Food documentary stirs culinary craze
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E-mail China Daily, May 30, 2012
Most of all, A Bite of China brought the Chinese back to their culinary roots, most of which has been forgotten in the urban rush.
Chen Xiaoqing, the lead director of the series, sums it up: The series has struck a chord close to Chinese hearts because food is not just about eating, it is about traditional habits, and historical heritage.
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Gifts from Nature Climate and geographical differences lead to distinct eating habits and lifestyles. This episode focuses on the lives of families from the warm and humid seaside to the cold and dry grasslands, to demonstrate the different ways Chinese people attain food from nature. |
"Only the Chinese have such a variety of flavors, all reflected in their experiences in life," he says. "For example, they use the phrase 'to taste bitterness' when referring to hardship in life. Jealousy in a relationship is referred to as 'eat vinegar', and when a woman is bold and straightforward, she is described as a 'peppery personality'."
It makes sense that a man known among his friends as an eager gourmet and street food aficionado should propose the idea of a food and travel documentary early in 2011, after the CCTV documentary channel was established.
Chen's colleague, Liu Wen, says a major mission for the CCTV documentary channel is to introduce China to the world.
"We wanted to show an international audience what China is like, what modern China is like," he says.
The production team of 30 started shooting A Bite of China in March 2011, and finished a year later. To make sure the documentary stands up to international standards, it was the first time CCTV made use of high-resolution cameras and a battalion of camera angles and tricks that created an impressive visual impact.
But work started long before the actual filming. The enormous amount of homework meant plenty of research and consultation with food experts, food historians and food consultants, including Hong Kong-based gourmet writer Chua Lam, himself an ex-film maker, and Shanghai-based food critic Shen Hongfei. The two men were the chief consultants for the series.
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