China Daily | Journey to Joy: A unique career path for a chef’s dream - video Dailymotion

The Star

Meet Cui Di, who swapped a prestigious academic path for a chef's apron!   After earning her master's, she boldly chose culinary school, embracing the romance of cooking.   Her mission? To elevate Chinese cuisine on the global stage through innovative fusion!   WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00I'm Cui Di. I got 651 points in the college entrance exam.

00:03I graduated from Tongji University.

00:07I went to Switzerland to study hotel management.

00:09How long does it take to eat sweet and sour pork?

00:11Are the shrimps ready? Can I bring the shrimps?

00:12When I came back, I asked my mom if I could learn how to cook in Xindongfang.

00:16Is the fire on?

00:17My mom said, no.

00:20It's not sour enough.

00:21I said, yes. I just want to be a cook.

00:31Xindongfang

00:34Hello, friends.

00:35We are now in a food street in Shanghai.

00:37I'm sure you've heard the saying, life is not a track, it's a mine.

00:42But we're about to visit Cui Di.

00:44She's the first person I've ever met who does this.

00:48Cui Di.

00:49Hello.

00:50Hello.

00:51We've talked before.

00:52I'm a little busy now.

00:53You can sit down and wait for me.

00:55Okay.

00:56Are you cooking boiled rice noodles?

00:59Are you kidding me?

01:00I don't know.

01:05My voice is hoarse.

01:06Why are you still shouting?

01:08It's so annoying.

01:09I'm going to turn a blind eye here.

01:12This is pineapple shrimps.

01:14You can try it.

01:16This is shrimp and beef hot pot.

01:18This is Lao Nan Yang.

01:19In fact, the restaurant is responsible for everything related to the kitchen.

01:26Chef is actually a job that can be done by hand.

01:29The chef will be more demanding, right?

01:31One is your management ability.

01:33You need your family to listen to you.

01:35And then the other one is that you have to make sure that the dishes you cook are loved by the guests.

01:39Your restaurant won't close down because of the chef you cook.

01:43Just put it here?

01:44Yes, just put it on the table.

01:46Are these all local dishes?

01:48Except for the one we just bought, this is the mushroom that Yunnan picked yesterday.

01:53And then there's Cui Shao from Guizhou.

01:56Because of the development of logistics, you can buy ingredients from all over the country in one day.

02:01That's why I want to do a fusion dish of the eight dishes.

02:06I'm making a fusion creative dish now.

02:11Fusion creative dish?

02:13Yes.

02:14Have you heard of it?

02:16No, I haven't.

02:19The white-bearded old man on the phone with Cui Di is the Taidou of the Sichuan cuisine world in China.

02:23Liu Dadong is also Cui Di's mother's master.

02:27It's just to improve some of these traditional dishes.

02:31And then it's in line with the preferences of young people now.

02:35That's right.

02:36This development is wrong now.

02:38In the past, we used fat, fat, high sugar, high protein.

02:41It doesn't work anymore.

02:43You said that fusion was the best.

02:45It's good for your health.

02:51Why fusion dishes?

02:52In fact, it has a lot of strange sounds.

02:53Because it's really too casual.

02:55All the dishes, all the ingredients, all the cooking techniques can be used in one product.

03:01What are you doing?

03:03Now I'm thinking about some of the inspirations for the special menu of the National Day.

03:08And then I'll see if there's anything I can borrow from some of the dishes I've made before.

03:11A little bit.

03:14What Cui Di is after is far more than the exquisite fusion of Chinese cuisine.

03:19He wants to go on a gastronomic adventure across the Middle East.

03:24What I'm presenting here is a modern seafood restaurant.

03:27Because I found that their restaurant doesn't seem to have a Chinese-style pot, right?

03:32Yes.

03:33The Chinese-style pot is also a method that I really want to explore when I come to China.

03:39In the world of food, the iron pot of Chinese cuisine is a unique existence.

03:44He is willing to stir-fry his own Chinese cooking skills.

03:50When foreign chefs come to Chinese food, the first thing they think when they go back is,

03:53Can we have a firecracker here?

03:56They really appreciate it.

03:57The biggest feature of Chinese food is stir-fry.

04:00It's very different from Western food.

04:02Yes, in fact, the core of Chinese food is the knowledge of stir-fry.

04:06The speed of stir-frying can reach a very high temperature.

04:08Within a few seconds, there is a wonderful chemical reaction.

04:11Next to the stove is a seasoning pot.

04:13No one will eat ice cream while cooking.

04:16He said, look, it's very simple.

04:18A spoonful of flour.

04:19He took a big spoon.

04:20A spoonful of milk powder.

04:21He changed to a small spoon.

04:23I said, I understand.

04:24No wonder I can't learn.

04:27A little bit of salt.

04:28Right amount of green onion and ginger.

04:29Half a spoonful of sugar.

04:30Only a Chinese chef who knows how to cook can understand the mystery of Chinese food.

04:36In fact, when I first started working, my chef told me that

04:40Europeans admire Japanese cooking skills.

04:43They said that Japan has been ahead of Europe for ten years.

04:46He also said that China may be ahead of Japan.

04:49It's just that no one in China has turned this technology into a language that can be used all over the world.

04:55Chinese food culture is very deep.

05:00I think this is what I want to present to everyone.

05:06I actually think I am a person who pursues romance.

05:10I think cooking is quite romantic.

05:13So much oil in the kitchen.

05:14Romantic.

05:15You think what others don't understand is romantic.

05:19He is also a kind of rebellion, I think.

05:22Come on, let's eat together.

05:23Let's eat.

05:24Let's eat together.

05:25Come on, sit down.

05:26Sit down.

05:28Oh, so obedient.

05:30What do you think has changed in Chinese food as a chef?

05:37I think Chinese people used to eat more carbs on the table.

05:42For example, rice and noodles.

05:45But now I think it's better to have a balanced diet.

05:50I think it's more nutritious.

05:54Cui Di's study of Chinese New Year dishes finally chose dumplings.

05:58This time, I thought about making dumplings with green pepper and potato stuffing.

06:02Now we are making the blue part of the dumpling skin.

06:07This is a blue dye made with butterfly pea flowers.

06:11The most impressive thing is that I ate a dumpling made with potato stuffing made by my grandmother.

06:17Because I have never eaten potato dumplings in other places.

06:19I think everyone in every era is on the bed.

06:21Hello, how are you?

06:22Hello.

06:23Are you full?

06:24We also made a green pepper dumpling for the National Day.

06:27Are you preparing for the National Day?

06:29Yes.

06:33In Cui Di's smile, we captured the profound change of Chinese taste buds.

06:38From eating well to eating well.

06:40From inheriting tradition to embracing innovation.

06:43The direction of food is also the yearning of tens of millions of Chinese people for a better life.

06:48Happy National Day!

China Daily | Journey to Joy: A unique career path for a chef’s dream

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