We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenny Chih-Chieh Teng and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenny Chih-Chieh, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Mellow Sheng is a gastronomy and culture platform based on the concept of “living culture”.

The seed was sown in my head many years ago. I was always passionate about processes such as fermentation and other ways of preserving food. And as a Taiwanese girl who’s been living overseas most of her life, I often longed for some authentic representation of my culture.

And the seedling finally germinated at a time in my life when I needed a change. I wanted to start a project that reflected who I was and promoted the values I believed in, such as respect for natural processes, time and culture.

The “sheng” in Mellow Sheng is Chinese, and it means “to grow” and “rawness”. In the logo, we used the character as it was written in the oracle bone script during the Bronze Age more than 3000 years ago. It is a pictogram representing a plant just sprouting from the ground. Its three branches reflect the 3 themes I cover with the project. These are: Asian natural food processing, oriental teas and Chinese calligraphy. Together, they form ‘living culture’.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m very excited about sharing my culture with the local community. For example, in our tea ceremonies I always share some teas from Taiwan which are less known here in Barcelona. And I love to see the reaction on people’s faces as they taste the teas and learn their origin stories. It brings me so much pleasure to get people interested in the things I find most precious and I think it’s a great way to connect different communities.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Barcelona is really great as you can go everywhere by walking, and I think that’s the best way to discover the local shops and restaurants. If you get tired, there are countless plazas to enjoy a drink in the sun! Some of my favourites are Plaça de la Vila in Gràcia, and La Concórdia in les Corts. Throughout the year, there are a lot of great art, music and film festivals such as In-edit which is about music documentaries. Also, each neighbourhood has its own “fiestas” which are a lot of fun.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m super grateful to have formed a wonderful community through Mellow Sheng with customers, students and collaborators. They have been so supportive throughout these years, especially during the pandemic which was a hard time for everyone. I love that we have been able to be connected through different aspects of my project and it always brings a smile to my face to see them with such positive energy.

Website: www.mellowsheng.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mellowsheng/

Image Credits
Image credits: Mellow Sheng

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