My name is Rennat Morel, and I am Belgian. I have lived in China for 31 years. At first I had only planned on staying a couple of months, but then I met this lovely lady.

My father is a very famous pastry chef in Belgium which is why I chose to be a cook myself. My wife helped me to find this small restaurant and arranged everything for us to stay in Beijing. I was lucky to meet Suzanne, and then lucky she decided to live with me, even though I am always busy. At first, she didn’t want to get married, but after I made a lot of effort, she changed her mind.

Chinese people often say that behind a successful man, there is always a woman who silently supports him. Without this smart Chinese woman at my side, I wouldn’t have been able to succeed.

Now 20 years have passed, and the menu in our restaurants is still the same. We focus on quality first, using the best meat and the best vegetables. To make a good marriage, effort must be made to pursue quality as well. We love each other and get along well.

As the living standards of Chinese people have increased, the number of Chinese clients has gradually surpassed that of European clients. In the past, the majority of our guests were foreigners: 90% of the guests came from foreign countries, and 10% of those were Asians. Presently, basically 90% of our guests are Chinese and 10% are foreigners. Chinese people have begun to show interest in cuisines of different countries and bring their families to experience the exotic food.

China has changed a lot. When people from the countryside see these high-rise buildings and all these cars, they all want to come to Beijing to do business and make money. I think Beijing is one of the safest cities in the world.