19. A pastry chef in China by Pol Anter

19. A pastry chef in China by Pol Anter

My name is Pol Anter Campdepadrós and I am a pastry chef in China. I was born in the beautiful town of Terrassa, Spain, 32 years ago, and I’ve been a pastry chef for the past 11 years. I started at a restaurant, and from there I went on to work at a hotel and then at a school. I have done a little bit of everything, but always related to pastry making. Since I was little, our kitchen has been the center of our home, and we have always prepared home-made meals. My sister Carla is also a professional chef, and both she and I grew up helping our parents cook, make desserts, cakes… So, since I was little, I was certain I wanted to end up working in the kitchen.

 

When I finished high school, I decided to study at a cooking school in Manresa called Joviat and specialized in pastry cooking during my last year. That is where I met Aleix, a classmate who ended up marking the direction of my destiny.

After I finished my studies I worked for a year at a Michelin star restaurant in Spain. The owner of the restaurant had a friend in France who owned a hotel with his husband and recommended me to go work with them. So my first international experience was in France for a year.

After that, I returned to Spain, and the next stop was China in 2013. After graduation, my classmate went directly to work in Beijing at “Migas”, a Mediterranean restaurant. One day he called me because they were hiring a pastry chef. I did not think twice! I had nothing to lose, so I came straight away. What started as a year in Beijing, ended up being 5!

By then, I balanced work at the restaurant with the pastry classes at a school in Beijing. The owner of the school and I became good friends and I realized I really enjoyed teaching. So, my boss and I made a deal and I worked with her for 4 years.

During an ordinary holiday I went home to Terrassa and my sister gave me a great surprise… She gave me a simple box which had a message in code: a pacifier! You can imagine how excited I was. That encouraged me to return to Spain to be closer to my family, meet my niece and stay in Barcelona for a while. What I missed the most was Chinese food!

I lived in Barcelona for two years and I tried to work as a teacher, but I needed to go on studying, so I started a course in kitchen management, while I stayed in touch with my boss from China. Our friendship was so strong that she even traveled to Spain with my students. I invited them to my home, and we went out to dinner… During their visit, she offered me an opportunity to return to China and work at her school. When I finished my higher studies, I decided to go back to China for the adventure, because in China, there are always so many things going on! So in February 2021, I went back to Beijing for three months, and in May, my boss entrusted me with opening her school in Xiamen.

Ah, Xiamen. I had no clue how hard I would fall for this city. I wanted to stay. When I swim in the sea, I feel like life is amazing, floating there. When I dive in the ocean, everything else disappears and I am the happiest person in the world. In Xiamen, the mountain is 5 minutes away, and the sea, 20 minutes away. There are lakes… I am not from Barcelona city but from Terrassa, which is a big city but feels like a small town, so Xiamen was the ideal place for me. It’s a pity that my romance with Xiamen was so brief. Due to the pandemic, the pastry school in Xiamen didn’t work well, so I had to look for other options. I only lived in that city for three months, but that made me realize how much I loved life in the South of China.

A good Basque friend helped me share my CV with his contacts and I could choose among options like Shanghai, Xi’an, or Guangzhou. I opted for working at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Guangzhou, also in the South of China, in love as I was with the coasts of the South and the tropical temperatures. I was very lucky and the truth is I am really happy with the city, the team, the hotel, and the position.

As a curious piece of information, in China the most popular sweets are not as sweet as in European or French style desserts. Usually, at the hotel, I am free to do whatever I want, although lighter desserts are preferred here like chocolate creams or mousse. Sometimes I am asked to prepare typical local desserts from Canton. In that case, I ask for help from the local team and they guide me. They give me their honest opinion about the taste, etc. Also, for the hotel buffet, we prepare very special Chinese desserts, such as a sweet cold soup with dried dates, goji berries and snow mushrooms called “红枣雪耳糖水” (hóngzǎoxuě’ěrtángshuǐ, literally sweetened water with snow fungus and jujube). It may not sound too appealing for the Western palate, but the truth is that it is very successful here and it is very nutritious.

Although I miss my family so much, I know that China has given me great opportunities and coming here was a wise choice. If I went back in time and were asked again if I would come to China, I would say “absolutely yes!” China is very cool. Of course, it has its things, like everywhere else. I would choose this experience again. Culturally we are very different and that is shocking at first. But that is the beauty of adapting to differences, and seeing that in the end, we are not so different.

From here I want to encourage people who study cooking to take the step and come to China if they have the chance. Home is always a place to go back to and it’s not going anywhere. So, anywhere in the world can become your home. It’s a good idea to visit different places, as you never know which one you will like the most.

 

And, if you need one more reason, Chinese food is amazing!

 

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