Making royal cuisine accessible

Jing Changlin (left) and his student Sun Kaidong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Jing Changlin has had more than a dozen students over the years, but not everyone keeps cooking.

Not even his son, who has migrated to the US and left the kitchen.

Sun Kaidong is his favorite student.

Sun was born in Shandong province and got to know Jing Changlin in the 1980s when he was working under him in the Beijing Yingzhou Hotel.

There, Sun became his student and learned Chinese royal cuisine.

In recent years, Sun has worked as the executive chef for the New Century Grand Hotel in Beijing, and has even been the secretary-general of the China Royal Chef Association.

Sun has designed more than 120 menus comprising Chinese royal cuisine for different occasions, and also written articles on the health benefits of the royal cuisine.

Sun says: "The cuisine uses no MSG, and all the flavor comes from the food. It is nutritious and is not very expensive to make."

Now, Sun wants to bring the royal cuisine to everybody's dinner table.

"There are a few royal dishes that use rare ingredients such as swallow's nests or bear paws, but it is not like what is depicted in TV dramas," says Sun.

Sun, who studied the dining menu of the Qing Dynasty kept in the Palace Museum several years ago, says: "It (royal cuisine) is more about a way of cooking ordinary farm produce, and royal etiquette."