On Thursday, June 5 at 6:30 PM, Anna Yi Lan Zhang presents "Pentole e zodiaco – Il mio gioco da tavola" (Baldini+Castoldi, March 2025) in conversation with Zhang Qian (Ravioli di Cristina – Prato, Porta al Serraglio).
A cookbook, but also a game, a journey, a story. Food is connection, memory, love. It’s a scent that brings us back to childhood, a flavor that tells the story of who we are, a table around which we gather to share tastes and emotions. A universal language that unites East and West, tradition and innovation, care and respect for nature and ingredients.
With this book, Anna Zhang, winner of the fourteenth edition of MasterChef Italia, invites us into her world, to become part of her story and her vision of cuisine—where every dish is, above all, an act of love and care.
But Pentole e zodiaco is also a real board game, a culinary adventure inspired by the Chinese zodiac, challenging us to cook in new ways, have fun, and discover something about ourselves. Because cooking is not just about nourishing, but about storytelling. And the real magic lies in turning that story into emotion: “Man’s greatest fortune,” writes Anna Zhang, “is other people—and food is our way of being together, of building bridges between cultures and traditions.”
Anna Yi Lan Zhang was born in Milan in 1991. The second daughter of Chinese parents who emigrated due to the one-child policy, she grew up in Rovigo before returning to the big city to pursue her university studies. Always fascinated by the world of fashion, she specialized in Fashion Styling and built a career of over ten years as both a sales management professional and commercial model. During the Covid-19 lockdown, she felt the need to explore her passion for cooking and decided to start over from scratch. Her victory on MasterChef Italia 14 made her realize she had found her true means of expression in the kitchen. She now lives between Venice and Milan.
