Isaac Liam Innocente Koenig-Workman, a 23-year-old Canadian filmmaker who graduated from the University of British Columbia, has two Chinese masters -- or "Shifu" in Mandarin.
One is Shi Yandi, the master
Although the two masters teach in different fields, they have both taught Koenig-Workman the same key lessons: perseverance and inheritance.
The filmmaker studied Kung Fu with Shi over a two-year period in Canada. However, he managed to download his wisdom from Zhang during a week-long filming session at the chef's grilled-fish restaurant.
"My dad is also a chef, so I want to dig out the difference between food culture in the two countries," said Koenig-Workman.
He was taking part in the Looking China annual youth film project, which invited eight young foreign directors to film the landscape and culture of Chongqing last month.
Although not as famous as hotpot, grilled fish is another well-known delicacy in Chongqing. It originates from Wuxi County, through which the Daning River runs, bringing with it an abundance of fish. In the county alone, there are over 230 grilled-fish restaurants, and 100,000 grilled fish are sold annually, yielding a revenue of over 150 million yuan (about 21.7 million U.S. dollars).
Among the eatery owners, Zhang was the very first to focus on serving grilled fish in local restaurants in the 1980s.
"We always had the dish on our menu, but no one had ever opened an eatery exclusively dedicated to it. When we began to sell grilled fish specially, our business revenue just shot up. The daily turnover back in the 1990s exceeded 5,000 yuan; that was a big amount of money back then," recalled Zhang.
Walking into Zhang's restaurant, Koenig-Workman found it filled with the aroma of the sizzling grilled fish served on iron plates.
As he dug deeper into the unique characteristics of Chongqing residents, the Canadian found that the enthusiasm for the local grilled-fish dish has spread across China. Zhang has cultivated over 500 students who have now opened their own grilled-fish outlets across China.
Zhang inherited his fish-cooking skills from his ancestors. He takes care over the seasoning of the dish, continuing Wuxi's profound heritage.
In his finished film, Koenig-Workman presents Zhang's personal charms, while highlighting how the chef has been influenced by the local culture and the natural environment. The filmmaker also shows how the master is passing on this cultural heritage to the next generation.
"I will definitely come back to China again and find out more," said Koenig-Workman, who has now become a big fan of Chinese culture in all its diversity.
