaining a constant state of tension and determination to present his best at the new restaurant — and he succeeded.

The menu is constantly evolving. Almost every month, he travels to Ningbo to learn about the freshest seasonal ingredients and authentic cooking methods. Then, he reinterprets them to create refined dishes that are true to Ningbo's flavors but with modern flair.

Freshly caught fish arrive in Hangzhou within two hours by car. He strives to bring the freshest ingredients to his table while applying years of culinary experience and cooking techniques from across the country to bring out the best flavors.

Eighteen Cuts is a traditional Ningbo dish that showcases the region's freshest red crab roe. Zeng makes it a standout by precisely cutting female mitten crabs into 18 pieces, carefully removing the gills, heart and stomach, and slicing each leg into eight segments, ensuring each bite carries the rich crab roe.

Marinated in a secret sauce and served chilled, the dish delivers a fresh, fragrant and silky sweetness. Zeng explains, "I made some adjustments to the sauce to enhance the pepper flavor" — his way of adding a twist to a classic.

Another signature dish that captures attention is Da Hong Pao Crispy Pigeon Leg. Named after the famous Sichuan peppercorn da hong pao, this dish reinvents the familiar pigeon by deboning half the bird, with the exception of the breast, wrapping the meat in its leg skin, and meticulously sewing it back together. Fried to golden perfection, the leg becomes plump, revealing tender, juicy meat inside.

Paired with handpicked da hong pao, the dish bursts with intense aroma and a tingling spiciness that excites the palate. The contrast between the crisp skin and succulent meat exemplifies Zeng's mastery of balancing flavors and textures.

A foodie influencer, under the username Peter Pan on social media platform Xiaohongshu, praises Eighteen Cuts: "The sauce is not as salty as the traditional Ningbo version, but it carries a gentle sweetness typical of Jiangnan cuisine. The fleeting spice and wine notes are the soul of the dish." Jiangnan refers to the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

He also highly recommends the pigeon leg: "The skin is as smooth and glossy as hot maltose candy shaped into a bulb and solidified. The moment your teeth touch the skin, it cracks in a chorus while chewing. Every step, from oil drizzling, deboning, marinating, and unsewing to serving it at the perfect temperature so the juices don't burn your mouth, is strictly controlled.

"This leg is not unlike undergoing orthopedic surgery followed by cosmetic surgery. It is worth a Michelin star on its own," he adds.

Achieving a Michelin star has fueled the entire kitchen and service team's passion at Song. Manager Wang Yani, 35, who has worked in Shanghai, Beijing, and Chiang Mai in Thailand, joined the restaurant during its construction phase.

"Over the past year, the team and I have been continuously learning about Ningbo cuisine from Chef Zeng to better introduce the cuisine and his cooking philosophy to our guests," Wang Yani says.

"Zeng is a perfectionist and talented head chef. We often don't need to use words because he understands immediately. His longtime kitchen experience shows," she adds.

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"He rarely takes breaks. Even when he does, he's still working — looking for ingredients, checking utensils, seeing what might suit the restaurant. He treats it like his treasure and always wants to present the best to our guests," she says.

Before joining Song restaurant, Zeng enjoyed riding motorcycles and exploring mountains with friends. But since becoming head chef, he sold his bike and fully devoted himself to his craft. This new role brings pressure but also great rewards as Zeng moves among diners and asks for their feedback. Watching the restaurant steadily find its rhythm and grow brings him deep satisfaction.

As summer gets into full swing, he continues to explore Ningbo's seasonal ingredients and prepares the menu for the hotter months ahead.

Contact the writer at liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn