Which documentary once shaped the career choices of our colleagues at Foodthink, prompting us to dedicate ourselves to the food and agriculture sector? Perhaps it was this one: *Food, Inc.* Released in 2009, the documentary pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of the US food industry, placing particular…
On a windy March day in Beijing, we sat down with Tang Liang, who had travelled all the way from Liangliang Farm in Sichuan, to reflect on his twelve-year journey back to the countryside at the Foodthink offices. Tang was the first in his family to attend university. After graduating…
The Spring Festival holiday has passed. What hometown flavours did you enjoy when you went back this year? In this episode of Food Talk, the Foodthink team gathers to share their culinary memories of the festivities. From Shaanxi to Hainan, and on to Harbin and Beijing, each region boasts its…
How do you tell if your fruit and vegetables are any good? Judging them purely by how neat and uniform they look? Yet why do all those irregular, “ugly” fruits and vegetables vanish the moment they reach the shelves? It isn’t a genetic mutation; it’s market selection. If consumers judge…
Near San Yuan Bridge in Beijing sits an unusual community greengrocer. Every fruit and vegetable arrives directly from local ecological smallholder farmers. Each item is individually identifiable, grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilisers, and adheres to rigorous production standards. The shop, named Jishi, is run by the Beijing Organic Farmers…
Longtime Foodthink readers will likely already know the name ‘Grandma Kouzi’. Since 2021, this woman nearing sixty has chosen to relocate to ‘Evil Valley’ in Fujian, building her own home, tending the crops herself, carving out a sanctuary from barren land, and exploring a self-sufficient way of life. In this…
In this episode, we’ll take you into the fascinating world of fermented foods—cheese—and introduce the story of Liu Yang, founder of Bleu Cheese, a master cheese artisan from China. Originally from Beijing and trained in IT, Liu Yang stumbled upon milk churning and cheesemaking while studying in France. This “incredibly…
This episode of Food Talk marks our first crossover with a partner podcast, *Da Xiao Dian Bo*. We’ll join the show’s host Gu Si and regular guest Nan Shan to explore the imaginative and delicious world of fermented foods. As the founder of the chocolate brand Qiaoli Ke, Nan Shan…
This episode of Food Talk features two guests, Mary and Liu Xinzheng, both formally trained in Fermentation Engineering. We sit down with them to discuss how their passion for home-brewing craft beer sparked a broader journey into the world of fermentation. While studying Fermentation Engineering at university, their love for…
You may have heard of homemade pickles, kimchi or kombucha, which seem to have become the latest craze among young people. In truth, you might never have considered that fermented foods are actually a staple in our kitchens. Whether it is soy sauce, vinegar, wine, cheese, miso or fermented bean…
