STORY: Ghanaian youth turns passion for Chinese pastries into culinary career
DATELINE: July 16, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:05
LOCATION: Accra
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): HENYO NESTOR, Ghanaian pastry chef
2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HENYO NESTOR, Ghanaian pastry chef
3. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): CHEN GUANGHONG, Chinese chef
4. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): HENYO NESTOR, Ghanaian pastry chef

STORYLINE:

"Tang You Gao," or "fried brown sugar cake," a traditional Chinese pastry is now a popular delicacy in a Chinese restaurant in Ghana.
   
Henyo Nestor is a Ghanaian pastry chef at the restaurant in downtown Accra, the capital of the West African country.

Starting as a rookie nearly six years ago, Nestor has now grown into one of the pillars of the Chinese restaurant.
   
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): HENYO NESTOR, Ghanaian pastry chef
"When I came here, (what) I thought (of) the Chinese was all about their movies and dresses. But I can see there is more to learn about their food as well, and their cuisine is very very international, is going international and I really like to learn more."
   
Nestor has been following his Chinese master Chen Guanghong, a veteran chef, on how to prepare a variety of Chinese pastries, from steamed buns to Chinese dumplings.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): HENYO NESTOR, Ghanaian pastry chef
"By the guidance of the Chinese master, I was able to learn. And he is a very good teacher as well. A good recipe, and it's a good food. And I would like everyone to come and try the Chinese pastries. It's very good. I got a lot of feedbacks from the Chinese and Ghanaian diners in a positive way."
 
Chen, who has worked in the restaurant for 13 years, not only imparted the knowledge of pastry-making to Nestor, but also taught him how to write Chinese characters and decorate dishes, which he believes would be a boost to the young pastry chef's career.
     
SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): CHEN GUANGHONG, Chinese chef
"Over (the) years, we have cultivated many local employees, teaching them how to cook Chinese food and introducing the Chinese food culture to them."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): HENYO NESTOR, Ghanaian pastry chef
"In the future, I would like to even open my own restaurant and specialize in Chinese recipe more."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Accra.
(XHTV)