Italian takes spicy hotpot to the world

Gianluca Luisi (center) attends a food-tasting event in Chengdu, Sichuan province, last year. CHINA DAILY

Born in Canosa di Puglia, a small town in southern Italy, Gianluca Luisi had his first Chinese dining experience at the age of 10 when a relative visiting from Milan took his family out for dinner.

"We drove about 40 kilometers to a Chinese restaurant," he said. "We had fried rice noodles, spring rolls, Cantonese fried rice and my favorite, fried ice cream."

But in 2014, when he worked at the Italian consulate in Chongqing, he began to realize the huge difference between authentic Chinese food and the pale imitation often served in foreign countries.

Gianluca Luisi

"When I traveled around the world, I would try many Chinese restaurants. Though they all do good business, the majority of their clients were Chinese and the food just tasted so-so," he said.

Like many Italians, Luisi, 32, has a strong interest in the culinary arts and considers himself a bon vivant. When he was in charge of the consulate's commercial office, he thought a lot about how to introduce different Chinese dishes to the rest of the world.

In 2017, Luisi quit his job. He married a woman from Sichuan, a province famous for its chile oil and spicy dishes, and started a business in the provincial capital, Chengdu. ChinItaly sells products such as scarves, ties, paintings and sculptures that feature chile motifs.

"Chile is not only the main ingredient in Sichuan and Chongqing cuisines, it is also used in many foreign dishes. It is an international symbol of food culture, connecting people from all over the world," Luisi said.

In 2018, he set up DeZhuang International with Chinese partners in Chongqing, hoping to make the city's trademark dish an international favorite.

His company set about the global marketing of DeZhuang Hotpot, one of the most famous Chongqing food chains, and has so far established 900 branches around the world.

In order to help new customers choose how spicy they want their food, the company has come up with a grading system for its hotpot broth. The ranking system goes from 12 (slightly spicy) to 75 (extra spicy).

Luisi (right) prepares to appear on a TV show in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, to promote his businesses in November. CHINA DAILY

Food for thought

A marketing brand called Chin-EAT has also been developed to promote and sell Chinese culinary products and traditions.

"We must be innovative in our promotion of Chinese food and culture while keeping the traditional elements," Luisi said.

ChinEAT has a media team that produces short videos about modern daily life in China and food. The videos are popular on social media platforms in China and overseas.

Luisi's passion for Chinese food and culture has attracted overseas talent, and the company has eight employees from Italy, Austria and France among its 20 workers.

Laura Rizzo is one of them. She knew Luisi through work at the Italian consulate in Chongqing.

"I was called to the mission of building a bridge between two cultures through food," she said.

"I will work hard for ChinEAT to be the most recognized Chinese food brand abroad."

Yi Feiyu, a documentary producer, joined the company in June last year to make high-quality short videos. Not a fan of spicy food, he was impressed by Luisi's passion and dedication to work. "I hope my videos can arouse the curiosity of young foreign people about Chinese food and encourage them to try it," he said.

The new approach includes paying attention to foreigners' dietary habits and telling China stories from a non-Chinese perspective, Luisi said.

"In a digital age, online marketing is very crucial," he said.

The chile business has proved a success for Luisi. His products are sold in 22 countries and regions and total revenue last year was about 50 million yuan ($7.36 million).

The Italian has also launched a nonprofit organization called the World Chilli Alliance in Rome to promote the development of a more sustainable chile industry. It also organizes seminars, summits and festivals.

"It is not easy to stick to your founding mission when running a business," Luisi said. "Promoting Chinese food and culture is a long-term project and perseverance is the key to success."