time is an understatement. she s brought us to chef lan gue jun s restaurant. fuchsia: what he s trying to do is, sort of, raise the level of sichuanese food to, sort of, very refined banquet cookery. anthony: is what he s doing unusual for chengdu? for china? fuchsia: it is really unusual. so, i think, in the west we are, sort of, very used to the idea of the celebrity chef and the individual chef as artist. but in china people traditionally look down on chefs. so, this is quite a new thing. there are very few chefs who are really, like, the creative vision behind the food and doing the work in the kitchen. anthony: the meal begins. a large array of cold dishes are laid out. delicate flavors like lily buds scented with rose petals are presented alongside more assertive tastes like thinly sliced braised beef shank with chili oil, tea tree mushrooms blanched and lightly stir-fried
sichuan in particular, since she first arrived here as a student in 1994. she was the first foreigner to study at the sichuan higher institute of cuisine and has written numerous books about her experiences, and about sichuanese food, which are rightly considered groundbreaking and definitive. to say she was way ahead of her time is an understatement. she s brought us to chef lan gue jun s restaurant. fuchsia: what he s trying to do is, sort of, raise the level of sichuanese food to, sort of, very refined banquet cookery. anthony: is what he s doing unusual for chengdu? for china? fuchsia: it is really unusual. so, i think, in the west we are, sort of, very used to the idea of the celebrity chef and the individual chef as artist. but in china people traditionally look down on chefs. so, this is quite a new thing. there are very few chefs who are really, like, the creative
she s brought us to chef lan gue jun s restaurant. fuchsia: what he s trying to do is, sort of, raise the level of sichuanese food to, sort of, very refined banquet cookery. anthony: is what he s doing unusual for chengdu? for china? fuchsia: it is really unusual. so, i think, in the west we are, sort of, very used to the idea of the celebrity chef and the individual chef as artist. but in china people traditionally look down on chefs. so, this is quite a new thing. there are very few chefs who are really, like, the creative vision behind the food and doing the work in the kitchen. anthony: the meal begins. a large array of cold dishes are laid out. delicate flavors like lily buds scented with rose petals are presented alongside more assertive tastes like thinly sliced braised beef shank with chili oil, tea tree mushrooms blanched and lightly stir-fried with chinese stem lettuce.
obsessed with the providence of the ingredients, with going to a particular place for a particular dish. anthony: right. fuchsia: so, they ve had that tradition for at least 800 years. anthony: fuchsia dunlap has had an extraordinary relationship with china, and sichuan in particular, since she first arrived here as a student in 1994. she was the first foreigner to study at the sichuan higher institute of cuisine and has written numerous books about her experiences, and about sichuanese food, which are rightly considered groundbreaking and definitive. to say she was way ahead of her time is an understatement. she s brought us to chef lan gue jun s restaurant. fuchsia: what he s trying to do is, sort of, raise the level of sichuanese food to, sort of, very refined banquet cookery. anthony: is what he s doing unusual for chengdu? for china? fuchsia: it is really unusual. so, i think, in the west we are, sort of, very used to the idea of the celebrity chef and the individual c
anthony: fuchsia dunlap has had an extraordinary relationship with china, and sichuan in particular, since she first arrived here as a student in 1994. she was the first foreigner to study at the sichuan higher institute of cuisine and has written numerous books about her experiences, and about sichuanese food, which are rightly considered groundbreaking and definitive. to say she was way ahead of her times an understatement. she s brought us to chef lan gue jun s restaurant. fuchsia: what he s trying to do is, sort of, raise the level of sichuanese food to, sort of, very refined banquet cookery. anthony: is what he s doing unusual for chengdu? for china? fuchsia: it is really unusual. so, i think, in the west we are, sort of, very used to the idea of the celebrity chef and the individual chef as artist. but in china people traditionally look down on chefs. so, this is quite a new thing. there are very few chefs who are