Test your Design IQ
Who is the Chinese-Australian chef who gave a fresh perspective on Chinese cooking in her My China book? The book was named the Best Chinese Cuisine Book in the World in the 2008 Gourmand Cookbook Awards.
Her professional cooking career began with a four year stint as head chef of Sydney’s Wockpool, a modern Asian noodle bar and restaurant. She headed the kitchens of two cafes in Sydney, Bill and Bill2.
In 1999, she went on a life-changing trip to China, and literally had a food trip: the juiciest pork and crab dumplings in Shanghai, the dizzying aroma and vibrant flavor of peppercorns in Sichuan, and pot stickers from a roadside stall. But it was a visit to a traditional Chinese teahouse that moved her. That was her inspiration for Billy Kwong, a restaurant she opened in Sydney in 2000 with Bill Granger.
It was a small, vibrant, energetic eating house that served fresh Chinese food. A place where people could meet, eat and talk in a casual, comfortable, nurturing atmosphere. Most importantly, they wanted to make the total experience wonderfully invigorating for all the senses — the resto was a huge success.
In 2002, she appeared in her own television series, Heart and Soul, which traced her life through food, family and friends, such as when she hung out in her uncle’s noodle factory as a child.
Realizing how many people felt daunted at the prospect of cooking Chinese food at home, she launched Simple Chinese Cooking, a television series and book where she sought to demystify the intricate techniques and exotic ingredients that have produced one of the world’s great cuisines.
She has traveled extensively in China, Tibet, and Bhutan researching, writing, and filming. Her latest book My China: a Feast for all the Senses explores the culinary delights of the land of her ancestors, while taking a deeply personal journey into the history, culture, and peoples of China and Tibet.
Her cooking style has evolved from Australia, where she has access to the world’s finest produce, including seafood from pristine waters, a bountiful range of Asian fruits, vegetables and herbs, free-range poultry, and organically raised beef. While she believes that fresh is best, she also believes that our food choices should be ethical, sustainable, and supportive of both the natural and human environment.
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Last week’s question: What do you call this architectural style between the 15th and 17th centuries in Europe, in which there was a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture?
Answer: Renaissance Architecture
Winner: Ma. Leonora del Pilar of Makati City
Text your answer to 09263508061 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1951, 634-1952.Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner
