Renowned Chinese chef takes part in dumpling-making demo at St. James
Chef Bing Yao Qu shows cooking skills at St. James campus on Nov. 26. Photo: Dora Liu/The Dialog
Everyone has their own comfort foods, but we are never too tired to taste some of the world’s delicacies. At George Brown College’s (GBC) chef school, chefs and students are never too tired to learn from the world’s masters.
In late November, the head of the Shanghai Institute of Tourism’s master chef Bing Yao Qu, was invited to visit GBC as part of the Culinary Cities of the World—Shanghai celebration.
Chef Qu’s first event was a dumpling making demonstration at St. James campus.He spent a few seconds chopping the mushrooms, chives, Chinese leeks and shrimps for stuffing. His diced ingredients were as fine and uniform as machine-made brunoise and the dumplings’ fresh wrappers were rolled smoothly and thinly.
He then spent another few seconds sealing the dumplings’ edges with balanced pleats—his fingers working harmoniously like Glenn Gould playing the piano.The audience was amazed with his dumpling art, that the chefs and students never looked away.
Chef John Higgins, director of the chef school, and Chef Jason Inniss, professor of the chef school and supervisor of The Café, were all paying attention to Chef Qu’s hands.Although they were not obligated to attend the event, they came by themselves to learn from the expert; Inniss used his smartphone to take pictures and videos, capturing every crucial step.
Having worked in the culinary industry in China for over 40 years, Chef Qu is a true master. He has worked as a top chef in different high-class hotels in Shanghai, and has also taught Chinese cuisine at the Shanghai Institute of Tourism for 17 years, so there is no doubt that he has culinary skills.
For his first time visiting Canada he wasted no time learning from our chefs, going to markets, and examining our local ingredients. Tasting and testing each ingredient carefully he reached the conclusion that, “most of the ingredients I needed were found here, and they are fresher and safer than in China. That is what we should learn.”
Chef Qu’s second event was a gala dinner at the Chefs House, where he brought his secret recipes for Peking Duck and Chinese-style foie gras to the menu.
“This Peking Duck was made using the Guangdong cooking method to deal with the inner section. That will make the duck meat juicy but the skin still crispy,” said Chef Qu. When talking about his newly developed spicy and brittle foie gras he said, he uses Sichuan spices as the marinating ingredients, and that the foie gras would be sweet, sour, spicy and crispy.
Tickets for the gala dinner were $95 per person, and the consensus was that the guests were very satisfied, although the menu didn’t include any dumpling dishes.“Oh yes, actually my profession is not making dumplings,” said Chef Qu. “I very seldom make dumplings, my profession is to make dishes.”
Judging by the overwhelmingly positive reaction of the demonstration audience to his dumplings, it was surprising to learn that dumpling making is one of Chef Qu’s least important skills.
