Chef Ren Dingxu, head chef at the Dubai branch of Hutong, a popular Chinese restaurant from Hong Kong, grew up surrounded by spicy food.
Ren was born and raised in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province – which he describes as “a city where the air itself carries the aroma of spice” – and became a master of cooking the region’s signature fiery, numbing cuisine.
Sichuan dishes are part of his identity, he says. “Spice is not just about taste; it’s an attitude, a kind of vitality.”
