Chef Yao Yang brings a taste of Spain to the hutongs of Beijing

Yao Yang's life could have been very different. He was studying management in Ireland and his family was hoping he would take up a sensible career as a white-collar worker or a manager. But his experiences studying abroad led him down a different path. He took a part-time job in a restaurant in Ireland and fell in love with working in the kitchen. He loved the sounds, the smells and the excitement of cooking. Most of all, he says, he loved the job of the chef - creating magic with food. Yao became a chef in 2006 and later opened a Spanish-style restaurant, Saffron, in Beijing's hutongs.

I think tasty home-made styles of food are the best. In my experience around the world, I am often impressed by snacks or finger food which cost just a few dollars but are so tasty. For example, I can never forget deep-fried small peppers prepared in a high-end restaurant in New York and a pork terrine in a small, local French restaurant. They were the simplest and most affordable local food, but the taste was reminiscent of the richness and warmth of something home-made. And no matter how many times you eat good home-made food, you never tire of it. It's timeless. Also, this type of food really works in China. I adore the world's top restaurants and chefs, like Ferran Adria at El Bulli, who could manage more than 100 chefs to make a dozen art-like dishes in one evening. But I still think good food should be shared by everyone. I want to make my food affordable and tasty.

I did not become a chef overnight. I had my failures and experimental periods. Before opening Saffron, I failed at two restaurants in a short period. However, an American friend, who was a well-trained chef in New York, opened my eyes to understand the true nature of cooking. By applying different methods and even knowledge of chemistry to fresh ingredients and adding simple spices, you can make the tastiest food. He showed me how to dip needle mushrooms in soda water, then mix them with flour and fry. The final product looked so pretty and tasted so crispy. The downside was that to make a whole plate of such mushrooms took too much time. We failed in our task of cooking for a wedding as the guests were not happy waiting with empty stomachs. It taught me a lesson to control the pace of cooking and select the most appropriate menu for different occasions.