Menu of ambition

Born and raised in Fuyang city, Anhui province, Zhu became interested in cooking at a young age, seeing her mother in the kitchen cooking delicious meals every day. During her study in the United Kingdom, where she studied strategic brand management at the University of Southampton, Zhu says she realized her passion and talent for cooking.

"There is a very large open kitchen in the dormitory and I always cooked there by myself. Then I thought why not receive formal training as a cook?," says Zhu, adding that she didn't plan to launch a career as a cook then.

After obtaining her master's degree in 2015, she studied culinary courses, both cuisine and pastry, at Le Cordon Bleu London. In October 2016, she opened her first shop in 798 Art Zone, a popular art area in Beijing.

"I studied French pastry techniques, but when I returned to China, I wanted to be a pastry chef making food in Chinese style," says Zhu, who uses Chinese food ingredients to bake, such as tea, black sesame and roses from Yunnan province.

She says she wanted to get into the business, because "when it comes to Chinese pastries, only some time-honored brands such as Daoxiangcun come to mind".

Business has proved to be successful for Zhu. Three months after the first shop's opening, the investment has been covered.

"It's exciting to see people line up in front of the shop. I am glad that the idea of new Chinese pastries is shared by many," says Zhu.