Instructor's Note:

Shirley Cheng, CHE Professor in Culinary Arts Instructor, Food, Wine, and (Agri)culture Trip to China The history of China encompasses more than 5,000 years of intriguing and exquisite developments, events, and traditions. This culinary travel experience covers far more than food and wine; it unfolds the mystery of Chinese culture, gastronomy, and daily life. The journey begins in Sichuan, the largest agricultural province in China, where students experience the provinces rich culinary heritage as they handpick, toast, and package their own tea leaves and visit restaurants resembling farmhouse kitchens. In Shanxi Province, students explore Xian, one of the ancient capitals of the world, and the Shanxi Museum, which boasts an exquisite collection of ancient culinary and artisan utensils. In Beijing, the capital of China, BPS students taste the northern regional style of Chinese cuisine, one that is very different from that of Sichuan. They savor delicious Beijing duck, tasty dumplings, mutton hot pot, and so much more. The course aims to expose students to the multifaceted nature of Chinas geography, culture, and cuisine. Just as students experience the Bamboo Mountain in Sichuan, the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, and the Great Wall in Beijing, they also encounter the many forms culinary culture takes in Chinese life. Students may eat street food for one meal and dine at an upscale restaurant for the next. Food, Wine, and (Agri)culture: China presents a truly memorable opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the intersections of ancient and modern culture that characterize contemporary Chinese society. Each day of the trip brings them to a new level of understanding of the Chinese way of life and the culinary culture that sustains it.
Open to historical influences, enriched by waves of immigration, but with a strong insular character, Taiwan's cuisine defies definition. To understand this rich and stunning mixture of tastes, one must first look at the paths Taiwan's people have travelled on. Aboriginal groups, in the plains as well as in the mountains, already had a well-rooted culinary tradition, rustic and hearty, a reflection of their ancient lifestyle based on hunting, fishing, gathering and basic agriculture.

The arrival of the Japanese in 1895 brought an array of ingredients ranging from seaweed and raw fish to tempura and miso, all of which happily blended with the simple cooking styles of immigrants from mainland China's southern provinces. They had started to cross the Taiwan Strait in considerable numbers in the 17th century. Then, when the ROC moved over from mainland China in 1949, bringing along 2 million continentalssoldiers, public servants and businesspeoplecuisines from every mainland Chinese region made their way onto Taiwanese tables. As a result, the island's food scene brimmed with Sichuan, Guangdong, Beijing, and above all, Shanghai influences. A plethora of mainland Chinese chefs discovered products different from those they were used to back in mainland China, and started to adapt their cooking accordingly. Thus was born, for example, Taiwan's famous beef noodle soup, a Sichuan specialty transformed by local ingredients. Obliged to cohabitate and evolve, these mainland Chinese chefs transformed Taiwan into a huge culinary laboratory. Already stamped with indigenous and Japanese flavors, Taiwan's cuisine further gained in complexity by integrating influences of the great and diverse mainland Chinese tradition. Nowadays, chefs of the new generation incorporate Western techniques so that Taiwans cuisine continues to evolve. In 1986, Danshui Technical College created a program specialized in catering. Then, in 1995, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism was born, becoming a key player in the field. Taiwans gastronomy is becoming ever more hybrid and sophisticated. But in spite of the upgrades in quality, the cuisine of yesteryear is being lost, and the shackles of old techniques somehow put a brake on innovation. Food critic Yeh Yilan is worried about this evolution. Hospitality schools in Taiwan don't offer programs really anchored on Taiwanese cuisine. A great number of recipes disappear when the old chefs who contributed to the creation of specifically Taiwanese dishes move on. These people are going away one by one, and along with them an extremely precious savoir-faire is forever lost. Fortunately, a few young people are devoted to Taiwanese cuisine, she explained. They could look to California as an example, she said, as the U.S. state has succeeded in forging a strong culinary identity in the past 20 years and could serve as a model for Taiwan. Tony Hsu, one of Taiwans most well-known chefs, shares the same view. He believes in the necessity of going back to the roots of Taiwan's culinary practice and reviving it by means of new techniques.

Chinese cuisine has a very long history and was not made in one day. Taiwanese cuisine, the kind that used to be our grandparents' daily fare, has practically disappeared. We have to revive and adapt it to the tastes of new generations. Hsu said in the old days Taiwanese cuisine was something confined to families and small eateries. All those old recipes were passed on via word of mouth. Very little was written to record the slow and complex evolution of this cuisine, he said. This situation prompted him to participate in defining Taiwanese cuisine and devote himself to the renaissance of the old tradition.