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| Belgian dad/son give city food,get back love By Betty Lin | |||||
| Author:佚名 ArticleSource:http://www.zhuhai.gov.cn/ Hits: Update Time:2006-9-4 | |||||
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After operating five restaurants in Belgium for 40 years, Alain wound up selling antiques and art paintings, just like many other Belgium cooks and restaurant owners. "I wanted to have a change and live in quiet," he says. Two years ago, Alain was talking to a close townsman in a restaurant in his hometown, and he got to know about the man's son Andrew Pagliero, a Belgian who had been in China for 12 years, including five in Zhuhai, where he worked. "Why don't you go to Zhuhai and stay with Andrew for some time," Andrew's father suggested. So Alain came to China and soon began operating the Belgian restaurant and cellar in Jida. His first idea was to import Belgium chocolate to China through Zhuhai. He said that the world's richest, most elegant handmade chocolates originate in Belgium and the extensive selection of hand-made chocolates that are prepared fresh daily in shops is guaranteed to satisfy any chocolate lover. However, there were problems in customs clearance due to quarantine on various nuts in the cores of the chocolate. A Belgian gourmet zealot, Alain decided to open a Belgian beer bar instead, which he did during the New Year celebrations of 2005 and which he turned into a restaurant last September. The restaurant is so Belgian that if a native Belgian were to come directly from the airplane, he would think he was in a restaurant back home. With a row of square brown wooden tables by a long brown leather seat and the wall with arched mirrors reflecting flickering candles and glistening lamps, the decor is simple, clean and pervaded with a warm European atmosphere. Since it became independent of France and Holland in 1830, Belgium has developed a superior food culture, which has fostered top cooks and gourmets in the world, according to Alain and Andrew. "Belgians create food," Andrew states. That claim is easy to support; Belgian has more three-star restaurants than France. Simply put though, women do simple cooking to keep family alive and Belgian men do the creative, elaborate cooking, he explains, adding that Alain is like an artist. Alain loves cooking food. He learned some things in the kitchen when he was 6 years old and later followed a cookbook handwritten in Old Roman handed down from his grandmother. It is common in Belgium that men cook at weekends, and many businessmen drive to buy materials and cook in person as a means of relaxation, Alain says. A professional cook and restaurant operator, Alain stresses: "You need passion to do your job, to put passion in the kitchen. You have to like it." However, the pity is that Belgian food is mostly not available in Zhuhai, which discourages Alain who is strict with materials and demanding as to quality. His restaurant makes every effort to obtain the best quality food, says Alain. They use beef from New Zealand, pure chocolate, cream and cheese from Belgium and other products such as beer and herbs from different parts of Europe. They allegedly make the most genuine Belgian pizza as well. Alain and Andrew insist that the Belgian restaurant has enriched the food variety of Zhuhai, and Alain advocates that local people try different western food while Andrew advises them to sample genuine European flavour. While Belgium is famous for its waffles and chocolate, and while beer, of course, is a key recipe ingredient, the cuisine also includes frites, mussels, carbonnade flamande, endive, speculoos, pralines and beef stew. Jean Martelaere, a tall, thin 20-year-old tall who learned techniques concerning wood processing at school, is in charge of the restaurant at the moment. "I like food. I like to take care of people, and I like to look after the restaurant," he says. He takes orders, checks food and bills and enjoys some food for relaxation when he is not so busy. He likes going to the coffee bar and shopping at the underground shops at Gongbei Port. Much experienced in operating a restaurant, Jean reveals that he now enjoys restaurants when he dines out, as he knows every detail behind them, which greatly fascinates him. Meanwhile, the Belgian cellar was opened by Alain with his partner Andrew in Shuiwantou. Shelved in lines in the walls of red brick, the wines, in a range of price and quality, are imported from France, Brazil, South Africa, Portugal and other world-famous wine-producing areas. The wines and Belgian food will be accepted by local people eventually, though slowly, Alain predicts. His next mission is to import fresh products directly from Belgium, hopefully by the end of this year. Originally intending to stay in Zhuhai for a vacation of a few days, Alain never expected that he would not only own a restaurant and cellar, but also found true love with a Chinese woman in this beautiful seaside City of Romance. The same thing happened to his son Jean, who also has found happiness with his Chinese girlfriend in Zhuhai.
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