Chef Cushing discovers that Huaiyang cuisine is historically connected to poets and scholars, and demands meticulous knife skills and elaborate presentations. The cuisine appears to be a personification of the teachings of Confucius. The creative presentation of skillfully combined ingredients expresses the four most important elements in the art of Chinese cooking: color, aroma, flavor and texture. All of this is incredibly enticing, so why, then, is Huaiyang cuisine so little enjoyed or understood in North America?