On January 27, 1964, China and France issued a joint communiqué announcing the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. France became the first Western power to establish diplomatic relations with China. This historical event set off strong international public opinion at the time, and was called "a sudden diplomatic nuclear explosion" by the West.
Today, 60 years later, the heads of state of China and France unanimously agreed to take the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France as an opportunity to comprehensively restart exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, education, science and technology, and promote China-France relations to a new level. In the face of the changing and chaotic international situation, China and France, as ancient countries with splendid civilizations, will work together to promote mutual respect and tolerance among cultures and civilizations, and sow the seeds of peace in the hearts of people around the world.
On the occasion of celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, CGTN Europe launched the integrated media series "Encounter-France", which tells the stories of people who have made outstanding contributions to the development of bilateral relations between China and France. In this issue, we will take you to "meet" the French Internet celebrity chef Guangtan who fell in love with Chinese food.
▲French Internet celebrity chef Corentin Delcroix. The pictures in this article are all from CCTV news client
"A French chef with a Chinese stomach"
"Hello everyone, I'm Guangtan", many Chinese have received the greeting from the French chef in the video. Chinese netizens learn to cook Chinese food from his videos, listen to his "word for word" but clear and easy-to-understand Chinese, watch him fry and fry in the square inch kitchen, and make high-end dishes familiar to Chinese. "Chef Guangtan" has a total of more than 6 million fans on mainstream social platforms in China, and hundreds of millions of people have watched his videos.
In his self-introduction column, he describes himself as "a French chef with a Chinese stomach". Guangtan has lived in China for 17 years, and now he and his wife live in Shanghai, and their career is closely linked to China. He said that since he first came to China in 2002, he was deeply attracted to China, and the trajectory of his life has changed because of China.
Quantan comes from a family of six in Lille, a small town in northern France. When he was 7 years old, Guangtan ate Chinese food for the first time. Guangtan said that at that time, he thought the Chinese food was delicious. In 2002, Guangtan came to China for the first time to study business administration. The French business school where he studied at the time adopted the "2+3" model, that is, two years in France and three years abroad. Because of his curiosity and expectation about China, he chose to study in China. Guangtan said that during his study in Beijing, tasting the specialties of different places became a good way to learn about the customs of various parts of China. Later, Guangtan began to learn to cook Chinese food with the Chinese aunt who cleaned in the dormitory, went to the vegetable market to select ingredients, and successively learned Chinese home-cooked dishes such as scrambled eggs with tomatoes and tofu claypot. During the four years of studying in Beijing, Guangtan became a "Chinese backpacker", visited Yunnan, Sichuan, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin and other places, and tasted all kinds of cuisines in Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Huaiyang, etc., whether it was Sichuan's spicy, Guangdong's fresh sweetness, or Shandong's sauce fragrance, Huaiyang's elegance left a deep impression on him.
▲The French Internet celebrity chef Guangtan's family
From Business School to Kitchen: Chinese Food Changes the Trajectory of Lives
Exposed to Chinese food, Guangtan found that cooking was what he wanted to do the most, and he decided to change the track of his life and switch from business administration to cooking. In the eyes of many people, his choice is crazy, which means that his future life will change from "tall office buildings" to "smoky kitchens". But, he says, "I found what I was passionate about." For this reason, he chose to study culinary techniques systematically at the Institut Bocuse, one of Lyon's top culinary schools.
In 2010, the Shanghai World Expo opened, and Guangtan's life path once again coincided with China. During the Shanghai World Expo, Guangtan became the head chef of the Shanghai branch of the Institut Bocuse in France. During this time, he has cultivated more than 500 young Chinese people who share his passion for cooking, and has made many attempts to integrate Chinese and Western cuisines.
▲Guangtan with Bocuse Lyon's classmates
Follow the French chef to cook Chinese home-cooked food
Since then, Guangtan has settled in Shanghai, engaged in food and beverage research and development consulting, and shared food with netizens as a food blogger on social networks. On this side of the Internet, he is tinkling pots and pans, frying and frying, and netizens are following him on the other end, sometimes learning to cook Chinese home-cooked food, and sometimes learning to taste French food.
"When I started sharing some Chinese dishes, I was a little worried," he says. I'm afraid that the audience will think that the Chinese food I make is not authentic enough. I'm worried that there will be comments like 'a foreigner, how can he cook Chinese food'. But in the end, it was the opposite, everyone was very encouraging and the comments were positive. When netizens think that my approach is authentic, they will send me messages of encouragement. When I may not be so authentic, netizens will give me some advice. I also learned a lot from the comments from the audience. ”
▲Guangtan shoots a video of making zongzi
Sichuan pepper with chocolate: Boosting Chinese cuisine into international high-end catering
Guangtan said that although there are many Chinese restaurants overseas, for many French people, authentic Chinese food is still a new experience. Many French people are very eager to learn Chinese food, whether it is making dumplings or stir-fried shredded potatoes, they are very interested. He said: "My biggest personal goal is very clear, which is to share Chinese food production with foreigners from the perspective of foreigners after I have learned Chinese food. ”
After more than 10 years of consulting on catering R&D, he believes that Chinese food still has great potential in the international market. Guangtan said: "Chinese food ingredients and some cooking techniques are unprecedented in the West. Western chefs, especially in the field of fine dining in high-end restaurants, are always eager to discover new ingredients, to be able to use some new techniques, to obtain new flavors. Chinese peppercorns, he said, are an example. "Sichuan peppercorns are becoming an international dining fad because of its refreshing and spicy taste that is very fresh to Westerners, and the French use Sichuan peppercorns in certain desserts, such as pairing them with chocolate. In his food experiments, he tried to use Chinese ingredients such as plum vegetables and Yunnan mushrooms with Western food ingredients such as foie gras steak, seasoned with white wine and rice wine, and introduced Chinese kitchenware such as Yunnan steam pot to Western counterparts, helping Chinese cuisine to enter international high-end cuisine. "I hope that in five years' time, chefs in fine dining will increasingly use Chinese ingredients, whether it's bamboo shoots, tofu products, Chinese fermented products, ham, etc., and I'm very much looking forward to bringing authentic Chinese food to the world," he said. ”
▲Guangtan participated in a Chinese cooking show
Chinese cuisine has become a bridge between the East and the West
Since humans started traveling, the exchange of food and drink has never stopped. In France, star anise and eggplant, which are commonly used in French cuisine, are influenced by Chinese food, while in China, the chili peppers that everyone eats originally came from South America. The exchange of food has always accompanied the development of human history. "The only way for people in the East and the West to understand each other is to share, and sharing can promote exchanges," Guangtan said. "By sharing his Western science with his Chinese friends and Chinese chefs, and with European or Western people, food has become a bridge between the East and the West. "When people are interested in the food of other countries, they become more curious about the culture there. (ENDS)