Michigan State learns traditional Chinese dishes from visiting chefs

Apr 28, 2016

Tara Fitzpatrick

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  Beijing Duck

  Beijing (Peking) duck was the runaway favorite dish served at the event. “We were running two lines, but we still had to print tickets for people to get the duck,” Strotheide says. “We couldn’t keep up with the flow of traffic.” About 325 pounds, or 65 ducks total, were consumed. The enthusiasm for the food let the MSU dining team know that developing these recipes for the regular menu would be a very smart move.
  

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  MSU

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You could say the Chinese chefs from Beijing Normal University (BNU) showed the American chefs from Michigan State University (MSU) how to get their ducks in a row.
Those ducks were hanging from speed racks in the cooler, not exactly an everyday sight in the MSU kitchen. The fowl were destined to become Beijing duck, one of the traditional dishes the visiting chefs showed their Michigan counterparts during a visit this spring, part of an ongoing culinary exchange program. With the help of several translators, the Chinese chefs demonstrated techniques that resulted in the Taste of China event. To say it was a success would be an understatement.
“We’ve seen high numbers of students for various events, but this was almost mob-like,” says Jason Strotheide, executive chef at MSU’s East Neighborhood. “It was a large increase for each of the locations. Lines were out the door in some cases.”
Now, some of the crowd-pleasing dishes that were served are in recipe development to become regular MSU menu items. See what the collaborating chefs cooked up.