Overseas disseminator of Chinese culture
Chongqing girl who promotes Chinese cuisine in London
The 5th London "Chinese Food Festival" with Tower Bridge as the background attracted many tourists. Photo courtesy of respondents
"London has food festivals in many countries, including Japanese food festivals, Korean food festivals, Malaysian food festivals... but there is no Chinese food festival, so my partner and I have the idea of starting a Chinese food festival. We want foreign friends Get a better understanding of Chinese cuisine." Tang Shi, founder of the London Chinese Food Festival, told a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily.
Tang Poems born in 1989 have an innate love for food. Her father, Tang Shabo, devoted his entire life to the study of food culture. He was the president of the Chongqing Chinese Food Culture Research Association. Before he retired, he did food special programs on Chongqing TV and had an indissoluble bond with food. Since childhood, Tang Shi followed his father to "eat all over the country" and was influenced by his father subtly. While studying in the UK, Tang Shi became a food blogger. She opened the Weibo account of "Food in the UK" on Sina and has more than 80,000 fans.
In 2014, Tang Shi completed his second master's degree at Warwick Business School in the United Kingdom and went to London to look for entrepreneurial opportunities. At a party, she met another "foodie" Tang Zimu who was like her. The two hit it off and decided to establish a Chinese food festival in London.
"Eat" is always at the forefront of cultural exchanges
With enthusiasm, the two young people started the preparations for the food festival. Since no one has experience, they can only cross the river by feeling the stones, starting from scratch. They went to the London district government to inquire about the qualifications needed to host large-scale events, looked for venues suitable for hosting events throughout London, and invited owners who opened Chinese restaurants in London to participate. It takes a lot of time to study local food-related laws and regulations, and a lot of money is needed to set up an event venue. Security, water and electricity, tents, food hygiene...Every detail needs to be implemented. The most unimaginable difficulty is to convince the owners of Chinese restaurants to participate in the food festival. After hearing about such a large-scale event, 90% of Chinese restaurant owners responded coldly. They don't believe that two young people in their 20s have neither experience in the catering industry nor their own restaurant, so they will be able to organize such a large-scale event.
"Why" is the most "questioning" the two young people heard, but they were not discouraged. "Eating is always at the forefront of cultural exchanges. I believe that in an international city like London, the cultural brand of the'Chinese Food Festival' will be launched sooner or later," Tang Shi said.
With their unremitting efforts, in September 2015, the first London "Chinese Food Festival" kicked off on the south bank of the Thames. There are 15 Chinese food companies in London participating in this food festival. In order to allow the British to taste more authentic Chinese cuisine, Tang Shi also specially invited food merchants from Chongqing to exhibit in London. For the first time, local Chongqing snacks such as authentic Chongqing noodles and hot and sour noodles "break into" the eyes of the British, and the British are highly praised.
In the second edition, the "Chinese Food Festival" has already gained some popularity in London. This year, they moved the food festival to Portersfield Park next to the landmark Tower Bridge in London. Local lifestyle media such as "TimeOut" magazine, "London Evening Standard", and "Metro" have reported on the "Chinese Food Festival", and local food bloggers in London are also competing on "Photo Wall" and "Facebook". Post photos of yourself at the “Chinese Food Festival” on social platforms. The "Chinatown Egg Waffles" at the Food Festival became an online celebrity delicacy overnight, and diners had to queue for two hours to get it. The photos with egg waffles and Tower Bridge in the background were once widely circulated on social networking sites. This year, two young people ushered in the first sponsor of the food festival-a local British food website.
The style and scale of the 3rd Chinese Food Festival has reached a new level. The British Institute of Chinese Traditional Culture, Chongqing Hot Pot Association, and Chongqing Chinese Food Culture Research Association have all come to help out, and 10 hot pot companies have fry under the tower bridge After the hot pot bottoms, the Chongqing hot pot tasting meeting was held. Many businesses took the initiative to send emails to the organizers, hoping to open stalls at the food festival. They have not only reversed the dilemma of "difficulty in attracting investment," they can also select carefully from the merchants who signed up. Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other Chinese restaurants have joined the food festival. Hunan fried stinky tofu, Xi'an pork bun, Yunnan rice noodles, Taiwan beef noodles, Chongqing small noodles and other specialties make various skin colors " "Foodies" were pleasantly surprised. The "Chinese Food Festival" has also become a springboard for some merchants who are preparing to open stores to try out the British market. It is obviously a smart move to make an appearance at the food festival, test products, and do enough publicity before officially opening a store.
Show the beauty of Chinese food culture
In the impression of Tang poetry, the 4th Chinese Food Festival is probably the most popular. Due to the exceptionally good weather, there are also many visitors to the food festival. In just three days, there were about 40,000 to 50,000 local residents, foreign tourists, and international students who came to taste Chinese cuisine. However, even so, they still lose money after the settlement this year. "In fact, we have been losing money for the first 4 years. The sponsorship we got and the booth fee we collected from the catering company are far from enough to cover the costs of tents, security, cleaning, etc. Fortunately, our losses are decreasing every year. During the fifth food festival, the long-term cooperative company lowered the price for us, and we finally balanced our revenue and expenditure." Tang Shi said.
Although each food festival is only held for 3 days, they have to spend the first half of the year to make preparations. Tang Shi said that the preparations were very hard, and she had to rest for a long time after finishing the event to get over. Loss and exhaustion made Tang poetry "think about giving up many times", but whenever she saw the crowds at the food festival, she looked excited when she saw foreign diners taste Chinese food, and heard them call friends to come and taste China When she is eating, she feels that "everything is worth it".
Letting foreign friends learn more about the Chinese culture behind the food is the "initial heart" that Tang poetry has always remembered. "The food festival is a platform for food exchanges and cultural exchanges. To show the beauty of Chinese food culture to foreigners is the most meaningful thing and what I want to do."
Since the first food festival, the two young people have been thinking about how to show the charm of Chinese culture beyond the taste to foreigners. Recreational activities such as dragon and lion dances, Hanfu performances or calligraphy demonstrations are indispensable scenery in every food festival. After eating and drinking, diners can also wear Hanfu, wave their pen and ink, and feel the joy of ancient Chinese literati; temporary kitchens have been set up next to the food stalls, and chefs from the Chinese food school give live teaching demonstrations. Interested people experience the wonders of Chinese cooking in practice.
The fifth London Chinese Food Festival held last year was also assisted by the London Tourism Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China. The staff of the tourist office played the "Beautiful China" video on the spot, distributed tourist souvenirs with Chinese characteristics, and carried out relevant travel promotion, so that diners from all over the world could understand the scenery of China through the food map, and encouraged them to set foot on the discovery of beautiful China trip. "The tourism office has prepared hundreds of panda fans and sent them to the children who come to the food festival for free. The children like them very much. They chase after me and ask me to make me feel very proud." Tang Shi said.
This year, affected by the epidemic, the "Chinese Food Festival" and other events in London were all suspended. However, Tang poetry has already planned and imagined the content of the food festival next year. "While tasting food, we will use more modern technology to bring more interaction and experience to everyone." She also wants to open a gourmet academic forum to introduce Chinese food more professionally from the perspective of health and wellness, and attract more professional gourmets .
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Xia Jin Source: China Youth Daily