There are plenty of new happy hours for me to report on here. But the biggest news in Beijing’s restaurant world is not happy in the least. Last month, our city’s expat community lost a gem: Mike Peters, food and wine editor of China Daily. He passed away from pancreatic cancer all too suddenly, after a dire diagnosis earlier this summer.
Mike wasn’t just another food writer in Beijing. He was the food writer in Beijing. His tenure here, eight years at China Daily, outlasted pretty much any other expat’s food writing gig. And with good reason: Mike loved his job.
Every time I saw him, he was exclaiming about some bottle of wine, some juicy steak, something wonderful he’d eaten. Whereas I’ve often descended into bratty bouts of ‘ugh, can I just eat noodles at home for once?’ Mike went into every review, smiling wide, like it was the first one.
Mike was one of the first expats I met in Beijing. In the summer of 2014, my appetizer to the long, boozy meal that’s become my China life, I was an intern at China Daily, scared and excited and lost. Mike was a guide and a role model, to me, to interns before me, and to interns after me. I’m sad he won’t be there to guide young, nervous newbies any longer. But even if he can’t, I know his attitude still guides me: That when you enjoy good food and good wine, you enjoy life.
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