Sienne: From linguist to chef of French cuisines

Large and green floor-to-ceiling windows, a vine-covered façade, and a tiny signboard that shines at night...

This is the very first impression that La Sienne - a small but exquisite French restaurant in Kunming's Banzhu Cuiyuan - gives everyone. 

This restaurant is owned by Sienne Cui, a young female chef who kicked off her journey as a chef in France. 

From Linguist to chef and restaurateur 

Sienne was born in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan. Her mother has always been living in Kunming while her father comes from northeast of the country. After graduating from high school, she decided to study international communication in Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangshu, with a combined subject of French. 

"As a young girl, I felt I had a special feeling for French culture at that time. But I couldn't speak French at all," she recalls. In 2010, Sienne went to the University of Caen Normandy (UNICAEN) for her 3rd and 4th years of bachelor's degree, and soon passed the CEFR C2 (French) exam. Later, she also completed two master's degrees separately on sociolinguistics and English-French translation. 

Since 2017, she has been enrolled as a PhD student of linguistics at UNICAEN. "Look, I'm this kind of person: if I do something, I'll always do the best," she stresses.

Yet, she is clearer than anyone else that linguist is not the career she pursues. Her real passion, more or less unexpectedly, is on food. 

In 2014, Sienne became a student of Ecole Lenotre. Meanwhile, she was doing her master's degrees and had a Chinese restaurant which specialized in noodles, dumplings and wantons to run. 

"It was one of the busiest periods in my life," she says. "But as long as I was in the kitchen, I didn't feel tired at all. This is what I call the passion for food!"  

"France, where my culinary dream began" 

Sitting in suburbs of Paris, Ecole Lenotre is a renowned culinary arts school with over 50 years of history. In a 6-month degree, Sienne received systematic and intensive trainings on French cooking, traditional French bread making, as well as the techniques to prepare desserts, chocolates, ice creams and many more. 

"That was the best and happiest time I've ever had in my life so far." As the only student in the class with no experience of cooking French food, Sienne was once lost in hundreds of French culinary terms and techniques. But with non-stop effort, she soon caught up with other students.  

"I remember a pâté en croûte I made was given the highest point by our chef. Then all students came over to take a look and try my food." she says proudly. "To me, that was an incredible moment!"

In late 2019, Sienne traveled to Brittany in northwest France to learn the traditional crêpe-making techniques. Galette bretonne, galette with mushrooms and bacon as well as crêpe with chocolate were all in this two-week course. 

If one day you walk in La Sienne and ask for her recommendation. She might smile and say: "What about some crêpes? "

Food: A passion for entire life

"In early 2020, I traveled to Kunming from France for the Spring Festival. I didn't want to stay long simply because I needed to be back to continue with my PhD,” she explains. “But just 2 or 3 days after I arrived, the pandemic broke out."  

Sienne, therefore, had no choice but to change her plan and settle down in Kunming. Later in 2021, she opened up La Sienne with her husband. 

"In this restaurant, Sienne spends most of her time in the kitchen, thinking about what she needs for her next dish and, of course, cooking," says Sienne's husband, Hu Shan. "And I take care the rest, from taking customers' orders to serving, from washing dishes to maintaining machines... because there are just two of us." 

At present, the restaurant mainly provides pre-ordered meals. "Food means a lot to me, and I'm absolutely serious about cooking. So, no compromise on quality - that's my motto.” 

However, this is not to say that La Sienne would shut its door to customers without reservations. Confit de canard, pan-fried applewood smoked duck breast, beef Wellington, crêpes, baked rice dishes and pastas are all on their everyday menu. 

"I've had frustrations and struggles since this restaurant was opened. But there is one thing I'm clear about myself: food is a passion for my entire life," emphasizes she. "I have confidence in every single dish I prepare, because I know I'm doing the best I can!"

Writing and trans-editing by Wang jingzhong