Overseas celebrity chefs talk about "Chinese food going overseas": How can "Chinese flavor" warm the "world's stomach"?

China News Service, Suzhou, November 9th. Title: Overseas celebrity chefs talk about "Chinese food going overseas": How can "Chinese flavor" warm the "world's stomach"?

Reporter Chang Mucheng

China's catering culture is extensive and profound, with diverse cuisines, mature cooking techniques and unique flavors, which naturally has strong overseas appeal. The 35th Chinese Chef Festival hosted by the China Cuisine Association was held in Suzhou. The reporter interviewed a number of overseas famous chefs to explore ways to continue to warm the "world's stomach" with "Chinese flavor".

"Taste is the root and culture is the soul." Hu Xiaojun, chairman of the U.S.-China Catering Industry Association and chairman of the American Old Sichuan Catering Group, said frankly that overseas Chinese food must not only take root in Chinese taste and traditional culture, but also adapt to local conditions and comply with local regulations, tastes and market needs.

Hu Xiaojun has been deeply involved in the overseas Chinese food industry for more than 20 years. In 1998, he founded the Old Sichuan brand in the United States. It currently has 19 stores and more than 90% of its customers are local people. In his opinion, making "Chinese flavor" warm the "world's stomach" relies on carefully prepared dishes and thoughtful and meticulous service time and time again. The ultimate goal of "Chinese food overseas" is to attract overseas consumers to visit Chinese restaurants again and understand China through food.

"The advantages of 'Chinese food overseas' are first reflected in Chinese food practitioners." Zhao Xiaofeng, honorary president of the Austrian Restaurants and Hotels Association and chairman of the Austrian Sichuan Hotel, said that the Chinese are diligent, diligent, hardworking, and flexible in thinking, and can make a variety of dishes from the same ingredients. However, in the early days, the Austrian Chinese food industry also faced pain points such as the uneven professional skills of chefs and the difficulty in improving the quality of dishes.

Zhao Xiaofeng introduced that Chinese agencies abroad promote the introduction of chef labor, protect labor rights and interests, and establish official channels for chefs to be dispatched abroad. In recent years, hundreds of Chinese chefs have gone to Austria for employment, and the chef team has become more professional, which has led to a significant improvement in the quality of local Chinese food. Nowadays, there are between 400 and 500 Chinese restaurants in Vienna. Roast duck restaurants, hot pot restaurants, dumpling restaurants, etc. have been established one after another, and Hunan cuisine, Hubei cuisine, Fujian cuisine and other cuisines have also appeared one after another.

"Chinese food's unique food culture, cooking techniques and flavor system are our core and irreplaceable overseas advantages." Chen Qixia, executive director of the Australian Chinese Catering Industry Chamber of Commerce, said that it is difficult for overseas chefs to reproduce the original dishes according to Chinese standards, and it is also difficult to systematically learn authentic local techniques and flavors. This is a key problem that has long restricted the quality and upgrading of the industry. At the same time, labor costs in Australia are higher than in China, and there is considerable pressure on compliance operations. This is also an important reason why it is difficult for local Chinese restaurants to expand on a large scale.

Chen Qixia suggested that overseas Chinese restaurants should not blindly pursue large stores and large-scale expansion. Instead, they should take the route of specialization, high-quality products, and niche products. They should work steadily and deeply for a long time to slowly cultivate the consumer market. At the same time, we strictly abide by local import and export regulatory regulations, rely on existing ingredients, combine improvements and innovations in Chinese food techniques, adapt to local taste preferences, and embark on a path of sustainable development.