A bite-sized piece of culinary culture

One episode directed by Zhang Mu tells the story of peppers in Chinese cooking through the ages. From an ornamental plant recorded in ancient Kunqu Opera to becoming an important seasoning, the changing use of peppers can help chart the movements and tastes of people over the centuries.

"As well as looking at changing tastes, we want to present the uniqueness of Chinese food and show how it has changed throughout history," Zhang says.

During the 10-month shoot, Liu and her crew visited more than 20 provinces and filmed over 400 dishes being made.

"We wanted to find out what was the most attractive Chinese food from an international perspective, and in one episode we introduce Chinese dumplings," Liu says.

And the crew itself has a strong foreign perspective, after three Dutch cinematographers - Ton Peters, Reinout Steenhuizen, and Benito Strangio - joined the team.

The narrator of the show from the previous two seasons, Li Lihong, whose voice is well-known to Chinese audiences by this series, continues to do the voiceover work in season three.