Traditional Chinese Medicine purports that diet and exercise play a significant role in maintaining good health by contributing to an optimum balance of vital life energy, or Qi. With diet, heredity and environment as the three sources of Qi traditional Chinese medicine states that foods we eat directly influence physical excesses and deficiencies. In order to be accomplished as a cook Chinese people educate themselves along these guiding principals; TCM doctors are experts in foods, tonics and herbal remedies, among their other skills.

To be a chef anywhere in the world today is an unusual, exciting occupation. Those that rise high now carry the status of celebrities; a few may even have the ear of their national leaders. Chinese chefs, viewed through the lens of Chinese history and Chinese philosophy, clearly take the prize for their historical influence, power, creativity and knowledge. To be a Chinese cook one must be diplomat, an artist, a philosopher and a chemist, blending flavors, nutritional potentials and beauty into a series of elegant dishes that delight and nourish their guests. Using food to promote good relationships, using food as a diplomatic art form, along with traditional means of communication, is crucial more than ever to preserve world stability.

By Valerie Sartor

Editor:Wang Nan