Eating animals to extinction
The seamy side of Chinese gastronomy was in the headlines again this week, as fourteen police officers in Shenzhen were suspended and a police chief put…
Les Chefs des Chefs… in London
A rather incredible evening on Monday… At short notice, I was invited to a dinner at Mosimann’s for a gathering of the Club des Chefs des…
The gastronomic adventures of Michelle Obama in China
While I was in Chengdu in March, I found myself staying in the same hotel as Michelle Obama for a couple of nights. Despite our proximity,…
‘Extravant eating and drinking has never been part of Chinese culture’ (!)
Over the last year, high-end restaurants in China have been struck as if by lightning by President Xi Jinping’s ‘anti-corruption campaign’ and ban on dining out…
Chinese feasts for the British PM – a few thoughts
Today, the Daily Telegraph published menus of the lunch and dinner served to the British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday in Beijing. Lunch, apparently, was ‘hors…
Curbing our greed for meat
Scientists are again urging people in the developed world to eat less meat for environmental reasons. Here’s a quote from a piece on the Guardian website…
A Sino-Moroccan feast in London
Anissa Helou beat me to it with her blog post about today’s culinary collaboration! Anyway, here’s mine. Anissa (a brilliant cook and food writer specialising in…
Quiz time!
Can anyone guess what this is? (see picture on the right) Clue: I was given it at the end of a grand banquet in Chengdu a…
Banquets in Washington DC and Changsha
Chinese President Hu Jintao was honoured with a state banquet at the White House last night. Apparently he and his entourage had requested a ‘quintessentially American’…
Bordeaux is the new Prada (or the new shark’s fin?)
Chinese merchants and investors are planning to snap up much of the acclaimed 2009 vintage of Bordeaux wines, according to this piece in the Guardian. The article…