On October 27th, Beijing time, students and teachers from Chinese and Italian universities participated in an online classroom event called “Live Studio of China Eastern Airlines”. Students and teachers from the Italiandepartment of Nankai University and the Chinese department of Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, and the “Sky Chef” team from China Eastern Airlines participated in an activity of cultural exchange on Italian and Chinese cuisine.
During the event, students and teachers from Chinese and Italian universities shared and discussed the food culture of both countries in various forms. Martina Franceschini, an employee of the Sales Department of China Eastern Airlines in Rome, and Zheng Yuhao, a student of Italian department at Nankai University, shared their understanding and feelings about Chinese morning tea and Western afternoon tea. Three students from the Chinese department of the University of Rome introduced the specialties of their hometown. Ludwig Strobel, executive chef of China Eastern Airlines, Ma Tingtang, senior pastry chef, and Hu Anlun, a former flight attendant living in Italy, unveiled the health and cultural philosophy of China Eastern airlines’ food to the students. The students were able to taste the “bowl of China Eastern Airlines noodles” and the “cup of China Eastern Airlines tea” online.
Zheng Yuhao talked about the evolution of Chinese tea and pastries, starting with the colorful and flavorful Chinese pastry and Chinese morning tea culture, and he vividly demonstrated the delicate aesthetics and the way to maintain health of Chinese dining culture. Francesca Billi, Nicolò Ivaldi and Elisa Orrù, students from Sapienza University of Rome, introduced the specialties of their hometown in Chinese and invited their Chinese friends to have a try in Italy themselves sometime.
As a “senior” who also graduated from Sapienza University of Rome majoring in Chinese, Ma Huixin, an Italian employee of China Eastern Airlines, had a deep understanding of the cultural harmony and differences between China and Italy. In her speech, she also quoted the famous line from the Three-Character Classic, “men’s natures are much the same; their habits become widely different”. “Although there are differences in the food and cultural customs of Chinese and Italian people, we all share the same aspiration and pursuit of delicious food and wonderful life,” she said sincerely.
Live show of Chinese and Western chefs reveals the special aesthetics of airline food
During the live broadcast, Hu Anlun, a former flight attendant who lived in Italy, was the anchor. He led the students and teachers to the China Eastern Airlines Food Co., Ltd, where they met Ludwig, the foreign executive chef of China Eastern Airlines’ “Sky Chef” team, and Ma Tingtang, a senior pastry chef with 45 years of experience in making Chinese and Western desserts. Students and teachers observed the production process of Chinese desserts and Western desserts, and experienced the similarities and differences of Chinese and Western dessert cooking skills.
Talking about the concept of healthy eating, Ma Tingtang enthusiastically shared his ingenuity of using natural ingredients instead of artificial additives and using coarse grains as the main ingredient in the design process of the voyage food to make desserts. Facing the exquisite desserts made by Ma Tingtang, Chef Ludwig praised, “Chinese pastries always give a wonderful visual enjoyment.”
Chief Stewardess Hu Anlun led the students from both countries to taste the special food of China Eastern Airlines online and explained the design concept behind the “bowl of China Eastern Airlines noodles” and the “cup of China Eastern Airlines tea”, which are both delicious and healthy. The latter is a new series of national style products with the theme of Journey to the West, which was highly praised by students. Through the lens, the students intuitively understood the ingenuity of combining culture and cuisine in China Eastern airlines’ meals and felt the unique charm of Asian food.
The wonderful performance of the Chinese and German chefs and the fun assessment of the Chief Stewardess Hu Anlun triggered an enthusiastic interaction among the students. Nankai University’s Italian students Zhang Shijie and Tang Ying answered the trivia questions posed by Chief Stewardess Hu Anlun.
Letizia Vallini, an Italian teacher from Nankai University’s Italian Department, asked Martina Franceschini how to learn a foreign language well. Martina Franceschini sincerely replied, “For me, the most important thing is to keep an open and tolerant mind and to communicate more often in foreign languages in order to improve my language skills quickly.”
Junxiuwen Wang and Xinrui Liu, the students majoring in Italian from Nankai University, actively asked the three guests about questions on the similarities, differences and characteristics of Chinese and Italian cuisine. Francesco Sarra, a student from Sapienza University of Rome, asked Chef Ludwig if he had ever tried to cook Chinese food. He replied with a smile: “I have tried to cook a few Chinese home cooking dishes. Each Chinese person has their own unique recipe, which makes the Chinese food culture very colorful and provides me with a lot of inspiration to create a more international airline meal.”
The wonderful connection of hearts continues to write a new chapter of school-enterprise cooperation
Prof Yang Lin, head of the Italian Department at Nankai University, encouraged the students to take advantage of the cultural experience class, “Both Chinese students learning Italian and Italian students learning Chinese will be the bridge between China and Italy in the future. Although we are far apart, our hearts are very close.
In her speech, Zhou Jing, Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Pudong Center of China Eastern Airlines Food Co., Ltd, described the beautiful friendship between Chinese and Italian people across mountains and seas and the connection of people’s hearts with each other with the ancient Chinese saying, “No mountain and sea are far away, but the heart is connected for a thousand miles”. She said she was glad to relive the wonderful flight memories with Chinese and Italian students and teachers here, and looked forward to meeting them in the blue sky.
Friendship, which derives from close contact between the people, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. Since 2020, China Eastern Airlines has been conducting “Live Studio of China Eastern Airlines” aviation culture exchange activities for universities around the world, which have been widely praised. This year’s event was broadcasted at Nankai University in China and Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, with the theme of food, bringing a vivid public lesson to teachers and students of Chinese and Italian universities. The event led young people from Italy and China to appreciate the harmony and differences between the cultures of the two countries, deepening their understanding of each other’s cultures and creating more opportunities and possibilities for future friendly exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.
