Dishing up a new journey

In Beijing, few flavors have stirred up as much debate as douzhi, the city's traditional fermented mung bean drink. Pungent and earthy, its distinct aroma is notorious for testing even the most discerning palates. For Lucas Garigliano, a 33-year-old Spanish chef who had never encountered it before arriving in China, the challenge was even greater.

On the ongoing reality show Chef of China, of which Garigliano's episode was aired in July, he was tasked with building an entire dish around douzhi. What might have been a culinary pitfall became a turning point. He reimagined and incorporated the humble drink with precision into French cuisine with creative flair — aged Korean kinki (rockfish) paired with charcoal-roasted green peas, celeriac puree, and a creamy douzhi sauce. A light douzhi foam adds freshness while pine nuts provide a bit of crunch.

To complement the dish, he crafted a tartelette of radish, kinki tartare, Changsha (Hunan province)-style fermented chili paste, and a douzhi emulsion — an inventive bite that balanced spiciness and freshness.

The result, as reviewer "Yuechiyueshoudemumu" put it, was irresistible: "The douzhi is truly the soul of the sauce, which is handled so cleanly. The fish was crisp yet tender, and the whole dish was a perfect balance of salty, savory, sour, and sweet. That light douzhi foam was brilliant!"

For Garigliano, however, the dish was more than a showcase of skill. It became a reflection of what he hopes to achieve in China — using Chinese ingredients, French techniques, and his fresh creativity to craft flavors that connect East and West.

That vision has found its stage at TRB Hutong, where Garigliano took on the role of executive chef late last year. The restaurant itself is a meeting point of worlds: a French fine-dining institution set within the centuries-old walls of a historic Beijing temple.

"Every day, I ask myself the same question, how can my food belong to both without losing the soul of either?" he says.

"The answer lies in the dialogue between place and craft. In the meeting of Chinese ingredients with French techniques, there is a softness not in execution but in approach. In humility. In listening. It's less about fusing cuisines and more about finding common ground through quiet gestures on the plate."

For Garigliano, cooking is about striking harmony between creativity and authenticity. "Each dish I create reflects my journey, marrying the traditions I cherish with the vibrant inspirations I've gathered throughout my career," he says.

Garigliano's approach in Beijing is grounded in an international journey that shaped his craft. He honed his skills over seven years at the famed L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon in Paris, mastering the rigor and precision of French gastronomy, before using his expertise in Dubai to lead a new restaurant that earned accolades from Gault & Millau and the Michelin Guide. By 2023, he returned to Saint-Germain as executive chef, a professional homecoming before his move to Beijing.

The past eight months in Beijing, however, have opened an entirely new chapter. A new team, new guests, new menus to design, and a constant stream of unfamiliar Chinese ingredients have made it a journey of firsts.

For Garigliano, sourcing ingredients is a challenge that spans China, not just Beijing. He begins with the centerpiece of a dish, often a protein, and considers which seasonal ingredients best complement it.

"I explore different options and source them from the regions that best produce and harvest them. I taste everything and then decide which one suits the main ingredient I want," he says. "This, more or less, is how I create a dish."

This summer, being one of the hottest and most humid in recent years, Garigliano created a seasonal menu that is both a response to the city's climate and a reflection of his first months in Beijing.

While many Western kitchens strip down summer menus to raw vegetables and limp salads, Chinese chefs serve braised meats and rich sauces even in July. Garigliano respects this honesty but charts his own course to create dishes that balance complexity and restraint, adapting classic techniques and personal memories.

He begins with escabeche (marinated) mussels and pickled Shandong (province) baby cucumber to make a deliberately structured starter — not a raw, minimalist dish hiding behind the word "refreshing".

The acidity sharpens the mussel's natural salinity, while the cucumber brings snap and brightness. It reflects a principle Garigliano holds closely: Local produce should never be a token gesture, but treated with precision so that it can carry the dish on its own terms.

For the seafood course, he turns to Alaskan king crab with kimchi and Yunnan (province) oxheart tomato. The kimchi is no accident. During his time in Dubai, a colleague taught him how it's made and the technique stuck with him. The tomato, fleshy and sweet, anchors the spice with natural weight and balance.

The Red Devil Shrimp dish tells the story of different chapters in Garigliano's life. It begins with a reinvented curry sauce — originally from his mother's kitchen — elevated with fresh aromatics, where his passion for cooking first took hold.

A velvety parsnip veloute (roux and stock) evokes his time in France, the country where he refined his craft. Fresh bamboo, a tribute to his Chinese wife, adds a local touch and a sense of connection to his present. At its heart lies a prized Red Devil shrimp from Spain, tying the dish back to his origin.

"The dish is like a summary of my life. It's spicy, vibrant," he says.

The main course embraces reality: Wagyu beef is not light summer fare. Yet rather than mask its richness, Garigliano exercises restraint in its preparation, crafting a dish that is indulgent without feeling heavy, even in Beijing's sweltering summer heat.

"Shaoxing (Zhejiang province) huadiao wine is one of my favorite Chinese ingredients, which I discovered when I arrived in China last September," Garigliano recalls. He notes that the wine's nutty, mellow character reminds him of French yellow wine from Jura, sparking a connection to his culinary roots.

He builds a deep, layered sauce starting with caramelized shallots and enriched with huadiao wine.

"I add a bit of cognac and a touch of port, a different combination of liquids, with huadiao as the main wine," he explains. The result is bold yet disciplined: hearty, nuanced, and richly flavored, but never weighed down by excess.

Food writer Wu Xuefeng is impressed by the summer menu: "A subtle thread of spiciness runs through the whole menu, giving it cohesion. But each dish sources its heat differently, from house-made hot-and-sour sauce to fermented chili paste from Changsha to pickles."

"In Beijing's stifling summer, that spice awakens the palate, making every other flavor sharper and more vivid. It's like a spotlight on the stage, highlighting the ingredients around it," she says.

About the douzhi fish, Wu adds: "The dish preserves only the lightly fermented tang while balancing the stronger, off-putting notes. Even the tart's hint of spice offsets the douzhi's sour-bitter character perfectly."

Before the summer heat fades, Garigliano has begun planning his autumn menu. Beijing's autumn is beautiful and abundant with flavors, and is sure to bring plenty of new inspiration.