Besides having different tastes compared to Western cuisine, authentic Chinese food is believed to have inner spirit.
“Food is almost like a living being, it has to have a spirit,” said Xi Lei, producer of the upcoming 2009 NTDTV International Chinese Culinary Competition in New York.
She said that the spirit of the food is intricately connected to the chef that prepares the dish, in that the dish reflects the character of the chef.
“How he prepares it, what kind of heart and spirit he puts in, his understanding of Chinese food … and what kind of heart he puts into this dish,” are the factors that Xi said influences the outcome of the dish.
She gave a familiar analogy to this exotic concept.
“Why do children, or why do we always like our mothers’ food? It has nothing to do with our moms being good chefs or not. Some are terrible cooks, but we always like their food, because when the mothers cook for their children, they put in their love,” she said.
“The heart is in the food. So we can feel it, that’s why we’ll always remember it. And that’s a very, very good analogy.”
The 2009 NTDTV International Chinese Culinary Competition will take place this month at the Light House (Pier 61) at Chelsea Piers, New York. Chinese chefs from all over the world will compete to produce the most authentic dish—and spirit will be a main judging criteria, whether judges explicitly say so or not.
In addition to expertise in cooking, the judges will also look at the chef’s character, demeanor, moral value, etc. Technique makes the food, but spirit fills the inner meaning, said Xi.
“Sometimes you just think that a dish doesn’t have energy, as if a person is tired. That’s the inner things—the texture, the luster, the color, the steam that’s produced, the right softness, and the amount of gravy,” she said.
The competitors are required to compete in one of the five categories of regional Chinese cuisine, including Cantonese, Huaiyang, Sichuan, Shandong, and Northeastern.
The competition will consist of preliminary on Sunday, September 20, final on Monday, and an award ceremony banquet on Tuesday, where all the winning chefs will cook together for the attendees. An Asia-Pacific preliminary took place in Taiwan in an open stadium early in July.
“So in order to have good food, I think it starts really from finding a good chef,” said Xi.
The culinary competition is one of the nine artistic and cultural competitions produced by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), an international and independent television station.
For ticket and other information, please see www.culinary.ntdtv.com/en
“Food is almost like a living being, it has to have a spirit,” said Xi Lei, producer of the upcoming 2009 NTDTV International Chinese Culinary Competition in New York.
She said that the spirit of the food is intricately connected to the chef that prepares the dish, in that the dish reflects the character of the chef.
“How he prepares it, what kind of heart and spirit he puts in, his understanding of Chinese food … and what kind of heart he puts into this dish,” are the factors that Xi said influences the outcome of the dish.
She gave a familiar analogy to this exotic concept.
“Why do children, or why do we always like our mothers’ food? It has nothing to do with our moms being good chefs or not. Some are terrible cooks, but we always like their food, because when the mothers cook for their children, they put in their love,” she said.
“The heart is in the food. So we can feel it, that’s why we’ll always remember it. And that’s a very, very good analogy.”
The 2009 NTDTV International Chinese Culinary Competition will take place this month at the Light House (Pier 61) at Chelsea Piers, New York. Chinese chefs from all over the world will compete to produce the most authentic dish—and spirit will be a main judging criteria, whether judges explicitly say so or not.
In addition to expertise in cooking, the judges will also look at the chef’s character, demeanor, moral value, etc. Technique makes the food, but spirit fills the inner meaning, said Xi.
“Sometimes you just think that a dish doesn’t have energy, as if a person is tired. That’s the inner things—the texture, the luster, the color, the steam that’s produced, the right softness, and the amount of gravy,” she said.
The competitors are required to compete in one of the five categories of regional Chinese cuisine, including Cantonese, Huaiyang, Sichuan, Shandong, and Northeastern.
The competition will consist of preliminary on Sunday, September 20, final on Monday, and an award ceremony banquet on Tuesday, where all the winning chefs will cook together for the attendees. An Asia-Pacific preliminary took place in Taiwan in an open stadium early in July.
“So in order to have good food, I think it starts really from finding a good chef,” said Xi.
The culinary competition is one of the nine artistic and cultural competitions produced by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV), an international and independent television station.
For ticket and other information, please see www.culinary.ntdtv.com/en
