Quanjude

Quanjude (全聚德)
Serving up a roast duck in Beijing, China
Restaurant information
Established	1864
Current owner(s)	Jiang Junxian, President of Quanjude Group Holding Company
Food type	Peking Roast Duck
Street address	No.30, Qianmen Street, Beijing (main)^[1]
City	Beijing
Country	China
Other locations	Branches and franchises in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia
Website	quanjude.com.cn

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

Company profile and branches

The restaurant chain sells over 2 million roast ducks served in 400 different styles to over 5 million customers annually. With annual sales reaching 500 million yuan (US$81.5m), the company has an estimated value of 8.458 billion yuan (US$1.38b) with 600 million yuan (US$97.8m) in assets and 700 million yuan (US$114m) in "intangible assets".

In China

There are 50 affiliates across China.^[2] The first directly run flagship store opened in Changchun, Jilin Province in January 2007.^[3]

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., was a location that 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 cut Peking duck.^[4]

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)".^[5] ^[6]

Outside China

The newest franchised restaurant outside China recently opened in Melbourne, Australia. One possible influencing factor may be that Melbourne's former Lord Mayor (Mr John So) is of Chinese heritage and Melbourne (and Australia) has a large overseas Chinese population.

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 (得聚全, the first two 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.

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 with a smile, "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.

Awards and recognitions

In 1994, Quanjude was awarded the top brand in China's catering and restaurant business by World Brand Laboratory, ranking 56th overall out of the 500 most famed Chinese brands.
In 1999, Quanjude was awarded the title of "China Renowned Trademark," which was the only for the restaurant service industry.
In 1982, Quanjude was top ranked in the Chinese and Japanese publication, "Elite of Chinese Famous Dishes."
In 1958, Quanjude was ranked number one in "Chinese Famous Dishes" compiled by all-China famous chefs under the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China.