old and very new. an exploding middle class. a lot of history. and food that can burn you down to a charred, smoking little stump. sichuan province, located in the southwest of china. over a thousand miles from beijing. a region so fertile and lush that it's been referred to as china's breadbasket. and its capitol, chengdu. despite its ever-growing skyline, it hasn't lost its deep culinary roots and traditions. >> man: heart. >> anthony: and i figured if i'm going back to sichuan i should bring a friend. someone unused to the, how shall i say, level of heat commonly found in the food here. someone who's never been to china before and is unused to its ways. i'm talking, of course, about chef eric ripert, of such three-star michelin restaurants as new york's le bernardin.