Taiwanese Host's "I Love Taiwan!" Chant Echoes in Times Square

The Taiwanese reality show "Let the World Eat Together," which brought Taiwanese banquet culture to Sydney, Kumamoto, and New York, held its final "Gratitude Banquet" in Taipei. The show is the first cross-border "banquet" reality program from Taiwan, aiming to showcase the island's representative banquet culture to the world through Taiwanese cuisine, conveying warmth and cultural spirit. The hosts, including Sui Tang, Blue Lan, Haozi, Chen Suiyi, and food YouTuber Chien Chien, participated in the final banquet. During a media interview before the recording, Sui Tang mentioned the immense pressure, describing the experience as being surrounded by the smell of cooking oil for extended periods and handling large amounts of garlic and ginger, emphasizing the show's authenticity in all aspects from preparation to serving. She highlighted the dual pressure of managing the front-of-house (ensuring guest satisfaction) and back-of-house (ensuring delicious food and food safety). Chen Suiyi stressed that conscience is more important than culinary skill, especially concerning food safety. Blue Lan, after obtaining his culinary license, applied his skills but found the work exhausting, joking about not challenging professionals in their field. Haozi proudly shared his achievement of hosting entirely in English at Times Square, a global crossroads, and eliciting a crowd chant of "I love Taiwan!" Chien Chien described each banquet as a battle but found it worthwhile when seeing overseas Taiwanese tearfully express their appreciation for familiar flavors, noting that many hadn't experienced a Taiwanese banquet in a long time.