I've been working in and around the food industry for close to 20 years. I spent the first decade in restaurant kitchens, going from dishwasher to sous chef at fine dining places. Miami, New York, Shanghai. In 2007, I started writing instead. Better hours, bigger picture. Full-time for several years.

My primary interest is food in China - the culture around it, the technical processes behind it and the stories within it.  China has a remarkable food culture. Not nearly enough of that comes across in English. That's what I'm trying to do. My food background and outsider perspective help. I spent a while chasing the latest and greatest in Shanghai. These days, I'm much more interested in going in-depth on the old topics.

I do a few other things. More details under that section. I shoot most of my own photos.

I speak and read Chinese, some days better than others. I've lived in Shanghai since 2005.

CHINA AND FOOD:

- Tracking down the last hand-made woks in Shanghai

- On eating hairy crabs in fall

- Country soul in downtown Shanghai

- Out in Koreatown

- An Ageing Rocker Turns to Sichuan Noodles

- Noodles at a Suzhou temple

- California Sunday Magazine: Gao's Map

 NOT FOOD OR NOT CHINA:

- Chasing a famous architect in a free Aston Martin: Wang Shu (PDF)

- Turkey's culinary capital, Gaziantep (PDF)

- A Tour of an MSG Factory and a Delightful Encounter with Its Billionaire Founder

- Lights, Camera, Action: Behind the Scenes at Ultraviolet

- [How to]: Eat Xiaolongbao Like a Scientist

- Meeting Tao Qingjian, The Last Woksmith

Articles

Behind 'The Shanghai Soup Dumpling Index'

The Shanghai Soup Dumpling Index FAQs

China's Revolutionary Fruit

The Magic of Lanzhou Hand-Pulled Noodles

So You Want to Make Xinjiang Haggis

The Peacock Chef of China

Atlases

Shanghai Gu Yi Garden Restaurant

Zun Ke Lai

Lin Long Fang

Xiao Jin Ling Yan Shui Ya Dian

Xin Guang Jiu Jia

Zheng Yuan Hui Mian

Xinyuan

Jia Jia Tang Bao

Old Jesse

Rui Fu Yuan

Uighur Restaurant

Xibei Oat Noodle Village

Jianguo 328

Northern Courtyard Restaurant

Fu 1088

I do other things too.

I've been a fixer for a bunch of international journalists, western chefs and corporate food groups over the years. Need help with an itinerary, story ideas, fact-checking, making connections in Shanghai's food industry or context for what you're seeing and eating? I enjoy doing this. Contact me.

I lead the occasional food culture tour for Context Travel. (www.contexttravel.com) These are walking tours that use a big market as a jumping off point to talk about food culture in Shanghai - and a whole bunch of other stuff. I only do these tours through Context. Contact them.

I copy-edit for the China offices of two large multinational companies on a daily basis.

I am based in Shanghai.

Phone: (+86) 139 1832 4475

Email: contact[at]stcavish.com

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