Taking a wok on the wine side

Walker fell in love with wine when she was studying for her doctorate in classical Chinese at Cambridge in 2000, when she met her husband who was the captain of the university's blind-tasting team.

She moved to Beijing with her husband to open Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, and became a specialist wine educator and consultant in English and Mandarin in 2007.

The Institute of Masters of Wine welcomed 13 new Masters of Wine on Sept 5, 2016, including Walker. The title is only held by 369 people around the world, and it took her eight years to obtain the qualification.

Sebastian Basco, producer of the program, planned to produce an original television show about wine and Chinese food with his all-Chinese crew in 2016. However, before meeting Walker, he almost gave up on the idea after trying out three other hosts.

"We had wine experts, but they just acted like wine experts-it was so boring. So, when I met Fengyee, I realized she was perfect for the job. She's a bit crazy, but at the same time she is a real wine expert," says Basco.

The Italian producer, who lived in New York before moving to Shanghai, used to follow accepted rules when it came to pairing wines with Italian cuisine. But after filming the show, he opened his mind to sampling different combinations of wine and Chinese food he had never tried before.

"It really was a journey of discovery-not only about food, but also about wine," says Basco. "I never thought in a million years that I would enjoy a glass of wine while eating insects in real life. And that's great, actually."