Food for thought

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Many people believe that I volunteered as a chef when I started with the Shanghai Expo, but that's not the case. I was working as a consultant for the Arts and Culture Department of the Africa Joint Pavilion when my talents were discovered.

I wanted to create a tie between Chinese and Africans. I volunteered for many things including the master of ceremonies and I even had my own show called Lulu's Story Telling. However, I felt that this communication method was not as effective as I would have liked. A lot of people say that I speak Chinese well, but to me, that was not enough. I wanted people to understand me 100 percent and not just guess what I meant. I found out that food was the best international language.

During my 15 years' living in Asia, many people have asked: "What is African cuisine like?" I have told them that our cuisine reflects our colonial times. However, while those countries' cuisine has evolved, Africa's cuisine has remained the same. A taste of African cuisine is a taste of African history. Many believe that we eat gorillas, tigers or lions. Actually, our cuisine is not that extravagant. This is the reason why I chose to cook professionally and make my name known at the Expo as a chef. I wanted people to know what our cuisine was like.

My cooking talents were discovered by accident. I was with the crew of the Shanghai Food Channel when we stumbled on the Hakuna Matata restaurant in the Expo Garden and I was asked to cook a quick, easy meal. I prepared a steak in seven minutes and it was broadcasted on TV. The staff at Hakuna Matata wondered if I could cook for them temporarily.

I went from a consultant of arts and culture to a casual chef cooking every Friday in the restaurant. With my old job, I had to run around in the heat organizing speeches and stories to tell to the audience. Then, I was doing what I love best - cooking.

I was doing a cooking segment every Friday at Hakuna Matata showing the audience how to make quick and easy meals. Then, I was approached by Aoudi Tahar to join him in creating a Muslim-themed restaurant called Delice de Tunis. And then, I was asked to become the master chef for not only the Congo Brazaville National Day but also for Cote d'Ivoire National Day.

I went from being a nobody to gradually building a strong reputation. Now I can be taken seriously because people respect the fact that I take cooking seriously. It is not only about pre-ordering goods, or standing in the sun and yelling at the top of my lungs. It is about seeing the satisfaction from my customers after eating at Delic de Tunis, and, most importantly, the little piece of Tunisia that I give to my customers.

The author, better known by his Chinese name Lulu, is the Expo Sino-African Friendship Ambassador and has hosted weekly cooking lessons in the Africa Joint Pavilion over the past three months. He is now also operating a small restaurant near the Joint Africa Pavilion.

(China Daily 08/06/2010 page31)