Culinary culture serves up rich Sino-French exchange

Tang Lin, the chief producer, tells China Daily that the major creators, after rounds of brainstorming, realized that culinary culture remains one of the most intriguing subjects to engage audiences from both countries.

Recalling that the production team was assigned to produce the program in early February, Tang reveals that the 20 chefs are 29 to 55 years old, with most of them being culinary veterans with rich experience.

Filmed between late April and July, the program invited various judges for different episodes, including French TV host Olivier Grandjean and Chinese actor Liu Ye. Onsite simultaneous interpretation was set up to facilitate real-time communication between the guests and participants.

Yang Zhongwen, the show's chief director, explains that they have selected the ten ingredients, which are the theme of each episode, based on a single criterion — ingredients that are commonly used in the local kitchens of both China and France.