Pittsburg chef recognized by prestigious James Beard Awards

Green peppercorn flavored chicken in red chili oil, a popular dish on the menu and prepared by Zhu Wei.  PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Zhu's cooking skills caught the attention of two Chinese PhD graduates. Unable to find good jobs in their field, they persuaded Zhu to join them to open their own restaurant as partners in 2011. It was a great success.

Wanting to have his own business, Zhu left the partnership and opened Chengdu Gourmet in 2014.

Chengdu Gourmet attracts American and Chinese customers with its somewhat modified Sichuan cuisine. Many of the key ingredients are directly from Sichuan, said Zhu.

"Most of my spices are US certified imports – such as spicy bean pastes, Sichuan peppercorns, Yibing cardamine bean sprouts, and star anise," he said.

Spicy bean pastes are widely used in a lot of Sichuan dishes and a key ingredient to flavor. "I create my own special spicy bean paste by combing three to four different kinds of pastes. I also make my own pepper oil and hotpot sauce," Zhu said.

Sichuan cuisine is known for being very spicy and giving a strong tingling sensation from Sichuan peppercorns. Most people outside of Sichuan can't handle the level of spiciness, and Zhu said he had to adapt.

"I reduced the amount of oil, pepper and peppercorn for each dish so that it's less oily and less spicy, yet still retain the distinctive deliciousness typical of Sichuan cuisine," said Zhu.

Always looking for new ways of preparing food, Zhu said he often phoned home to talk to other chefs in Chengdu to learn about new trends and new dishes. Every three months, he creates three new dishes and adds them to the menu. "I like to surprise my customers," said Zhu.

Zhu has been constantly improving the appearance of his restaurant with the income generated since he opened it. However, the improvement doesn't stop there; he wants to make the dishes better.

"I have made plan to go back to Chengdu this summer to do a two-week training course on tofu dishes. Tofu is a healthy and popular food choice. I want to learn more and better ways of preparing tofu to make my customers happy," said Zhu.

`The Oscars of Food'

The James Beard Awards, often called "The Oscars of Food", were established in 199, and are presented annually by the James Beard Foundation for excellence in cuisine, culinary writing and culinary education in the US. They are voted on by more than 600 culinary professionals. The awards are named for the celebrated American cookbook author, teacher, syndicated columnist and television personality. Beard was a champion of American cuisine who taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He died in 1958 at the age of 81.