Workshop
工作坊
Pickling Together
「漬」在一起吃
About the Program
Starting from the Hakka tradition of pickling (“漬”), this workshop connects participants from three different stages of life through the shared ritual of eating three meals a day, creating new food memories that link people to each other, their environment, and their culture.
In learning from elders, we explore seasonal wisdom embedded in traditional techniques—understanding that preserved foods are a form of terroir concentrated over time. We hope to offer children a deeply felt experience, one that, like pickling, must unfold slowly and with care.
Our brand, “Little Picklers’ Taste Journey”, focuses on nurturing appreciation for seasonal cycles. We explore how traditional pickling can be translated into something children are curious about and eager to engage with. The goal isn’t to master the craft itself, but to spark curiosity through everyday life. In this way, the spirit of pickling takes root in childhood—not just as something to eat, but as a meaningful act of knowing why we eat what we eat.
Food becomes a flowing, vital force in everyday life, slowly building a personal cultural depth.
The cultural gaps we experienced as children now inspire us to grow up again alongside our kids—reclaiming lost memories while helping traditional food culture become more accessible and meaningful within the family.
There are no strict rules in pickling. Together, let’s create a unique pickled flavour that belongs to your family. New food memories begin at your dining table!
Participants must prepare the following items to join the workshop. They will not be provided on site!
- Airtight container or glass jar with a lid. Minimum 500 ml, for taking the finished pickled product home.
- One pair of chopsticks: For food safety and environmental reasons, please avoid using disposable chopsticks.
- One spoon: For food safety and environmental reasons, please avoid using disposable spoons.
Mu-Jhen Chen, affectionately known as “Mumu,” is the one behind “Just Right - Cooking Beneath the Stove”, and a young woman in the ongoing journey of discovering her own sense of value.
A single question sparked her path of identity exploration—she realized that the absence of shared empathy could itself become a beginning. This realization brought her closer to the Hakka food culture that had always been nearby, yet somehow felt distant.
Through her continuous study and practice of Hakka pickling techniques, she began to understand that this is not just a method of food preservation, but a form of dialogue—with life, memory, and emotion. Mumu has a natural ability to deconstruct the subtle yet profound elements of traditional daily life and reassemble them into a contemporary culinary language. In doing so, she brings flavours back to the dining table and restores connections between people, creating new and meaningful food memories.
She believes that food is not merely knowledge to be learned, but a lived experience to be felt and practiced. Through food education and sensory engagement, she works to help people—both children and adults—reconnect with their food culture and understand their relationship with the land. In her vision, culture flows gently through everyday life.
To her, “Just Right” is more than a balanced taste—it’s a rhythm of living in harmony. The pickling and fermenting she does with her hands represents a new way to engage in conversation with identity itself. She hopes these hands will continue shaping a culinary map that reflects her own unique path.
From the Curating Team
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TAIWANfest Toronto is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, that is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered here, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples of this land while we engage in meaningful conversations of culture and reconciliation.