14 famous chefs and Michelin masters from China and the rest of the world, 200 global well-known brand, 750 culinary professionals, 12 demonstrations by world-class cooks, 36 high-end culinary lectures and seminars on cooking techniques … The first international culinary culture exhibition and the international food summit - Sabor Fushion Shanghai - was held at Shanghai Pudong International Conference Center on June 14 and 15. This is not only a big event for the exchange of dinning culture, but also an innovation of business model.
As the first international food event ever held in China, Sabor Fushion Shanghai (SFS) draws the most well-known Michelin masters and leading figures in the profession around the world.
On the first day of the event, Ivan Munoz, chef of Chiron, a restaurant in Madrid, and gifted, young Michelin master, SergiArola, chef of La Broche, famous Rock’n’Roll cook and Michelin master and Qian Yibing, renowned Chinese cook, founder of the innovative kitchen Taste Fusion, performed the art of cooking on the scene. The kitchen for national dinner and Michelin kitchen were recreated and satisfied the curiosity of the audience.
A unique feature of the event is the exchange of cooking technique and ideas on good food among the chefs and their peers and the audience.
On the day, Diego Guerrero, famous chef from Spain, was also present at the event to meet with his peers in China. The new restaurant DSTAgE in Madrid ran by Diego was ranked the first place in the city and is the destination of many tourists. Diego was impressed with the crispy chicken he had at Qian Yibing’s restaurant, one of dishes that Qian is proud of. During the exchange session, Diego kept asking Qian about the secret of making such crispy chicken persistently as someone who strives to make the best food. After being bombarded by the questions, Qian finally gave out his secrets: material, seasoning and temperature. “The chicken should be 1 kilogram. It should neither be too big nor too small. The amount of seasoning should be well controlled, as the saying goes ‘A good cook knows how to use a handful of salt.’ The success of a dish relies on the amount and timing of the salt added…” These exclusive revealing greatly benefited the chefs, apprentices, and cooking lovers.
“Sabor Fusion” means a fusion of tastes. Taste is not the only thing that is fused during this grand event of food. At the other side of the venue, food lecture, cooking technique seminar, cooking technique competition, food review gathering and culinary management and investment forum were held at the same time. Visitors could easily see the cooking utensils, knives, seasonings and ingredients that the chefs are using, from eggs to a whole kitchen.
Themed as “Fantasy · The World of Cooking”, the summit includes four sections: Kitchens in the world, Art and Food, Technology and Food, Business and Food. The three feature events - Sabor Fusion Star Chef, Sabor Fusion Gourmet Week and Sabor Fusion Guest Chef - blend art and business perfectly.
The organizer, Shanghai Ziheng Group, is a food service business located in Yangpu. Drawing on its experiences and resources of years, it is providing a whole-package product and service solutions for food providers, restaurants and hotels with resources along the whole industry chain through the platform of international food summits and forums. This platform has signed contracts with many top Michelin cooks and Chinese cooking masters and started cooperation with more than 200 high-end brand providers in China and other countries.
The officials in the Business Committee of Yangpu told us that Shanghai is developing a “four new” economy (i.e., new technology, new industry, new model and new ecosystem in industry) and build technology innovation center that has global impact. The new industrial and economic system will focus on the integration and cross-industrial collaborative innovation among information and manufacturing and service industry. “New ecosystem of industry and new models such as the combination of software and hardware and integration across industries and acquisition and merger are emerging with new ways of work and revolution of productivity. The first SES will facilitate the transformation and upgrading of the economy of Yangpu District.”