A Cairns chef is serving his customers their own image alongside their meals.

You don’t expect to walk into a Chinese restaurant in Cairns and be struck dumb by a stunning piece of artwork, let alone something you could eat (that’s if you could bring yourself to destroy such magical pieces of art).

Sure, there’s usually plenty of interesting pictures or imagery on the walls, but if you walk into the relatively new China Palace Restaurant in Abbott St, chances are you too will be struck dumb.  These creations are the work of Guan Jian, 26, a chef, former resident of China and, yes, food artist.

Guan came to Cairns for the opening of China Palace early in the year, joining head chef Jiao Wei, also from China. Both have worked at five-star restaurants in China, with Jiao’s most recent experience at top notaries in Japan.

Despite the language difficulties, Guan was able to explain that he liked painting when he was a child, so perhaps that was the start of his artistic bent. Being a chef was his dream since his childhood. He says he always regarded delicious food as one of the most important parts in his life. He is originally from the northeast part of China, the coldest region in the country.

Because of the weather and unique culture, his region is known for special dishes such as the colourful Rice Skin.

Guan said that when he was young he liked watching television shows of cooking competitions and adored the chefs in the show. As a child, he wondered whether he could be like them when he grew up. As an adult, he has realised his dreams and won lots of prizes in cooking. 

Dating back to his childhood, he says he went to a very famous five-star hotel in his hometown with his family. On that day, he saw a multitude of delicate dishes that he had never seen in his life. He was especially interested in lovely roses made from carrot. That child took one home and tried to figure out how it was made. From then on, he became addicted to food carving.

When he finished high school he studied cooking at college and despite “not really” cooking with his family at home, it was obviously where his future lay.

After completing his chef studies, he went on to study for a further five years to learn this art of food carving and creating.

He says that in China less than 10 per cent of chefs learn this intricate art, with maybe 1per cent going on to succeed.

 Guan considers his creations both art and food, as they are made from food and can be eaten “but most important that they serve for the catering function”. He says they were used in Chinese cooking many thousands of years ago “when the chef serve the king” but about 20 years ago this art form became very popular in China. The most challenging thing he has created is a Christmas tree and the “Set’s’ Car” as it was about 15m long and 2m high at Christmas in 2003.

He says it was challenging because it “takes more than a week and uses a lot of different foods and it’s the biggest I have ever done.”

You can almost hear the laugh in his voice when asked what he enjoys most about his creations and he replies: “When it finishes”.

At the China Palace, customers might be fortunate enough to have a small carving created for and of them by Guan, made of rice flour pastry.

These can be whipped up in 10 or 15 minutes, but others, the more elaborate creations that seem like they would better sit in an art gallery, take several days. The longest so far has taken about eight days.

These are on display on occasion in the city-heart restaurant or can be created on request for special occasions.Customer reaction in Cairns, says Guan, has been “very good.

The  customers are very happy and surprised”. As for inspiration, he finds it by surprise, usually when something catches his eye.

He says he does not need particularly steady hands as a surgeon does. “I think it helps that I am healthy and fit,” he says

 He can carve any sort of food but usually chooses carrot, radish, cucumber, watermelon, lemon, orange or even bean curd.

Because they have been so busy since opening and are still looking for more talented chefs to keep up with demand, owner David Ni says Guan’s cooking skills have been utilised to the max.

Using pastry, fruit, vegetables, chocolate and even sugar, Guan will soon be spending more time in the restaurant, showcasing his amazing skills.

His work already has been on display in Cairns when he created a peacock out of food as Chinese New Year was celebrated at Munro Martin Park in February.

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