ONE of the greatest delights of home cooking lies in building a closer connection to food and the people you care about.

“No matter how rigorously people follow a recipe, the final result differs from person to person due to their mind and mood. A dish mirrors its maker,” says David Du, chef de cuisine at Xin Da Lu China Kitchen of Hyatt on the Bund.

Shanghai Daily invites four talented cooks, including one professional, to share a summer recipe. They also reveal where they source ingredients and what inspires them to cook. More importantly, they tell their strongest food memory and how it has had an impact on their lives.

Gillian Lu, public relations and marketing manager at California Wine Institute, shares a French-style salad recipe and a wine-pairing suggestion. Her passion for cooking starts from her days of studying wine in France, where she becomes a gourmet. Her food philosophy is typically French, emphasizing each dish is made with love and in turn nourishes love.

Vivien Chen, marketing supervisor at a local publication, shares her easy-to-make “giant summer salad” that she first created with friends. On one hand she insists home cooking should be relaxed and enjoyable, but she’s also a stickler for details. For example, when serving kiwi juice she insists that it come with a green-and-white striped straw.

Van Der Laan Rembrandt is a professional chef at Le Royal Meridien Shanghai. He contributes two recipes, a fish main course and a soup. Follow either recipe, which are somewhat sophisticated, to produce a wonderful dish fit for a Parisian restaurant. Food for him is a variation of art and wine, either bright and colorful or cold and sharp.

Wrapping it up, Ninon Bajard, a French student studying Mandarin in Shanghai, shares her chocolate brownie recipe. Her talent and passion for desserts comes from her father. She also sings and dances as she cooks since music inspires her to try new things.

For these four, food creates an emotional bond that connects family members and friends. The bond develops by passing recipes down from one generation to the next and by cooking and eating together.

 Gillian Lu, 27  PR and marketing manager at California Wine Institute

The Shanghai native is a little different from most locals when it comes to food. She eats French food more often than Chinese. Her passion for cooking comes from studying wine at ESC Dijon Bourgogne, France.

“In China we have been brought up to eat to be filled up regardless of what we eat, plus we are pushed by parents when eating slowly, which strangles our drive for being a gourmet,” Lu says. “But now I consider time-consuming home cooking as the most important part of my family life, especially together with my husband, as it improves our relationship.”

She met her husband, editor-in-chief of vinehoo.com, in France and he’s even more passionate about food.

Her recipe is mixed tomatoes and avocado salad, a dish made to celebrate her birthday.

“Pair this dish with white wines, sparkling wines or Sherry. For those who don’t drink wine, try it with homemade blueberry yoghurt in the summer,” Lu adds.

Q: What’s your favorite ingredient? Where do you source it?

A: Spices. They play a vital role in French cooking. Usually I dry and powder them and use it as a seasoning. I grow them myself. Some of the plant seeds are brought by my husband from France. Fresh basil is only available in some high-end supermarkets here and is very expensive. I also grow spring onions, mint, leeks, parsley, sponge gourd and tomatoes.

Q: What’s your understanding of the best food?

A: It differs according to the two stages of my life. I once thought the best food was my mom’s cooking. After becoming a mom, my definition became more complex. It should be based on fresh and healthy ingredients with protected designation origin. It also has to have a poetic presentation and layers of flavor. Most importantly, it needs to be made from the heart.

Q: What inspires you to cook?

A: Wine, spices and my recipe notebook. In summer, I prefer some simple and refreshing white or dry Sherry to pair with some simple acidic cold dishes. I am addicted to the fragrance of spices. Then I seek the best accompaniment to these scents, for example tomato is a perfect marriage to basil. I am also inspired by recipes from magazines and friends, not just French cuisine but also Chinese and American food.

 Mixed tomatoes and avocado salad (serves four people)

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes (800g); one garlic clove (crushed); one avocado (stoned, peeled and chopped); one small red onion (thinly sliced); crusty loaf (175g, ciabatta is best); extra virgin olive oil (4 tbsp); red wine vinegar (2 tbsp); small handful of basil leaves

Preparation:

1. Halve or roughly chop the tomatoes (depending on size) and put in a bowl. Season them well with olive oil and wine vinegar. Add garlic, avocado and onion, and mix well. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Tear or slice the bread into 3cm chunks and place in a large serving bowl or on a platter.

3. Drizzle with half the olive oil, half the vinegar and add some seasonings.

4. When ready to serve, pour over the tomatoes. Don’t waste any juice. Top with the basil leaves and drizzle over the remaining oil and vinegar.

5. Give it a final stir and serve immediately.

 Vivien Chen, 27  Marketing supervisor at a Shanghai-based publication

Chen loves cooking. She also loves everything associated with it including tableware and utensils. She has a WeChat account (viva_lavie) which she names “Sanzhaiyishen,” literally “three friends love staying at home.” They use it to introduce simple home recipes.

“I opened it to present an ideal lifestyle: There’s no need to queue for a table, no need to be a professional chef, just enjoying cooking and relaxed eating,” Chen says.

She shares her “giant summer salad” recipe. “I created the recipe together with a ‘giant’ couple, they are both over 180 centimeters tall. Plus the salad is served in a giant bowl. That’s where the name comes from,” Chen says.

She loves to make it in the summer due to the freshness of the dressing, a mix of lemon, honey and olive oil. It’s easy to make and takes only 20 minutes. It’s also good for sharing.

Q: What’s the most amazing part of home cooking?

A: I can adapt fancy dishes in restaurants to make them more beautiful and better please my palate. Sharing the happiness cooking brings me is also fun.

Q: What’s your understanding of best food?

A: It should be shared with my friends and complemented by an ideal dining ambience, either on the coast with waves washing ashore or at home with music playing and fresh flowers on the table.

Q: What’s your favorite place in the kitchen?

A: There’s a corner with all the utensils, which I think matters a great deal. I practice the idea of no zuo no die, a trendy phrase meaning “if you can do it, you should go up and do it. If I have a glass of kiwi juice at home, I will go there for a green-and-white striped straw.

Q: What are your favorite ingredients? Where do you source them?

A: I like basil and am addicted to its fragrance. I grow my own and use it as a seasoning in appetizers and soups. Rocket lettuce is another favorite due to its fresh and intense flavor. Avocado cannot be ignored, it’s a fruit but more than a fruit. Usually I source produce from Carrefour, where most of my needs are met. I buy pasta sauces, rocket lettuce and cheese at City Shop.

Q: Tell us your most impressive summer food memory.

A: It’s all related to my grandma. She’s from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. She used to make a chilled soup from winter melon, dried bamboo shoots and small white bait. It’s so delicious. When we were greedy, she would make a traditional snack for us. She would take an ice cube and flavor it with rice vinegar and sugar. Now that flavor remains etched in my memory.

 Giant summer salad (serves five people)

Ingredients:

Lettuce (3 bunches); shrimp (150g); 10 small tomatoes; one apple; two avocados; one lemon; salted butter (30g); olive oil (a small bowl); black pepper (a little); honey (a little); feta cheese (100g)

Preparation:

1. Tear lettuce into small pieces; dice apple, avocado and tomatoes.

2. Dice the shrimp and pan-fry in butter.

3. Make the dressing. Add honey, lemon juice and black pepper into olive oil and mix well.

4. Mix all the things in a big salad bowl. Sprinkle with feta cheese.

 Van Der Laan Rembrandt, 33  Chef de Cuisine at Allure of Le Royal Meridien Shanghai

Hailing from France, Rembrandt has studied under celebrity chef Alain Ducasse for years. He is known for his poetic presentations and feminine touch. He’s trying to practice French culinary thinking in Shanghai, especially respecting the season and regional culture.

“My first consideration when designing the menu is what’s available in season and how to shine its natural beauty in a simple and gentle way, for example strawberries in early spring, white asparagus in the end of the season,” he says.

He shares two recipes, halibut meuniere and mint and green pea soup, both are his summer favorites.

Q: Why these two dishes?

A: Green pea and mint soup is a classic Parisan dish popular in Saint-Germain, west Paris. Green peas are in season while mint adds aroma and freshness. But avoid overcooking the green peas or the soup will lose its color. But there’s a trick, add some salt at the beginning to preserve the color. Halibut also reaches its best in summer. I add parsley and lime for a light flavor. Don’t forget to coat the halibut with some flour before frying and fry it at a medium temperature to ensure the meat is crispy on the outside and tender and juicy inside.

Q: What’s your understanding of best food?

A: Elegant, tasty, simple. Most importantly it should be made from the heart with a story behind it so the flavor can be touching.

Q: What inspires your cooking?

A: Season, art and wine. Months ago, there was an art exhibition in the hotel led by an artist known for using bright colors. I was inspired to make my dishes more colorful.

This month, I am inspired by another artist who’s known for using black-and-white brush strokes to present Parisian culture and romanticism.

So now I create more Parisian food, represented by the soup.

Wine is also inspiring. After tasting a nice wine, I will try to find a food to complement it. Wine even influences my culinary style. For example, I love Burgundy wine, which is simple, using one grape variety, yet with a feminine touch. I try to emulate this. I love the acidity in Burgundy red and white, so I emphasize acidity in the dish through lime zest and green apple.

Q: What are your favorite ingredients? Where do you source them?

A: I love seasonal produce only available for a short time, for example, white asparagus, available for two months. I also love fig, only available during the end of summer. I use it to make chutney for foie gras. Chestnut, another favorite, is best at the beginning of autumn. I use it to make a warm foie gras soup. City’super can meet all my needs although the prices are high.

Q: What’s your most impressive summer food memory?

A: It’s all about fruit salad, which reminds me of my hometown Brittany, in the west of France. Most of the fruits are organic, grown on small farms and sold at markets. Melons, white peaches and strawberries are diced. Add mint leaves and a little sugar. Some of the juice turns to syrup when meeting the sugar.

 Mint and green pea soup (serves six people)

Ingredients:

Green peas (200g); onion (100g); mint (20g); smoked pork belly (20g); spinach leaf (a little); olive oil (a little)

Preparation:

1. Chop the onions. Pan-fry with  salt.

2. Add the green peas and cook for five minutes.

3. Add a little water and cook for 10 minutes.

4. When it is cooked, add spinach leaves.

5. Mix it with butter and use the electric mixer to stir evenly and drain the soup.

6. Add some mint leaves to enhance the flavor and take leaves out before serving.

7. Decorate the soup with bacon chip, dot of olive oil and fresh mint leaf.

 Halibut meuniere (serves six people)

Ingredients:

Halibut (160g); three finger clams; potato olive (20g); butter (30g); one lime; lemon (30g); parsley (5g); capers (50g); flour (1g); hollandaise sauce (2 tbsp)

Preparation:

1. Salt the fish. Cover it with flour evenly.

2. Pan-fry the fish. When it turns brown, add the butter.

3. Chop the capers and put them into pan with butter. Spread with butter on the fish.

4. When the fish is cooked, add some lemon juice.

5. Steam the clams and take out the meat from the shell. Clean and cut it. Mix with butter, parsley, garlic and lemon zest. Put the mixture back into the shell.

6. Add hollandaise sauce.

7. Shape the potato olive and decorate the plate with a slice of lime and dried parsley leaf.

 Ninon Bajard, 23  Exchange student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Paris-born Bajard is a self-confessed chocoholic. She is now studying Chinese in Shanghai and doing an internship at a 5-star hotel. She often brings her desserts to the office and shares with colleagues and friends.

Bajard’s interest in cooking traces back to her high school years, when her parents opened a guesthouse in Linas, 20 minutes from Paris. They just opened their fifth room this month.

“I remember how my father and I teamed up to make dinner for our guests. He was responsible for the main courses and I was in charge of the desserts — my favorite part,” Bajard says.

She shares her signature chocolate brownie recipe. It takes 20 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.

“My gourmet option is a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side along with caramel coulis. It’s delicious!” Bajard says.

Q: What makes this recipe distinctive?

A: It’s fun and simple to make and mainly based on my favorite ingredient of all: chocolate. High-quality ingredients, a good oven and a good mood are keys to cook it well.

Q: What inspires your cooking?

A: I love putting on loud music and singing or dancing while cooking. I think it fosters creativity and makes the process much more fun. Cooking has to be as fun as eating.

Q: Where do you source ingredients in Shanghai?

A: It depends on my needs. Local markets for vegetables, City Shop when in need of some European ingredients, European and local supermarkets for the rest. Now that I am a little bit more settled in the city, I am also considering buying from the organic farms around Shanghai.

Q: What’s your most impressive summer food memory?

A: A homemade sorbet made by my boyfriend’s father.

 Chocolate brownie (serves six people)

Ingredients:

Black chocolate (220g); brown sugar (100g); butter (100g); vanilla sugar (1 package); flour (60g); three eggs; salt (1 tbsp)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.

2. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the chocolate.

3. Remove from the heat and stir in sugar, eggs and one teaspoon of vanilla.

4. Add flour and salt.

5. Bake at 175 degree Celsius for 15 minutes. Then it’s ready to eat.