Italian chef brings a little of la dolce vita to Chongqing

For young people in Southwest China's Chongqing, 62-year-old Italian chef Franco Bergamino－or, perhaps, more accurately, his dessert house Mimosa－is the "secret ingredient" to a sweeter life.

The dessert house serves wine jelly with green pepper cheese, jasmine mousse and peach-Oolong cake－fusion desserts that combine Italian specialties with local Chinese ingredients.

Bergamino used to run two dessert houses in his hometown of Turin, both having a history of 90 years. In 2016, he settled in Chongqing and set up a dessert workshop.

He had visited New Zealand, Canada and other countries, but he says that China is more suitable for his professional development.

"I especially like Chongqing, where the food and culture are completely different from my hometown. Life here is like 'the other side of the coin'," he says.

With the help of his local English-speaking friends, he has overcome the language barrier and has even learned some of the Chongqing dialect. More importantly, he has gotten used to the Chinese table culture of "sharing food together".