Celebrity chef to share 'gastrobotany' expertise with Beijing eatery

Chef Rodrigo de la Calle [Photo provided to China Daily]

One of the chef's passions is that whenever he visits new places he creates recipes using local plants and flavors, and China is no exception.

During a recent stint at the restaurant, he cooked Spanish pumpkin soup with a Chinese twist.

Pumpkin soup is common fare in Western kitchens, but in his Puerta 20 version, he boiled Chinese pumpkin with chicken stock and used a pumpkin shell as a container.

The soup containing ham, runny egg, and broadbeans was savory and milky.

He also used Chinese hairy crab to cook Spanish paella.

As for Spanish cuisine, he feels that more Spanish dishes should be introduced to Chinese diners.

He says that many people think only of paella when they want to try Spanish cuisine, but just as China has more than Peking Roast Duck in its cuisine, Spain also has more than just paella.

There are several types of Spanish cuisine thanks to its geography and culture, just like in China, he says.