Your Favourite Chinese Foods Are Muslim

A few months ago I was interviewed by the SCMP on the origins of Chinese crullers/doughnuts (油條, youtiao). In the article, Dr. Miranda Brown, Dr. Gene Anderson, and I spoke about how this fried delight was in fact one of several fried pastries introduced to China from the "far-away western lands" of the Persians, Arabs, …

We won at the 25th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards!

I've only recently found out that my second book, The Way of Eating, won "Best in the World" in the Special Awards category at the 25th Gourmand International Cookbook Awards 2020!  This is a tremendous honour for the entire team, so I also want to congratulate everyone at Berkshire Publishing, as well as Professors Gene …

We won Bronze Medal at the Gourmand Awards 2019!

I just found out that "Recipes from the Garden of Contentment" had just been awarded 3rd place at the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards 2019 in the Translation category! This is a tremendous honour for the entire publication team, so I also want to congratulate Karen Christensen and Marjolijn Kaiser of Berkshire Publishing, as well as …

Ruth Reichl Likes My Book

The English trade edition of my Suiyuan Shidan translations, The Way of Eating: Yuan Mei's Manual of Gastronomy, has recently been published. It is thoroughly annotated and packed with references like the academic edition but without the full accompanying classical Chinese text tied to the translations that may interfere with one's casual reading experience. AND …

Re-examining Chicken Congee (Beijinger Interview)

Two months ago I interviewed with The Beijinger about my translation and work on the Recipes from the Garden of Contentment: https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2019/02/07/new-english-version-suiyuan-shidan-will-help-you-cook-qing-dynasty-chef This was quite nice since, having someone ask you question ask usual make you rethink some of the the impetus for initially starting the work or some insights into the content of the …

My Interview on OMNI TV

I was on OMNI Television's Focus Mandarin program this January. It was first time I've ever done an interview of any kind in Mandarin. I was so revved up on adrenaline at the time that everything felt like a blur. Rewatching the interviews last week felt rather odd in a disembodied sort of way. Still, …

Interview with Jocelyn Eikenberg

I had the joy of being interviewed by Jocelyn Eikenberg last month for Recipes from the Garden of Contentment. It was great fun and the questions allowed me some time to do a bit of reflection on translating the Suiyuan Shidan, which is always nice. You can read the interview on her blog at: http://www.speakingofchina.com/bookreviews/recipes-from-the-garden-of-contentment/ …

Recipes from the Garden of Contentment is in an Arts Magazine!?

I recently found out that Recipes from the Garden of Contentment  was featured on the Winter 2018 issue of the Dutch art magazine See All This. This was something of a surprise for me. Even though I consider gastronomy and cuisine other types of art, never did I expect the book to turn up in …

Garden of Contentment is one of the year’s Best Cookbooks!

Last Sunday, my book Recipes from the Garden of Contentment was listed in the National Post as one of "14 best cookbooks of the year"! Yessssss!!! Buy a copy ! Be amazed and awed by my "dedication to stress relief"! 😉

Book launched! (and we ate from the book)

This past Tuesday, we did the official launch my book "Recipes from the Garden of Contentment" at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. Needless to say it was a blast and loads of fun; a truly intellectually stimulating and taste bud tantalizing event! Starting things off, I spoke about the story of how this project …