Secrets of a Michelin chef

Italian Claudio Sadler flew all the way to Beijing to talk about his first love affair. The only romance on this man's mind, however, was of the culinary kind. The Michelin two-star chef paid a visit to his restaurant here and stressed his lifetime devotion to "satisfying the guests".

Born in Mantove, a city better known for its butter, Sadler developed an interest in cooking at just 12. "When it is Christmas, women always cook and we help," he says. Since then, he's been in love with Italian food and still remembers creating his first successful menu when he was 21.

The motto of his Beijing restaurant is "contemporary, modern and evolutionary", since he believes food should keep pace with changes in society. Italian food is often oily and heavy, but not at Sadler's restaurant.