British star chef Fuchsia Dunlop is well-known for her knowledge of the Chinese cuisine – and for her love of Sichuanese food in particular. She was the first foreigner to study full-time at the famous Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine.
In an interactive, culinary conversation with moderator Aurelia Rauch, she presents one of China’s eight great cuisines, best known for its spiciness. All participants received a sample set of typical Sichuanese seasonings and spices to explore the taste, feel and smell of them for themselves while Dunlop contextualises the history and usage of them step by step.
She also talks about her formative experiences in Chengdu, misconceptions about Chinese food, and how cooking was a way for her to delve into a culture and celebrate cultural heritage.

Photos by Ian Cumming

 

About The Speakers

Fuchsia Dunlop is a cook and food-writer specialising in Chinese cuisine. She was the first Westerner to train as a chef at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine, and has spent much of the last two decades exploring China and its food. She is the author of the award-winning The Food of Sichuan; Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China; Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking; Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China. Fuchsia’s work has appeared in publications including The Financial Times, The New Yorker, and Observer Food Monthly. She is a regular guest on radio and television, and has appeared on shows including Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown (2016), CNN’s On China, Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word, NPR's All Things Considered and The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4.

Aurelia Rauch received her Magistra Artium in Art History at the University of Münster in 2010, after her training in museum education at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld and the Kunstmuseum Pablo Picasso Münster. Until 2018, she lived and worked in New York City and played an important role in New York's vibrant contemporary art scene, alongside her work in commercial and non-profit art organizations. Most recently she worked as Creative Director at Sperone Westwater on projects with artists such as Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg, Richard Long, Tom Sachs and Ali Banisadr. Since 2018, Aurelia has been the Head of Communications at Bergos, and Senior Consultant, Bergos Art Consult. Bergos is a Corporate Partner of Asia Society Switzerland.

About Big Picture

Big Picture is a quarter-annual, public event series where we celebrate art in all its forms and shapes: Be it food, movies, museums, or literature. We invite artists, curators, and experts to talk about their practices and how these can help shed light on the world we live in. These talks are designed to further the dialogue and exchange across disciplines and regions and to travel beyond the events.

Big Picture is made possible with the support of Bergos.

The event series is hosted in cooperation with Karl der Grosse.