Chefs from China and Chinese chefs working in North America, as well as experts on Chinese food and food culture will explore modern Chinese cuisine. Following the gala, the Foundation will host a two-day conference featuring experts on the food and culture of China and on a wide range of topics, from China’s cuisine’s historical roots and regional variations to its evolution and translation around the world. Activities will be held at various locations around the city.
Participating chefs include: Chen Jun of Peninsula Restaurants in Shanghai; Richard Chen of Wing Lei at Wynn Las Vegas; Chow Chung of Chow Chung Restaurant in Hong Kong; JBF Award Winner Susanna Foo of Susanna Foo in Philadelphia.
The Epoch Times asked few questions to Mitchell Davis, Director of Publications for the James Beard Foundation regarding this event.
The Epoch Times: If you translated Dumplings and Dynasties to a Chinese person, he will say “What is this?”
Mitchell Davis: The idea was that there is a great paradox about Chinese food in America. I think that people consider or think of China as a country with thousands of years of tradition and that a lot of importance is placed on food. In America they only think that Chinese make dumplings. They think that Chinese food is $15 for dinner and when you try to do anything different from that, they resist.
There have been movies that have shown the sophistication of Chinese cuisine. China has existed for such a long time and has taught us a lot about food and techniques. But somehow when push comes to shove people only want to spend $15 for dinner.
So the idea of the name of the event was to address that paradox. China is a highly evolved food culture in many different diverse ways that includes everything from dumplings sold on the streets to exquisite traditional banquets.
ET: For a typical Chinese man from China who is very familiar with Chinese food, he will probably perceive this as an American event. If there is one thing about the event that is truly authentic, whether it is the ingredients, the settings or something—what would it be??
Davis: I guess I would say the ingredients. Chefs are coming from Shanghai and Hong Kong and bringing their special ingredients. I do not believe that all soy sauce is 59 cents a liter. I am hoping that we will be able to provide people with an experience with ingredients cooked at a certain level that is not just like what they would expect from Chinese food. A Chinese restaurant in New York is kind of an ordinary thing unless the food is prepared with better ingredients. The event will feature cooking at a level that feels authentic, but modern and contemporary in some ways. So I hope that we are going to have people that will convey what can be done with better ingredients. That is our goal.
ET: This is an important annual event. Why Chinese?
Davis: One is China is in the news all the time now. There was the Olympics and we thought it would be a great time to play off the enthusiasm. I wanted us to bring people together to celebrate China and not to denigrate it and food is a great place to start. One of the biggest challenges is the cooking utensils, namely the wok, and getting enough heat in the kitchen to make the food, which is very difficult to find here in the restaurants in New York. You know, Chinese cooking requires a lot of heat and you really need 2 ½ inch gas pipes that feed right into the edge of the wok. I am a little worried about it. We wanted chefs who have cooked outside of China so that they would be aware of the limitations.
ET: As a Westerner, what has been your biggest challenge in putting this event together?
Davis: There have been a lot. One of the challenges has been ordering dishes within the timeframe of the event. Another challenge is that it is a fundraiser and a very important one.
There has definitely been a linguistic challenge and a cultural challenge because we know that things can be interpreted differently, and we do not want to make any mistakes. We are dealing with different alphabets, different languages, and multiple regional differences within China.
So one of the ways that we are trying to avoid [problems] is by pairing visiting chefs with chefs here. In the end there might be a funny story about what we have done.
ET: A lot of the Chinese chefs and Chinese-Americans working in the culinary world feel that there is a poor perception of Chinese food in this country.
Davis: They are right. That is a difficult challenge, and it is not just about the food; there is also a cultural component. In New York in the 1960s, Chinese food became a huge trend and people were excited and willing to cough up more money for it.
A lot of chefs came from China with a certain culinary heritage from China, which has since dissipated. They came before the Cultural Revolution and had a high degree of enthusiasm and expertise in food.
We have completely lost that. When people open a Chinese restaurant, they basically make a completely Western restaurant and serve you expensive Sichuan eggplant. There is nothing to learn from them. I hope that any minute now a restaurant will open and show people what the glory of the Chinese cuisine is.
I think Susur Lee of Madeline’s cooks a very unique cuisine. I have known him for a long time, and his food is unlike anyone else’s. He is not afraid to list Chinese words in his menus as the Japanese do on their menus. This is the sort of thing that needs to happen, and I think there is movement happening. I am hopeful.
Henry Wu, who owns the Lai Wah Heen, asked me if he could open a restaurant like his in New York. I certainly do not know, but I am hopeful. I am very optimistic about it.
ET: We noticed that there would be wine pairing and wine tasting at the event. Isn’t that unusual in Chinese culinary culture?
Davis: Yes, it is Henry Wu who wants to explore what beverages go with Chinese food. One of our anxieties is what we should serve with the food. We usually serve nice, expensive wines with a $1,000 meal.
China is a little bit different. We joked about Coke and Remi, but China we thought is a bit different. We thought we would serve this new liqueur from China, but since decided against it. We picked a Westerner to be the sommelier and recommend what to pick.
ET: Most Chinese categorize Chinese restaurants in two types—one for Americans and one for Chinese. Even when they go to Chinese restaurants, you will find two different menus, one for Americans and another for Chinese. If we have to tell them which kind of event this is, what would you tell them?
Davis: My hope is that we try to negotiate both of these categories. One of the people who helped us put this together is Patrick Lin of Metropolitan Hotels in Toronto and Vancouver. He is also one of the chefs doing the dinner, and one place behind him is Henry Wu, the owner of the Metropolitan Hotels in Canada. Their goal is to try to help merge these two things. They have felt very strongly that there is a misunderstanding in America about Chinese restaurants.
I think that the appreciation of the Chinese community for some of the ingredients we use —and at this price—is not the same thing that a Western audience might expect.
For instance, abalone or shark fin would normally cost upwards of $1,000 in a Chinese banquet. I do not think it would elicit the same value response in a Western audience—they would think, what is this slimy thing? I do not think the same people would know or appreciate why abalone or shark meat is so expensive.
I think that the menu we have sounds delicious, and it is not a typical menu. It is certainly not things you would generally see in restaurants. I am hoping that our guests’ eyes will open and that palates will open in a certain way.
The Gala Dinner and Auction will be held at the Edison Ballroom at 240 W. 47th St. in New York City. For more information visit: www.jbfchina2008.com, or call James Beard Foundation at 212-627-2308 or 1-800-35-BEARD.
