Sichuan cuisine heats up global gourmet image

Sichuan cuisine - one of China's eight great regional cuisines - is playing an ever-active role in advancing Chengdu's image on the international stage now that the city is accelerating its opening-up.

Chengdu was the first city in Asia to be awarded the title of City of Gastronomy by UNESCO, in 2010.

Former British prime minister David Cameron and many other political leaders tasted Chengdu hot pot during their visits to the city.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel once bought ingredients in a vegetable market in Chengdu and learned how to cook Kung Pao Chicken, a classic spicy Sichuan dish.

Now Chengdu will host the seventh Slow Food International Congress, an international gathering of the global slow food movement which began in Italy in the 1980s, originally to defend regional traditions and promote good food and traditional cooking. It will be held from Sep 28 to Oct 1, and will attract more than 600 representatives from 90 countries and regions.

It is the first time the congress will be held in an Asian country. Representatives from domestic and overseas restaurants, slow food companies, national leaders and scholars will discuss a wide range of topics.

Carlo Petrini, founder and president of the Slow Food International Association, or the SFIA, paid a visit to Chengdu in June and found that it was a suitable city to hold the congress.

He said that slow food focuses on the source and the ingredients of food, and preserves cultures by celebrating and advancing the cause of high-quality and clean food, which is what Chengdu cuisine is all about.

Chengdu plans to launch more projects with the association, including settling the SFIA in Chengdu and establishing a slow food international village.

Petrini visited Sichuan University on June 22, with the intention of fostering an exchange of gastronomical culture and art.

He said that the SFIA would cooperate with Sichuan University to train people in international cuisines, and to explore slow food technologies and other projects in the future, in order to promote the development of slow food in China.

As one of the most influential culinary and cultural organizations, the SFIA has established branches in 170 countries. Its congress, held every four years, has gathered in six countries since 1990, including Italy and Mexico.

The 2016 San Francisco Chengdu Food and Culture Festival, organized by the Chengdu and San Francisco governments, was held last November, and underscored the growing friendship between the two cities.

During the event, chefs from Chengdu provided typical Sichuan cuisines for staff from 10 high-tech companies in Silicon Valley, including Intel, Facebook and Google.

The festival was filmed by famed TV show Yan Can Cook, a US culinary program with global reach.

The host of the show is Chinese-American chef and food writer Zhen Wenda, who devotes himself to promoting Chinese cuisine to the world.

Zhen said that he will make efforts to introduce the food and culture of Sichuan to audiences in the United States.

The TV show, which will be broadcast on the US Public Broadcasting Service at the start of 2018, will have a total of 13 half-hour episodes.

According to the Chengdu Commission of Commerce, 10 Sichuan cuisine promotion centers will be established internationally in the next three years, to promote the branding of Sichuan cuisine.

caoyingying@chinadaily.com.cn