Following President Xi Jinping's visit to the Chequers pub in Oxfordshire on Oct. 22, upon the invitation of British Prime Minister David Cameron, many Chinese have become interested to know about the British menu.
To promote British food to the Chinese, the British Embassy in Beijing held a week-long promotion event called "Food is GREAT," showcasing the wide selection of cuisine from the British Isles. The event is sponsored by AGATC, Redfyre and British Airways.
On Monday night, Nov. 2, more than 200 food and drink luminaries had a tasting tour of cheese, liquor, salmon and ice cream at the Opposite House in Sanlitun Village.
Martyn Roper, charge d'affaires of the British Embassy, had chosen celebrity chef Steven Liu to become the image ambassador of Food is GREAT in China.
At the launching event, Liu highlighted the diversity and creativity of British food, saying that the event will provide the people of Beijing the opportunity to find out what is unique about British cuisine.
Karen Morgan, the Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor in the British Embassy, addressed the opening ceremony.
"China is at the moment the most important country for U.K.'s exports of food and drinks," Morgan said. "My task is to promote what is available in the U.K. to China."
Currently, China is U.K.'s sixth largest importer of food and beverages, as U.K. exports around 495 million pounds worth of food and drink to China, with salmon, whiskey and pork on top of the list. Morgan said she hopes the number to double this year.
Morgan added that other food items are becoming popular in China, which include beer, chocolate, gin and dairy products such as ice cream, yoghurt and cheese.
The report said that purchases of beer, especially Greene King IPA, the brand that Xi had at Chequers, also increased significantly.
"The wholesale amount has risen by over a hundred times in the past few days," said Zhang Qing, manager of Beijing PFB-Trading International CO. Ltd., a beer and cider distributor based in Beijing which had a booth at the event.
"We're also trying hard to promote British cider. It's healthy, non-fattening and fruity," Zhang said, adding that the drink has become popular in the south, such as the coastal city of Xiamen.
XIX Spirit, a distributer of British liquor for nearly 20 years, also put up a booth in the event. Manager Harold Broese van Groenou said that Chinese liquor lovers have already become familiar with Scottish whisky.
Morgan said that cheese exports are on the rise, despite the fact that cheese is not a traditional ingredient of Chinese cuisine.
Jersey Dairy ice creams, Wilkin & Sons fruit jellies and Somerdale cheeses were also on exhibit.
The British menu week culminated on Friday, Nov. 6.