Quanjude

Quanjude (Chinese: 全聚德; pinyin: Quánjùdé, SZSE: 002186) is a Chinese restaurant known for its Peking roast duck and its longstanding culinary heritage since its establishment in 1864 in Beijing, China.

Quanjude (全聚德)
Serving up a roast duck in Beijing, China
Restaurant information
Established1864
Owner(s)Jiang Junxian, President of Quanjude Group Holding Company
Food typePeking duck
Street addressNo.30, Qianmen Street, Beijing (main)[1]
CityBeijing
CountryChina
Other locationsBranches and franchises in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, and Portugal
Websitequanjude.com.cn

Company profile and branches

The restaurant chain sells over 2 million roast ducks served in 400 different styles to over 5 million customers annually.

After a merger in 2004 with Beijing New Yansha Group, Quanjude is now a part of the Beijing Tourism Group.[2]

In China

There are 50 affiliates across China.[3] The first directly run flagship store opened in Changchun, Jilin Province in January 2007.[4]

Beijing
The original Quanjude restaurant building at the Qianmen street in Beijing
Another Quanjude branch restaurant in Beijing

Quanjude has eight direct branches in Beijing. The original location operates in Qianmen with several other branches in other locations in Beijing.

There is a seven-story restaurant on Hepingmen Ave., a location hand-picked by former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Serving up to 5,000 meals a day, this restaurant covers a floor area of 15,000 square meters with over forty private dining rooms and can simultaneously seat 2,000 guests.

Having established a history and affiliation with the Chinese government at the municipal and central state level, Quanjude has often been used to hold state banquets and to receive celebrities, dignitaries, and important government figures from over 200 countries as distinguished VIP guests. During the APEC banquet held at the Water Cube in Beijing on Nov 10th 2014, eight chefs from Quanjude Group performed a live demonstration on how to carve Peking duck.[5]

Hong Kong

There is one Quanjude branch in Hong Kong, in Tsim Sha Tsui, where it is known as "Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant (全聚德烤鴨店)".[6] [7]

Outside China

In 2017, the first branch outside of China and Taiwan opened in Melbourne, Australia. Since then another has opened in Sydney in 2018.[8]

QJD also has a restaurant in Toronto, Canada[9] and Lisbon, Portugal.[10] The chain also has three restaurants in Tokyo, Japan.[11]

History

Quanjude was established in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty under the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor. Although Peking Duck can trace its history many centuries back, Quanjude's heritage of roast duck preparation – using open ovens and non-smoky hardwood fuel such as Chinese date, peach, or pear to add a subtle fruity flavor with a golden crisp to the skin – was originally reserved for the imperial families.

The first Quanjude manager, Yang Renquan, who started out selling chicken and ducks, paid a retired chef from the palace for the imperial recipe. Soon after, Quanjude began to serve roast duck from the imperial kitchen to the common masses. Yang Renquan opened his first, small Dejuquan (德聚全, the three characters being reversed from the current name) inside Yangrou Hutong in Qianmen (前門), which at the time was one of the busiest areas in Beijing. His restaurant became an instant success and has since grown into the current branch in Qianmen that employs over 400 staff members and can occupy 900 guests at one time. The Qianmen restaurant, along with the many other Quanjude branches, together form one of the largest food enterprises in the nation.

On 19 August 1966 Red Guards from 2nd, 25th and 63rd Middle Schools raided the restaurant, smashing the original antique restaurant sign and replacing with a modern one reading "Beijing Roast Duck Restaurant" as part of the Cultural Revolution "Smash the Four Olds" campaign. The name was changed back to Quanjude on February 9, 1980.[12]

Meaning of the name

Once, when Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai was hosting important foreign guests at Quanjude, one of the guests asked, “What does Quanjude mean?” Premier Zhou answered, "Quan (全) means perfection without a flaw, Ju (聚) means gathering without departing, and De (德) means virtues to be supreme." Therefore, Quanjude together implies perfection, union, and benevolence.

See also

References
  1. "Quanjude Qianmen Official Site". Qmquanjude.com.cn. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  2. Xu, Dashan. "Beijing tourism players form alliance". China Daily. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12.
  3. "Internship at historic restaurant in Beijing makes news". Dickinson.edu. 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  4. "Quanjude Opens Its First Directly-Run Store In Northeast China". Chinaretailnews.com. 2007-01-10. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  5. 何可尧. "2014 APEC:China displays its culture and history". chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  6. "Singapore Food Guide, Restaurant Reviews & Reservation – HungryGoWhere". hungrygowhere.com. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  7. "全聚德 Quanjude Roast Duck Rest". Burpple. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  8. "About – QJD 全聚德". www.quanjudesydney.com.au.
  9. "Massive Chinese restaurant chain Peking Duck opening first Toronto location". www.blogto.com.
  10. Lopes, Diogo. "Quanjude: a China em Lisboa sabe a pato". Observador.
  11. "北京ダックの全聚徳（ゼンシュトク） | 銀座・新宿・六本木でのご接待ご宴会は、高級個室中華料理店「北京ダックの全聚徳（ゼンシュトク）」にご予約ください。". 全聚徳.
  12. Ntdtv.com. 【歷史今天】“全聚德”烤鴨店恢復老字號 . 2010-02-10. Accessed 2018-05-11.
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