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0Dishing up a taste of the culture
上菜了！一道有“文化”的菜
Sichuan cuisine is a melting pot of different influences with rich historical and ideological connotations.
深受不同文化的影响，川菜博采众长，历史悠久，底蕴丰富。
When Lan Guijun was born in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in 1965, the steamed Chinese cabbage in supreme soup, one of the most renowned local dishes, had already made a name for itself at a state banquet in China.
兰桂均1965年出生于四川成都，当时四川名吃“开水白菜”已经在中国国宴中声名鹊起。
Now, with over four decades' experience of cooking Sichuan cuisine, Lan still makes the soup in the traditional way and uses it in his signature dish, golden thread noodles.
烹饪川菜四十年由有余，兰桂均仍然用传统手法制作汤汁，并将其用于招牌菜“金丝面”。
Lan, the executive chef of Yuzhilan, a two-star Michelin restaurant in Chengdu, says that, thanks to Sichuan hotpot, the spicy flavors have tickled the taste buds of diners all over the country.
兰桂均是成都一家米其林二星餐厅“玉芝兰”的行政总厨，他表示在四川火锅的带动下，川菜之辣挑逗着全国食客的味蕾。
Seasoned in tradition
用传统“调味”
According to a report on the sustainable development of the Sichuan cuisine industry, issued in October by the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry, by the second quarter of 2022, the number of Sichuan cuisine restaurants reached 320,000, accounting for 31.3 percent of the total number of restaurants in China, much higher than the second and third ranked cuisines, Zhejiang and Cantonese, respectively.
世界中餐业联合会于10月份发布关于川菜行业可持续发展的报告，报告称到2022年第二季度，川菜馆数量达到32万家，占中国餐厅总数的31.3%，远超分别位于第二名的浙江菜和第三名的粤菜。
Sichuan cuisine is popular both at home and abroad, not only because of its versatility — as the old saying goes, "one dish comes with one flavor, and one hundred dishes come with a hundred flavors" — but also due to its openness and inclusiveness, the same characteristics of Sichuan people.
川菜名扬海内外，不仅在于其味道的多变，正所谓“一菜一格，百菜百味”，而且也在于其兼容并蓄，与四川人民的性格一脉相承。
Sichuan chefs, be they veteran or novice, are adhering to its traditional cooking methods and authentic flavors and, at the same time, are innovative in developing new combinations of ingredients and fusing the recipes with other domestic and overseas cuisines.
无论是老手还是新手，川菜厨师们都秉承传统烹调手法，呈现原汁原味，与此同时，他们也创新食材的新搭配，将川菜菜谱与其他海内外菜系相融合。
Local flavor, global appeal
四川味道，全球同爱
Lan was named as one of the 10 inheritors of the national intangible cultural heritage "Sichuan cuisine cooking skills" in November last year, together with his mentor Zhang Zhongyou.
去年11月，兰桂均与师父张中尤一同被列入中国非物质文化遗产“川菜传统烹饪技艺”的10位传承人之中。
He says that he would like to inherit all the traditional cooking skills, as the only thing that changes is their tools. Speaking of innovation, Lan adds that, if a new dish resonates and becomes top local choice, then it's a successful creation.
兰桂军表示愿意传承所有的传统烹饪技艺，因为只有烹调工具在发生改变。提到创新，兰桂军表示如果一道新菜式引起大家共鸣，成为当地首选，那么它就是成功的创造。
Lan says that modern Sichuan cuisine was influenced to some degree by Cantonese cuisine, when it was the most popular food in China in the 1990s. He went to Guangzhou to study Cantonese cuisine for two years at that time and, in 1998, he created a new dish, chicken feet with pickled pepper, which is now a common and popular Sichuan snack nationwide.
兰桂军表示当粤菜在中国90年代最受欢迎的时候，现代川菜在一定程度上受到了它的影响。他曾经去广州学习了两年粤菜，在1998年创造了新菜式“泡椒凤爪”，现在成为了广受全国欢迎的四川名吃。
At his new restaurant Yong, in Guangzhou, he takes Sichuan cuisine at its core while embracing local terroir and the rich culinary culture of Guangdong.
在广州的新餐厅兰亭永，他将川菜作为核心，同时吸纳当地风味和广东丰富的烹调文化。
"Gastronomy is connected worldwide, like music," Lan says. "In European cuisine, the dishes are about the combination of ingredients, while in Chinese cuisine, our dishes are about presenting a different side of the food."
“就像音乐，烹饪学在全世界是共通的，”兰桂军表示。“在欧洲菜是各种食材的组合，然而在中国菜是展现食物的不同面向。”
