Field, Kitchen, Table
| Days 1-4 | As China’s imperial capital during 13 dynasties, and the eastern terminus of Silk Road trading routes, Xi’an has been a crossroads of cultures, ideas, and ingredients for millennia. Here in China’s ancient heartland, we begin our journey by getting to know each other, and getting a grand introduction to Chinese food and cooking alongside chefs and teachers at one of China’s most renowned culinary training schools. In Xi’an’s historic Hui Muslim neighborhood, we see how northern China’s staple crop, wheat, is transformed into noodles, dumplings and breads of many varieties, and explore ethnic identity and religion in China at one of the country’s oldest and largest mosques. We survey the offerings in colorful neighborhood street markets and consider the ways in which the Chinese empire that began here facilitated the movement of ingredients across Eurasia and beyond. |
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| Days 5-7 | From Xi’an we travel south into China’s most productive agricultural region. “Sichuan” means “Four Rivers” and it’s the abundance of water, and effective ancient engineering, that made this a province where people in some areas traditionally ate four meals a day! As we sample as much of Sichuan’s famously “spicy-numb” regional cuisine as we can handle, we spend the night in a village pioneering ecological farming and join in the process of making doubanjiang, one of this cuisine’s most distinctive and flavorful ingredients. In the provincial capital, Chengdu, we join local enthusiasts and dive into one of China’s most vibrant street food scenes. We also visit China’s largest wholesale market for herbal medicinal ingredients with students of Traditional Chinese Medicine who teach us about the connections between food and health in Chinese eating. |
| Days 8-14 | In an ethnically Naxi village at the base of the dramatic Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, we experience daily life in a rural village, forage for wild mushrooms, roots, and herbs, and practice home cooking over wood fires. Here, we learn about the chaotic ups-and-downs for everyday people in modern China, and hear firsthand how villagers survived one of history’s greatest famines. At a thriving Tibetan Buddhist monastery nearby, we learn about connections between diet and religion in China, and share a meal with the monks. Preparing for the end of our journey, we arrive in the city of Kunming, where we visit a wholesale tea market and learn from experts about Yunnan’s renowned pu’er tea. Finally, we gather to reflect on all we’ve seen, heard, and tasted in a courtyard by Kunming’s Green Lake Park for a memorable farewell meal. |