The Chinese pancake, or jianbing, is one of the most common breakfast foods in northern China. Usually filled with ingredients like crispy fritters, chili paste, vegetables and eggs, this almost ubiquitous dish rarely creates a storm on social media.
French chef Corentin Delcroix's rendition of this beloved snack, however, has been doing exactly that. Since it was uploaded on social media platform Sina Weibo on Aug 9, the tidbits video of him creating his own version of jianbing has been viewed about 250,000 times so far.
But just how does his version differ? It is packed with cheese, ham, pickle and black truffle mayonnaise－ingredients typically found in French crepes, which Delcroix says aren't all that different to Chinese pancakes.
The Frenchman is no stranger to many local foodies. His other posts on Sina Weibo that document his attempts at whipping up local dishes like pan-fried bun stuffed with pork and Shanghai vegetable rice have been well-received.
Born in Douai, a city in northern France, Delcroix wears more than just a chef's hat. Boasting 1.3 million followers on Sina Weibo, nearly 1.4 million followers on video-sharing platform Douyin and close to 460,000 on the short-video platform Bilibili, he can be considered as a social media influencer in China.
He is also the founder of Black Olive, a company that helps create new and original dishes for restaurants and food companies. Its clients include Wanchai Ferry, Lacesar Pizzaria, Dr Cheese and Ikea.
Delcroix's fascination with Chinese cuisine started in 2002 when he was studying business administration in Beijing. After learning how to prepare some of the popular local dishes, Delcroix found himself intrigued with the differences between Chinese and French cuisines. He noted that the former had a more complex preparation process and a big emphasis on heat control. French cuisine, in contrast, was more about rhythm instead of heat.
"The first Chinese dish I learned to cook was scrambled eggs with tomatoes," says Delcroix, who is married to a Shanghai resident. "But my favorites are cooked wheat-based foods such as dumplings and steamed stuffed buns."
This experience did more than just whet his appetite－it convinced him to become a chef. After graduating, Delcroix returned to France to learn the culinary arts. In 2010, he traveled to Shanghai where he worked as a chef at the restaurant in the France's Rhone-Alpes pavilion of the 2010 World Expo before becoming a teacher at the Shanghai branch of the renowned culinary school Institut Paul Bocuse.
Three years ago, Delcroix decided to share his favorite Chinese and French dishes on social media. Many of his posts show him preparing dishes that marry elements of both cuisines. For example, he recently created clay pot rice with black truffle and beef marrow, and preserved vegetables with foie gras.
