Exquisite French cuisine, Brazilian barbecue, and deep, vibrant Mexican flavors—nowadays in China, savoring global culinary traditions is no longer a distant dream. Behind these far-traveled flavors are living, breathing individuals who have brought their hometown recipes to China, and on this fertile ground of gastronomy, they have put down roots.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/nvcKMJnZpi0
Romain Desavis and His Cookie Experiment
Nine years ago, Romain Desavis, a Frenchman, moved to Beijing for love and started what he calls his "cookie experiment" ever since.
Inspiration often strikes him from street-side snacks. A stick of candied hawthorn kept him thinking for over a year. He tinkered with the tartness of the filling, fine-tuned the biscuit's crisp sweetness, until one bite could conjure the very soul of a Beijing winter. On a trip to Chongqing in southwest China, he saw locals roll fried dough sticks in sticky rice cakes, dust them with soybean flour and sesame seeds, and he thought to himself: Why not turn this into a cookie? Sweet dumplings, glutinous rice... These everyday foods for Chinese people have gradually been kneaded into his modest, unassuming creations.
Romain places great value on engaging closely with his customers and often seeks their feedback. Over time, he has gained insight into regional preferences: Beijingers lean toward the rich, deep flavorof chocolate walnut, people in Shanghai have a soft spot for coffee, and Shenzhen's younger crowd prefers the bright, refreshing note of raspberry. "Chinese people are open to new experiences, which gives me a wellspring of inspiration that never runs dry," he reflects.
A 22-Year Journey from Brazil to China
Wellington Oliveira de Melo’s journey began with a simple "give it a go." Twenty-two years ago, the then 28-year-old Brazilian chef received an invitation to come to China. He thought he'd stay for just a year, and then go back home, but he never left.
Now he is the head Brazilian chef at a restaurant called Latina. It has long become a habit for him to drop his luggage at the door and head straight to the kitchen when he goes on business trips. He is skilled at finding what connects two cultures. Feijoada, a Brazilian black bean stew, has Chinese customers asking for it to take home week after week. His seafood stew has been called “a Brazilian-style mapo tofu” by diners. Yet the dish he takes the greatest pride in is something simpler: sweet potatoes and purple potatoes, prepared in the style of a Brazilian salad. Two humble ingredients, lightly seasoned, have become a beloved staple on the menu.
His palate has long since "turned Chinese" after 22 years. He now eats Chinese dishes for the majority of his daily meals, with a special fondness for braised pork belly and sauerkraut fish. But what touches him is the city itself. From the Bund to the Lingang New Area, Shanghai feels new every day. The restaurant he works for has expanded from a single location to over twenty, and he has risen from a cook to an executive chef. Nowadays, he even uses artificial intelligence tools to analyze market data. Reflecting on his journey, he acknowledges, "China has given me far more than I ever imagined."
At 54, He Starts His Business in Beijing
Marcus Medina’s story begins with a twist of fate. Back in 2011, the Mexican-American chef, who had already spent nearly three decades weaving his way through the restaurant scenes of New York and Los Angeles, arrived in Beijing as a traveler. Strolling pasta Mexican restaurant, he decided to pop in and introduce himself. Little did anyone know that this small, unassuming gesture would set the stage for a fifteen-year adventure in China.
Embarking on a new chapter in a foreign city at the age of 54 requires a good deal of courage. Yet for Marcus, the seeds had been sown long before. In the 1990s, he visited China and was deeply struck by the vibrant flavors of Hunan cuisine. Years later, as he searched for a new place to build something of his own, China’s energy and possibilities once again rose to the forefront of his mind. In 2012, he and his partners opened the first Q MEX restaurant in Beijing. He believed Mexican cuisine could take root here, after all, in his view, tacos and dumplings shared a certain kinship.
Now 69, he holds the title of executive chef, yet still holds fast to a humble way of working: bussing tables himself, observing which dishes are devoured and which linger uneaten, and seizing the chance to chat with diners. He also turns to big data for inspiration—a Chinese New Year menu shaped by platform insights proved to be a hit upon its release. Over the past fifteen years, he and his partners have unveiled five locations, with plans this year to dip their toes in southern cities beyond Beijing. When asked when he might retire, he smiles: “I’ll be in China for the rest of my life. It’s one of my favorite places on the planet.”
Each of the three chefs has taken a journey unmistakably their own. One finds inspiration in the rhythm of the streets; one discovers connections between cultures; one makes a fresh start in middle age. What they bring is not merely the taste of their hometowns, but a passion that knows no borders. And in China, they have found a stage vast and generous enough for these stories to unfold and flourish.
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