Banquet halls to home stoves

One of his most unlikely legacies is a dish now found on menus across China: blueberry yam.

The idea emerged from thrift. While preparing a traditional dish of osmanthus yam strips, Sun found that scraps were inevitably discarded. Unwilling to waste them, Sun steamed and mashed the leftovers.

The result was bland — until he borrowed from Western pastry techniques, adding whipped cream and condensed milk, piping the mixture into delicate mounds, and finishing it with blueberry sauce. What began as an anti-waste experiment became a nationwide staple.

If blueberry yam was an inspired improvisation, Sun's reinvention of roast duck was a deliberate, years-long pursuit.

After taking on a leadership role at Bianyifang, he noticed a shift in diners' expectations toward healthier eating. Roast duck, an iconic dish of Chinese cuisine, was synonymous with richness. Sun wanted to change that without losing its soul.

Starting in 2003, he worked with nutrition experts to overhaul the process. Vegetable juices replaced traditional marinades. Even the liquid poured into the duck cavity — once spiced water — was reimagined. The result was a technique he describes as "roasting outside, simmering inside", producing a duck that was lower in fat and oil while retaining its signature depth of flavor.

The innovation earned a national patent and industry acclaim. But for Sun, the goal was never recognition. It was continuity.

"Preserving tradition doesn't mean refusing changes," he says."You keep the roots, but give them new life for today."

Having already modernized state banquet dishes for changing tastes, Sun soon realized the medium for sharing them also needed to evolve. In 2019, he turned to a different audience: home cooks.