A taste of adventure

Li never expected her first executive chief position would happen this soon. "You don't need to plan your next step, as long as you give your best, there will be rewards," she says.

On July 1 last year, when her first set menu was launched, Li felt a bit nervous, and carefully observed the reaction of diners and later checked their views at online platforms of review and rating.

Determination constantly propels her to refine and elevate herself. This summer, after four rounds of creating and launching new menus, Li finds herself better adapted to the job and is improving with each new menu.

Besides taking control of the kitchen, she is managing a team of around 20, looking after every detail, even down to the choice of soap in the restaurant's bathroom.

She also engages in quarterly collaborations with different artists, pushing the boundaries and transforming the restaurant into an exhibition space featuring displays of traditional objects.

The fusion of food, paintings and decorative ware elevates and enriches the overall experience, she says.

Li likes permutations and combinations, and finds joy in the art of harmonizing different ingredients. She says the process is much like crafting a fragrance, an act of continual creation that must avoid copying others and, most importantly, repeating oneself.

A social media influencer nicknamed Li Xiaoni has witnessed Li Zhanxu's progress over the last two years from dessert chef to executive chef.

"I'm impressed by one of her chicken dishes, which involves stuffing snail meat and spring bamboo into a chicken wing. Her dishes are distinctive, and the flavors are truly unique," she wrote on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese lifestyle platform.

"This could very well be the distinguishing trait of chefs born after 1995s. They do not confine themselves to established norms. Rather, it is their unrestrained and imaginative creativity that embodies the future trend."

Contact the writer at liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn