Michael Zee

We’ve known Michael Zee for a long time, thanks to his hypnotic kaleidoscope of perfectly symmetrical, hyperreal breakfasts. What we didn’t know was that Michael also happens to cook some of the most surprising and delicious Chinese food you’re likely to experience outside of Shanghai.

Michael’s grandfather Zee Pao San emigrated to Liverpool in the 1940s, going on to open a string of successful restaurants. Michael grew up working in one of the family’s ‘Chinese chippies’, but it was the five years he spent in Shanghai where his fascination with China’s relentlessly fascinating culinary culture really took hold.

Now based in the hills outside Turin, where he’s turning a tumbledown 18th century palazzo into an exclusive gastro retreat alongside husband Mark, the award-winning food writer has been quietly turning his hand to pop-ups, introducing his unique style of blended Chinese gastronomy to sell-out dining rooms in Italy, the Netherlands and Kazakhstan. 

For Carousel, Michael is taking things a step further with a very special menu featuring lesser known flavours like ‘Doufuhua à la minute, Ears and Pickles’; ‘Zhoushan Sea Bass with Urchin’; and ‘Five Spice Mutton, Pear and Green Onion, Flatbread’

If you dig Chinese food and want to go a little deeper, you’re going to love Michael Zee.