Having cooked in places all around the world, she said it was a first for her displaying her skills in the ‘grandest church’ she had ever seen.
Ching came to the island for several events as part of Visit Guernsey’s The Big Eat festival, and to raise awareness and funds for Guernsey Community Savings, and said it was unlike any venue she had ever worked in before.
‘I’ve never done anything like this in a church. When they said it would be in a church I was expecting a town hall, but this is the grandest church I’ve ever been in,’ she said.
‘I don’t think anything will top this.’
She said she had cooked with fishermen on a boat, cooked in Guernsey Prison last year and has previously taking part in an event at Grow, but her trips to Guernsey seem to get more ambitious each time.
The British-Taiwanese chef was awarded an MBE in 2020 for her services to the culinary arts and has an established TV career with programmes such as Chinese Food Made Easy and Exploring China and becoming a regular guest on Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch, This Morning and Lorraine.
In the live demonstration, which was attended by about 80 people, Ching made three of her comfort dishes, a veggie sweetcorn soup, a fried rice and a Chinese chicken curry.
She said every time she visits the island, she loves it even more.
‘When I step off the plane, just the smell of the air makes my whole body relax and even though I’m here for work, it’s like I never left. I wonder why I don’t live here,’ she said.
‘Events like these are so fun. Guernsey is such a short trip away that I don’t know why people don’t think of it more for opportunities. It’s such a short hop from Gatwick, it’s so close.’
She is also the author of 11 best-selling cookbooks.
After the cooking demonstration, she signed copies of her latest books, with proceeds going to GCS, and then visited Guille-Alles Library to donate cookery books, a combination of her own books and some by other authors.
One of the main events was her gala dinner at China Red on Saturday evening, which she said was what Chinese cooking is all about.
‘In the spirit of Chinese cuisine, it’s about family, friends and fun and raising money for a good cause,’ she said.
‘The tables are round so everyone, young and old, can get together and feast together.
‘With it being the year of the fire horse, which is about freedom, courage independence and breakthroughs, that is what my visits to Guernsey are about, it’s like a mini Chinese New Year celebration that we didn’t get to have at the time.’
Guernsey Community Savings has supported more than 200 islanders since its formation in 2020, helping people set up bank accounts and provide budgeting advice and financial education.
Chief executive Joe Brown said that its recently launched rent deposit scheme received nine enquiries in the first week, so fundraising was key for the charity.
‘This is our first community event, last year we were in Guernsey Prison, which was great but it was a small audience, whereas this was open to the public,’ he said.
‘Events like this are good for raising the profile of the charity. There are lots of charities in Guernsey and some people haven’t heard of us.
‘We have capacity to help more people and we’re always keen to reach out and offer help so this is a great opportunity to get our name out there.’
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