As the spring tea season drew to a close, the picturesque Mocun Resort in Deqing, Zhejiang province, became the setting for an extraordinary culinary event featuring French Michelin-starred chef Ugo Rinaldo. The special dinner, co-presented by Food & Wine China and premium tea brand Basao, showcased an inventive fusion of fermented tea elements and locally foraged ingredients, marking another successful installment of Basao’s “Young Chef” initiative that supports emerging culinary talent.
Chef Rinaldo, whose distinguished career includes training at Monaco’s three-Michelin-starred Le Louis XV after beginning at La Barbacane in Carcassonne, brought his decade of experience working with Chinese ingredients to create a menu that celebrated Zhejiang’s terroir. Since arriving in China in 2013, the French chef has developed particular expertise in reinterpreting local flavors through contemporary techniques.
The dinner’s standout creation featured an artful combination of tea-infused seafood. Lychee wood charcoal-grilled sea bream achieved perfect textural contrast with crisp skin and succulent flesh, while tea-cured river shrimp captured the essence of mountain freshness. The dish reached its crescendo with a complex sauce blending black oolong kombucha – fermented for nuanced smoky acidity – with rich fish bone broth.
This gastronomic event exemplified the growing movement among chefs to bridge traditional Chinese ingredients with modern culinary approaches. Through thoughtful fermentation techniques and hyper-local sourcing, Chef Rinaldo’s menu paid homage to Zhejiang’s seasonal bounty while demonstrating the sophisticated potential of tea as a culinary component beyond the teacup.
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