Hou Yifan at the table

The Chinese meal is not divided into starter/main/dessert but is organized around a balance between 主食 (zhǔshí, the "foundation" — rice, congee or noodles) and several 菜 (cài, side dishes) placed in the center of the table and shared communally. A soup (汤, tāng) circulates throughout the meal, and tea (茶, chá) accompanies and concludes it. Hou Yifan comes from Jiangsu, the cradle of Huaiyang cuisine (淮扬菜): refined, lightly spiced, emphasizing knife skills and the delicate, umami flavors of freshwater products. The food is light and precise — a mindset not so different from that of the chessboard.

Huaiyang cuisine from Hou Yifan's native Jiangsu favors clear broths, cane sugar that rounds out saltiness, fragrant osmanthus flowers (桂花), and above all, knife cuts of almost geometric precision. No high heat or chili that masks: everything is about balance and concentration — a strategist's cuisine.