2023: Do We Really Need New Year’s Resolutions? | Food Talk Vol. 14
In 2022, Foodthink’s podcast Food Talk went online and ran twelve episodes over the year. Beyond our written pieces and events, Foodthink could finally connect with friends across the country through the medium of sound. What made us happiest was that more than 1,400 listeners subscribed to us on the platform – a special thank-you to every one of you.
With the new year upon us, all colleagues gathered at Foodthink’s office. Around the theme “Please Answer 2023”, they looked back on 2022 and chatted about what they hoped 2023 would bring.
If a single character could sum up 2022, it might just be fēng – ‘lockdown’. Six Foodthink colleagues were once locked down together in the office for seven days. Although only two months have passed since the lockdown lifted, it already feels like a distant memory.
Amid the fierce blaze of “lockdown”, some colleagues unlocked new skills in making kombucha, yoghurt, pickled vegetables, filled and plain steamed buns, and more; others, eager to feel the embrace of nature, spent nearly every weekend on the wild mountains around Beijing with homemade bread in tow; and someone, after much deliberation, left the country at the peak of lockdown to attend a master’s programme in Barcelona, Spain…
Looking ahead to an open 2023, what New Year plans did everyone come up with?
This episode is high-energy from start to finish, with a barrage of punchlines – it far outshines the Spring Festival Gala. Whose remarks about colleagues had everyone in stitches? Whose heart was stolen by the very project they were meant to be running? Whose story had Xiaojing exclaim, “I won’t watch Rock & Roast without you”?
So, press play and tune in to this grand live group crosstalk show.
This Episode’s Guests
Tianle
Foodthink’s founding editor, our office’s cooking floor and master of quick, slapdash dishes. Also the convenor of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market. Every year, the New Year’s resolutions are pretty much the same – because they’re rarely achieved.
Wanlin
Foodthink’s project officer. A Chongqing native who can’t handle spicy food. Our office’s cooking ceiling, a housekeeping whiz, and a decluttering guru.
Zeen
Foodthink editor and QQ sticker enthusiast. Not particular or fussy enough – but with a foodie’s heart that dares to try making all kinds of dishes (manually typing the QQ smiley here).
Wanghao
Foodthink editor. Because of their taste in food, they claim to be a northerner among southerners and a southerner among northerners – when, in fact, they’re a Beijinger.
Qihua
Foodthink’s project consultant. Grew up on Dad’s delicious home cooking, carrying the genes of a great chef – forever sidelined by studies and work.
Xiaochao
Foodthink’s project officer. Treading a winding path between decluttering and hoarding, they’ve built up a hit-or-miss set of cooking skills along the way.
Fangyuan
Foodthink newcomer, responsible for coordinating the Beijing Harvest Festival, and doing their best to pick up all manner of food and agriculture knowledge from various articles.
This Episode’s Host
Xiaojing
This episode’s Question Officer, a newcomer to food and agriculture, and a mother of two. The New Year plan is “at least make it to the airport once”, I suppose.
Timeline
00:30 Human Specimen Analysis: What changes did we all make in 2022?
01:32 What was it like for six colleagues to be locked down together for seven days as 2022 wound to a close? Is a real-life Friends as fun as it sounds? Foodthink’s founding editor Tianle recounts it all, through tears
04:29 Wanlin, dubbed Foodthink’s Monica – aka Wanica – shares her story of trying to perfectly recreate Chongqing hot-and-sour noodles during lockdown
09:20 Fangyuan, forced into lockdown just a month after joining, found themselves stuck with new colleagues they’d only met three or five times. “I’ve been here barely over a month, but I think everyone’s really odd.” “Why does everyone take food more seriously than work?”
14:28 Zeen, a non-cook entering their second year at Foodthink, started with kombucha and unlocked a whole series of skills: kefir, pickled vegetables (a flop), steamed buns, stuffed buns, and more.
19:43 Xiaochao, who started hiking the wild hills every week, successfully completed their rewilding and decided to quit their job for the new year – are we allowed to say that?
24:34 The 2022 Food Talk podcast recording journey, passionately narrated by host Wanghao: the tale of finally finding an air-conditioned room in 41-degree heat, only to switch it off because of the noise, then turning it back on every 20 minutes for a quick cool-off.
30:52 Just before the country fully reopened, Qihua – carrying the hopes of the entire editorial team – decided to travel to Barcelona, Spain, for an in-person master’s practicum. They share their experiences of pushing through the pressure: “Your husband’s love for you is worth just 20 euros; your love for your son is worth 20 grams.”
40:27 What did they see at the “European Garden” in Barcelona?
44:59 What are everyone’s plans for 2023? Travelling abroad / becoming a “fellow grower” growing veg at home / shaking off long-COVID symptoms as fast as possible… But then again, is it really necessary to make New Year’s resolutions?
01:02:27 The whole Foodthink team sends you their New Year’s greetings!
On this auspicious Spring Festival
We’ll also be giving away gifts for everyone!
Leave a comment below the article and share this post to WeChat Moments. We’ll pick the five readers with the most likes on their comments, each receiving a green Douban natural tableware set ~
Foodthink wishes everyone a happy New Year!
Wishing everyone good meals and good health!
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Podcast Production Team
Planning & Production: Xiaojing
Podcast Cover: Wanlin
Music: Banong
Article Editor: Wanghao
Contact email: xiaojing@foodthink.cn