Do we really need New Year’s resolutions for 2023? | Food Talk Vol. 14
In 2022, Foodthink launched its podcast, “Food Talk”, broadcasting 12 episodes over the course of the year. Beyond our usual writing and events, we can finally connect with friends from all over through the medium of sound. We are most delighted that over 1,400 listeners have subscribed to us on the platform—our sincere thanks to you all.
As the Lunar New Year approached, the whole team gathered in the Foodthink office. Under the theme “Reply 2023”, we looked back on the year gone by and shared our hopes for the year ahead.
If 2022 could be summed up in a single word, it would be “lockdown”. Six of us at Foodthink were locked down in the office together for seven days. Although the restrictions were lifted only two months ago, it already feels like a distant memory.
Amidst the fierce ‘lockdowns’, some colleagues unlocked new skills this year, learning to make kombucha, yoghurt, kimchi, baozi, mantou and other foods; others, seeking a connection with nature, spent almost every weekend in the wild hills of Beijing with their own homemade bread; and some, after much deliberation, ventured abroad at the height of the restrictions to pursue a Master’s degree in Barcelona, Spain…
Looking forward to an open 2023, what New Year’s resolutions does everyone have in store?
This episode is high-energy from start to finish, packed with punchlines, and far more spectacular than the Spring Festival Gala. Whose take on their colleagues left everyone in stitches? Who is managing a project that has completely consumed them? And whose story led Xiaojing to exclaim, “If you’re not in the stand-up comedy show, I’m not watching”?
So, press play and enjoy this grand ensemble of cross-talk comedy.
Guests
Tianle
Founding Editor of Foodthink, the office’s culinary rock bottom and master of the low-effort meal, as well as the organiser of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market. His New Year’s resolutions are pretty much the same every year, simply because he rarely achieves them.
Wan Lin
Foodthink Project Officer. A Chongqing native who can’t handle spicy food. The culinary gold standard of Foodthink, a housekeeping whiz, and a master of decluttering.
Ze’en
Foodthink editor and QQ emoji enthusiast. Neither overly fussy nor particularly picky, but possesses the heart of a foodie, always brave enough to try their hand at all sorts of delicacies (inserts QQ smiley).
Wang Hao
Foodthink editor. Depending on their taste in food, they claim to be a Northerner when with Southerners and a Southerner when with Northerners, but they are actually from Beijing.
Qi Hua
Foodthink Project Consultant. Raised on his father’s delicious home cooking, he possesses the genes of a great chef—though they have been somewhat sidelined by the demands of study and work.
Xiao Chao
Foodthink Project Officer. Navigating a winding path between minimalism and hoarding, along the way developing cooking skills that are hit-or-miss.
Fang Yuan
A newcomer at Foodthink, responsible for coordinating the Beijing Harvest Festival, and working hard to pick up a bit of everything about food and agriculture from various articles.
The Host
Xiao Jing
This episode’s host, a newcomer to the agri-food sector and a mother of two. Her New Year’s resolution? To manage a trip to the airport at least once.
Timeline
00:30 Human sample analysis: How did we all change in 2022?
01:32 As 2022 drew to a close, what was it like for six colleagues to be locked down together for seven days? Was it a real-life version of *Friends*? Foodthink founding editor Tianle shares the experience (with tears).
04:29 Wanlin (aka Wanica), the colleague dubbed the ‘Monica’ of Foodthink, tells the story of her attempt to perfectly recreate Chongqing hot and sour noodles during lockdown.
09:20 Fang Yuan, who had only been with the company for a month when they were locked down with new colleagues they’d only met a handful of times: “Even though I’d only joined for a month or so, I felt everyone was really strange.” “How can they be more serious about food than their work?”
14:28 Zen, a colleague in their second year at Foodthink who didn’t know how to cook, started with kombucha and went on to unlock a series of skills, including kefir, kimchi (which failed), and making mantou and steamed buns.
19:43 Xiao Chao, who started hiking wild mountains every week, has successfully ‘gone feral’ and decided to quit their job in the new year—is it okay to say that?
24:34 Host Wang Hao recounts the 2022 Food Talk podcast recording journey: the struggle of finding an air-conditioned room in 41-degree heat, only to have to switch it off to avoid noise, turning it back on every 20 minutes just to cool down.
30:52 Before the full reopening, Qihua—carrying the hopes of the entire editorial team—decided to travel to Barcelona, Spain, for her Master’s course practical. She shares her experiences of travelling under pressure: “Your husband’s love for you is worth only 20 euros, but your love for your son is 20GB.”
40:27 What did she see in Barcelona, the ‘vegetable garden of Europe’?
44:59 What are everyone’s plans for 2023? Travelling abroad, becoming a home-gardening enthusiast, recovering from long COVID… but then again, is it really necessary to make New Year’s resolutions?
01:02:27 The whole Foodthink team wishes you a Happy New Year!
On the occasion of the Lunar New Year
We’ll also be giving away some gifts!
Leave a comment below and share this article on your WeChat Moments. We will select five readers whose comments receive the most likes, and each will win a Douban Natural Tableware set (Green)~
Happy New Year from Foodthink!
Wishing you good food and good health!
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The Podcast Team
Planning & Production: Xiaojing
Podcast Cover Art: Wanlin
Music: Banong
Article Editor: Wang Hao
Contact email: xiaojing@foodthink.cn