"I finally got it ‘ Online celebrity ’ Youth League! " With pictures and click Send, a graduate student of Renmin University of China Law School wrote such a circle of friends and joined the big team of "punching in" in the campus canteen.
On the eve of Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Youth League made by the dining hall in the North District of Renmin University was once again "on fire", with an average of 2,000 copies sold every day. On the Internet, netizens from inside and outside the school have forwarded and commented on relevant news, bluntly saying "I want to eat". On March 26th, the Logistics Group of the National People’s Congress also launched the Youth League Gift Set, which was sold online and offline.
In fact, the Youth League is not the only "online celebrity cuisine" produced by the National People’s Congress canteen. Also famous are more than 10 kinds of food, such as pumpkin bread in the east dining hall, gift box for new year’s goods in the central dining hall, Shandong jujube steamed bread bigger than the face in the west dining hall, and Chongyang cake in the north dining hall.
Why can university canteens keep making "explosive online celebrity dishes"? How are these "online celebrity dishes" cooked? What kind of sparks can be generated when the canteen tastes big data and the Internet?
Online and offline "sense of participation"
Many students of Renmin University know Wang Ruorong and Song Da Me.
Off-line, Wang Ruorong is the director of the canteen in the North District of the National People’s Congress. At the peak of eating, I can always see him shuttling among the students to collect comments. Online, he is also a little-known "online celebrity". Since he opened the Weibo, he has frequently interacted with students to discuss what is delicious in the canteen. He has also published a book called "The Taste of the National People’s Congress".
Originally, there was only an ordinary "big pot rice" on the first floor of the North District canteen. Wang Ruorong found that this could not meet the needs of students, and made up his mind to open a Jiangnan flavor window, focusing on crab yellow soup packets. Not long after, a student went to Weibo to leave a message, "Can we also do some youth groups?"
The suggestion was quickly adopted. Wang Ruorong studied it several times with the chef of the canteen. Before Tomb-Sweeping Day last year, this kind of snacks with Jiangsu and Zhejiang flavor was launched on the first floor of the North District canteen and sold for more than 20 days. Because all of them are on-site packages and steaming, students waiting in line often have to stand at the gate of the canteen from the window.
At present, this "online celebrity Youth League" has two kinds of fillings: egg yolk floss and pine nut bean paste. In order to ensure the quality, Wang Ruorong and the masters did not choose the egg yolk packed in vacuum in the market, but pulled the egg yolk from the salted duck eggs on the spot; In order to adjust the greasy bean paste, they added kumquat pieces and pine nuts to it, blending a sour and sweet smell.
If the youth league’s "red-hot" is an accident, then this year, other foods in the National People’s Congress canteen, like the youth league, have been on fire one after another, which proves that this is not just an accident.
Song Da-i, also a "Weibo red man", was the deputy director of the Institute of Investigation Technology of the National People’s Congress. The associate professor of Renmin University commented that he "loves food and life". After being transferred from the front line of teaching to the general manager of the school logistics group, he began to "toss".
"Warm People’s Congress" is the official WeChat of the logistics of the National People’s Congress, and it is also the WeChat WeChat official account that the students of the National People’s Congress pay the most attention to. In order to improve the service ability of the canteen, they posted a lot of news about campus food, such as new dishes and scheduled tasting activities.
Not long ago, the logistics group also launched the "canteen iron powder group" on the micro-signal. Students of the Iron Powder Group can deeply participate in the promotion of new dishes in the canteen, the promotion of dishes and the tasting of dishes, and at the same time enjoy VIP treatment and participate in cooking demonstration classes and practical classes. The Logistics Group also gives lectures on cooking techniques to Iron Powder from time to time and gives live demonstrations on cooking. Carry out cooking practice classes or organize "iron powder" for cooking skill competitions.
The opinions of these students can influence the standard of food in the canteen. Song Da I hope that the students who join are not "canteen tourists" who have tasted it, but "senior foodies" who really have an insightful understanding of the canteen. Their screening criteria for "iron powder" are: participating in 8 campus food activities each semester, and at the same time "punching in" and collecting 18 "likes" in the circle of friends.
"Many times, food is just a chat." Song Dawei said that the canteen and students should break the distance and communicate more through various channels. Now, they display new products in articles pushed by WeChat, and also disclose the production process of "online celebrity cuisine" one by one.
Song Da I gradually found that many students would "like" the canteen even if they didn’t eat new food. The alumni who have graduated seem to feel the happiness brought by the campus canteen from a distance, and many outsiders know the "online celebrity cuisine" of the National People’s Congress through this window.
The "assembly line" of interdisciplinary subjects
As the master planner of "online celebrity" food, Song Da always talks about his student team.
Song Da came from a statistical background, and I know how to "play with" data best. After starting to work as a student, he added logistics-related contents to the campus satisfaction survey of the National People’s Congress: students’ taste preferences, the degree of solving canteen service problems, and "scoring your favorite canteen" all appeared on the questionnaire. Subsequently, the teachers and students of the School of Statistics will conduct big data processing to screen out the most useful information.
Find out the taste and demand, and the rest is publicity and packaging. The promotion of "online celebrity cuisine" in the new media is "manipulated" by the students of the School of Journalism; Product design is free for students majoring in Chinese painting in the Art College.
Before each new issue of "online celebrity" is released, Song Da and I will take the team to "meet the model" first, observe the shape and color of the cooked dishes, then understand their ingredients and preparation methods, then take photos and finally taste them. "Only in this way can we design a higher quality copy."
The food design and dissemination of the National People’s Congress has benefited from the professional strength of this top comprehensive university. Luan Yimei, a professor at the School of Journalism, Renmin University of China, said that "online celebrity cuisine" can be a big fire precisely because of interdisciplinary cooperation among students. "We used to focus on the development of a single discipline and explain problems, but to really solve problems, we must cooperate across disciplines. ‘ Online celebrity cuisine ’ Starting from the needs of students, telling your own story well and grasping the law of communication will be welcomed. "
Dishes are popular, and innovation is naturally more motivated. In the impression of Zhang Yiran, a sophomore in the School of Journalism, in the past year, the innovation of the school canteen has become greater, and new dishes will be introduced soon. This is also the change that Song Da expected to achieve. On Monday alone this week, more than 30 kinds of snacks were introduced in the North District canteen.
Behind the new dishes, the logistics group "I am a chef" WeChat group studied and pondered at length. Last year, Song Da and I brought several canteen directors into a group. Usually, he would throw the good ideas he saw and thought into the group at any time to share, and sometimes they hit it off, forming offline products.
For example, after the creativity of pumpkin bread reached an agreement, the central dining hall took the lead in setting an example, tying the bread into a strand with a string, which visually approached the appearance of pumpkin; The dining hall in the North District has worked hard on stuffing to turn pumpkin into a hidden "connotation"; The east dining hall also added sausage elements. "Everyone is competing for a competition. I didn’t expect the campus canteen to be so active." Song Da sighed.
The youthful taste of productization
After the Youth League became "hot", many graduates left a message under the article of WeChat WeChat official account, "What a pity! I graduated too early. "
I found that the Youth League is not only a holiday food need for students in school, but also symbolizes a unique "symbol of the National People’s Congress" — — Students who have graduated expect to find campus memories through tasting, and teachers and students of the school also want to share this campus taste with relatives and friends. At the end of 2017, the Logistics Group officially planned to make the bulk youth league into a gift box set that can be sold.
On March 26th, the Youth League gift box set was officially launched. The kraft paper bag used for packaging is printed with "memories of youth from the National People’s Congress canteen". The green ball stuffed with meat floss and egg yolk is called "this heart stumbles", and the green ball stuffed with pine nuts and bean paste is called "Acacia". A new green ball stuffed with fresh shepherd’s purse also has the same literary name — — "A thousand miles".
Song Da I said, "The most fundamental duty of the school canteen is to meet the dining needs of students and ensure their food and clothing for three meals a day. On this basis, delicious food is also very important. We hope to bring students different experiences, enhance their campus happiness, and let the memory of taste buds rise to the cultural expression level of the National People’s Congress. "
In addition to "going out" of products, they also attach importance to "bringing in" to supplement new energy for campus canteens. Last year, Song Da-i founded a series of activities called "Guest Chef RUC" with the logistics group, and invited elites from the catering industry in society and universities to come to the school for exchange.
The activity was held in turn by five canteens of the National People’s Congress, and the directors of each canteen were secretly "competing". They invited the master of state banquet in the Great Hall of the People, chef Tan Jiacai of Beijing Hotel, members of the French Chef’s Association, and even a team of chefs who maintained the Guinness World Record.
This activity has been successfully held for 12 times, and there is no funding for inviting chefs. I didn’t expect that the catering department of a well-known hotel would take the initiative to find it and ask to enter the school to cook for the students.
Zhang Yiran has experienced several guest kitchens, and she still remembers the popularity of the event. "Hundreds of copies were sold out at once.". Now, she and her classmates are on the public platform of "Warm People’s Congress", waiting for the news released by the guest kitchen activities.
Song Da, I feel gratified. He said that many new dishes had been introduced in the original canteen. Because of the asymmetric information, it was sometimes difficult for students to know the relevant information. After the trial period, these dishes were removed from the shelves with low sales. "The convenience brought by new media communication is mainly rapid. Students can quickly understand information, experience and give opinions quickly, and we can also make judgments quickly and adjust in time. "