Her parents spent 10 years living in the French territory and its mixture of African, Chinese and Indian cultures made for a heady mix of herbs and spices when the Guinebault sat at the dinner table.

"My mother cooked every day, and eating healthy home-cooked food was a big part of our lives," she says. "She cooked a lot of Chinese food and used Indian spices. We always used cumin, coriander and ginger at home, even though cumin has only been used more widely in France in the past 10 years."

But it wasn't a career in food or hospitality that first attracted Guinebault, instead she pursued business, completing a marketing degree in France.

But after graduating in 2005, food was never far from her focus, as she did marketing work for companies selling spices and biscuits.

She later worked for well-known French soap brand Cadum, which was attempting to reposition the brand.

When her boyfriend was posted to Shanghai, the couple fulfilled a long-held dream to live in Asia, moving to China in mid-2006.

Guinebault studied Mandarin Chinese at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The cooking classes began as a once-a-month venture, partly to develop her Chinese language skills, but they quickly became a viable career.

She now also teaches evening classes for young professionals; some students have been regulars since she began her classes in mid-2007.

"I get to meet some fantastic people and they get to learn something new. Through these classes, hopefully, I am giving something back to China."

Olivia Guinebault

Nationality: French

Age: 28

Profession: Cooking teacher and author

Q&A

Description of self:

Enthusiastic, natural, passionate.

Favorite place: The lanes around the Old Town area.

Worse experience: When my bike was stolen.

Motto for life: Enjoy a healthy life.

Advice to newcomers:

Learn Chinese as soon as possible and create opportunities to get to know Chinese people.

(Shanghai Daily June 3, 2009)