Earlier this year I was incredibly excited to learn of a new magazine, The Cleaver Quarterly, to be dedicated entirely to Chinese food. Having devoured the beautiful first edition, I approached the editors Lily, Jonathan and Iain, with an idea that has been rolling around in a head for many years – an exploration of that great British institution, the Chinese takeaway. To my delight, Team Cleaver said yes! My finished article and photographs appear in the second issue, which has just been published.
You can read my article here, and buy the whole magazine plus past and future editions here.
About a year ago I was thrilled to be invited to work as China Consultant at the development stage of ‘Scared Rivers’, a major 3-part BBC2 series presented by Simon Reeve. The series was eventually commissioned, and all three episodes have recently been broadcast. The Yangtze episode, with which I was most involved, can be watched here, and the whole series here.
My BBC presenting debut, ‘China in Vogue’, which profiles the rise of high-end fashion in China, is now available to download (for free!) as an MP3 here.
My Chinatown Food Tour is featured in a new e-book, ‘Kiratiana’s Travel Guide to Multicultural London’, by American writer and journalist Kiratiana Freelon. Kiratiana found me via Google and a few months ago we sat down to an epic Skype conversation, some of which you can read in this blog post; my deepest thanks to Kiratiana for including me in her book.
If you’d like a food tour of London’s Chinatown, please email me at jessielevene AT gmail DOT com.
World Brunch Club, the pop-up restaurant co-chefed by myself and Francesca Ter-Berg, was featured recently on The Menu, the weekly food show from internet radio station Monocle 24. Our slot in in Episode 39, starts at 32’10”, and you can find it here.
Interview with American Bluegrass musician Abigail Washburn, conducted in a noisy teahouse in Chengdu, December 2009 – and the first piece of audio I ever edited!
